Page 181 - Foundations of Marketing

148 Part 3 | Customer Behavior and E-Marketing

G oing Green

How Green Is That Product? Check the App!

In a world filled with alternatives, how do you evaluate GoodGuide’s database of 140,000 products and displays
products or brands that offer similar benefits? The answer, a numerical score, from 0 to 10 . The higher the score, the
for many consumers, is to check a product’s environ- greener the product.
mental record before making a buying decision. There’s The Green Fuel app helps consumers find the near-
an app for that—actually, any number of mobile apps are est gas station offering alternative fuels such as com-
available to help consumers determine which goods or pressed natural gas. The Light Bulb Finder app suggests
services are the greenest alternatives. energy-efficient alternatives to traditional incandescent
Consumers who download the GoodGuide app, for light bulbs, personalized for each user’s zip code and
example, first select the criteria they want to apply to a power situation. The Find Green app directs users
product, such as how energy efficient it is and whether it toward local businesses that offer green goods and
contains natural ingredients. Next, they scan the prod- services. And the eLabel app reveals a product’s carbon
uct’s bar code with a cell phone. The app instantly checks and water footprint.
a

© iStockphoto.com/CRTd

During this stage, buyers also pick the seller from which they will buy the product—it
could be a specific retail shop, chain, or online retailer. The choice of seller may affect final
product selection and therefore the terms of sale, which, if negotiable, are determined at this
stage. Consumers also settle other issues, such as price, delivery, warranties, maintenance
agreements, installation, and credit arrangements, at this time. Finally, the actual purchase
takes place (although the consumer can still decide to terminate the buying decision process
even at this late stage).

Postpurchase Evaluation
After the purchase, the buyer evaluates the product to ascertain if its actual performance meets
expected levels. Many criteria used in evaluating alternatives are applied again during postpur-
chase evaluation in order to make a comparison. The outcome of this stage is either satisfac-
tion or dissatisfaction, which influences whether the consumer will repurchase the brand or
product, complain to the seller, or communicate positively or negatively with other possible
buyers.
This stage is especially important for high-priced items. Shortly after the purchase
of an expensive product, evaluation may result in cognitive dissonance ; doubts in the
buyer’s mind about whether purchasing the product was the right decision. Cognitive
dissonance is most likely to arise when a person recently bought an expensive, high-
involvement product that is found lacking compared to desirable features of competing
brands. A buyer who is experiencing cognitive dissonance may attempt to return the prod-
uct or may seek out positive information, such as reviews, to justify choosing it. Marketers
sometimes attempt to reduce cognitive dissonance by having salespeople call or e-mail
recent customers to make sure they are satisfied with their new purchases. Salespeople
may send recent buyers results of studies demonstrating that other consumers are very
satisfied with the brand.
As Figure 6.1 shows, three major categories of influences are believed to affect the con-
cognitive dissonance
A buyer’s doubts shortly after sumer buying decision process: situational, psychological, and social. In the remainder of this
a purchase about whether the chapter, we focus on these influences. Although we discuss each major influence separately,
decision was the right one their effects on the consumer decision process are interrelated.

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