CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS:

1- PROBLEM RECOGNITION:
Problem recognition occurs when a buyer become aware of a difference
between a desired state and actual condition. The speed of consumer problem
recognition can be quite rapid or rather slow. Sometimes a person has a
problem or need but is unaware of it.

2- INFORMATION SEARCH:
After recognizing the problem or need, a buyer (if continuing the decision
process) searches for product information that will help resolve the problem
or satisfy the need.

• INTERNAL SEARCH: In an internal search, a buyer searches for their

memories of information about product that might solve their problem. If
they cannot retrieve enough information from memory to decide, they
seek additional information from outside source.

• EXTERNAL SEARCH: The external search may focus on communication with

friends or relative, comparison of available brands or price, marketers-
dominated sources, and public sources.

3- EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES:
A successful information search within a product category yields a group of
brand that a buyer views as possible alternatives. This group of brand is
sometimes called a consideration set (also called an evoked set). Marketers
may influence consumers’ evaluation by framing the alternatives, that is,
describing the alternatives and their attributes in a certain manner. Framing
can make a characteristic seem more important to a consumer and facilitate
its recall from memory.

4- PURCHASE:
In the purchase state, the consumer chooses the product or brand to bought.
Selection is based on the outcome of the evaluation stage and on other
dimensions. Product availability may influence which brand is purchased. For
 example, if the brand ranked highest in evaluation is unavailable, the buyer
may purchase the brand ranked second.

5- POST PURCHASE EVALUATION:

After the purchase, the buyer begins evaluating the product to ascertain if its
actual performance meets expected levels. Many criteria used in evaluating
alternatives are applied again during post purchase evaluation. The outcome
of this stage s either satisfaction or dissatisfaction, which influences whether
the consumer complains, communicates with other possible buyers, and
repurchases the brand or product.

Ref: Marketing by William Pride