The consumer decision making is defined as the process of collecting and processing information by making evaluation and selecting the best possible option to solve a problem. Consumers take elaborate steps while moving towards purchasing a given product of their choice. It’s a downward flow that starts with Problem recognition, Information search, Alternative evaluation, Purchase, Use and post purchase Evaluation. Problem recognition The buying decision process begins at this stage when a consumer realizes a need to be fulfilled.
This is a very critical stage as the buyer may or may not know the solution to their problem. The customer may only be aware of a need that might change their situation. I will use a laptop to demonstrate this process. The demand for online services in the market has been going up due to change in work life and sudden shift in working environment accompanied by life style. Information search The demand for online services pushed me to conduct information search to find out the best model that will help solve my problem considering drastic shift in working environments.
I needed to know more about the main players in the industry. I started my online research and conducted searches to find more, my findings were as follows: HP, Acer, Lenovo, Sony, Dell, and HCL among others are the manufacturers in the market. Besides the work-related field, a huge number of people including students are using laptops for their day to day activities for purposes of entertainment and study. Alternative Evaluation After information search is completed I started reflecting on the kind of information I discovered. I began to evaluate various options that I got to determine the best solution to my problem.
I developed criteria for weighing my prospective choices against comparable alternatives. At this point I had a lot to consider in terms lower prices, additional product benefits, product availability, or something as personal as color or style options. I looked for reasons to believe why one solution was more beneficial than the other by making comparison list of multiple laptops. The list includes technical aspects, service, brand, and other features. The list is contained in the table below. Parameters Technical aspect Service Brand Others Type of CPU multitasking and multimedia tasks Brand of CPU Size Speed of the processor The speed at which information processed Brand associated with process size Motherboard Number of service station in the county.
Brand of motherboard Price RAM Number of programs running at ago Brand company of the RAM Size Hard disk capacity Reputation of after sale support Durability Capacity The keyboard quality Ability to type and clear view Brand company Unique feature Screen quality How comfortable the screen when reading Brand company size Battery life How long it retains power Brand company Availability of accessories Wireless network Ability to access wireless internet Brand company Speed Size Slim and light Brand company Portability The number of USB ports Plugging in external hard drives Brand company The number Finger print reader and TMP Logging into mobile devices Brand company Price Purchase Decision Once the research and evaluation are done, I made my choice having a clear pathway of the product I needed to have.
Based on information search and findings it was clear to me that HP was my best pick among many alternatives I had. Post-Purchase Evaluation This becomes my last step in the five-stages of consumer decision-making process, the path of purchase being complete at this particular stage. Post purchase evaluation needs to be done so that a reflection is made whether the right decision was arrived at before buying the product. The customer will consider if the solution accurately and fully meets their needs.
They will decide if it was worth the cost and if the brand delivered on their promises. They will feel either satisfaction or buyer’s remorse.
