Consumer Buying Behaviour

Process
Dr. Poonam Madan

The Consumer Buying Decision

Process

How do consumers make

purchase decisions?
How do firms use this information
to develop new products and
marketing programs?

Model of
Consumer Behavior
Stimulus Response Model
Marketing and other stimuli enter the buyers black box
and produce certain choice / purchase responses.
Marketers must figure out
what is inside of the buyers
black box and how stimuli
are changed to responses.

Stimulus Respose Model

The starting point for understanding

consumer behavior is the stimulusresponse Model
The marketers task is to understand
what happens in the consumers
consciousness between the arrival of the
outside marketing stimuli and the
ultimate purchase decisions.

Model of
Consumer Behavior

Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

6-5

A Model of Consumer
Behavior

Model of Buyer Behavior

Marketing and
Other Stimuli

Buyers Black Box

Marketing

Buyer Characteristics Product Choice

Buyer Decision Process Brand Choice

Product
Price
Place
Promotion

Other
Economic
Technological
Political
Cultural

Buyer Responses

Purchase Timing
Purchase Amount

Model of Consumer Behavior

Model of Consumer Behavior

Product
Price

Marketing
Marketing and
and
Other
Other Stimuli
Stimuli

Economic
Technological

Place

Political

Promotion

Cultural

Buyers
Decision
Process

Product Choice
Brand Choice
Dealer Choice

Buyers
Buyers Black
Black Box
Box

Buyers
Buyers Response
Response

Characteristics
Affecting
Consumer
Behavior

Purchase
Timing
Purchase
Amount

Model of Consumer Behaviour

Activities engaged
in to attract buyers

IN

Kotler et al, 2006 chapter 6

Focus on this

TRANSFORM

OUT

The Consumer Decision Process

The CDP represents a road map of
consumers minds that marketers
and managers can use to help
guide product mix,
communications, and sales
strategies

Variables involved in
understanding consumer
behaviour
Stimulus ads, products, hungerpangs
Response physical/mental reaction to
the stimulus
Intervening variables mood, knowledge,
attitude, values, situations, etc.

Basic Model of Consumer Buying

Decision Process
According to Kotler and Armstrong, the
basic model of consumer decision making
process comprises three major
components, viz., marketing and other
stimuli (these act as influences), the
buyers black box (these are related to the
consumer) and the buyer responses (this
is the response part).

Model of
Consumer Behavior
Stimulus Response Model
Marketing and other stimuli enter the
buyers black box and produce certain
choice/purchase responses.
Marketers must figure out what is inside
of the buyers black box and how stimuli
are changed to responses.

Model of Buyer Behavior

Marketing and other stimuli

A consumer is confronted with a stimulus in the
environment. This stimulus could be of two kinds;
a) One that is presented by the marketer through the
marketing mix or the 4Ps, product, price, place and
promotion;

-product: attributes, features, appearance, packaging etc.

-price: cost, value, esteem (prestige)
-place: location and convenience, accessibility
-promotion: advertising, sales promotion, personal selling,
publicity, direct marketing.

b) The other that is presented by the environment, and

could be economic, technological, political and cultural.

Buyers black box:

The stimuli that is presented to the
consumer by the marketer and the
environment is then dealt with by the
buyers black box.
The buyers black box, comprises two sub
components, viz.,
the buyers characteristics and
the buyer decision process.

 The buyers characteristics could be

personal,
psychological,
cultural and
social.

These characteristics affect the buying

decision process, which comprises five
steps:
1. Problem Recognition
2. Information Search
3. Alternative Evaluation
4. Purchase Decision
5. Post-purchase behavior

Buyer Decision Process

Purchas
e
Evaluation Decisio
Postpurchase
n
of
Behavior
Alternatives
Informatio
n
Search
Need
Recognitio
n

The Consumer Decision-Making

Process
Bill realizes that
Problem Recognition
Does this
he is fed up with
his puny b/w TV

Information Search

Bill talks to a
few of his friends
about a new TV

Evaluation of Alternatives

Bill goes shopping

to compare TVs
of different brands

Product Choice

Bill chooses one

model/brand for its
features and price

Post-purchase Evaluation

Bill takes the TV

home and becomes
a couch potato

process look
familiar?
How does it
differ for low
versus high
risk products?
Has anyone
done it
differently?
Which is the
most critical
stage?

Buyer responses:
While in the black box, the buyer also
takes a decision with respect to the
product, brand, dealer, timing and amount.

Our aim

Awareness

Interest

Action

Desire

Consumer Involvement in the Buying Decision

Influencer
Initiator
Decider

Buying Decision

User

Buyer