MARKETING

Consumer Decision Making: Softsoap

Paper #1 3/14/14 [Student name removed for privacy]

Executive Summary:

Body wash is a product that just about everyone uses on a daily basis. It is not an expensive product and it is something that you buy quite often. When you run out of one body wash you must go to the store and pick another one. It may sound easy but there are many decision making steps that go along with choosing the right one for you. You don’t just have to go through the decision making process steps. You also have to look into specifics about the brand and product. It is about how the product makes you feel, how you connect with the product. You may not know, but your personality can influence your decision. It can make you pick one brand of body wash over another. Other factors such as the look, smell, knowledge and attitude can also affect your decision. I ended up going with Softsoap. It was not the cheapest or most expensive when it came to price. I went with a product that was very appealing and attractive to me, the one that I heard good things about. I didn’t have any problem when it came to finding or making my purchase. It is a common product that you can find at any local drugstore or supermarket. Since the product is cheap and one I buy often I didn’t have to worry too much about what to do if I didn’t like it. I am glad I made my decision and went with Softsoap. It was a great quality product and had everything in it that I wanted. It also gave me things that I didn’t think it would, for example it made me feel a little fancier since it wasn’t the boring cheap Suave. The process in choosing the right body wash went very smoothly and in the end I believe I made a great choice in choosing Softsoap.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 2

Introduction 4

Decision Making Process 4

Attitudes towards the Product 6

Affect, Cognition, Behavior 7

Perception and Reality 7

Attention 8

Memory, Retention, Learning 8

Motivation 9

Personality 9

Involvement level 10

Intentions 10

Knowledge 10

Judgment 10

Summary/Conclusion 11

References 12

Introduction:

I had to make a decision after figuring out my body wash was empty. I became a customer and had to make the decision as to which brand and product to buy. I wanted to make sure that I went through all the steps of the decision making process. I had my need, then had to do some research, weigh my options, make my choice and evaluate. I also looked at specific features in the consumer decision making process. When looking at the different body washes. I wanted a product that was of good quality. I didn’t want it to be too watery. I also wanted to pay close attention to the price. I didn’t want something above $4. I think that is too much for something that you have to buy all the time, and since I am a young college student, I do not have a ton of money. Body wash is a product that I use every day. It is something that I buy often and that also must smell good to give me extra confidence. All in all, the steps in the decision making process and looking at the consumer behaviors were not easy but after evaluation I made a purchase and found a good body wash.

Decision Making Process:

The first step of the decision making process is problem recognition. This is the step where I first realized that I needed body wash. While taking a shower one day, I realize that my body wash is low and that I need to get more. So I make the decision to go to the store in order to fulfill my need and get more body wash.

The next step is the information search which has two parts. The first part I went through was the internal search. I recalled different brands that I have used in the past. I thought about the price, how they felt on my skin, different scents I liked or disliked. The second part is the external search. Here I went and asked my mom for advice of what soap would be the best and asked if she had any suggestions. I also used advertising that I had previously seen. I also went and searched in two different stores. I went to CVS and Walmart. I looked at the different products and started to compare and contrast.

The third step is evaluation of alternatives. During this stage I looked at different brands as alternatives. Some of the brands that I considered were Suave, Softsoap, Dove, Olay, Herbal Essences, St. Ives, and Dial. There were some I eliminated quickly because of price. These included Dove, Olay, and Herbal Essences. Looking at the remaining brands I took out St. Ives. Although that brand is known for being prestigious to me I think of that as older. The scents were also not to my liking. This left me with Dial, Suave, and Softsoap. I have heard rave reviews of each of the three. From research they are all excellent. They all of a good price and have yummy smell scents. For the following three body washes I had to do additional research. When evaluating Dial I found out they have three different types of products, one that is fresh, one that moisturizes, and the last that nourishes. The nourishing products were instantly attractive. They had ones that was for skin therapy, vitamin boost, and with antioxidants. Suave on the other hand did not have as many features. They have creamy naturals and naturals. From past experiences I know I do not like creamy naturals. When looking at the naturals they have great scents. They offer nothing special for your skin except to get you clean and to smell good. Of the three body washes, this one was the cheapest though. The final product I looked into was Softsoap. They also had attractive features. They have their skincare collection which has body butter which includes a scrub, ultra-rich, and one with coconut oil which is good for your skin. Their normal soaps are called their fragrance collection. All the flavors are very unique. They are also moisturizing body washes and have moisture beads.

