Three Levels of Consumer Decision Making
Three Levels of Consumer Decision Making
Ebony Johnson
Mkt 231, 02
Buyer Behavior Dr. Stephen Goodwin
November 26, 2012
Illinois State University
Three Levels of Consumer Decision Making
Introduction
A decision is defined as, “the selection of an option from two or more alternatives” (Schiffman, Kanuk, Wisenblit 2010, p. 460). There is not one day that goes by when at least one person in the world has to make a decision to go about something one way or another. Many of these decisions are made when the average consumer has to decide whether or not they want to make a purchase, whether or not to go with one brand over another one, or whether or not to purchase from a specific store. A decision can only be made if the consumers have multiple alternatives that they are able to choose from. According to the textbook, not all consumer decision making decision situations receive (or require) the same degree of information research. When it comes to decision making, there are three specific levels of consumer decision making. These three levels, ranging from very high to very low, are extensive problem solving, limited problem solving, and routinized response behavior. What affects the level of decision making depends on the importance of the decision, amount of information, previous experience, established decision criteria, and number of alternatives. Extensive Problem Solving
At this level the consumer will seek out as much information as possible in order to establish a set of criteria, and they will do this for many different brands. This is “when the consumers have no established criteria for evaluating a product category or specific brands in that category or have not narrowed the number of brands they will consider to a small and manageable subset” (Schiffman, Kanuk, Wisenblit 2010, p. 461). Extensive problem solving often occurs when the consumer have no knowledge about the present brand(s). This usually happens when the consumer is
Ebony Johnson
Mkt 231, 02
Buyer Behavior Dr. Stephen Goodwin
November 26, 2012
Illinois State University
Three Levels of Consumer Decision Making
Introduction
A decision is defined as, “the selection of an option from two or more alternatives” (Schiffman, Kanuk, Wisenblit 2010, p. 460). There is not one day that goes by when at least one person in the world has to make a decision to go about something one way or another. Many of these decisions are made when the average consumer has to decide whether or not they want to make a purchase, whether or not to go with one brand over another one, or whether or not to purchase from a specific store. A decision can only be made if the consumers have multiple alternatives that they are able to choose from. According to the textbook, not all consumer decision making decision situations receive (or require) the same degree of information research. When it comes to decision making, there are three specific levels of consumer decision making. These three levels, ranging from very high to very low, are extensive problem solving, limited problem solving, and routinized response behavior. What affects the level of decision making depends on the importance of the decision, amount of information, previous experience, established decision criteria, and number of alternatives. Extensive Problem Solving
At this level the consumer will seek out as much information as possible in order to establish a set of criteria, and they will do this for many different brands. This is “when the consumers have no established criteria for evaluating a product category or specific brands in that category or have not narrowed the number of brands they will consider to a small and manageable subset” (Schiffman, Kanuk, Wisenblit 2010, p. 461). Extensive problem solving often occurs when the consumer have no knowledge about the present brand(s). This usually happens when the consumer is
Bibliography: Schiffman, Leon G., Leslie Lazar Kanuk, and Joseph Wisenblit (2010), Consumer Behavior (Tenth Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson-Prentice Hall.