what is routine problem solving in marketing

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6.3 Types of Consumer Decisions

As you read through the stages of the decision making process, did you think “Wait a minute. I do this sometimes but not all the time”? That is indicative of the different levels of involvement within the decision making process. In this section, we will examine this difference in more detail and how it may impact the marketing strategy.

Levels of Involvement in Decision Making

As you have seen, many factors influence a consumer’s behavior. Depending on a consumer’s experience and knowledge, some consumers may be able to make quick purchase decisions and other consumers may need to get information and be more involved in the decision process before making a purchase. The level of involvement reflects how personally important or interested you are in consuming a product and how much information you need to make a decision. The level of involvement in buying decisions may be considered a continuum from decisions that are fairly routine (consumers are not very involved) to decisions that require extensive thought and a high level of involvement. Whether a decision is low, high, or limited, involvement varies by consumer, not by product, although some products such as purchasing a house typically require a high-involvement for all consumers. Consumers with no experience purchasing a product may have more involvement than someone who is replacing a product.

You have probably thought about many products you want or need but never did much more than that. At other times, you’ve probably looked at dozens of products, compared them, and then decided not to purchase any one of them. When you run out of products such as milk or bread that you buy on a regular basis, you may buy the product as soon as you recognize the need because you do not need to search for information or evaluate alternatives. As Nike would put it, you “just do it.” Low-involvement decisions are, however, typically products that are relatively inexpensive and pose a low risk to the buyer if they makes a mistake by purchasing them.

Consumers often engage in routine, or habitual, behavior when they make low-involvement decisions—that is, they make automatic purchase decisions based on limited information or information they have gathered in the past. For example, if you always order a Diet Coke at lunch, you’re engaging in routine response behavior. You may not even think about other drink options at lunch because your routine is to order a Diet Coke, and you simply do it. Similarly, if you run out of Diet Coke at home, you may buy more without any information search.

Some low-involvement purchases are made with no planning or previous thought. These buying decisions are called impulse buying. While you’re waiting to check out at the grocery store, perhaps you see a magazine with the latest celebrity or influencer on the cover and buy it on the spot simply because you want it. You might see a roll of tape at a check-out stand and remember you need one or you might see a bag of chips and realize you’re hungry or just want them.

By contrast, high-involvement decisions carry a higher risk to buyers if they fail, are complex, and/or have high price tags. A car, a house, and an insurance policy are examples. These items are not purchased often but are relevant and important to the buyer. Buyers don’t engage in routine response behavior when purchasing high-involvement products. Instead, consumers engage in what’s called extended problem solving where they spend a lot of time comparing different aspects such as the features of the products, prices, and warranties.

High-involvement decisions can cause buyers a great deal of cognitive (postpurchase) dissonance (anxiety) if they are unsure about their purchases or if they had a difficult time deciding between two alternatives. Companies that sell high-involvement products are aware that dissonance can be a problem. Frequently, they try to offer consumers a lot of information about their products, including why they are superior to competing brands and how they won’t let the consumer down. Salespeople may be utilized to answer questions and do a lot of customer “hand-holding.”

Allstate’s “You’re in Good Hands” advertisements are designed to convince consumers that the insurance company won’t let them down.

Mike Mozart – Allstate, – CC BY 2.0.

Limited problem solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip. While you are familiar with backpacks, you know that new features and materials are available since you purchased your last backpack. You’re going to spend some time looking for one that’s decent because you don’t want it to fall apart while you’re traveling and dump everything you’ve packed on a hiking trail. You might do a little research online and come to a decision relatively quickly. You might consider the choices available at your favorite retail outlet but not look at every backpack at every outlet before making a decision. Or you might rely on the advice of a person you know who’s knowledgeable about backpacks. In some way you shorten or limit your involvement and the decision-making process.

Products, such as chewing gum, which may be low-involvement for many consumers, often use advertising such as commercials and sales promotions such as coupons to reach many consumers at once. Companies also try to sell products such as gum in as many locations as possible. Many products that are typically high-involvement such as automobiles may use more personal selling to answer consumers’ questions. Brand names can also be very important regardless of the consumer’s level of purchasing involvement. Consider a low- versus high-involvement decision—say, purchasing a tube of toothpaste versus a new car. You might routinely buy your favorite brand of toothpaste, not thinking much about the purchase (engage in routine response behavior), but not be willing to switch to another brand either. Having a brand you like saves you “search time” and eliminates the evaluation period because you know what you’re getting.

When it comes to the car, you might engage in extensive problem solving but, again, only be willing to consider a certain brand or brands. For example, in the 1970s, American-made cars had such a poor reputation for quality that buyers joked that a car that’s “not Jap [Japanese made] is crap.” The quality of American cars is very good today, but you get the picture. If it’s a high-involvement product you’re purchasing, a good brand name is probably going to be very important to you. That’s why the manufacturers of products that are typically high-involvement decisions can’t become complacent about the value of their brands.

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3.2 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions and the Consumer’s Decision-Making Process

Learning objectives.

Distinguish between low-involvement and high-involvement buying decisions.
Understand what the stages of the buying process are and what happens in each stage.

Consumers often engage in routine response behavior when they make low-involvement decisions—that is, they make automatic purchase decisions based on limited information or information they have gathered in the past. For example, if you always order a Diet Coke at lunch, you’re engaging in routine response behavior. You may not even think about other drink options at lunch because your routine is to order a Diet Coke, and you simply do it. Similarly, if you run out of Diet Coke at home, you may buy more without any information search.

Some low-involvement purchases are made with no planning or previous thought. These buying decisions are called impulse buying . While you’re waiting to check out at the grocery store, perhaps you see a magazine with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on the cover and buy it on the spot simply because you want it. You might see a roll of tape at a check-out stand and remember you need one or you might see a bag of chips and realize you’re hungry or just want them. These are items that are typically low-involvement decisions. Low-involvement decisions aren’t necessarily products purchased on impulse, although they can be.

By contrast, high-involvement decisions carry a higher risk to buyers if they fail, are complex, and/or have high price tags. A car, a house, and an insurance policy are examples. These items are not purchased often but are relevant and important to the buyer. Buyers don’t engage in routine response behavior when purchasing high-involvement products. Instead, consumers engage in what’s called extended problem solving , where they spend a lot of time comparing different aspects such as the features of the products, prices, and warranties.

High-involvement decisions can cause buyers a great deal of postpurchase dissonance (anxiety) if they are unsure about their purchases or if they had a difficult time deciding between two alternatives. Companies that sell high-involvement products are aware that postpurchase dissonance can be a problem. Frequently, they try to offer consumers a lot of information about their products, including why they are superior to competing brands and how they won’t let the consumer down. Salespeople may be utilized to answer questions and do a lot of customer “hand-holding.”

Allstate’s “You’re in Good Hands” advertisements are designed to convince consumers that the insurance company won’t let them down.

Mike Mozart – Allstate, – CC BY 2.0.

Products, such as chewing gum, which may be low-involvement for many consumers often use advertising such as commercials and sales promotions such as coupons to reach many consumers at once. Companies also try to sell products such as gum in as many locations as possible. Many products that are typically high-involvement such as automobiles may use more personal selling to answer consumers’ questions. Brand names can also be very important regardless of the consumer’s level of purchasing involvement. Consider a low- versus high-involvement decision—say, purchasing a tube of toothpaste versus a new car. You might routinely buy your favorite brand of toothpaste, not thinking much about the purchase (engage in routine response behavior), but not be willing to switch to another brand either. Having a brand you like saves you “search time” and eliminates the evaluation period because you know what you’re getting.

1970s American Cars

(click to see video)

Today, Lexus is the automotive brand that experiences the most customer loyalty. For a humorous, tongue-in-cheek look at why the brand reputation of American carmakers suffered in the 1970s, check out this clip.

Stages in the Buying Process

Figure 3.9 “Stages in the Consumer’s Purchasing Process” outlines the buying stages consumers go through. At any given time, you’re probably in a buying stage for a product or service. You’re thinking about the different types of things you want or need to eventually buy, how you are going to find the best ones at the best price, and where and how will you buy them. Meanwhile, there are other products you have already purchased that you’re evaluating. Some might be better than others. Will you discard them, and if so, how? Then what will you buy? Where does that process start?

Figure 3.9 Stages in the Consumer’s Purchasing Process

Stage 1. Need Recognition

You plan to backpack around the country after you graduate and don’t have a particularly good backpack. You realize that you must get a new backpack. You may also be thinking about the job you’ve accepted after graduation and know that you must get a vehicle to commute. Recognizing a need may involve something as simple as running out of bread or milk or realizing that you must get a new backpack or a car after you graduate. Marketers try to show consumers how their products and services add value and help satisfy needs and wants. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Gatorade, Powerade, and other beverage makers locate their machines in gymnasiums so you see them after a long, tiring workout? Previews at movie theaters are another example. How many times have you have heard about a movie and had no interest in it—until you saw the preview? Afterward, you felt like you had to see it.

Stage 2. Search for Information

For products such as milk and bread, you may simply recognize the need, go to the store, and buy more. However, if you are purchasing a car for the first time or need a particular type of backpack, you may need to get information on different alternatives. Maybe you have owned several backpacks and know what you like and don’t like about them. Or there might be a particular brand that you’ve purchased in the past that you liked and want to purchase in the future. This is a great position for the company that owns the brand to be in—something firms strive for. Why? Because it often means you will limit your search and simply buy their brand again.

If what you already know about backpacks doesn’t provide you with enough information, you’ll probably continue to gather information from various sources. Frequently people ask friends, family, and neighbors about their experiences with products. Magazines such as Consumer Reports (considered an objective source of information on many consumer products) or Backpacker Magazine might also help you. Similar information sources are available for learning about different makes and models of cars.

Internet shopping sites such as Amazon.com have become a common source of information about products. Epinions.com is an example of consumer-generated review site. The site offers product ratings, buying tips, and price information. Amazon.com also offers product reviews written by consumers. People prefer “independent” sources such as this when they are looking for product information. However, they also often consult non-neutral sources of information, such advertisements, brochures, company Web sites, and salespeople.

Stage 3. Product Evaluation

Obviously, there are hundreds of different backpacks and cars available. It’s not possible for you to examine all of them. In fact, good salespeople and marketing professionals know that providing you with too many choices can be so overwhelming that you might not buy anything at all. Consequently, you may use choice heuristics or rules of thumb that provide mental shortcuts in the decision-making process. You may also develop evaluative criteria to help you narrow down your choices. Backpacks or cars that meet your initial criteria before the consideration will determine the set of brands you’ll consider for purchase.

Evaluative criteria are certain characteristics that are important to you such as the price of the backpack, the size, the number of compartments, and color. Some of these characteristics are more important than others. For example, the size of the backpack and the price might be more important to you than the color—unless, say, the color is hot pink and you hate pink. You must decide what criteria are most important and how well different alternatives meet the criteria.

Figure 3.10

Osprey backpacks are known for their durability. The company has a special design and quality control center, and Osprey’s salespeople annually take a “canyon testing” trip to see how well the company’s products perform.

melanie innis – break – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Companies want to convince you that the evaluative criteria you are considering reflect the strengths of their products. For example, you might not have thought about the weight or durability of the backpack you want to buy. However, a backpack manufacturer such as Osprey might remind you through magazine ads, packaging information, and its Web site that you should pay attention to these features—features that happen to be key selling points of its backpacks. Automobile manufacturers may have similar models, so don’t be afraid to add criteria to help you evaluate cars in your consideration set.

Stage 4. Product Choice and Purchase

With low-involvement purchases, consumers may go from recognizing a need to purchasing the product. However, for backpacks and cars, you decide which one to purchase after you have evaluated different alternatives. In addition to which backpack or which car, you are probably also making other decisions at this stage, including where and how to purchase the backpack (or car) and on what terms. Maybe the backpack was cheaper at one store than another, but the salesperson there was rude. Or maybe you decide to order online because you’re too busy to go to the mall. Other decisions related to the purchase, particularly those related to big-ticket items, are made at this point. For example, if you’re buying a high-definition television, you might look for a store that will offer you credit or a warranty.

Stage 5. Postpurchase Use and Evaluation

At this point in the process you decide whether the backpack you purchased is everything it was cracked up to be. Hopefully it is. If it’s not, you’re likely to suffer what’s called postpurchase dissonance . You might call it buyer’s remorse . Typically, dissonance occurs when a product or service does not meet your expectations. Consumers are more likely to experience dissonance with products that are relatively expensive and that are purchased infrequently.

You want to feel good about your purchase, but you don’t. You begin to wonder whether you should have waited to get a better price, purchased something else, or gathered more information first. Consumers commonly feel this way, which is a problem for sellers. If you don’t feel good about what you’ve purchased from them, you might return the item and never purchase anything from them again. Or, worse yet, you might tell everyone you know how bad the product was.

Companies do various things to try to prevent buyer’s remorse. For smaller items, they might offer a money back guarantee or they might encourage their salespeople to tell you what a great purchase you made. How many times have you heard a salesperson say, “That outfit looks so great on you!” For larger items, companies might offer a warranty, along with instruction booklets, and a toll-free troubleshooting line to call or they might have a salesperson call you to see if you need help with product. Automobile companies may offer loaner cars when you bring your car in for service.

Companies may also try to set expectations in order to satisfy customers. Service companies such as restaurants do this frequently. Think about when the hostess tells you that your table will be ready in 30 minutes. If they seat you in 15 minutes, you are much happier than if they told you that your table would be ready in 15 minutes, but it took 30 minutes to seat you. Similarly, if a store tells you that your pants will be altered in a week and they are ready in three days, you’ll be much more satisfied than if they said your pants would be ready in three days, yet it took a week before they were ready.

Stage 6. Disposal of the Product

There was a time when neither manufacturers nor consumers thought much about how products got disposed of, so long as people bought them. But that’s changed. How products are being disposed of is becoming extremely important to consumers and society in general. Computers and batteries, which leech chemicals into landfills, are a huge problem. Consumers don’t want to degrade the environment if they don’t have to, and companies are becoming more aware of this fact.

Take for example Crystal Light, a water-based beverage that’s sold in grocery stores. You can buy it in a bottle. However, many people buy a concentrated form of it, put it in reusable pitchers or bottles, and add water. That way, they don’t have to buy and dispose of plastic bottle after plastic bottle, damaging the environment in the process. Windex has done something similar with its window cleaner. Instead of buying new bottles of it all the time, you can purchase a concentrate and add water. You have probably noticed that most grocery stores now sell cloth bags consumers can reuse instead of continually using and discarding of new plastic or paper bags.

