Understanding the consumer purchase decision process

When people buy a product, they generally go through a 5-step process that most of them don’t even know about. The consumer process decision process begins with problem recognition. The first thing people do before they buy a product is perceiving a need. For example, people will wake up in the morning feeling tired which is a feeling people hate. Sadly, a lot of people don’t have the ability to go back to sleep because they need to work or do something. Since people don’t like feeling tired and can’t go back to sleep, they’ll want to find a way to remove this feeling from their lives. The consumer has no perceived a need to remove what they’re feeling and will begin the second step of the consumer purchase decision.

So, now that the consumer has recognized a problem, they want solved they’ll begin to look for a product to solve it. First, they’ll most likely scan their memory for methods to solve the problem at hand. If they don’t have previous experiences and don’t know what product will solve their problem then the person will potentially research, ask someone they know, google, or do something else to find a solution to their problem. In our tired situation from before people tend to automatically gravitate towards coffee. Deciding its coffee that is wanted the consumer will move onto step 3.

Step 3 is evaluating alternatives and assessing the value of each of the alternatives available to consumers. This is where the consumer evaluates what they’re looking for in their desired product. In our coffee example from before the consumer will evaluate if they want cheap coffee, strong coffee, good tasting coffee, quick coffee, or some other type of coffee possibly even a combination of these. Now that the consumer knows exactly what they want from their coffee they’ll be able to determine what brands supply what it is they want. Which then takes the consumer to step 4.

Step 4 is the purchase decision and physically buying the value that they desire. Three choices remain now the chosen brand, from whom to buy, and when to buy. Well in our coffee-based example the consumer has decided they want Tim Horton’s coffee because it’s cheap, tastes amazing, and is quick to get. Now the consumer needs to establish where they’ll get their Tim Horton’s coffee which location will they go to or will they go to a grocery store to get the materials to make Tim Horton’s coffee by themselves. Previous experiences have led the consumer in question going to a Timmies three blocks away because it’s close and they always have positive experiences there. Now, that the consumer knows what kind of coffee they want and where they want the coffee from the only question left is when the right time is to get this coffee. As you and every other coffee lover know the best time to get coffee is as soon as possible!

Now, you might be wondering what is step 5? Step 5 is post purchase behaviour and acknowledging the value obtained while consuming or using the product that was just purchased. This is where the consumer determines if they’re satisfied with their purchase or not. They’ll decide if they regret their decision and wish they went another direction with their decision. If the consumer is unhappy it’ll be bad for your business the consumer might tell their friends not to make the same mistake, they just did which could mean potential customers never make purchases. Or maybe they absolutely loved the product they bought and tell all their friends how amazing the product they just bought is. Positive reviews from others can attract more business and is the most powerful method of marketing. When operating a business do your best to ensure that your customer is satisfied after using your product and sees the value in it. If you bring value, you will be valued. 

Also, remember that sometimes the consumer won’t go through this process and will simply just grab the first tooth paste or soft drink they see. Some people simply don’t care and make low involvement decisions which means they’ll skip or minimize steps in this process. This is usually super uncommon with expensive purchases though.