Consumer behavior
1- Describe the stages in the consumer purchase decision process.
1. Problem Recognition: What need do I have to satisfy?
Marketers must understand consumers’ problems.
if the consumer does not recognize a need, he is not willing to engage in any of the steps of the process.
Ex, As soon as consumers realize they want or need new eyeglasses, Warby Parker is available online or at
a nearby location.
2. Information Search: What products are available to meet my need?
External information search: Advertisements, social media, product websites, friends and family.
Internal information search:Consumers use past experiences with items from the same brand
Ex, Warby Parker makes it easy to select from online options and convenient outlets to guide the
consumer journey.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives: What product will best satisfy my need?
Once consumers acquire information, they can use it to evaluate different alternatives.
Evaluative criteria consist of attributes that consumers consider important about a certain product.
Ex, Warby Parker lets consumers browse from hundreds of frames to express their personal style.
4. Purchase: Where should I purchase from and how much should I pay?
After evaluating alternatives, consumers will most likely purchase a product.
At this point, they have several decisions to make.
Where to buy? Which form of payment? Interest rates?
Ex, Purchase: Consumers simply provide a current prescription, and new eyeglasses or sunglasses are
shipped within a couple of weeks.
5. Post-Purchase Evaluation: Am I satisfied with my purchase?
Post-purchase evaluation occurs after the sale is complete.
Three main things are evaluated:
Customer satisfaction – a state that is achieved when customers’ expectations and needs are met.
Loyalty – an accrued satisfaction over time that results in repeat purchases.
Ex Post-Purchase Evaluation: Warby Parker lets consumers return eyeglasses within 30 days, no
questions asked, so there’s no buyer’s remorse.
Q2) Identify the influences on consumer behavior.
Psychological, , Situational and Personal, Sociocultural, Involvement
1- Psychological
Attitude: A consumer’s overall evaluation of a product, which involves general feelings of like or dislike.
Learning: The modification of behavior that occurs over time due to experiences and other external
stimuli. Marketers can provide cues and reinforcement.
Motivation: The inward drive people have to get what they need or want.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explain the belief that
people are motivated to meet their basic needs before
fulfilling higher-level needs.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is shaped like a pyramid.
Levels are described from bottom to top.
The first level is physiological. Examples of these needs
are breathing, food, water, and sleep.
The second level is safety. Examples : security of body,
employment, resources, family, health, body,.
The third level is love and belonging. Examples:
friendship, and family.
The fourth level is esteem. Examples; confidence,
achievement, respect of others
The top level is self-actualization. Examples :
Identifying Consumer Priorities: By understanding where consumers are in the hierarchy, marketers can
tailor their products and messaging to meet those specific needs.
For example, a consumer wants to meet basic needs are interested in affordable, important products,
while a consumer at a self-actualization level may seek products that enhance personal growth
Targeting the Right Market: Different consumer segments are at different levels of the hierarchy. By
investigating these needs, marketers can target specific groups more effectively.
For instance, luxury brands may focus on consumers who have their physiological and safety needs met
and are now focused on esteem or self-actualization needs.
Crafting Effective Messaging: The hierarchy helps marketers craft messages If they understand which
needs are most pressing for their target audience,
For example, health-related products might focus on safety and security, while lifestyle products could
focus on esteem and social belonging.
Product Development and Positioning: Maslow’s Hierarchy also informs the development of new
products and their positioning.
Marketers can use the hierarchy to create products that cater to specific levels of need.
For example, a company producing vitamins may first address basic health needs (physiological) and later
position their products to meet higher needs like self-actualization through achievement
Enhancing Consumer Loyalty: When marketers align their products with consumers’ deeper needs, they
can build stronger emotional connections and brand loyalty.
2- Situational and Personal Influences on Consumer Behavior
Time: Time considerations often affect purchasing decisions.
Surroundings: such as crowd size, smell, and store appearance, can affect decision making.
Personality: distinctive characteristics that lead an individual to respond to certain situations.
Lifestyle: A person’s typical way of life as expressed by their activities, interests, and opinions.
Values consumer’s belief that a specific behavior is socially or personally preferable to another behavior.
3- Sociocultural Influences on Consumer Behavior
Family Influences: For some cultures, family is the primary influence.
Reference Groups: Made up of people to whom a consumer compares themselves.
Opinion Leaders: Individuals who exert an unequal amount of influence on the decisions of others
because they are considered knowledgeable about particular products.
Family lifecycle describes family-related phases that an individual go through their life time. Ex,
Unmarried, Married with no kids, Married with small children or tweens, Married without
dependent children
[Link] among three variations of the consumer purchase decision process: routine, limited, and
extended problem solving.
Involvement is the personal, financial, and social significance of the decision being made.
Low-involvement products
Consumers often don’t recognize their desire for this type of product until they are in the store.
Marketers can use in-store promotion, unique packaging, to drive these types of purchases.
High-involvement products
Companies that market high-involvement products must provide potential consumers with extensive and
helpful information as they go through the decision-making process.
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[Link] how data can be used to understand the consumer decision-making process.
Using Research to Develop Predictive Models of Consumer Behavior
Understanding Influences on Consumers Models of Consumer Decision Making
In marketing we are primarily interested in how consumers think and behave in a marketplace.
Firms use data to convert theories of how people think and behave into workable models that can predict
how consumers will respond to market offerings.
Ongoing data collection must occur; for example, consumer post-purchase surveys.