Buying Decision Process

Consumer buying behavior refers to the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products. This behavior affects the buying decision process which is further dependent on various factors. Marketers today, need to study all of these elements so as to help their businesses grow leaps and bounds. 

What is Consumer Buying Behavior? 

Consumer buying behavior is the entirety of a buyer's mentalities, inclinations, goals, and choices in regards to the customer's conduct in the commercial center when acquiring an item or administration. It is the procedure by which people look for, select, buy, use, and discard products and enterprises, in fulfillment of their needs and needs. The investigation of buyer conduct draws upon sociology orders of human sciences, brain research, social science, and financial matters. The investigation of customer purchasing conduct is an interdisciplinary branch of knowledge drawing broadly from humanism, brain research, human sciences and so forth. 

Buying Decision Process And Its Stages 

The buying decision process is the decision-making process used by consumers regarding market transactions before, during, and after the purchase of a good or service. This process has 6 stages: 

1. Problem Recognition: 

The very first step of a buying decision process is problem recognition or awareness of a need. In this stage, a person recognizes a problem or need and identifies the product that can help overcome it. Suppose a person finds out that his shoes are worn out. As soon as he realizes it, he figures out that he needs to search for good shoes. 

2. Information Search: 

Problem recognition is followed by information research. Now that a person has realized that he needs a pair of shoes, he starts searching for a pair that perfectly matches his requirements. This person may either search online or rely on friends and relatives (word of mouth). 

3. Evaluation of Alternatives: 

Successful information research leaves a buyer with a number of options to choose from. In the given example, the buyer would have options such as: 

• casual sneakers
• slip-ons
• brogues
• Derbys 

Now that he has a lot of options, he would evaluate the searched alternatives to understand which product would be appropriate. 

4. Purchase Decision: 

Once the evaluation has taken place, it's time that the buyer zeroes down upon a product that he feels is the most satisfactory. This decision may be affected by two things:

what the other peers of the consumer think of the product

unforeseen circumstance like financial losses which led to not buying of the product. 

5. Purchase: 

In case the buyer has the intention of buying what he has zeroed upon, he may simply pay and get what he desires. However, the purchase of that product depends upon factors such as product availability. 

6.Post-Purchase Evaluation: 

This is the last stage of buying decision process. Now that the buyer has got the desired product, he may either be satisfied or dissatisfied with it. He may either be very happy with his new shoes or be doubtful about his decision. In this case, if a buyer buys slip-ons, he may feel, derbys would have looked better with his outfit. This issue can be reduced by warranties, after sales communication etc. 

There are three models from which we can examine Buyer Decision Processes. 

• Economic Models 

These models are based on the Rational Behaviour of the consumers that is logic based. Here, the buying decisions are made on the basis of the available economic resources at hand and concepts like Game Theory and Consumer Theory can be used during some circumstances. 

• Psychological Models 

These models are qualitative based rather than quantitative based like Economic Models. They are built upon external social factors like Family and Cultural Influences. 

• Consumer Behaviour Models 

Marketing companies utilize these models. They are a mixture of Psychological and Economic Models. 

Types of Consumer Buying Behavior 

As a matter of fact, a customer basic leadership contrasts with the sort of purchasing choice they have to make. There would be a ton of contrast in the purchasing behavior of an individual when heshe would buy facewash or a branded handbag. Here are the top four consumer buying behaviors that can be seen in consumers around the globe: 

Complex buying behaviour 

This kind of behavior can be seen when a buyer is about to buy an expensive product. Customers go through complex buying behaviour when they are highly involved in the purchase process as they may not buy such a product frequently and may probably need to learn a lot about it before investing their hard earned money in such an expensive, barely-known product. In this case, the customers make out a significant difference among the brands. 

Dissonance buying behavior 

In dissonance buying behavior, consumer is highly involved in the purchase but the difference between brands is not that pronounced. It happens in the case of financial services products, such as insurance or investment. Dissonance is all about the consumers choosing such products on the basis of price or convenience and then seeking further confirmation, after the purchase, that they made the right choice. 

Habitual buying behavior 

This type of buying behavior can be seen when the consumers purchase things that they are used to purchasing every now and then e.g. toothpaste. Such products are not at all costly and there are few differences between brands. The consumer buys such product quickly. 

Variety-seeking buying behaviour 

Consumers go through variety-seeking buying behavior when they are looking for variety. This kind of behavior sees very low consumer involvement, but noteworthy brand differences. In this case, once the consumers use a product, they tend to evaluate it and when the next time they go out to buy the product they would reach for some other brand, just for the sake of variety. 

