The Black Box Theory Of Consumer Decision Making

Task 1.1: The Consumer decision making process:
Problem recognition
The decision making process triggers when a consumer has a need or a problem which has to be satisfied/ solved – (i.e. Consumer needs to purchase a new kitchen appliance)
The black box theory helps to understand this process and shows the interaction between the stimuli, consumer characteristics and response, and the decision process.
The Black box theory This theory is split into two stages:
1. The Environmental Factors – the Marketing Stimuli (product, price, place and promotion) are strategically prepared and applied by the marketing team, whilst the Environmental Stimuli are influenced by the social factors based on economical, technical, political and cultural circumstances.

Consumers set their own criteria which have to be met by the product’s benefits; this is called evaluative criteria which can be both tangible and intangible. For example if a consumer needs to purchase a kitchen appliance the tangible criteria would be; the product performance, durability and within their price range, whilst the intangible criteria would be the brand with a good after sales reputation and from a trustworthy organization.
Consumers recollect evaluative criteria from their own memory but, it can also be formed during the search process when consumers acquire information on different products being offered on the market, and set their criteria for the evaluating process.
Although Search and evaluation are two different steps in the decision making process, they can take place concurrently. In the black box theory the two steps come sequentially, however they do not always occur that way. One has to bear in mind that when consumers are searching for a product they are simultaneously evaluating and comparing benefits and attributes. In reality consumers evaluate and search until they find the best solution for their

During the Information search

During this stage the sales and marketing people must have the right strategy to apply the marketing stimuli by means of the right products, together with the best possible price, accessibility and promotion. Although Marketers have no influence on the environmental stimuli they still have to be in line with the current social factors - i.e. economical, technical, political and cultural circumstances.
As mentioned previously consumers will commence their search in two stages:
1. Through one’s internal memory - therefore sales & marketing people have to have their brands and products top of mind by means of proper advertising and targeting the right consumers.(e.g. it is useless promoting a kitchen appliance to young consumers aged between 15 and 18 years because they have no intention of buying such product, also the media chosen has to be strategically identified – television and radio