Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

                       In the cuurent world we live in it is very important for marketors to know how consumers behave and make decisions. Understanding how consumers make decisions can help a company better serve and compete in the market. When making a decision of whether to buy, not to buy, and what to buy the consumer generally follows the consumer decision-making process. This post will discuss the process regarding Apple.




There are 5 stages regarding the consumer decision-making process, they are need recognition, information search, Evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and post purchase behavior. The fisrt stage is need recognition which is the result of an imbalnace between actual and desired states. Electronics are things people want but do not necessarily need them, with advancements in technology and improved marketing strategies,  these devices make it feel and look like they are needed. Through external stimuli, such as the popularity of Apple's IPhones among peers, their recommendations, the perceived superiority of the product, and the slick design wants and needs are created. When recognizing a need or want consumers will search information regarding the product. There are many ways consumers may search for information. The information search can be external, internal, or both. An internal search is the process of recalling past information stored in the memory. On the other hand an external search is the process of seeking information in the outside environment.  When trying to make a decision of whether to buy an Apple product many consumers rely on internal information, such as a previous experience with the product. Apple consumers are very loyal. Many consumers upgrade their iPhones as soon as the next generation is out, because they have had a positive experience with the previous generation and are often anticipating the new features in the next generation as soon as they obtain the product. An example of this is the sucessful release of the iPhone 6 in 2014, many consumers were expecting new features, a bigger screen, higher and resolution, and more technological advancements such as Apple pay. Consumers were expecting these changes and it lead to the massive amounts of upgrades.

The following stages are the Evaluation of alternatives and purchase stages. After gathering inforamation and viewing the product the consumer will evaluate the internal and external information in order to decide which product is more suitable and whether or not the product should be bought. Apple's reputation of over pricing make it seem like the company is a sinking ship but in reality it does not affect the companies sales. For example consumers of Apple's iPhone focus and research more on the quality, looks, and features of the product rather than its price. A passage from Business Insider states "Apple's slowdown in growth had little to do with the price of the phone. It was that Apple was offering a 4-inch screen when Android phones at their smallest had 4.7-inch screens. Once Apple made the screen bigger, sales took off." This statement support the fact that Apple consumers were focusing more on features than price and once they are secure about their decsion the consumer makes the purchase. The final stage is the Post Purchase Behavior.
        


When buying products consumers expect certain outcomes from the purchase. How well these expectations are met determines whether the consumer is satisfied or dissatisfied with the purchase. This process is called post purchase behavior. In the past Apple was criticized by consumers for not being inovative with their iPhone 5 and 5s line, many consumers were disappointed and the company's glorious reputation was in jeopardy. Apple made a huge bounce back with the release of the iPhone 6 resulting in a hike in sales and many consumers, including my self are satisfied with the purchase of the product.

The following video shows how Apple introduced the iPhone 6 and in my opinion this strategy helped the company's consumer decision making process in a positive way.