Reimagining the Consumer Decision Journey - National Law ...

The Decision Journey ... Given the shift in consumer purchasing behavior, marketing practitioners have had to adjust their traditional thinking ... 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Generally,thestagesofthepurchasefunnelareasfollows: Problemrecognition:Consumersidentifyaneedandseekaproducttofillthatneed. Informationsearch:Usingvarioussourcesofinformation,consumersresearchproductsthatmightsatisfytheirneed. Evaluationofalternatives:Consumersevaluatebrandstheyareconsideringanddecideonthebrandtheyintendtopurchase. Purchasedecision:Consumersmayadjusttheirintentionsbasedonahostofsituationalfactors;ultimately,theyexecuteapurchase. Postpurchase:Consumers’satisfactionwiththeproductaffectswhethertheywillbuyitagaininthefuture.1 Traditionally,thisprocesshasbeendescribedasafunnelbecauseconsumerswereassumedtoproceeddownalinearpaththatstartedwithmanybrandsandproductsthatmightfulfilltheirneed(atthebroadtopofthefunnel).Astheymoveclosertopurchase,consumerssequentiallydecreasethenumberofproductstheymightbuyuntil,ultimately,theymakeafinaldecision(atthenarrowbottomofthefunnel).2 Whilethiskindofthinkingcanhavemerit,thegrowthoftheinternetineverydaylifehasdramaticallychangedthewayconsumersmakepurchasingdecisions.3 Forexample,beforetheinternetbecameubiquitous,mostconsumersdidnothaveaccesstohundredsofproductreviewsorsearchenginestopriceshop,andhadonlyahandfuloflocalretailestablishmentsformanygoods. TheDecisionJourney Toaccountforthisincreasingcomplexity,marketingscholarsandpractitionershavereimaginedthepurchasefunnel.Now,manymarketingprofessionalsusetheframeworkofa“decisionjourney”todescribeconsumers’decision-makingprocesses.4 Consumersonadecisionjourneyarenotassumedtosequentiallyeliminatebrandsandproductsthatmaysatisfytheirneeds;instead,consumersgothroughcyclesinwhichsomeproductsthattheyinitiallyconsideredmaybeeliminated,butotherproductsmaybeaddedtotheconsiderationsetevenifconsumersdidnotconsidertheseproductsinitially:5 Giventheshiftinconsumerpurchasingbehavior,marketingpractitionershavehadtoadjusttheirtraditionalthinkingandadapttothenewoptionsthatconsumershaveforshopping.Oneofthemostcriticalaspectsofthisisacknowledgingwhocontrolsthemarketingmessage. Previously,marketerswereinchargeoftheprocess,exertingmorecontroloverboththemessageitselfandhowitwasreceivedbyconsumers.Today,consumershavemorecontrolregardingthemessagestheyhearandthemeanstoreceivethem.Forexample,today’sconsumershavetheabilitytoreceiveinformationandinsightsfromotherconsumers,andtheymayrelyheavilyononlinereviewsandotherelectronicword-of-month(sometimescalled“eWOM”). Furthermore,theemergenceofsearchengineshasresultedindramaticdifferencesinhowconsumersactivelysearchforinformationandmakepurchasedecisions.Thesenewwaysofobtaininginformationlimittheeffectivenessof“onesizefitsall”marketingmessages.Consumersnowplaytheleadrolebecausetheyhavetheabilityto“pull”information,reducingthemarketer’sabilityto“push”information. Thedevelopmentofthedecisionjourneyframeworkhasalsocontributedtotheunderstandingthatthejourneyforagivenconsumerforthesamegoodcanvaryfromsituationtosituation.And,ofcourse,thejourneyforoneconsumerwhopurchasesaproductcanbeverydifferentfromthejourneytakenbyanotherconsumerwhopurchasestheexactsameproduct. AnExampleoftheDecisionJourneyforanAutomobile Anexamplecanillustratethecomplexitiesofdecision-makingunderthedecisionjourneyframeworkascomparedtothepurchasefunnelframework.ImagineChris,aconsumerintoday’smarketsearchingforavehicle.Onthejourneytowardsanautomobilepurchase,Chrisinitiallyconsidersasetofvehiclescomprisingthoseshehaspreviouslyownedandhadpositiveexperienceswith.However,insteadofrestrictingherconsiderationsettoknownoptions,Chrisbeginstoresearchothervehicles.Forexample,Chrismayemaildealerswhodisplaytheirinventoriesonlineformoreinformation,orshemayreadoneofmanythird-partyreviewwebsites.Chrismayalsosearchsocialmediasitesandgleaninformationfrombothherownfriendsandfamilyandstrangerswhoseexperiencesshefindsinstructive. Throughthisresearchprocess,thenumberofoptionsinChris’sconsiderationsetmayincrease,decrease,orstaythesame.Whenitcomestimetoselectaspecificvehicle,Chrismaygowithadealershepreviouslyidentifiedonline,orvisitoneormanyinperson.Aftertheseinteractions,whichmayalsoincreaseordecreasethenumberofvehiclesbeingconsidered,Chrismayconductfurtherreal-timeresearchonhersmartphonetocomparefeaturesandprices.Shemightalsonavigatetowebsitesthatadvertiseratesforcarloansinsteadofbeinglimitedtothedealership’sfinancedepartment—someofthesewebsitesmaypointhertoyetmorevehicles.Aftercompletingherpurchase,Chrismay