Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

When consumers go to purchase a product theres a whole process that happens before purchasing. That process is called the "Consumer Decision Making Process". It goes as follows. 1) Need recognition , 2) Information search , 3) Evaluation of alternatives , 4) Purchase , and 5) Post purchase behavior. If we were to apply this process to the faithful Starbucks costumers I would say that they use Need recognition process and Information search. The textbook explains the Need recognition process as "an imbalance between actual and desired states. The imbalance arouses and activates the consumers decision-making-process". Me being a liable Starbucks costumer know how this works. Every morning I feel like I can not function is I have not had my coffee or any caffeine beverage. I may try and convince myself that I do not need it but if I pass by a Starbucks and get a whiff of the delicious coffee smell coming from the shop, my body is aroused and stimulates my need to have my daily cup of coffee. With the Information search process the book explains "After recognizing a need or want consumers search for information about the various alternatives available to satisfy it". If a person is looking for a new coffee shop, I am sure they have heard about Starbucks. This is when their Information search starts. They could go online and check it out but what most likely happens is a simple word of mouth. Many faithful Starbucks costumers are always raving and sharing their positive feelings towards the famous coffee company. That is all it takes for a person to want to give it a try.