Page 252 - DMGT509_RURAL MARKETING

Unit 13: Rural and Urban Markets

understand the steps a customer goes through to make a purchase. A merchant can influence a Notes
customer’s purchase by providing targeted information, advertisements or guidance.

 Problem Recognition: Consumers recognize a problem based on physical cues, stimulus
response or a need. For example, a customer could smell fresh bread and realize she is
hungry or she could have a broken pair of glasses and know she needs a new pair. Visual
clues trigger problem recognition. For example, a beverage in a clear container shows
when it is getting low, or a sticker in a car window reminds customers when it is time for
an oil change.
 Information Search: Customers in the information search stage of the buying process
look for solutions to their problems or needs. They remember what types of purchases
solved a similar problem in the past. Customers also discuss their needs with friends and
relatives to see what solutions they may suggest. For more expensive purchases, customers
may read reviews, look through newspapers or research the product online.

 Evaluation of Alternatives: Consumers evaluate their purchase options based on product
attributes, such as technical specifications, through subjective factors, such as brands, and
through personal experience, such as sampling or testing products. Consumer and company
reviews can influence a consumer’s product evaluation.
 Purchase Decision: A consumer’s decision to purchase something includes where to buy,
when to buy and whether to buy. For routine goods such as groceries, consumers may
simply go to their favorite grocery store, but for electronic purchases, they may browse
multiple stores. They will evaluate each merchant based on prior experience with the
store, special offers and whether they can return the product easily. A store that’s visually
appealing, has helpful sales associates and offers specials and discounts influences a buyer.
 Post-purchase Behavior: After making a purchase, a consumer mentally ranks her purchase
satisfaction. She will evaluate if she liked the store, if she enjoys the product and the
quality of the product. This evaluation determines whether the customer will purchase
the product or brand again and whether it would be from the same store. Customers who
are happy with their purchases and feel they received a quality product at a good price,
will become repeat customers and will tell others about their experience.

Positioning: Having identified the potential segments and selected one or more to target, the
marketer must next decide what position to pursue. A position is the way a firm’s product,
brand, or organization is viewed relative to the competition by current and prospective customers.
If a position is how a product is viewed, then positioning is a firm’s use of all the elements at its
disposal to create and maintain in the minds of a target market a particular image relative to
competing products.
When positioning a product, the marketer wants to convey the benefit most desired by the
target market. A classic example of successful positioning is the original Head and shoulders
shampoo. As the first shampoo positioned as a dandruff remedy, the product’s name implied the
benefit, the medicinal fragrance suggested its potency, and the color and consistency, and the
color (blue-green) and consistency (a paste rather than a liquid) indicated that it wasn’t an
ordinary shampoo.
There are three steps in a positioning strategy:
1. Select the positioning concept: To position a product or an organization, a marketer needs
to first determine what is important to the target market. Marketers can then conduct
positioning studies to see how members of a target market view competing products or
stores on the important dimensions. The results of this research can be portrayed in a
perceptual map that locates the brand or organization relative to alternatives on the
dimensions of interest.

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