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Unit 13: Consumer Decision-making Process

that it is actually the consumer’s perception of the actual state that stimulates problem recognition Notes
and not some “objective” reality. Also, the relative importance is a critical concept in several
purchase decisions because almost all consumers have budgetary or time constraints.
Routine problems are those where the difference between actual and desired states is expected
to be felt and would call for immediate solution. For instance, convenience goods of everyday
use are associated with this category of problem recognition. Both routine and emergency
problems stimulate purchases of goods and services with a minimum time lag between purchase
and actual consumption.

Emergency problems are possible but are unexpected and necessarily need immediate solutions.
For example, say a consumer meets an accident while on his/her way to office, gets injured and
the vehicle is badly damaged. In such an emergency, she/he needs a quick solution to reach a
hospital’s emergency room. Subsequently, she/he may plan to get the vehicle repaired or buy
a new one.
Situations that can cause problem recognition include non-marketing factors and marketer
initiated activities that can trigger the process of a consumer’s problem recognition. The five of
the most common situations are:
1. Depletion of Stocks: Consumers use or consume certain types of goods every day on an
ongoing basis such as groceries, toiletries and other convenience goods. No sooner has an
item reached a stage, than it’s about to run out, the consumer almost reflexively recognises
the problem and must repurchase in order to continue fulfilling her/his need for the item.
As long as the basic need for the item remains, problem recognition will keep on recurring
as a result of its consumption.

2. Dissatisfaction with Goods in Stock: Consumers frequently feel dissatisfied with products
they own. For example, a consumer may be having chiffon saris, which are no longer in
fashion and may be discontented and may desire to buy the ones currently in style. A
family living in a small flat may feel that they need a larger accommodation. A student
might recognise the problem that her/his computer is too slow, compared to more recent
introductions.
3. Environmental Changes: A family’s changing characteristics are among the most significant
situations and cause recognition of problems (different life cycle stages stimulate needs
for different types of products). Similarly, reference group influences can also cause problem
recognition.
4. Change in Financial Situation: Any change in financial status almost always has an
important relationship to problem recognition. Salary increase, promotion, bonuses,
inheritances, etc., generally trigger spending on non-routine purchases. For example,
after a promotion, the consumer may recognise that her/his auto is not reflective of her/
his present status and may buy a more expensive vehicle. On the downside, if a consumer
loses her/his job, then a new set of problems will be recognised and probably all future
household expenditures would be affected.
5. Marketer Initiated Activities: All marketers attempt to make consumers aware about
their known and latent problems and convince them that they have the right solution to
meet their needs. Advertising and other promotions focus on helping consumers in
perceiving a difference of sufficient intensity between their desired state (ownership of
the product) and their actual state (not owning the product). Marketers also attempt to
influence consumers’ perceptions about their existing state, for instance, the need to buy
many personal care products. Women desire to use a soap to have fresh and smooth skin
and the ad of Dove soap is designed to generate concern about the existing state of their
skin. Dove claims to provide the desired benefits that presumably other soaps do not.
Such ads aim to instigate consumers to question if the current state coincides with the
desired state. Not all marketer-controlled messages succeed in this objective because of
the consumers’ tendency of selective exposure and selective perception.

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