Consumer Behavior
In order to create product offerings that are needed/wanted by consumers, marketers need to know about them! They need to know what benefits consumers are looking for in the products they purchase, the organizations they donate to, or the political candidates they vote for. Marketers must also know how consumers make these decisions, who or what influences this decision process, and what groups of consumers have in common with respect to their needs/wants.
Marketers also need to consider which consumers are more valuable to them in terms of meeting organizational objectives. As you can imagine, all of this involves considerable marketing research seeking information, which can be as simple as conducting a discussion with a group of consumers or examining information available in the library, to setting up a national test market for a new or existing product.
There are two types of information available. One is secondary data, which is information collected for some purpose other than the particular problem facing the marketer. The NCU library has considerable secondary data available in the A-Z databases. The other type of information is that which is collected by the researcher specifically for the problem at hand. These are custom designed depending on the information needs and discussed in the final assignment in Week 8.
Consumers are fascinating to study. Why? It begins with the fact that everyone is a consumer, and while you think a certain way, you learn quickly that consumers differ in many important areas. Consumers differ in terms of their values and customs, their level of involvement with a product category or a particular brand, and their expectations of a product. These differences are even more pronounced in the diverse and global environment you live in today.
Some of these differences cannot be influenced by marketing efforts. For instance, consumers’ perceptions are in part due to their sensory abilities. At the same time, marketers are also able to influence several factors in the consumer decision-making process as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Consumer Decision-Making Process
Consumer Decision-Making Process
This process begins with the consumer recognizing that there is a need for the product or a problem that can be solved with a product. At this point, the consumer will begin the process of searching for information about the product and alternatives. As a marketer, it is critical to remember that a consumer first needs to be aware of the product. Without awareness, the consumer has zero chance of purchasing it. This is the role of marketing communications. Advertising often plays a key role in creating awareness!
Just because a consumer is aware of a product, doesn’t mean it will be purchased. While the amount of information seeking depends on the type of product and the consumer, at some point, an evaluation will be made of the alternatives. This is typically based on product attributes and the benefits provided to the consumer. Not all consumers will be looking for the same benefits. What may be important to one consumer and one buying circumstance, may differ for another consumer. As a marketer, you want your product to be one of those being evaluated! Typically, consumers have a few alternatives that they may consider purchasing. This is referred to as their “evoked set.” For instance, you might consider purchasing three or four different laundry detergents depending on the features of the product and what is important to you. Given this, it is critical to provide information about the product. This can be done through marketing communication, but also packaging and other controllable elements of the marketing mix.
At some point, the consumer will make a choice and purchase the product. What is considered in making this decision? As previously noted, marketers are engaged in creating customer value. This is created when the consumer’s perceived benefits of obtaining the product are greater than the perceived costs of obtaining it. It is critical to note that this is the consumer’s perceived benefits and costs. For instance, for one consumer, the cost of acquiring a product may only involve an expenditure of money; for another, the expenditure of time in acquiring a product is a greater cost. When perceived benefits exceed perceived costs, customer value is created as illustrated in Figure 2. Assuming this value is greater than that provided by competitors, this value may then involve a product purchase. (Note: Enrolling in a university, donating money to a charity, or voting for a candidate in an election are also applicable scenarios.)
Figure 2
Perceived Value
Perceived Value
Does this process stop here? If the consumer purchases your product/brand, are marketing efforts over? No! As shown in Figure 1, consumers then engage in a post purchase evaluation. This typically involves making an assessment of whether the performance of the product meets or exceeds what the consumer expected when purchasing it. Consumers will be satisfied when their perceptions of the performance of the product are greater than their perceived expectations. What does this mean for marketers? First, you want satisfied customers, so it is important that you deliver on your promise to the consumer – your value proposition. This also means that you do not want to “oversell” your product by making promises you cannot keep! It is not only ethical to be honest as you describe the performance of your product, but it makes excellent business sense. If consumers are satisfied (or even better, delighted), they are not only more likely to repurchase the product, but to tell their friends and acquaintances.
For this assignment, you first need to identify one low and one high involvement product, as well as provide the rationale for this classification based on the research conducted.
Next, explain the difference in decision making for each product, including how marketers can influence consumers during the process in both situations. And, finally, based on an understanding of this process, as well as the potential impact of too many choices on consumer satisfaction, make recommendations of the steps marketers can take to increase the likelihood that consumers will be satisfied or “delighted” with their purchase decision.
