The Consumer Decision Process
According to Solomon et al. (2014), consumer behavior is the study of organizations and individuals, and their method of selection and use of services and products, which is mainly concerned with behavior, motivations, and psychology. Consumer behavior knowledge is vital for the success of businesses since they exist in order to satisfy the needs of consumers (Bamossy & Solomon, 2016). Businesses should identify and understand all factors, which affect their customers to have the opportunity for the development of effective strategies, marketing messages, and campaigns for advertising that is tailored to the thinking ways and needs of their target customers (Kim, Ferrin & Rao, 2008). Therefore, the report examines the process I went through in the purchase of a new laptop, an external hard disk and acquiring of an insurance plan, following the damage of the laptop I have been using after it dropped in water.
Consumer decision processes are the stages of making the decision, which a consumer undergoes during, before and after the purchase of a specific service or product (Oliver, 2014). Consumer Decision process comprises of five stages including recognizing the need, searching information for, evaluating the alternatives, purchasing, and the post-purchase behavior.
The Recognition of a need is the first stage in the decision-making process of the consumer whereby they are able to identify what their need or problem is and what products or and services would be able to satisfy the need (Puccinelli et al., 2009). Furthermore, this step is most crucial among customers in the purchasing process because if the consumer fails to perceive a need or problem, they will definitely fail to move forward with consideration of a product purchase. External and internal stimuli triggered the need. The external need arises from the environment in which consumers live while internal stimuli arise individual average need (Young e al, 2010).
Consumer’s need began when I slipped and my learning laptop fell into the water. After consulting with a technician for repair, I realize that it had crashed a hard disk drive, which is defined as the internal storage of a computer (Yoon & Lee, 2011). Furthermore, if I had insured my laptop I could claim from the insurance company. As a result, I decided it was time to replace it and get new external hard disk drive to store my academics learning materials making sure that the laptop is also insured in the case for future compensations in such incidents.
The Recognition of a Need
Search for information comes after the first step in the consumer decision-making process whereby consumers search for relevant information regarding the product (Butkevi?ien? et al., 2008). My interest to purchase a new laptop, external hard disk and an insurance plan for the new laptop was triggered by my old laptop’s damage by water, which led me to search for information on how and where to acquire the replacements. The stage was characterized by a long process in information gathering from various potential and viable sources. According to DeMooij (2010) while a consumer intends to purchase a new product, their formulation and opinions begin at the information gathering stage. I searched for information from commercial sources including salespeople, online stores, and advertisements, which have a wide range of information about laptops and electronic gadgets. Additionally, websites for companies dealing with computers gave me a deeper insight into the best computer to purchase. Public sources like newspapers and televisions also offered me an in-depth knowledge of the best computers and external hard disks in the market.
This step evaluates the various alternatives, which are available in the market (Yoon & Lee, 2011). The alternative of purchasing a laptop is to get a desktop that has advanced capabilities as that of laptop and exclude smartphones, as it will have compatibility problems with some learning software. Replacing a laptop will be costly although it is within my budget and taste and it is convenient to use, whereas purchasing a desktop will be cheaper but it is not portable so I will not use it at school. Currently, the technology market offers diverse brands from different companies each with unique features (Kim & Slater, 2013). My Toshiba brand was cheap and convenient but my desired brand is HP because of its durability and reputation. On the other side, there is also an alternative to purchasing flash disk instead of the external hard disk drive. The flash disk is cheap and available but it has low storage as compared to a hard disk drive that has high storage disk space and is very expensive (Leventhal, 2008). Buying insurance will also provide assurance of compensation although filling a claim is a tedious process and sometimes even, it may fail. Furthermore, insurance is expensive as it requires monthly premiums so the alternative is always to have a ready cash in a bank account which can replace, upgrade and do maintenance of the laptop in case of technical problems.
Searching for Information
The purchasing step comes after evaluation and consumer settle on the product of the choice to purchase (Frederiks et al., 2015). After evaluating on the best brands to purchase, I settled on buying a Hewlett-Packard laptop and a Transcend external hard disk, which was influenced by the market preference, after-sales customer service, and brand reputation. The brand also had a reasonable price compared to the specifications. I placed an order on an online platform and the laptop and external hard disk were delivered to my doorstep. For the insurance, I decided to set aside some money in my bank account to cater for unexpected breakdowns of the laptop since constantly paying for my insurance would be too extravagant.
