 Image source: Getty Images Show How do your customers decide to buy from you? If you don’t know, you may be setting yourself up for failure. Understanding the customer buying process is at the core of your success. Understand that process, and you can better steer prospects to the sale. A customer goes through these five stages when deciding to make a purchase:
Every customer follows a customer journey map that guides them through each step. Your conversion funnel should have content that corresponds to and supports the customer at each step. 1. Problem recognitionThe buying process starts when the consumer recognizes they have a problem to solve. They must recognize their problem needs a solution. Whether the problem is losing weight or moving to a new location, the first step is always recognizing there's a problem to be solved. Once they recognize their problem, consumers often use Google search to find solutions. Informational posts that help them identify how to address their problems will help build trust with your target market at this preliminary step in the customer journey. Combining quality informational blog posts with your e-commerce platform is a great way to attract customers in the problem recognition stage. Their main interest is information gathering, but it's never too early to showcase your product or service. 2. Information searchConsumers want to know they're making an informed purchase decision and spending their money wisely. They don’t stop researching when they find one solution online. Consumers look for the following during their research:
Social proofConsumers look for social proof online and from their friends when they're unsure about a buying decision. They're looking for other people to confirm their purchase is wise and the product is sound. Reviews are an essential part of the information searching process. According to The Opinion Corporation Research study, "A full 61% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase decision, and they are now essential for e-commerce sites." Testimonials and reviews provide the consumer with a real example of another buyer’s experience. They also build trust between the consumer and the brand. Features and benefitsConsumers read up on the features and benefits of the product or service. These are often found in its description, on a sales page, or in a brochure. For more complex features and benefits, it may be wise to create how-to content for certain products. This can be done with video demonstrations, e-books, and informational posts. PriceConsumers always want the best price they can get, but it's not always beneficial to be the lowest-priced option on the market. Some view the lowest price suspiciously, assuming low-quality materials and workmanship. This may turn off some buyers. During the information-gathering phase, buyers will check the market to see if your price is fair. They'll want to confirm your product is competitively priced. 3. EvaluationAs consumers conduct research, they discover many brands offering similar solutions. This leads them to the evaluation stage of the customer journey. They will evaluate alternatives to determine which best solves their problem. This involves comparing and contrasting features and benefits. During this stage, consumers can be influenced by the interaction they have with the brand. For example, if customer engagement is high, a customer may be more inclined to try a product. If no strong attachment exists between the buyer and the brand, price may factor strongly into the decision. A customer relationship manager (CRM) tool can help your brand stand out throughout the customer journey. HubSpot CRM allows companies to engage with their potential customers through targeted marketing campaigns. You can create email sequences to nurture your leads at every point. 4. Purchase decisionEach purchase decision is different, requiring a different time investment. Some consumers purchase a product to try it out, others are seeking long-term investments, and loyal customers may purchase it because they love the product. If your product has strong social proof, positive reviews, a good price point and looks like it will solve a consumer’s problem, they may well buy. For example, a housewife may be interested in the trend of cooking meals faster. She discovers a pressure cooker on sale for 20% off. After confirming the testimonials are positive and checking with friends and family, she orders the pressure cooker online. Very expensive purchases, such as a house, require a long-term commitment and more extensive evaluation. For example, when a consumer finds a three-bedroom house selling below market value, they may be interested. After confirming with their realtor that the foundation is solid and the neighborhood schools are good, they may evaluate similar homes in the neighborhood. The buyer will want to evaluate the mortgage rates and real estate market. This will lengthen the time to make a purchase decision. 5. Post-purchase buying behaviorWhy should you care about a customer after the purchase is done? Providing great customer service can lead to increased customer loyalty and referrals. In fact, 65% of a company's business comes from its existing customers. Not only are loyal customers five times more likely to purchase again, but they will also refer their friends and do your marketing for you. Once the transaction has been made, the customer sales cycle isn’t over. The consumer is still evaluating their purchase. They want to know if the product will meet their expectations long term. This post-purchase evaluation will be different for every product. The post-purchase evaluation of a new yogurt brand may take only 24 hours. The customer will consume it and decide if he or she enjoyed it. They also may want to wait to see if they experience any digestive trouble before writing a positive review for the brand. The post-purchase evaluation of a washing machine may last a few years. Consumers will first evaluate how well the machine washes clothes. They will then want to figure out how energy- and water-efficient the machine is. They'll compare this information with the marketing that sold them on the machine. Post-purchase evaluation is a great time to deepen your relationship with your customers. Follow up with them and discover what they liked or hated about the product. You get valuable feedback on how you can improve your product, and it's an opportunity to market other products to them. Guiding the customer to a saleUnderstanding the five stages of the consumer decision-making process will help you attract and guide your leads through the customer journey. By creating marketing that makes you easy to find, every step on their path gives them confidence that purchasing your product will solve their problem. This will improve your customer acquisition rate, increase customer retention, and maximize conversions. When done right, your customers will become loyal fans and rave about you to their friends and family.
