A crucial component of marketing is the way we as consumers are influenced in the decision making process. Decision making is the process of making choices based upon “identifying a decision, gathering information, and assessing alternative resolutions” (Dartmouth, 2019) alternatively the five step process; need recognition, pre-purchase search and evaluation of alternatives.
Recently, I have been searching for the right phone as an upgrade is well and truly overdue. I have only ever previously owned Apple iPhone’s and haven’t looked at any further in brands for the reason of familiarity, quality and convenience. The five steps of my decision making as follows;
STEP 1: PROBLEM RECOGNITION
I need a new phone and I am due for an upgrade with my mobile carrier.
In this step a consumer develops the need or want for a good or service and ultimately be satisfied with their purchase.
STEP 2: INFORMATION SEARCH
The consumers can gather information from an array of different external sources before the final step such as; internet, visiting the store, salespeople, friends and family or independent product reviews etc. My initial approach was to ask the people around me what phone they were using and their opinions and recommendations. I spoke to two people that owned an X and one that owned an XR, I was able to use them and found I liked the XR because of the size but still wanted to research the other features the phone had. I researched what phone will be best suited for me which I had a feeling would in fact be an IPHONE… Purely because its convenient as it is compatible with my MacBook and because I am familiar with Apple’s iOS.
STEP 3: EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
Once the consumer has identified the good or service that will best suit them they go on to seek the best deal. Factors that can influence this step may be price or quality of the product.
After some research I discovered that the top three iPhones that will be best suit me is the iPhone X, iPhone XS or the iPhone XR.
STEP 4: PURCHASE
In this step consumers weigh out their alternatives and choose the final product that they are willing to purchase, considering all the risk on the way.
I decided to go with the iPhone XR as the screen was bigger and had an “advanced camera system”. I used to a plus sized iPhone and better operate with a larger screen. I am also going away later during the year and wanted a good quality camera system on my phone that allowed me to take quality photos instead of looking to buy a camera.
STEP 5: POST PURCHASE
Once the purchase has been made, consumers can answer “does the product satisfy your needs or wants? Are you happy with your purchase and does it meet your expectations?”
I haven’t yet received it as I am waiting for my carrier to send it out but I’m almost certain that I’ll make good use of my new phone especially the advanced camera system when I go on my holiday!
References
https://www.umassd.edu/fycm/decision-making/process/
https://www.apple.com/au/iphone/compare/
https://www.sparkyourbrand.co/blog/2018/10/25/secret-to-effective-marketing/
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