Understanding Consumer Perception
Understanding Consumer Perception
Group 9
1
INTRODUCTION
The study of customers and how they behave while deciding to buy a product
that meets their needs is referred to as consumer behavior. It is a study of
consumer behavior that leads to the purchase and use of specific products and
services. Consumer behavior research is crucial for marketers because it allows
them to understand what consumers expect. It aids in comprehending what
motivates a customer to purchase a product. It is critical to examine the types
of products that consumers want before releasing them onto the market.
Marketers can learn about their customers' likes and dislikes and tailor their
marketing strategies accordingly. Consumer buying behavior research
investigates things like what people buy, why they buy it, when they buy it, how
often they buy it, and why they buy it, among other things. Understanding
consumer behavior and motivation is critical for a company's present products
as well as new product launches to succeed. Every customer has a unique
thought process and attitude when it comes to purchasing a product. There are
substantial risks of product failure if a corporation fails to comprehend a
consumer's reaction to a product. Consumer behavior and motivation varies as
fashion, technology, trends, living styles, disposable money, and other related
elements change. A marketer must be aware of the aspects that are changing to
align marketing activities accordingly. Leading organizations like The Coca-Cola
Company and Barclays have concentrated on improving existing goods while
also inventing new ones. By doing market research to analyze consumer
behavior and their motivation to buy, the Coca-Cola Company matches its
corporate goal of "refreshing everyone who is touched by our business."
Similarly, to better understand the demands of this target market, Barclays
undertook a consumer behavior study. Consumer behavior analysis has become
a valuable tool for better understanding your customers. Companies can create
new goods, marketing campaigns, and boost profitability by studying consumer
psychology and the variables that drive customer buying behavior.
2
CONSUMER PERCEPTION
PROCESS OF PERCEPTION
The following is the process of perception:
1. Exposure
Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within the range of someone’s
sensory receptors— sight, smell or touch. Consumers may either tend to
concentrate on certain stimuli while being completely unaware of others,
or they may even go out of their way to ignore certain messages.
2. Attention
Attention refers to the extent to which processing activity is devoted to
a particular stimulus. Consider, for example, the thought of having to sit
through both interesting and “less interesting” lectures. This can vary
depending on both the characteristics of the stimulus (i.e., the lecture
itself) and the recipient (i.e., your mental state at that time). Consumers
often are in a state of sensory overload, where they are exposed to far
more information than they can process. Taken from a marketing
perspective, we are often bombarded with marketing stimuli from
3
commercial sources, thus making the competition for our attention an
ever-increasing phenomenon.
3. Interpretation
Interpretation refers to the meaning that we assign to sensory stimuli.
Just as people differ in terms of the stimuli that they perceive, the
meanings we assign to these stimuli vary as well. Two people can see or
hear the same event, but their interpretation of it can be as different as
night and day, depending on what they had expected the stimulus to be.
The meaning we assign to a stimulus depends on the schema (i.e., set of
beliefs), to which we assign it. Identifying and evoking the correct schema
is crucial to many marketing decisions because this determines what
criteria consumers will use to evaluate the product, package, or message.
4
SENSORY SYSTEMS
Talking of the process of perception, you may recall that we are first exposed
to stimuli before any serious attention may be given. Such exposure is
obviously to our sensory receptors and the processing occurs within our
sensory systems. For example, we can receive external stimuli, or sensory
inputs, on a number of channels. We may see a billboard, hear a jingle, feel the
silkiness of a quality saree (traditional South Asian dress), taste a new flavour
of Turkish coffee, or smell of the Arabian musk. The inputs our five senses
detect are the raw data that begin the perceptual process. For example,
sensory data emanating from the external environment (e.g., hearing a music
clip on the radio) can generate internal sensory experiences when the song
triggers a young man’s memory of his encounter with his bride and brings to
mind the smell of her perfume as they finally get to meet in her court. The
unique sensory quality of a product can play an important role in helping it
stand out from competition, especially if the brand creates a unique
association with the sensation. In recent years, the sensory experiences we
receive from products and services have become an even larger priority when
we choose among competing products and/or brands.
1. Smell –
Smell, good or bad (i.e. aroma or odour), can stir up emotions or create a
calming effect – especially in the case of aromas. They can also invoke
memories or relieve stress, as in the case of aromatherapy (where scents
are used for healing). One study found that consumers who viewed ads
for either flowers or chocolate and who also were exposed to flowery or
chocolatey odours spent more time processing the product information
and were more likely to try out different alternatives within each product
category. Many consumers control the odours in their environments and
this growing interest has created and/or re-created a lot of new products
in recent years. Overall, the sense of smell is related to pleasure and well-
being and is closely connected to emotions and memories.
