Engel, Blackwell, Miniard Model (Formerly EKB Model now called BME Model) (also called Open

System): The model was originally developed in the year 1968 to serve as a framework for organizing
the fast-growing body of knowledge concerning consumer behavior. Over the years it has been revised a
no. of times at improving its descriptive ability and clarifying basic relationships between components &
sub-components.

There are five distinct aspects of consumer decision making according to the BME model:

1. Input
2. Information Processing
3. Decision Process
4. Decision Process Variables
5. External Influences

Decision Process Stage: The starting point of any purchase decision is consumer need (or
problem). This occurs when a consumer perceives a difference between his desired state and
actual state of affairs. Marketers often attempt to make customers aware of unperceived needs
and problems through marketing communications.

Information Input: The information has initial influence at the problem recognition stage of the
decision-making process.

Information Processing: This section of the model consists of consumer’s exposure, attention,
comprehension, acceptance & retention of marketer controlled or non-marketing information.

Variables Influencing Decision Process: The last section of the model consists of individual &
environmental influences that affect all the 5 stages in decision process. Individual differences
include motives, values, lifestyle, personality & attitudes; the environmental influences are
culture, social class, family & reference groups.

The above aspects have been tried to be put to use to demonstrate the consumer decision making
process in buying a Car.

Application of BME Model on Cars:

The buying decision process of a consumer i.e. the BLACK BOX has each of its components influenced by
some or the other variable. The buying decision process of the cars can be elaborated using the BME
model as follows :

1. The Problem Recognition: The problem/need recognition of a car by a consumer is triggered by many
different variables like the beliefs, lifestyle, attitude, intentions of the consumer which are called the
decision variables. Also, many external factors like social class, family influence, cultural norms or even
experience of any unexpected circumstances by the consumer could lead the consumer to identify car as
a need.

2. Search: The factors and variables discussed above triggering a need lead the consumer to search for
cars which could solve his/her problems or satisfy his/her needs. The search is facilitated by the
marketing stimuli used by the marketers. The consumer can refer to the magazines related to the cars,
watch television programmes focusing on cars, look for information on cars over internet or can look for
information on cars by taking advice from a third person. The search process is again affected by the
decision variables and external factors discussed as above like the evaluative criteria, beliefs etc towards
the sources of information or input sources.

3. Alternative Evaluation: Once the search process of the cars is completed, the consumer starts
evaluating all the cars based on the information it had gathered during the search process for different
cars. This is facilitated by a process called Information Processing. Information Processing consists of six
sequential steps which are : 1) Exposure to the input information, 2) Attention paid while the consumer
Is subjected to the various information, 3) The way the information is comprehended by the consumer
4) Acceptance of the information about the cars, 5) Retention levels of the consumer of the information
about the cars which he/she has comprehended and accepted, and 6) Memory which is a result of the
intensity of the above five steps.

4. Choice: Once the alternative cars have been well evaluated by the consumer, he/she makes a choice
of the car based on his evaluations in the previous steps, other variables like his/her lifestyle, attitude,
belief, motives etc. Also other factors like cultural norms, social class, his/her reference groups and
family influences play an important role in making a final choice of the car.

5. Purchase: Once the choice has been made, the purchase process takes place 6. Outcome: The car
once purchased will be used by the consumer which will then yield certain perceptions about their
purchase on the basis of other s thoughts, service quality of the retailer, performance of the car and
many other factors. These perceptions will indicate either Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction with the
purchase of the car.
1. Input

The input stage is generally the data collection stage of the consumer decision making process. The
consumer is constantly exposed to various stimuli and information about various products. These stimuli
include marketing ads in newspapers, TV, magazines, people around us and feedback on websites, social
media, etc., and are all part of the data that a consumer receives. The input may be actively sought by
the consumer if s/he is already willing to buy a product or passively when s/he is involuntarily exposed
to marketing stimuli and information created by the marketers or by the environment and people
around. This information forms the ‘awareness set’ of products for the individual.

