 Hi, welcome. My name is Dr. Marcy Stone, and this is Unit 5, the purchasing process of your consumer behavior course. This course has 10 units, and this presentation is on Unit 5, the purchasing process. Here are the Unit 5 learning outcomes. So we have identified the stages of the decision process that results in the selection of one product over competing options. Explain how our access to online sources is changing the way we decide what to buy. Evaluate how consumers rely upon different decision rules when evaluating competing options. And explain the importance of understanding consumer evaluations of a product both before and after purchase. Why are learning outcomes important? So every learning outcome ties back to your course materials and your content. And this includes your assessments and also your test preparation. Here are the Unit 5 overview topics. So we have consumer decision process stages. Consumers use online sources for decision making, consumer decision rules to evaluate competition, and consumer product evaluations before and after purchase. And these are the vocabulary that we're going to discuss in this presentation. Okay, consumers today have numerous options during the decision making process, and this can make the process quite daunting. Some consumers will do extensive research and eventually determine which product they may choose, and others may not make a decision because there are too many options. In marketing, it's important to differentiate your product or brand from others on the market. By better understanding consumer attitudes, more effective marketing may be created to promote the brand. The consumer decision making process is complex and involves several stages or steps. These stages include recognizing the need, conducting an information search, evaluating different alternative products, selecting and purchasing the product, and then any post-purchase behavior, which may include returns or how they might dispose of the product in the future. Okay, so this shows the rational decision making process. So first you have to identify the problem. And when I say that this is the state, this is for most purchases, it may not be for all. If someone sees a product that they feel like they have to have and they may miss some of these stages, if you see something on TikTok or maybe YouTube and you're like, I need that. You may not have first identified the problem, you just know you want it. So for most purchases, this is what the consumer goes through. So we look at identifying the problem, then once they know that, they look at what is going to solve this problem. And so it could be another product, it could be something where maybe they have to make some changes in their life, but they're really just looking for what is my, what are my options. And they're going to look at that and weigh those decisions as well. Then they're going to come up with alternatives. So maybe they've got a product in mind. Maybe they narrow it down to four different products, but they are going to look at the differences between those four products. And then they're going to, first they come up with the alternatives and they evaluate the alternatives and then they select one of them. So they go through this decision making process, whether they realize it or not, they're really just trying to figure out, I've got this problem, what are my options for fixing it. And then the research process begins. Okay, so consumer attitudes are constantly changing based on values, influences and lifestyle. These attitudes may also be influenced by social media and the mass of research available to us through the internet. In addition, it's also important to consider additional factors that include product reviews and any competing products. Although the quality of product reviews is not always consistent, some consumers may believe that it is. If product information comes from the manufacturer, then they may believe that it may be accurate about the product. But the efficient use of the product might be questioned. So many product reviews should also be analyzed for the motivation of the creators. For example, if they received a free product or maybe they're being paid for their review in some way, it may not be unbiased. Another aspect to consider is social influences on the consumer. So celebrity or endorsements may have great influence over the consumer decision making process, but the review may not be as honest. In marketing, it's important to consider the consumers attitudes and how they might be changed with product reviews or social influences. Alright, so here we're looking at influences in the consumer decision making process. So we've talked about this a little bit already in this course, but you're looking at different cultural, social, individual or psychological factors that might affect every one of the steps in the consumer decision making process. So first you have, again, you have your needs recognition, you're doing your information search, you're going to come up with alternatives, you make a selection, you then purchase the product, then you have any kind of post-purchase behavior which might include returning it. Or it might be you might be so happy about the product that you are leaving reviews for a product reviews yourself, and then eventually they're going to have to consider any disposal options after some time has passed. Okay, so during the decision making process, a consumer may look at online product reviews. They might seek out a consumer advocacy company for information. They might talk to friends or family, or they may just buy a product knowing they can return it if it doesn't meet their needs. After a customer makes a purchase, they may experience purchase regret. And if the return process is not easy, this may result in an unhappy customer. With so many options available, choosing one product over another becomes difficult. And if there are limited options, it's easier. So when there are multiple products in your category, it will be important to differentiate your product from others on the market. After conducting market research, you may be able to determine what features to focus on in advertising. These may be features your product has that other products do not have, or it may be a feature that no one else is focusing on in their advertising. Alright, when a consumer hears about a new exciting product, they may speak to friends, they may research the product and order it. When the product arrives and they begin to use it, if they're still excited about the product, they may start to feel consumer satisfaction. So when a consumer has a good or a bad purchasing process, they may develop determinants or customer attitudes. If they become more excited than when they first heard about the product, they may tell others about their experience or write a review about the product. Potential customers may read the consumer evaluation, and this helps to perpetuate a continuous buying cycle. So it's important that marketing be as specific and honest as possible so that customers are not disappointed when the product arrives. Alright, so in conclusion, here are the Unit 5 learning outcomes. So we looked at the stages of the decision process, the buying decision process. And then we also explained how our access to online sources kind of changes what we decide to buy. And then we looked at the different decision rules when it comes to evaluating and competing options. And then we also talked about consumer evaluations of a product both before and after a purchase. Okay, so what's next? So Unit 6 is on consumer analysis and marketing strategy. My name is Dr. Marcy Stone and I just wanted to say thanks for listening.