Page 184 - DMGT506_CONSUMER_BEHAVIOUR

Unit 13: Consumer Decision-making Process

4. Star Airways would build the campaign theme around 'quality and customer service Notes
initiatives'.

5. The direct mail letter would be sent to a database of 85,000 clients in four months.
The letter will contain information on the airline and again stress on the same
theme of 'quality and customer service'.
Questions
1. What is likely to be the decision process in case of choosing an airline?
2. Would this plan suggested by the vice president help in convincing the customers to
use Star Airways? Give your reasons.

13.2 Routinised Response Behaviour

Consumers make purchases frequently and they have to take decisions regarding purchases
more often. There are some products which are used on a daily basis like food items, soap,
shampoo etc. For these products purchase is routinised. They command low involvement. There
are different types of decisions which one takes depending upon the product requirement and
importance. Routine products are important but still they get low attention. Let us understand
the relation between involvement and purchase behavior.

Types of Consumer Decisions

Traditionally, consumer researchers have approached decision makers from a rational
perspective. The term consumer decision process brings to mind the image of an individual who
is facing a clearly recognised problem and is carefully involved in evaluating the attributes of a
set of products, brands, or services and very deliberately and rationally choosing the one that
would deliver the maximum satisfaction at the lowest cost. Such a purchase decision begins to
resemble a full-time job. For example, a consumer may literally spend days or weeks thinking
about an important purchase such as a new house, even to the point of obsession. Richard W
Olshavsky and Donald H Granbois note that such a process is not an accurate portrayal of many
purchase decisions. If consumers followed this elaborate process for each decision, their entire
lives would be spent making such decisions, allowing them little or no time to enjoy the things
they actually buy. No doubt, some decisions are made in this manner, but many others involve
little conscious effort and consumers seem to make snap decisions based on very little information.
Because some purchase decisions are more important than others, the amount of effort consumers
put into each one differs.

Researchers are increasingly realising that consumers actually possess a repertoire of decision
strategies. A consumer evaluates the level of effort required to make a certain choice, then
selects a strategy best suited for the occasion. This sequence is referred to as constructive
processing and means that consumers adjust their degree of cognitive “effort” to the task at
hand.
A large number of consumer purchase decisions are related to apparently a single problem such
as running low on laundry detergent or table salt. At other times, the problem may be associated
with discarding the old car causing a feeling of inadequacy and buying a new but economical
one to boost self-esteem and more in line with the present job status. The decision process may
become further complicated when consumer begins to consider the initial cost and the running
cost and evaluates whether to buy a petrol or diesel driven vehicle. Finally, the consumer may
wind up buying a higher-priced diesel model. In another situation, a consumer noticing a
simple need for laundry detergent may want to economise and avoid one or more relatively

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