Figure 3.11

The hike up to Mount Everest used to be pristine. Now it looks more like this. Who’s responsible? Are consumers or companies responsible, or both?

jqpubliq – Recycling Center Pile – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Other companies are less concerned about conservation than they are about planned obsolescence . Planned obsolescence is a deliberate effort by companies to make their products obsolete, or unusable, after a period of time. The goal is to improve a company’s sales by reducing the amount of time between the repeat purchases consumers make of products. When a software developer introduces a new version of product, it is usually designed to be incompatible with older versions of it. For example, not all the formatting features are the same in Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. Sometimes documents do not translate properly when opened in the newer version. Consequently, you will be more inclined to upgrade to the new version so you can open all Word documents you receive.

Products that are disposable are another way in which firms have managed to reduce the amount of time between purchases. Disposable lighters are an example. Do you know anyone today that owns a nondisposable lighter? Believe it or not, prior to the 1960s, scarcely anyone could have imagined using a cheap disposable lighter. There are many more disposable products today than there were in years past—including everything from bottled water and individually wrapped snacks to single-use eye drops and cell phones.

Figure 3.12

Disposable lighters came into vogue in the United States in the 1960s. You probably don’t own a cool, nondisposable lighter like one of these, but you don’t have to bother refilling it with lighter fluid either.

Europeana staff photographer – A trench art lighter – public domain.

Key Takeaways

Consumer behavior looks at the many reasons why people buy things and later dispose of them. Consumers go through distinct buying phases when they purchase products: (1) realizing the need or wanting something, (2) searching for information about the item, (3) evaluating different products, (4) choosing a product and purchasing it, (5) using and evaluating the product after the purchase, and (6) disposing of the product. A consumer’s level of involvement is how interested he or she is in buying and consuming a product. Low-involvement products are usually inexpensive and pose a low risk to the buyer if he or she makes a mistake by purchasing them. High-involvement products carry a high risk to the buyer if they fail, are complex, or have high price tags. Limited-involvement products fall somewhere in between.

Review Questions

How do low-involvement decisions differ from high-involvement decisions in terms of relevance, price, frequency, and the risks their buyers face? Name some products in each category that you’ve recently purchased.
What stages do people go through in the buying process for high-involvement decisions? How do the stages vary for low-involvement decisions?
What is postpurchase dissonance and what can companies do to reduce it?

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Individual Consumer Decision Making

29 Consumer Decision Making Process

An organization that wants to be successful must consider buyer behavior when developing the marketing mix. Buyer behavior is the actions people take with regard to buying and using products. Marketers must understand buyer behavior, such as how raising or lowering a price will affect the buyer’s perception of the product and therefore create a fluctuation in sales, or how a specific review on social media can create an entirely new direction for the marketing mix based on the comments (buyer behavior/input) of the target market.

The Consumer Decision Making Process

Once the process is started, a potential buyer can withdraw at any stage of making the actual purchase. The tendency for a person to go through all six stages is likely only in certain buying situations—a first time purchase of a product, for instance, or when buying high priced, long-lasting, infrequently purchased articles. This is referred to as complex decision making .

For many products, the purchasing behavior is a routine affair in which the aroused need is satisfied in a habitual manner by repurchasing the same brand. That is, past reinforcement in learning experiences leads directly to buying, and thus the second and third stages are bypassed. This is called simple decision making .

However, if something changes appreciably (price, product, availability, services), the buyer may re-enter the full decision process and consider alternative brands. Whether complex or simple, the first step is need identification (Assael, 1987).

A comparison between the "simple" and "complex" decision making process a consumer would experience depending on involvement and purchase.

When Inertia Takes Over

Need Recognition

Whether we act to resolve a particular problem depends upon two factors: (1) the magnitude of the discrepancy between what we have and what we need, and (2) the importance of the problem. A consumer may desire a new Cadillac and own a five-year-old Chevrolet. The discrepancy may be fairly large but relatively unimportant compared to the other problems they face. Conversely, an individual may own a car that is two years old and running very well. Yet, for various reasons, they may consider it extremely important to purchase a car this year. People must resolve these types of conflicts before they can proceed. Otherwise, the buying process for a given product stops at this point, probably in frustration.

Once the problem is recognized it must be defined in such a way that the consumer can actually initiate the action that will bring about a relevant problem solution. Note that, in many cases, problem recognition and problem definition occur simultaneously, such as a consumer running out of toothpaste. Consider the more complicated problem involved with status and image–how we want others to see us. For example, you may know that you are not satisfied with your appearance, but you may not be able to define it any more precisely than that. Consumers will not know where to begin solving their problem until the problem is adequately defined.

Marketers can become involved in the need recognition stage in three ways. First they need to know what problems consumers are facing in order to develop a marketing mix to help solve these problems. This requires that they measure problem recognition. Second, on occasion, marketers want to activate problem recognition. Public service announcements espousing the dangers of cigarette smoking is an example. Weekend and night shop hours are a response of retailers to the consumer problem of limited weekday shopping opportunities. This problem has become particularly important to families with two working adults. Finally, marketers can also shape the definition of the need or problem. If a consumer needs a new coat, do they define the problem as a need for inexpensive covering, a way to stay warm on the coldest days, a garment that will last several years, warm cover that will not attract odd looks from their peers, or an article of clothing that will express their personal sense of style? A salesperson or an ad may shape their answers

Information Search

After a need is recognized, the prospective consumer may seek information to help identify and evaluate alternative products, services, and outlets that will meet that need. Such information can come from family, friends, personal observation, or other sources, such as Consumer Reports, salespeople, or mass media. The promotional component of the marketers offering is aimed at providing information to assist the consumer in their problem solving process. In some cases, the consumer already has the needed information based on past purchasing and consumption experience. Bad experiences and lack of satisfaction can destroy repeat purchases. The consumer with a need for tires may look for information in the local newspaper or ask friends for recommendation. If they have bought tires before and was satisfied, they may go to the same dealer and buy the same brand.

Information search can also identify new needs. As a tire shopper looks for information, they may decide that the tires are not the real problem, that the need is for a new car. At this point, the perceived need may change triggering a new informational search. Information search involves mental as well as the physical activities that consumers must perform in order to make decisions and accomplish desired goals in the marketplace. It takes time, energy, money, and can often involve foregoing more desirable activities. The benefits of information search, however, can outweigh the costs. For example, engaging in a thorough information search may save money, improve quality of selection, or reduce risks. The Internet is a valuable information source.

Evaluation of Alternatives

After information is secured and processed, alternative products, services, and outlets are identified as viable options. The consumer evaluates these alternatives , and, if financially and psychologically able, makes a choice. The criteria used in evaluation varies from consumer to consumer just as the needs and information sources vary. One consumer may consider price most important while another puts more weight (importance) upon quality or convenience.

Using the ‘Rule of Thumb’

Consumers don’t have the time or desire to ponder endlessly about every purchase! Fortunately for us, heuristics , also described as shortcuts or mental “rules of thumb”, help us make decisions quickly and painlessly. Heuristics are especially important to draw on when we are faced with choosing among products in a category where we don’t see huge differences or if the outcome isn’t ‘do or die’.

Heuristics are helpful sets of rules that simplify the decision-making process by making it quick and easy for consumers.

Common Heuristics in Consumer Decision Making

Save the most money: Many people follow a rule like, “I’ll buy the lowest-priced choice so that I spend the least money right now.” Using this heuristic means you don’t need to look beyond the price tag to make a decision. Wal-Mart built a retailing empire by pleasing consumers who follow this rule.
You get what you pay for: Some consumers might use the opposite heuristic of saving the most money and instead follow a rule such as: “I’ll buy the more expensive product because higher price means better quality.” These consumers are influenced by advertisements alluding to exclusivity, quality, and uncompromising performance.
Stich to the tried and true: Brand loyalty also simplifies the decision-making process because we buy the brand that we’ve always bought before. therefore, we don’t need to spend more time and effort on the decision. Advertising plays a critical role in creating brand loyalty. In a study of the market leaders in thirty product categories, 27 of the brands that were #1 in 1930 were still at the top over 50 years later (Stevesnson, 1988)! A well known brand name is a powerful heuristic .
National pride: Consumers who select brands because they represent their own culture and country of origin are making decision based on ethnocentrism . Ethnocentric consumers are said to perceive their own culture or country’s goods as being superior to others’. Ethnocentrism can behave as both a stereotype and a type of heuristic for consumers who are quick to generalize and judge brands based on their country of origin.
Visual cues: Consumers may also rely on visual cues represented in product and packaging design. Visual cues may include the colour of the brand or product or deeper beliefs that they have developed about the brand. For example, if brands claim to support sustainability and climate activism, consumers want to believe these to be true. Visual cues such as green design and neutral-coloured packaging that appears to be made of recycled materials play into consumers’ heuristics .

The search for alternatives and the methods used in the search are influenced by such factors as: (a) time and money costs; (b) how much information the consumer already has; (c) the amount of the perceived risk if a wrong selection is made; and (d) the consumer’s predisposition toward particular choices as influenced by the attitude of the individual toward choice behaviour. That is, there are individuals who find the selection process to be difficult and disturbing. For these people there is a tendency to keep the number of alternatives to a minimum, even if they have not gone through an extensive information search to find that their alternatives appear to be the very best. On the other hand, there are individuals who feel it necessary to collect a long list of alternatives. This tendency can appreciably slow down the decision-making function.

Consumer Evaluations Made Easier

The evaluation of alternatives often involves consumers drawing on their evoke, inept, and insert sets to help them in the decision making process.

The brands and products that consumers compare—their evoked set – represent the alternatives being considered by consumers during the problem-solving process. Sometimes known as a “consideration” set, the evoked set tends to be small relative to the total number of options available. When a consumer commits significant time to the comparative process and reviews price, warranties, terms and condition of sale and other features it is said that they are involved in extended problem solving. Unlike routine problem solving, extended or extensive problem solving comprises external research and the evaluation of alternatives. Whereas, routine problem solving is low-involvement, inexpensive, and has limited risk if purchased, extended problem solving justifies the additional effort with a high-priced or scarce product, service, or benefit (e.g., the purchase of a car). Likewise, consumers use extensive problem solving for infrequently purchased, expensive, high-risk, or new goods or services.

As opposed to the evoked set, a consumer’s inept set represent those brands that they would not given any consideration too. For a consumer who is shopping around for an electric vehicle, for example, they would not even remotely consider gas-guzzling vehicles like large SUVs.

The inert set represents those brands or products a consumer is aware of, but is indifferent to and doesn’t consider them either desirable or relevant enough to be among the evoke set. Marketers have an opportunity here to position their brands appropriately so consumers move these items from their insert to evoke set when evaluation alternatives.

The selection of an alternative, in many cases, will require additional evaluation. For example, a consumer may select a favorite brand and go to a convenient outlet to make a purchase. Upon arrival at the dealer, the consumer finds that the desired brand is out-of-stock. At this point, additional evaluation is needed to decide whether to wait until the product comes in, accept a substitute, or go to another outlet. The selection and evaluation phases of consumer problem solving are closely related and often run sequentially, with outlet selection influencing product evaluation, or product selection influencing outlet evaluation.

While many consumers would agree that choice is a good thing, there is such a thing as “too much choice” that inhibits the consumer decision making process. Consumer hyperchoice is a term used to describe purchasing situations that involve an excess of choice thus making selection for difficult for consumers. Dr. Sheena Iyengar studies consumer choice and collects data that supports the concept of consumer hyperchoice. In one of her studies, she put out jars of jam in a grocery store for shoppers to sample, with the intention to influence purchases. Dr. Iyengar discovered that when a fewer number of jam samples were provided to shoppers, more purchases were made. But when a large number of jam samples were set out, fewer purchases were made (Green, 2010). As it turns out, “more is less” when it comes to the selection process.

The Purchase Decision

After much searching and evaluating, or perhaps very little, consumers at some point have to decide whether they are going to buy.

Anything marketers can do to simplify purchasing will be attractive to buyers. This may include minimal clicks to online checkout; short wait times in line; and simplified payment options. When it comes to advertising marketers could also suggest the best size for a particular use, or the right wine to drink with a particular food. Sometimes several decision situations can be combined and marketed as one package. For example, travel agents often package travel tours with flight and hotel reservations.

To do a better marketing job at this stage of the buying process, a seller needs to know answers to many questions about consumers’ shopping behaviour. For instance, how much effort is the consumer willing to spend in shopping for the product? What factors influence when the consumer will actually purchase? Are there any conditions that would prohibit or delay purchase? Providing basic product, price, and location information through labels, advertising, personal selling, and public relations is an obvious starting point. Product sampling, coupons, and rebates may also provide an extra incentive to buy.

Actually determining how a consumer goes through the decision-making process is a difficult research task.

Post-Purchase Behaviour

All the behaviour determinants and the steps of the buying process up to this point are operative before or during the time a purchase is made. However, a consumer’s feelings and evaluations after the sale are also significant to a marketer, because they can influence repeat sales and also influence what the customer tells others about the product or brand.

Keeping the customer happy is what marketing is all about. Nevertheless, consumers typically experience some post-purchase anxiety after all but the most routine and inexpensive purchases. This anxiety reflects a phenomenon called cognitive dissonance . According to this theory, people strive for consistency among their cognitions (knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values). When there are inconsistencies, dissonance exists, which people will try to eliminate. In some cases, the consumer makes the decision to buy a particular brand already aware of dissonant elements. In other instances, dissonance is aroused by disturbing information that is received after the purchase. The marketer may take specific steps to reduce post-purchase dissonance. Advertising that stresses the many positive attributes or confirms the popularity of the product can be helpful. Providing personal reinforcement has proven effective with big-ticket items such as automobiles and major appliances. Salespeople in these areas may send cards or may even make personal calls in order to reassure customers about their purchase.

Media Attributions

The graphic of the “Consumer Decision Making Process” by Niosi, A. (2021) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA and is adapted from Introduction to Business by Rice University.

Text Attributions

The sections under the “Consumer Decision Making Process,” “Need Recognition” (edited), “Information Search,” “Evaluation of Alternatives”; the first paragraph under the section “Selection”; the section under “Purchase Decision”; and, the section under “Post-Purchase Behaviour” are adapted from Introducing Marketing [PDF] by John Burnett which is licensed under CC BY 3.0 .
The opening paragraph and the image of the Consumer Decision Making Process is adapted from Introduction to Business by Rice University which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .
The section under “Using the ‘Rule of Thumb'” is adapted (and edited) from Launch! Advertising and Promotion in Real Time [PDF] by Saylor Academy which is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 .

Assael, H. (1987). Consumer Behavior and Marketing Action (3rd ed.), 84. Boston: Kent Publishing.

Green, P. (2010, March 17). An Expert on Choice Chooses. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/garden/18choice.html.

Consumer purchases made when a (new) need is identified and a consumer engages in a more rigorous evaluation, research, and alternative assessment process before satisfying the unmet need.

Consumer purchases made when a need is identified and a habitual ("routine") purchase is made to satisfy that need.