5
2. Sound
The sense of sound is linked to emotions and feelings and the sense
impacts brand experiences and interpretations. It is by no coincidence
that we are bombarded with the sound of music all the time. Obviously,
our senses and especially vision (sight) cannot seem to work in isolation
in today’s consumerist world. Think about how Radio advertisements
tend to trail their TV counterparts in marketers’ ad spend. Better still think
about how you would feel watching a movie while the volume control is
on mute. Could it be pure accident that electronics manufacturers
launched the “home theatre” surround system for our enjoyment of
movies?
3. Taste
Our taste receptors obviously contribute to our experience of many
products. So-called “flavor houses” keep busy developing new
concoctions to please the changing palates of consumers. Scientists are
right behind them as they develop new devices to test these flavors. Coca-
Cola and PepsiCo use the tongue to test the quality of corn syrups,
whereas drugs manufacturers such as Roche have been known to use the
device to devise medicines that do not taste bitter. Changes in our culture
also determine the tastes we find desirable. For example, consumers’
greater appreciation of different ethnic dishes has contributed to
increased desires for spicy foods. For example, Nando’s, the
Portuguese/South African restaurant chain, is popular for its peri-peri
chicken and dishes.
4. Touch
Although scientists have done relatively little research on the effects of
tactile stimulation on consumer behavior, common observation tells us
that this sensory channel is important. Consider the classic, contoured
Coca-Cola bottle, which was designed to satisfy the request of a US bottler
for a soft-drink container that people could identify even in the dark.
Indeed, sensations that reach the skin, whether from a luxurious massage
or the chill of a winter wind, stimulate or relax us. Researchers even have
shown that touch can influence sales interactions. Britain’s Asda
supermarket (a part of the Walmart Group) is reported to have removed
the wrapping from several brands of toilet tissue in its stores so that
shoppers could feel and compare textures—an experiment that resulted
in soaring sales for its own in-store brand by up to 50% increase in shelf
space.
6
4. Vision
Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, and
packaging. They communicate meanings on the visual channel through a
product’s color, size, and styling. Philips gives its electronics a younger feel
by making them thinner and more colorful. Colors may even influence our
emotions more directly. Evidence suggests that some colors (particularly
red) create feelings of arousal and stimulate appetite, and others (such as
blue) create more relaxing feelings. Yet others such as golden may suggest
luxury, etc. Some reactions to color come from learned associations. In
Western countries, black is the color of mourning, whereas in most Arab
countries, white plays this role. In addition, while the color black may be
associated with power in western world (think of the New Zealand All
Blacks rugby team), the same may not be the case in the Arab world in
which the black color is worn by women of decency in the traditional
Abaya. Other reactions are a result of biological and cultural differences.
Women are drawn toward brighter tones and they are more sensitive to
subtle shades and patterns. Some scientists have argued that age
influences our responsiveness to color—as we get older, our eyes mature
and our vision blurs. Consequently, colors tend to look duller to older
people, so they prefer white and other bright tones. This helps to explain
why mature consumers are much more likely to choose a white car—
Lexus, which sells heavily in this market, makes 60% of its vehicles in
white. Coincidentally, most consumers in the Arab world tend to opt for
white cars as being very good heat conductors (arguably white cars tend
to be cooler especially in the hot summer months). Meanwhile, there
have been muted perceptions about white-coloured cars having very
marginal second-hand value in countries such as the UK.
7
Sensory Dynamics
• Sensation:
Sensation is the immediate and direct response of the sensory organs to stimuli.
A stimulus may be any unit of input to any of these senses.
Examples of stimuli include products, packages, brand names, advertisements
and commercials. Sensory receptors are the human organs that receive sensory
inputs. Their sensory functions are to see, hear, smell, taste and feel. All of
these functions are called into play, either singly or in combinations, in the
evaluation and use of most consumer products.
Examples
1. RASNA
8
2. FED EX
The lowest level at which an individual can experience a sensation is called the
absolute threshold. The point at which a person can detect a difference
between “something” and “nothing” is that person’s absolute threshold for
that stimulus.
9
1. McDonalds
In this gorilla ad of McDonalds, we can see four people crossing the ad but every
person crossing may perceive the ad differently. One of them can perceive the
ad get totally influenced by it on the other hand others may not even respond
to the ad.
