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Q.3 Describe the steps in the consumer decision making process for each of the
following cases – a) A businessman considering the purchase of a laptop b) A
consumer considering the purchase of a soap that is advertised as having greater
moisturizing properties. [10 Marks]
It is the sate in which the consumer feels the need to buy something to help
him/her get back to the original state of physical or psychological comfort. There
are two types of stimuli which result in problem recognition:
a. Internal Stimulus: This is internal state of physical or phycological
discomfort felt by the consumer, for example hunger, thirst, boredroom
etc.
b. External Stimulus: This is the outside influence like an advertisement of a
product or the fresh bread smell near a bakery which would stimulate the
need in the mind of the consumer.
i) Prepurchase Search:
This is the second step in the consumer decision process. Once the problem has
been recognized by the consumer, the next step is to search for relevant
information to solve the problem. This search is confined to a set of brands which
can be classified as follows:
1. Awareness Set: This is the set of brands, which the consumer is aware of.
2. Recalled Set: This is the set of brands, which the consumer can remember
when deciding.
3. Considered Set: This is the set of brands, which the consumer considers for the
final selection after discarding the other brands.
The pre-purchase information may be obtained from various sources, like
advertisements, brochures, salesmen, shop displays, company website, etc. which
is basically given by the marketer. The consumer may also get the information
from friends and acquaintances, or from his/her own past experience.