Consumer Behaviour and Insights

This document discusses the stages of consumer decision making journey, the importance of mapping a path to purchase and understanding consumer decision-making for marketers, the key differences in the decision-making process in the context of B2C and B2B, and different approaches to market research. It provides insights into consumer behavior and how marketers can influence the decision-making process.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
AND INSIGHTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
P1. Stages of consumer decision making journey.......................................................................3
P2. Importance to map a path to purchase and understand consumer decision-making for
marketers......................................................................................................................................4
P3. The key differences of the decision-making process in the context of B2C and B2B..........6
P4. Different approaches to market research and methods of research used for understanding
the decision-making process in both B2C and B2B contexts......................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Consumer behaviour refers to the process of finding the best behaviours of the consumer
and understanding all the consumer behaviours and how they can change their preferences and
taste according to the market trends. The church factory shop is the manufacturer of different
types of footwear and they work in the show industries. The report will explain the purchase
categories and the decision-making processes and also explain the stages of consumer decision-
making journey for the product and services. The report will further explain the key differences
of decision-making of business to customer and business to business. And also explain how
marketers influence the different stages of decision-making process in customer and business
point of view.
MAIN BODY
P1. Stages of consumer decision making journey
Consumer when taking decision to buy something that fit them best at best price goes
through certain stages. In this case the consumer when buying shoes undertakes various
decisions while buying them and follows a sequence of steps which are:
The first stage that the consumer goes through is problem identification or need
recognition. In this stage the consumer feels something missing and requires to fulfil that need
to become normal. The consumer feel a need for buying the shoes the reason can be many
therefore it is the best time for Church’s factory shop to release advertisement of shoes. This
stage is the most important one as to purchase anything there should a need for that product. The
need can be generated internally or through some external stimuli. The company in this stage can
help the consumer to recognise their problem and they can do it through advertisements and
promotion through online platforms and billboards or other channels (Schamp, Heitmann. and
Katzenstein, 2019). The company can develop products and make them feel missing something
and this will stimulate a need in the consumers.
The second stage is searching for the information once the consumer recognises the need
for the shoes the next thing they do is to gather information from various sources. It is the pre-
purchase phase. The consumer can search information from online or offline sources and in this
stage the company can take advantage of these platforms and build brand awareness and increase
their visibility (Dasgupta. and Grover, 2019). The company can also optimize their website and
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make it attractive so that consumer visiting the website ends up purchasing something. The
company should present themselves as a brand which is trustworthy and fulfils their need and the
consumer do not regret purchasing from them. The consumers’ searches information based on
certain recommendations and suggestion from their family and friends too. Therefore it is
necessary for the company to create a good brand image in the minds of people.
The third stage is evaluation of alternatives by the consumers. After making their minds
to purchase which shoes now they compare various alternatives which they have in front of
them. It may be based on price, quality, pattern, colour or other factors. The consumer at this
stage takes a lot of time and comparing each alternatives just to make sure that they made a
perfect decision. In this stage the consumer checks the previews about the product which others
bought and what they feel after purchasing. Attention of the buyer is not enough, it’s important
for Church’s shoe factory to stay their target of focus. If the competition is intense then the
company at this stage should keep their prices low or make their product differentiate with that
of competitor.
The fourth stage is the selection stage or the purchasing stage in which the consumer
takes the final decision to purchase the product and have gained all the information, facts and
feedback (Lynch. and Barnes, 2020). The consumer arrives at the conclusion and recognises the
selected product as the right choice. It is also a great moment for the company as this was their
target to concert the visitor into the purchaser.
The last stage is post purchase evaluation stage in this stage the consumer tests or
examines the product he or she purchased. They analyse whether the product satisfy their need
and is useful. If the shoes purchased by the consumer exceed their needs then they will do mouth
publicity of the brand and will also influence other potential consumers which will boosts the
profitability of Church’s shoe factory.
P2. Importance to map a path to purchase and understand consumer decision-making for
marketers
Path to customer purchasing journey is the series of steps or interactions of the customers
with the brand. The mapping of this customer purchasing journey provides various benefits to
the company and also helps in building long term relationship with the brand. Church’s shoe
factory put themselves in the shoes of customers and they try to understand their mind-set during
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the journey of purchasing. The following are the importance to marketers to map a path to
purchase and understand consumer decision-making:
It enables the company to better understand their customers – Mapping the consumer
decision making journey helps the customer service of the company to better understand the
customers and the issues which they face. By knowing their reviews and feedback the company
can understand the taste and preference of the customers and can offer the products accordingly.
