Low and High Involvement Situations of Buying Behaviour - Coursework Example

LOW AND HIGH INVOLVEMENT SITUATIONS OF BUYING BEHAVIOUR Name Institution Professor Course Date Low and High Involvement Situations of Buying Behaviour Consumer involvement refers to the state of mind, which motivates consumers to identify with product or service offerings, their consumption patterns, and consumption behaviour.Involvement tends to create within consumers an urge to look for and think about the product or service category, as well as varying options prior to making decisions on brand preference and the final act of procurement. Numerous factors tend to influence a consumer’s behaviour. Some consumers might be able to make quick purchase decisions and other consumers might need to get information, thus detailed decision process prior to making the purchase. These aspects depend on the experience and knowledge of the consumer. It is essential to note that the level of involvement reflects on how personally important or interested one is in relation to the consuming a product, as well as how much information is essential in the course of making appropriate decision (Amaldoss and Jain, 2005). Some low-involvement purchases require no planning, as well as previous thought, thus the concept of impulse buying. For instance, when a consumer is waiting to check out at the grocery store and perhaps sees a magazine with Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt on the cover and decided to purchase it on the spot because he or she wants the magazine. On the other hand, one might come across a roll of tape at a checkout stand and remember that he or she needs one. Procurement of such products requires low-involvement decisions. From this perspective, it is essential to note that low-involvement decisions might not necessarily relate to the purchases made on impulse, but they can be in attempt to satisfy diverse needs of the consumers.Conversely, high-involvement decisions tend to carry greater risks to the buyers whenever they fail. This is because such products are complex and have high price tags. Some of the products requiring high-involvement decisions include a house, a car, and insurance policy among others. It is critical to note that consumers do not procure such products more often, but they tend to have significant meaning and relevance to the buyer. In addition, buyers do not engage in the routine response behaviour in the course of procuring high-involvement products. Nevertheless, buyers engage in the extended problem solving, which enables them to spend a lot of time in the course of comparing diverse aspects with reference to the features of the products, costs, and warranties. In most cases, high-involvement decisions can cause buyers substantial deal of anxiety if they are unsure about their purchases. Furthermore, companies that sell high-involvement products are aware that anxiety can be an issue, thus the need to offer substantial or significant information about the products inclusive of how they are superior to the competing brand. Moreover, sellers provide information on how the products would not let the consumer down. From this perspective, it is critical for the sales people to utilise answer questions while executing a lot of customer ‘hand-holding’. Consumer Involvement Recently, I engaged in diverse purchases requiring substantial decisions prior to the acquisition of the products with the intention of satisfaction of my needs. In the first instance, I was engaged in the procurement of a computer. In the course of procuring or purchasing the product, I had to go through a critical procedure illustrating the consumer behaviour. I would categorize this procurement as high-involvement decision. In the first instance, there was need recognition. I was able to recognize the need for a computer to enable me prepare and submit my assignments effectively and efficiently. In addition, I was able to recognize the need for the personal computer to communicate appropriate with my family members, relatives, and friends. Similarly, computer was essential to provide the perfect platform for connection with the globe, thus the opportunity to understand the events and activities taking place across the globe. Most business entities tend to show consumers how products and services add value to satisfy their needs and wants. This concept is vital in the assessment of the second step towards the procurement of the computer (laptop), thus the need to pursue information. I was able to collect significant information from different alternatives on different aspects of the laptop. In the first instance, I was able to concentrate on the issue of the CPU (processors). In this context, I was looking for a dual-core processor, which will facilitate a smoother computing experience. In addition, since I was going to use my laptop for diverse reasons, I needed a device with a minimum RAM of 2GB. This is because of the influence of the RAM on the performance of the device. Moreover, I was looking for a computer system with the disk space of about 500GB to facilitate effectiveness and efficiency in saving diverse documents such as photos, assignments, articles, music, and videos. I also sought to gain substantial or significant information concerning CD/DVD drives, video and displays, networking, warranty, and support plans. In addition, I was able to collect information from diverse brands such as HP, Dell, Compaq, Toshiba, Lenovo, Apple, and so on. This was vital in the course of evaluating the most effective product, which will address my demands and expectations prior to the development of the evaluative criteria. The information from the second step was vital in the evaluation of the products in the market. For instance, there are diverse business entities focusing on the production of quality laptops such as HP, Dell, Compaq, Toshiba, Lenovo, Apple, and so on. In the course of evaluating the product, it was critical to adopt and implement appropriate evaluative criteria while integrating the features of the product in accordance with my expectations. The product had to be within the specifications with the intention of addressing my needs and expectations. It is essential to note that companies tend to convince consumers that the evaluative criteria in consideration reflect the strengths of their products, hence the need for the customers to evaluate the products effectively and efficiently. The next step in the consumer behaviour is the product choice and purchase or procurement. Unlike the case of low-involvement purchases where consumers go from recognizing the need to purchase the product, purchasing of a laptop requires one to decide on which one to purchase following effective and efficient evaluation of the diverse alternatives. In addition, it is critical to determine the most appropriate mode of procurement. In my case, I focused on the procurement of the product online because of my busy schedule to make time to visit the physical business locations to procure a product. I was able to settle for an Apple laptop with specific