For Jackie Grey
aewtts
the_buying_process...docxRunning head: THE ONLINE BUYING PROCESS 1
THE ONLINE BUYING PROCESS 9
The Online Buying Process
Name
Institution
Definition of the Buying Process
“A buying process refers to a system or sequence of steps that a consumer or buyer of a good is willing and ready to take before making a decision to purchase a good or service” (Solomon et al., 2014). The globally accepted model of the consumer decision-making process encompasses problem recognition, search and determination of alternatives, evaluation of the alternatives, purchase decision, and the post-purchase evaluation (Solomon et al., 2014). It is important for a consumer to follow the above processes keenly to ensure that he makes the best decision about the product or service to purchase. The online buying process is similar to the normal or physical buying process with the exception being that with online buying, one has to place and order through the internet. Like other marketers, Internet marketers must also familiarize themselves with the online buying process to ensure they maximize their promotional efforts and get rid of any unnecessary losses from sales. This familiarizing will help the individual understand and anticipate the patterns of buying of the target market and ensure he or she positions himself or herself to a position where they get the best results.
In reality, a majority of people has at least a passive idea of the basic steps involved in the buying process whether they realize it or not (Karimi et al., 2015). Some of the key steps that people are usually aware of include recognition, evaluation of the alternatives, and purchase decision. Despite the fact that the above key steps are similar in both online and physical buying, they also have significant differences. For instance, the evaluation process is usually very slow in the offline buying process as compared to the online buying the process. When buying a product offline, one usually asks for an opinion from friends and family. Consumers can also get information about the product through reading a magazine, newspaper, or any other relevant source that has information about the product that they wish to purchase. This procedure makes the evaluation process very long.
Another notable difference occurs at the purchase decision stage. Normally, the expectations of the consumers are very different when comparing online and offline buying at this stage (Karimi et al., 2015). For instance, in a shop, most customers usually just by the product or consult the shopkeeper before buying a product. However, in online shopping, the customers usually have the luxury of pulling out of the purchase unless they sure the buying process fast, secure, clear, and simple. Mid check out is one of the biggest areas where online businesses usually lose their most of their sales. Therefore, it is important for all online businesses to keep their checkout process simple and secure by demanding little information and providing few and easy steps of purchasing. Therefore, it is evident that though online buying is similar to offline buying, there are significant differences that marketers must understand and take into consideration. A business should understand that treating an online customer in the same manner it treats an offline customer means that it will lose many potential conversations (Solomon et al., 2014).
Problem Recognition
The recognition of a problem or need is the first step in the buying process and one of the most important ones. The general rule of marketing stipulates that a purchase only arise when there is a need (Luo et al., 2015). The recognition of a problem usually happens when there is a gap between the actual situation of the consumer and the ideal and desired situation of the consumer. However, it is important to note that not all needs end up as buying behavior. A lag or gap must exist between the actual and ideal situation for buying to occur. For instance, one can feel the need to purchase a car to ease his or her movement yet the person does not have the financial capability of buying and maintaining a car. As a result, the person will not turn the need for a car into a buying behavior. However, the “way” or means to obtain the ideal situation must be perceived to be “acceptable” by the consumer depending on the level of importance he or she places on the need. The “way” may include the price of the product or service and the ease or speed of acquisition among others.
For instance, consider yourself having a pool that you want someone to take care of the regular cleaning on your behalf (ideal situation) because it annoys you, or you are busy with other things (actual situation). However, it is hard to judge the “way” to reach or get the ideal situation (maybe pay $250 monthly to a qualified and specialized company) as “acceptable” because the price seems relatively high. The price seems relatively high as compared to the importance that the owner attaches to the swimming pool. Therefore, a purchase will not occur in such a situation. On the other hand, if one can be able to work by a car in twenty minutes on a daily basis (ideal situation) instead of losing three or four hours in transit for lack of a car (actual situation) has great importance to the person. Therefore, the person is willing and ready to have the buying behavior of purchasing a car even though the price of the car is also very important.
For the case of buying a book from Kindle Store, one must first feel the need of buying the book online and have a computer or tablet that they can use to read the e-book (ideal situation). If the person decides to borrow it from a friend who has a hard copy of the book (actual situation), he or she might have some hardships because they might find the other person using. Therefore, regardless of the price, the person is willing and ready to have the buying behavior of purchasing a book.
