Whenever you buy a product or service, you may not realize it but there's a decision process that you go through. The moment you think “I need” or “I want”, you have initiated this process. From the moment you type the product or service you are looking for, it is a marketer's job to make this process seamless for you to make a purchase. The buying decision process can be split into five parts, each one flowing consistently from one to the other. Imagine a multiple-tiered water fountain. As water pours from one tier to the other it keeps a steady flow and eventually, the water at the bottom will cycle itself to the top. The buying decision process is very similar to this, but what exactly does it consist of and how does it work? Let's take a deeper look at the buying decision process.
The stages of the buying decision process
The buying decision process is the journey a customer goes on when looking to buy a product. Each stage is important for the brand to engage new customers and get them to continue to come back. For this example let's imagine we are a dog treats brand named Happy Snax. Now let’s look at the five stages of this process with examples of how it may look for this Happy Snax.
Problem Recognition: During this stage, the buyer recognizes the need for a product or service.
Ex: For Happy Snax, a dog owner may realize they’re eating a lot of snacks but their dog doesn’t have any healthy treats they can nibble on. They realize they need dog treats for their amazing pets.
Information Search: Now the buyer starts to do their research. They may look online for brands, ask friends and family, or go to brands they think are associated with the need. This is why your branding is very important. By having a strong brand identity and awareness, during this stage people looking for dog treats may search you directly.
Ex: For Happy Snax, this consumer may look on social media or Google for the best results. The brand needs to have an online presence and good SEO to optimize its awareness and traffic. It’s also important to have good reviews and a good brand image for people to recommend you.
Alternatives Evaluation: Once a buyer decides on a brand they’re comfortable with they will then evaluate it and compare it to other options. This is where the brand needs to convince the consumers that they are the ones they should go with. Earning that commitment is one of the hardest parts of this process.
Ex: Many things can play a factor when evaluating a product or service. This may vary based on what the brand is about. For Happy Snax, it may be the nutritional information about the snacks, the packaging it comes in, the user experience on the website, reviews, and even shipping time. With the market being very competitive it’s important to try to optimize as many things as possible to have the edge on your competition.
Purchase Decision: During this stage, marketers try to understand what triggers the action of completing the purchase. The consumer is finalizing their thoughts on whether this is worth buying or not. Psychology plays an important role in this step, if you can persuade the buyer throughout all these steps they will make a purchase. If somewhere along the path they felt uncertain or weren’t convinced they might be having second doubts.
Ex: For Happy Snax, maybe the price is a little too high and the product doesn’t have a good enough UVP (Unique value proposition). Another obstacle they may face is not being educated throughout the research process on the difference between healthy vs processed treats for your pets. These are things that need to be addressed in previous stages.
Post Purchase Evaluation: The buying decision process doesn’t end once someone purchases your product. Many things may happen after that could change the opinion of the consumer so it's important to think past the purchase.
Ex: With the Happy Snax brand, maybe the customer receives the wrong order. Some products are hard to get rid of and can’t be thrown away in a regular trash bin. Other people are very eco-conscious and may want recyclable packaging. A brand is never going to be completely perfect but by providing customers with a solution to a problem that has not occurred you will save yourself a lot of time and save the brand from any negative reputation.
Why the buying decision process is important for marketers
The buying decision process is essential for marketers to learn and understand. This allows brands to understand the process their consumers go through, and see what’s working and what they can improve on. Maybe navigating to your products is too overwhelming, then you need to optimize your user experience and user interface. If you’re not selling a product or service, it's most likely not because it's a bad service or product. Odds are you are selling something hundreds if not thousands of people around the country are also selling. Yet they see great success but you aren't generating that many sales. This process will help you understand why that is the case and at what point in this process is this happening. Are customers even considering your brand? Or maybe your pricing is too high compared to your competition. There are many possibilities which is why a marketer needs to use this strategy to improve their conversion rates and brand engagement.
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