Page 14 - MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS EBOOK IC88

D. The buying process
I. The rational process
 A customer buys because he wants to satisfy a need. Therefore, before buying he
has to become aware of a need to be satisfied.
 Rational processes are very easy to understand and respond to. But, in reality, the
factors involved are not amenable to rational analysis.

II. Search for alternative
 Once a want has arisen, say, for a led TV, because there is a nedd to keep up with
the joneses, a person has many options.
 To know this option is the next step in the buying process. Ideally, one can shop
around, ask questions, study literature etc.
 Not all items can be easily specified. We can specify a book by its title, author, year
of publication and binding and order according to availability and price.
 One cannot walk into all shops to find out pric edifferentials, credit possibilities,
service arrangements etc.
 Some reasons have been suggested for the low level of search. One could be
ignorance about the availibility of information, sense of urgency to decide.

III. Comparison of data
 Having collected data about different alternatives one has to compare the data, to
determine which better one is. One may have data through observaqtion,
appearance, and trial performances.
 The data, normally, would cover a variety of aspects. The relative’s weightages of
each of these aspects would vary.

IV. Evaluation
 At the stage of evolution, the personal preferences and predilections play a
major rule.
 Even while making major decisions for armaments for defence or aircraft for
airline, or equipments for projects.
 Evaluations have to be made on the basis of criteria. The criteria for evaluation
are chosen by the buyer himself.
 The choice of criteria is a personal matter. The logic behind such choices has no
universal acceptance.

E. Perceptions

I. The concept
 The concept says that one doesn’t see what there is to be seen. What one sees
is one’s own personal response to what there is to be seen.

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