Consumer buying behaviour
Consumers when going to decide to buy specific products always go through this process. The consumer buying behavior process needs to be studied to know the way the consumers are thinking and perceiving towards buying a specific product or service. It is very easy to know what products the consumer buys but very difficult to analyze the way the consumer is thinking and the way the consumer approaches buying a specific product or service.
Consumer buying behaviour Process
Following are the stages of the consumer buying behavior process
Recognizing and realizing the needs and wants of products or services
Any customer when decide to buy a specific product or service indicates their purpose to fulfil their needs or to solve their problem by product or service. Customers when realize or identify their need to buy a specific product or service then the further process of thinking about buying that specific product or service starts.
Example
A graduate student realizes or identifies the need to buy a mobile phone. When a person or customer identifies or decides to buy a smartphone, there are many reasons behind that. Answers to the following questions explore the reasons behind deciding or identifying the need to buy that product.
- Why do I need to buy a mobile phone
- What will be the use of the smartphone that I need to buy
- Can I buy the smartphone on a budget
- Can a smartphone fulfill my needs and wants completely
“A person or customer needs to buy or decide to buy a smartphone with a good camera”. In this situation, the purpose or need of that person is the use of the camera. Then what smartphone that customer decides to buy is based on this specific need or want or purpose of that person. The further process also depends upon the specific purpose of the person behind deciding to buy a mobile phone.
Gathering the necessary information
After recognizing what product or service is to buy, it is very essential to gather all the necessary information regarding the availability of alternatives or products in the market. This information helps customers to decide the suitable alternative for the product or services available in the market that can fulfill their expectations or needs.
Example
- Considering the above example the customer searches for the availability of the best smartphone that meets a person’s expectations. Gathering necessary information regarding the specification of a smartphone specifically the best camera mobile phone is becoming a priority of gathering information regarding the product.
This information consists of the specifications of various brands available in the market such as iPhone, Motorola, MI, and Samsung which have required features that fulfill the expectations.
- If the customer decides to buy an entertainment package from the various available options such as Netflix, Hotstar, etc. then the Information gathering is done at this stage regarding the pricing of the different packages, provision of these packages, and how much these packages fulfill the expectations of the customer needs or wants, etc.
- When customers decide or recognize the need for a laptop to buy then they collect the necessary information regarding the availability of various laptop brands in the market that are suitable for him or her. Information gathered at this stage consists of brands available in the market, the price of those brands, features of those brands or laptops in the market, and guarantee of warranty durability through reviews and familiar people.
- After deciding or recognizing the need to buy LED TVs the customer or person gathers all the necessary information regarding the availability of LED TVs in the market. This information may consist of LED TV specifications such as OLED QLED, and 4K and their prices along with the durability. This information helps customers to decide or evaluate whether the selected product or available products can fulfill their expectations.
Evaluation of the gathered information regarding the various alternatives
This stage occurs after having the necessary information and aiming to decide the most suitable products or services available in the market. In this stage, all the information is analyzed, studied, and interpreted to know whether the product or service can be suitable from the perspective of affordability, utility, and durability if consumer durable products are there. The evaluation stage is very important for the customer as the customer decides the best alternative for him or her. Following up on the various factors the customer considers while evaluating or deciding the best alternative product or services in the market.
- Is the price of the product is right with the quality offered?
- Is the price of the product affordable to the customer?
- Can the product or services fulfill the necessary expectations?
- Can the product provide many features beyond expectations?
Example
Considering the above example when the customer has the necessary information about the smartphone we will come to know which smartphone is suitable and fulfil the expectations.
Purchase the decided or evaluated product or service
Evaluation of the gathered information determines the suitable products for the customer after selecting the product the customer purchases considering that the product or services may fulfil the expectations in terms of the features, price, quality, etc.
If we assume the above example of a customer who decides to buy a smartphone, we consider that the customer purchased the smartphone iPhone. Why the iPhone is an important question from a business perspective.
Example
If we consider the purpose of that customer in buying that mobile phone was a camera that can satisfy the customer and fulfil the expectation features. The iPhone is the only smartphone in the market that can capture high-quality images by its high-quality camera. This is the reason the customer in the third stage of consumer buying behavior evaluated the alternative products available in the market and decided that the iPhone is the only phone that can satisfy its requirements.
Considering the affordability iPhone is the wrong product but if customers or consumers have purchased the power to buy the iPhone they definitely decide to buy the iPhone instead of other mobile phones in the market.
If affordability is the important factor from the perspective of the customer then the customer needs to evaluate all the other products at a lower price which can fulfil the expectations.
Post-purchase behavior of the consumer
Post-purchase of the consumer after consuming the decided product is very necessary from the perspective of a business organization. Hence the customers after consuming the product may or may not be satisfied. If the customer is satisfied with the features quality and all the expectations with that product then the customer can suggest to other customers whether to buy that product or not. Mouth publicity plays an effective role in the creation of trust among the customers towards buying that product.
BoAt Airdopes
