Why It Is Important for Marketers to Understand the Consumer Decision Making
Process
Javier Ramirez
Liberty University
BUSI 520: Strategic Marketing Management
Muriel Wilson
January 14, 2022
Why It Is Important for Marketers to Understand the Consumer Decision Making
Process
Consumers are the centre of many marketers work. While the consumer is part of
the marketing environment, it is also very important to recognise and understand the more
personal and specific influences effecting consumers and the nature of the decision making
process they use.
Research suggests that customers go through a five-stage decision-making process when
making any purchase. This model implies that customers go through all stages in every
purchase they make. The challenge for the marketing team is to identify which information
sources are most influential in their target markets.
There are many factors that have an effect on buyer behaviour,
Cultural factors have a significant impact on customer behaviour.
Culture is the most basic cause of a person’s wants and behaviour. Growing up, children
learn basic values, perception and wants from the family and other important groups.
Marketing are always trying to spot “cultural shifts” which might point to new products that
might be wanted by customers or to increased demand. For example, the cultural shift
towards greater concern about health and fitness has created opportunities (and now
industries) servicing customers who wish to buy:
• Low calorie foods
• Health club memberships
• Exercise equipment
• Activity or health-related holidays etc.
Similarly the increased desire for “leisure time” has resulted in increased demand for
convenience products and services such as microwave ovens, ready meals and direct
marketing service businesses such as telephone banking and insurance.
A customer’s buying behaviour is also influenced by social factors, such as the groups to
which the customer belongs and social status.
In a group, several individuals may interact to influence the purchase decision.
The Consumer Decision Making Process
Well, they say that the customer is the king! All the efforts in the modern day
marketing are directed towards one area – and that is customer satisfaction. Marketers
today use a lot of strategies to make the consumer purchase their brand over various other
competitors. But what is it exactly that happens inside the head of the ‘king’ that the
marketers are always so interested in? What process does a consumer follow towards
making a purchase that reduces the level of his cognitive dissonance? Let’s have a look.
Buyer Behavior Report : Consumer Decision Making Process
Understanding consumer behaviour is essential to succeed in business. As Solomon
et al. (2013) stresses, businesses exist to satisfy consumer’s needs. By identifying and
understanding the factors that influences their customers, firms have the opportunity to
develop a more efficient strategy, marketing message and advertising campaigns that is
more in line with the needs and ways of thinking of their target consumers (Perreau, 2015).
Effect Of Brand Awareness / Brand Image On Consumer Buying Behavior And
Loyalty
Another integral part of understanding your customer, conveying your brand’s
image, and trying to retain that customer that shows evidence of brand loyalty is the
customer’s buying decision process. There are five steps in this process, to briefly gloss over
these steps, they go as follows: Problem Recognition, Information Search, Evaluation of
Alternatives, Purchase Decision, and Postpurchase behavior. Although these are decisions
that the consumer makes, as a marketer for a company, it is extremely important to
understand the importance of each step of this process in order to
Consumer Buying Behaviour
Consumer behaviour is 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. The emerging costumer trends play an important role in analysing the marketing
opportunities. A consumer buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social and personal
factors. The consumer passes through five stages of the buying decision process: Problem
Recognition, Information Search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post
purchase behaviour. This model is important for anyone making marketing decision and
customer pass through all stages in every purchase.
Marketing Analysis
Consumer behaviour is defined as the study of customers and the methods that they
take to choose a product or service. Marketers spend millions of dollars in research of
consumer behaviour and the creation of consumer strategies. These consumer strategies
are used in different industries to improve the image of a company and increase their sales.
These strategies increase a customer’s desire for a particular product, and can often confuse
them into believing that their product is a necessity. This is how small businesses are able to
become wealthy global industries, such as McDonald’s and IKEA.
Customers are always changing and organizations need to reevaluate their long-term
consumer strategies in order to keep up with changing lifestyles. A person’s lifestyle is
essentially who he is. A person’s habits, beliefs, morals, and financial status combine to
manifest how he chooses to live his life. It determines the choice he makes, the things he
wants and the things he purchases. Understanding the general lifestyle trends of a
population can allow a business to better market itself. If those trends change, the
organizaConsumers buying decision making play an important role for the success of every
company or organisation. Without the investigation into consumers and their buying
behaviour companies and organisation and marketer cannot achieved their aims and
objective of their goals in the sale of their product.
