Understanding Consumer Behavior Using EKB Model

 

Introduction

Consumers make planned or impulsive choices when they know they want to buy a product but are unclear about the details. Consumers are influenced by variables and external influences in the decision-making phase of the process, including the way they imagine buying.

Since impulse purchases are an essential part of what consumers buy, patterns in the rational decision-making process dominate consumer behavior and influence marketing theory. Consumer behavior theory predicts how consumers make purchasing decisions and show how marketers can best capitalize on predictable behavior. Modern models of consumer behavior focus on rational and conscious decision-making, not on emotions and unconscious desires. 

The need to integrate EKB Model into Consumer Behavior

Once consumers recognize a product or service, they begin to think about how it relates to their experiences and needs and whether it meets current needs. The marketing understands that there is a long delay between the initial intention and completion of the promotion, which gives the consumer lots of time to talk about his purchase and question the purchase outcome.

When the purchase is no longer possible, your new goal is to create a long-term relationship between consumers and businesses to ensure that you get the most value for your customers and your customers get the most out of your product. Purchase - The decision consumers make is to buy a product that beats the competition and offers value. Good marketers know that the process is not the end of the purchase process but the beginning of customer value for your business.

Analysis of consumer behavior has become an important tool for understanding your customers. By looking at the psychology of consumers and the forces underlying customers' buying behavior, companies can develop new products and marketing campaigns to increase profitability. 

Successful product designs have features that meet consumer evaluation criteria and marketing messages that show the true benefits in terms of the drives that motivate the desired change. 

The model breadth of EKB takes into account how consumers process information and form decisions, examines the impact of learning, memory, and decision-making, and analyses the role of marketing incentives and other factors.

What is the EKB Model? How does it affect Consumer Behavior?

In 1968, the Engel, Blackwell, and Kollat researchers developed a five-stage model of consumer decision-making process known as the Engel-Blackwell-Kollat (EKB) model, which is still useful for marketers today. It is a holistic model with a full description of the decision-making problem that reflects consumer behavior when selecting a product or service.

The Engel Kollat Blackwell Model of Consumer Behavior was developed to describe the expanding and rapidly rising body of information about consumer behavior. This model, like other models, has undergone several updates to increase its capacity to describe the underlying connections between components and subcomponents.

The Engel Kollat Blackwell Model of Consumer Behavior is divided into five phases:

1. Information input: This phase refers to all of the stimuli that a customer is exposed to and that cause them to behave in a certain way. The customer is exposed to a great number of stimuli from both marketing (advertising, publicity, personal selling, demonstrations, shop display, point of purchase stimuli) and non-marketing sources; hence, the numerous stimuli compete for the consumer's attention. These stimuli enlighten the customer and initiate the decision-making process.

2. Information processing: The stimuli acquired in the first step supply information, which is then processed into meaningful information. The consumer's exposure, attention, perception/comprehension, acceptance, and retention of information are all included in this stage. The consumer is exposed to stimuli (and the associated information); attention chooses which of the stimuli he will focus on; he then interprets and comprehends it, accepts it in his short-term memory, and maintains it by transferring the input to long-term memory.

3. Decision-process stage: The consumer may join this stage at any point during the information-processing process. The approach focuses on the five key decision-process stages: problem recognition, search, alternative evaluation, choice, and outcomes (post-purchase evaluation and behavior). However, EKB stated that not every customer should go through all five steps; it would depend on whether the problem is a significant or routine problem-solving activity.

4. Decision process variables: Individual influences that affect the various stages of decision-making are proposed by the model. Individual characteristics include demographics, reasons, beliefs, attitudes, personality, values, lifestyle, normative conformity, etc.

5. External influences: The model also suggests various contextual and situational elements that influence decision-making. Environmental factors include "Circles of Social Influence" such as culture, subculture, social class, reference groups, family, and other normative influences; situational impacts include the consumer's financial circumstances.

According to the Engel Kollat Blackwell Model of Consumer Behavior, many factors impact consumer decision-making, including values, lifestyle, personality, and culture. The model could not explain what influences shape these things or why various forms of personality might result in different decisions. How will we use these ideas in dealing with various personalities? Religion can explain some of the consumer's behavioral features, leading to a better comprehension of the model and a complete picture of decision-making.

Conclusion

Understanding consumer behavior is critical for a company to succeed with its current products and new product launches. Every consumer has a different thought process and attitude to buying a particular product.

Based on consumer behavior, companies can define production strategies to save storage and marketing costs. By conducting consumer behavior studies such as the EKB model, they can save a lot of resources that could have been used to produce products that are not sold on the market.