OUGD501 - COP [SB1] - How do consumers decide on products?

The consumer decision is a relatively simple process to understand, but to maximise advertising efforts there are many different ways of reaching out to consumers in order to purchase a product. There's a reason why television stores have all their televisions on showing bright, eye-catching imagery on loop, to show the extent of the televisions capabilities! This is only one small way companies can effectively advertise their services to consumers, but how do consumers make the decision in the first place?

McKinsey and Co. is a consultancy firm to some of the most influential companies in the world. They publish a quarterly magazine on the business world and how to improve marketing decisions for free. One of these quarterlies goes into detail about the consumer choice process and how consumers come to purchase the products they do. 

'Marketing has always sought those moments, or touch points, when consumers are open to influence. For years, touch points have been understood through the metaphor of a “funnel”—consumers start with a number of potential brands in mind (the wide end of the funnel), marketing is then directed at them as they methodically reduce that number and move through the funnel, and at the end they emerge with the one brand they chose to purchase (Exhibit 1). But today, the funnel concept fails to capture all the touch points and key buying factors resulting from the explosion of product choices and digital channels, coupled with the emergence of an increasingly discerning, well-informed consumer. A more sophisticated approach is required to help marketers navigate this environment, which is less linear and more complicated than the funnel suggests. We call this approach the consumer decision journey.'

This is a simplified approach to the choices consumers make but it is definitely a good starting point. What I want to explore is how this has changed in the last generation where consumers are becoming increasingly active in the marketing process, instead of passively consuming the content that companies put out. Instead of waiting for an advert to come on the television for a product they need, they will actively search the internet for the best reviews of the product they need and purchase from there, for example.

McKinsey&Co produced a very informative video of an updated consumer theory they created by holding various research events such as surveys, questionnaires, focus groups and one-to-one interviews of approximately 20,000 people over the three main consumer areas in the world.

This video was very informative in a short amount of time, and explained their updated model of the consumer journey. This accounted for the shift from passive consumption to active, and how a consumer journey is not always linear, but more of a circular path and it's becoming increasingly difficult to stand out to consumers with the constant bombardment of media consumers have to deal with on a daily basis.