Stages of Buying Process - Research Paper Example

?The Buying Process Every product or service has a buying process, even digital products or services. In this assignment, we will research and analyze the buying process from business point of view for Smoothie Juice-maker, which is product that can be ordered online. Stages of Buying Process The five stages included in the buying process are problem recognition, search and determination of alternatives, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation. Let us discuss all of these stages in detail. Problem Recognition From business or marketing perspective, this stage of buying process is very different from the consumer’s perspective. “With most customer buying process models, the approach begins with the determination by the consumer that he or she has a need or a want that must be fulfilled” (Tatum, n.d.). Consumers identify their needs at this stage and then search for the alternatives whereas online companies determine the needs of the consumers to provide them with their desired products and services. If a consumer places an order of Smoothie Juice-maker with an online company, the management of the company will recognize all needs and specifications mentioned by the consumer in order to provide him/her with the required product. At this stage, businesses look at various aspects of the requirements of the consumers to determine whether they are able to fulfill the needs of the customers or they will have to refer the customer to some other online company. Consumers place their orders online to a company based on their needs and requirements and the company examines the orders to make it put whether they can be fulfilled or not. This stage holds great importance in the overall buying process because at this stage, a company determines whether it can move on with the rest of the buying process or not. Continuity of the buying process depends on the requirements of the consumers. In case of Smoothie Juice-maker order, if a person orders the item without any additional requirement, it will be easy for the company to fulfill the order whereas if a person makes some special request, which is not possible for the company to fulfill, the company will have to make an apology to the person. However, companies try to accommodate the needs of the consumers as much as possible to continue the buying process. Search and Determination of Alternatives Searching and determining the alternatives is the second stage of the buying process from business perspective. Once a company recognizes the problem, the time comes to search for the possible alternatives. The search for the alternatives is the most significant difference between the business and consumer buying processes. From consumers’ perspective, search for the alternatives mean searching for the companies that can provide the desired product to the consumers whereas from business perspective, searching for the alternatives means selecting the best source, which can provide the product to the intended customer. Some companies use courier services to deliver the products whereas some companies make use of their own salespersons for the delivery of products. For the delivery of Smoothie Juice-maker, the online company can search for the sources, which can deliver the product while reducing the expenses of product delivery for the company. A company prefers to use such suppliers for the purpose of delivery, which are located near the destinations of the products. The reason is that such suppliers are usually less expensive as compared to the distant suppliers. Evaluation of the Alternatives Evaluation of the alternatives is the third step included in the buying process. From consumers’ perspective, this step involves evaluation of all those companies that can provide the highest quality product to the customer at a minimum cost whereas from business perspective, this step is dedicated to the evaluation of all those sources, which can deliver the product at the minimal cost. In case of online buying process, companies evaluate the credibility of all possible suppliers in order to hand over the delivery task to the supplier who can deliver the product in a less time and at a less cost as compared to other suppliers. This stage of the buying process is also very important because of the fact that at this stage, the product becomes ready to be delivered to the customer, which is the main activity of the buying process from business perspective. Quick delivery is the core essence of this step of the buying process. Here, I would like to relate one of my own experiences. Once, I ordered the Smoothie Juice-maker online to a company. To my surprise, a salesperson came to my house in just a couple of hours with a juice-maker. I did not believe that the product would be with me in a very short time. Purchase Decision This is the fourth step of the product buying process. In this step, a company decides which alternative it should use to complete the buying process from the customers’ end. The company sends an authentic document to the customer online in order to get the address and other information of the customer. Once the customer fills the document and sends it to the company, the company instructs the supplier to supply the product to the customer. This stage also holds great importance in the buying process because all matters are finalized at this stage and the purchase process comes near to the end with the delivery of the product to the intended customer. Post-Purchase Decision This is the last stage in the buying process in which a company evaluates the satisfaction level of the customers. “After the order is received the purchasing company may spend time reviewing the results of the purchase” (Anonymous, n.d.). If the product is properly delivered to the customer, it increases customer satisfaction whereas poor delivery results in affecting the image of the company in the market. Moreover, the feedback from the customers regarding the quality of the products also matters a lot. If the quality of the product is good, customers give a positive feedback, which increases the credibility of the company. These were the five key steps, which a company needs to go through in the product buying process. All of these steps are of great importance. Negligence shown towards any of these steps can affect business performance of a company. References Anonymous. (2011). Purchase Decision Steps 3, 4 and 5. Retrieved from http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/business-buying-behavior/purchase-decision-steps-3-4-and-5/ Tatum, M. (n.d.). What Is a Customer Buying Process?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-customer-buying-process.htm Read More