2. MAYBELLINE
Think of a lipstick. A girl can choose a dark ruby red and outline full gorgeous
movie-star lips. Or she can choose a pale pink, nearly the colour of her own
skin, so pale that you are barely aware that she's wearing lipstick. Here's where
the term absolute threshold comes in. If she's not wearing any lipstick at all, she
has pale lips. If she's wearing just a touch of lipstick, you can tell she's got some
color, but it looks just about natural. This lower limit of how little lipstick, how
pale a lipstick a girl can wear, is an example of the absolute threshold. If she
wore any less, or a colour any paler, you would not be able to tell she was
wearing lipstick.
10
• The Differential Threshold
The minimal difference that can be detected between two similar stimuli is
called the differential threshold or the just noticeable difference.
1. NATURALS
11
2. MAC
In the example of the lipstick, the stimulus is sight - the visible colour of the
lipstick. The absolute threshold was the amount of colour less than which you
would not know she was wearing any. The differential threshold for the lipstick
could be the difference between the palest of pinks and the deepest of reds. Or
it could be the just noticeable difference between palest pink and pale pink.
Differential threshold would also be involved in determining the coverage of two
different brands of lipstick. Say you had one brand that gave you a full rich pink
colour and another that gave you just a pale thin pink wash: that's a differential
threshold between two brands of lipstick.
Elements of Perception
Expectation
People usually say what they're expect to see and what they expect to see is
usually based on previous experience familiarity or a set of expectations in a
marketing concept A person tends to previously product and product attributes
according to his or her own expectations. We all have prebuilt beliefs
and expectations that influence how we perceive experiences and ultimately
our response to them.
12
In most instances, before we even engage with a brand, we’ve already formed
some idea of what the experience will be like and what we would want it to be
like. Perceptions precede the experience and ultimately shape our response
towards the brand. Expectations, and sentiment towards a product, service, or
offering are directly linked to how they perceive their experience.
13
• Decathlon - Decathlon is one of the worlds’ leading sports companies
which fathoms to shine as bright as it logo providing Pleasure of Sports
at Affordable Price’. It has created an edge over its counterparts by
being a force to reckon with in its domain of services ranging from
sports to clothes and catering every sport’s need. The perception of
the consumers lies on the knowledge and how they orient to purchase
the product and also the wide range of products availability makes
them feel to purchase. Consumer Perception and Brand Awareness
depend upon the guarantee and warranty facilities, location,
provision for trial and services provided in this study and the
awareness can be made through advertisement through the events
conducted by Decathlon. So People visiting A decathlon will expect to
see sport equipment clothing only.
Motives
People tend to really receive the things they need or want the stronger the
need the greater attendance to ignore unrelated stimuli in the environment.
Interest and involvement with a product category also impact the level of
attention that a person would give to the goods and services and/or brands. A
motive is an inner force that stimulates and compels a certain behavioral
response and provides specific direction to that response. Specific goals are on
the basis of – personality characteristics, perceptions, previous learning and
experience and attitudes. The marketer can segment the market on the basis
of those needs and vary the product at what is meant so that customers in
each segment will preserve the product as meeting their own special needs
and want an interest.
14
• Maybelline - A person who is looking for a make-up foundation will
notice and read looking for a makeup brand Maybelline carefully.
And look for that product category more than any other product
available. Because of the need or want he desires. The term
Maybelline is known to many beauty enthusiasts from around the
world as an iconic brand that is easily available to consumers around
the country. Maybelline is a leader in the beauty cosmetic industry,
making some of the best makeup money can [Link] and
advertising campaigns are very important for Maybelline. They play a
vital role in creating awareness, in revitalizing the brand after a time
which also helps in creating brand loyalty.
15
• Heineken: A person who likes to consume beer. Because of his want
for beer Will always has more focus on the ads of a beer brand
Motivated by the various factors that are known to influence food
and drink choice, the present review aims to examine the existing
findings concerning how these influences occur across four main
sections. The first, consumer variables, covers biological,
psychological, and socio-cultural factors. The second section
(product-intrinsic attributes) covers the sensory characteristics of the
beer itself. The third section (product-extrinsic attributes) covers the
information available to the consumer in relation to the beer, as
well as the sensory characteristics of elements accompanying the
beer, such as its packaging, design, and container or receptacle.
PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION
17
In this ad by lodha, you can see the figure and ground concept applied where
in the figure part you can see the image of the Lodha property as it is
important for the customer to know how the property looks and in the ground
part of the print ad you can see pre launch offers and amenties details.