By understanding the customer experience the company can create, adjust, and enhance their
touch points to ensure the most effective, efficient buying and service process (Rosenbaum,
Otalora. and Ramírez, 2017). The better the company understand its customers the better return
the company will get on their marketing investments. The company also gets to know the way in
which the customer interact with the company.
It helps the company in taking decisions – Mapping customers’ journey helps the company in
taking better decision as they are familiar with the purchasing pattern of the customer. The
company can identify the recurring pain points of the customers and can take future decision to
alter or replace any product or to innovate. The company can understand the need of the
customers and can produce the products which can satisfy their need. It also brings in real-time
evidence and helps the decision makers in understanding what is really happening.
The company encounters increased ROI and better targeting – As per some research
company that maps the customer journey have a positive results on their business as compared to
those who do not do. If Church’s show factory undertakes the customer journey mapping then it
will lead to customer satisfaction and also lead to reduced customer complaints if any. The
deeper the company has the insights of their consumers the better will be their return on
investment.
Unified customer data and customer engagement – Customer journey mapping gives an
opportunity to the company to unify the data of the customer and helps in building
comprehensive customer profile based on engagement across various platforms and channels.
After the purchasing activity done by the customer data can be used to engage them (Patti, van
Dessel. and Hartley, 2020). Customers feel a sense of belongingness from the company as they
are being pitches at their taste and preferences and company taking care of their choices this will
increase the engagement of the customers with the business.
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It improves the customer experience – By mapping the customer journey Church’s show
factory can improve their customer experience in the sense that the company will be able to
know the points at which they are lacking and can improve the same. By properly addressing the
loopholes the company can ensure better customer experience and can also enhance the
engagement with them. This helps the company in increasing their loyal customers.
Mapping the customer journey can fuel up the content marketing strategy – content is the
king is a very famous saying and it is also true as many visitors are converted into customers by
the quality of content and if the customers get personalized experience then they become they
repeat buyer. The content can be used to solve many problems faced by the customers by
answering their queries. The company should make efforts to personalize the content as it will
help the company in targeting new customers with retaining the existing one.
P3. The key differences of the decision-making process in the context of B2C and B2B
Decision making process in B2b is a long standing process and involves a lot of time and risk is
also high as large amount of money is at stake. But in case of B2C the decision making is
comparatively fast.
In B2B there are eight stage while in case of B2C there are five stages. Decision making done by
business to business starts with problem recognition and the same is the case with B2C the first
stage is need recognition or problem identification. Like in case of Church’s shoe factory the
customers undergoes five different stages to make decision of buying shoes.
While purchasing in B2B there are different prices and the payments are made on agreement,
business needs and past buying history. While in case of B2C all the customer have to pay the
same price for the same product and discounts are given to specific category of customers who
are loyal.
In the decision making process of B2B the relationship between the buyers are long term and
also there is stable partnership. The vendors are fixed and the buyers are not interested in
terminating the agreement on a frequent basis. But in case of B2C the relationship between the
buyer and seller is of short term as soon the customer buys the product there are less chances
they will visit again frequently.
The second stage in B2B is need description in which they ensure that everyone should
understand both the need and nature of solution. To attract buyers’, websites, content marketing
and toll-free services are useful tools. In this stage the company woks with engineers and other
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agents. While in case of B2C after the need is recognized the customers searches for the
information. The information can be searched out through online or offline sources.
After the second stage in B2B product specification and supplier search is done. In product
specification the role of engineers come into being they design several alternatives which have
detailed specification about the requirements of the company. In case of supplier search the
buyer makes an effort to find out the right supplier for which they compare their need and the
supplier which have god image in terms of supplying good quality products and provide fair
value for the money. In case of B2C after the second stage the alternatives discovered are
evaluated based on price, quality, pattern, colour or other factors.
The fourth stage in B2B is solicitation of proposal in which the supplier are invited to submit
their quotations. Suppliers send catalogue or sometimes a sales representative. Development of
proposal requires large amount of research and various presentations are also undertaken.
