2.1 The Five Stage Model

The Customer Buying Process (also called a Buying Decision Process) describes the process the customer goes through before the product is bought (Johnston, 2013). Understanding the customer’s buying process is not only very important for the salespeople, it will also enable to align the sales strategy accordingly.

The process has been interpreted by many scholars over the years; however, the five stages framework remains a good way to evaluate the customer’s buying process. John Dewey first introduced the following five stages in 1910:

1. Problem/Need Recognition

This is often identified as the first and most important step in the Customer’s Decision Process. A purchase cannot take place without the recognition of the need. The need may have been triggered by internal stimuli (such as hunger or thirst) or external stimuli (such as advertising or word of mouth).
For example, according to Bruner (1993) first stage, need recognition occurs when an individual recognises the difference between what one have and what one want/need to have. This view is also supported by Neal and Questel (2006) stating that need recognition occurs due to several factors and circumstances such as personal, professional and lifestyle which in turn lead to formation of idea of purchasing.

2. Information Search

Having recognised a problem or need, the next step a customer may take is the Information Search stage, in order to find out what is the best solution. This is