In the second ad, the brand name, pricing and the picture of the product is in
the figure part. And the other parts recede into the background that is ground.
GROUPING
It tells us that consumers tend to group together objects that share similar
physical characteristics. Green Giant relied on this principle when the company
redesigned the packaging for its line of frozen vegetables. It created a “sea of
green” look to unify all of its different offerings.
Grouping refers to people's tendency to groups stimulate together so that they
become a unified picture or impression. Grouping helps memory and recall.
• If you visit an online store you'll always see (You may also like section)
section which suggests the customer customer to add the products
related to what they were looking for. These are the grouping
recommendations which attracts consumers to buy the related
products. Such as if a Person is looking for a soul the recommendation
will also show products like shampoo conditioner etc.
18
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony
Computer Entertainment. Grouping concept is applicable here as customers
tend to buy PS4 , joy stick, gaming CDS together.
Closure
The closure principle states that people tend to perceive an incomplete picture
as complete. For example, when we hear only part of a jingle or theme.
Marketing strategies that use the closure principle encourage audience
participation, which increases the chance that people will attend to the
message. When faced with incomplete information, individuals have the
tendency to fill in the gaps themselves so as to gain a more meaningful
information. They feel ill at ease when faced with an incomplete picture. They
prefer to organize their perceptions so as to form a complete picture. In other
words, if people are exposed to incomplete stimuli, they tend to perceive it as
complete, by either consciously or subconsciously filling up the missing gaps.
This may be done on the basis of his or her (the individual’s) past experience,
past information or on the basis of hunches. This concept of closure can be
seen as the tension experienced by a person when a task is incomplete, and
the satisfaction and relief that may be experienced on its completion.
At times, some of the advertisements are given in an incomplete manner,
where broken lines are put, which have to be filled in with certain alphabets in
order to convey some meaning. People usually fill up these gaps to get the
picture or meaning.
19
• The ad or a printed of a missing person wanted wanted for murder
and kidnapping. It creates the chance that people will attend to the
message when faced with incomplete information. Individuals have a
tendency to fill the gap themselves And are curious to gain more
information about the ad. They prefer to organize the perception to
fill the gap of the image. It makes them curious to know more about
this information. It gives curiosity to the person AA to win or add is
incomplete and the satisfaction and relief They may feel or
experience when the ad is completed . Fill up the gaps to get the
meaning of the advertisement in their mind.
PERCEPTUAL INTERPRETATION
At this phase of the perceptual cycle, a perceiver might commit errors, and this
could prompt confusion of the improvements. Such missteps are alluded to as
perceptual errors and perceptual distortions. Perceptual mistakes happen
because of various misshaping impacts. At the point when discernments are
incorrect and broken, and the subsequent social reactions are unseemly and
uneven, there happens what is alluded to as a perceptual distortion.
Physical appearance
21
relate the great looks of the models with pleasurable results after use of the
item. Eg. Lakme
22
NBA recently introduced Ranveer Singh, popular Indian actor as their brand
ambassador in India. NBA not being a very popular show among the Indian
audience has rightly roped in Ranveer Singh very influential personality among
Indian youth and also a basketball lover himself.
First impression
People often make judgments on the basis of the first impression. This may not
always be true and could be erroneous. If erroneous, it would be known as a
perceptual error based on first impression. First impression as a principle has
implications for a marketer. A new product should never be introduced in the
market before it has been market tested. In case it is not tested and launched,
and subsequently fails, it could be disastrous for the company. All subsequent
attempts to satisfy the customer would fail as first impression is long lasting.
Patanjali - The Name of the company shows that the company produces
Ayurveda products and is taken from the ingredients of Nature. The perfect
name for the company and the Tad line is” Prakriti ka Ashirwad” Which is
appropriate for the company. Patanjali has achieved success by its marketing
strategy+ Product quality+ Ayurveda + low price + Swadeshi. The company
knows the marketing technique very well. They knew how to capture the
Indian market and people. Another big decision that companies have taken for
their brand Ambassador. They didn’t appoint any film star or any big
personality for their product. This is the best example of right first impression.
23
Tanishq brand was affected by not so good first impression which resulted in
backlash by the Indian audience. Jewellery brand Tanishq said it was "deeply
saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions", after withdrawing an
advertisement portraying a Muslim family celebrating the baby shower of their
Hindu daughter-in-law. The advertisement was meant to promote Tanishq's
Ekatvam brand jewellery line. The commercial received backlash and trolling
on social media, with some calling it "anti-Hindu" and others alleging that it
promotes "love jihad". This why first impression can make or break a brand.
