5-Step Consumer Decision-Making Process (Marketing)

This article provides an analysis and description of the 5-step Consumer Decision-Making Process based on a personal purchasing experience.


Step 1 - Need recognition


This first stage is perceived as a contrast between the present state and the desired one, resulting in the search for identifying a problem or need in order to achieve the desired state (Mehrguth 2020). 


In February of 2019 I had a lot of free time as I finished my contract in my main job, I still had another source of income which was enough to pay basic expenses. However, having that amount of free time was confusing for me as I wanted to feel productive. 


This can be explained by the arousal theory of motivation which is a feeling of discomfort that brings individuals to engage in the behaviour necessary to relieve their arousal (Lumen 2010).

 
Looking to reduce that feeling of discomfort due to “unproductive time” I decided that I would read a book (which was not an easy task for me at the time) so I dedicated most of my free time to undertake this mission of over 500 pages. It took me nearly a month, a lot of will power and effort, but at last, finishing that first book gave me incredible satisfaction and opened the door for me to a world of knowledge and possibilities.


My main need was to reduce that feeling of arousal by doing a productive activity and I realised that through reading books I was able to fulfil that need. 


This type of need, according to Gautam (2007), is categorised as a cognitive need in the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs because it expresses the human need of increasing their intelligence and knowledge through learning, experiencing and exploring to get a better understanding of the world around us. 


Later on, once I found another job and got busy again I really wanted to keep reading books but it required too much effort as my reading pace was slow and my eyes were constantly tired. My need remained the same, to do a productive activity during the free time, and my new want was to find a way of reading books that was suitable for me. 


Step 2 - Information research


The information research can be internal, when it comes from the memory, or external if it is outside of the environment (Lamb 2016). Within my internal information I still didn’t know of a suitable option to solve my need, therefore I had to look for external sources of information.


I remember Arthur, one of my flatmates at the time, he was usually wearing headphones at home while cooking (I always thought he was listening to music), one day, while talking with Arthur he mentioned the word audiobooks, up until then I didn't know it existed but by the end of that conversation with Arthur I knew it could be the answer I was looking for as I wanted to keep having access to book’s information but I wanted to avoid the downsides of spending too long reading and having my eyes tired.


My internal information search didn't find a suitable solution to fulfil my need as I was not aware of the existence of audiobooks. Then, by asking Arthur about his experience listening to Audiobooks, he was the external source of information explaining to me all the details and features from a non-marketing controlled view as he was not associated with advertising or trying to sell me anything (Lamb 2016). 


Step 3 - Evaluation of alternatives


During that conversation with Arthur he said his favourite application for listening to Audiobooks was Smart Audiobook. Arthur's second best option was listening to Podcasts and his third one was Audible. 


I evaluated all three options and made a decision. Smart Audiobook was not the right one for me as it didn’t have many titles available. I didn’t choose Podcasts because I was looking for more academic information. 

Then, the last option was Audible and this one was the perfect one for me.  It was easy to use, with many books available and the first month gave me access to one book for free to try it out. My approach towards this option can be described as a utilitarian attitude as I felt engaged just based on the functionality of the service provided.


Audiobooks were now part of my awareness set because I was know aware of their existence. Through my evaluation of alternatives I found that Podcast was part of my inert set because they were not a good fit for my need so I didn’t consider that as an option. Finally, my evoked set was composed by Smart Audiobook and Audible as they related specifically to a possible solution to my need. 


Step 4 - Purchase


Audible is a subscription service with four membership plans. The basic one, Gold membership, costs $16.45 per month, it provides access to the one book per month, any extra book costs $15 and the membership can be canceled at any time. I decided to go ahead and get the Gold membership thorough the Audible’s website.


Step 5 - Post purchase behaviour


Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, behaviours or beliefs leading to mental discomfort (McLeod 2018). Cognitive dissonance is mostly experienced as a feeling of regret after purchasing a product. I didn’t experience it as I knew I could use Audible for one month without having to pay and I could cancel it anytime if I wanted. 


Three years later after having purchased the service for the first time, 100 plus audiobooks bough and over 1000 hours of listening, Audible still remains my main source for information from books and I believe it represented a turning point for my career and personal development process.


Conclusion


This article provided a description of the five steps in the consumer decision-making process applied to a personal experience on purchasing an audiobooks membership. The steps taken were: 


1) Need recognition by looking for ways to feel more productive during free time, 2) Research information by asking to a friend, 3) Evaluation of alternatives by understanding why some of the options were more suitable to solve my need, 


4) Purchasing the service and, 5) Post purchase behaviour by analysing any signs of regret. Those five steps are the decision making process experienced by consumers when thinking of purchasing a product or service.



Written by Sergio Quintero, 2022, student of Master of Business Administration, 
Kaplan Business School,  Melbourne, Australia.



REFERENCES


Gautam, S 2007, Maslow’s eight basic needs and the eight stage developmental model, retrieved 18 April 2022, The Mouse Trap, <https://the-mouse-trap.com/2007/12/14/maslows-eight-basic-needs-and-the-eight-stage-devlop mental-model/>. 


Lamb WC, 2016, Consumer decision-making, MKTG3, Asia-Pacific Edition, Cengage Learning, pp 46 - 56. 


Lumen Candela 2010, Theories of Motivation, retrieved 18 April 2022, Boundless Psychology, <https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/theories-of-motivation/>. 


McLeod, S 2018, Cognitive dissonance, retrieved 18 April 2022, Simply Psychology, <https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html>. 


Mehrguth, G (2020), 5 stages of the consumer decision-making process and how it’s changed, retrieved 18 April 2022, Directive, <https://directiveconsulting.com/blog/5-stages-of-the-consumer-decision-making-process-and-h ow-its-different/> 


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