Purchasing decisions made out of habit.

The first stage of the Consumer Decision Making Process, need recognition takes place when a consumer identifies an unmet need.

The second stage of the Consumer Decision Making Process, information search takes place when a consumer seeks relative information that will help them identify and evaluate alternatives before deciding on the final purchase decision.

The third stage of the Consumer Decision Making Process, the evaluation of alternatives takes place when a consumer establishes criteria to evaluate the most viable purchasing option.

Also known as "mental shortcuts" or "rules of thumb", heuristics help consumers by simplifying the decision-making process.

A small set of "go-to" brands that consumers will consider as they evaluate the alternatives available to them before making a purchasing decision.

The brands a consumer would not pay any attention to during the evaluation of alternatives process.

The brands a consumer is aware of but indifferent to, when evaluating alternatives in the consumer decision making process. The consumer may deem these brands irrelevant and will therefore exclude them from any extensive evaluation or consideration.

A term that describes a purchasing situation in which a consumer is faced with an excess of choice that makes decision making difficult or nearly impossible.

A type of cognitive inconsistency, this term describes the discomfort consumers may feel when their beliefs, values, attitudes, or perceptions are inconsistent or contradictory to their original belief or understanding. Consumers with cognitive dissonance related to a purchasing decision will often seek to resolve this internal turmoil they are experiencing by returning the product or finding a way to justify it and minimizing their sense of buyer's remorse.

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Consumer Motivation and Involvement

15 Involvement Levels

Depending on a consumer’s experience and knowledge, some consumers may be able to make quick purchase decisions and other consumers may need to get information and be more involved in the decision process before making a purchase. The level of involvement reflects how personally important or interested you are in consuming a product and how much information you need to make a decision. The level of involvement in buying decisions may be considered a continuum from decisions that are fairly routine (consumers are not very involved) to decisions that require extensive thought and a high level of involvement. Whether a decision is low, high, or limited, involvement varies by consumer, not by product.

Low Involvement Consumer Decision Making

At some point in your life you may have considered products you want to own (e.g. luxury or novelty items), but like many of us, you probably didn’t do much more than ponder their relevance or suitability to your life. At other times, you’ve probably looked at dozens of products, compared them, and then decided not to purchase any one of them. When you run out of products such as milk or bread that you buy on a regular basis, you may buy the product as soon as you recognize the need because you do not need to search for information or evaluate alternatives . As Nike would put it, you “just do it.” Low-involvement decisions are, however, typically products that are relatively inexpensive and pose a low risk to the buyer if a mistake is made in purchasing them.

Consumers often engage in routine response behaviour when they make low-involvement decisions — that is, they make automatic purchase decisions based on limited information or information they have gathered in the past. For example, if you always order a Diet Coke at lunch, you’re engaging in routine response behaviour. You may not even think about other drink options at lunch because your routine is to order a Diet Coke, and you simply do it. Similarly, if you run out of Diet Coke at home, you may buy more without any information search.

Some low-involvement purchases are made with no planning or previous thought. These buying decisions are called impulse buying . While you’re waiting to check out at the grocery store, perhaps you see a magazine with a notable celebrity on the cover and buy it on the spot simply because you want it. You might see a roll of tape at a check-out stand and remember you need one or you might see a bag of chips and realize you’re hungry or just want them. These are items that are typically low-involvement decisions. Low involvement decisions aren’t necessarily products purchased on impulse, although they can be.

High Involvement Consumer Decision Making

By contrast, high-involvement decisions carry a higher risk to buyers if they fail. These are often more complex purchases that may carry a high price tag, such as a house, a car, or an insurance policy. These items are not purchased often but are relevant and important to the buyer. Buyers don’t engage in routine response behaviour when purchasing high-involvement products. Instead, consumers engage in what’s called extended problem solving where they spend a lot of time comparing different aspects such as the features of the products, prices, and warranties.

High-involvement decisions can cause buyers a great deal of post-purchase dissonance, also known as cognitive dissonance which is a form of anxiety consumers experience if they are unsure about their purchases or if they had a difficult time deciding between two alternatives. Companies that sell high-involvement products are aware that post purchase dissonance can be a problem. Frequently, marketers try to offer consumers a lot of supporting information about their products, including why they are superior to competing brands and why the consumer won’t be disappointed with their purchase afterwards. Salespeople play a critical role in answering consumer questions and providing extensive support during and after the purchasing stage.

Limited Problem Solving

Limited problem solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip. While you are familiar with backpacks, you know that new features and materials are available since you purchased your last backpack. You’re going to spend some time looking for one that’s decent because you don’t want it to fall apart while you’re traveling and dump everything you’ve packed on a hiking trail. You might do a little research online and come to a decision relatively quickly. You might consider the choices available at your favourite retail outlet but not look at every backpack at every outlet before making a decision. Or you might rely on the advice of a person you know who’s knowledgeable about backpacks. In some way you shorten or limit your involvement and the decision-making process.

Distinguishing Between Low Involvement and High Involvement

Table that lists sample products requiring low/high involvement throughout the decision-making process.
	Low Involvement	High Involvement
Product	Toilet paper Hand soap Light Bulbs Chewing gum Photo copy paper	Wedding dress Luxury vehicle Cruise/Vacation Designer sneakers Vacation property
Place	Wide distribution	Exclusive/Limited distribution
Price	Competitive/Low	Luxury/High
Promotion	Push marketing; mass advertising; TV; radio; billboards; coupons; sales promotions	Pull marketing; personal selling; email marketing; WOM; personalized communications
Information Search	None/Minimal	Extensive
Evaluation of Alternatives	None/Minimal	Considerable/Extensive
Purchasing Behaviour	Routine-response; automatic; impulsive	Extended problem-solving
Purchasing Frequency	High/Regular basis	Low-seldom/Special occasion

Products, such as chewing gum, which may be low-involvement for many consumers often use advertising such as commercials and sales promotions such as coupons to reach many consumers at once. Companies also try to sell products such as gum in as many locations as possible. Many products that are typically high-involvement such as automobiles may use more personal selling to answer consumers’ questions. Brand names can also be very important regardless of the consumer’s level of purchasing involvement. Consider a low-versus high-involvement decision — say, purchasing a tube of toothpaste versus a new car. You might routinely buy your favorite brand of toothpaste, not thinking much about the purchase (engage in routine response behaviour), but not be willing to switch to another brand either. Having a brand you like saves you “search time” and eliminates the evaluation period because you know what you’re getting.

When it comes to the car, you might engage in extensive problem solving but, again, only be willing to consider a certain brand or brands (e.g. your evoke set for automobiles). For example, in the 1970s, American-made cars had such a poor reputation for quality that buyers joked that a car that’s not foreign is “crap.” The quality of American cars is very good today, but you get the picture. If it’s a high-involvement product you’re purchasing, a good brand name is probably going to be very important to you. That’s why the manufacturers of products that are typically high-involvement decisions can’t become complacent about the value of their brands.

Ways to Increase Involvement Levels

Involvement levels – whether they are low, high, or limited – vary by consumer and less so by product. A consumer’s involvement with a particular product will depend on their experience and knowledge, as well as their general approach to gathering information before making purchasing decisions. In a highly competitive marketplace, however, brands are always vying for consumer preference, loyalty, and affirmation. For this reason, many brands will engage in marketing strategies to increase exposure, attention, and relevance; in other words, brands are constantly seeking ways to motivate consumers with the intention to increase consumer involvement with their products and services.

Some of the different ways marketers increase consumer involvement are: customization; engagement; incentives; appealing to hedonic needs; creating purpose; and, representation.

1. Customization

Person's feet, wearing two different coloured sneakers reflecting a consumer's unique personal preference.

With Share a Coke, Coca-Cola made a global mass customization implementation that worked for them. The company was able to put the labels on millions of bottles in order to get consumers to notice the changes to the coke bottle in the aisle. People also felt a kinship and moment of recognition once they spotted their names or a friend’s name. Simultaneously this personalization also worked because of the printing equipment that could make it happen and there are not that many first names to begin with. These factors lead the brand to be able to roll this out globally ( Mass Customization #12 , 2017).

2. Engagement

Have you ever heard the expression, “content is king”? Without a doubt, engaging, memorable, and unique marketing content has a lasting impact on consumers. The marketing landscape is a noisy one, polluted with an infinite number of brands advertising extensively to consumers, vying for a fraction of our attention. Savvy marketers recognize the importance of sparking just enough consumer interest so they become motivated to take notice and process their marketing messages. Marketers who create content (that isn’t just about sales and promotion) that inspires, delights, and even serves an audience’s needs are unlocking the secret to engagement. And engagement leads to loyalty.

There is no trick to content marketing, but the brands who do it well know that stepping away – far away – from the usual sales and promotion lines is critical. While content marketing is an effective way to increase sales, grow a brand, and create loyalty, authenticity is at its core.

Bodyform and Old Spice are two brands who very cleverly applied just the right amount of self-deprecating humour to their content marketing that not only engaged consumers, but had them begging for more!

Content as a Key Driver to Consumer Engagement

Engaging customers through content might involve a two-way conversation online, or an entire campaign designed around a single customer comment.

In 2012, Richard Neill posted a message to Bodyform’s Facebook page calling out the brand for lying to and deceiving its customers and audiences for years. Richard went on to say that Bodyform’s advertisements failed to truly depict any sense of reality and that in fact he felt set up by the brand to experience a huge fall. Bodyform, or as Richard addressed the company, “you crafty bugger,” is a UK company that produces and sells feminine protection products to menstruating girls and women (Bodyform, n.d.). Little did Richard know that when he posted his humorous rant to Bodyform that the company would respond by creating a video speaking directly at Richard and coming “clean” on all their deceitful attempts to make having period look like fun. When Bodyform’s video went viral, a brand that would have otherwise continued to blend into the background, captured the attention of a global audience.

Xavier Izaguirre says that, “[a]udience involvement is the process and act of actively involving your target audience in your communication mix, in order to increase their engagement with your message as well as advocacy to your brand.” Bodyform gained global recognition by turning one person’s rant into a viral publicity sensation (even though Richard was not the customer in this case).

Despite being a household name, in the years leading up to Old Spice’s infamous “The Man Your Man Should Smell Like” campaign, sales were flat and the brand had failed to strike a chord in a new generation of consumers. Ad experts at Wieden + Kennedy produced a single 30-second ad (featuring a shirtless and self-deprecating Isaiah Mustafa) that played around the time of the 2010 Super Bowl game. While the ad quickly gained notoriety on YouTube, it was the now infamous, “ Response Campaign ” that made the campaign a leader of its time in audience engagement.

3. Incentives

Person's hand, holding a wallet that contains a Starbucks card.

Customer loyalty and reward programs successfully motivate consumers in the decision making process and reinforce purchasing behaviours ( a feature of instrumental conditioning ). The rationale for loyalty and rewards programs is clear: the cost of acquiring a new customer runs five to 25 times more than selling to an existing one and existing customers spend 67 per cent more than new customers (Bernazzani, n.d.). From the customer perspective, simple and practical reward programs such as Beauty Insider – a point-accumulation model used by Sephora – provides strong incentive for customer loyalty (Bernazzani, n.d.).

4. Appealing to Hedonic Needs

Photo of exotic tropic destination in the Maldives.

A particularly strong way to motivate consumers to increase involvement levels with a product or service is to appeal to their hedonic needs. Consumers seek to satisfy their need for fun, pleasure, and enjoyment through luxurious and rare purchases. In these cases, consumers are less likely to be price sensitive (“it’s a treat”) and more likely to spend greater processing time on the marketing messages they are presented with when a brand appeals to their greatest desires instead of their basic necessities.

5. Creating Purpose

Millennial and Digital Native consumers are profoundly different than those who came before them. Brands, particularly in the consumer goods category, who demonstrate (and uphold) a commitment to sustainability grow at a faster rate (4 per cent) than those who do not (1 per cent) (“Consumer-Goods…”, 2015). In a 2015 poll, 30,000 consumers were asked how much the environment, packaging, price, marketing, and organic or health and wellness claims had on their consumer-goods’ purchase decisions, and to no surprise, 66 per cent said they would be willing to pay more for sustainable brands. (Nielsen, 2015). A rising trend and important factor to consider in evaluating consumer involvement levels and ways to increase them. So while cruelty-free, fair trade, and locally-sourced may all seem like buzz words to some, they are non-negotiable decision-making factors to a large and growing consumer market.

6. Representation

Various Vogue magazine covers featuring models such as Rianna.

Celebrity endorsement can have a profound impact on consumers’ overall attitude towards a brand. Consumers who might otherwise have a “neutral” attitude towards a brand (neither positive nor negative) may be more noticed to take notice of a brand’s messages and stimuli if a celebrity they admire is the face of the brand.

When sportswear and sneaker brand Puma signed Rihanna on to not just endorse the brand but design an entire collection, sales soared in all the regions and the brand enjoyed a new “revival” in the U.S. where Under Armour and Nike had been making significant gains (“Rihanna Designs…”, 2017). “Rihanna’s relationship with us makes the brand actual and hot again with young consumers,” said chief executive Bjorn Gulden (“Rihanna Designs…”, 2017).

Media Attributions

The image of two different coloured sneakers is by Raka Rachgo on Unsplash .
The image of a coffee card in a wallet is by Rebecca Aldama on Unsplash .
The image of an island resort in tropical destination is by Ishan @seefromthesky on Unsplash .
The image of a stack of glossy magazine covers is by Charisse Kenion on Unsplash .

Text Attributions

The introductory paragraph; sections on “Low Involvement Consumer Decision Making”, “High Involvement Consumer Decision Making”, and “Limited Problem Solving” are adapted from Principles of Marketing which is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

About Us . (n.d.). Body Form. Retrieved February 2, 2019, from https://www.bodyform.co.uk/about-us/.

Kalamut, A. (2010, August 18). Old Spice Video “Case Study” . YouTube [Video]. https://youtu.be/Kg0booW1uOQ.

Bernazzani, S. (n.d.). Customer Loyalty: The Ultimate Guide [Blog post]. https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-loyalty.

Bodyform Channel. (2012, October 16). Bodyform Responds: The Truth . YouTube [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpy75q2DDow&feature=youtu.be.

Consumer-Goods’ Brands That Demonstrate Commitment to Sustainability Outperform Those That Don’t. (2015, October 12). Nielsen [Press Release]. https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-room/2015/consumer-goods-brands-that-demonstrate-commitment-to-sustainability-outperform.html.

Curtin, M. (2018, March 30). 73 Per Cent of Millennials are Willing to Spend More Money on This 1 Type of Product . Inc. https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/73-percent-of-millennials-are-willing-to-spend-more-money-on-this-1-type-of-product.html.

