Marketing Consumer Behaviour

I recently purchased a 2020 Subaru Ascent, which I can honestly declare to be the best decision I made. The process that I followed while purchasing this car is actually similar to the consumer decision making model discussed by Panwar et al., (2019). The consumer decision making model follows five main steps, including; recognition of need, search for information, evaluating the alternatives and finally the purchase. The reason I bought this car is because I needed a bigger car, which can comfortably fit the whole family without any complains like my old car. This fulfilled the first step of need recognition as indicated in the consumer decision model (Panwar et al., 2019). Having a small car that could not fit everyone comfortably called for the need of a much bigger car.

Human beings are naturally social beings and their decisions are greatly influenced by the trends and activities that are happening around them (Meng & Fraedrich, 2010). The decision to buy 2020 Subaru Ascent was not an easy one; the first motivation to buy it was after I saw the model with several of my colleagues during family fun days. It is easier for one to be swayed to make a purchase by people whom they are in the same social class, because they want to be in the same social levels (Meng & Fraedrich, 2010). I was inspired by how my colleagues highly praised the car model and they could not stop speaking about how effective the car was when travelling with their families. These are people whom we are in the same social classes since we are colleagues and we live in the same neighbourhood.

Their having a nice car model triggered my desire to be like them, and hence my aspiration to know more about the car model so that I could also purchase it and social circle. My immediate reaction was to find out more about the car and hence fulfilled the second step in the consumer decision making model (Panwar et al., 2019). I made sure to make some enquires about the car from these colleagues, in regard to its capacity, interior design and most important comfort, which they all confirmed with positive reviews and I also got the chance to actually inspect their cars to confirm all the reviews.

 The internet has become a very useful marketing tool for all industries, in what is today known as the electronic word of mouth (eWOM). A consumer does not need to physically communicate to people to get reviews on how effective or ineffective a product is (Daugherty & Hoffman, 2014). Consumers make their purchases online, get their goods delivered and they give their reviews on the product online. This hence allows prospective consumers who want to understand more about the product to just log on to a website and make a decision on whether the will make a purchase or not depending on the reviews given be the other consumers (Zhang et al., 2019).

I logged into Subaru’s website to check for the pricing, and the reviews of the 2020 Subaru Ascent from other customers. I found the website to be very helpful, in that every car model has its own special page where you get to read about the details, including the prices, the payment options and the reviews of the specific car that you are interested in. 2020 Subaru Ascent had many positive reviews from the customers that had already purchased the car, what interested me most are the positive reviews on how family friendly the car was. The main interest for me wanting to purchase this car was so that I could have more space for my growing family, which would make travelling with my family much more comfortable and easier. Another element that greatly interested me was the payment plan, which I found to be very friendly, given my current financial status. 

Family decisions on matters of purchasing products can often be subject to conflicts especially when it is a product meant to serve the whole family like a family car. It is expected that all the family members give their inputs, and it is the role of the influencer to come up with the correct strategy to ensure that the decision made is sound (Tsoi & Shchekoldin, 2014). It is this knowledge that prompted my decision not to disclose my plans of buying another car to my family without all the right details about the right car. I needed the perfect car and all the details intact so that I would avoid any conflicts of the car not having everything that they needed and actually say their influence on us getting the 2020 Subaru Ascent.

In my search for a car, I had discussed with my friends about some of the latest family car models in the market since most of them have families, and other car mode they had recommended was  2020 Kia Telluride, which was much similar to 2020 Subaru Ascent and also much cheaper. I decided to compare the two models; 2020 Kia Telluride and 2020 Subaru Ascent to see which the best fit was for me and my family. By doing this, I fulfilled the third step of consumer decision making model, the evaluation of alternatives (Panwar et al., 2019).

 There was no much difference between the two cars. However, what interested me most and made me go for 2020 Subaru Ascent even though its more expensive, is the fact that it has enough cup holders and USB ports for all the passengers on board something that we always fought about in my old car. 2020 Subaru Ascent also has large cargo space and also a standard 3-zone climate control system, all this were lacking in 2020 Kia Telluride. All this elements were very effective logical argumentation when it came to convincing my family the reasons as to why we should purchase the 2020 Subaru Ascend as compared to other car models.

It was after all this that I decided to tell my family about my plans for a new family car. The announcement was received with excitement and I was surprised when my partner suggested that we get the 2020 Subaru Ascent because she had heard positive reviews of the car from some of her friends that had purchased the model. This made it much easier to sway everyone to go for the 2020 Subaru Ascent and the final decision to purchase this car was made after the drive test. The whole family confirmed all the reviews given on the car and everyone was convinced that this was the perfect car for us and we purchased it.

Consumer decision making process is similar for almost every consumer in the modern world where the internet has taken over the sales departments in all industries. Whether one is buying a new or a second hand product, the first thing they do is realize that they need the product and go on to do some research of the product that they need, the pricing, where they can acquire it and its effectiveness. At some point during this process, one will try to talk to their friends and family members to get their views on the products that they want to buy. It is only after they have done all this, that the will make a purchase and be contented with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Daugherty, T., & Hoffman, E. (2014). eWOM and the importance of capturing consumer

attention ... Retrieved 2019, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Terry_Daugherty/publication/271928758_eWOM_and_the_importance_of_capturing_consumer_attention_within_social_media/links/54e6a3970cf277664ff6645e/eWOM-and-the-importance-of-capturing-consumer-attention-within-social-media.pdf.

Meng, J. (Gloria), & Fraedrich, J. P. (2010). 21st Century Social Class Theory As It Applies

To Marketing. Marketing Management Journal, 20(1), 194–203. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=55096986&site=ehost-live

Panwar, D., Anand, S., Ali, F., & Singal, K. (2019). Consumer Decision Making Process

Models and their Applications to Market Strategy. International Management Review, 15(1), 36–44. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=135847331&site=ehost-live

Tsoi, M. Y., & Shchekoldin, V. Y. (2014). Assessment of Family Member Influence on the

Purchase Decision-Making Process. International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences & Arts SGEM, 65–73. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=117051393&site=ehost-live

Zhang, H., Zhao, L., & Gupta, S. (2018). The role of online product recommendations on

customer decision making and loyalty in social shopping communities. International Journal of Information Management, 38(1), 150–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.07.006