After looking at all the alternatives it was time for me to make my decision. With the unique flavors, good price, and moisture beads I decided to go with Softsoap. The good brand and reasonable price made me want to try this product. I next had to decide where and when to buy. The “when to buy” was pretty easy. I knew that I was out, and that I would need it the next day when I went to take my shower. I could not wait around for it to go on sale more; I had to buy it that day. I was going out to two stores that day, CVS and Walmart so I knew that I would buy it from one of those stores. I thought about where they would have the best selection, and where, if any place would have good sales or promotions. Since this was a cheap product I didn’t have to worry that much about return policies. They are also generic stores so the atmosphere of the store really didn’t play a role in the process. I ended up getting Juicy Pomegranate and Mango Infusion Softsoap from the fragrance collection. I purchased it from Walmart because they had a larger selection of scents and it was a cheaper price.

After using the product I am extremely satisfied with the product. It definitely leaves your skin soft. The scent is also great. It is not one of the scents that you can barely smell it is strong but not too strong. Overall, I feel great about the purchase that I made. I believe that what I got was of great value. I now know next time I need body wash I do not need to search out brands because I plan on buying Softsoap again and again. It is by far the best body wash that I have used and it is a great price.

Attitudes towards the Product:

I have an overall great and positive attitude towards the product. I had a great experience using the product. It was exactly as advertised. This makes me very trusting towards the brand as well since I got what was advertised. I am also very open to other things by the Softsoap brand now too. I feel optimistic and confident that that this product will be good for a long time and that any product I buy that is Softsoap will be equally satisfying. I have a positive attitude not only about the product, but the store and the whole purchasing situation. Since I was just buying body wash and it was a less than $5 purchase it was easy to do and to buy. I was very satisfied and happy.

Affect, Cognition, Behavior:

Affect, cognition, and behavior are all attitude components that were in my buying situation. First is affect which included my emotions and feelings about the product. I had a good feeling about the product. It seemed to be a good product and made me happy to buy it. I also like things that are unique and smell good. I don’t want a dull smell and that helped when making my decision. From a cognitive perspective I loved the certain features of the product like the beads. I believed this put it about the rest. I also thought that the certain attributes made it more appealing. I liked that it looked energizing and the price was good. Overall, the benefits of the product were very good. Lastly, the behavioral component, which is how you respond to the product, made me want to buy this specific body wash again. It also made me want to purchase and to recommend and spread the word of how good it is to family and friends.

Perception and Reality:

My perception of the product before I bought it was based off the looks and information that I had heard. Visually I thought it was a very good looking product. I saw it as clean, bright and fresh. I had not seen many advertisements, maybe just one but that ad really stuck in my head. The product itself also had a good balance between looking random and deliberate. It was not random enough to make it look careless or messy and also not so deliberate that it looks stiff or forced but rather a good mix of both showing how the product is important. I also perceived the product as more than the cheap boring stuff. Although it was cheap, it caught my attention of being nice and higher end. The special features also made me think highly of the product. In reality it was very similar to my perception. I did not feel let down. Softsoap was as advertised and my perception of it was pretty accurate.

Attention:

The first thing that got my attention of the product was the unique scents. They were not just like grape or orange but rather juicy pomegranate and mango infusion, sweet honeysuckle and orange peel, citrus splash and berry fusion, acai berry and tropical water etc. They were also bright colors and the bottles were a cool streamline design. It was very fresh and modern looking. The pictures on the front were also fun, inviting and bright. I also really liked the price. It was a big bottle for only around $3.50. Another thing that caught my eye was the moisture beads. You could see through the bottle and you could see the beads. This was a huge plus because it set it above the rest of the kinds of body washes. All of these factors just made this product so much more attractive to me over other products and brands. It was more unique and had elements of fancy body wash for a cheap price.

Memory, Retention, Learning:

Memory, retention, and learning impacted my product purchase. Memory was slightly used because I remember being told by family and friends that this was a good brand. I also remembered different advertisements that featured beneficial aspects of the product. I retained all that information as well and it left me with positive thoughts about the product. Memory also came into effect when thinking about what product to choose because it helped me narrow down my choice. I have had bad experience and have hear negative things about some brands so I knew what I didn’t want to buy by thinking about what I had previously been told. Learning was also impacted in my product purchase. I had to learn some about the product in order to make my decision. Although, I was not overly worried about picking a bad product, since it was cheap and I purchase it often, I still wanted something I would enjoy. I learned about the different features and this caused my behavior to change because it made me really want the product. It also made me learn that I wanted to buy this product again. I want to be a repeat customer because I was satisfied by the product. Lastly, learning also brought me towards this product and away from others when I was doing research and comparing and contrasting the products and their features.

