Decision Making in Product Purchasing

Decision making in consumer purchasing is defined as the psychological process of selecting a particular course of action among other alternatives, this is said to be the simplest process that a consumer needs to apply before purchasing a particular product. But for one to be able to do this, he must first of all go through various stages that will enable him be aware of the product and how to obtain it. These transactions are useful especially in determining the purchasing behavior of a consumer. The stages involved in this process are:

Awareness this is a stage where a consumer must be aware of the existence of a particular product in the market, this is because, if a buyer is not aware of the product then there will be no action taken on the purchasing process. The second stage is interest, meaning, the consumer must be interested in the product he intends to buy, therefore he is persuaded by the content of the message that the product is relevant to his needs. This is then followed by understanding whereby, the consumer should be able to know how the particular product will meet his needs. [1] The next stage is attitude under this the consumer must be able to develop a positive feeling towards the product depending on the persuasive message given about the product by the producers.

Then the final stage is the purchase which is the buying decision made by the consumer, this may take some time later after trying to get the shop that stocks the favorite. Though there are many goods to choose in the market the following factors, made me have the knowledge about the listed products that I had to purchase so that they meet my needs, getting more information about the product this was done by visiting different stores ,discussing with friends, relatives, reading, listening and watching advertisements on media and also most information about the products was found on the Internet; through which various comparisons were made by considering the advantages and the disadvantages of the products, the availability of the product in the market and the resources available and how the good will meet my needs. The evaluation of the product’s quality, durability and usefulness among others was carried out. The following factors enabled to come up with a decision in purchasing the listed products.

Need: The decision of the purchase of the official dress came as a result of the need whereby it was recommended that to attend the meeting; one had to put on a particular kind of the clothing. The purchase of the perfume was due to the need to have a good fragrance after shower, before leaving the house so that it can bring freshness throughout the day avoiding the odor that come as result of hard work throughout the day. [2]The need for a good toothbrush, tooth paste and the mouth wash was to maintain the good health of the mouth including the teeth, gums, and tongue and maintaining a fresh breath throughout the day.

Also the need for communicating with colleagues and other members of the family or friends who are said to be far led to the purchase a mobile phone that would ease the communication thus enabling the sharing of information among the society members. The need for a television set was to be entertained and to be informed on what is happening globally and also through television we get to be educated more on particular areas of our social lives so this led to the purchase of the good. The need to keep my self health by avoiding the headache cases during the day so for preventive measures the medicine was bought.

Motives: These are personal forces that make an individual to engage in various purchasing activities which will therefore satisfy his needs. Since actions are normally effected by motives, the following motives brought the need to buy these particular products. Love, safety, self actualization and esteem were the basic factors that contributed to this purchase of the listed products.

Knowledge: Under this, the ability of one to learn is applied, whereby a persons’ behavior is changed through the information given to the product purchased and in this case my knowledge of operating the mobile phone and the television set led me to decide on the buying of these product knowing that there will be no loss or damage caused while operating them. Therefore the knowledge on the product to be bought must also be considered as a leading factor in a consumers purchasing behavior.

Attitude: These are defined as the feelings towards a product this can be a negative feeling or a positive feeling this is normally learnt through practice and communications with other people in the society, through interaction with different people and friends among them my family members, a positive attitude against these products was developed whereby the decision to all the listed products. [3]

Personality: This is the characteristics that make an individual unique; this normally derives from inheritance and his personal experience. Such characters include: Self confidence, friendliness, ambitiousness, and aggressiveness in different aspects of

Lifestyle this defined as a change towards an individual’s independence that leads to a preference for a particular type of life. For instance the buying of products such as a particular model of a mobile phone was decided upon the type of mobile phones that a particular class of people in the country posses and also the preferred type of perform that is normally used by the particular class of people.

Culture and Sub-Culture: These are values, and attitudes accepted by the family members and the society at large these factors determine what product is tolerable within the family. This is normally used to determine what people wear, eat, and travel.

Packaging of the clothing that included the hang tags, labels that provided information on the instructions on how to take care of the garment created the a positive attitude towards the garment leading to its purchase also the fibre content and the place of its manufacturer led to deciding on purchasing the good.