continue toconductresearchonhervehiclebyvisitinggeneralormodel-specificenthusiastwebsites.Thus,thewindingjourneythatledChristoherultimatepurchasewasaffectedbymanycomplexfactorsand,infact,continuedaftertheactualpurchase. ImplicationsforLitigation Theconsumerdecisionjourneyframeworkhasmanyimportantimplicationsforlitigation.Forexample,itisimportanttoconsiderthevarioustypesofinformationsourcesthatconsumersareexposedtoandwhetherandtowhatextentthisinformationaffectsanindividual’spurchasedecision.Furthermore,onecananalyzetherelativeimportanceofmanufactureradvertisingorspecificadvertisingclaimsascomparedtocontentgeneratedbyconsumersthemselves.Finally,expertsshouldcarefullyexaminetheappropriatenessofanalyticalmethodsthatmaynotallowfortherichnessoftheproductsandbrandsthatconsumersmayconsideratvariousstagesoftheconsumerdecisionjourney. Footnotes 1 P.KotlerandK.Keller, MarketingManagement,14thed.(PrenticeHall,2012),172–180. 2 KotlerandKeller(2012),172–180;D.Courtetal.,“TheConsumerDecisionJourney,”McKinsey&Company,June1,2009, https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-consumer-decision-journey (“McKinseyConsumerJourney”). 3 “TheEvolutionofConsumerBehaviorintheDigitalAge,” Medium,November16,2017, https://medium.com/analytics-for-humans/the-evolution-of-consumer-behavior-in-the-digital-age-917a93c15888;McKinseyConsumerJourney. 4 McKinseyConsumerJourney;R.Divol,D.Edelman,andH.Sarrazin,“DemystifyingSocialMedia,” McKinseyQuarterly,April12012, https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/demystifying-social-media. 5 Chartreproducedfrom McKinseyConsumerJourney,Exhibit2. Copyright©2021CornerstoneResearchNationalLawReview,VolumeX,Number266 Printer-friendly EmailthisArticle DownloadPDF REPRINTS&PERMISSIONS Advertisement Advertisement RelatedLegalHeadlines Court-AppointedExperts:TheFutureofLitigation? ByRyanThompson,Esq. Third-PartyLitigationFundingComesofAge ByAndrewLanghoff WalkingtheSocialMediaPolicyTightrope:HowEmployersCANComplywithToughNLRBScrutiny ByDrewSorrell FightforYourRighttoGetUsableDatainDiscovery ByGretchenE.Moore Advertisement TRENDINGLEGALANALYSIS USCISConductsThirdH-1BCapLottery ByMintz 4.5-YearPrisonSentenceUpheldforCounterfeiting3MMasksinChina BySchwegman,Lundberg&Woessner,P.A. DiscretionRetained:USPTODodgesAttackfromBigTechtoReininDiscretionaryIPR... ByMintz TheU.S.TrademarkOfficeSaysΔ8-THCIsIllegal--Usually ByBradleyArantBoultCummingsLLP Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AboutthisAuthor CerenCanalAruoba Principal CerenCanalAruobaprovideseconomicandfinancialanalysesforcomplexbusinesslitigationmattersinvolvingpharmaceuticals,healthcare,intellectualproperty,marketing,andantitrustissues.Shesupportsclientsandexpertsthroughallphasesoflitigation,includingdepositionandtrial.Ms.CanalAruobahasworkedonthedesignandimplementationofconsumerandprofessionalsurveys. Pharmaceuticalsandhealthcare Ms.CanalAruobahasexpertiseinaveragewholesaleprice(AWP)litigationforbothbrandedand... [email protected] 202-912-8962 www.cornerstone.com/ AshishA.Pradhan Principal AshishPradhanhasmorethanadecadeofexperienceworkingoncomplexintellectualpropertyandfinancematters,aswellasconsumerfraudandproductliabilitycases.Hehasconsultedonhigh-profilemattersandsupportedexpertsinstateandfederalcourts,aswellasmediationandarbitration.Mr.Pradhanhasanalyzedmattersintheautomobile,entertainment,music,retail,socialnetworking,hightech,andvideogameindustries. Intellectualproperty Mr.Pradhan’sexpertisespansawidevarietyofintellectualpropertyissues,includingpatents,copyrights,trademarks... [email protected] 213.553.2521 www.cornerstone.com Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement