Chapter 2

Problem Recognition &

Information Search
Chapter Spotlights
 Consumer decision process action options
 Problem recognition: actual state versus
desired state and motivation arousal
 Pre-purchase, post-purchase, and ongoing
information search
 Internal and external information search
 Consideration sets
 Sources of marketplace information
Consumer Decision
Process Action Options
 Start through steps and complete them in
order
 Start, stop, start, stop, etc. and complete
steps in order
 Start steps and “loop back” as needed based
on what happens and complete process
 Start into the process then stop somewhere
along the way and never finish
 Do not start the process
Problem Recognition
 When consumers realize that they need
something!
 It is the first step in the decision-making
process:
 Problem recognition
 Information search
 Alternative evaluation
 Choice
 Outcomes
Motivational Arousal
 Different people have different benefit
motivations for purchasing different
products or services.
 Types of benefit motives:
 To optimize satisfaction
 To prevent possible future problems
 To escape from a problem
 To resolve a conflict
 To maintain the status quo or satisfaction
Problem Recognition:
Actual State versus
Desired State
 It is the psychological process used
to determine the difference
between the consumer’s actual
benefits state (where you are) and
the desired benefits state (where
you want to be).
 Opportunity (vs. problem) recognition
Problem Recognition
Influences
 Situational influences
 Consumer influences
 Marketing influences
Situational Influences
 Product consumption (e.g., running
out of gas)
 Product acquisition (e.g., purchasing
a new home may stimulate other
purchases)
 Changed circumstances (e.g., moving
away from home to college)
Consumer Influences
 Actual state consumers: those who
look to existing products to solve
their problems.
 Desired state consumers: those
who shop for new products to
address their problems.
 They enjoy the shopping experience
Marketing Influences
 Marketing mix
changes and/or
promotion actions
may help stimulate
problem
recognition:
 Advertising
 Coupons
 Free offers
 sweepstakes
Information Search
 Information collected by
consumers is the basis
for evaluation and
choice behavior.
 It is important for
marketers to know:
 Why consumers are
searching for information
 Where will they look
 What information
consumers seek
 How extensively they are
willing to search
Types of Information
Search
 Prepurchase search:
 Directed searches: consumer searches for
information that will help solve a specific problem.
 Browsing: consumer is “just looking” with no
immediate intent to buy.
 Accidental search: consumer is not actively looking
for information, but takes note of information that is
formally presented or inadvertently encountered.
 Post-purchase search: gathering information
on choice made after the purchase.
 Ongoing search: continuous information
gathering to stay “marketplace-current.”
Internal and External
Information Search
 Internal search: search based on existing
information in memory.
 Information quantity, quality, relevance, currency
 Experts vs. novices
 External search: the search of information
beyond one’s memory.
 Personal sources: friends, experts, salespeople
 Impersonal sources: advertising, in-store displays,
trade reports, the Internet.
 Experts vs. novices
Why Do Consumers
Engage in External
Information Search?
 High perceived value versus perceived cost of search
 Need to acquire information
 Ease of acquiring and using information
 Confidence in decision-making ability
 Locus of control (internals vs. externals)
 Actual or perceived risk
 Costs of external search
 Types of products sought
 Characteristics of the purchase decision
Types of Risk
 Functional or
performance
 Financial
 Psychological
 Social
 Physiological
 Time
 Linked-decision
Costs of External Search
 Financial
 Time
 Decision delay
(opportunity cost)
 Physical cost
 Psychological cost
 Information
overload
Type of Product Sought
 Specialty goods: search willingness is high
when consumer has developed strong
preferences
 Shopping goods: less search willingness for
products that the consumer must devote
time and effort to compare and contrast.
 Convenience goods: consumer is reluctant to
spend any time and effort in search and
evaluation before purchase.
Characteristics of
Purchase Decision
 If number of possible
solutions is limited –
extensive search is
acceptable
 If need for trial is high
– more likely to
search
 Difficulty of trial high
– search is for quality
supplier
External Search Strategy
 Consideration set: those brands, outlets, etc.
that have front-of-mind presence and from
among which there is intention to choose.
 Which brands of computers would you consider
purchasing?
 Also called “evoked set” or “relevant set”
 Marketplace information sources:
 General (face-to-face or mass media)
 Marketer-controlled (face-to-face or mass media)