Marketing Principles and Practice: Consumer Behavior (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name: Professor’s Name: Course: Date: Marketing Principles and Practice: Consumer Behavior Stages in the Consumer Decision Process The consumer decision process according to the “five-stage model” include “problem recognition,” “information search,” “evaluation of alternatives,” “purchase decision,” and “post-purchase evaluation” (Milner and Daniela 110). When it comes to “problem recognition,” economists argue that the purchase process begins with the identification of a need that consumers must fulfill. After the determination of the purchase gap, the customer engages in a search process to identify a good or service that will help meet their needs. Even though a product or service identified may stand out among other competing goods and services, the customer will compare other available options to determine whether or not the purchase decision is optimal (Milner and Daniela 113). The fourth stage involves making a decision to buy the product or service after exploring several options such as pricing, payment method, and means of delivery. In the final stage, the customer will evaluate a good or service after consumption to make a repurchase or referral decision. How a Consumer Recognizes His or He Needs  According to Abraham Maslow in his theory of “self-actualization,” consumers recognize their needs by employing the concept of “linear pattern of growth” (Milner and Daniela 113). It is this pattern of growth that makes consumers believe that there is always an opportunity to grow and fulfill the highest needs. Therefore, the recognition of a need begins with the identification of a gap in the consumption pattern, and this may be caused by low-quality goods and services, undersupply, or over-pricing. Steps in “Search/Information Processing” The “information processing” stage begins with the identification of alternative products and services. This step is followed by an internal information search. The third step involves engaging in external information search to identify the best alterative among the available options (Milner and Daniela 113). The key objective of internal and external information search is to allow the consume make compensatory and non-compensatory decisions. When it comes to making compensatory and non-compensatory decisions, the customer has to decide whether or not the desired products can be traded-off with an alternative product based on product attributes. The Importance of Automatic Association for Marketers Marketers can use automatic association to determine both the implicit attitude and cultural attitudes that affect the behaviors of consumers and other economic actors (Harris, Kelly, and John 211). Moreover, marketers can use automatic association to determine the relationship between a decision made by a consumer and his or her feelings, behaviors, and judgments. With this relationship, marketers can improve the sales of their products while at the same time working to improve customer loyalty.   Heuristics From the perspective of behavioral economists, the term “Heuristics” can be used to explain a situation in which a consumer makes decisions while basing his or her arguments on “approximate rules of thumb” and not by following the “strict rules of logic” (Morrison and Jason 13). Before deciding to purchase a product, a consumer will always weigh the risks associated with his or her decision against the benefits and make a judgment based on the supposed outcome. An example of a heuristic is where a country with a positive attitude towards nuclear power decides to assign high benefits and low risks to the products (Morrison and Jason 13). Such a decision will lead to an immediate purchase of the nuclear power because the consumer can only see a high positive risk-benefit correlation. How a Consumer May Go through a Purchase Decision Process My neighbor Tim bought a brand new laptop. After using the laptop for one month, he realized that it could no longer store power like before. Tim uses his laptop to access emails, company website, and keep regular communication with clients. It is this need that made him go the nearby store to look for a new laptop that is of higher quality. After explaining the situation, the store manager gave him laptops from various companies, explained their specifications, and gave Tim booklets to study the features of each laptop (information search). After reading the booklets, Tim decided to check other available options in newspapers, the internet, billboards, and advertisements to compare laptop features and specifications (evaluation of alternatives). He then decided to buy a new laptop from a different store and later recommended the same to me.     The Influence of a Family on Purchasing Decision Individuals make purchasing decisions based on their tastes of preferences. However, such decisions may as well be affected by the...