These companies are known for the better production of these products are known to be implying the best marketing strategies that will enable them to achieve the targeted market these strategies include:

Pricing-the company uses the pricing methods to enable its product reach its marketing standards. Whereby various pricing methods are applied such as Premium pricing this is where the uniqueness of the company product is defined. This pricing is normally high and is totally used where there is a substantial competition of the product in the market. For the company to be able to gain the market share, it therefore applies the penetration pricing whereby, once the company achieves the market share, it increases the price of its product. Also in situations where the company’s need to promote the product in the market, then it uses the promotional method of pricing in which a consumer is asked to buy a product and the purchase is accompanied by a free sample of the product. [4]

The place or the channel of distribution, this is the activity that is used by the companies to move their product from the production to consumption. These companies are said to have come across various channels of distribution to enable their products reach the targeted market. This means that they either use the direct or the indirect channels, that is it may be to the consumers directly or through wholesalers. They normally consider the following, for them to decide on the type of the distribution channel to use; they ensure that the market segment that the distributor is familiar with in which therefore the distributor is made to be familiar the company’s target markets. They ensure that their company policies, strategies and image match with that of the distributor.

There are various types of channels that the producers apply in the distribution of their products this include: wholesalers, these are said to be buying goods in bulk from the company and selling them in smaller packages for resale by the retailers, they also provide storage facilities for the products, wholesalers offer the companies a reduced physical contact cost between the producers and its consumers. They also use agents who are normally used in international markets; they are used to widen the international market for the goods. Retailers are also used who have a strong personal relationship with the consumers through whom the products are exposed to the buyers, they offer credits to customers thus promoting and merchandising the companies’ products. [5]

The internet is also used through which the companies have a geographically wider market and this has enabled their products to reach a wider audience. The other element used by the companies is promotion, this is the marketing communication that is used by get the products in the market, pushing the consumers to the point of purchasing the products, the following is practiced; Personal selling, this is a way of maintaining personal customer relations in which the sales person act on behalf of the companies, these sales people are trained and have the personal selling techniques.

Advertising is largely  used to create awareness of the products to the consumers so that the companies may gain responses from their target markets, under this there many advertising mediums including, print (newspapers, journals and posters.) and electronic(television, internet and radio) mediums of communication the companies choose to create awareness of the products to buyers. Public Relation is also applied in these companies, which has led to a sustained and a planned effort in establishing and bringing understanding between the companies and its consumers.

Lastly, they use the exhibitions to make new contacts and renewing the old contacts, this is used to increase the awareness of the products to the consumers thus giving the companies an opportunity to meet both the trade and consumers. [6]

 The other customers will not be able to have the same opinions since marketing opportunities increase when customer groups with varying needs and wants are recognized. Markets can be segmented or targeted on a variety of factors including age, gender, location, geographic factors, demographic characteristics, and family life cycle, desire for relaxation or time pressures. Segments or target markets should be accessible to the business and large enough to provide a solid customer base.  Therefore, a business must analyze the needs and wants of different market segments before determining its niche.

References:

Baker, M. (2000): Marketing Management and Strategy, 3rd edn: Macmillan Business, London.

Blythe, J. (2001): Essentials of Marketing, 2nd edn: Prentice Hall, New York,

Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S. (2000): Principles of Marketing, 2nd Edn: Prentice Hall, Harlow, New York

Hoyer, W.D. and MacInnis, D.J. (2001): Consumer Behavior, 2nd Edn: Houghton Mifflin Company, New York

Kotler, P.; Armstrong, G.; Saunders, J. and Wong, V. (1999): Principles of Marketing, 2nd Edn: Prentice Hall, New Jersey

[1] Baker, M. (2000): Marketing Management and Strategy, 3rd edn: London. Macmillan Business

 [2] Baker, M. (2000): Marketing Management and Strategy, 3rd edn: Macmillan Business, London.

 [3] Hoyer, W.D. and MacInnis, D.J. (2001): Consumer Behavior, 2nd Edn: Houghton Mifflin Company, New York

[4] Hoyer, W.D. and MacInnis, D.J. (2001): Consumer Behavior, 2nd Edn: Houghton Mifflin Company, New York

[5] Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S. (2000): Principles of Marketing, 2nd Edn: Prentice Hall, Harlow, New York

[6] Kotler, P.; Armstrong, G.; Saunders, J. and Wong, V. (1999): Principles of Marketing, 2nd Edn: Prentice Hall, New Jersey