Izaguirre, X. (2012, October 17). How are brands using audience involvement to increase reach and engagement? EConsultancy. https://econsultancy.com/how-are-brands-using-audience-involvement-to-increase-reach-and-engagement/.

Rihanna Designs Help Lift Puma Sportswear Sales . (2017, October 24). Reuters. https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/rihanna-designs-help-lift-puma-sportswear-sales.

Tarver, E. (2018, October 20). Why the ‘Share a Coke’ Campaign Is So Successful . Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100715/what-makes-share-coke-campaign-so-successful.asp.

Low involvement decision making typically reflects when a consumer who has a low level of interest and attachment to an item. These items may be relatively inexpensive, pose low risk (can be exchanged, returned, or replaced easily), and not require research or comparison shopping.

This concept describes when consumers make low-involvement decisions that are "automatic" in nature and reflect a limited amount of information the consumer has gathered in the past.

A type of purchase that is made with no previous planning or thought.

High involvement decision making typically reflects when a consumer who has a high degree of interest and attachment to an item. These items may be relatively expensive, pose a high risk to the consumer (can't be exchanged or refunded easily or at all), and require some degree of research or comparison shopping.

Also known as "consumer remorse" or "consumer guilt", this is an unsettling feeling consumers may experience post-purchase if they feel their actions are not aligned with their needs.

Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they have some information about an item, but continue to gather more information to inform their purchasing decision. This falls between "low" and "high" involvement on the involvement continuum.

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A Definitive Guide to Problem-Solving

There’s no one way to solve a problem—in fact, you should avoid using canned approaches. But there are ideas, steps, plans and questions that problem-solving professionals have found useful for decades.

Finding and defining problems.

Three days after graduating high school, Fred Nickols joined the U.S. Navy and began solving problems. He learned a technique called fault isolation that let him find and fix problems with radars, computers and weaponry. During one gunfire support mission, he found that a gun was shooting bullets 3,000 yards beyond where the military thought capable—Nickols wrote up the problem and the weapons system was modified to show its more accurate, longer range. “That was a nice beneficial side effect,” he says with a chuckle.

After leaving the Navy, Nickols worked for 40 years as an executive and business consultant and found that business problems could be grouped into the same three categories as they were in the Navy. There are find-and-fix problems, like the gun that shot too far. These problems are easily definable and have definite solutions. There are problems where businesses simply want to improve. “Nothing’s broke, but you want much better than what you have,” Nickols says. Then there are the problems where businesses have a void to fill and must create something new. “You’re starting from scratch,” he says. “You don’t have anything in place, but you’ve got to put something in place to create the results you want.

“You’ve got to decide up front: Are you trying to find something and fix it, are you trying to improve what you have or are you building something from scratch?” Nickols says.

A caveat to finding and defining problems is the distinct difference between problems that have a single solution and those that don’t, according to M. Neil Browne , a professor at Bowling Green State University’s College of Business and co-author of Asking the Right Questions . Single-solution problems—“efficiency questions,” Browne calls them—will have one answer that is clearly better than the rest. If shipping products has become too expensive, for example, there’s likely one answer that works best to reduce costs. But in more complex problems—“critical thinking problems,” Browne says—the best answer depends on perspective.

“If a firm is having difficulty and the marketing director says, ‘You should spend more money providing incentives to our sales staff,’ but one of the production engineers says, ‘You could save more money by spending more on automated equipment,’ that’s not going to be something that every reasonable person in the room is going to agree with,” Browne says, “because their assumptions are different.”

Consider critical-thinking problems this way: Your back hurts, so you make appointments with an exercise physiologist, an orthopedic surgeon and a holistic health guru. Each will use knowledge of their specialty to give you a different solution for your back pain. They could debate for hours without reaching a single conclusion. As psychologist Abraham Maslow quipped in 1966: “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”

This initial stage of problem-solving—defining the problem—is where most businesses stumble, says Andrea Bassi , founder and CEO of KnowlEdge Srl, associate professor of system dynamics modelling at Stellenbosch University and co-author of Tackling Complexity . There are many ways companies can misidentify problems, but Bassi says that their biggest mistake often occurs when they define a problem by its symptoms instead of its causes, main effects and true drivers. Addressing the symptoms can help eliminate short-term issues, Bassi says, but it likely won’t solve the long-standing problems and could create more.

associate professor of system dynamics modelling at Stellenbosch University and co-author of Tackling Complexity . There are many ways companies can misidentify problems, but Bassi says that their biggest mistake often occurs when they define a problem by its symptoms instead of its causes, main effects and true drivers. Addressing the symptoms can help eliminate short-term issues, Bassi says, but it likely won’t solve the long-standing problems and could create more.

Most problems emerge from within organizations rather than originating from the outside, Bassi says. “We tend to think that things are imposed onto us, and we need to find solutions, but in fact, we’re normally creating problems with our behavior,” he says. “If you use a systemic approach, you can figure out more lasting and more effective solutions.”

But before moving into a systemic approach, it’s important to go beyond the surface of what the problem could be and find out exactly what it is. In this stage, Nickols says that companies must avoid locking in on one solution by asking many questions: What functions do you want to be able to perform, and who must be able to perform them? What kind of data structure do you want in the system?

“Over time, the picture of the system that you’re building will begin to emerge and finally crystallize,” Nickols says.

But the questions should never stop, even if the problem crystalizes. Questions, according to Browne, are likely the most important part of the next step: Creating the team that will solve the problem.

Building the Problem-Solving Team

In 2009, nonprofit Prize4Life posted a problem to InnoCentive, an open-innovation and crowdsourcing platform. Prize4Life wanted to find the biomarker for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative disease that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Prize4Life offered problem-solvers $1 million to find the ALS biomarker; within two years , Dr. Seward Rutkove of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found it. Six years later, Prize4Life used the pool of more than 1,000 problem-solvers on InnoCentive to find ways to predict disease progression in ALS patients, awarding problem-solvers smaller cash prizes.

InnoCentive’s crowdsourcing system brings in problem-solvers from outside the organization, granting access to the eyes, brains and problem-solving abilities of people who may have never worked in medical research. Jon Fredrickson, chief innovation officer at InnoCentive, says that using outsiders allows companies to look at a problem differently than they would by assembling a team from inside.

But what if a company has access only to its own employees?

Companies should form a problem-solving team where each member brings a different perspective, writes Antonio E. Weiss in his book Key Business Solutions: Essential Problem-Solving Tools and Techniques That Every Manager Needs to Know . Each team member must feel comfortable giving feedback to one another: “Feedback is just as much about giving constructive praise as constructive criticism,” he writes. “And feedback can be given by any team member, no matter how junior or inexperienced.” Weiss writes that all team stakeholders need to understand what the problem is, what a good solution looks like, when the solution needs to be delivered and the context surrounding the problem.

Glenn Llopis , a business management consultant and author of The Innovation Mentality: Six Strategies to Disrupt the Status Quo and Reinvent the Way We Work , says that cultivating an environment where feedback is acceptable takes something organizations often lack: vulnerability.

“Very few people have all the answers, so you have to be able to create an environment of vulnerability and inclusivity within your organization for people to provide constant feedback and recommendations, regardless of hierarchy or rank,” Llopis says. “There are so many opportunities that are ignored because the individual doesn’t feel comfortable revealing them.”

Beyond stifling feedback, companies often involve too many high-level employees and not enough employees who deal with the problem’s issues every day, Bassi says. “They may not have enough knowledge of what’s going on,” he says of high-level personnel. “They miss what could be the root causes of a problem in the production chain. They may miss some of the considerations that actually drive them to find a lasting solution.”

To avoid missing insights, Bassi says that organizations should find a mix of knowledge from technical and managerial points of view. “You need someone with the vision of the higher level in a management position and those that work more on the technical level and see how the work is performed on the ground,” he says.

Nickols, the Navy serviceman who went on to solve problems his entire career, says that he has a few basic principles for forming a problem-solving team. First, there must be someone in a position of authority. In addition, he agrees with Bassi: There must be people who know the system well. “I don’t want newbies and trainees,” he says. “I want people who have the respect of their peers.” Nickols says that the team also needs a sponsor, someone who will give the project authority and support behind the scenes and get all departments to buy into the team’s work. Finally, he suggests adding a “straw boss,” someone who ensures the team has everything it needs.

In the book The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Problems , authors Christian Madsbjerg and Mikkel B. Rasmussen suggest that businesses frame problems in a way that allows employees to be curious. “Reframe the problem as a phenomenon,” the authors write. “If your team can create a shared understanding of the problem and agree on what you and the rest of the team don’t know, it is much easier to accept new ways of solving the problem.”

In Brian Tracy’s book Creativity & Problem Solving , he suggests that teams hold both “mindstorming” and brainstorming sessions. In mindstorming sessions, each team member takes a sheet of paper with the problem or goal at the top, then writes 20 answers using the first-person voice and action verbs. The question, “What can we do to double our sales and profitability in the next 24 months?” could be answered with ideas like, “We hire and train 22 new sales people.” In brainstorming sessions, Tracy widens the scope by including four to seven team members and having them generate ideas together for 30 minutes, staying positive and saving the criticism of ideas for after the meeting.

Throughout the problem-solving process, Browne says, teams—especially those working on critical-thinking problems—should focus on a series of evidence-focused questions, such as “Do you have any financial interest in the answer to this question?” and “How much experience do you have in using this evidence?” Although many people may find this kind of critical thinking aggressive, Browne says that questions foster a better understanding of what team members know and why they believe their solution would work best. Team members should ask questions respectfully, with curiosity and with willingness to understand new information.

After all the ideas, questions and evidence are on the table, Browne says that teams must quickly decide on a solution. “We can’t analyze this thing the rest of our lives,” he says. “We have to make decisions in a business environment more quickly than people typically do.”

At this point, digging into the problem through a map and problem statement will be useful.

Making a Map

After the problem-solving team pours out its ideas and questions, the organization may realize that there is more than one right answer and many potential side effects. This is why everything—ideas, questions, potential side effects—should be recorded and arranged when digging into the problem. The end goal is to have a problem statement, a map of the company’s problems.

Maps allow multiple different perspectives—economic, social, environmental—to be listed and listened to. The map will give problem-solvers what Bassi calls a “horizontal view” of the problem.

“If I work on economics and finance, I can’t appreciate the work that others do, nor can I see how their performance is affecting my performance or how my performance is affecting the work of others,” he says.

Nickols agrees that maps are useful, similar to a cartographer charting the territory she’s exploring. “The complete map is never done,” he says. “You will regularly get enough of it to get to where you want to be. But there’s still a lot of uncharted territory out there.”

A map will also allow companies to know some of the solution’s performance indicators and potential side effects. “We must first figure out what the indicators of performance are and how they are connected to one another,” Bassi says. “Once you know indicators of performance, you can find the person responsible for a certain type of performance or one who has a good view of what’s happening and why we are underperforming in one of the other areas.”

A written system of performance indicators will show organizations causes and effects of different decisions, allowing the problem solvers to understand how different solutions could affect other areas of the business. If one part of the business is changed, and that change affects another part, this view of the problem-solving process may allow the organization to understand why. Without the map, the events may seem disconnected.

Another way to arrange a problem statement comes from Weiss’ Key Business Solutions , wherein he suggests that companies use the ABC—or arrange, brainstorm, choose—method to break down a problem. Using this technique, companies “arrange” by setting a clear goal, generating evaluation criteria and informing the team of the analysis. Then, they “brainstorm,” group similar ideas together and find new ideas, treating all ideas equally. Finally, they “choose” by adding details to the solution and scoring outcomes against set criteria.

Digging into a problem allows a company to avoid using a canned approach to problem-solving. Nickols says that most organizations are “committed to canned approaches,” no matter what kind of problem they’re up against. “It just doesn’t work,” he says, adding that most people realize how complex problems are after looking at questions, concerns and potential side effects.

After the map has been drawn up, it’s time to implement a solution.

Finding and Implementing the Solution

When Nickols worked as an executive director at Educational Testing Service in the early 1990s, the rejection rate for one of the company’s health care certification tests was more than 70%. That was too high, he says—test-takers’ careers were on the line.

The clerical staff at ETS were convinced that people filling out the forms were inept, but Nickols saw that the problem was the system itself. Half of the rejects had an invalid or missing institutional code, a number that identified where the registrant was trained or would be employed, he says. The other half were rejected because of sloppiness, such as leaving fields blank that needed to be filled in.

To fix the problem, Nickols told the clerical staff to ensure registrants were instructed that ETS wanted a “clean and complete” registration form with all fields filled in. He also realized that registrants were given a numerically ordered institutional code list that they’d have to scan for their institution. To fix this issue, Nickols told staff to give registrants an alphabetically ordered list of institutions. After ETS made the changes, the rejection rate plummeted from 70% to 9%, Nickols says.

Although this problem seemed easy to solve, Nickols documented everything, just as he would when mapping any other problem. He did this in part to be accountable and responsible, but also because he got the same question from other executives after each problem: “How the hell did you do that?”

“It’s partly a matter of being accountable,” he says. “It’s partly a matter of sharing what was learned with others. It’s partly a matter of having a record that’s more than just a history. Think of it as a problem-solving memory.”

This problem-solving memory will help companies stay vigilant for side effects of the solution with an organization-wide view, Nickols says.

In Smart Questions: Learn to Ask the Right Questions for Powerful Results , authors Gerald Nadler and William J. Chandon suggest that businesses should create a “living solution” to problems. The living solution is similar to the solution companies plan for, but the living solution takes into account a changing environment.

Nadler and Chandon suggest three steps toward a living solution: First, create a detailed description of recommended changes, coming as close as possible to the solution the company had been planning for, which they call the future solution. Then, plan for successive stages of change and improvement that move toward the future solution. Finally, have an installation plan to begin working on the stages of change. Nadler and Chandon write that there are challenges to having a living solution, including lack of resources, unavailable technology, changes in attitude or skepticism from key decision makers. To anticipate these challenges, the authors suggest that problem-solvers ask questions and think holistically about the living solution.

Ask information questions like: What specific information needs to be collected to stay as close as possible to the future solution?

Ask questions of uniqueness like: How can we develop a living solution and an implementation plan that work within our environment and stay close to our future solution?

Ask systematic questions like: What are potential input ideas for overcoming a challenge that prevents us from adopting the future solution now?

Browne says that businesses should implement solutions as quickly as they decide on them. Although they will occasionally make mistakes, they will also become agile when dealing with problems. Businesses don’t often have four or five months to decide on a solution—by the end, they may have already lost millions of dollars—so quick decisions are imperative.

“That’s where the role of leadership experience and knowing who, from the past track record, you can depend on,” Browne says. Though a good record doesn’t guarantee future success, he says looking for high-probability events is the best option.

