Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

Consumer Decision Making has 5 steps involved.

1. Need Recognition. In the need recognition step, there is an internal stimuli and an external stimuli. The internal stimuli in this case would be when you see a design of a Dr. Marten shoe that you like. And then you realize you would like to own it. External Stimuli is when an external force recommends this item, such as your friend agreeing with you that this shoe will look great on you and or your favorite idol wearing this brand. Then with your own desire of the product and the recommendation aligns, you feel the need to balance your actual and desired states by acquiring this product. Dr. Martens does this by having seasonal collections of the shoes and boots and by having influential public figures to wear them at events. They also release advertisements and treat itself like a part of an inner circle.
2. Information search is when consumers try to find information to satisfy their desire. In this lies the internal information search where consumers can recall whether anyone they've known had any negative or positive experience with Dr. Martens and the External information search is when you go outside of your memory to further help consumers decide whether they would like to really aquire this product. With Dr. Martens, their marketing controlled information source will then have advertisements around the city in different forms of media such as the television, magazine advertising, newspaper, etc and influence the possible consumer even more.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives and Purchase, when the consumer dictattes whether the price they will have to pay for the product is reasonable enough for the feeling they get from the product. With Dr. Martens it is no problem as Dr. Martens is known for their durability and their standing influence in fashion. Also, Dr. Martens is targed towards the middle class so their shoes are reasonably priced and therefore mostly affordable.
4. The customer purchases the item.
5. So when the consumer is finally purchasing her desired shoes, she will have a postpurchase behavior. She will certain expectations from this brand rather than the other shoe brands and expects the shoe she bought to fulfill her desire. If this is not met positively and say Dr. Marten's shoe is not durable or the shoe's styling becomes muddled fast, she may be displeased and could generate an anti-fan of the brand.