If consumers buy goods or services for personal use or domestic use, this called consumer market. In consumer market, only consumer goods or services are bought or sold. While buying necessary goods, every consumer adopts certain process. The activities before buying, during buying and evaluation after buying of goods include in buying process.
Five stages can be mentioned in consumer buying process as follows:
1. Problem Or Need Recognition
The buying process of consumers starts from need recognition or problem identification. Consumers feel tension or unease after need or problem has been recognized and until it has not been solved. Such need or problem may start or recognized by the persons themselves or through initiators or communication media. The psychological aspects like motivation and perception may create consumption problem. Experience of certain event, or situation also create need or problem. For example, woolen cloth is felt a need in cold winter and cold drinks in summer.
Five stages can be mentioned in consumer buying process as follows:
1. Problem Or Need Recognition
The buying process of consumers starts from need recognition or problem identification. Consumers feel tension or unease after need or problem has been recognized and until it has not been solved. Such need or problem may start or recognized by the persons themselves or through initiators or communication media. The psychological aspects like motivation and perception may create consumption problem. Experience of certain event, or situation also create need or problem. For example, woolen cloth is felt a need in cold winter and cold drinks in summer.
2. Search For Alternative Solution
After the needs have been recognized, consumers search for goods and alternative brands. They should take adequate information about the goods, brand and sellers to that their need can be satisfied. Alternatives can be identified through general remembrance or search. Customers can develop loyalty to goods or brands by learning process. While searching for alternatives to satisfy the needs, the customers should take help of both internal and external sources of information. The customers can get knowledge and information about goods using method, brand, sellers, available place through personal sources like family, friends, relatives, neighbors etc. through business sources like advertisement, decoration an display, packaging etc. and through public sources like radio, TV. newspapers etc.
3. Evaluation Of Alternatives
Consumers seek for proper alternatives to satisfy their needs. They get adequate knowledge and information about different products, brands, sellers etc. Then the evaluation stage of alternatives starts. Before taking buying decision, customers should determine certain criteria for evaluation of each alternative. They can determine only one or more than one criteria to compare each alternative.
4. Purchase Decision
If the evaluation and mind make up is positive, the consumers select the product or brand. The buying decision is affected by financial position, culture and sub-culture of their society, tradition, reference group, family influence, social class, personality and other situational factors. If the product of certain brand, which has been supposed to be the best, is not available, the customers may buy any other acceptable brand.
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5. Post-purchase Behavior
Post-purchase behavior is the last stage of consumer buying process. Consumer's behavior does not end only after buying any product. Rather it continues as the post purchase behavior. The consumer uses the newly bought product and after sometimes s/he experiences satisfaction of dissatisfaction with it. If s/he has experienced full satisfaction with the product, s/he purchases the product repeatedly. S/he also tells relatives, friends and neighbors about his/her experience with the product. In this s/he becomes an opinion leader who also may affect buying decision of others.
