The ever-changing market environment has forced companies to
create a need, and a product based on that need to survive in this
intensifying competitive world.
Today’s emerging scientific markets necessitate marketers to per
form the bi-focal activities of
need creation along with their routine
sales activity. The changing market
environment, wherein the demandsupply
gap is in favour of the consumers,
is witnessing the changeover
of seller markets into buyer markets.
When the supply of commodities is
far higher than the need, there is a fall
in prices. Added to this, intensifying
competition and resultant availability
of close and cheaper substitutes is
raising the instability of companies.
With numerous alternatives to choose
from, consumers have become kings
in the market. Marketers’ role gets redefined
at this stage, since they are re-quired to perform the bi-focal activity.
While sales have been the prime activity
of marketers for centuries now,
need creation is the need of the hour,
whose deployment is possible through
the “micro-lens” strategic approach.
Understanding the consumer decision-
making patterns is crucial for
strategic decision-making. The intricacies
in the complex behavioral patterns
of consumers also interpret their
interest in the product, which makes
them delay the decision-making process.
Before making a purchase, a
buyer goes through the process of decision-
making, which involves recognizing
the need for the product,
searching for information on the product,
evaluating the alternatives avail-able for the product, and finally taking
the decision to buy the product.
At all stages the buyer is influenced
by various internal and external factors,
which escalate the decisionmaking
process. |
