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Introduction

Table of Contents 1. Introduction3. 2. Identify and discuss how decision-making, the difference from the traditional problem-solving model of consumer decision-making4. 3. Compare the information search process with the search process for one other product that is laptop9. 4. The implications of the findings presented in this case for managers marketing and promoting holidays12. 5. Conclusion13. 6. Reference14. 1. Introduction Now more than ever, people are looking to fulfill their main satisfaction in their consumptive role. But how do consumers make their decisions? This question has been at the center of much scrutiny and several marketing theories. If marketers are conjuring up new ways to capitalize on trends, then so are the very people they aim to lure. This report will show the study in a specific case which relates to the context of going on holiday. There were 27 Belgian households including single, couples, families and groups of friends to be the samples of this research. Over one-year period, authors followed and studied their process when they decided to have holiday. The work was carried out very carefully and the samples were interviewed four times in total: three times before their holiday in summer and once after that. From the result of these interviews, authors found out many signs and findings that can adjust the way people thought about consumer decision-making. Nowadays, along with the economic development and the increase of living standard, tourism demand becomes higher and higher attracting much effort to research consumer behavior in this field in order to create effective marketing strategies. ...read more.

Middle

Behind the visible act of making a purchase lies a decision process that must be investigated. 2. The purchase decision process is the stages a buyer passes through in making choices about which products and services to buy. 3. Five Stages of Consumer Behavior: Stage 1: Problem Recognition: Perceiving a Need: - Perceiving a difference between a person's ideal and actual situations big enough to trigger a decision. - Can be as simple as noticing an empty milk carton or it can be activated by marketing efforts. Stage 2: Information Search: Seeking Value Two steps of information search : Internal search and External search - Scanning one?s memory to recall previous experiences with products or brands. - Often sufficient for frequently purchased products. - When past experience or knowledge is insufficient . - The risk of making a wrong purchase decision is high . - The cost of gathering information is low. - Personal sources, such as friends and family. - Public sources, including various product-rating organizations such as Consumer Reports. - Marketer-dominated sources, such as advertising, company websites, and salespeople | Stage 3: Alternative Evaluation: Assessing Value -The information search clarifies the problem for the consumer by: (1) Suggesting criteria to use for the purchase. (2) Yielding brand names that might meet the criteria. (3) Developing consumer value perception. - A consumer's evaluative criteria represent both - The objective attributes of a brand (such as locate speed on a portable CD player) ...read more.

Conclusion

. If this work is done well, business can have the flexibility to achieve good performance. 5.Conclusion. Decisions are omnipresent in the daily lives of human beings. Being tireless decision makers, it stands to reason then that we understand the forces that drive decision making. The following report seeks to critically evaluate the long-held traditional ?rational problem- solving and cognitive model? of the consumer decision making process against the background of the holiday decision making patterns of the modern consumer. The one striking aspect of all the theories thus far was the portrayal of the consumer as a logical, rational decision maker who made complex choices based on reason, rational thinking and minimal risk-taking. The five cognitive stages that a consumer goes through to arrive at decisions have been analyzed against patterns of Holiday decision making. It was observed that although certain patterns did follow the cognitive paradigm, overwhelmingly holiday decision taking is one involving emotions and is adaptable. There is no one fixed process but a blend of several influential factors. Tourism is essentially a people-related business and many variables shape its future. Actual decisions are seen to be more spontaneous and less deliberate than the cognitive theory suggests. 6. Reference. Gilbert, D.C. (1991) ?An Examination of the Consumer Behavior Process Engel, J.F., Blackwell, R.D and Miniard, P.W. (1995) Consumer Behavior. Andeason,A.R. (1965) Attitudes and Consumer Behaviour : A Decision Model in New Research in Marketing ( Preston). Institute of Business and Belch, G.E. (1978).?Belief System and the Differential Role of the Self-Concept. ...read more.

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