The next sage in decision king process of both B2B and B2C is selection. But in case of B2B
supplier is selected by thorough review of the proposals submitted, as well as consideration of
vendor capabilities, reputation, warranties, and several other components. But in case of B2C
product or service is selected after the consumer has gained all the information, facts and
feedback about the product and makes the final decision to purchase it.
The fifth in B2B is order-routine specification in which the buyer orders the final order giving
details about all the requirements by them and in this stage, to manage inventories and deliver on
agreement terms supplier works closely with the buyer. And in case of B2C the fifth and the last
stage is post purchase evaluation in which the consumer analyse whether the product satisfy their
need and is useful.
B2B also undertakes on more stage which is performance review in which the buyers of the
products reviews about the performance of the suppliers this stage informs how well the product
is performing and if it the product is meeting the needs of the buyers.
P4. Different approaches to market research and methods of research used for understanding the
decision-making process in both B2C and B2B contexts.
There are various methods and approaches for market research which is used for understanding
the decision making process of B2B such as:
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The first methods or approach is competitive analysis methods it is undertaken as there is
a lot of competition in B2B. The company must consider these three factors to study about the
competition which are financial factors such as turnover, profits etc. the second factor is
geographical factors which are area or territory served by the company and lastly the customer
satisfaction factors which are the way competitors recognize the pain points of the customers and
the way in which they are fulfilling the needs of the customers (D’Andrea and et.al., 2019).
To study the competitive status of the company, it can also conduct porter’s 5 forces
model. The five forces are threat of substitutes, rivalry in the industry, bargaining power of
buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entry.
Also qualitative methods are used to understand the decision making process such as:
Expert interviews – This is an approach of market research for understanding the decision
making process these are the people who have immense amount of knowledge and conducting an
interviews with these people the company gets to know about the customers buying trend and
other information related to consumer behaviour as they specify the reason behind consumer
takes certain decisions.
The third method of research is environmental research in which the factors which are external to
the company is analysed and researched. The parties of B2B conducts PESTLE analysis for
doing the market research and it is one of the best methods and a wider scope of company’s
environment is analysed.
Also the research can be done by taking the interviews of the customers and it is one of the
effective methods of doing the market research. It can also be done through in depth tele
interviews.
To understand the decision-making in B2C the market research methods are as follows:
Questionnaire is also an effective way for doing the market research. As the company comes to
know about what the customer thinks and feels and their opinions.
The company can also conduct the PESTLE analysis to analyse the external environment which
helps in understanding the buying pattern for the customer.
Focused groups are also a great sources of market research in case of B2C as they allow various
ways of obtaining the information from the consumers in this type of research in which few
people are collected and the company asks them to give feedback regarding the products and
services (Mooi, Sarstedt. and Mooi-Reci, 2018).
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Online surveys are the great source of market research as this is the latest technology which is
used by everyone and are active on the online platforms. The company has the pool of data and
suggestions with them. All these methods and approaches helps in determine the decision
making process.
Ethnography methods is also an approach to understand the decision making process as it
specifies the customs of people and habits and mutual understanding between them. It helps the
company to take out the information through data analytics.
P5 Marketers influence on different stages of decision-making process
There are a lot of stages where the decision-making process can get influenced by the marketers
and it is important for the organisations to understand the criticality of market and how the
competition in the market works. There are different type of customers and different type of
business which can influence the choices and decision-making process of the customers and it is
important and crucial for the church factory shop to understand the criticality of the process so
that things went into the favour of the organizations an all the decisions which the organization
and customer takes help the church factory in increasing productivity and profitability in the
market. The different trends and market changes can affect and influence the decision-making
and it is important to understand the best of the market changes and the preferences which can
rely on different situations. The market trends and the choices of the customers can change
according to every knew factors which can implemented in the market (Stankevich, 2017). the
organization is focusing on providing the best of quality shoes and are focused in providing the
variety of shoes to the market so that they can provide the best quality product in a medium
range so that they can attract majority and a wider number of audiences from the market and
increase their profitability and productivity. the organizations need to change their strategies
according to the market conditions and it is very important to take decisions regarding the
strategies which can provide a better impact in the organizations and for that the church factory
shop needs to maintain different strategies.
