This document provides an overview of consumer behavior and the consumer decision-making process related to marketing services. It discusses key concepts like search, experience, and credence attributes that distinguish services from goods. It also outlines the consumer purchase decision-making process in 3 sentences or less: The consumer decision-making process involves problem recognition, information search among alternatives, evaluation of alternatives based on importance of attributes, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior.

1. SERVICES MARKETING
Module 2
FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER
Faculty : Kerena Anand
A] TWO MARKS QUESTIONS
1. What is Consumer behaviour ?
Reflects totality of consumer’s decisions with respect to the acquisition,
consumption, and disposition of goods, services, time, and ideas by (human)
decision making units (over time).
2. Consumer behaviour is important in Marketing of Services.
(Jan 2011)
As consumers pass through life stages from childhood to retirement, their
needs and preferences for services change. Because the way they choose to
experience services also change, because the way they choose to experience
services also change, the type of services that appeal to them also differ.

2. B] EIGHT MARKS QUESTIONS
1. What is the difference between search, experience and
credence properties? (Jan 2009) (can be asked as 2marks or 8 marks
question)
The search, experience and credence are some of the factors that distinguish
services from goods. Services are high on experience and credence attributes
while Goods are high on search attributes.
The above figure arrays products high in search, experience or credence
qualities along a continuum of evaluation ranging from easy to evaluate to
difficult to evaluate. Most goods fall to the left of the continuum whereas
services fall to the right.
Search attributes
Attributes that can be evaluated before purchase are called as search
attributes. Goods are usually high on these. For instance you can see the
goods, touch and feel them or evaluate their physical or other properties.

3. Search qualities include colour, style, price, fit, feel, hardness and smell.
Products such as automobiles, clothing, furniture and jewellery are high in
search attributes
Experience attributes
Attributes that can be discerned only after purchase or during consumption.
Experience qualities include taste and wearability. Products such as vacations,
restaurant meals are high in experience qualities because their attributes
cannot be fully known or assessed until they have been purchased and are
being consumed.
Credence attributes
This includes characteristics that the consumer may find impossible to evaluate
even after purchase and consumption. In services usually the experience is
needed before you can evaluate them. Sometimes you cannot be sure of
attributes even after the experience. These attributes are known as credence
attributes. For example, after going through a post graduate programme, the
student may still not be sure if she has got a good education or not.
2. Briefly explain the consumer’s purchase decision making
process? (Jan 2008)
Problem Information Evaluation of Post-
Purchase
recognition search alternatives purchase
decision
behavior
The consumer’s decision making process is the way in which people gather and
assess information and make choices among alternative goods, services,
organizations, people, places, and ideas. It consists of the process itself and
factors affecting the process.

4. PROBLEM RECOGNITION: Problem recognition is the perceived difference
between an ideal and a actual state. During problem awareness, the consumer
recognizes that the good, service, organization, person, place, or idea may
solve a problem of shortage or unfulfilled desire. Many consumers are hesitant
to react to unfulfilled desires because there are risks and the benefits may be
hard to judge.
INFORMATION SEARCH: After problem recognition has been stimulated, the
consumer will usually begin the decision process to solve the problem.
Typically the next search is internal search. Each customer has stored in
memory a variety of information, feelings and past experiences that can be
recalled. Eg, Consumers who are thinking about buying a pair of shoes will
retrieve their experiences with different shoe brands.
Next the consumers can also use external search to collect additional
information about which brands are available as well as their attributes and
benefits. The major categories are:
 Retailer: Visits or calls to stores or dealers or pamphlets about brands.
 Media: Information from advertising, online ads, manufacturer
sponsored websites.
 Interpersonal: Advice from friends, relatives, neighbours, coworkers and
other consumers sought in person, phone or online.
 Independent: books, non brand sponsored websites like shopping.com,
government pamphlets or magazines
 Experiential: The use of product samples, product or service trials or test
drives.
Information search involves listing alternatives that will solve the problem at
hand and a determination of the characteristics of each. Search can be internal
and/or external .As risk increases; the amount of information sought also
increases. Once the information search is completed, it must be determined
whether the shortage or unfulfilled desire can be satisfied by any alternative.

5. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES: The alternatives are evaluated on the basis of
the consumer’s criteria and the relative importance of these criteria. They are
then ranked and a choice made.
PURCHASE - The purchase act involves the exchange of money or a promise to
pay for a product, or support in return of ownership of a specific good, the
performance of a specific service, and so on. Purchase decisions remaining at
this stage center on the place of purchase,Terms and Availability.
If the above elements are acceptable, a consumer will make a purchase.
POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOR: Frequently, the consumer engages in post-
purchase behavior. Buying one item may lead to the purchase of another. Re-
evaluation of the purchase occurs when the consumer rates the alternative
selected against performance standards. Cognitive dissonance, doubt that a
correct purchase decision has been made, can be reduced by follow-up calls,
extended warranties, and post-purchase advertisements.