3.3 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
3.3.1 THE CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS
In their Model of Consumer Decision Making (Figure 3.4), Schiffman and Kanuk (2010) outlined that consumer decision making can be viewed as three distinct yet intertwined stages, namely, the input, process and output stages. The input stage (Figure 3.4) consists of the organisation’s marketing mix efforts as well as the sociological influences (family, neighbours, friends, social class, cultural influences and informal sources) that the consumer is exposed to. The aggregate impact of the firm’s marketing mix efforts, the influence of reference groups and society’s existing code of behaviour are considered to be important inputs that affect what consumers purchase and how they utilise these purchased items (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010). The process stage of the model (Figure 3.4) examines how the individual consumer’s psychological factors affect his/her decision making in terms of recognising unmet needs, searching for information prior to purchase and evaluating the alternatives that can potentially satisfy the unmet need (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010). The output stage of the consumer decision making model (Figure 3.4) consists of purchase behaviour and post-purchase evaluation. The trial is the exploratory phase of buying behaviour in which the consumer evaluates the new product through direct usage and if the
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consumer is satisfied with the new product, then he/she is likely to engage in repeat purchases which are indicative of product adoption (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010).
Figure 3.4
A Model of Consumer Decision Making
Schiffman, L.G. & Kanuk, L.L. (2010). Consumer Behavior. 10th edition. New Jersey:
Pearson Education, Inc. p. 36.
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Although Schiffman and Kanuk (2010) focused on three distinct stages in their consumer decision making model, many scholars (Dibb et al., 2012; Fahy & Jobber, 2012; Hult et al., 2013; Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2013; Kotler &Armstrong, 2010; McDaniel et al., 2013;
Perreault et al., 2011) agree that when purchasing products that are particularly new and expensive, consumers typically move through a series of stages from the recognition that a need or problem exists to a search for information on how best to alleviate the problem or satisfy the need. The next stage involves an evaluation of potential alternatives that can be purchased, followed by the actual purchase of the chosen alternative and then a post- purchase evaluation of the purchase decision (Hult et al., 2013) (Figure 3.5).
Figure 3.5
Consumer Decision Making Process
McDaniel, C., Lamb, C.W. & Hair, J.F. Jr. (2013). Introduction to Marketing. 12th edition.
Canada: South-Western, Cengage Learning. p. 187.
As evident in Figure 3.5, each of the five stages of the consumer decision making process is guided by cultural, social, individual and psychological influences.
Need or Problem Recognition
According to Hult et al. (2013) problem recognition occurs when it becomes evident to the consumer that there is disparity between his/her desired state and actual condition. McDaniel
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et al. (2013) termed this imbalance between the actual and desired states as the “want-got gap”. Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick (2013) further add that the degree to which the consumer intends to resolve this problem depends on the magnitude of the incongruity between the present and the desired situation as well as the relative importance of the problem and that if the gap is not large enough, then it may not trigger consumer action at all. Hult et al. (2013) and Kotler and Armstrong (2010) outline that there are times when a consumer may have a problem or a need but may not be aware of it and it is for this reason that marketers use marketing communication efforts (especially advertising and sales promotion) to help trigger the existence of such problems or needs amongst these consumers.
Information search
The information search, according to Dibb et al. (2012), is initiated by an internal search in which consumers draw on their own experiences and memories for information on products that could possibly solve this need but if they are unable to retrieve enough information they will then seek additional information from outside sources in an external search. According to Hult et al. (2013), an external search may include communicating with credible sources of information like friends, associates and family whom the consumer has immense trust and respect for. Dibb et al. (2012) claim that external sources of information also include comparing available brands and prices, reading product reviews on blogs and social networking sites as well as considering internet offers.
McDaniel et al. (2013) subdivide these external sources of information into non-marketing- controlled information sources and marketing-controlled information sources. Non- marketing-controlled information sources include the actual trial or observation of a new product, the experiences of family and friends as well as public sources of information and marketing-controlled information sources include the bias towards a specific product as a result of marketing promotional efforts by the firm (McDaniel et al., 2013). Dibb et al.
(2012) outline that the primary purpose of the consumer’s information search is the establishment of an ‘evoked set’ (or ‘consideration set’) which is an array of the most preferred brands that may provide a solution to the problem.
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Evaluation of alternatives
Hult et al. (2013) state that when evaluating the products that are part of the evoked set, the consumer often uses certain objective (such as size) and subjective (such as style) criteria in an attempt to compare the various products. The consumer assigns a certain salience (level of importance) to each criteria and then ranks them in order of importance to determine how well each performs with regard to the most important attributes (Dibb et al., 2012). The choice criteria provide the basis for deciding which of the alternative brands to purchase and consist of technical, economic, social and personal criteria (Table 3.1) (Fahy & Jobber, 2012).
Table 3.1
Choice criteria used when evaluating alternatives Type of criteria Examples
Technical Reliability
Durability Performance Style/looks Comfort Delivery Convenience Taste
Economic Price
Value for money Running costs Residual value Life cycle costs
Social Status
Social belonging Convention Fashion
Personal Self-image
Risk reduction Morals
Emotions
Fahy, J. & Jobber, D. (2012). Foundations of Marketing. 4th edition. Spain: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. p. 66.
According to Fahy and Jobber (2012), the technical criteria are related to the functionality and performance of a product and include durability, comfort and convenience. Jobber and
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Ellis-Chadwick (2013) further add that convenience is often synonymous with the ease of use and reliability is especially important when engaging in industrial purchasing. Kotler and Armstrong (2010) state that convenience, in terms of use and storage of a product, can be enhanced through good packaging. Consumers nowadays are opting for more environmentally-friendly products; therefore, marketers are appealing to these green consumers by using biodegradable packaging which makes the products easier to identify and safer to consume (Perreault et al., 2011). Quality is also a crucial evaluative criteria and Fahy and Jobber (2012) outline that many consumers are unwilling to trade quality for price.
The style, physical appearance and aesthetical appeal of the product are also essential technical criteria that consumers use when evaluating alternatives (Jobber & Ellis- Chadwick, 2013). It is common for most consumers to justify their purchase decisions in rational, technical terms but Fahy and Jobber (2012) believe that the true motives for purchasing are often much more emotional in nature.
The economic criteria (Table 3.1) relate to the affordability of products and involve the cost aspect of purchase decisions such as price, running costs and perceived value for money.
Price is often used as a surrogate indicator of the quality of the product when consumers may have limited knowledge about the product; hence, a product with a higher price may be perceived as a better-quality product.
According to Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick (2013), social norms like fashion and convention (Table 3.1) are essential choice criteria that can result in certain brands being rejected due to being too unconventional or out-of-fashion. Fahy and Jobber (2012) further state that the purchases a person makes have an impact on his/her perceived relationships with other people and that consumer purchases are strongly influenced by the social norms that the person is exposed to. Fahy and Jobber (2012) have found that merely wearing well-known brands of clothing has the effect of generating perceptions of higher status and it is for this reason that the brand name of a product has become such a crucial criteria in the evaluation of alternatives.
Personal criteria (Table 3.1) relate to the psychological impact that the product has on the consumer (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). Self-image is a personal view of one’s self and consumers are inclined to purchase products and brands that reflect these perceptions of
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themselves (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). Risk reduction can also affect the choice of products or brands which compels risk-averse consumers to select ‘safer’ brand options (Fahy & Jobber, 2012). Ethical criteria have implications for the choice of products purchased as certain consumers may reject brands that were produced by manufacturers who may have offended these consumers’ ethical code of behaviour (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). Elliot and Hamilton (undated cited in Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2013:127) found that many purchase decisions reflect emotional criteria, are experiential and tend to evoke feelings of pride, fun, pleasure, sadness or boredom and that a consumer’s evaluation of alternatives is sometimes led by the desire “to do something different for a change” or to do what they are in the mood to do.
Purchase
The purchase stage is the outcome of the evaluation of alternatives and is characterised by the actual purchase of the desired product or the closest alternative thereof, in the event that the product with the highest ranking is not available (Dibb et al., 2012). Factors such as price, delivery, warranties, credit arrangements and installation are also considered during this stage when selecting the seller to purchase from (Hult et al., 2013).
Post-purchase behaviour
Hult et al. (2013) state that after purchasing the selected product or brand, the consumer starts to evaluate whether or not the item’s actual performance meets his/her expectations.
The evaluative criteria that was used in making the decision is revisited and the outcome of this stage is either satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Dibb et al., 2012). Consumers may experience doubts about whether purchasing the product was the right decision and this inner tension that they feel is called cognitive dissonance (Hult et al., 2013). McDaniel et al.
(2013) outline that ways of reducing dissonance by consumers can include justifying their purchase decision, seeking new information that reinforces favourable notions about the purchase, avoiding contradictory information or simply returning the product. Marketers can also help reduce cognitive dissonance by displaying the product’s superiority over competing brands in advertisements and through the use of guarantees (McDaniel et al., 2013).
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3.3.2 THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE CONSUMER BUYING DECISION