features in accordance with the evaluative criteria. The product has been efficient in addressing my needs and expectations. Secondly, I was able to purchase a trouser during my weekend tours. I would characterize the behaviour in this context as low-involvement. In the first instance, there was the cognition with reference to the knowledge component. During this process, I was able to gather andprocess information about the product, which I liked. The next step was the behaviour, which relates with the issue of buying or not buying the product. The finally aspect of the situation was the attitude, which relates to liking or disliking the product in question. From this perspective, the low-involvement situation focused on three components: cognition, behaviour, and attitude. I was able to incorporate these elements in procuring the product, thus an illustration of the concept of impulse buying. I did not need the product, but I came across the trouser and liked it, so I procured the product, thus an illustration of low-involvement situation. From the above discussion, there are diverse characteristics of low and high-involvement situations in the course of buying or purchasing a product. For instance, high-involvement situations relate to high prices, technical features, and major differences between the alternatives, projection of self, and evaluation of potential risks. On the other hand, low-involvement situations relate to brand hopping, availability of alternative brands, and effect on the consumer’s self-image. Factors affecting Rational Consumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour tends to deal with the study of buying behaviour of the customers. The concept is vital towards understanding why and why not an individual decides to purchase goods and services from the specific market. There are diverse personal and socio-cultural factors, which are critical in affecting or influencing the consumer behaviour or the decision to buy products. One of the critical or significant factors affecting the decisions of consumers in rational procurement of products is the cultural factor (Goldsmith, Flynn, and Daekwan, 2010). Cultural factors relate to the set of values, as well as ideologies of a particular community or group of people. From this perspective, cultural factors relates to the culture of an individual, which is essential in determination of how he or she behaves. Cultural factors tend to have significant effects on the decision by the individual to buy or procure products and services. It is essential to note that each consumer has sets of habits, beliefs, and principles. These aspects or attributes tend to emanate from the family status and background, as well as the socialization process of the individual under question. There are diverse cultural issues such as religion, gender, status, and so on, which are crucial in the determination of the behaviour of the consumer while seeking to procure diverse products and services. These attributes relate to subculture. Marketers have the tendency of using these attributes or facets in segmenting the market into diverse small portions. For instance, it is the obligation of the marketer to design products in accordance with the needs of the particular geographic group. In addition, social class is important in affecting the behaviour of the consumers in the course of making decisions on what to buy in accordance with the demands and expectations (Escalasand Bettman, 2005). In this context, it is essential to note that social class does not relate to only income, but there are various factors such as wealth, education, and occupation. Secondly, consumers tend to focus on the usage of the social factors in the course of making rational decisions concerning procurement of the products and services at their disposal within the market of their interest. Some of the important social factors affecting consumer behaviour include reference groups, family, roles, and status (Kurt,Inmann, and Argo, 2011). These attributes are critical in the assessment of the behaviour of the consumer while making diverse decisions on what to purchase. Reference groups have potential in influencing a person’s attitude or behaviour. The influence tends to vary across brands and products. Similarly, family affects the behaviour of the consumer when buying products or services. Consumers also utilise roles and status in making rational decisions on what to purchase in accordance with their needs, expectations, and preferences (Dens and De Pelsmacker, 2010). Thirdly, consumers tend to depend on personal factors in the process of making valuable and rational decisions on what to purchase in the market. Some of the important personal factors affecting the rational buying behaviour of the consumers include age, personality, occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, and self-concept. In most cases, consumers have the tendency of changing their behaviour while purchasing products and services with the passage of time. In addition, it is critical to note that family lifecycle consists of diverse stages with reference to young singles, married couples, and unmarried couples among others. These aspects enable marketers to develop or design appropriate and effective products to address the needs and preferences of each stage (Stávková, Stejskal, and Toufarová, 2008). Furthermore, consumers depend on the psychological factors in the course of making appropriate or rational decisions on what to purchase or buy in accordance with their needs and preferences. Some of the crucial psychological factors influencing the consumer buying behaviour include perception, motivation, attitudes, learning, and beliefs. For instance, the level of motivation influences the buying behaviour of the consumers. Every person tends to have diverse physiological, biological, and social needs. These needs develop into motives, thus the decisions by consumers to satisfy them through procurement of products and services at their disposal in the market of interest. List of References Amaldoss, W., and Jain, S., 2005,“Pricing of conspicuous goods: A competitive analysis of social effects.”Journal of Marketing Research, 42(1), pp. 30-32. Escalas, J., and Bettman, J., 2005,“Self-construal, reference groups, and brand meaning.” Journal of Consumer Research, 32(3), pp. 378-389.  Goldsmith, R., Flynn, L., and Daekwan, K., 2010,“Status consumption and price sensitivity.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 18(4), pp. 323-338.  Dens, N., and De Pelsmacker, P., 2010,“Consumer response to different advertising appeals for new products: The moderating influence of branding strategy and product category involvement.”Journal of Brand Management, 18(1), pp. 50-65  Kurt, D., Inmann, J., and Argo, J., 2011,“The influence of friends on consumer spending: the role of agency – communion orientation and self-monitoring.” Journal of Marketing Research, 48(4), pp. 741-754.  Stávková, J., Stejskal, L., &Toufarová, Z. (2008).Factors influencing consumer behaviour. ZEMEDELSKA EKONOMIKA-PRAHA-, 54(6), 276. Read More