2. Information Processing

This stage involves the assimilation and processing of data captured in the input stage and aides in
rational decision making. The consumer gets exposed to various stimuli, some of which grab his
attention. This section of the model consists of consumer’s exposure, attention, comprehension,
acceptance & retention of marketer controlled or non-marketing information.

In terms of mobile phones purchase the information may be received from TV ads, magazines,
newspaper columns, from friends, websites and personal observation. All this information along with
the already existing knowledge in the consumer’s memory forms the data set to be processed. This data
set is then evaluated according to some basic intuitive evaluation metrics which the consumer
subconsciously has in his mind and this leads to the person rejecting some information as not important
and making a basic idea in his/her mind about the product which s/he would like to purchase. This stage
leads to the formation of the ‘consideration set’ of products.

3. Decision Process

As soon as the customer feels a need due to some problem he is facing and has the ability to buy (at
present or in probable near future), he starts external search for information regarding the various
options available in the market to satisfy his need. The information collected externally along with
processed information stored in the memory lead to the consumer evaluating products according to his
evaluative criterion. Some products in the consideration set are rejected and the remaining form the
‘choice set’ of the consumer from which to choose from finally. Consumer’s beliefs, attitude and
intention guide his evaluation. From this choice set the consumer finally chooses a product which is
bought. This acquiring of the product and its usage subsequently may lead to satisfaction for the
customer or dissonance, in which case the consumer is not sure whether he bought the right product
and hence, s/he goes back to the gather information to reassure himself of his purchase decision. The
final choice of product may not only be the result of person’s beliefs, attitude and intention but may well
be guided by some ‘unanticipated circumstance’ which forces the customer to buy a particular product
instead of the one s/he narrowed down upon.

In case of mobile phones, the consumer would want to know of the various brands available in the
market according to his buying capacity and needs. This would be determined by various benefits that
the consumer wants from the mobile like suitable price, battery life, style, screen size, internet access
capacity, handling, etc. S/he would also look at various other features like the service network of the
companies.

Nokia offers Internet services such as application, games, music, maps, media and messaging through its
ovi platform. Nokia's joint venture with Siemens, Nokia Siemens Networks produces telecommunication
network equipment, solutions and services. Nokia is also engaged in providing free digital map
information and navigation services through its wholly owned subsidiary Navteq.

4. Decision Process Variables

There are various decision process variables which influence the consumer’s decision making process.
The normative compliance and informational influence is one of them. The person goes by what his/her
peer group and people around him think. The societal and peer group opinion is important to the person
and influences his choice. This variable also impacts the purchase intent of the person, ultimately
impacting product choice. The person also follows a certain lifestyle which earns him/her status in the
society and his evaluative criteria are guided by his/her sense and understanding of his image and the
image s/he would want to portray in the society. These evaluative criteria impact the person’s beliefs
which in turn influence his choice and search. The person’s motive of purchase is influenced by all the
above variables and ultimately results in the person’s understanding and recognition of the problem he
is facing. All these factors make the decision process more complex and result in the person to choose a
certain type of product which satisfies his ‘want’. A mobile phone purchaser would be influenced by the
image the people would create of him/her when they see him/her using a particular mobile.

5. External Influences

The model talks of three external influences which affect buying behavior of a person. The ‘cultural
norms and values’ along with ‘reference group/family’ impact a person’s normative compliance and
lifestyle. The person has to abide by the rules laid down by them and has to project a certain image to
be received the respect and status that he enjoys in the society. Often, new products are bought with a
view to increase one’s respect in the society and enhance one’s self-image. Hence, these factors are
critical in the person’s choice of the product to be bought. Another important factor may be
‘unanticipated circumstances’ which may totally alter one’s purchasing decision. The impact of all these
factors are critical to the decision making process.
Hence, the person is not only influenced by the product attributes but is also guided by external factors
to make a choice of the product to be bought. The stimuli and constant information received along with
that stored in the memory is assimilated and processed to arrive at the possible options from which to
choose. Thus, all five aspects holistically define the consumer’s decision making process.