The Seven Stages Of The Consumer Decision Process Model

People make decisions every single day. Decisions are important because it is part of life and every decisions made will lead to a certain outcome, whether it is a satisfying outcome or dissatisfying outcome. People make decisions all the time, ranging from important decisions like choosing a degree to pursue to small decisions like buying foods. The study of why and how people make decisions is important to marketers in developing a successful marketing strategy. Businesses use the consumer decision process (CDP) model to understand how consumers make decisions so that an effective marketing strategy can be made. There are seven stages in the consumer decision process model, namely, need recognition, search for information, pre-purchase evaluation

After evaluating the alternatives, consumer move to the purchasing process. According to Blackwell et al. (2012), consumer will go through two phases during the purchasing process. In the first phase, a consumer may prefer one retailer but end up buying from the other retailer because of a sales or a promotional event. The second phase involved in-store choices which are influenced by salespersons, store atmosphere, electronic media and point-of-purchase advertising. For example, a consumer may leave the store without buying the intended product because of the unfriendly behaviour of the salesperson.
The fifth stage in the consumer decision process model is consumption. Consumption is the use of a certain products or services by consumer. After purchasing a certain products, consumer will either start the consumption process immediately or delay the consumption process (Blackwell et al, 2012). Immediate consumption may occur when consumer purchase services such as a getting a haircut or consulting a doctor whereas delayed consumption is when consumer decided to stock up his or her groceries by visiting the

After purchasing and consuming the products or services, consumer will once again evaluate the products or services. Upon consumption, consumer will come to two conclusions, they will either satisfied with the consumption or they are dissatisfied with the consumption. Satisfaction happens when the expected performance of the products meets the expectation of the consumer whereas dissatisfaction happens when the expected performance do not meet the expectation of the consumer. According to Monger (2012), customer satisfaction is important in order to retain sales. If consumer is satisfied with the products produced by the firm, it is very likely that repeat purchasing will occur. Finally, the last stage of the consumer decision process model is divestment. Divestment happens when consumer recycle the product, resell or remarket the product to another party or consumer dispose the product used. For example, a consumer planning to buy a new car might consider reselling his or her old car to another party for a value through Internet or through friends and family. Consumer might also choose to dispose the packaging of a product or they might recycle it. Consumer’s concern for the environment will influence the method of