How Your Customers Decide To Buy
Part 1 of 2

To increase sales, you must have a firm understanding of your customer’s path to purchase – also known as the consumer decision making process. If your marketing tactics are aligned properly with your customer’s needs at each stage, then you have an immediate opportunity to increase sales.

This two-part tutorial demonstrates how your customers make their buying decisions and how you can help move them from one stage of the buying cycle to the next.

Step 1: Problem Recognition

Before and during the shopping experience, consumers are exposed to countless products, displays, sales promotions and marketing messages. There are many triggers that can cause someone to recognize their need or desire for a particular product.

Before exploring how to influence a customer’s behavior, it is important to differentiate between a “product in need” (such as a tube of toothpaste) and a “product of desire” (such as a vacation). On a spectrum of need and desire, most products lie somewhere in the middle. While many products are easy to categorize, here is an example that isn’t so black and white:

•  Let’s examine someone who has purchased a HD-ready television (such as a
    plasma or LCD). This new TV is capable of viewing programs in high definition (HD)
    but they must first purchase the HD programming from a cable or satellite
    provider. Secondly, to view the HD programming, they must also purchase or rent
    a HD receiver.

In the example above, we would classify the HD programming as a product of desire, since it is not required to watch TV (i.e. they can watch TV in standard definition). Technically, we should also consider the TV’s receiver to be a product of desire. However, once a consumer has emotionally committed to wanting something (such as HD programming), the obstacle purchases required to reach the final objective are often perceived as products in need. In this example, the consumer has the goal of acquiring HD programming and needs the HD receiver to do so. Remember, marketing reality is often consumer perception, meaning that if marketers and peers say you “need” something, consumers often believe it.

To effectively influence consumers towards a product or service, you must first do your homework. Many companies spend a lot of money to purchase secondary consumer research. If that option isn’t financially feasible for you, or if you can’t find the info you need, we recommend gathering primary research by launching your own consumer study, designed specifically around your brand.

The sales and marketing research we conduct for our clients allows them to (a) know their existing customers, (b) identify new ones and (c) understand how they make their buying decisions .

Step 2: Information Search

Once a consumer acknowledges their need or desire to purchase a particular item, he or she will search for the information necessary to make a purchase decision.

A consumer will search for information in two ways:

•  Internal Search: A consumer will scan internal memories to recall previous product or
    brand experiences and perceptions. This information is usually sufficient to proceed
    with frequently purchased items, such as milk at a convenience store.

•  External Search: External research takes over when the internal research is
    insufficient. In an effort to minimize the risk of purchasing the wrong product or 
    brand, the consumer turns to multiple information sources. These may include:
    input from friends and family; consumer ratings and reports; brand advertising; and
    direct salespeople.

Step 3: Alternative Evaluation

The information gathered during the information search serves two marketing purposes:

•  The consumer will determine whether or not to proceed towards a purchase
    decision. In some cases, research may show that it is not feasible or desirable
    enough to proceed. Perhaps the price is prohibitive. Or, the consumer could
    determine the item’s benefits do not represent enough value to proceed any
    further. One such example is upgrading your DVD player to a Blu-ray player.
    The product’s benefits are perceived differently between home theatre buffs and
    average movie watchers.

•  The search for information also helps a consumer to select between specific brands.
    Information about an item’s appearance, features, prestige, quality, price, etc. may
    be gathered to determine which brand most closely matches the consumer’s need or
    desire.

This is a critical step that marketers need to understand in great detail. A particular brand may match the needs or desires of one consumer but not another. Marketers must know why this decision was made and look at trends across thousands of consumers to learn which segments are more likely to buy their brand.

By the end of this stage, a consumer will have formed their value perception of one or more brands. These perceptions will be made up of objective and subjective attributes. In the example of the Blu-ray player, the objective attributes could be picture resolution and processing speed. Subjective attributes could be brand prestige and reputation.

Read "part two" of this tutorial…

Read part two of this tutorial, which covers: Step 4: The Purchase Decision,5: Post-Purchase Behavior and Why Customers Leave.

Receive email alerts when new content is added. No salesperson will call you – this is a free marketing information service.