The Consumer Decision Process
Chapter 4
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Chapter Objectives
1. Discuss the six steps that comprise the consumer
decision process model.
2. Understand the special considerations of service
purchases as they pertain to the pre-purchase,
consumption, and post-purchase stages of the
consumer decision process model.
3. Describe models that attempt to explain the
consumer’s post-purchase evaluation.
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Consumer Decision Process Stages
Pre-Purchase Stage
Consumption Stage
Post-Purchase Stage
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Consumer Decision Process Model
Fig.4.1, p.87
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Pre-purchase Stage
Phase One: The Stimulus
Commercial Cues
Social Cues
Stimulus - thought,
action, or motivation
that incites a person
to consider a service
Physical Cues
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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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Pre-purchase Stage
Phase Two: Problem Awareness
Shortage (need)
Unfulfilled Desire (want)
• A human need is a state of felt deprivation.
• Wants are how people communicate their needs.
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Pre-purchase Stage
Phase Three: Information Search
Internal Search
External Search
• A passive approach to
gathering information
in which the
consumer’s own
memory is the main
source of information
about a product.
• A proactive approach
to gathering
information in which
the consumer collects
new info from
sources outside the
consumer’s own
experience.
Awareness Set – Evoked Set –
Consideration Set
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Pre-purchase Stage
Phase Four: Evaluation of Alternatives
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Pre-purchase Stage
Phase Four: Evaluation of Alternatives
• Nonsystematic
evaluation
– Such as the use of
intuition
– Simply choosing by
relying on a “gutlevel feeling”
• Systematic evaluation
– Such as a multiattribute model
• Linear
compensatory
approach
• Lexicographic
approach
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Multi-attribute Choice Model for Evaluating
Alternative Universities
Universities
Attributes
Importance
Weights
Uni1
Uni2
Uni3
Uni4
Location
10(10)
8(10)
8(10)
7(10)
10
Tuition
9(10)
7(10)
7(10)
8(10)
10
Admission requirements
8(8)
8(8)
8(8)
8(8)
8
Academic reputation
9(9)
10(9)
8(9)
8(9)
9
Degree program
8(9)
9(9)
9(9)
8(9)
9
Sports program
7(8)
10(8)
10(8)
8(8)
8
Totals
463
465
447
422
Rankings range from 1 (lowest) – 10 (highest)
Numbers in parentheses are the weights for each criterion
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Group Task
In groups create a multi-attribute choice
model for travelling from Shanghai to Hong
Kong (transportation only).
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Consumption Stage: Choice
Consumption Process:
1. Buying the product
– store vs. nonstore choice
2. Using the product
3. Disposing of the product
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Post-purchase Evaluation Stage
• Aim – reach customer satisfaction
• Minimize the consumer’s cognitive
dissonance – ‘wrong choice’:
– After-sale contact
– Reassuring letter in the package
– Warranties and guarantees
– Firm’s advertising
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
pre-purchase Stage Considerations: Perceived Risk
• Higher levels of perceived risk
– actions are associated with higher levels of
consequences and uncertainty
• consequences => the degree of importance/danger
of the outcomes derived from the decision
• uncertainty => subjective possibility of occurrence
of these outcomes
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Pre-purchase Stage Considerations: Perceived Risk
• Five types of perceived risk exist:
–
–
–
–
–
Financial risk
Performance risk
Physical risk
Social risk
Psychological risk
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Pre-purchase Stage Considerations: Perceived Risk
• Reasons for perceptions of increased risk
– risk and standardization (Heterogeneity)
– co-producer risk (Inseparability)
– information and risk
• search attributes
• experience attributes
• credence attributes
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Pre-purchase Stage Considerations: Perceived Risk
• Service consumers are more brand loyal
– lowers perceived risk
– fewer choices are available
– switching costs are higher
• search, learning
• loyal consumer discounts, customer habit
• emotional costs, cognitive costs
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Pre-purchase Stage Considerations
Importance of Personal Source of Information:
•
•
•
•
Mass Media is less effective
Word-of-Mouth rules
Target opinion leaders
Non-personal sources may not
be available
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Pre-purchase Stage Considerations
• Fewer alternatives to consider
– each service provider only offers one brand
– the number of alternatives is smaller
– lack of pre-purchase information
• Self-service is a viable alternative
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Consumption Stage Considerations
• Consumption sequence differs
– Goods [Produce-Buy-Use-Dispose]
– Services [Production-Acquisition-Use are entangled
and Disposal is irrelevant]
– Evaluation occurs during and after consumption
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Post-choice Considerations
Post-choice Models:
1. The Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory
2. The Perceived Control Perspective
3. The Script Perspective
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Post-choice Considerations
The Expectancy
Disconfirmation
The Perceived
Control
The Script
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Post-choice Considerations
The Expectancy Disconfirmation Perspective
– simplest and most powerful model
– perceptions vs. expectations
• Positive vs. negative disconfirmations
– customer perceptions define reality
– the management of expectations and
perceptions
Fig. 4-3, p.92
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Post-choice Considerations
The Perceived-Control Perspective
– The basic premise is the higher the level of
control over the situation perceived by
consumers, the higher their satisfaction with
the service.
– Consumers exchange cash and control for
benefits.
– Behavioral control and cognitive control
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The Perceived-Control Perspective
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Post-choice Considerations
The Script Perspective
– “all the world’s a stage and the people
players”
– The basic premise is the better
consumers and service employees
know their roles, the smoother
service encounter is and the higher
their satisfaction with the service.
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Special Considerations Pertaining to Services
Post-choice Considerations
Script Theory
– rules are determined by social and cultural
variables that exist to facilitate interactions
– concerned with the whole experience rather
than only the interpersonal encounter
– scripts are intra-individual
– function of an individuals experience and
personality
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Homework
Case Study 4, p.106: Mariano Ferreyra’s Choices
Read and prepare answers for questions 2,3,5,6.
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