Halo effect
When a stimuli (person, place, thing etc.), is perceived on the basis of a single
trait, it is referred to as a Halo effect. In case the assessment is based on a
good and desirable, it is referred to as a Halo effect or a positive Halo effect,
and in case the assessment is based on something bad and undesirable, it is
called a reverse Halo effect. One particular trait overrides all the other traits
and a perception is made on a single trait. The evaluation of the stimuli on a
multitude of dimensions is actually based on the evaluation of just one or a
few of the dimensions.
24
Olay brand has perfectly roped in Madhuri Dixit as their brand ambassador for
their new product Olay Regenerist whose target audience is women between
30-45 age group. This gives them an edge that people believe Madhuri dixit is
promoting it so the product might be a good one.
As we all know and trust Amazon for the good service. Brand extension
into the electronics category is a good move by Amazon as they already
have a customer base.
25
Perceived quality of products
Intrinsic Cues: Intrinsic Cues that are concern about the physical characteristics
of the product itself .People actually experience the product here . Physical
attributes of the products Such as color , flavor and aroma.
• Lux stands for the promise of beauty and glamor as one of India's most
trusted personal care brands. Lux’s new perfumed soap collection is
here to change all of that. Launched in three divine fragrances, these
richly perfumed soaps can transform your daily cleansing ritual into an
indulgent, fragrant experience.
26
Lux's positioning has not changed significantly; the target audience has
remained young women. Lux uses star appeal to drive the brand message. Over
the last 40 to 50 years, top actresses, in Pakistan and across Asia, have endorsed
Lux.
• Yoga Bar aims to change your snacking habit to a healthy one. The
company does not spend big bucks on advertising and is largely
dependent on word-of-mouth. Over the last 2 or 3 months, social
media marketing has started. Yoga bar target customers are those
who are trying to make that switch from eating chocolates to
something healthier. Its ingredients are its main strength and all its
ingredients offer health benefits and are completely natural with no
additives or preservatives. The packaging of yoga bars is so attractive
that it offers something unique to truly appeal to customers, although
uniqueness can manifest itself in several different ways. Packaging
designs of yoga bars captures attention from the shelf, but once they
draw customers in, your product needs to hold their interest.
Yoga bar began by building a brand identity that reflected the fun and flexibility
of the name as a hand drawn font that could boldly draw people in. The
27
multigrain energy bar packaging we created had a laundry list of criteria to
deliver on: bold brand, fun, approachability, natural ingredients, a sense of eco-
consciousness, a mood story, an international feel, a list of claims, etc.
The concept of perceived service quality has been described as "an overall
judgment concerning the excellence or superiority of a product or service .The
product/service is seen as a set of features that enhance customer satisfaction.
Quality of services is judges by 5 dimensions/raters:
Reliability (providing service as promised),
Responsiveness (informing customers when services will be provided),
Assurance (instilling confidence in customers),
Empathy (giving individualized attention),
Perception of Risk
29
2. Functional risk – It relates to alternative means of performing the function
or meeting the need. Practical consumers are the most sensitive. More
applicable to purchases requiring the buyer’s exclusive commitment.
3. Social risk – It is closely linked to self-esteem and confidence. Those who are
insecure and uncertain are most sensitive. Typical for socially visible or
symbolic products such as clothes, jewellery, homes, or sports equipment.
4. Psychological risk – It is similar to social risk, but consists of affiliations and
status. Those lacking respect or attractiveness to peers are most sensitive.
Common with expensive personal luxuries that may engender guilt, durables,
and services whose use demands self-discipline or sacrifice.
5. Physical risk – This is concerned with the aspect of physical vigor, health, and
vitality. Those who are elderly, frail, or in ill health are most vulnerable.
Applicable to mechanical or electrical goods (e.g. flammables), drugs and
medical treatment, as well as food and beverages, e.g. wine.
Discussion Points
30
• Customers want to do business with companies that have similar
values to their own. Having public company values that you adhere
to heavily influences your customers’ perception of your brand.
• Both brand and client insight must count. Now and then the thing
the brand is offering might vary from what the client sees. It can
cause negative responses from one or different gatherings.
• Ensure that the brand is in finished sync with the clients to support
their insight about its items and administrations. When you gain his
confidence, it becomes conceivable to procure his faithfulness
progressively.
