Page 178 - Foundations of Marketing

Consumer Buying Behavior | Chapter 6 145

Pretty Ugly and many other traditional and online marketers go to great lengths to understand
their customers’ needs and gain a better grasp of buying behavior , which is the decision pro-
cesses and actions of people involved in buying and using products. Consumer buying behavior
refers to the buying behavior of ultimate consumers—those who purchase products for personal
or household use and not for business purposes. Marketers attempt to understand buying behav-
ior for several reasons. First, customers’ overall opinions and attitudes toward a firm’s products
have a great impact on the firm’s success. Second, as we saw in Chapter 1 , the marketing concept buying behavior The decision
stresses that a firm should create a marketing mix that meets customers’ needs. To find out what processes and actions of people
satisfies consumers, marketers must examine the main influences on what, where, when, and involved in buying and using
how they buy. Third, by gaining a deeper understanding of the factors that affect buying behavior, products
marketers are better positioned to predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies. consumer buying behavior The
In this chapter, we first examine the major stages of the consumer buying decision process, decision processes and pur-
beginning with problem recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternatives, and chasing activities of people who
purchase products for personal
proceeding through purchase and postpurchase evaluation. We follow this with an examina-
or household use and not for
tion of how the customer’s level of involvement affects the type of decision making they use
business purposes
and discuss the types of consumer decision-making processes. Next, we examine situational
consumer buying decision
influences—surroundings, time, purchase reason, and buyer’s mood and condition—that
process A five-stage pur-
affect purchasing decisions. We go on to consider psychological influences on purchasing
chase decision process that
decisions: perception, motives, learning, attitudes, personality and self-concept, and lifestyles.
includes problem recognition,
Next, we discuss social influences that affect buying behavior, including roles, family, refer- information search, evaluation
ence groups and opinion leaders, social classes, and culture and subcultures. We conclude of alternatives, purchase, and
with a discussion of consumer misbehavior. postpurchase evaluation
CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS LO 1 . Recognize the stages of
the consumer buying decision
process.
The consumer buying decision process , shown in Figure 6.1 , includes five stages: prob-
lem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and postpurchase
evaluation. Before we examine each stage, consider these important points. First, as shown

Figure 6.1 Consumer Buying Decision Process and Possible Infl uences on the Process

Possible influences on the decision process

Situational influences Psychological influences Social influences
• Physical surroundings • Perception • Roles
• Social surroundings • Motives • Family
• Time • Learning • Reference groups
• Purchase reason • Attitudes • Opinion leaders
• Buyer’s mood and • Personality and • Social classes
condition self-concept • Culture and subcultures
• Lifestyles

Consumer buying decision process

Problem Information Evaluation of Purchase Postpurchase
recognition search alternatives evaluation

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