The gap or lag that results from the ideal situation and the actual situation usually arises because of three main cases. The first case is the scenario where the present or current situation has not changed yet the ideal situation has changed. For instance, the person you borrow the book from has told you about buying the book online something that you did not know in the first place. The second case is where the ideal situation has remained intact yet the actual situation has changed. For instance, trying to borrow the book on weekends because you think the owner is not using it. The last scenario is where both the ideal and actual situations have changed (Luo et al., 2015).
The search and the determination of alternatives
After identifying the need, the next step is for the consumer to gather information about all the possible solutions to the problem at hand. The amount of information that the consumer searches depends on the complexity of the choice that he or she has to make and the level of involvement or the importance he or she attaches to the product (Karimi et al., 2015). For example, buying a book requires little information as compared to buying a car. The consumer will then have to make an opinion that will guide his or her decision-making process with the internal information and external information. Internal information is the information that is present in the consumer’s memory. Most of this information comes from past experiences he or she had with the product or brand and the opinion that he or she has on the product or brand. When purchasing products to use daily, internal information is usually sufficient because the customer is usually familiar with these products.
On the other hand, the purchase of major products usually involves a stronger level of uncertainty yet the consumer does not have adequate information about the product (Luo et al., 2015). Therefore, the consumer will turn to another source to get information about the product. This information is what comprises the external information. External information is the information about a brand or product that a consumer gets from his or her friends, family, and reviews from other sources such as the press. The consumer can also get the information from the official business source through advertising. During the decision to determine the best alternative to acquiring, the consumer usually pays more attention to the internal information and the information from friends, family, and other consumers. The decision on the best alternative will be guided by the objective of the consumer and not by the advertisement.
Evaluation of the alternatives
The third step that follows the collection of the information is the evaluation of the different alternatives that one has. The evaluation process involves evaluation of the most suitable alternative to his or her needs and choosing the alternative that he or she thinks is best for him or her (Luo et al., 2015). To do so, the consumer must evaluate his or her alternatives on two aspects. The first aspect is the objective characteristic while the second aspect is the subjective characteristic. The objective characteristic includes functionality and features of the product among others. The subjective characteristics include the perception and the perceived value of the product or brand depending on its reputation. It is important to that different consumers attribute varied importance to their decision. For instance, one might prefer to buy a certain book because of its reputation rather than use a book that most people do not know about. On the other hand, another person might a bad perception of the same book because of his or her past experience. The consumer will use the information he or she has to determine the desirable criteria that include the desirable features. He or she will then classify the alternatives they have and determine the most suitable for their needs.
The Purchase Decision
At this point, the consumer has evaluated the different alternatives that provide the solution to his or her need. The consumer is also able to choose the product or brand that they feel will satisfy their need. The next step is to proceed with the actual purchase of the product or brand. The purchase decision of the consumer will depend on the information and the selection they made in the previous step depending on the features of the product, the perceived value, and the important capabilities. The quality of the shopping experience, return policy or good terms, conditions of sale, and the availability of promotion may also affect the consumer buying decision and their decision process (Luo et al., 2015). For instance, if the consumer wants to purchase a book from Kindle Store then when trying to purchase the book online he or she feels they demand too much information or the procedure is complicated, he or she might switch to another store.
Post-Purchase Evaluation
After purchasing and using the product, the consumer usually evaluates the product depending on the original needs (i.e., the needs that caused the buying behavior). The consumer will try to evaluate whether they made the right choice in buying the product or not. The result is that the consumer might feel either a sense of satisfaction or a sense of disappointment (Luo et al., 2015). The consumer feels a sense of satisfaction if the product and the choice satisfy his or her original need. However, if the customer feels that the product has not met their expectations, then they tend to be disappointed. The opinion by the consumer after using the product is vital to any business because it will influence the consumer’s buying behavior in future. If the product has brought satisfaction, the consumer minimizes the stages of information and evaluation of the alternatives and buys the same product or brand. Satisfaction creates customer loyalty. On the other hand, if they are not satisfied, the consumer will repeat all the five steps of the buying process the net time he or she wants to buy the product (Luo et al., 2015).
References
Solomon, M. R., Dahl, D. W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J. L., & Polegato, R. (2014). Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Karimi, S., Papamichail, K. N., & Holland, C. P. (2015). The effect of prior knowledge and decision-making style on the online purchase decision-making process: A typology of consumer shopping behavior. Decision Support Systems, 77, 137-147.
Luo, J., Ba, S., & Zhang, H. (2012). The Effectiveness of Online Shopping Characteristics and Well-Designed Websites on Satisfaction. Mis Quarterly,36(4), 1131-1144.
