The Consumer Decision Making Process: What It Is and How It Works

By David Morneau
12 min READ | Dec 11 2022

Imagine this: you’ve decided to buy rosemary tea to diffuse your anxiety.

If you’re a marketer, the continuation can seem pretty straightforward. You go online or to your local supermarket, choose a brand of rosemary tea, and get on with your day.

But things are rarely that simple.

First, you have to be aware of your anxiety. Then, you have to learn that studies show rosemary tea’s calming effects.

And your decision-making process doesn’t end with your purchase. You will have to evaluate the tea’s effect, whether you’ll recommend this remedy to others or keep drinking it.

Sounds too complicated?

Read the guide below. We’ll take you through all the stages of the consumer decision-making process. We will discuss the theoretical aspects and provide actionable advice.

This article analyzes all these aspects, starting with one example: a babywearing company. However, you can harness this advice for any product out there.

What Is the Decision-making Process?

The decision-making process comprises the steps that each person subconsciously takes when purchasing something.

Here’s the problem:

Shoppers can sometimes seem to have irrational reasons for their purchases. Other times, choice behavior or alternative evaluation can seem chaotic.

That’s not exactly true.

Trends come and go, but people are more similar than you think. Although they have different reasons for buying the same thing, the decision-making pattern is pretty much the same for everyone.

Pro tip: Leverage the data you gather from online consumer research to understand your customers’ specific decision-making process. Then, you can optimize your entire marketing efforts around these insights.

Decision-making Process Steps

This section takes you through the typical phases of a person’s decision process. We’ll also include plenty of examples and actionable advice for marketing and sales teams, so keep reading:

1. Awareness

The consumer decision-making process begins with feeling a need or a problem. Building that awareness is the first step in your campaign.

Pro tip: Some people may not even recognize the correct need. And most won’t immediately understand which service or product they want.

Here’s one example:

A stressed-out, sleep-deprived new parent feels overwhelmed. After a few weeks of pacing around with a bawling baby at all hours of the day and night, they understand they need a respite.

Notice:

These people won’t immediately understand how to solve that need. They may consider babysitters, early weaning, or the cry-it-out method.

Learning Time

There are different needs and stimuli evoking those needs. For example, you can build your marketing campaign using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Stimuli that trigger this need can be:

• Internal: A feeling, need, or thought
• External: Something from your exterior environment

Why are we telling you this?

• You can use stimuli to help consumers recognize their needs.
• The result is that people are now hooked and paying attention to what you have to say.
• Leverage this attention to convey your advertising message.

Example Time

The run-down parent who is exhausted has the following needs:

• Physiological: Sleep, plus probably not getting enough food or reproduction. While Maslow doesn’t list the need for quiet on his pyramid, many male and female consumers will recognize its importance.
• Love and belonging: Negative emotions like the lack of connection with an ever-crying baby; not spending enough time with other loved ones
• Esteem: Lack of freedom (pretty much self-explanatory)

You can target these three types of needs with your babywearing products. Here are some examples:

• If you focus on the parent’s physiological needs, use an external stimulus related to sleep and food. One example could be presenting a parent who carries their baby in a wrap, enjoying a burger and a delicious coffee.
• Alternatively, an influencer can present your baby-wearing products, pointing out that babies who nap during the day instead of crying non-stop sleep more through the night. That content creator can also show how your product meets their other needs (e.g., spending more time with their other kids or partner; getting more things done throughout the day).

In this case, you would use internal stimuli because the content creator has to build rapport with your audience.

Warning: Some content creators buy fake followers or aren’t that engaged even though they have large followings.

To avoid problems, use:

• This massive free database of influencers where we’ve vetted and cherry-picked the top 1% of creators
• Thorough fake follower checkers
• An in-depth contract that sets up your new business relationship

Remember: At this point in the customer journey, you are simply building awareness of parents’ needs and your products.

Notice: These messages will change the parents’ need from “getting more sleep,” “spending more time out with friends,” or “getting more work done” to getting the right babywearing system.

And that’s how we get to the following point.

2. Research

Your awareness campaign has helped people put their needs into words. They now know what type of product would satisfy that need.

So the logical next step is doing the research.