Business to customer
There are different marketers that can influence the different stages of decision-making in
customers POV (Eriksson, Robertson and Näppä, 2020). it is important stage that the consumers
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need to understand and the influence which they get well doing the decision-making process.
Here are some of the stages of customer decision-making process Are as follow: -
• Need recognition: the 1st and most important stages of buying process in every sale is
about getting awareness and getting recognized of what are the needs of the consumer.
• Search for information: It is one of the factors that can influence the decision-making of
the consumers as research is very important and during these stages’ consumer wants to find
their options and varieties which they can find in the market.
• Evaluation of alternative: in this process the consideration plays a very important part
and every consumer wants to find different comparing options which are best choices for them
and it is important for them in their decisions as it also influenced their decision-making process.
• Purchasing decision: purchasing decisions can be varies as it is one of the conversion
processes in which the organizations need to make such a deal and a conversation so that the
consumer gets ready to buy this is the process in which the consumer is ready and turned their
action into Buying.
• Post purchase evaluation: after making a purchase consumer consider whether it's worth
it and whether they will recommend the product to their other friends. it is the process in which
they think about repurchasing the product and services from the same organization and what are
their feedbacks for the product.
Business to business
The marketers influence the different stages of decision-making process of business to business
also as when a business by raw material and different product from different business it is
important to have good decisions so that they can provide a better profitability and a good
margin in the business so that they can increase their profitability and work in a better way to
increase and achieve all their business objectives and goals. All the decisions making process
needs to be done in the best way so that the organization doesn’t face losses and it is important
for the organizations to understand the criticality of decision-making process as decision-making
process can provide both positive and negative impact in the organizations and it is important for
the church factory shop to make such decisions of the business which provide them a good
margin in their profitability (Achar and et.al., 2016).
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• The organizations need to take decision according to the economic buyers so that they
can have a good economic justifies which helped in a better profit margin. all the decisions need
to be done in the best way.
• The infrastructure buyers are also influenced which provide a good impact on the
decision-making of the business as it is important to take good decisions according to the
infrastructure buying so that it provides a good result to them organization on return on
investment another factors (Reisenwitz and Fowler, 2019).
CONCLUSION
The report concluded that it is very important for the organizations to understand the
organizational behaviour and the consumer behaviour so that they can take different decisions
according to the process in both positive and beneficial ways so that decision making can impact
a positive result in the organization and also provide a great return to the organization. The report
further conclude that it is very important to take decision-making and for that the factory shoe.
And organizations need to make decisions according to the market trend and preferences of the
customer.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Schamp, C., Heitmann, M. and Katzenstein, R., 2019. Consideration of ethical attributes along
the consumer decision-making journey. Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science. 47(2). pp.328-348.
Dasgupta, S. and Grover, P., 2019. Impact of digital strategies on consumer decision journey:
special. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal. 23(1). pp.1-14.
Lynch, S. and Barnes, L., 2020. Omnichannel fashion retailing: examining the customer
decision-making journey. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management:
An International Journal.
Rosenbaum, M.S., Otalora, M.L. and Ramírez, G.C., 2017. How to create a realistic customer
journey map. Business Horizons. 60(1). pp.143-150.
Patti, C.H., van Dessel, M.M. and Hartley, S.W., 2020. Reimagining customer service through
journey mapping and measurement. European Journal of Marketing.
D’Andrea and et.al., 2019. Co-creation: a B2C and B2B comparative analysis. Marketing
Intelligence & Planning.
Erickson, G.S., 2017. New methods of market research and analysis. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Mooi, E., Sarstedt, M. and Mooi-Reci, I., 2018. Market research. The process, data, and methods
using stata.
Achar and et.al., 2016. What we feel and why we buy: the influence of emotions on consumer
decision-making. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, pp.166-170.
Eriksson, T., Robertson, J. and Näppä, A., 2020. Functional top management teams and
marketing organization: exploring strategic decision-making. Journal of
Strategic Marketing, pp.1-18.
Reisenwitz, T.H. and Fowler, J.G., 2019. Information sources and the tourism decision-making
process: an examination of generation X and Generation Y
consumers. Global Business Review, 20(6), pp.1372-1392.
Stankevich, A., 2017. Explaining the consumer decision-making process: Critical literature
review. Journal of.
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