• According to a research, the results indicate that the factors
influence purchasing decision as perceived value which is directly
confident relationship to purchasing. And others factors that
indirectly influence purchasing decision via perceived value as
quality, extrinsic attribute, intrinsic attribute, perceived sacrifice,
price and place so on. Perception does more than impact each
individual sale; it shapes the long-term relationships—good or bad—
that customers establish with your brand. As a result, every
touchpoint your company has with customers must affect their
perception in a positive way.
• Businesses that shape positive brand perceptions among customers
are more likely to impact potential customers in indirect ways as well
and establish themselves as remarkable compared to other brands in
their space.
CONCLUSION
The consumer perception process consists of five distinct activities. First the
consumer has to be exposed to stimuli. Exposure occurs when a stimulus
comes within the range of our sensory receptor nerves, ie when stimuli come
within the range of our senses.
31
The importance of exposure is that there can be no communication (or a
perception process for that matter) without exposure to stimuli.
Secondly, the consumer has to direct attention to the stimuli. Important from a
marketing perspective is that no matter how often a consumer is exposed to
marketing stimuli the message is of no use if attention did not take place. The
attention process can therefore be viewed as an information filter - a screening
mechanism that controls the quantity and nature of information any individual
receives. Important to consider is that if the consumer does not attend to the
product attributes (or the total advertisement for that matter) he is exposed
to, even the explicit mentioning of the attributes is to no avail. It is therefore
extremely important for the marketer to ensure that consideration
is given to methods of attracting attention when developing advertisements.
One such method may be to explicitly mention (or place focus on) the
attributes that differentiate the marketer's brand from those of competitors.
The third phase in the perception process, perceptual organisation, suggests
that stimuli are not perceived as a set of elements but as a whole. This total is
believed to have a meaning of its own that is not necessarily deductible from
its individual components ,referred to as Gestalt psychology. The marketer
needs to acknowledge the Gestalt psychology and perceptual organisation in
general when developing advertisements since they may ensure that the
consumer pays attention to the marketer's advertisements.
The final phase of the perception process, retention, is very important for the
marketer. Even if the total perception process was successful, it serves no
purpose if the consumer is unable to recall the information when he is
required to act on it. The message has failed if the consumer cannot remember
its content. The marketer therefore needs to ensure that his advertising claims
are remembered by the consumer. This is made possible through repetitive
32
advertising by ensuring that attention is captured by the advertisement. The
use of differentiating product attributes may assist the marketer to capture
attention and thereby "force" the consumer to retain the information when
deciding between alternatives. When deciding between alternatives, the
consumer moves through all the major stages of the decision-making process.
The process always commences with the recognition of a need, which occurs
when a discrepancy exists between the consumers' actual state and the state
he desires to be in. Once a need has been triggered (eg through the depletion
of current stock, dissatisfaction with his current brand, change in financial
status, etc), the consumer enters the second stage, namely information search.
The search for information can either be of an internal or external nature or a
combination of both. The primary objective of information search is to collect
information that could be used as the basis for choosing among alternatives. It
is eminent that product attributes play an important role in the information
search process since the consumer often has to depend on displayed attributes
to differentiate among brands. Once the search process has been completed,
the consumer enters stage three, namely evaluation of alternatives. During the
third phase, the consumer not only has to decide what brand he should
choose, but also has to consider the criteria (decision rules) he should use in
evaluating each brand. The consumer therefore considers the choice
alternatives along the evaluative criteria selected. Product attributes often
form the basis for evaluating alternatives and are furthermore employed in
decision rules.
During the fourth stage, the consumer enters the purchase phase where the
selected alternative is purchased for consumption. Interesting to note is that a
purchase can either be fully planned, planned or unplanned. A fully planned
purchase occurs when the consumer decides precisely which brand within a
product category he wishes to purchase. If he only decides on the product
category (without a specific brand within that category), the purchase is
classified as planned. Unplanned purchases occur when a product is purchased
without prior articulation of the purchase (either verbally or on a shopping
list). This does, however, not imply that a decision process did not occur. The
purchase may be based on product displays, where the display provides a
reminder of a need and a purchase is triggered. In the final phase of the
consumer decision-making process, post purchase evaluation, the consumer
consumes the product. If the expectations held for the product are met or
exceeded, the consumer is likely to be satisfied with the purchase.
Dissatisfaction then, is the outcome of negatively confirmed expectations. The
outcome of the post purchase evaluation, satisfaction or dissatisfaction, has a
33
direct influence on consumer beliefs and attitudes, future purchase intentions,
word-of-mouth communications and complaint behaviour.
34