Consumer & Business

Buyer Behavior
Perception
 Process by which an individual selects,
organizes, and interprets information
to form a cohesive picture about an
entity
 Perceptions affect consumer behavior
 However, remember that individuals can
perceive the same entity in different ways
Perception
 Selective Attention: Receive some messages and
screen out the rest
 An average person is exposed to 1500 ads or brand
messages a day
 Most of these are screened out; So, how do marketers
capture mind space?
 People are more likely to notice stimuli that relate to current
needs
 People are more likely to notice stimuli they anticipate
 People are more likely to notice stimuli that deviate relatively
larger than others
 Marketers must bypass attention filters; provide
unexpected stimuli (salesperson, sudden offers)
Perception
 Selective Distortion: Tendency to
interpret/distort information to be consistent
with prior brand and product beliefs
 Taste tests: “Blind” taste tests showed equal
split; “Open” tests showed preferences
 Can work to the advantage of marketers of
strong brands
 A car may seem to drive smoother
 A beer may taste better
Perception
 Selective Retention: Though people fail to
register much information, they retain
information that supports their attitudes and
beliefs
 Remember good points about products we like
and forget good points about competing
products
 Works to the advantage of strong brands
 Explains why marketers repeat messages – for
reinforcement
 Consumer Buying Decision Process

Marketers Must Identify and Understand:

Who Makes the Buying Decision

Types of Buying Decisions

Stages in the Buying Process

 Consumer Buying Decision Process

Understand  Initiator
 Influencer
 Buying roles  Decider
 Buying behavior  Buyer
 Buying decision  User
process
 Consumer Buying Decision Process

Understand  Complex buying

behavior
 Dissonance-reducing
 Buying roles buying behavior
 Buying behavior  Habitual buying behavior
 Variety-seeking buying
 Buying decision behavior
process
 Consumer Buying Decision Process

Understand  Five stages in the

consumer buying
 Buying roles process
 Buying behavior  The amount of time
 Buying decision spent in each stage
process varies according to
several factors
Consumer Buying Decision Process

Five-Stage Model of the Consumer Buying Process

 Need Recognition
 Need/Problem Recognition
 Can be triggered by internal or external
stimuli
 Needs become wants, which lead to
behavior
 Marketing stimuli can stimulate a desire
for information
 Information Search (1 of 2)
 Sources of information:
 Internal Sources
 Personal Sources

 External Sources

 Time, effort and expense dedicated to information

search depends on:
 Degree of risk involved in the purchase
 Amount of expertise with the product category
 Actual cost of the search
 Evoked set:
 A narrowed down set of alternatives that the customer is
considering
 Consumer Buying Decision Process

Successive Sets Involved in Consumer Decision Making

 Evaluation of Alternatives

 Customers evaluate products as bundles of

attributes
 Brand attributes
 Product features
 Aesthetic attributes
 Price
 Customers place different levels of importance on
attributes
 Important considerations in the evaluation stage:
 Products must be in the evoked set
 Consumers’ choice criteria must be understood
 Marketing programs must be designed to influence
consumers’ opinions about product or brand image
 Purchase Decision
 Purchase intention and the act of buying are distinct
concepts

 Potential intervening factors between intention and

buying (car example):
 Unforeseen circumstances
 Angered by the salesperson or sales manager
 Unable to obtain financing
 Customer changes mind

 Key issues in the purchase decision stage:

 Product availability
 Possession utility
 Postpurchase Evaluation
 Four possible outcomes in the postpurchase
stage:
 (1) Delight
 (2) Satisfaction
 (3) Dissatisfaction
 (4) Cognitive Dissonance

 Firm’s ability to manage dissatisfaction and

cognitive dissonance is:
 A key to creating customer satisfaction
 A major influence on word-of-mouth communication
Business Markets and
Behavior
Organizational Buying
Compared to Consumer Markets,
Business Markets Have:
Fewer buyers

Larger buyers
Geographically
concentrated buyers
Closer relationships with
suppliers/customers
 The Business Buying Process

 Problem/Need Recognition
 Develop Product Specifications
 Vendor Identification and Qualification
 Solicitation of Proposals or Bids
 Vendor Selection
 Order Processing
 Vendor Performance Review
 Understanding Business Buying
Behavior

 Unique Characteristics of Business Markets

 The Buying Center
 Hard and Soft Costs
 Reciprocity
 Mutual Dependence
 Four types of Business Markets:
 Producer markets (a.k.a. commercial markets)
 Reseller markets
 Government markets
 Institutional markets
 Organizational Buying

Buying Situations  Routine reorders from

approved vendor list
 Straight rebuy  Low involvement,
minimal time
 Modified rebuy commitment
 New task  Example: copier paper
 Organizational Buying

Buying Situations  Specifications, prices,

delivery terms or other
aspects require
 Straight rebuy modification
 Modified rebuy  Moderate level of
involvement and time
 New task commitment
 Example: desktop
computers
 Organizational Buying

Buying Situations  Purchasing a product or

service for the first time
 High level of
 Straight rebuy involvement and time
 Modified rebuy commitment; multiple
influences
 New task  Example: selecting a
web site design firm or
consultant
Participants in Business Buying

Roles Played in a Buying Center

Initiators Approvers

Users Deciders

Influencers Buyers

Gatekeepers