InnoCentive’s Fredrickson uses a fishing analogy to show why companies must decide quickly on solutions. You can know all the best spots in the lake and catch the fish, but do you know what you’re going to do once you catch it? Will you eat it, take a picture and throw it back or simply let the fish rot in the boat, just as an unused idea lies dormant in a company?

“Unless you are intentional and continue to experiment, you’ve just gone fishing—you caught some fish, but you really didn’t do anything with it, and it rots,” Fredrickson says. “At that point, it’s not innovation because you never really acted on what you found.”

Once the solution is in place, companies must continue to test their theories, always willing to accept that they may have been wrong.

Review Results, Analyze the Future and Always Try Again

For 20 years, Browne and his wife were blackjack counters. “One of the things that always amused us was when we’d be flying to Vegas or Macau and there’d be people on the plane getting ready to play blackjack,” he says. “They’d all have a system and say, ‘I cleaned them out last time.’ They don’t understand: The dumbest monkey in the world could play blackjack and win—it’s just that over time, you lose. That’s the math of the system.”

Much like blackjack, solving problems isn’t an exact science, but it does require some scientific thinking and experimenting. Companies need to grow comfortable with making hypotheses and mistakes and learning from both. Much like card counters must recount when the deck is shuffled, businesses must anticipate a changing environment—measurements, criteria for success, people in the organization, outside factors. What can’t change is a company’s dedication to learning from mistakes and adjusting quickly.

“When you make a mistake, ask, ‘What did I miss? Why did I miss it? What did I fail to do?’,” Browne says. “That’s an analytical process of reviewing the bad decisions you made rather than just wallowing in the successes of the good decisions. Bill Gates has said that success is a lousy teacher; it makes people think they know what they really don’t know. I think that’s true.”

Once a company implements a solution, Bassi says that it must monitor and evaluate the solution’s performance on an ongoing basis. Start-and-stop exercises—for example, checking the solution’s progress once a year—usually won’t work because companies tend to treat them more like a checkbox than an embedded part of the decision-making process, he says. Continuous evaluation allows companies to catch problems as they emerge, rather than once they are fully realized.

The map will be useful for ongoing monitoring, Bassi says. The company will see performance on departmental and organization-wide levels. If the solution has unforeseen consequences, the map will allow the company to see exactly where it went wrong and quickly fix the problem—or perhaps decide that what went wrong is preferable.

Nickols says that the path companies take will vary for each solution. Sometimes, companies will think that they have the solution but find that their path leads to a brick wall. “That’s not because you chose the wrong path, it’s because nobody knew what the right path was,” he says. “There’s a lot of feeling your way along.”

Instead of worrying about what’s at the end of each path, Nickols says that the best thing companies can do to is take a step and figure out where to step next.

And if the business does reach a point where the problem is solved, there’s only one logical thing left to do: “Celebrate,” Nickols says with a laugh. “The more you succeed in solving issues and wrestling with issues, the more credible you’ll become.”

Hal Conick is a freelance writer for the AMA’s magazines and e-newsletters. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @HalConick.

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Problem-Solving for Your Business: A View from Marketing

Published On - July 9, 2021

Running a business is a high-pressure job and every day you face making decisions with incomplete information. Y ou must make important and impactful decisions that affect how your business handles the market with little lead time, in some cases. The impact of those decisions affect everyone with any level of relationship to your business, including creditors, employees, and vendors, not to mention the impact of firm performance on you and your family. Implementing a thoughtful and thorough problem-solving approach build on relevant metrics improves those decisions and helps achieve success.

Implementing a problem-solving process appropriate for the types of decisions you face using relevant metrics; one that involves the people responsible for implementing those decisions helps you reach the right decision in a timely fashion. Everything you do as a business is time-limited; since you often must respond almost immediately to challenges you face from your competition or other elements beyond your control. Consider the pandemic and you see an excellent example of how businesses were forced to pivot almost overnight to survive the shutdowns and other challenges they faced.

Responding quickly to your competition and the environment separates those who succeed from those who fail. If you find yourself constantly putting out fires, especially when those fires threaten your very survival, you must consider a change. Putting out fires also takes time away from other activities necessary for the ongoing survival of your business.

Today, we’ll focus on marketing decisions and how to develop a problem-solving approach to avoid problems and make the right decisions.

What is a problem-solving approach?

Effective problem-solving starts with scanning the environment to uncover emerging issues that might impact your business before you start to feel the effects of those changes on your business operations. We talk about this approach as a “sense and respond” approach that mimics the biological approach taken by organisms that survive to increase their chances of survival. For instance, a rabbit in the wild senses changes in the pattern of light and shadow as an early warning system that a predator is nearby.

Among the elements to consider in your scan are:

Changes in customer needs, problems, and preferences
Technological changes that might offer opportunities or threats to your brand
New products, messages, and pricing offered by your competition
Economic shifts in critical elements such as inflation, interest rates, and international exchange rates, which are often precursors to expansions and contractions in consumer spending. Also, consumer confidence, which greatly impacts consumer spending.
Legal pressures and regulatory changes that might impact your business. For instance, recent privacy concerns force companies to consider ways to protect consumer privacy, thus reducing the need for government regulations and laws. For instance, Google will eliminate all 3rd party cookies on its Chrome browser in 2022 as a means to support consumer privacy.

This process of scanning often culminates with a SWOT analysis, like the one shown below, designed to highlight proactive changes the company should implement to adjust to changes in the environment.

Marketing problem-solving questions

Am i solving the right problem.

It doesn’t help your business to implement changes when you’re not solving the underlying problems with the greatest impact on your success. For instance, solving a symptom doesn’t make the problem go away any more than getting rid of your headache makes a serious neurological problem go away even though it might make you feel better. By the same token, solving a minor problem doesn’t produce much in the way of improvement for your bottom line.

This also goes for your consumer market. Recognize that people buy solutions not products. Hence, you must solve a problem faced by a large enough market, one that’s sufficiently annoying that consumers want to spend money to solve their problem, and solve the problem better, at least in some respects, than your competition.

Am I spending enough money on marketing?

Marketing costs money, yet the returns on the marketing investment often occur over a long period of time rather than immediately. For instance, it can take 6 months to a year, or more, to see a return on your digital marketing spending even if you’re doing your digital marketing right.

The marketing campaigns your business develops and implements determine the difference between success and bankruptcy, but it’s not always easy to find the right combination of strategies necessary to achieve a high return on your investment.

An effective marketing campaign brings you positive ROI given sufficient time for the campaign to play out. After all, you need to move consumers from awareness, to interest, to desire, to purchase, which takes time.

Determining how much to spend on marketing is a persistent question with no universally accepted answer. Some advise spending between 2 and 5% of your gross sales while others recommend 7-8% of revenue on marketing. The reality is you need to spend as much on marketing as needed to reach your goals and there’s no easy formula for that.

You should first make sure you find effective ways to market by choosing tactics with high rates of return, such as email marketing that delivers $44 for every dollar you spend . Going with cheaper marketing methods, like social media, helps to save money while still creating a presence for your business and offering highly targeted appeals to reach your audience.

Am I listening to the right people?

It might not sound like a great idea to pay someone to tell you how to run your business – but it can change a lot in terms of your success. Having a legal advisor, or a financial advisor to offer professional insights that help solve problems often keeps you out of trouble, while hiring a marketing consultant means you don’t repeat common mistakes made by those with less expertise and experience.

You won’t have the answer to everything all of the time, and some problems can put your business in serious trouble. For example, being on a list of high-risk merchant accounts makes it hard to maintain needed inventory and costs you customers. Losing the ability to operate poses a huge threat to you as a business owner, and even if you’re able to get that back later on – it might be too late in the eyes of your customers.

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Is your marketing solving the right problems.

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Lee Roth, North American Director, BeenThereDoneThat

The challenges for marketers today can be overwhelming. Beyond the usual issues of competition, spending and market share, at this time we have to navigate a cultural climate with ever-expanding trapdoors, from Covid-19 to a recession to political division. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Where there is seismic change, there is opportunity, but success lies in starting at the very beginning, which as we all know is a very good place to start.

And the beginning is identifying and defining the right problems to solve.

One of history’s smartest thinkers, Albert Einstein, is often quoted as having said, “If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.”

As with most things Einstein said, he made problem solving seem simple, but it’s important to put in place the right problem definition process in order to be good at it.

While selling your product might not be as important as saving the planet (but don’t underestimate the power of business to do so), when we define problems properly, we are reframing them so that we can see the opportunities contained within them that previously might have been hidden.

And as Einstein reveals in his quote, when we define them properly, we get to great solutions that much quicker, which can save us money and energy. This is the essence of what makes a great brief. Defining, identifying and framing problems in the right way enables other people to see the opportunities and get excited about solving them.

These AI-Powered Uses Cases Will Help You Reduce Customer Churn

5 chatgpt prompts to increase your sales now (more money, more impact), kamala harris memes helped launch her campaign with a bang. can it last.

And here’s why I think that we, as marketers, need to foster this art of problem definition. Among the 100 senior marketers polled last year for a report we commissioned, only 18% agreed that their teams are good at writing concise briefs. Poorly written briefs in turn often lead to confusion, misery and the same old solutions that don’t even come close to the problems we really should be solving.

But all is not lost. Here are some ways to ensure that problem definition sits at the heart of your marketing:

Resist the urge to race to solutions.

Identifying and defining problems require discipline and an approach designed to stop you and your team from falling into the trap of coming up with solutions first and retrofitting a problem.

Use a framework for the identification of problems, not the generation of solutions. They are hugely different. Create the space and time to investigate properly; you can’t rush it.

Emphasize the importance of identifying the problem and get the important people in the room. A quick way to do this is to ask yourself who can say no to the solution, and make sure they are there.

Inject objectivity into the process through outside help and diverse thinking.

Shift your investment to understanding the broader context, rather than validating solutions.

Testing has always been a route to making sure that the idea resonates with the consumer. But testing executions is only justifying the solution. More marketers are understanding that they need to tap into a broader understanding of the cultural landscape to identify the right problems to stay relevant in consumers’ lives. As one senior marketer told us in our poll, “We’re making a big effort to spend more time and money on empathy work and really understanding consumer tensions and consumer needs rather than validating things. ... That’s one of the changes that I’m seeing and for me that’s the right approach.”

Another said, “For me it keeps coming back to our ability to know if we are focusing on solving real people’s problems.”

The most essential part of your problem definition process is making sure that what you are trying to solve is an actual consumer problem. Solving consumer problems drives growth; solving internal business problems tends to save money.

Once you’ve identified the problem, open your mind to the solution.

Adopt a growth mindset:

• Don’t allow muscle memory to snap you back into an old solution set.

• Go wide and use a diverse set of minds that are focused less on agenda and more on creativity to bring you a richness of solutions, but stay laser-focused on the problem you are trying to solve.

• Remember that success lies not in the subjective world of “Do I like it?” or “Will the boss like it?” but in the objective world of “Will this solve the problem my consumer has in a way that will drive value for both of us?”

As Einstein said, once you’ve identified the problem, solving it should be simple, really.

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Chapter 3 – Consumer Behaviour: How People Make Buying Decisions

3.3 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Distinguish between low and high involvement buying decisions.

One of the ways that the purchase decision process is modified is by consumers’ level of involvement in the decision. Low-involvement decisions usually pose a low risk to the buyer if they make a mistake by purchasing them. High-involvement decisions carry a high risk and limited-involvement products fall somewhere in between. Many factors influence a consumer’s behaviour. Depending on a consumer’s experience and knowledge, some consumers may be able to make quick decisions, and other consumers may need to be more involved before making a purchase.

The level of involvement reflects how important or interested the consumer is in the decision. That changes the amount of information they need to make a decision. The level of involvement may be considered a continuum from decisions that are fairly routine, sometimes called habits, to decisions that require extensive thought and a high level of involvement. Whether a decision is low, high, or limited, involvement typically varies by consumer rather than by the product or service. For example, for most consumers, purchasing a car is high-involvement decision because it doesn’t happen often, it is expensive compared to their income and it is a complex and long term decision. When a consumer is engaged in the purchase process for the car, they might engage in extensive search using word of mouth, online product reviews, and safety ratings.

For high-involvement products, the brand reputation may important to consumers. For example, beginning in the 1970s, American-made cars had such a poor reputation for quality that Japanese car brands were able to enter and dominate the market. Since then, due to government regulation, the quality of American cars has improved (with the exception of Tesla) but American cars continue to have a lower product quality brand image than Japanese cars. In the 2021 Consumer Report’s Annual Report on Car Performance, Reliability, Satisfaction, Safety & Emissions, Mazda, Toyota, and Lexus have consistently been the top three brands ( Consumer Reports, 2021 ). ‡

Consumers do not go through all the stages in the decision process for low involvement products such as bread or rice because they don’t need to search for information or evaluate alternatives. Low-involvement decisions are typically inexpensive (compared to income), purchased regularly and pose low risk to buyers if they make a mistake or there is a problem with them. Not going through all the stages is called routine response behaviour , that is, they make automatic purchase decisions based on limited information or information they have gathered in the past. For example, if you always order bottled water at lunch, you are exhibiting routine response behaviour. You likely don’t think about other drink options because your routine is to order bottled water. Similarly, if you run out of your bottled water at home, you may buy more without going through information search.

Unanticipated low-involvement purchases are made without planning or previous thought. These are called impulse buying . While you’re waiting to check out at the grocery store, perhaps you see a protein bar and buy it simply because you want it. You might see a roll of tape at a check-out stand and remember you need one or you might see a bag of popcorn and realize you’re hungry or just want them.

To reach as many consumers as possible at the moment of decision, low involvement products, such as chocolate bars, often place them in as many locations as possible. Products that are typically high-involvement such as cars may use more personal selling to answer consumers’ questions. Brand names can also be very important regardless of the consumer’s level of purchasing involvement. Consider a low- versus high-involvement decision, for example, purchasing a tube of toothpaste versus a new car. You might routinely buy your favorite brand of toothpaste, not thinking much about the purchase (engage in routine response behaviour), but not be willing to switch to another brand either. Having a brand you like saves you “search time” and eliminates the evaluation period because you know what you’re getting.

By contrast, high-involvement decisions carry a higher risk to buyers if they fail, are complex, and/or have a high price. A car or laptop computer are examples. These items are not purchased often but are relevant and important to the buyer. Buyers don’t engage in routine response behaviour when purchasing high-involvement products. Instead, consumers engage in what’s called extended problem solving , where they may spend time comparing different aspects such as the features of the products, prices, and warranties.

