Consumer Decision Making Process Paper

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Consumer Decision Making Process

The consumer decision-making process signifies the method by which customers come to be conscious of and recognize their necessities; gather information on the way to best sort out these needs; assess other available possibilities; make a buying decision, and evaluate their acquisition. When consumers buy goods, especially durable goods that do not wear out quickly, there is a decision process that the consumer goes through (Stankevich, 2017). The decision-making process comprises six steps; although the consumer might choose to skip or follow a different order, all purchasers go through a decision-making process when buying a product. When clients purchase products, they follow the six decision-making processes, which include: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase, use, and evaluation. Consumers follow these stages, although it depends on a particular customer. It is preferable to follow all the steps to evade problems connected with bad purchasing decisions. 

Problem Recognition

This is the initial step in the decision-making process. It comprises the motives so as to why an individual or a consumer has to buy a specific product. In our lives, we all have wants and needs. Frequently these necessities and essentials are caused by an issue or a problem that happens in our lives (Stankevich, 2017). As a result of us being problem solvers in our lives by nature, we as consumers identify these issues and find solutions to the problems by purchasing different services and products. 

About three months ago, I began to experience severe problems with my Lenovo laptop. I took it to a computer repair expert to be looked at. The experts told me that I would need to require a new laptop since mine had a motherboard failure. After weighing the worth of my personal computer and the cost of another motherboard, I decided not to replace it but, as an alternative, sell the spare parts of the laptop and purchase a new Apple MacBook Pro laptop. Buying a new Apple laptop is a big deal because it is such an expensive product and a long-term decision to make. Although I recognize the process at hand, I initially had to identify my issue to start to solve it.  

Information Search

After identifying my problem at hand and the need to buy a new laptop, I started searching for information searching in the consumer decision process. Since I recognized that I had an issue and I required to sort it out, I searched for the best option that would satisfy my necessity and requirement for a long time. During my pursuit, I consulted some of my friends and family members to get their viewpoints on the computer machines they use. Since most of my friends do computer science courses and my family members specialize in computer-related careers, I used relevant sources of information to compile information. Besides speaking with my family and friends, I also used the internet to research and find information on apple website pages that met my needs.  

Alternative evaluation

Alternative evaluation is the third step within the consumer decision-making process. In this stage, customers or consumers usually evaluate all the potential brands and goods on a gauge of quality that can provide the needs and resolution they are looking for. During this step, consumers can be influenced considerably by their opinions and attitudes in addition to any current or prior involvement they might have had with the brand or product. In the alternative evaluation step, purchasers evaluate the worth of all brands and products that attain the gauge to move on to the next step. 

According to my laptop buying experience, in this step, I looked at several different brands and laptops such as Microsoft Laptops, Apple Laptops, Dell Laptops, MacBook Pro, and Apple MacBook Pro laptop. I discerned that I needed a personal computer with better performance, unbeatable battery life, the most powerful, and a reasonable storage amount. Generally, during the alternative evaluation step, I evaluated the worth of the laptops that met my needs in order to move to another stage. 

Purchase

I felt prepared and much ready to buy the laptop after going through the first three steps. With notebooks, even if you might prefer one laptop over the other, in order to have a fair and honest deal, bargaining is usually involved, and there was much of this that required to be done. After getting in contact with the dealership, I spoke with them in order to get the cost on a new Apple MacBook Air, Apple MacBook Pro, Dell XPS 13, and HP envy X360. After speaking with them, Apple MacBook Pro and Dell XPS 13 were the only laptops left due to the price and terms I needed to get them. Although HP envy X360 was slightly cheaper, I always dreamt of having a new Apple MacBook Pro, which is my favorite computer machine. As a result of this, I continued to attempt to negotiate it, but the dealers would not change the price. At that instant, I had to consider what was more significant to me, getting my dream laptop or saving a few dollars a month. At long last, I decided to get the personal computer I usually dreamed of having, the Apple MacBook Pro. 

Use

After the long procedure of identifying my problem, looking for information, and utilizing an alternative evaluation, I eventually bought a new Apple MacBook Pro. After using it for several days, the accessory met all of my expectations and gave me gratification I thought I would at all times attain once I eventually was able to get hands-on my dream laptop.     

Evaluation

Despite the fact that I went through the consumer decision process when buying my new assessor was a laborious and lengthy process, I am pleased with my decision. After three months, the laptop performs better, just as I purchased it, and I love all the new features it offers. Even if I was nervous that the personal computer could not meet my expectations, I am extremely satisfied.   

Stages

Before this course, I was not much aware of the consumer decision process. After deciding to write about my personal computer’s buying, I recognized how well it fit into this assignment. I realized that I went through all the stages in order to make a decision. The ‘use’ stage was the most important to me because I was excited to use my dream electronic on a daily basis.  

Marketing Improvement

Even though there are every time improvements to be done and the electronic dealership that sold me the PC, they could have marketed themselves better to me. I made a lot of my research and decision through many multiple sources so that I could get a lot of different opinions and perspectives. 

Conclusion

When consumers purchase durable goods, there is a decision process that they go through (Iivarinen, 2017). Although they may skip a step, all consumers go through a decision-making process before buying a product. Generally, we consumers make a lot of decisions that lead us through the consumer decision-making process.   

Reference

Stankevich, A. (2017). Explaining the consumer decision-making process: Critical literature review. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing, 2(6).

Willman Iivarinen, H. (2017). The future of consumer decision making. European Journal of Futures Research, 5(1), 1-12.