The document outlines a 5-step consumer decision making process: 1) need recognition, 2) information search, 3) alternative evaluation, 4) purchase and consumption, and 5) post-purchase evaluation. It then discusses factors like psychological, social, and situational influences that can affect the consumer search process. Finally, it notes that understanding consumer behavior is important for marketing but people don't always follow a strict process and undesirable behavior can negatively impact brands through bad word-of-mouth.

1. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Samantha Swartz

2. 5 STEP CONSUMER DECISION
MAKING PROCESS
• When it comes to consumer behavior there
is a five-step process that people go
through. It validates their purchase in their
mind.
• Having a process like the consumer
decision making gives marketing personnel
a good grip on explaining their customers
behavior.
• It also helps firms make decisions that if are
correct will influence the amount of
customers they have.

3. STEP ONE: NEED
RECOGNITION
There are two main needs in consumers.
• Functional needs: The performance of
products or services. How the product
or service actually functions in their
life.
• Psychological needs: The personal
gratification consumers associates
with the use of the product or service.

4. STEP TWO:
INFORMATION
SEARCH
There are two types of information
searches that consumers make. There is a
search called an internal search. Which
consist of gathering information from
their own memory or knowledge of the
service or product. There is also an
information search called an external
search, Which consist of searching for
information from outside sources, Which
consist of asking for information from
friends, family, internet searches, etc.
Looking for information on services or
products is an important part of the
decision making.

5. STEP THREE:
ALTERNATIVE
EVALUATION
Of course, when it comes to
purchasing something there
is always going to be
alternatives. The
information search usually
reveals these options.
Consumers usually break
alternative decision making
into attribute sets. Then
they use their consumer
decision rules to weed
through everything. This is
also the last step of the pre-
purchase process.

6. STEP FOUR: PURCHASE &
CONSUMPTION
Once the consumer goes through and evaluates the alternatives, they are
ready to buy the product or service. Rather it be the original
product/service they were interested in or one of the alternatives for
whatever reason. This is where the conversion rate comes into play to help
the vendor determine how many people were interested in their product
vs how many people actually bought the product. They will take all of the
information they have gathered in the first three steps and purchase then
consume the product/service.

7. STEP FIVE: POST PURCHASE
• Post purchase behavior is very important to vendors because
at that point in time people are their actual customers and not
just potential. It can go two ways at this point either satisfied
customers or unsatisfied customers. Satisfied customers are so
valued because they can become loyal customers that buy again
and bring more business by referrals or reviews. There is also
post purchase cognitive dissonance. This happens when the two
beliefs or belief and behavior just do not line up. This usually
happens when the risk is great, the product/service is expensive
or does not live up to the expectation.

8. FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMERS
SEARCH PROCESSES
• Factors that can affect the consumer search process can vary
majorly. There is the psychological factors, social factors,
marketing mix and the situational factors.
• Social- Family. Reference groups and culture
• Situational- Purchase situation, sensory situation, and
temporal state
• Marketing Mix- product, price, place and promotion
• Psychological- motives, attitudes, perceptions, learning and
memory and lifestyle.

9. UNDESIRABLE CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
• Then undesirable consumer behavior arises and can lead to
negative word of mouth. Which can spread so fast across so many
platforms. Say someone said something negative about a company
to a friend then that friend makes a social media post about it, so
on and so forth. This only amounts to ruining business for a vendor.

10. CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
RECAP
• All in all, we can conclude that consumer behavior is
essential to business. Understanding the process all the way
through can help marketing personnel understand what is
happening when consumers pick their product and when
they do not. It is important to remember though that we are
all humans and sometimes tracking or trying to break
someone's thought process down wont work. I know I make
some rash decisions sometimes without thinking things
through or using a certain process. Next time you make a big
purchase, see if you use the consumer buying process
mentally or not. I know looking back I can remember doing
certain steps like external information searches.