The Importance Of Knowing Consumer Behavior: 

Consumer behavior holds significant importance in a business's success. In fact, businesses around the globe are turning customer-centric. The reason? Well, a business that offers what it customers love, thrives better than the ones that do not. Here's a list of all that a business can do with a deep knowledge of its consumers' behavior: 

• Boost sales 

Businesses can easily and effectively improve their sales figures when they study the likes, dislikes, buying patterns and other such facts about their customers in detail. Knowing their customers thoroughly can help businesses design their products and sell them, just the way their customers desire. alter the way we sell our products depending on the ways that customers buy them. 

• More relevant marketing programme 

In-depth knowledge of consumer can help prepare a business's marketing programme more objectively. It becomes a lot easier to make better decisions regarding elements such as price, promotion, and distribution decisions if a business knows it, customers, better. This further speeds up the process of achieving marketing goals. 

• Competitive analysis 

When you dive into the interests and buying patterns of your customers, you not only get to know what they like and dislike but also what products of your competitors are appealing to them. It also lets you know about the attributes and the features that the customer is valuing above your company.  Once you have all of this information, you can plan strategies and design products that help you stay ahead of your competitors and lure all their customers. 

• Predicting market trends 

Apart from helping you stay ahead of the competition, consumer behaviour can also help in projecting the future market trends. Marketers can easily figure out emerging opportunities, latest preferences among their customers, challenges and threats. Thereafter, they can eradicate the threats and make the most out of the available opportunities. 

• Developing new products 

As a part of exploiting emerging new opportunities, marketers can come up with new products that are exclusively designed in respect to needs and wants of the target market. So, a thorough study of consumer behaviour is inevitable when trying to make a business successful. 

Examples Of Buyer Decision Processes 

Example 1: An interesting example of a Buyer Decision Process based on the Economic Model is that people buy grocery commodities based upon the monthly or weekly budget they have planned for their Kitchen Shopping. They do not overspend while shopping for items like Food Oil, Salt, Cereals and Sugar. 

Example 2: Another interesting example of a Buyer Decision Process on a Psychological Model is when people buy dresses and accessories during festivals to embark their celebrations. They do not lay much stress on the expenditure involved in the shopping as the joy of festive shopping as per the social mood prevails more over the mind. 

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Decision Process 

Marketers around the globe leverage consumer buying decision process not only to understand the past but even predict the future. The beneath underlined factors relating to the inclinations, frame of mind, and needs of individuals must be given due significance to have a fairly good understanding of the purchasing patterns of consumers: 

• Purchasing power 

Consumer behavior is highly driven by the purchasing power of a consumer. Every consumer analyzes his/her purchasing capacity before making a decision to buy any product or services. 

• Age and human lifecycle 

Consumer preferences largely depend upon their age and lifecycle. As an example, teenagers prefer buying bright colours and bold patterns while a middle-aged or elderly individual prefer sober colors and subtle designs. 

• Social factors 

Social factors include reference groups, family, the role and status of a consumer. A consumer depends upon these factors when making a purchase. WOM plays a vital role when it comes to buying certain products and services. 

• Economic condition 

As a matter of fact, the buying tendency of an individual is directly proportional to his income/earnings per month. Individuals with high income would buy expensive and premium products while the ones from middle and lower income group would spend mostly on necessary items. 

So these are the basics of a buyer decision process that students pursuing degrees in marketing need to know in order to perform great in academics and get good grades on assignments on topics such as buyer decision process. Students often fail to get a clear idea of concepts related to consumer buying behavior during long and boring lectures. As a result, they face difficulties when studying for exams or working on assignments on such topics. That’s when they feel a need to turn to books by marketing experts, online resources. Here’s a list of the books that may help them get a better understanding of  concepts related to consumer buying behavior: 

• Marketing by Richard Sandhusen (Third Edition).
• Lifestyle Marketing: Reaching the New American Consumer by Ronald D. Michman. Edward M. Mazze and Alan J. Greco. 

Sometimes, even the best of resources can’t help the students create assignments that help them achieve their dream grades. It may be due to a lack of time due to hectic academic schedule, exam pressure, procrastination or a fear of getting their work rejected. That’s when online assignment help steps in as their savior. 

When students are desperately searching for online assignment help, they may come across a lot of services that claim to offer the best services. However, students need to identify services that are genuinely there to help them and not just to rob them of their money. 

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References: 

(https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-consumer-buying-behavior-definition-types-quiz.html)

(https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/marketing-and-strategy-terms/13930-consumer-buying-behaviour.html)

(https://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/consumer-buying-behavior.html)

(https://isngs.com/consumer-buying-behaviours-types/)

(https://managementation.com/4-types-of-consumer-buying-behavior/)

(https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/consumer-behavior/importance-of-studying-consumer-behaviour/48594)

(https://www.marketing91.com/importance-consumer-buying-behavior/)

(https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/consumer-behavior/importance-of-studying-consumer-behaviour/48594)