Unit5.ConsumerPurchase

DecisionProcessConsumerPurchaseDecisionProcess

Behindthevisibleactofmakingapurchaseliesanimportantdecisionprocessthatmustbeinvestigated.Thestagesabuyerpassesthroughinmakingchoicesaboutwhichproductsandservicestobuyarethepurchasedecisionprocess.Figure5.1showsthatthebuyerdecisionprocessconsistsoffivestages:needrecognition,informationsearch,evaluationofalternatives,purchasedecision,andpostpurchasebehavior.3ConsumerDecisionProcess

(SeeP74Fig.5.1)5.After-purchaseBehavior4.PurchaseDecision2.InformationSearch1.NeedRecognition3.EvaluationofAlternatives

Clearly,thebuyingprocessstartslongbeforeactualpurchaseandcontinueslongafter.Marketersneedtofocusontheentirebuyingprocessratherthanonjustthepurchasedecision.Thefigurebelowimpliesthatconsumerspassthroughallfivestageswitheverypurchase.Butinmoreroutinepurchases,consumersoftenskiporreversesomeofthesestages.1.NeedrecognitionNeedrecognition,theinitialstepinpurchasedecision,isperceivingadifferencebetweenaperson’sidealandactualsituationbigenoughtotriggeradecision.Thiscanbeassimpleasfindinganemptymilkcartonintherefrigerator;notingasafirstyearuniversitystudent,thatyourhighschoolclothesarenotinthestylethatotherstudentsarewearing;orrealizingthatyournotebookcomputermaynotbeworkingproperly.

2.InformationsearchAfterrecognizinganeed,theconsumerbeginstosearchforinformation,thesecondstageinthepurchasedecisionprocess.First,youmayscanyourmemoryforpreviousexperienceswithproductorbrands.Thisactioniscalledinternalsearch.Theprimarysourcesofinformationare:（1）personalsources,suchasrelativesandfriendswhomtheconsumertrusts;(2)publicsources,includingvariousproduct-ratingorganizationssuchasConsumerReports,governmentagencies,andTV“consumerprograms”and(3)marketer-dominatedsources,suchasinformationfromsellersthatincludingadvertising,salespeople,andpoint-of-purchasedisplayinstores.7Family,friends,neighborsMosteffectivesourceofinformationAdvertising,salespeopleReceivesmostinformationfromthesesourcesMassMedia/on-linesourcesConsumer-ratinggroupsPersonalSourcesCommercialSourcesMarketandon-lineSourcesTheBuyerDecisionProcess

Step2.InformationSearch3.AlternativeEvaluation

Theinformationsearchstageclarifiestheproblemfortheconsumerby(1)suggestingcriteriatouseforthepurchase,(2)yieldingbrandnamesthatmightmeetthecriteria,and(3)developconsumervalueperceptions.Basedontheinformationfromthe

ConsumerReports,youmayfind

theanswerstosuchquestionsas

whatselectioncriteriawouldyouuseinbuying

aportableCDplayer?Wouldyouuseprice,easeofuse,qualityofheadphones,orsomecombinationoftheseandothercriteria?

4.PurchaseDecision

Havingexaminedthealternativesintheevokedset,youarealmostreadytomakeapurchasedecision.Twochoicesremain:(1)fromwhomyoubuyand(2)whenyoubuy.ForaproductlikeaportableCDplayer,theinformationsearchprocessprobablyinvolvedvisitingretailstoresseeingdifferentbrandsincatalogues,viewingportableCDplayerpromotionsonahomeshoppingtelevisionchannel,orvisitingaseller’sWebsite.Thechoiceofwhichsellertobuyfromwilldependonsuchconsiderationsasthetermsofsale,yourpastexperiencebuyingfromtheseller,andthereturnpolicy.5.Post-purchaseBehavior:ValueinConsumptionorUse

Afterbuyingaproduct,theconsumercomparesitwithhisorherexpectationsandiseithersatisfiedordissatisfied.Iftheconsumerisdissatisfied,marketersmustdecidewhethertheproductwasdeficientorconsumerexpectationstoohigh.Productdeficiencymayrequireadesignchange;ifexpectationsaretoohigh,perhapsthecompany’sadvertisingorthesalespersonoversoldtheproduct’sfeatures.