Motivation:

My motivation was not that high when it came to securing the product. Although, after research I did want the product because I thought it was best. If I could not have got that one, I could have easily found another replacement. This is not one of those products that I go store to store searching for. I will more often get it where it is most convenient. If they wouldn’t have had it I would have just gone with the next best. I just wanted the Softsoap for personal fulfilment. Overall even after buying the product and having such a positive experience, my motivation to buy this product is moderately low. As much as I loved it, I feel like I could find something else to use if I had to.

Personality:

My personality probably had a little impact on my product purchase as well. I would say that I am unique, friendly, and a very positive person. I liked how the scents were unique because it was like me. I also liked how the picture and label was friendly and inviting it was also bright giving a good impression. If I would have to give the bottle and scent of Softsoap a personality I would say it would be a lot like mine. It was bright and colorful which makes me think of happy, bubbly and cheerful. This all being said I felt like I could relate. My personality also being upbeat I wanted something that could wake me up and that looked happy. That is why I went with Softsoap.

Involvement level:

When buying Softsoap there was a low involvement because of the low price and because it is something I buy frequently. I really didn’t have to put too much work into researching the product. If it didn’t work as I wanted, or if I didn’t like it, it would not have been that big of a deal. The personal, social, and economic risk was all very low. Since it was low involvement this affected my product purchase because I knew there was low risk and it didn’t matter as much. There was no pressure.

Intentions:

My original intention was to just get a new body wash. I wanted one that smelled good and left my skin feeling nice and soft. I also wanted one that was a good cheap price. I did not want to spend over $4 for a bottle. I really did not deteriorate that much from my original intention. Although, I thought I would just pick the cheapest one. I did decide to go with the one that was the best overall value. I did this because I wanted the most out of my money and I also decided I wanted to find something that I really loved. Other than that I got exactly what I thought I was going to get.

Knowledge:

I only had a little bit of internal knowledge. I knew that the brand had a good reputation. I also had heard that it does make your skin very soft. From family and advertisements I had previously seen. I knew that the product would be pretty good. I knew at least that it wasn’t a bad product. This did have a slight impact on my decision because if I had heard bad stuff about the product then I probably would not have bought it. I would have found an alternative and went with one of them instead.

Judgment:

I did not have very many biases on the store, situation, or product. The store was one that I shop at often. The situation was relatively easy to figure out and the product was just a body wash. The decision did not have too much input in it. I had only heard good thing about the product but I had also heard good thing about other alternatives. In the ultimate buying situation I didn’t have any preconceived judgments or biases.

Summary/Conclusion:

The decision making process is not easy. There are a lot of steps and things as a consumer that you do not initially realize. You see stuff, feel a certain way, or perceive things one way and you may not even realize that you do. When picking out a body wash I had to go through the different decision making steps. It was not that hard of a task because of the low involvement of the product. I believe if I had a product that was more expensive, or that I bought less often, I would have to put a lot more thought, research, time and effort into it. Even with this little product I had to take a lot of things into consideration. It was the features, price, and how the product made me feel. A big factor that went into my decision was also what I knew or heard about from friends and family. Word of mouth and hearing positive things helped me make my decision. Any knowledge that I already knew or that I gathered though the decision making process also weighed heavily on my decision. After going through the steps and picking out Softsoap I think I made a great decision. I am completely satisfied with my choice. I love the price, scent, and everything about the product. From a marketing perspective I think the marketing team of Softsoap did an excellent job. They made me a huge fan of their brand. They also had many ways that attracted me to the brand like the bold colors and scents, and the design. Overall, Softsoap exceeded my expectations and is a great product.

References

Body Wash - Fragrance & Premium Moisturizing Body Wash Collections - Skin Bath Moisturizer, Hydrating Cleanser | Softsoap®. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2014, from http://www.colgate.com/app/Softsoap/US/EN/Body-Wash.cvsp#Collection=Fragrance-Collection

body wash - Walmart.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2014, from http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?Find=Find&_refineresult=true&ic=16_0&search_constraint=0&search_query=body+wash&facet=gender%3AWomen

Body Wash | Dial. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2014, from http://www.dialsoap.com/category/body-wash

Body Wash | Suave. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2014, from http://www.suave.com/product/category/661994/body-body-wash