Customer Buying Decision

Since time immemorial the question as to "why would any customer buy a product?" has been asked by many marketers. The answer to this question lies in at least on of the levels of the pyramid popularly know as Maslow's hierarchy of needs:

Now one of the process of the pyramid influences the consumer to go for a particular product depending on his current need and the way the product will be useful in the scenario.

The actual process of buying a product depends on two main factors which are Consumer Behavior and the Buying Decision Process. Let try and break these terms down into more simple sentences.

Consumer Behavior:

Consumer Behavior is defined as "the study of how individuals, groups and organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants".

 

Consumer behavior in simple words is the study of individuals buying behavior, why and when he/she goes for a particular product. Based on this behavior the marketer  positions' his image and the offering from his product. The marketer has to take into consideration his target audience and how they might react to whatever he decides to project.

 

Most of the time the ultimate buying decision is based on the methodical evaluation of alternatives by a consumer even if it does not when we ourselves act as a consumer. The above stages of Maslow's pyramid can be summed up using 5 stage model which proposes the same thing:

 

 

1. Problem recognition

 

The buying process starts when the buyer recognizes a problem or need triggered by internal or external factors. The inception happens when consumer realizes that he requires something. Later this realization turns into a purchase.

a. In this case when the buyer realizes that he has the problem of dry skin during winters or chapped lips and skin during winter. The need for a thing which can solve these problems arises and the hunt begins.

 

2. Information Search

 

After realizing the problem, the buyer sets out to search for products which might satisfy his current need. This is called the information search phase. The required information can be acquired from different sources by the buyer :

 

a. Personal: Family, friends, neighbors etc.
b. Commercial: Advertisements, Flyers, Salespersons, Websites etc.
c. Public: Mass media, ratings etc.
d. Experiential: Contact with the product, use, feeling the product etc.

 

3. Evaluation of Alternatives

 

When it actually comes to buying part most of the times the buyer is aware of the options available to him. The next step for the buyer is quiet difficult as now he has to make the choice. The buyer usually has in mind what exactly he wants form the potential product and thus he evaluates and eliminates the choices depending on few parameters he already has in his mind.

 

For example, when the buyer wants to buy a petroleum jelly he can go for the Vaseline or for Emami's petroleum jelly. ON what parameter he buys anyone of the them is a different matter.

 

4. Purchase Decision

 

At this stage the buyer or the consumer makes the actual decision of purchase and decides which product to go for. He makes the decision after many considerations of factors such as brand, pricing, quality of the product, loyalty etc.

 

At this stage the marketer has to be extremely careful with the product positioning from the point of view of perceived risks, which might be :

 

a. Functional risk: Product performance
b. Physical risk: Product may cause physical harm or discomfort to user
c. Financial risk: Worth of the product
d. Social risk: Using the product brings embarrassment to user
e. Psychological risk: Product affects mental well being of the user
f. Time risk: Product is not worth the time invested in it and in cases, time that would be invested later looking for a better replacement.

 

5. Post-Purchase Behavior

 

The behavior of a consumer post making a purchase may be termed as post-purchase behavior.
This is based on how the product perform to the expectations and promise, his experience with the product, how satisfied he is with his purchase. This could be termed as "Post-purchase Satisfaction."

 

The satisfaction level of the buyer determines what we might call "Post-purchase Actions". If the buyer is quite happy with the product, he might buy the product again next time, ending up as a repeat buyer of the product and might recommend the product to potential customers. On the other hand reverse also can happen. If the buyer has a bad experience with the product he might do what is called negative publicity for the product and may lead potential customers away from the product.

 

Apart form the consumers reaction to the product the post purchase behavior also shows how the buyer uses the product and how he disposes the product in the end. The figure below explains the concept more clearly:

 

 

In the end the consumer may say "hey, Vaseline does a very good job with chapped lips" or " hey you should try Vaseline petroleum jelly for your dry skin in winters". On the other hand it might also happen " What did I just used ??"

 

The decision of using a petroleum jelly with the lotion everyday after bath during winters by the buyer is what the marketer has to tap in. What type of quality the marketer delivers to the buyer in terms of protection against dry skin and chapped lips during winter is an important deciding factor.