As a buyer or consumer, you are constantly making decisions such as what product to buy, which brand to buy from, where to buy, and so on. Hence Buyer Decision Process is defined as selection of one product from the many alternatives available. In the field of consumer behavior, we are only interested in situations where the consumer must make a purchase decision and has a choice. Only when there are two or more options available you have to make a decision. Understanding how consumers make decisions is the most basic and important requirement for a marketer. Making a decision is a rational and conscious process in which the consumer evaluates all available alternatives in order to choose the best one.
THE BUYER DECISION PROCESS
The consumer goes through five stages during a buyer decision process. These stages are
- problem recognition,
- pre-purchase information search,
- evaluation of alternatives,
- purchase decision, and
- post purchase behavior
The important thing to remember is that the buyer decision process begins long before the actual purchase and has consequences even after the purchase is made. In the case of routine purchases, the consumer may skip the second and third stages and proceed directly to the purchase decision stage. However, if the purchase decision requires extensive problem solving, the consumer is likely to go through all five stages in the specified order.
1. Problem Recognition:
The buyer decision process begins with the buyer identifying a need or a problem. A discrepancy between a desired state and an actual state is sufficient to arouse and activate the decision process, resulting in problem recognition. An individual’s actual state is how he or she perceives his or her current feelings and situation. A desired state is the way a person wants to feel or be right now. There is no need for a decision if the problem is not recognized.
Major situations leading to problem recognition are;
- Goods are in short supply.
- Dissatisfaction or unhappy with existing Stock
- Changes in Financial Situation
- Promotional Initiatives by Companies
- Previous Decisions customer
- Governmental Agencies and Consumer Groups influences
- Products Availabilities are more
- Individual Development and improvement in social status
- Environmental Characteristics Changes
2. Pre-Purchase Information Search:
The search for pre-purchase information is an essential part of the buyer decision process and purchasing behavior. Understanding consumer information search behavior is critical for organizations to plan their communication strategy and effectively reach consumers.
There are two types of pre-purchase information searches:
- Internal
- External.
Internal search refers to retrieving relevant information from memory. For example, a customer may recall seeing the various types of products used by his colleagues. Alternatively, he may recall seeing advertisements for those products on television or in magazines and newspapers. The deliberate and voluntary pursuit of new information about the product/brand under consideration is referred to as external search. A customer can obtain information from the four sources listed below:
- Personal sources:
- Family Members,
- friends,
- colleagues,
- Neighbors.
- Commercial sources:
- advertisements,
- retailers,
- Sales men.
- Public sources:
- seeing others,
- Consumer information centers.
- Government information or instructions
- Experimental sources:
- handling,
- examining,
- using,
A customer, by utilizing all of these sources of information, can identify different types of products based on material, branded versus unbranded, high-medium-low priced.
Customers can also choose products based on brand types. He has the option of choosing from well-known brands, lesser-known local brands, or even unbranded products. Price ranges and a variety of other factors can all have an impact on the decision. By the end of Pre-Purchase Information gathering stage, the customer has gathered enough information about the various types of products available and has narrowed down his options to a specific module.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives:
Collecting entire information about products, customer researches for alternatives for the products, services and outlets or showrooms is part of buyer decision process. As mention in Britanica, the consumer weighs these options and, if financially and psychologically capable, makes a decision. The evaluation criteria vary from consumer to consumer, just as the needs and information sources do. Price may be the most important factor for one consumer, while quality or convenience may be more important to another.
A customer’s final decision will be based on certain evaluative criteria. The most commonly used criterias are:
- product feature
- each attribute’s relative importance to the consumer
- image of a brand
While making a purchase decisions product attitudes contributes towards various brands or alternatives being considered by a customer. Colour, price and brands of the product are another important customer attitudes.
This stage of the purchasing decision process allows the marketer to modify his product offering in accordance with the relative importance assigned to each attribute by various consumer segments, changing beliefs and attitudes about his own brand, and drawing attention to overlooked product attributes.
4. Purchase Decision
As part of buyer decision process customer ranks the various brands in terms of his first, second, and third preferences during the evaluation stage. In short, he has decided which brand he wants to purchase. However, the customer may end up purchasing a brand that is not his first choice. This could be due to other people’s attitudes and “situational factors. For example, when a customer goes to a store to make a purchase, the shopkeeper’s negative remarks about the customer’s preferred brand may cause him to reconsider. It is also possible that the Customer’s preferred brand is unavailable, or that there is a very attractive price discount on the brand ranked third by him, which eventually causes him to change his mind.
5. Post purchase behavior
After purchasing a product, the customer checks to see if its performance or utility meets his expectations which is an important part of buyer decision process. Customer will be satisfied with his purchase if their expectations are met. Customer satisfaction will enhance the brand’s positive image, which is likely to be extended to the entire range of products manufactured or supplied by the Company. In addition, when his friends or relatives ask for his advice on purchasing the same product, the customer is likely to strongly recommend the brand he purchased.
Similarly, if the customer believes that the product purchased falls short of his expectations, he is likely to be dissatisfied. As a result, the customer may decide to discontinue purchasing the same products or even other products sold by the same Company, as well as inform his friends and relatives about the poor quality or performance of the products he purchased. So, a satisfied customer can impose significant influence over potential customers.
If the seller exaggerates the product’s performance, consumer expectations will not be met, resulting in dissatisfaction.
The greater the gap between expectations and performance, the more dissatisfaction for the consumer. This implies that sellers assert that the product’s performance must be genuine in order for buyers to be satisfied. It has also been discovered that some sellers understate performance levels in order to increase consumer satisfaction with the product.
Making a decision is a rational and conscious process in which the consumer evaluates all available alternatives in order to choose the best one. Each Buyer Decision Process involves a complex mental thought process, as well as some active reasoning, though this may not always appear to be the case. As a result, understanding how consumers make decisions is the most basic and important requirement for marketers.
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