CONSUMER DECISION MAKINGin case of Food Items

Research suggests that customers go through a five-stage decision-making process in any purchase. 

However, in more routine purchases like in the case of food items, customers often skip or reverse some of the stages.

Need Recognition and Problem Awareness

Information Search

Evaluation of Alternatives

Purchase

Post-Purchase Evaluation

Need Recognition and Problem Awareness

The recognition and awareness of need can be by both internally and externally.

By Internally we mean when a person by itself recognizes the need for a product. In the case of food items this would refer to feeling hungry.

And, by Externally we mean responding to market stimulus. In case of food items this would refer to being attracted towards food by looking at advertisements.

Cadbury has been very successful in providing this external stimulus through television media and posters.

Information Search

An “aroused” customer then needs to decide how much information (if any) is required.

If the need for food is strong and there is a ready edible food that is close to hand, then a purchase decision is likely to be made there and then.

In such cases people are even willing to pay a higher price to satisfy their hunger or even eat slightly inferior quality food than they would have otherwise.

If the need is not very strong, then the process of information search and product evaluation begins.

Where to get the information from ?

A customer can obtain information about the product from several sources:• Personal sources: family, friends, neighbors' etc• Commercial sources: advertising; salespeople; retailers; dealers; packaging; point-of-sale displays• Public sources: newspapers, radio, television, consumer organizations; specialist magazines• Experiential sources: handling, examining, using the product

The usefulness and influence of these sources of information will vary by product and by customer. 

How does the consumer use the acquired information in the product evaluation ?

In case of a single product (no alternatives), the consumer will evaluate the extent to which he/she is “involved” (in monetary terms) in the product.Usually all food items have “low involvement”.

However like in majority of cases in respect to food items, the consumers learns more about the product category so that they can better compare and evaluate several brands in the category. As a result, consumers can select a brand based on their own criteria provided by advertising in this stage.

Evaluation of Alternatives

The basis on which a consumer can prefer one food product over the other is the following:-

• Price :- The low priced food products are always preferred by consumers especially when all the product qualities are almost the same. Example :- Coke and Pepsi. Also consumers prefer cheapest when they buy those food products which are to be consumed on a regular basis. Example :- While buying vegetables or fruits we prefer to buy from only those vendors which are offering the lowest price.

• Quality :- The quality of a food product is a very important consideration. This is because the intake of low/bad quality food products have a direct impact on the health of the consumer. In some cases, the quality plays a more important factor than price. A marketer needs to identify those cases are design and plan the marketing campaigns accordingly. Brand image plays an important role in such cases. A good brand image leads to brand loyalty.

• Availability:- A consumer will switch to an alternative product if it is not available easily. Example, While travelling long distances, a Chinese-food lover will dine in any highway restaurant or stop even if it is not Chinese.

Purchase

After need recognition and problem awareness, information search and Evaluation of alternatives, the consumer decides to purchase a product.

While purchasing food items the consumer checks whether it has expired or not and whether the package is good enough to protect the product.

Any form of tampering with the package or an expired product may lead to the consumer switching over to a substitute due to lack in faith over the brand.

Post-Purchase Evaluation

It is common for customers to experience concerns after making a purchase decision. This arises from a concept that is known as “cognitive dissonance”.

The customer, having bought a product, may feel that an alternative would have been preferable. In these circumstances that customer will not repurchase immediately, but is likely to switch brands next time.

It is the job of the marketing team to encourage the customer that he or she has made the right decision.

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