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Examples of the
Consumer Decision-
Making Process Popular now

Reading time: about 6 min

Posted by: Lucid Content Team

Which process
5 steps of the consumer decision making improvement
process methodology
should you use?

1. Problem recognition: Recognizes the

A single source of
need for a service or product truth: Why you need
2. Information search: Gathers one for team
processes
information
3. Alternatives evaluation: Weighs Why you should do
choices against comparable an end-of-year
alternatives process audit

4. Purchase decision: Makes actual

purchase
5. Post-purchase evaluation: Reflects on
the purchase they made
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The consumer decision-making process can updates and
seem mysterious, but all consumers go through tips
basic steps when making a purchase to delivered to
determine what products and services will best
your inbox 1

👋 How can weonce a

help you today?
fit their needs. month.

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Think about your own thought process when

buying something––especially when it’s Subscribe to our newslette
something big, like a car. You consider what you
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need, research, and compare your options
before taking the plunge. Afterwards, you often
wonder if you made the right call.
About
If you work in sales or marketing, make more of Lucidchart
an impact by putting yourself in the customer’s
shoes and reviewing the steps in the consumer Lucidchart is the
decision-making process. intelligent
diagramming
Steps in the consumer application that
empowers
decision process teams to clarify
complexity,
Generally speaking, the consumer decision- align their
making process involves five basic steps. Start to insights, and
understand the unique decision process of your build the future
customers with this decision flowchart template. —faster. With
this intuitive,
cloud-based
solution,
everyone can
work visually
and collaborate
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while building
flowcharts,
Overview of the Consumer Decision-Making Process (Click on image to modify mockups, UML
online)
diagrams, and
more.
1. Problem recognition The most
popular online
The first step of the consumer decision-making Visio alternative,
process is recognizing the need for a service or Lucidchart is
product. Need recognition, whether prompted utilized in over
internally or externally, results in the same 180 countries by 1
response: a want. Once consumers recognize a
👋 How can wemillions of
help you today?
want, they need to gather information to users, from
sales managers
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understand how they can fulfill that want, which mapping out
leads to step 2. target
organizations to
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But how can you influence consumers at this
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IT directors
stage? Since internal stimulus comes from within visualizing their
and includes basic impulses like hunger or a network
change in lifestyle, focus your sales and infrastructure.
marketing efforts on external stimulus.

Develop a comprehensive brand campaign to

build brand awareness and recognition––you
want consumers to know you and trust you. Most
importantly, you want them to feel like they have
a problem only you can solve.

Example: Winter is coming. This particular

customer has several light jackets, but she’ll need
a heavy-duty winter coat if she’s going to survive
the snow and lower temperatures.

2. Information search

Content Map With Funnel (B2C) Example (Click on image to modify online)

When researching their options, consumers

again rely on internal and external factors, as
1
well as past interactions with a product or brand,
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both positive and negative. In the information
stage, they may browse through options at a
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physical location or consult online resources,

such as Google or customer reviews.
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Your job as a brand is to give the Blog
potential
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customer access to the information they want,

with the hopes that they decide to purchase your
product or service. Create a funnel and plan out
the types of content that people will need.
Present yourself as a trustworthy source of
knowledge and information.

Another important strategy is word of mouth––

since consumers trust each other more than they
do businesses, make sure to include consumer-
generated content, like customer reviews or
video testimonials, on your website.

Example: The customer searches “women’s

winter coats” on Google to see what options are
out there. When she sees someone with a cute
coat, she asks them where they bought it and
what they think of that brand.

3. Alternatives evaluation
At this point in the consumer decision-making
process, prospective buyers have developed
criteria for what they want in a product. Now
they weigh their prospective choices against
comparable alternatives.

Alternatives may present themselves in the form

of lower prices, additional product benefits,
product availability, or something as personal as
color or style options. Your marketing material
should be geared towards convincing
consumers that your product is superior to other 1

alternatives. Be ready to overcome any 👋 How can we help you today?

objections––e.g., in sales calls, know your
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competitors so you can answer questions and

compare benefits.
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Example: The customer compares Tech
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few brands
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that she likes. She knows that she wants a

brightly colored coat that will complement the
rest of her wardrobe, and though she would
rather spend less money, she also wants to find a
coat made from sustainable materials.

4. Purchase decision
This is the moment the consumer has been
waiting for: the actual purchase. Once they have
gathered all the facts, including feedback from
previous customers, consumers should arrive at
a logical conclusion on the product or service to
purchase.

If you’ve done your job correctly, the consumer

will recognize that your product is the best
option and decide to purchase.

Example: The customer finds a pink winter coat

that’s on sale for 20% off. After confirming that
the brand uses sustainable materials and asking
friends for their feedback, she orders the coat
online.

5. Post-purchase evaluation
This part of the consumer decision-making
process involves reflection from both the
consumer and the seller. As a seller, you should
try to gauge the following:
1
Did the purchase meet the need the consumer
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identified?

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Is the customer happy with the purchase?

How can you continue to engage with this
customer?
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Remember, it’s your job to ensure your customer

continues to have a positive experience with
your product. Post-purchase engagement could
include follow-up emails, discount coupons, and
newsletters to entice the customer to make an
additional purchase. You want to gain life-long
customers, and in an age where anyone can
leave an online review, it’s more important than
ever to keep customers happy.

Tools to better understand

your customer
Putting yourself in the customer’s shoes can help
you steer consumers towards your product. Here
are some tools to help you analyze their
decision-making process and refine your brand
marketing and sales tactics.

Customer journey map

A customer journey map visualizes a

hypothetical customer’s actions. Use it to
empathize with your customers as they go
through a specific process or try to complete a
purchase. Map out the actions the customer is
likely to take.

Learn how to make a customer journey map to

understand the decision-making process for your
product/service.

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Related Make Informed
posts: How to Make a Decisions with
Decision Tree in
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Decision Tree in the Marketing
Excel Research
Process
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Customer Journey Map Example (Click on image to modify online)

What is the consumer decision making

process
The consumer decision-making process involves five
basic steps. This is the process by which consumers
evaluate making a purchasing decision. The 5 steps are
problem recognition, information search, alternatives
evaluation, purchase decision and post-purchase
evaluation.

Empathy map

Empathy maps help teams understand the

customer’s mindset when dealing with a product
or service. They can be used for personas or
specific customer types. Empathy mapping is
often most helpful at the beginning of a new
project. Collaborate as a team to quickly get
inside the heads of your customers during every
step of product development, testing, and
release.

Learn how empathy maps work so you can

understand your customers better and make 1
customer-oriented decisions.
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Basic Empathy Map Example (Click on image to modify online)

User personas

Based on user research or past user interactions,

user persona cards construct fictional or
composite personas that break down and
organize your data into distinctive types of users.
Build a more human picture of your users and
understand your user base better by creating
user personas for the various types of users for
your product or service.

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User Persona Card Example (Click on image to modify online)

Understanding the consumer decision-making

process is key if you want to attract more
customers and get them to make that crucial
purchase. Use this process and the tools above
to tune in to consumers and genuinely
understand how to reach them.

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