High-involvement decisions can cause buyers a great deal of post-purchase dissonance (anxiety) if they are unsure about their purchases or if they had a difficult time deciding between two alternatives. Companies that sell high-involvement products are aware that post purchase dissonance can be a problem. They offer potential customers lots of information about their products, including why they are superior to competing brands and how well they function post purchase. Real salespeople, either in person or as live chats, or artificial intelligence in the form of chatbots may be used to answer questions and reassure customers. ‡

Limited problem solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip. While you are familiar with backpacks, you know that new features and materials are available since you purchased your last backpack. You’re going to spend some time looking for one that’s decent because you don’t want it to fall apart while you’re traveling and dump everything you’ve packed on a hiking trail. You might do a little research online and come to a decision relatively quickly. You might consider the choices available at your favorite retail outlet but not look at every backpack at every outlet before making a decision. You might rely on the advice of a person you know who’s knowledgeable about backpacks. In some way, you shorten or limit your involvement and the decision-making process.

Principles of Marketing, 1st Canadian Edition Copyright © by Anthony Francescucci, Joanne McNeish, Nukhet Taylor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Four Modes of Consumer Decision Making

Extended problem solving

Extended problem solving customer decision – making mode relates to a situation where customers lack experience in a specific consumption setting, nevertheless, the setting is perceived by them as a highly involving. The products are usually of a high value and they also contribute to an individual’s social status, however, their purchase is often associated with significant amount of risk in terms of making improper purchase decision. Purchasing the first car or the first house can be mentioned as instances for extended problem solving.

Limited problem solving

Customer decision – making mode of limited problem solving , relates to a situation where both, customer experience, as well as, the level of their involvement are low. Considered to be the most common mode of decision – making, it lacks systematic approach in terms of decision – making. Examples for this mode of decision – making might include searching for and purchasing products and services associated with pest control within private properties.

In other words, as Perrey and Spillecke (2011) confirm, limited problem – solving customer decision – making mode relate to situations where customers are attempting to find appropriate solutions to their unpleasant issues. Retailers often attempt to attract such type of customers by employing a range of marketing techniques that include introducing discount vouchers, offering free samples etc.

Habit or variety seeking

Habit or variety seeking is the customer decision – making mode where a decision is not involving, however, there are high amount of repeated purchases from a specific brand. For example, the purchase of a specific brand of a dishwasher gel can be repeated over a long period of time in a habitual manner, without re-considering the value associated with the brand even when there are more valuable alternatives have emerged in the market.

Variety seeking relates to instances where customer moves to another brand within a given product category. At the same time, interestingly, “from one purchase occasion to the next, the individual will switch brands from within this set, just for the sake of variety” (O’Guinn et al, 2011, p.175).

Brand loyalty

Customers with a decision – making mode of brand loyalty practice high level of involvement in decision – making and they also possess high level of experience with a particular brand. Instances of brand loyalty customer decision – making mode include using specific brand of cigarettes for a long period of time.

According to Cant et al (2009), factors effecting customer brand loyalty in retail setting include brand name, the quality of products and services, price and style of products, environment of the store, the level and nature of promotion offered, and the quality of customer services provided. Considerable amount of financial resources are usually invested by leading retailers in order to enhance their brand image and therefore increase their long-term growth prospects.

Cant, M.C., Strydom, J.W. & Jooste, C.J. (2009) “Marketing Management” Juta Publications
O’Guinn, T.C., Allen, C.T. & Semenik, R.J. (2011) “Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion” Cengage Learning
Perrey, J & Spillecke, D. (2011) “Retail Marketing and Branding: A Definitive Guide to Maximising ROI” John Wiley & Sons

Routine And Persistent Problems In Decision Making: A Problem Solving Approach to Product and Brand Choice

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Walter A. Woods 2 &
Danny A. Osborne 2

Part of the book series: Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science ((DMSPAMS))

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This paper addresses the issue of “What underlies lack of brand loyalty?” Two types of problems are identified : routine ones which are solved by loyalty and persistant ones which are resistant to solution by loyalty. Differences in loyalty to product classes are demonstrated and related to problem type.

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Managing the Franchised Brand: The Franchisees’ Perspective

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Woods, W. A. “Psychological Dimension of Consumer Decisions,” Journal of Marketing 24 (January, 1960) 15 – 19.

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Woods, W.A., Osborne, D.A. (2016). Routine And Persistent Problems In Decision Making: A Problem Solving Approach to Product and Brand Choice. In: Gitlow, H.S., Wheatley, E.W. (eds) Proceedings of the 1979 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16934-7_74

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5.2 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions and the Consumer’s Decision-Making Process

Learning objectives.

After reading this section, students should be able to …

Distinguish between low-involvement and high-involvement buying decisions.
Understand what the stages of the buying process are and what happens in each stage.

Some low-involvement purchases are made with no planning or previous thought. These buying decisions are called impulse buying. While you’re waiting to check out at the grocery store, perhaps you see a magazine with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on the cover and buy it on the spot simply because you want it. You might see a roll of tape at a check-out stand and remember you need one or you might see a bag of chips and realize you’re hungry or just want them. These are items that are typically low-involvement decisions. Low-involvement decisions aren’t necessarily products purchased on impulse, although they can be.

By contrast, high-involvement decisions carry a higher risk to buyers if they fail, are complex, and/or have high price tags. A car, a house, and an insurance policy are examples. These items are not purchased often but are relevant and important to the buyer. Buyers don’t engage in routine response behavior when purchasing highinvolvement products. Instead, consumers engage in what’s called extended problem solving, where they spend a lot of time comparing different aspects such as the features of the products, prices, and warranties.

Figure 5.6: Involvement

Allstate’s “You’re in Good Hands” advertisements are designed to convince consumers that the insurance company won’t let them down.

(Mike Mozart – Allstate, – CC BY 2.0.)

Video Clip :1970s American Cars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjzpx_jUUA0

Today, Lexus is the automotive brand that experiences the most customer loyalty. For a humorous, tongue-in cheek look at why the brand reputation of American carmakers suffered in the 1970s, check out this clip.

Stages in the Buying Process

Figure 5.7 “Stages in the Consumer’s Purchasing Process” outlines the buying stages consumers go through. At any given time, you’re probably in a buying stage for a product or service. You’re thinking about the different types of things you want or need to eventually buy, how you are going to find the best ones at the best price, and where and how will you buy them. Meanwhile, there are other products you have already purchased that you’re evaluating. Some might be better than others. Will you discard them, and if so, how? Then what will you buy? Where does that process start?

Figure 5.7: Stages in the Consumer’s Purchasing Process

Stage 1. Need Recognition

Stage 2. Search for Information

Stage 3. Product Evaluation

Figure 5.8: Product Evaluation

(melanie innis – break – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.)

Stage 4. Product Choice and Purchase

Stage 5. Postpurchase Use and Evaluation

At this point in the process you decide whether the backpack you purchased is everything it was cracked up to be. Hopefully it is. If it’s not, you’re likely to suffer what’s called postpurchase dissonance. You might call it buyer’s remorse. Typically, dissonance occurs when a product or service does not meet your expectations. Consumers are more likely to experience dissonance with products that are relatively expensive and that are purchased infrequently.

Stage 6. Disposal of the Product

Figure 5.9: Product disposal

The hike up to Mount Everest used to be pristine. Now it looks more like this. Who’s responsible? Are consumers or companies responsible, or both?

(jqpubliq – Recycling Center Pile – CC BY-SA 2.0.)

Other companies are less concerned about conservation than they are about planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is a deliberate effort by companies to make their products obsolete, or unusable, after a period of time. The goal is to improve a company’s sales by reducing the amount of time between the repeat purchases consumers make of products. When a software developer introduces a new version of product, it is usually designed to be incompatible with older versions of it. For example, not all the formatting features are the same in Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. Sometimes documents do not translate properly when opened in the newer version. Consequently, you will be more inclined to upgrade to the new version so you can open all Word documents you receive.

Figure 5.10: Disposable lighters

(Europeana staff photographer – A trench art lighter – public domain.)

Consumer behavior looks at the many reasons why people buy things and later dispose of them.
Consumers go through distinct buying phases when they purchase products: (1) realizing the need or wanting something, (2) searching for information about the item, (3) evaluating different products, (4) choosing a product and purchasing it, (5) using and evaluating the product after the purchase, and (6) disposing of the product.
A consumer’s level of involvement is how interested he or she is in buying and consuming a product.
Low involvement products are usually inexpensive and pose a low risk to the buyer if he or she makes a mistake by purchasing them.
High-involvement products carry a high risk to the buyer if they fail, are complex, or have high price tags.
Limited-involvement products fall somewhere in between.

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Marketing/Consumer Behavior

CH.1- Introduction CH.2- Marketing Strategy CH.3- Marketing Plan CH.4- Targeting & Segmentation

CH.5- Consumer Behavior CH.6- Product Development CH.7- Market Research CH.8- Marketing Ethics

“

”

- Ivan Illich

1 Consumer Market
2 Industrial Market
3.1 Psychological variables
3.2 Social influences
3.3 Purchase situation
3.4.1 Needs
3.4.2 Wants
3.5 Economic needs
3.6 Search for information
3.7 Problem solving
3.8 Purchase product
3.9 Post purchase evaluation
4 Adoption process for new products
5 Consumer behavior for industrial markets

Consumer Market

Refers to a target audience where the end customers are the purchasers and users of the goods and services.

Industrial Market

Refers to a market where other businesses ( B2B ), not end consumers, are the purchasers of the goods and services.

Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.

Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the customer playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Relationship marketing is an influential asset for customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery of the true meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer. A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship management, personalisation, customisation and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can be categorized into social choice and welfare functions.

Each method for vote counting is assumed as social function but if Arrow’s possibility theorem is used for a social function, social welfare function is achieved. Some specifications of the social functions are decisiveness, neutrality, anonymity, monotonicity, unanimity, homogeneity and weak and strong Pareto optimality. No social choice function meets these requirements in an ordinal scale simultaneously. The most important characteristic of a social function is identification of the interactive effect of alternatives and creating a logical relation with the ranks. Marketing provides services in order to satisfy customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer (Kioumarsi et al., 2009).

The Purchase Decision Process for Consumer Markets

Psychological variables.

Variables related to process such as motivation, perception, learning, attitude, personality, and lifestyle.

Social influences

Influences such as family, social class, reference groups, and culture.

Purchase situation

Situation-dependent variables such as purchase reason, time, and surroundings.

Needs motivation

A theory that explains why consumers make decisions to satisfy their salient needs.

The basic, motivating forces that shape decision making.

Wants are the learned needs that extend beyond the basic needs.

Economic needs

The types of product features consumers desire.

Convenience
Efficiency in operation
Dependability in use
Improvement in earnings

Search for information

Both internal and external searches.

Problem solving

The amount of effort exerted in information gathering and problem solving. The type of problem solving depends on several variables:

Extensive problem solving: more effort is expended to decide how to satisfy a need. This type is used for infrequently purchased, expensive, high-risk, or new goods or services.
Routine problem solving: Low-involvement, inexpensive, limited risk purchase requiring minimal effort. Used when the consumer has considerable experience in how to meet the need.

Purchase product

The actual purchase transaction.

Post purchase evaluation

Cognitive dissonance occurs as consumers seek out positive reinforcement to reaffirm their purchase decision and to minimize negative uncertainty that can cause dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction is most often referred to as " buyers remorse ".

Adoption process for new products

Occurs when a consumer's previous buying experiences are not relevant to the current problem he or she would like to solve.

Awareness: consumer is aware of, but lacks details of, the brand
Interest: consumer gathers information about the brand
Evaluation: consumer imagines trying the brand and anticipates the benefit from its use
Trial: consumer tries the brand
Decision: consumer adopts the brand for future use or rejects it
Confirmation: consumer will seek information to support his or her decision and to reduce tension (cognitive dissonance)

Consumer behavior for industrial markets

Characterized by buyers who:

Less emotional than consumer buyer markets
Look for specific product attributes, such as economy in cost and use, productivity, and quality
Want to partner with businesses that are reliable, fair, consistent, speedy, and cooperative
Are generally spending a larger amount of money. thus, the process tends to be more complex and lengthy
Is more task oriented and rational than consumer product buyer.
Has firm motives of Quality, price and delivery against emotional motives in the other cases.

Book:Marketing

3.2 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions and the Consumer’s Decision-Making Process

Learning objectives.

Distinguish between low-involvement and high-involvement buying decisions.
Understand what the stages of the buying process are and what happens in each stage.

As you have seen, many factors influence a consumer’s behaviour. Depending on a consumer’s experience and knowledge, some consumers may be able to make quick purchase decisions and other consumers may need to get information and be more involved in the decision process before making a purchase. The level of involvement reflects how personally important or interested you are in consuming a product and how much information you need to make a decision. The level of involvement in buying decisions may be considered a continuum from decisions that are fairly routine (consumers are not very involved) to decisions that require extensive thought and a high level of involvement. Whether a decision is low, high, or limited, involvement varies by consumer, not by product, although some products such as purchasing a house typically require a high-involvement for all consumers. Consumers with no experience purchasing a product may have more involvement than someone who is replacing a product.

You have probably thought about many products you want or need but never did much more than that. At other times, you’ve probably looked at dozens of products. Consumers often engage in routine response behaviour when they make low impulse buying involvement decisions—that is, they make automatic purchase decisions based on limited information or information they have gathered in the past. For example, if you always order a Diet Coke at lunch, you’re engaging in routine response behaviour. You may not even think about other drink options at lunch because your routine is to order a Diet Coke, and you simply do it. Similarly, if you run out of Diet Coke at home, you may buy more without any information search.

Some low-involvement purchases are made with no planning or previous thought. These buying decisions are called impulse buying. While you’re waiting to check out at the grocery store, perhaps you see a magazine with a famous person on the cover and buy it on the spot simply because you want it. You might see a roll of tape at a check-out stand and remember you need impulse buying one or you might see a bag of chips and realize you’re hungry or just want them. These are items that are typically low-involvement decisions. Low-involvement decisions aren’t necessarily products purchased on impulse, although they can be.

By contrast, high-involvement decisions carry a higher risk to buyers if they fail, are complex, and/or have high price tags. A car, a house, and an insurance policy are examples. These items are not purchased often but are relevant and important to the buyer. Buyers don’t engage in routine response behaviour when purchasing high-involvement products. Instead, consumers engage in what’s called extended problem solving , where they spend a lot of time comparing different aspects such as the features of the products, prices, and warranties.

Limited problem-solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip. While you are familiar with backpacks, you know that new features and materials are available since you purchased your last backpack. You’re going to spend some time looking for one that’s decent because you don’t want it to fall apart while you’re travelling and dump everything you’ve packed on a hiking trail. You might do a little research online and come to a decision relatively quickly. You might consider the choices available at your favourite retail outlet but not look at every backpack at every outlet before making a decision. Or you might rely on the advice of a person you know who’s knowledgeable about backpacks. In some way, you shorten or limit your involvement and the decision-making process.

