¶ … Consumer Behavior Models:
Decision making model, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Freudian Theory, Non- Freudian theory, trait theory, learning process models
Do consumers mainly use logical or emotional thinking when making decisions? This is the essential problem with which all marketers must grapple. Some models of consumer behavior, such as the seven-step decision model, suggest that consumers make decisions very logically, carefully weighing the pros and cons. Others suggest that when consumers make decisions about purchases, they do so in an instinctual fashion, based upon emotions.
The seven-step decision model suggests that people make decisions by first identifying the exact nature of the decision (like buying a new pair of sneakers); assessing personal priorities (such as fashion vs. functionality); identifying their options (Nike vs. New Balance); gathering information and data (talking to someone at a running store or simply talking to their friends); evaluating their options; selecting the best option; and then implementing the decision (making the purchase). Of course, one problem with the seven-step method is that...
Freud suggests that the past can exert a very potent pull upon individuals. The desire to seem sexually attractive, for example, can cause a woman to buy makeup she can ill-afford because she desperately wants to look beautiful, due to unresolved childhood traumas. While Freud viewed childhood conflict as the most critical aspect of human motivation, other analysts of consumer behavior have taken a broader view of the emotional impact upon buying decisions. The simple desire to be like everyone else, for example, can cause an advertisement to resonate with an individual.
Of course, the most obvious protest to Freudian and non-Freudian analysis of buying behavior is that not every consumer is motivated by the same types of appeals. Some consumers are persuaded by highly impressionistic advertising campaigns that use ambiance…