Who would you ask first if you were in the market for a babywearing system? Hint: it wouldn’t be your mother-in-law.

Learning Time

Ask yourself:

• Where does your audience search for information now?
• What keywords are they using?
• Who do they trust?

Pro tip: Search behavior differs for each segment. Not everyone is using Google for research nowadays. TikTok has become the favorite search engine for Generation Z. Millennials are also using social media like Instagram for product discovery. Besides, influencer marketing for CPG products is proven to increase awareness, engagement, and conversions.

Remember: Different audience segments will spend different amounts of time doing the research. People who know more about your niche will look for more specific keywords. Those just now learning about your niche will use more general keywords and take longer.

Lesson learned: In this stage of the consumer decision-making process, you want to increase visibility and appear first in search results.

Example Time

Most of your customers will be in the Gen Z and Millennial age groups if you’re retailing baby-wearing products.

• Where they get information: Google and social media
• The keywords they could be using: Best baby wrap, baby wearing systems for newborns, easy to take off baby wearing, ergonomic babywearing
• Who they trust: This age group can trust their own Google research but also personal sources, like family, friends, and influencers.

Here’s how one company leveraged this information.

Sollybaby partners with a slew of content creators to present their baby-wearing wraps. Below is Taylor Moran, an influencer who abandoned city life to live in the woods.

She says that babywearing allowed her to meet her needs for connection, self-esteem, and safety. Wearing her newborn also allowed Taylor to stay more active, thus meeting her physiological needs (including avoiding post-partum depression this time around):

Notice: You can also notice the engaged comments below. Mothers with multiple children admit that wearing their babies has helped them avoid PPD.

Why is this important?

• Associating themselves with an essential issue for parents helps Sollybaby get more awareness by default. Each time mothers read about PPD, they also see the Sollybaby brand.
• The brand and its products are easier to remember. When people think about PPD, they think about Solly wraps.

How you can achieve your goals:

• Awareness: Use different tactics, from paid ads to influencer marketing and content creation to avoid errors in recognition. Use various ambassadors and the right keywords, as Taylor is doing.

• Engagement: Consider micro and nano-influencers. These types of influencers have more personal conversations with their audience. You can also notice this fact from Taylor’s comments above. These conversations are essential if you want more people to consider your products.

That brings us to the following phase:

3. Consideration

After shoppers research different products and make a shortlist, they review those potential picks.

Remember: At this stage in the customer journey, your potential customers are already aware of your brand. However, they’re not committed to it.

Now is the time to stand apart from the competition.

Learning Time

To stand out from your competitors, you must be perceived as the best.

But how do people make that evaluation of alternatives?

The factors that potential customers consider are:

• Objective: Price, product specifications, functions
• Subjective: Feelings about your product.

Pro tip: You need a unique selling point (USP) that makes you top of mind. To get to that USP, focus on one of the factors above.

Here’s how to optimize consideration:

• Leverage influencer marketing. Win at evaluation of advertisements. Savvy content creators will know how to present your products’ features to increase conversions. Besides, influencer marketing is linked to an improvement in recognition accuracy.
• Create ads with user-generated content and customer reviews. Statistics show that customer reviews convince up to 93.4% of people to purchase.

Pro tip: Try our free mockup ad generators to test different types of ads and ensure your customers convert.

• Post UGC and reviews on your website and product pages. That way, your website’s visitors will understand that your product works for real-life people like them.
• Create a “community questions and answers” section. This section allows potential buyers to interact with your existing customer base, asking them particular questions. For example, parents can wonder if your wraps are fit for toddlers or can be used as baby hammocks.

Example Time

Whether you are retailing babywearing products or something else entirely, your USP can be that your products are affordable or easy to use.

Sollybaby uses different tactics in their consumer decision journey.

1. They showcase a multitude of functions for their products:

• Wraps help babies sleep while parents work. Source

1. They associate themselves with specific feelings of freedom and belongingness:

4. Conversion

This is the moment you’ve been working for. Your customers are finally on your product pages, clicking that add to cart button.

Haha, no.

Your happily ever after with your new customer is more complex than that.

