'Ipod Decision Making Process\r'

' place and explain the characteristics that affect consumer behaviour and synopsis the consumer end-making process as it relates to orchard apple tree iPod trigger ‘Consumer buys are influenced strongly by cultural, social, individual(prenominal) and psychological characteristics’ (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong & Saunders). This invoice al down(p) for investigate the characteristics that affect consumer behaviour and the consumer last-process as it relates to the obtain of an apple iPod.This report testament be describing and explaining how consumers go through volt different st climb ons to r for each one a get finality and outlining the consumer decision-making process when a consumer debases a crossroad. The Apple iPod is a brand of man-portable media players and was launched on October 2001. There are four-spot different types of players, which whoremaster play both(prenominal)(prenominal) music and videos, including the ‘iPod Classicâ₠¬â„¢, ‘iPod Touch’, ‘iPod Nano’ and the ‘iPod Shuflfe’. The Apple ‘itunes’ software bring forth the sack be utilize to transfer music to the iPods from computers.Both the Sony Walkman and Samsung YP-P2 are the iPods biggest competitors and stick the same touch screen learn panel. They both good deal hold connatural amount of music to that of an iPod. ‘Mintel forecasts that the UK audio equipment securities industry get out grow by an estimated 8% to reach a value of ?2. 2 billion at flowing prices over the period 2007-12. In real terms, with gigantic price deflation for electronics taken into consideration, this equates to 100% count of growth until 2012. (mintel, accessed at 19th November 2009) ‘ market growth since 2006 for the Apple iPod has been in even out due to the high pricing evasion of the devices although price cuts like those applied to the iPod conflate on Tuesday and cheaper Internet †capable warnings shovel in the line should sustain the comp all pinch course and maintain a mantrap rate of growth through 2009, says star Wall Street analyst’, (http://www. appleinsider. com/articles/08/02/20/growth_potential_seen_in_steadily_maturing_ipod_market. html 20th February 2008). The Apple iPod is aimed at young adults aged between 12-25, both males and females.The Apple iPod is aimed at people in the middle/high class and for those who ware a particular interest or passion in music. The report leave behind alike provide a watchword of the type acquire behaviour tie in with Apple iPods and compare the process with a less complex mathematical product, such(prenominal) as a bottle of water in this report. Marketing recommendations leave alone past be given for the purchase of an Apple iPod. The Characteristics that restore Consumer Behaviour It stub be seen that cultural, social, personal and psychological are the four characteristics that influence consumer behaviour.This section depart describe how around of the characteristics associate with consumer behaviour when purchasing an Apple iPod. For the social characteristic influence, this tooshie be that the person who is buying an iPod can be influenced by paladins, family or any different groups the person is part of, a friend of the person whitethorn recommend an iPod to be the best portible audio player to purchase, which would then give the consumer much confidence to buy an iPod. Inspirational groups, such as celebrities who could be seen using an iPod, might realise to a fault influenced consumer behaviour. This whitethorn influence a consumer, due to the status of a celebrity.Personal characteristics such as the age of a person can affect consumer behaviour. In this case a consumer may be in an age group where it is cool and common to have an iPod, so this would be more of a fate for the buyer to have the product. An specify of the Consumer Decision-Making Pr ocess Type of Buying decision behaviour This section of the report will discuss the type of buying decision behaviour associated with the Apple iPod. The decision behaviour for the buyer of an iPod would be complex buying behaviour due to the high address of the product and is chiefly purchase infrequently.It could be said that the consumer has much to learn somewhat the product and may have teeny whapledge close to the product in the beginning making a decision to purchase it. For example, an iPod buyer may not know what functions of the product to consider. ‘Many product features exsert no real meaning to the not bad(p) majority of potential purchasers’ (Kotler 2008 page 263, p1). This can relate to the iPod when looking at the fund sur attend and price of the product, a customer may not know the difference between a ‘10GB iPod and a ‘160GB’ iPod. So the buyer will pass though a learning process, depression develop attitudes, and then making a paying heed purchase choice’ (Kotler 2008, page 263, p1). So for marketers of an iPod, they must understand the way a consumer gathers entropy and the evaluation behaviour of a high involvement product. The extend toising and size of the iPod may be apply to help make it easier for a consumer to understand what the memory board size is of an iPod. Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour can be associated with the buying of an iPod, due to how pricy the product is and how infrequent it is purchased.For example, consumers buying an iPod could face a high involvement decision because of the high price of an iPod compared to a low involvement product such as a in like mannerthbrush and how the product can express the consumer, such as the which appearance and colour of iPod suit the consumer best. The Consumer may measure and do some re lookup into the types iPods, preceding to the buying decision to make give them more experience of the product. An explanation o f each spot of the decision-making mannequin This section of the report will explain each set of the decision-making model for a buyer of an iPod.Below is the five-stage decision making process, buyers go through when they purchase a product. ‘The buying process starts with indispensability recognition †the buyer recognising a problem or need’ (Kotler 2008, page 265, p4). The first stage of the decision making model is where the consumer has recognised a problem or a need. Need recognition In coitus to the iPod, is where the consumer has recognised that the product is gettable to buy and may have dissatisfaction with their current portable audio player.The iPod is not necessity a need, such as sustenance or water. It is more of an individual want and the consumer may have more income trig to purchase an iPod. The purchase of an iPod could be mainly because of its appeal. ‘A need can as well as be triggered by remote stimuli. Anna passes a bakery a nd the smell of reshly baked pelf stimulates her hunger; she admires a neighbour’s new car; or she watches a television commercial for a Caribbean vacation’. (Kotler et al 2008, page 266 p1). This statement states that external stimuli can trigger a need.In relation to the iPod, the external stimuli could be an serve on television or someone in the public using an iPod, who seems to be having a fun with the product. The second stage of the decision-making model is the schooling search stage. This is the stage where a consumer is aroused to search for more reading about the product they have been attracted too in the need recognition stage. ‘The consumer may simply have heightened attention or may go into active teaching search’ (Kotler et al 2008, page 266 p2). Heightened attention simply means the consumer becomes more centripetal to nurture about a product.The consumer may pay more attention to adverts and products used by friends. Active informati on search is where the consumer gathers information, such as curious cultivation material or phoning friends to gather information, this unremarkably depends of drive of the consumer to search for information about a product. ‘The amount of inquisitive she does will depend upon the strength of her drive, the amount of information she starts with, the ease of obtaining more information, the value she places on additional information and the satisfaction she gets from searching’ (Kotler et al 2008, page 266 p2).This statement explains that the more a consumer wants a product, the more searching for information about the product will occur. In relation to the Apple iPod, a consumer may have been aroused by external stimuli such as an advert on television and then may go through active information search, where the consumer can obtain information from any of the following sources: * Personal sources: Family, friends, neighbours Commercial sources: Advertising, salespeop le, the Internet, packaging, displays * prevalent sources: Mass media, consumer-rating organisations * Experiential sources: Handling, examining, using the product Personal sources can be the approximately effective for some products, as friends and families recommendations can be more reliable than an advert on television. As more information has been gathered from the above sources, the consumer’s knowledge of the iPod increases. The consumer may know the different types of iPods operable and their features that best suit the consumer.The third stage of the decision-making purchase is the information evaluation or evaluation of alternatives. This is the stage of the decision-making process, where the consumer uses information from the preceding stage to evaluate other brands, products and services. The consumer also evaluates the benefits and features of the product they are going to buy. For high-involvement products such as the Apple iPod, the consumer is more presum able to carry out a more extensive evaluation. Such as evaluating the advantages and benefits of the product they are interested in purchasing.\r\n'