How Marketing Affects Consumer Buying Decision Process ?

How Marketing Affects Consumer Buying Decision Process ?

Do you think that only consumers decide to prefer one brand over another or there are hidden factors taking part in making that decision?

Many people think that their buying decision of a product is only a matter of free choice without paying attention to the influence of advertising boards, TV and radio commercials, newspapers, social media ads, and most importantly the influence of the opinions and impressions of others about that product.

How do consumers become convinced of one product over another?

Companies start the process of advertising by identifying the unmet needs of consumers and potential customers and then encouraging them to buy those products by highlighting the aspects which satisfy those needs.

For example, you can notice that chocolate commercials stress how having ‘chocolate’ arouse a feeling of happiness. As a result, this product builds in the minds of consumers a specific image of how to satisfy this need.

Another example is how soft drink commercials stress the desire to end the feeling of thirst by having a soft drink instead of water. So the job of adverting is simply to influence consumers to frequently decide between buying one product over another through direct and indirect methods.

​Direct methods tend to point out the advantages of the product and focus on how it can satisfy a particular need or desire. Whereas the target of indirect methods is to influence the behavior of consumers (celebrities are an example of this).

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