Sensitivitytoacustomer’sconsumptionoruseexperienceisextremelyimportantinconsumer’svalueperception.Studiesshowthatsatisfactionordissatisfactionaffectsconsumercommunicationsandrepeat-purchasebehavior.Satisfiedbuyerstellthreeotherpeopleabouttheirexperience.Dissatisfiedbuyerscomplaintoninepeople.Satisfiedbuyersalsotendtobuyfromthesamesellereachtimeapurchaseoccasionarises.Thefinancialimpactofrepeat-purchasebehaviorissignificant.Forexample,FordMotorCompanyestimatesthateachtimethecompanyincreasesitsnumberofrepeatbuyersbyonepercent;Fordincreasesitsprofitby$100million.Accordingly,companiessuchasNissan,Johnson&Johnson,Coca-Cola,Toshiba,andBritishAirwaysfocusattentiononpost-purchasebehaviortomaximizecustomersatisfactionandretention.12TheBuyerDecisionProcess

Step5.Post-purchaseBehaviorConsumer’sExpectationsofProduct’sPerformance.Product’sPerceivedPerformance.DissatisfiedCustomerSatisfiedCustomer!

CognitiveDissonanceOftenaconsumerisfacedwithtwoormorehighlyattractivealternatives,suchasaPanasonicorSonyportableCDplayer.IfyouchoosethePanasonic,youmaythink,“ShouldIhavepurchasedtheSony?”Thisfeelingofpost-purchasepsychologicaltensionoranxietyiscalledcognitivedissonance.Toalleviateit,consumersoftenattempttoapplaudthemselvesformakingtherightchoice.Soafteryourpurchase,youmayseekinformationtoconfirmyourchoicebyaskingfriendsquestionslike,“Don’tyoulikemyportableCDplayer?”orbyreadingadsofthebrandyouchose.Youmightevenlookfornegativeinformationaboutthebrandyoudidn’tbuyanddecidethatSony’errorcorrection,whichwasrated“good”inConsumerReportswasactuallydeficiency.Sometimesconsumersdon’tengageinthefive-steppurchasedecisionprocess.Instead,theyskiporminimizeoneormorestepsdependingonthelevelofinvolvement,thepersonal,social,andeconomicsignificanceofthepurchasetotheconsumer.High-involvementpurchaseoccasionstypicallyhaveatleastoneofthreecharacteristics–theitemtobepurchased(1)isexpensive,(2)canhaveseriouspersonalconsequences,or(3)couldreflectonone’ssocialimage.Fortheseoccasions,consumersengageinextensiveinformationsearch,considermanyproductattributesandbrands,formattitudes,andparticipateinword-of-mouthcommunications.

InvolvementandProblem-SolvingVariationsLow-involvementpurchases,suchastoothpasteandsoap,barelyinvolvemostofus,whereasstereosystemsandautomobilesareveryinvolving.

Researchershaveidentifiedthreegeneralvariationsintheconsumerpurchaseprocessbasedonconsumerinvolvementandproductknowledge.Thesethreegeneralproblem-solvingvariationsareasfollow:

RoutineProblemSolving:Forproductssuchastoothpasteandmilk,consumersrecognizeaproblem(aneed)makeadecision,andspendlittleeffortseekingexternalinformationandevaluatingalternatives.Thepurchaseprocessforsuchitemsisvirtuallyahabitandtypifieslow-involvementdecisionmaking.Routineproblemsolvingistypicallythecaseforlow-price,frequentlypurchasedproducts.LimitedProblemSolving:Inlimitedproblemsolving,consumerstypicallyseeksomeinformationorrelyonafriendtohelpthemevaluatealternatives.Ingeneral,severalbrandsmightbeevaluatedusingamoderatenumberofdifferentattributes.Youmightuselimitedproblemsolvinginchoosingamicrowaveoven,electricfanorarestaurantfordinner,andotherpurchasesituationsinwhichyouhavelittletimeorefforttospend.Limitedproblemsolvingaccountsforoverone-thirdofpurchaseoccasionsinthewesterncountriesaccordingtoresearch.