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Consumer Decision Making Process means the process of identifying and verifying the decision making of the consumer by the business leaders or marketers. The Marketers have simplified the process of decision making in five stages. Let’s just talk about the End Consumer and Consumer Behavior before we jump to discuss the stages of the Consumer Decision Making Process. The End Consumer is the heart and soul of any business stability. End Consumer is a business term used to describe the end-user of the product in the distribution chain of business.
The End User may or may not be the purchaser of the company product. The difference b/w the Customer and Consumer – The person who buys a product or a service is a customer i.e. someone who actually pays the money from his income to purchase the product. However, the person who actually uses or consumes that product is the final or end consumer. The End Consumer and the Actual Customer are both parts of the Decision-Making Unit DMU. Understanding and studying individuals, organizations, or groups of people and the process from which the individuals, organizations, or groups of people go through while selecting, securing, using, and consuming a product or a service in order to satisfy the needs is Consumer Behavior. In pretty simple words the consumer behavior is the psychological process from which an individual goes through in order to identify needs, to find the resource or way to fulfill that need and to make the buying decision. 5 Stages of the Consumer Decision Making Process
Need Recognition The first step in the consumer decision-making process is identifying the need. The need is the most important element which leads towards the actual buying of the product or service. Need is the trigger point of all the buying decisions. Finding out what the customer needs is the first milestone towards evaluating the Consumer Decision Making Process. Determining the needs and wants of the target market provide support to many marketing decisions. Searching and gathering information The potential consumer after identifying his needs moves on to the second stage i.e. searching & gathering information. When it comes to choosing between alternatives humans tend to be skeptical, therefore they need all the information before spending their money. During this phase of the Consumer Decision Making Process, the consumer evaluates the entire positive and negatives aspects of the purchase. Due to the changing trends and online shopping sites, consumers are far more informed and are able to make better purchase decisions. Information can be collected from many different sources like prints or electronic media or from people’s reviews about certain products. Making a purchase decision is important so the consumer does not tend to be hasty while gathering information about the products and brand available in the market. The consumers receive information from many different directions. Some Sources of information are mentioned below.
Evaluating the Alternatives Consumers begin to search out for the best deals or options available once he has identified the Need and the source to satisfy that need. The Consumer at this stage evaluates different options based upon product price, product quality, product quantity, and value-added features of a product or other important factors. Customer reviews and compare prices for the substitute products before choosing the product that will satisfy the need in the best possible manner. Careful evaluation of all the alternatives/ substitute products available in the market comprises the 3rd stage of the Consumer Decision Making Process. The consumer after Need recognition and collecting useful information choose the best product available in the market based upon his taste, style, income, or preference. Actual Purchase of the Product or the Service In this stage, the customer decides what to buy, where to buy after going through all the above stages. After proper assessment of all the facts, the consumer makes a logical decision to buy a product based upon his needs and wants. The Needs and want are often triggered by the advertising and marketing campaigns, recommendations from personal connections, or maybe from both. Post Purchase Evaluation In the final stage of the consumer decision-making process the consumer evaluates or analysis the purchased product, the usefulness of the product, satisfaction delivered from the product, Value of the product with respect to the need fulfillment of the consumer. If the consumer feels that the product bought delivered the value and has met the expectation they will become the loyal customers of the product. Consumer Decision making Process is very important for marketers to successfully market their products and product line. Understanding the targeted market fully increases the efficiency of a Marketing plan and yields better results from Promotional Plan.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes. |
What are the 5 consumer decision-making processes?
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