The consumer becomes aware of the new product but lacks information about it

1. Types of Buying Decision Behavior
   1. Complex Buying Behavior
      1. Consumers undertake complex buying behavior when they are highly involved in a purchase and perceive significant differences among brands. expensive, risky, purchased infrequently, and highly self-expressive.
   2. Dissonance-reducing buying behavior
      1. Dissonance-reducing buying behavior occurs when consumers are highly involved with an expensive, infrequent, or risky purchase, but see little difference among brands.
   3. Habitual buying behavior
      1. Habitual buying behavior occurs under conditions of low consumer involvement and little significant brand difference. Consumers do not search extensively for information about the brands, evaluate brand characteristics, and make weighty decisions about which brands to buy.
   4. Variety seeking buying behavior
      1. Consumers undertake variety-seeking buying behavior in situations characterized by low consumer involvement but significant perceived brand differences.
2. The Buyer Decision Process
   1. Need Recognition
      1. The buyer recognizes a problem or need triggered by either internal stimuli or external stimuli where it may occur because of an advertisement or a discussion with a friend and get you thinking about buying a new car. This is the stage where the marketer should research consumers to find out what kinds of needs or problems arise, what brought them about, and how they led the consumer to this particular product.
   2. Information Search
      1. Personal sources (family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances)
      2. Commercial sources (advertising, salespeople, Web sites, dealers, packaging, displays)
      3. Public sources (mass media, consumer rating organizations, Internet searches)
      4. Experiential sources (handling, examining, using the product)
   3. Evaluation of alternatives
      1. Alternative evaluation is how the consumer processes information to arrive at brand choices. How consumers go about evaluating purchase alternatives depends on the individual consumer and the specific buying situation.
   4. Purchase Decision
      1. Attitudes of others and their effect on you either positive or negative
      2. Unexpected situational factors (the need of a new phone, toothpaste finishing, etc...)
   5. Post-Purchase Decision
      1. The difference between the consumer’s expectations and the perceived performance of the item purchased determines the degree of consumer satisfaction. (Reality – Expectations = Satisfaction) If the product falls short of expectations, the consumer is disappointed; if it meets expectations, the consumer is satisfied; if it exceeds expectations, the consumer is said to be delighted.
3. Adoption and diffusion process for new products
   1. Awareness
      1. The consumer becomes aware of the new product, but lacks information about it.
   2. Interest
      1. The consumer seeks information about the new product.
   3. Evaluation
      1. The consumer considers whether trying the new product makes sense.
   4. Trial
      1. The consumer tries the new product on a small scale to improve his or her estimate of its value.
   5. Adoption
      1. The consumer decides to make full and regular use of the new product.
4. Influence of Product Characteristics on Rate of Adoption
   1. Relative advantage
      1. The degree to which the innovation appears superior to existing products.
   2. Compatibility
      1. The degree to which the innovation fits the values and experiences of potential consumers.
   3. Complexity
      1. The degree to which the innovation is difficult to understand or use.
   4. Divisibility
      1. The degree to which the innovation may be tried on a limited basis.
   5. Communicability
      1. The degree to which the results of using the innovation can be observed or described to others.
5. Individual Differences in Innovativeness
   1. Innovators
      1. Venturesome—they try new ideas at some risk.
   2. Early Adpoters
      1. Guided by respect—they are opinion leaders in their communities and adopt new ideas early but carefully.
   3. Early Mainstream
      1. Deliberate—while rarely leaders, they adopt new ideas before average persons.
   4. Late Mainstream
      1. Skeptical—they adopt an innovation only after a majority of people have tried it.
   5. Lagging Adopters
      1. Tradition bound—they are suspicious of changes and adopt the innovation only when it has become something of a tradition itself.

Buyers may pass quickly or slowly through different stages of buying-decision-process, and some of those stages may even be reversed. It is much depended on the nature of the buyer, the product, and the buying situation.

Now we have a look at how buyers approach the a new product till its purchased. A new product can be a good, service, or an idea that is perceived by some potential customers as new. Marketer’s main interest is to know that how consumers learn about new products for the first time and make buying decisions on whether to adapt them. We can also define the adaptation process as a mental process through which an individual customer passes from the first learning about an innovation of a product to final adaptation, and adaptation as a decision by an individual to become a regular customer of the product.

Stages in the Adaptation Process

Buyers go through five stages in this process of adapting for a new product:

1. Awareness: The customer becomes aware of the new products, but lacks in sufficient information about it.
2. Interest: The consumer seeks information about a new product.
3. Evaluation: The customers consider whether trying the new product makes sense.
4. Trial: The customer tries a new product on a small amount to improve his or her estimate of its value.
5. Adaption: The customer decides to make regular or full use of the new product.

This process suggests that the new-product marketers must think about how to facilitate their consumers move through these stages. A manufacturer of HDTVs may discover that many customers in the interest stage do not go to the trial stage because of uncertainty and the huge investment. If these same consumers were willing to use HDTVs on a trial basis for a small fee, the manufacturer could consider offering a trial-use plan with an option to buy.

Individual Differences in Innovativeness

People differ greatly in their willingness to try new goods and services. In each product area, there are consumption of pioneers and early adapters. Other individuals adapt these new products much later. The five adapter groups have differing values. Innovators are the adventurous – they try new product’s ideas at some risk. Early adapters are usually guided by respect – they are generally opinion leaders in their communities and they adapt new ideas early but carefully. The early majority are deliberate – even though they rarely are leaders, they adapt the innovative ideas before the average person. Late majority are dubious – they adapt an innovative product only after a majority of people have already tried it. Finally, the laggards are tradition bound – they are hesitant for changes and adapt the innovative ideas only when it has become something of a practice itself.

This classification of adapter suggests that an innovating business should research the all characteristics of the innovators and the early adapters, and they should try direct marketing efforts towards them. In general, innovators tend to be relatively young, better educated, and higher income than later adaptors and non-adapters. They are more approachable to new things, more rely on their own values and beliefs and judgment, and are more willing to take risks. They are fewer brands loyal and more likely to get advantages of special promotions such as coupons, discounts, and samples.

Which of the following is the adoption process stage at which the consumer considers whether trying the new product makes sense?

What are the steps of the adoption process used by consumers when faced with a new concept?

What are the 5 stages of adoption process?

What is the first stage in the consumer adoption process?