Extended

ProblemSolving:Inextendedproblemsolving,eachofthefivestagesofconsumerpurchasedecisionmakingprocessisusedinthepurchase,includingconsiderabletimeandeffortonexternalinformationsearchandinidentifyingandevaluatingalternatives.Severalbrandsareusuallyintheevokedset,andtheseareevaluatedonmanyattributes.Extendedproblemsolvingexistsinhigh-involvementpurchasesituationsforitemssuchasautomobilesandinvestmentinstocksandbonds.Companiesmarketingtheseproductsputsignificanteffortintoinformingandeducatingtheseconsumers,about12percentofpurchasedecisionsfallintothiscategoryindevelopedcountries.

Bystudyingtheoverallbuyerdecision,marketersmaybeabletofindwaystohelpconsumersmovethroughit.Forexample,ifconsumersarenotbuyinganewproductbecausetheydonotperceiveaneedforit,marketingmightlaunchadvertisingmessagesthattriggertheneedandshowhowtheproductsolvescustomers'problems.18ReviewofKeyTermsandConceptsalternativeevaluation:thestageofthebuyerdecisionprocessinwhichtheconsumerusesinformationtoevaluatealternativebrandsinthechoiceset.選擇評估cognitivedissonance:thefeelingofpost-purchasepsychologicaltensionoranxiety.不平衡感evokedset:Hereinthiscontexttheevokedsetmeansthelimitedgroupofproblemsolutions(brands)fromwhichtheconsumerwillselectone.Thatisevokedset(alsocalledchoiceset)outofwhichconsumersmakechoice(s).應激（選擇）集合19

informationsearch:Thestageofthebuyerdecisionprocessinwhichtheconsumerisarousedtosearchformoreinformation;theconsumermaysimplyhaveheightenedattentionormaygointoactiveinformationsearch.信息搜尋.needrecognition：

Thefirststageofthebuyerdecisionprocess,inwhichtheconsumerrecognizesaproblemorneed,alsoknownasproblemrecognition.確認需求.perception:Theprocessbywhichpeopleselect,organize,andinterpretinformationtoformameaningfulpictureoftheworld.知覺.post-purchasebehavior：Thestageofthebuyerdecisionprocessinwhichconsumerstakefurtheractionafterpurchase,basedontheirsatisfactionordissatisfaction.購后行為20purchasedecision:thebuyer'sdecisionaboutwhichbrandtopurchase購買決策RoutineProblemSolving:RoutineProblemSolvingistypicallythecaseforlow-price,frequentlypurchasedproducts.常規性問題解決.LimitedProblemSolving:thebuyingsituationinwhichconsumersmighthavelimitedtimeorefforttospendinchoosingnot-so-expensiveitemssuchaselectricfanorheater有限性問題解決.Extended

ProblemSolving:Extendedproblemsolvingexistsinhigh-involvementpurchasesituationsforexpensiveitemssuchasautomobilesandinvestmentinstocksandbonds.Itisthemostcomplexandhigh-involvementbuyingsituationofall.廣泛性問題解決DiscussionandReviewQuestions:1.Whatispurchasedecisionprocessandhowmanystepsdoesatypicalconsumerpurchasedecisionprocessinclude?

2.Whataretheresultsofinformationsearch?3.Relatethestagesofconsumerbuyingprocesstoyourlatestpurchaseofapairofshoes.4.Whatisroutineproblemsolving?Giveexamplesofthiskindofpurchasesituation.5.Whatislimitedproblemsolving?6.Whatarethehigh-involvementbuyingsituations?Giveanexampleofhigh-involvementgoods.7.Whatisextendedproblemsolving?8.Thinkaboutaverygoodorverybadexperienceyouhavehadwithaproduct.SelectedAnswers

toExercisesinUnit5I.Nofixedanswerstothesequestions;Studentsmaymakefreespeechaccordingtothetext.II.