Question

Choose one of the following, and imagine you would be planning to buy it:

• A tube of toothpaste
• A smartphone
• A financial service
• A new car

Choose one of the buyer decision behavior types listed above, and act in your discussion postings accordingly.

Remember, this is a role-playing exercise, so it might be useful for you to choose a type which is the least typical of you.

Role-play is an activity when you either put yourself into somebody else's shoes or when you stay in your own shoes but put yourself into an imaginary situation. The joy of role-playing is that you can pretend to be anyone you like for a short time. You can also take on the opinions of someone else. Functional language for a multitude of scenarios can be activated and practiced through role-playing. Try to keep the role(s) you play as real to life as possible.

Discuss

1. In your initial posting, describe how your chosen buyer decision behavior characteristics show through all the five stages of buying process with your chosen purchase.

For example, if your chosen purchase had been a veterinary pet insurance, you might go through the following kind of buyer decision process:

• Need recognition: A person needs a pet, to begin with. Then, it is important that a person perceives that there is a reasonable possibility that their pet will need veterinary care at some point and that that care will cost more than the person is able to afford at any one time.
• Information search: – With the need recognized, the consumer will seek out information on ways to solve the problem. This may happen by reading news articles or blogs, gathering information from company websites, or talking to fellow pet owners about how they have dealt with the issue.
• Evaluation of alternatives: This may be a brand-to-brand comparison. It may also be a comparison between purchasing and not purchasing the item at all. Whatever the case, the options are compared with respect to the features and benefits that are most important to the customer.
• Purchase decision: The consumer decides to buy or not to buy. Buying involves agreeing to a contract and making the payment. This decision has been facilitated by the web interfaces of most every pet insurance company, including VPI.
• Postpurchase behavior: How much the person seeks veterinary care, the degree to which that care is covered, the ease of filing a claim, the nature of customer service, and many other factors that happen postpurchase will affect the attitude that a customer holds toward VPI.

How would you describe the buying process stages in the case of a tube of toothpaste, a smartphone, financial services, or a new car?

Now combine your chosen buying decision behavior characteristics in the buyer decision process model. Depending on the type of buying decision behavior, describe what happens on each stage of the buyer decision process. For example, how would a consumer who has undertaken complex buying behavior search for information or how would a consumer undertake variety-seeking buying behavior to make a purchase decision?

There is no length requirement for the postings. The content is what matters. You are required to make one initial posting on the fourth day of the Module at the latest, and comment at least two other postings.

Answer 1

Out of the given items for Role Playing and describing how the buyer decision behaviour works and what key things remains the main characteristics, I will be choosing "A Smartphone". Keeping in mind that I will be buying a Smartphone, I will be to go through all the buying behaviours and trying to be as real as I could be.

Below given are the stages of a buying process through which a consumer goes and I will play the role of a rational consumer who wants maximum satisfaction out of the product that he is willing to buy.

Product Buying: A Smartphone

1. Need Recognition: As I am working in a Food Delivery App Company, I need to do majority of my work on my Smartphone be it from mails to scanning documents and other stuff. Our Food Delivery app is online as well and I need to be online to do sanity and all and in addition to that, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar is something I cannot left. I am a social person as well so I need to be updated. For this, I need a smartphone with good RAM and Storage as well as Best Processor. A good phone is something that is having latest technology as well as should be bearing good price as well. I will set a budget as well to identify the best and will buy it then.

2. Information Search. I will start looking for best options under my budget in online shopping websites. To get proper information, I will be heading to company's website as well and then will look for the specifications and benefits I will be getting with the mobile that i am planning to buy. I basically need a mobile with 6 GB of RAM & 128 GB of Minimum Storage Capacity. An Octa Core 2.0 GHz Snapdragon 800 & above Processor will work for me. Dual camera is also an added advantage. So keeping in mind, I will search and collect information in online portals and will also see review videos and unboxing videos on Youtube and other Mobile Reviewing Platforms. Once coming to my desired company and model, I will also try to look for alternatives and will compare them as well in terms of price, brand, quality and specifications. I will also keep in mind the After Sales Service Centers in the city. Because it is of utmost importance to have after sales service.

3. Evaluation of alternatives: The required smartphone with specification that i want will be available from different brands with different prices as well. So keeping in mind, I will evaluate the Brands, will try to see who's network is good, service is good, pricing is under my budget and is providing me with the smartphone that i am in need off. Different brands will be giving different size of quality and thus, I need reviews, Youtube videos to understand what material I want and what quality will suit me. One satisfied with the type of mobile I want with the preferred brand, i will go ahead and buy it.

4. Purchase Decision: Once finalized, Brand & Specifications with ideal price, I will look for any available offers say it with banks or with mobile selling companies and finally after sorting things, I will pay with my Debit or Credit card or even Cash and will buy the mobile.

5. Post Purchase Behaviour: Once bought, I will use it and then after using, If i required any help from service centre, I will go there and will take the help or else, I will keep on using it. I will also see how the mobile works upon my expectations because I bought it after so much of research. So, considering the fact that I have also searched about the Service Center then bought it. Everything will work smooth and things will be good.

So, these are all the stages through which a consumer goes while buying anything.