Making Process
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this unit you should be able to:
Analyse, step by step, the decision making process and indicate
what happens after a product or service has been purchased.
Indicate how buyers take decisions in the industrial purchasing
process.
Explain how consumer buyer behaviour differs from business
buying behaviour.
, Introduction
This chapter examines the dynamics of consumer buying behavior and
consumer markets. Markets (and those who serve them) must be
understood before marketing strategies can be developed. The
consumer market purchases goods and services for personal use.
Regarding the individuals in the consumer market, the consumer's
behavior is influenced by the buyer's decision-making process.
Relationships are drawn between the factors (and sub-factors) and
consumers' out-of-pocket purchases. Because many of these factors are
deep and long-lasting, the marketing manager should pay particular
attention to acquiring information about them in relation to the
company's target markets. Decisions vary based on the level of buyer
involvement and the level of differences between brands. The simple
model (consisting of five stages of need identification, information
search and evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post-
purchase behavior) links material about the purchase decision process.
Obviously, the buying process begins long before the actual purchase
and continues long after. Marketers need to focus on the entire buying
process and not just the purchase decision. When making more routine
purchases, consumers often skip or reverse some of these steps. A
woman buying her traditional brand of toothpaste would recognize the
need and go straight to the purchasing decision, skipping the
information search and evaluation. However, the simple model takes
into account the steps that occur when a consumer is presented with a
new or complex buying situation.