Explain how consumers form evaluations of brands. Show how marketers seek to influence this process using examples from the marketing activities of an organisation of your choice
Introduction
Evaluation is the process of judging or determining whether an activity or product meet a specified criteria. According to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, to evaluate is ‘to judge or calculate the quality, importance, amount or value of something. When consumers evaluate a brand, they are trying to get an overall picture of the brand, which will allow the consumer to take a stand as to what they think of that brand. Some criteria of evaluation of brands may include price, brand image, taste, functional characteristics, style and sometimes the way the consumer “feel” about a product.
Consumer evaluation of brands involved both cognitive and psychological processes in selecting a course of action from multiple alternatives. The consumer decision-making process model (fig 1) will provide useful insights as to how consumer form evaluations of brands and how marketers seek to influence this process.
Fig 1: The customer decision-making process and its five stages
Source: guuui.com, 2007
NEED OR PROBLEM RECOGNITION
“Problem recognition is the discovery of a discrepancy between an actual and a desired state of being. Thus problem recognition occurs when a need state is felt”. (Minor et al: 1998. p358).
The consumer-decision process model begins with the recognition by the consumer that there is a problem or a need. Problems and needs can be triggered by either internal or external stimuli. An internal trigger of a problem or need could include hunger, and external triggers could include in-store displays, ...