Meaning of Decision Making

Everyday we are involved in taking decisions related to the various aspects of our lives. Usually such decisions are taken automatically without the involvement of any particular decision making process. For instance say a housewife goes to purchase a mid priced range of tea, her decision making merely involves making a selection from the various brands of tea like Taj Mahal, Tata Tea, Red label, Yellow Label and so on. The process by which a person is required to make a choice from various alternative options is referred to as decision making. has been evolving, become competitive and more of a buyer's

The marketing environment market, with each marketer trying to adopt unique strategies which can result in positive decision making from the consumer's side. While the customer gains from having to decide and select from a wide array of choices, the marketer will benefit from a substantial increase in sales when the consumer decides to purchase their brands.

Different Views Of Consumer Decision Making 

The changing market environment provides the impetus for a careful study of consumer decision making or buyer behaviour. The term 'model' generally refers to a general 'view' or perspective as to when and why individuals behave as they do. In buying and consuming a variety of goods and services, consumers are pursuing a sets of motives. Though need satisfaction is the underlying motive source of all consumption activity, an understanding of needs and processes that influence the formation and satisfaction of such needs will help the marketer to devise suitable marketing programmes. Here we will examine the various models of consumers in terms of the following four views:

An Economical View or Model

Traditionally, economics has been considered to be the mother discipline of marketing. Economists believe that consumers derive some utility (a feeling of satisfaction) from consuming a particular product and so their consumption activity will be directed towards pursuing maximisation of utility. That's why if given a certain amount of purchasing power, and a set of needs and tastes, a consumer will allocate his expenditure over different products at given prices rationally so as to maximise utility. Economists also postulate that the utility from the consumption of a certain product diminishes as the quantity of the product consumed increases (based on the Principle of Diminishing Marginal Utility). According to this model it is also possible to make a number of predictions about the behaviour of buyers in terms of the price effect, income effect and substitution effect. While these predictions are useful, questions are being raised on the assumption of rationality in the behaviour of buyers. The criticism by consumer researchers is based on a number of reasons. They argue that in reality, the consumer may not be (a) aware of the various product alternatives or (b) in a position to evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages related to the various product alternatives so as to rank them accordingly. Thus in the absence of all the possible sufficient, and accurate information, it will not be possible for the consumer to make the so called rational or perfect decision.

It has been criticised that the economic view is too idealistic and simplistic. It is being argued that consumers in reality behave very differently and do not maximise their decisions in terms of economic considerations such as price-quantity relationships, marginal utility or indifference curves. Very often the consumer will settle down for a 'satisfactory' decision and not necessarily the best one though it will be a 'good enough' decision.

The Passive View or model

Unlike the rational economic view of man, the passive view portrays the consumer as someone who is basically carried away by the promotional and self oriented efforts of the marketer. As per the passive view, consumers are perceived to be impulsive who take irrational purchase decisions and are influenced by the promotional offers of the marketers.

The passive model is criticized as it fails to take a pragmatic view of the consumers. It is argued that in a buying situation, the consumer will be involved in a decision making process wherein he seeks information on the product, evaluates all the alternative brands and then makes a selection based on the brand which provides him maximum satisfaction. At times the consumer's purchase decision is also based on emotions or moods. So it is wrong to assume that the consumer will be passive while taking purchase decisions.

A Cognitive View or Model

As a consumer, man is usually involved in thinking and problem solving. He is constantly involved in an active search for goods and services which will not only satisfy his needs but enrich his life also. As per the cognitive view consumers are involved in an information seeking and processing method. They try to gather all the necessary information from various sources, such as a trusted friend, or an expert and so on. Once he feels that he has sufficient information, so as to make a 'satisfactory choice decision', he will cease to gather more information and will ultimately decide on his purchase intention.

This model of man as a thinker, views consumer as an information processor. And all the focus is on the processes by which consumers seek and evaluate information about the concerned brands and the respective retail outlets.

The advertisement on Panasonic can work as a cognitive appeal to customers seeking information for purchasing high end television. The ad provides information on the technology benefits in terms of V-Real Technology, Advanced Smart Sound Speaker System and HDAVI control offered by the Panasonic brand of TV Series.

Thus according to the cognitive model of consumer, the above mentioned ad will make the consumer think on the benefits of Panasonic. The consumer will finally take the purchase decision based on his satisfaction of the information received. In other words the problem solving view or model of consumer talks of a person who in the absence of the total information or knowledge of all the available product alternatives, would actively seek 'satisfactory information and thereby attempt to make satisfactory decisions accordingly.

An Impulsive or Emotional View of Consumer

Another aspect of consumer decision making is that they can be emotional or impulsive while taking purchase decisions. Very often, we, as consumers are involved in purchases made on impulse or on a whim. For such emotional buying, the consumer may not undergo the usual process of carefully searching, evaluating and then deciding on the brand or outlet to purchase from. Rather he is more likely to purchase the product (brand) based on a whim or an impulse. Such consumer decisions are said to be 'emotionally driven'.

For emotional or impulse purchases, in the absence of a search for pre-purchase information, it is the mood and feelings of the consumer which will decide on the emotional purchase decision. Emotional decisions could be rational to some extent also. That is, the consumer may take an emotional decision to purchase a product but he will be rational while deciding or choosing one brand over another.

This type of behaviour is displayed while making purchases of apparel, gifts, selecting holiday destinations or toys (for children). In all the above situations, the final decision may be made on the basis of emotion. Advertisers are projecting, their products or services in a way to appeal to the emotions of the particular target market. Such emotional appeals can be seen in the advertisements of Johnson and Johnson baby products, Huggies diaper, Wipro Baby Soft, Fisher Price toys and so on.

Related to consumers emotions and feeling is the 'mood' of the person. Mood may be defined as a feeling state or state of the mind. The basic difference between an emotion and a mood is that the former is a response to a particular environment, while mood is an unfocused, pre-existing state-already present, when the consumer gets motivated or experiences a positive feeling about an advertisement, or the retail outlet or brand or a product.

Moods play an important role in consumer decision making. Very often it is the mood of the consumer which influences his decisions related to when to shop, where to shop, in whose company to shop etc. It has been observed that even within the shopping environment, the interior decor, the attitude of the sales persons, the type of services provided etc. could affect the shoppers mood and influence the consumer's decision on how long to shop and on how often to go to that shop. Realising this now retailers and dealers are creating a positive store image. This is likely to have a positive impact and influence on the consumer's mood and decision to purchase.