Traditional Decision-Making Process

Summary
Consumer Decision-Making Process
There are different stages that consumers go through from the realisation of the need to buy a product to the actual
purchase. The stages of this journey may vary depending on the type of purchase and consumers.
Traditional Decision-Making Process
The consumer buying decision making process is the method used by businesses to identify and track the decision-
making process of their prospective customers.
There are five steps involved in this:
1. Need recognition stage: The first stage of the consumer’s decision-making process is finding out what the he
wants.
2. Information search stage: Information is gathered about various brands that offer the service the consumer
is looking for.
3. Evaluation of alternatives stage: The third stage of the process is the evaluation of alternatives, in which you
ask questions to assess whether a product is a good fit for your requirements.
4. Purchase stage: In this stage, the customer makes a decision on the basis of the knowledge gathered in the
previous stages, regarding what and from where to purchase the desired product, from the alternatives he
has.
5. Post-purchase stage: In this stage, the purchased product is reviewed, and questions such as "Did the
product deliver on the promises of the marketing/advertising campaigns? Did the product match or exceed
expectations?" are answered.
For example, consider a consumer’s journey while booking a cab. He is already late for office; the primary motivator
for him is the need to reach his office faster, which triggers his need to book a cab to reach office. Although he has
these apps in your phone, if he was not already aware of Ola and Uber, he would have searched for information on
booking cabs online. Once he becomes aware that Ola and Uber are two of his alternatives, he does an evaluation of
which one is better for him, based on factors such as the time it will take to reach his pickup location or the cost,
which is the other influencer in his decision-making process. After zeroing down on one of these, he books the cab
and, thereby, chooses to pay for its service. After his cab ride ends, he rates his experience and enters into the post-
purchase stage.
Online Decision-Making Process

The steps followed in both traditional and online decision-making processes are the same. However, the consumer
journey in the digital context is often smaller since each stage is tightly integrated with the next.
Due to better access, consumers can message each other with information about the product and brand, and on top
of that, they have the ability to influence other consumers. This is why consumer interaction happens at every stage.
That’s how consumers interact with and impact other consumers. For example, a consumer in the alternative
evaluation stage may post his evaluation process online, which, in turn, will act as an external influencer to another
consumer who is currently in the information search stage of the journey. So in the digital context, through the inner
circle in the image, a consumer informs others and advocates positives or negatives of a product and then influences
other buyers to go into the same digital process.
For example, when a person wants to purchase a smartphone, he starts with searching for them on Google. He then
compares the alternatives that Google displays, based on the price, specifications, and other features. He goes
through the user reviews given by other customers. He then decides on one suiting his budget and needs the best
and orders it online. If he likes it, he will go about and recommend it to his friends. He will also give the product
reviews on the website that he bought the phone from.
B2B Decision-Making Process

B2B buyers go through a lot of research before engaging with sales representatives of a prospective vendor. The B2B
decision-making process is slightly different from the B2C decision-making process and includes the following stages:
1. Need recognition
2. Description and quantification of need
3. Search for information and potential suppliers
4. Requests for proposal (RFP)
5. Evaluation of proposals and vendor selection
6. Establishment of a routine order
7. Post-purchase evaluation stage
For example, when a company needs to install a security software in all of its computers, there is a need recognition.
Then its IT team discusses several parameters such as the features of the software, quantity to be purchased, etc.
This is the description and quantification of need. These officials then search for vendors that can supply them with
these products. This is the third stage. Out of all the vendors chosen, they finalise 3-4 vendors and send them a
request for proposal. In the next stage, they evaluate the vendors’ proposals based on different parameters such as
cost, features, and availability. The establishment of the routine order stage involves placing the order and agreeing
on each other’s terms. In the final post-purchase stage, the software’s performance is evaluated, and feedback is
provided to the vendor. If the officials are happy with its performance, they might consider buying the same
software again after the term expires.
Purchase Funnel
Businesses influence consumers along the customer journey, from the stage of need recognition to the actual
purchase of the product. They use the purchase funnel to do this. Firms should try to reach potential customers,
wherever they are in their decision-making journey, and ensure that the right message is sent at the right time.
The purchase funnel includes four stages:

1. Awareness
2. Consideration
3. Purchase
4. Delight
This is a very useful tool to understand what message to deliver and how to attract potential customers along their
decision-making process.
For example, Toyota, converts its prospective customers into actual customers by making them aware of its cars
through ads, hoardings, newspapers, and feature publicity. The salespersons in the company’s showrooms inform
visitors about the cars and also about seasonal discounts on them. This is the consideration phase. Through all this,
they drive sales. Toyota also provides after-sales service so that its customers act as its promoters during the delight
phase.

Traditional Decision-Making Process

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Summary

Consumer Decision-Making Process

Traditional Decision-Making Process

There are five steps involved in this:

Online Decision-Making Process

B2B Decision-Making Process

The purchase funnel includes four stages:

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