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[Abstract] Marketers strive to understand various steps in the whole process of consumer decision making for final purchase of the products of their choices. The marketers may improve their marketing strategies by understanding aspects, which are most common in the different consumer decision model developed by earlier researchers of marketing. Market models assume that the consumer's purchase decision process consists of various steps through which the buyer passes in purchasing a product or service. However, this might not be the case. It is not necessary for every consumer to pass through all these stages when making a decision to purchase, and, in fact, some of the stages can be skipped, depending on the type of purchases. This paper analyses the reasons for the study of the consumer's decision-making process with using models, which help organizations to improve their marketing strategies to convince the customers more effectively.
[Keywords] decision making, service industry, consumer behavior models, strategy
Introduction
The term consumer behavior is defined as the behavior that consumers display in searching for purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. The study of consumer behavior focuses on how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, effort) on consumption- related items (Schhiffman, & Lazar, 2007).
The field of consumer behavior covers a lot of ground. According to Solomon (1996), consumer behavior is a study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires.
The official definition of consumer behavior given by Belch (1978) is "the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires." Behavior occurs either for the individual or in the context of a group, or an organization. Consumer behavior involves the use and disposal of products, as well as the study of how they are purchased. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer because this may influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased consumption.
Anderason (1965) proposed one of the oldest models of consumer behavior. This model is shown in...