Buying Sequence and Marketing

The first step in the purchasing process for consumers is problem recognition. It has to do with whether a product is needed by the consumer or whether the consumer is unhappy with their current situation. This stage offers a chance for a marketer to invent a problem that the customers are aware of or to convey a novel viewpoint that prompts a requirement among them. This level of marketing involves presenting facts and engaging in content marketing with the goal of influencing potential customers.

When a problem is identified, people start looking for information (stage II). In this phase, the problem is being looked for a solution. Marketers should position their company brand as a market leader and a preferred brand thereby attracting the solution-seeking consumers.

Since consumers tend to evaluate alternatives (stage III) following their research, marketers must strive to keep their brand among the best options considered by the consumers. Also, the marketers may provide their competitors’ prices even when they are lower as this builds customer trust. Customer trust is an essential factor in creating a brand loyalty.

Purchase decision stage succeeds the alternatives evaluation stage and involves the consumer deciding to buy from a given company. Marketers should ensure their brand excels in the product feature that earns the highest weight among the consumers.

Finally, Post-purchase evaluation stage wraps the process of consumer purchasing. In this stage, the consumer assesses their decision to buy a particular brand and decides on whether subsequent purchases are viable. Since these evaluations can either be positive or negative, marketers should follow up with emails or survey to understand the customer feedback and establish a good relationship that can mature into brand loyalty.

Psychological Processes Affecting Buyers

Psychological processes affecting buyers are classified into four primary processes namely: motivation, involvement, learning and consumers’ attitude.

Motivation refers to the intrinsic and internal drive that makes people buy a given product. Marketers analyze the drives of their target customers and devise marketing strategies that oriented to providing commodities that satisfy the consumers.

Involvement is the measure of the usefulness of a commodity in satisfying the needs and wants of the society. Marketers devise strategies that aim at encouraging potential customers to be involved in the purchasing process.

Learning is the process of acquiring new information and therefore preferences and from which the buyers determine the products to purchase. Marketing strategies attempt to reveal all the relevant information about the brands despite the vice of cut-throat competition that limits the effectiveness of the approach.

An attitude of the consumer is another psychological effect of purchasing products. It refers to the general feeling of the buyer about the commodity and is mostly affected by choice of advertisements. Marketers devise strategies that factor in the beliefs of the target customers and establish brands that alter the buyers’ opinions relative to the brand of their competitors.

References

Finch, J. (2012). Managerial Marketing [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://ashford.content.edu