You  can  gain  a  better understanding of the basic steps in the marketing process with the following 
example.  Suppose  Honda  wants  to  launch  a new car. Here’s how the following steps come into the 
picture: 
 
- Identifying  the  gap​:  Honda  identifies  that  it  does  not  offer  any  sedan in the price range of 
12–18 lakh. Therefore, it considers launching a sedan. 
 
- Existing  competition  or  alternatives​:  A  few  sedans  do  exist  in  the  market,  for  example, 
those  launched  by  Tata,  Hyundai  and  Skoda.  Some  are  in  a  higher  price  range,  whereas 
some  are  in  the same price range. But the deciding factor would be features and design. So, 
Honda  can  launch  a  sedan  with  similar  features  at  a  slightly  lower  price  than  those 
launched  by  its  competitors  or  one  with  better  features  at  the  same  or  a  slightly  higher 
price.  
 
- Understanding  the  target  market  size​:  Honda,  after  a  detailed  market  research,  realised 
that  there  is  enough  demand  for  a  sedan  in  this  price  range.  So,  it  targets  the  sales  of,  for 
example, 1,500 units monthly. 
 
- Understanding  the consumer and their behaviour​: Based on the market research, it is also 
evident  that  its  customers  are  in the age group of 35–55 years and that they prefer a more 
subtle look instead of a sporty one. They also tend to take more loans for buying cars.  
 

 
 
Consumers’ decision-making process involves the following steps: 
 
1. Need recognition 
2. Information search 
3. Evaluation of alternatives 
4. Selection and trial 
5. Purchase decision 
6. Post-purchase behaviour 
 

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This  helps  you  understand  the  steps  involved  in  a  customer’s  decision-making  process  and  plan 
accordingly to make your product more attractive for the customer at each step. 
 

 
 
The  ​attributes  ​that  a  customer  who  is  considering  buying  a sedan would look at are price, quality, 
size, features, etc. 
 
For the same customer, the alternatives may include the following: 
 
Evoked set​: This will include sedans by Hyundai, Tata and Maruti Suzuki in the same price range. 
 
Inert  set​:  This  might  be  Skoda’s  sedan  that  is  not quite popular, but the customer might still buy it 
if other models in the evoked set are not available. 
 
Inept  set​:  The  customer  might  not  want  to  buy  Fiat  and  Nissan  cars  because  those  models  are 
quite old and unpopular.  
 

 
 
In this segment, we discussed the factors that can affect the consumer decision-making process. 

We  discussed  the  following  five  types  of  purchase  decisions  that  are  frequently  made  by 
consumers: 

1. Routine response behaviour 

2. Variety seeking behaviour 
3. Impulse buying 
4. Limited problem solving 
5. Extensive problem-solving 

 
 
We  took  the  example  of  a  washing machine, and you learnt how these steps take place as part of a 
consumer’s decision-making process. 
 
We  discussed  consumer  learning,  information  acquisition  and  processing.  The  different 
decision-making rules that a consumer follows are as follows: 

● Compensatory rules 
● Non-compensatory rules 
● Affect referral decision rules 

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We understood this in detail with the help of the washing machine example. 

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