Post-purchase behavior is the final stage that occurs after the purchasing a product and analysis from consumer whether the product fulfills the needs and was useful (Orth & Wirtz, 2014). I am highly satisfied with the overall experience when buying a new HP brand. The staff had excellent services and they were informative and friendly throughout the purchase process as they offered me great deals and advice on how to maintain my product. Furthermore, I also received a two-year laptop warranty from HP manufacturer hence giving me a sense of security and relief and also feeling I chosen the best decision by not getting insurance for my laptop from an insurance company. I am really pleased with a laptop as I have found it is easy and convenient to use in school. I am also satisfied with the external hard disk as the brand has completely satisfied my needs as I can back up my learning materials and other entertainment videos so there is no need to worry about my laptop developing any technical issues. Furthermore, I will refer a friend to purchase this product as the company has also provided me with after-sales services such as the free installation of operating systems and free consulting service.
According to Dawson &Kim (2009), various external and internal factors influenced the decisions on purchasing the products. The factors included social factors whereby I considered the advice of friends on their experience in using the Hewlett-Packard computers that led to my preference on that particular brand. Social factors influence customers towards purchasing a particular product since different people have different ideas and experiences on using various products (Hawkins, Best & Coney, 2009). Additionally, personal factors including my own experience and the type and model of preferred computer and external hard disk also influenced my purchasing decision since I wanted a simple, manageable and effective laptop that would serve the basic functions for a laptop intended for studies. Moreover, psychological factors including the need to have a portable personal computer which I can carry to the class and my experience with the broken laptop greatly influenced my laptop selection and buying decision.
Evaluation of Alternatives
Conclusion
The report has identified the different factors affecting consumer behavior; hence, it is vital for organizations to clearly understand them in order to improve customer satisfaction, increase sales and boost revenue. Complex buying behavior engages the customer since they are solely responsible for the purchasing process (Pickett-Baker & Ozaki, 2008). Organizations should therefore strive to understand consumer behavior in order to be able to serve their customers better
References
Bamossy, G. J., & Solomon, M. R. (2016). Consumer behaviour: A European perspective. Pearson Education.
Butkevi?ien?, V., Stravinskien?, J., & R?telionien?, A. (2008). Impact of consumer package communication on consumer decision making process. Engineering Economics, 56(1).
Dawson, S., & Kim, M. (2009). External and internal trigger cues of impulse buying online. Direct Marketing: An International Journal, 3(1), 20-34.
De Mooij, M. (2010). Consumer behavior and culture: Consequences for global marketing and advertising. Sage.
Frederiks, E. R., Stenner, K., & Hobman, E. V. (2015). Household energy use: Applying behavioural economics to understand consumer decision-making and behaviour. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 41, 1385-1394.
Hawkins, D., Best, R. J., & Coney, K. A. (2009). Consumer behavior. McGraw-Hill Publishing.
Kim, D. J., Ferrin, D. L., & Rao, H. R. (2008). A trust-based consumer decision-making model in electronic commerce: The role of trust, perceived risk, and their antecedents. Decision support systems, 44(2), 544-564.
Kim, N., Im, S., & Slater, S. F. (2013). Impact of knowledge type and strategic orientation on new product creativity and advantage in high?technology firms. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30(1), 136-153.
Leventhal, A. (2008). Flash storage memory. Communications of the ACM, 51(7), 47-51.
Oliver, R. L. (2014). Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer. Routledge.
Orth, U. R., & Wirtz, J. (2014). Consumer processing of interior service environments: the interplay among visual complexity, processing fluency, and attractiveness. Journal of Service Research, 17(3), 296-309.
Pickett-Baker, J., & Ozaki, R. (2008). Pro-environmental products: marketing influence on consumer purchase decision. Journal of consumer marketing, 25(5), 281-293.
Puccinelli, N. M., Goodstein, R. C., Grewal, D., Price, R., Raghubir, P., & Stewart, D. (2009). Customer experience management in retailing: understanding the buying process. Journal of retailing, 85(1), 15-30.
Solomon, M. R., Dahl, D. W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J. L., & Polegato, R. (2014). Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). London: Pearson.
Yoon, Y. B., & Lee, H. J. (2011). U.S. Patent Application No. 13/079,054.
Young, W., Hwang, K., McDonald, S., & Oates, C. J. (2010). Sustainable consumption: green consumer behaviour when purchasing products. Sustainable development, 18(1), 20-31.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