Learning Time

There are myriad reasons why a customer can back up from finalizing the purchase at the last moment. Our research at inBeat shows that:

• Some add products to carts to see their final price after adding shipping fees.
• Others give up because the purchase process isn’t intuitive.
• Sometimes people have second thoughts about product functionality.
• Other shoppers can realize they don’t have enough information about the return process.

Lesson learned: Here’s how to avoid these problems:

• Give people all the information they need in the research and consideration stages. Consider a product trial to promote active evaluation.
• Don’t surprise them with additional fees on the checkout page. Astute shoppers will not purchase anything that seems too iffy.
• Try to tackle all issues they may want answers to with a positive attitude.
• Include reviews on checkout pages to remind potential customers they’re making a good choice. However, ensure people can’t click on those reviews because that would distract their attention from finishing the checkout process.
• Ensure the purchase experience is smooth.

Example Time

Sollybaby uses different strategies to minimize shopping cart abandonment.

• They use plenty of content creators to discuss their products’ features, focusing on their potential customers’ needs.
• The baby’s weight range is displayed in full view on their first page and product page:

• They feature a thorough FAQ section that starts with the question, “What makes the Solly baby wrap so special?”

• They offer free consultations to help parents get the best product:

The product pages feature comprehensive SEO-friendly descriptions and photos:

• The checkout page is intuitive and easy to fill in:

5. Post-Purchase Evaluation

The post-purchase behaviors you want from your customer base are to:

• Not return your products.
• Feel good about their purchasing decision so they can recommend your brand to others.
• Encourage repurchase behavior.

Learning Time

Studies show that repeat customers account for 60-70% of your total sales. To reach those above goals, you need a well-thought post-purchase strategy.

This strategy can include the following steps:

• Build rapport with your customers: Ask them how their experience with your product is going and encourage them to leave reviews for other people.

Pro tip: Use incentives for those reviews, such as a chance to be featured in your newsletter, in-store points, or early-bird prices for future purchases.

• Cross-sell other items: Send a UGC marketing e-mail showing what your other customers have bought that fits their purchase. Ensure you’re presenting products that complement each other well and emphasize that compatibility. You don’t want to spam your customers with irrelevant products.
• Present a loyalty program: Offer incentives like discounts and rewards for repeat customers. That way, you will help them stay loyal to your brand.

Example Time

1. After people have brought your babywearing products, ask them to tell you about their experience:

• Who was that product for – themselves or a gift?
• How does the baby feel in the wrap?
• How do the parents feel?

Pro tip: You can entice people to write their reviews or fill in a small questionnaire to help you get more insights.

1. Showcase different products:

Babywearing systems require specific clothing. If someone bought one of your wraps:

• Do: Show them additional products they can use along with that wrap. Suggestions may include seasonal products like light merino tops for the summer or a fleece babywearing cover for winter. Include plenty of UGC from other happy parents.
• Don’t: Don’t spam people with products that don’t relate to their purchase, such as aromatic oils or night lamps.

1. Make your customers feel like they matter:

• Send them personalized cards for specific holidays (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, etc.).
• Give them credit when they send you UGC. Mention them on your social media (of course, after asking for their approval).
• Offer them discounts for future purchases. Showcase your latest options, but ensure you stay relevant. For example, if someone bought a newborn wrap today, they may look for a toddler option a year from now.
• Encourage referrals through specific incentives (e.g., in-store points or cashback).

Optimize Your Customers’ Decision-Making Process

This guide has taken you through all the stages of the decision-making process from search behavior to customer retention. You now understand what goes on in your customers’ minds and how you can tap into their subconscious processes.

Remember:

You need a strategy and thoughtful planning for all stages of this process. You can’t pick random tactics that you think might work without prior research.

inBeat can help.

We’ve already presented some tools along the way, like our free influencer database and ad mockup generators.

But we can also assist in planning a complete strategy from A to Z.

Our CPG marketing agency can analyze your current situation, monitor your competition, and research your audience. We can then develop a plan that addresses your customers’ needs, using a mix of paid media, influencer marketing, and UGC.

Check out our case studies to see how we’ve helped other companies like yours succeed.

Alternatively, book a free call to set up your strategy.

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