Products, such as chewing gum, which may be low-involvement for many consumers often use advertising such as commercials and sales promotions such as coupons to reach many consumers at once. Companies also try to sell products such as gum in as many locations as possible. Many products that are typically high-involvement such as automobiles may use more personal selling to answer consumers’ questions. Brand names can also be very important regardless of the consumer’s level of purchasing involvement. Consider a low- versus high-involvement decision—say, purchasing a tube of toothpaste versus a new car. You might routinely buy your favourite brand of toothpaste, not thinking much about the purchase (engage in routine response behaviour), but not be willing to switch to another brand either. Having a brand you like saves you “search time” and eliminates the evaluation period because you know what you’re getting.

Maybe you already thought of examples from your own decision-making while reading this chapter. Use the below exercise to think through a decision in detail.

1970s American Cars

Stages in the Buying Process

Figure 3.7 “Stages in the Consumer’s Purchasing Process” outlines the buying stages consumers go through. At any given time, you’re probably in a buying stage for a product or service. You’re thinking about the different types of things you want or need to eventually buy, how you are going to find the best ones at the best price, and where and how will you buy them. Meanwhile, there are other products you have already purchased that you’re evaluating. Some might be better than others. Will you discard them, and if so, how? Then what will you buy? Where does that process start?

Stage 1. Need Recognition

You plan to backpack around the country after you graduate and don’t have a particularly good backpack. You realize that you must get a new backpack. You may also be thinking about the job you’ve accepted after graduation and know that you must get a vehicle to commute. Recognizing a need may involve something as simple as running out of bread or milk or realizing that you must get a new backpack or a car after you graduate. Marketers try to show consumers how their products and services add value and help satisfy needs and wants. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Gatorade, Powerade, and other beverage makers locate their machines in gymnasiums so you see them after a long, tiring workout? Previews at movie theatres are another example. How many times have you have heard about a movie and had no interest in it—until you saw the preview? Afterward, you felt like you had to see it.

Stage 2. Search for Information

If what you already know about backpacks doesn’t provide you with enough information, you’ll probably continue to gather information from various sources. Frequently people ask friends, family, and neighbours about their experiences with products. Magazines such as Consumer Reports (considered an objective source of information on many consumer products) or Backpacker Magazine might also help you. Similar information sources are available for learning about different makes and models of cars.

Internet shopping sites such as Amazon.com have become a common source of information about products. Epinions.com is an example of a consumer-generated review site. The site offers product ratings, buying tips, and price information. Amazon.com also offers product reviews written by consumers. People prefer “independent” sources such as this when they are looking for product information. However, they also often consult non-neutral sources of information, such as advertisements, brochures, company Web sites, and salespeople.

Stage 3. Product Evaluation

Evaluative criteria are certain characteristics that are important to you such as the price of the backpack, the size, the number of compartments, and colour. Some of these characteristics are more important than others. For example, the size of the backpack and the price might be more important to you than the colour—unless, say, the colour is hot pink and you hate pink. You must decide what criteria are most important and how well different alternatives meet the criteria.

Stage 4. Product Choice and Purchase

Stage 5. Postpurchase Use and Evaluation

At this point in the process you decide whether the backpack you purchased is everything it was cracked up to be. Hopefully, it is. If it’s not, you’re likely to suffer what’s called postpurchase dissonance . You might call it buyer’s remorse . Typically, dissonance occurs when a product or service does not meet your expectations. Consumers are more likely to experience dissonance with products that are relatively expensive and that are purchased infrequently.

Companies do various things to try to prevent buyer’s remorse. For smaller items, they might offer a money-back guarantee or they might encourage their salespeople to tell you what a great purchase you made. How many times have you heard a salesperson say, “That outfit looks so great on you!” For larger items, companies might offer a warranty, along with instruction booklets, and a toll-free troubleshooting line to call or they might have a salesperson call you to see if you need help with the product. Automobile companies may offer loaner cars when you bring your car in for service.

Stage 6. Disposal of the Product

Other companies are less concerned about conservation than they are about planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is a deliberate effort by companies to make their products obsolete, or unusable, after a period of time. The goal is to improve a company’s sales by reducing the amount of time between the repeat purchases consumers make of products. When a software developer introduces a new version of product, it is usually designed to be incompatible with older versions of it. For example, not all the formatting features are the same in Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. Sometimes documents do not translate properly when opened in the newer version. Consequently, you will be more inclined to upgrade to the new version so you can open all Word documents you receive.

Key Takeaways

Consumer behaviour looks at the many reasons why people buy things and later dispose of them. Consumers go through distinct buying phases when they purchase products: (1) realizing the need or wanting something, (2) searching for information about the item, (3) evaluating different products, (4) choosing a product and purchasing it, (5) using and evaluating the product after the purchase, and (6) disposing of the product. A consumer’s level of involvement is how interested he or she is in buying and consuming a product. Low-involvement products are usually inexpensive and pose a low risk to the buyer if he or she makes a mistake by purchasing them. High-involvement products carry a high risk to the buyer if they fail, are complex, or have high price tags. Limited-involvement products fall somewhere in between.

Review Questions

How do low-involvement decisions differ from high-involvement decisions in terms of relevance, price, frequency, and the risks their buyers face? Name some products in each category that you’ve recently purchased.
What stages do people go through in the buying process for high-involvement decisions? How do the stages vary for low-involvement decisions?
What is postpurchase dissonance and what can companies do to reduce it?

Principles of Marketing Copyright © 2022 by [Author removed at request of original publisher] is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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8 Ways to Solve Prospects' Problems Through Your Marketing

Updated: August 26, 2017

Published: May 14, 2012

You're in business because you provide solutions. You've got answers. You're the (wo)man with the plan. Let's take a look at some of our customers, for example. AmeriFirst Home Mortgage helps home buyers find the right mortgage for them. In The News helps businesses memorialize their accomplishments with custom lamination and engraving. HubSpot helps marketers get an end-to-end view of their marketing activities to determine which channels provide the most ROI.

Notice how none of those explanations of what each company provides focused on the specific product or service? That's because the product or service isn't what makes a lead want to be your customer -- it's a solution to their problem that people care about. Your business is successful because it provides some solution, but if your campaigns seem to be flailing a bit, it may be because you haven't applied that problem-solving principle to your marketing.

Not yet, anyway. This post will give you plenty of ideas to implement that will make your marketing more solution-oriented. That way, your prospects see you as a helpful problem solver they actually like and trust ... not just a peddler of your product or service!

How to Inject Problem Solving Into Your Marketing

1) Create how-to blog content. As most inbound marketers know, success starts with content; so begin by writing blog posts that solve peoples' problems! If you'll allow me to get meta for a minute, this very blog post about how to be a problem solver is, well, solving a problem. People reading this presumably want to know how to inject more problem solving into their marketing, and this post is providing solutions to that problem. When writing your how-to blog content, focus on providing actionable advice. There's already a ton of content out there that says a lot without really saying anything at all. But you want your content to give you credibility and authority ; you can do that by making sure your reader walks away from the blog post with at least one thing he or she can do to be better.

2) Create lead gen offers that make people's lives easier. Helpful content doesn't end with blog posts, nor does successful marketing. You need to convert that blog traffic into leads, and if you've written some amazing content, your readers will probably want to learn more from you. Create lead gen content that will help your readers be more successful -- at work, at home, whatever it is your customers need. For example, HubSpot has released tons of ebooks that show marketers how to do something, like set up their Facebook page timeline , for instance. Or perhaps you'd like to create some templates for your audience, like we did with our downloadable leads waterfall graph that we encourage all marketers to use . If you're looking for some inspiration, we've written an entire guide to creating lead gen offers quickly .

3) Source problems to feed your content. I'm asking you to create all this content, but where will the topics come from? You should be speaking with the people on the front lines of your business on a daily basis -- employees working in Services, Support, and Sales hear questions from prospects and customers during every conversation. Ask all employees to document these questions and problems and send them your way to feed your solution-oriented content. And if any of them fancy themselves a writer, they can document their answers, too, for a guest spot on your blog! ( Tip: As you write this content, be sure to keep other departments in the know. Sales, Services, and Support should be equipped with an arsenal of content they can send to their prospects and customers that answers their questions. This will not only establish trust and authority between employees and your prospects and customers, but for Sales, it could shorten the buying cycle, too.)

4) Leverage the brainpower of your community. Part of being a helpful, solution-oriented marketer is connecting people with content that solves their problems ... regardless of the source. Look, nobody knows everything. You're surrounded by people that have data, research, insights, and experiences from which your audience would benefit. Tap into that brainpower, and be the one to share it with the rest of your community! We're doing this now, in fact, with our push for our social media community to contribute ideas for our next blog post.

Greatest list of marketing pet peeves - HubSpot

Not only is this an excellent way to build strong relationships with others in your industry, but it also shows that you're committed to providing answers for people regardless of the source.

5) Monitor and respond to social media inquiries. Speaking of social media, your active presence on social sites can contribute to your reputation as a thought leader, problem solver, and all around awesome business. This means more than just monitoring your Twitter stream for questions you can answer, though. Think outside of the box a bit! Visit places like LinkedIn Answers , Quora, and industry forums to see what problems people are having. Take a look at how HubSpotter Meghan Keaney Anderson improved both HubSpot's clout, and her own, by answering Scott's question on Quora. Take special note of how she linked back to a blog post HubSpot wrote that answers his question, too!

What is a content map - insights from HubSpot's product marketing manager

6) Optimize for long-tail search. Long-tail search is a critical component of any well-rounded SEO and content strategy, and it provides tremendous opportunity for marketers that are looking to be more solution-oriented with their content. That's because many long-tail keywords are centered around interrogative queries, like "what makes a good blog post," or "where should I host my blog," or "how to start a blog." Not only does centering content and SEO around long-tail keywords of this nature give you another avenue to assert yourself as a helpful marketer instead of a pushy salesperson, but it also helps you achieve higher search rankings quicker, and with a more niche market than short-tail and head terms allow. And if the keywords provide solutions to evergreen problems -- in other words, problems that your audience will always face -- your website will also enjoy ongoing organic traffic as a result of your high ranking for these long-tail queries!

7) Nurture leads with emails based on their problems. Now that you have all of this fantastic, solution-oriented content, you should use it to nurture your leads! After all, you can't have a successful lead nurturing program without a full arsenal of content. Consider segmenting your lists and creating lead nurturing tracks that address specific buyer problems. You can identify the problems right in your landing page forms. Take a look at the optional field we at HubSpot include on almost all of our landing pages to allow us to do this type of nurturing.

By asking leads to identify their biggest marketing challenge, we get a better idea of what problems our audience face so we can create content to address it, and simultaneously target prospects in our email sends according to the problems they need an answer to.

8) Create apps and tools that help solve a problem. Tools and apps -- especially free ones -- are mutually beneficial for businesses and their audience. Let's take one of HubSpot's free tools, Marketing Grader , as an example. Marketing Grader helps solve a problem many marketers face ... they don't know how good their marketing is. When you enter your website into the free tool, you get a comprehensive report that tells you not just an arbitrary grade, but also actionable advice on exactly what areas of your marketing need improvement, and how you can do it. It even provides links to content that helps solve your problems. So ask yourself: "Self, is there a tool or mobile app I could develop to help my leads and customers?" If there's a problem people in your industry face, make your business the one that solves it!

How do you inject problem solving into your marketing to gain the trust and loyalty of your prospects?

Image credit: Tomasz Stasiuk

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Why Problem-solving Is Important in Marketing

Although it can never get easier for business owners to hear this, consumers likely don’t care about what you’re selling or offering as most only care about getting their issues resolved, and your products or services are a means to an end. People will always have problems, such as dealing with anorexia. Businesses can offer treatment options and other solutions to ease their pain. So as a marketer or an entrepreneur, it’s your job to help them out.

Your customers won’t likely know how to solve their problems independently, but they’ll know what those issues are. That’s why these people are constantly on the search for solutions like yours. Your task is to deal with these issues for your clients, making problem-solving the key behind most businesses’ success.

However, problem-solving is often easier said than done , and you can’t take it lightly or go halfway since customers will always be on the lookout for better and faster ways to get solutions. Show them that you’re the answer they’re searching for and the experts that can help make their pain and issues go away by incorporating problem-solving in your marketing efforts with the following strategies.

Refocus Your Messaging

As a marketer or business owner, your customers should always be your priority, and your message must be directed to them while resonating with them. After all, they’ll likely want to see a message revolving around solving their problems, so it only makes sense to make them clear and concise to leave no room for doubts that you can help them.

Although it’s not uncommon for businesses to focus on themselves, their services, or products in their messaging, it’s best to scan your content and refocus your message around your customers and the issues they want to solve.

Make “Trigger Phases”

Although this method can be a little time-consuming, it’s worth every second. You can do this by breaking down the solutions and the advantages of the services and products you sell. After that, you can map them back to trigger phases, which should be clickbait or attention-grabbing statements or questions coming from the POV of your customers.

Be Educational and Informative With Content Published

The best way to take advantage of problem-solving in your marketing campaigns is by being helpful with the content you create, even if it doesn’t directly involve your services or products. Show everyone you’re knowledgeable on the problems they’re facing in various formats. It’s no secret that content is a crucial piece to any marketing campaign today, so it’s best to get started early on by writing blog posts, publishing how-to-guides, or instructional videos.

Through educational content, you can show customers that you are experts in the field that’s always ready to help them deal with their pain with ease, offering actionable advice. So, as part of your marketing efforts, don’t forget to provide valuable information through content upgrades that individuals can download or access online.

Be Responsive

Remember that social media, emails, or comments on certain content you publish shouldn’t be one-way streets as they should be conversation tools, meaning you need to be as responsive as possible. By responding to customer queries fast and offering accurate answers on these channels, you’re giving customers one more reason to trust you and consider you an authority in your field, ready to help whenever possible.

Go Beyond “Basic” Keywords

In today’s digital world, keyword research has become crucial for speaking and getting an audience’s attention. However, to make a huge enough impact on the market, it’s wise to go beyond the surface level of “basic” keywords and find the best long-tail keywords. You can do this by solving a couple of issues most of your customers experience in a particular area or niche and find the most useful long-tail keywords to get targeted and discover the root of their problems.

Personalize Lead Generation Efforts

Although problem-solving can help business owners drive towards success, if you’re looking to impact the market, you need to be unique and creative in solving your customers’ issues since everyone in the industry will be trying to address the same problems. Doing a little bit of problem-solving can help you find better ways to personalize marketing efforts by tailoring products and services to particular target markets.

Shifting your focus on problem-solving in your marketing efforts can bring it a long way, improving its efficiency and results. Incorporating the concept in your strategies through the methods mentioned can help your campaigns thrive and your business grab success over time.

