Consumer behavior, as well as factors influencing purchasing decisions, is what the marketing strategy of most companies is based on. The purchasing decision-making process includes several stages: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, actual purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior (Qazzafi, 2019). The first stage, problem recognition, begins with the buyer’s awareness of the need. The need can arise under the influence of internal or external influences (Qazzafi, 2019). After realizing the need, the consumer starts looking for ways to satisfy it, searching for additional information.
The information search can be defined as a motivated activation of knowledge stored in memory or the acquisition of external information. An external search that leads to a decision about an upcoming purchase is a pre-purchase search (Rossanty and Nasution, 2019). Situational factors affect the amount of time allocated for search for information (Rossanty and Nasution, 2019). For example, if a refrigerator full of food suddenly breaks down, then a person has no time to engage in an extensive and deliberate search. The degree of product differentiation is of great importance (Rossanty and Nasution, 2019). For instance, Rossanty and Nasution (2019) claim that the information about the product’s country of origin can significantly impact the decision-making process. If the consumer believes that all brands are essentially the same, an external search will not return any results. In case the brands are different, the potential return on the search increases.
An equally important stage is evaluating options when the consumer evaluates different options of choice based on the knowledge obtained at the previous step. Each consumer forms his or her opinion about similar brands based on the rating (Qazzafi, 2019). In some cases, buyers resort to careful analysis and logical inference; in others, they do not resort to evaluative methods and purchase impulse or rely on intuition (Rossanty and Nasution, 2019). Concerning the last two steps, the purchase of a product can only be affected by other people’s attitudes or unforeseen circumstances, such as losing a job and lowering prices for competitors’ products (Rossanty and Nasution, 2019). After the purchase, the consumer may experience either satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
As for me, the most recent purchase I made was that of a camera. I identified the most important characteristics for myself and evaluated each model for compliance with these requirements. If one of them surpassed similar products in all parameters important to me, I would buy it. Nevertheless, in the conditions of diversity, I have to evaluate each model according to a system of my indicators and derive a comprehensive assessment. In the end, I experienced the joy of acquiring the camera.
The situation with COVID-19 has affected consumer behavior. A new look at economic assets forces many people to focus on finding promotions, cutting back on non-essential items such as high-end or luxury goods and cheaper or local brands (Sheth, 2020). Availability, product origin and stock availability are key for shoppers who no longer want to go far to get their favorite items (Sheth, 2020). Consumers of all ages are expected to continue to value a safer online shopping experience than shopping in overcrowded stores (Sheth, 2020). Thus, many consumers try to avoid crowds as much as possible; promotions and significant discounts are not enough to attract visitors to previously visited stores.
Marketing in the digital age allows brands to meet customers’ needs. These days, people are much more informed about the quality and prices. Digital technologies and scientific approaches add value to the marketing service and enable it to respond to market changes in real-time (Lane and Levy, 2019). Customer preferences, market dynamics and product life cycles change at an astonishing rate (Lane and Levy, 2019). Consumer behavior is becoming much less predictable, and there is potential for improvement in many areas, from studying the customer base to working together with sales and marketing teams.
For CEOs, marketing is the most crucial tool for increasing sales. This becomes especially important when the growth rate slows down, and there is a need to cut costs (Lane and Levy, 2019). New advances in data processing, modeling, and forecasting allow managers to work with the target audience more accurately, measure the return on marketing costs, and understand what affects consumer behavior (Lane and Levy, 2019). Marketing is, first of all, a detailed analysis of all aspects of the profitability of each unit of production (Lane and Levy, 2019). It depends on the marketers whether the company will meet the growing expectations of customers.
Reference List
Lane, K. and Levy, S. J. (2019) ‘Marketing in the Digital Age: A moveable feast of information’, Marketing in a Digital World Review of Marketing Research, 16, pp. 13-33.
Qazzafi, S. (2019) ‘Consumer buying decision process toward products’, International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development, 2(5), pp.130-134.
Rossanty, Y. and Nasution, M. (2019) ‘Information search and intentions to purchase: The role of country of origin image, product knowledge, and product involvement’, International Journal of Information, Business and Management, 11(4), pp. 3075 -3085.
Sheth, J. (2020) ‘Impact of Covid-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits return or die?’, Journal of business research, 117, pp. 280-283.