In this research paper, we shall analyze one specific product in the market, conduct a research through customer interviews and determine what consumers go through in each stage of consumer decision making process. The paper further investigates the type of purchase involved and the purchase decision making process of the consumers as well those factors associated with the process of information search such as time and cost factors. Lastly, the paper provides the interview results determining the possible difference between the interview results and the existing theories about marketing.
Marketing is the process through which goods and services move from the production sites within the company premises to the final consumer destination. Marketing is an important process that any object-oriented organization cannot afford to avoid. It encompasses elements referred to us the 4 P’s of marketing. First, Identification, selection and development of a product, price, selection of the channel of distribution to consumer places and implementation of promotional strategy.
Before customers decide to purchase product they usually follow a particular criterion. The criteria can be identified as consumer purchasing decision making process. It is a process that gives guideline before, during, and after the consumer has made a purchase. The decision process is a psychological contract that requires analysis of various alternatives to pick the best choice (Zou, 2014). The process entails specific steps that consumers go through before making a decision to buy. The steps can be formal or informal but at least each consumer has to do it either knowingly or unknowingly before purchasing a product.
Almost all the consumers are guided by these factors before making a decision. First, the customer has to identify a need. Here the customer identifies exactly what will quench his utility. Thereafter, search information about the product identified to gain insights (pros and cons) of purchasing the product, then seek for alternatives, then the consumer picks the product and proceeds to buying. The last step is doing a post purchase evaluation which relies on two facets; when it is a new product post purchase evaluation is commonly applied unlike when purchasing habitual products like salt and sugar post purchase evaluation is not necessary.
The product identified for this research were the men clothing more specifically the official suits that are purchased from both the local and international warehouses. We identified two respondents; one was a teenage boy aged between 17-20 years, a working class and a graduate from one of the universities in Australia. The other respondent was an adult aged between 55-60 years. He works as an office messenger and in an organization, married with three children. Both respondents were interviewed independently and the feedback was documented to assist in further research. Out of the documented questions below is a highlight of the feedback from the teenage boy about men suits:
The first respondent admitted that suits are always his best clad when in office or out of office. However, he specifically purchases off-shelf suits those that are ready-made from the best warehouses in the country. It is habitual for the respondent to purchase suits. That is the taste of clothing he was introduced to right from his childhood and he cannot afford to stop the culture of purchasing other clads.
Further, gave us a clue on his decision-making process by emphasizing on the importance of following and doing a pilot research before buying a new product. Although his buying behavior is habitual, at some point he has to pick the best quality quits and identify those which are counterfeit. This is where the decision-making process help him to check on the available brands in the warehouses and pick the best. The respondent further clarified that before he makes a purchase, first, he has to identify the brand of suit to purchase, then do a research about the suit he wants to buy, then weigh out the options, and picking the best choice. However, the respondent did not mention about post purchase process therefore we assume because his purchase is habitual and usually understands whatever he purchases especially from the same outlet we satisfy his utility. However, he emphasized information search is relevant to him because he gets the product at the right price and gets the quality that he demands.
The second respondent was an elderly man and he mentioned that he rarely wears suits to special occasions hence causal clothing is the best according to him. The buying behavior of the respondent for suits is limited, he can buy a suit maybe once or twice a year. The respondent further explained that his taste to casual clothes was not intentional but rather that he how he was brought up in a family where wearing a suit was regarded as a nightmare. Therefore, whether at an official meeting or at work, he wears casual but descent clads.
To this respondent in the decision-making process is somehow systematic in that he does not require to search for information because he just goes for ordinary casual suits. Besides, whenever purchasing a suit he considers the reference groups or suggestions from the peers and not give much attention to post purchase analysis. He further clarified that he assumes referrals and groups cannot give misleading information hence their decision is always right. In this case, the decision-making process is curtailed and relies much on what the colleagues do.
Both gave a similar opinion on the importance of information search. According to them information search help them to determine the prevailing prices for the suits in the market and help them to identify the best brand of suit or rather the latest fashion of the suits. The evaluation criteria were based on the information they would find from social media platforms about the trending suit designs and what the colleagues would say about the suit fashions. More often than not, they used reference groups as last resort for making their decision.
The environment did not affect the purchasing behavior of the respondents but only identified that once they have identified the product they want they go for products at the outlets they are familiar with, hence, their purchase is never compromised by the environment. In rare occasions, they would do a post purchase evaluation. Their feedback to this question was that post purchase is never necessary because before buying they were convinced the product they purchase will satisfy their utility. One of the respondents said, in rare occasions he would undertake post purchase decision only when purchasing a product for the first time.
According to Betsch & Haberstroh (2014) depicts that human beings make countless decisions which are usually repetitive. In repetitive decision making consumers rely on prior knowledge and experience to cope with the dynamism in change of needs. For this matter, this is a true observation because from the interview result at some point the respondents made decisions depending on their experience are were less likely to repeat the process but rather engage in routine decision making. It is because the customers develop a preference to a brand and usually rely on magazine information about a product.
Solomon (2014) argues that once a behavioral decision has been made towards the purchase of a product it is stored in memory, and the individual is likely to use the same knowledge when they want to purchase the same product in future. The sentiments conquer with the results because respondent never made decisions for habitual product. The previous knowledge and experience with suits enabled him to arrive at a decision easily.
Conclusion and recommendation
Marketers usually use the marketing strategies to influence the buying behavior and purchasing behavior assuming that the clients never carry out assessment on the products they demand (Tugrul, n.d). Yet there are a number of factors the customers consider before making a decision to buy. The study conducted by interviewing two consumers of suits revealed that each consumer has to psychologically set his mind before making a purchase regardless of the efforts of promotional strategies. The findings indicated that consumers have to undertake a decision-making process before purchasing a product not necessary following the steps but at least each of the steps of consumer decision making process is involved. The result offers a cross-national dimension that as much as marketing strategies are put in place before offering a product for customers, in the mind of the consumer they already have a need of what to consume and they will purchase whenever need arise. Therefore, marketing is meant to create awareness of a new product in a new a new market hence marketing strategies have no influence at all to the consumer decision making process.
References
Betsch, T. and Haberstroh, S. eds., 2014. The routines of decision making. Psychology Press.
Media Marketing Experiences on Brand Affect and Brand Equity. Handbook of Research on Integrating Social Media into Strategic Marketing, 73-87. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-8353-2.ch005
Zou, Y. (2014). Social Media Review: The Impact of Social on Brand-Consumer Relationships. Ideas in Marketing: Finding the New and Polishing the Old, 624-624. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-10951-0_230
Solomon, M.R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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