About The Author

John Reynolds

Marketing Mix Strategy
Five Forces
Business Lists
Competitors
Business Concepts
Marketing and Strategy

Extensive Problem Solving

This article covers meaning, importance & example of Extensive Problem Solving from marketing perspective

What is Extensive Problem Solving?

Extensive problem solving is the purchase decision marking in a situation in which the buyer has no information, experience about the products, services and suppliers. In extensive problem solving, lack of information also spreads to the brands for the product and also the criterion that they set for segregating the brands to be small or manageable subsets that help in the purchasing decision later. Consumers usually go for extensive problem solving when they discover that a need is completely new to them which requires significant effort to satisfy it.

The decision making process of a customer includes different levels of purchase decisions, i.e. extensive problem solving, limited problem solving and routinized choice behaviour.

Elements of Extensive Problem Solving

The various parameters which leads to extensive problem solving are:

1. Highly Priced Products: Like a car, house

2. Infrequent Purchases: Purchasing an automobile, HD TV

3. More Customer Participation: Purchasing a laptop with selection of RAM, ROM, display etc

4. Unfamiliar Product Category: Real-estate is a very unexplored category

5. Extensive Research & Time: Locality of buying house, proximity to hospital, station, market etc.

All these parameters or elements leads to extensive problem solving for the customer while taking a decision to make a purchase.

Problem Recognition
Problem Solution Approach

Importance of Extensive Problem Solving

It is very important for marketers to know the process that customers go through before purchasing. They cannot rely upon re-buys and word of mouth all the time for acquiring new customers. The customer in general goes through problem recognition, information search, evaluation, purchase decision and post-purchase evaluation. Closely related to a purchase decision is the problem solving phase. A new product with long term investment leads to extensive problem solving from a customer. This signifies that not all buying situations are same. A rebuy is very much different from a first choice purchase. The recognition that a brand enjoys in a customer’s mind helps the customer to make purchase decisions easily. If the brand has a dedicated marketing communication effort, whenever a consumer feels the need for a new product, they instantly go for it.

To help customers in extensive problem solving, companies must have clear transparent communication. It is thus very important for marketers to use a proper marketing mix so that they can have some cognition from their customers when they think of new products. With the advent of social media, the number of channels for promotion have hugely developed and they require a clear understanding on the segment of customer that each channel serves. The communication channels should lucidly differentiate themselves from other brands so that they are purchased quickly and easily.

Example of Extensive Problem Solving

Let us suppose, that Amber wants to buy a High Definition TV. The problem being, she has no idea regarding it. This is a case of extensive problem solving as the amount of information is low, the risk she is taking is high as she is going with the opinion that she gathers from her peers, the item is expensive and at the same time it also demands huge amount of involvement from the customer. Similarly, buying high price and long-term assets or products like car, motorcycle, house etc leads to extensive problem solving decision for the customers.

Hence, this concludes the definition of Extensive Problem Solving along with its overview.

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team which comprises of MBA students, management professionals, and industry experts. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team . The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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6 strategies for capturing high-quality leads through content marketing

by Kruti Chapaneri | Jul 29, 2024 | Marketing , Public Relations

Businesses are always in search of new techniques to boost their sales. Running a successful lead generation program is also one of the best methods to take sales to new heights. The more you have prospective customers’ data, the higher the chances of conversions.

In capturing high-quality leads , content marketing plays a pivotal role. It allows you to obtain the needed information of potential buyers without pushing them to do so. Also, it significantly reduces selling costs as it is one of the most results-driven organic marketing methods.

However, content marketing is not as easy as it sounds. It is way more than just producing content and sharing on its platforms. You have to adopt different strategic approaches to drive desired results from your marketing efforts. This is what we are going to cover in this article.

In this post, we will walk you through some of the top strategies that will enable you to make the most out of content marketing. So, if you wish to get more leads, read this article till the end.

1) Know The Audience Preferences

Remember, content marketing is not nourishing your audience blindly. Rather, it is an act of aligning your content with their needs. However, this is only possible if you know their preferences properly.

For this purpose, first, dive deeper into their demographics. Identify what age, location, or gender people you are going to target. Also, figure out whether they can understand the content you are planning to provide them. This helps you judge the understanding level of your audience.

Secondly, find out what type of content your target buyers mostly engage with. Most importantly, recognize the lead magnets that entice them to submit their personal information. Also, note their pain point that you can address in your content and gain their attention.

2) Focus On Problem-Solving

Leads never come without building trust. People prefer to interact with brands that provide value to them. One effective way to show your sincerity to your audience is to solve their problems instead of bombarding them with generic content. That’s why focus on creating problem-solving content.

Try to answer all the questions related to the topic that might come to readers’ minds. Also, enrich your content with well-researched insights. Provide quality resources that can help them rectify their hurdles. Moreover, you can also include practical steps to make your content more valuable.

When your target audience finds your content helpful, they don’t hesitate to engage in conversation. The increased trust forces them to act upon your action statements without any fear.

3) Adopt Unique Content Creation

Generic content doesn’t return the results you want. You need to work on fresh perspectives to attract your audience’s engagement. Remember, unique content not only distinguishes you from the crowd but also helps your brand gain higher visibility in search engines.

The enhanced visibility means more chances of catching eyes on your content and earning leads. However, you can lose this opportunity if your content inadvertently matches others, which invites search engine penalties. So, you should ensure your content doesn’t share similarities with anyone.

To avoid unintentional resemblance, you can rely on an efficient online plagiarism checker . This tool helps ensure that your content is unique and not duplicated elsewhere. By using a plagiarism detector, you can enhance the originality of your content, making it more attractive to potential leads.

4) Tailor Content To The Audience

A particular group of people has unique interests and understanding levels. So, targeting a specific audience means creating content that matches their level. Such personalized content is more likely to grab attention, engage readers, and make people willing to take action.

Therefore, personalize your content so that you can make the most of it. For this purpose, use language that better resonates with your audience. Structure your content in a way that the readers feel comfortable with. Decorate the content with visuals that the audience mostly engages with.

These practices help you align your content with the priorities of your target buyers. Consequently, you grab their attention, win their trust, and earn leads.

5) Incorporate Lead Magnets

No one wishes to provide their personal information to anyone unless they see an opportunity or benefit. That’s why your content must have a reason for one to act on your call to action. In this regard, a specific term is used in content marketing called a lead magnet .

Usually, a lead magnet is a free offer that compels the readers to fill out the form or sign up on your platform. It could be a giveaway of a comprehensive e-book, a free trial or demo, an invitation to attend a free webinar or seminar, and many other attractive offers.

These gits lure the visitors and entice them to perform your desired action. As a result, your content marketing efforts are fruitful, and you receive the contact details of the most interested customers.

6) Include Compelling Calls To Action

When creating content for lead generation, you must include a strong call to action (CTA). A relevant CTA allows you to make your audience perform the action you want them to perform. It might ask them to fill out a form or direct them to perform a simple signup.

Well, a CTA doesn’t compel visitors to take any action unless it is properly crafted. To create an action-driven call to action, you have to take some essential things into account. Providing value and creating a sense of emergency hold key importance.

String together action-oriented and time-sensitive words to craft a compelling CTA. With such action statements in your content, you can attract many quality leads, increasing the chances of your sales.

To put it concisely, you can obtain high-quality leads by making your content audience-centric, offering rewards, and using unignorable calls to action. We have thoroughly discussed all these strategies in the above section. Now that you have read all of them, we hope capturing leads has not been a problem for you.

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Principles of Marketing: Buyer Behavior
Problem-Solving. When consumers realize they have an unmet need, they choose to begin a purchase process. In this process, the consumer will face one of three levels of problem-solving. These include: Routine problem-solving—This is a situation wherein consumers are typically purchasing low-priced, frequently purchased items. It is also ...
6.3 Types of Consumer Decisions
Limited problem solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip.
7 Problem Solving Skills Marketing Managers Need & How to Improve Them
4. Communication. Communication skills are the foundation of problem solving and one of the top leadership skills. As a manager, you need to be able to articulate your opinions, brainstorm with a colleague, and give feedback to a direct report. Being a good communicator also helps you relay your decision on a solution and align everyone to ...
3.2 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions and the
Limited problem solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip.
4.3: Buyer behavior as problem solving
Global Text Project. Consumer behavior refers to buyers who are purchasing for personal, family, or group use. Consumer behavior can be thought of as the combination of efforts and results related to the consumer's need to solve problems. Consumer problem solving is triggered by the identification of some unmet need.
29 Consumer Decision Making Process
First they need to know what problems consumers are facing in order to develop a marketing mix to help solve these problems. This requires that they measure problem recognition. ... Whereas, routine problem solving is low-involvement, inexpensive, and has limited risk if purchased, extended problem solving justifies the additional effort with a ...
Involvement Levels
Limited Problem Solving. Limited problem solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information.
A Definitive Guide to Problem-Solving
After the problem-solving team pours out its ideas and questions, the organization may realize that there is more than one right answer and many potential side effects. This is why everything—ideas, questions, potential side effects—should be recorded and arranged when digging into the problem. The end goal is to have a problem statement, a ...
How to Conduct a Problem-Solving Session in Marketing?|Avado
Successful problem-solving in marketing requires a combination of creativity, analytical skills, and a deep understanding of consumer behavior. One of the key benefits of problem-solving in marketing is the ability to identify opportunities. By actively seeking out and addressing challenges, marketers can uncover untapped markets, niche ...
Problem-Solving for Your Business: A View from Marketing
Problem-Solving for Your Business: A View from Marketing. Running a business is a high-pressure job and every day you face making decisions with incomplete information. Y ou must make important and impactful decisions that affect how your business handles the market with little lead time, in some cases. The impact of those decisions affect ...
Is Your Marketing Solving The Right Problems?
Here are some ways to ensure that problem definition sits at the heart of your marketing: Resist the urge to race to solutions. Identifying and defining problems require discipline and an approach ...
3.3 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions
Limited problem solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip.
Four Modes of Consumer Decision Making
Extended problem solving. Extended problem solving customer decision - making mode relates to a situation where customers lack experience in a specific consumption setting, nevertheless, the setting is perceived by them as a highly involving. The products are usually of a high value and they also contribute to an individual's social status, however, their purchase is often associated with ...
A System to Genius: How to Solve Tough Problems With Issue Trees in
The 4S system for problem-solving with a focus on the issue-driven path — image created by the author. I explained the Hypothesis-driven approach here.. In this article, I will focus on the Issue-Driven approach to solving problems using an example case of growing a business internationally.. This is the default system that I use whenever I don't have a good potential solution in mind.
Routine And Persistent Problems In Decision Making: A Problem Solving
Woods, W.A., Osborne, D.A. (2016). Routine And Persistent Problems In Decision Making: A Problem Solving Approach to Product and Brand Choice. In: Gitlow, H.S., Wheatley, E.W. (eds) Proceedings of the 1979 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science.
5.2 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions and the
Limited problem solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip.
PDF Problem Solving and Marketing Science
Hence problem solving behavior is the basic subject of study in marketing science. Psychology, sociology, and anthropology, as they move toward an integrated science of human behavior, give greater prominence to the functionalist viewpoint. The second main line of advance is toward a steady improvement in problem solving as a systematic process.
The Consumer Decision Process
Unlike routine problem solving, extended or extensive problem solving comprises external research and the evaluation of alternatives. Whereas, routine problem solving is low-involvement, inexpensive, and has limited risk if purchased, extended problem solving justifies the additional effort with a high-priced or scarce product, service, or ...
Marketing/Consumer Behavior
Marketing provides services in order to satisfy customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer (Kioumarsi et al., 2009). ... Routine problem solving: Low-involvement, inexpensive, limited risk purchase requiring minimal effort. Used when the ...
3.2 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions and the
Limited problem-solving falls somewhere between low-involvement (routine) and high-involvement (extended problem solving) decisions. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a little more information. Assume you need a new backpack for a hiking trip.
8 Ways to Solve Prospects' Problems Through Your Marketing
By asking leads to identify their biggest marketing challenge, we get a better idea of what problems our audience face so we can create content to address it, and simultaneously target prospects in our email sends according to the problems they need an answer to. 8) Create apps and tools that help solve a problem.
Routinized Choice Behaviour
Routinized choice behaviour is a characteristic of being loyal to a brand as well. With the rapid increase of promotion, the problem lies in measuring consumer response. An individual's response to promotions is indicated by the extent to which promotions play a role in his or her purchase routine with respect to a brand.
6 Ways to Incorporate Problem-solving in Your Marketing Efforts
Be Educational and Informative With Content Published. The best way to take advantage of problem-solving in your marketing campaigns is by being helpful with the content you create, even if it doesn't directly involve your services or products. Show everyone you're knowledgeable on the problems they're facing in various formats.
Extensive Problem Solving
Extensive problem solving is the purchase decision marking in a situation in which the buyer has no information, experience about the products, services and suppliers. In extensive problem solving, lack of information also spreads to the brands for the product and also the criterion that they set for segregating the brands to be small or manageable subsets that help in the purchasing decision ...
6 strategies for capturing high-quality leads through content marketing
2) Focus On Problem-Solving. Leads never come without building trust. People prefer to interact with brands that provide value to them. One effective way to show your sincerity to your audience is to solve their problems instead of bombarding them with generic content. That's why focus on creating problem-solving content.
'Tech product campaigns fall short when it comes to emotion': How ...
What was the brief and the problem that needed solving? Adam: To define and create a campaign to launch a new-to-market product range that will reposition Life Fitness as the innovator in the ...

6.3 Types of Consumer Decisions

Levels of Involvement in Decision Making

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3.2 Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions and the Consumer’s Decision-Making Process

Stages in the Buying Process

Stage 1. Need Recognition

Stage 2. Search for Information

Stage 3. Product Evaluation

Stage 4. Product Choice and Purchase

Stage 5. Postpurchase Use and Evaluation

Stage 6. Disposal of the Product

Key Takeaways

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29 Consumer Decision Making Process

The Consumer Decision Making Process

Need Recognition

Information Search

Evaluation of Alternatives

The Purchase Decision

Post-Purchase Behaviour

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15 Involvement Levels

Low Involvement Consumer Decision Making

High Involvement Consumer Decision Making

Limited Problem Solving

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2. Engagement

3. Incentives

4. Appealing to Hedonic Needs

5. Creating Purpose

6. Representation

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A Definitive Guide to Problem-Solving

There’s no one way to solve a problem—in fact, you should avoid using canned approaches. But there are ideas, steps, plans and questions that problem-solving professionals have found useful for decades.​

Building the Problem-Solving Team

Making a Map

Finding and Implementing the Solution

Review Results, Analyze the Future and Always Try Again

Problem-Solving for Your Business: A View from Marketing

What is a problem-solving approach?

Marketing problem-solving questions

Am I spending enough money on marketing?

Am I listening to the right people?

Need marketing help to support business growth?

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