Chapter 6 : Consumer Behavior

• consumer behavior : The study of consumers and the processes that govern their selection, consumption, and disposal of products and services and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society 
• Reffered to as "the psychology of marketing" 
• 5 stages to the consumer decision making proccess model 
• step 1 : need recognition , functional needs and psychological needs
• functional needs: performance of the product or service 
• psychological needs: personal sense of gratification associated with the product or service  
• step 2 : information search : internal and external search 
• internal search : memory or prior knowledge 
• external search: everything but memory, marketing or non marketing
• consumer assesment of aternatives 
• universal set : all possible choices 
• retrieval set: brands ( or stores) readily remembered 
• evoked set: brands ( or stores) considered when purchasing
• ideally marketers want their brands and products to be in the consumers evoked set 
• step 3: purchase 
• when and where do I purchase 
• step 4: post purchase 
• satisfaction - customer loyalty ( repeat purchase), positive word of mouth 
• dissatisfaction - product returns, complaint/ negative word of mouth 
• buyers remorse - sense of regret or fear of having made the wrong choice, frequently associated with expensive items (i.e. house, cars)
• one strategy they use to alleviate buyers remorse is return policies and warranties