BUYING SITUATIONS

It is not only products differ. Even the buying situation differs. each time the buyer is to take a purchase decision ,it may or may not be the same as the previous one. The differentiation between the two buying situations may be caused by the absence of any or all of the following factors.

1. Awareness about competing brands in a product group.2. Customer has a decision criteria and3. Customer is able to evaluate and decide on his choice.

Viewed against these parameters ,one may observe that it is not the product that differentiates one buying situation from another; rather it is the time that the buyer spends in learning and evaluating the alternatives or finally selecting one of them .Howard and Sheth have described these buying situations as being:

1. Routinised response behavior2. Limited problem solving and3. Extensive problem solving.

Routinised Response Behavior or Straight Rebuy

This is a buying situation characterized by the presence of all the above three criteria for differentiation .In other words, here the customers is aware of his or her choices, knows what he is looking for, as his or her decision is based on personal experience of either self or others. Generally, the customers spends little or no time choosing an alternative .Brand loyalty is relatively higher here. Moreover, this is a buying situations where a customer perceives a low risk in buying the product and/or the brand. Consider the typical shopping behavior of a housewife .She goes to the grocer or a supermarket and spends much less time in selecting her toiletries ,beverages like tea or coffee and other food products. For each time she goes to buy her family’s requirements ,she generally ends up buying the same brand.

Limited Problem Solving or Modified Rebuy

This is a buying situation with a difference .This could be for example, introduction of a new brand or product often requiring a change in the customer’s decision criteria. Continuing the example of the housewife ,assume that in her next shopping cycle ,she sees a new liquid toilet soap which promises to keep her skin soft and moisturized .the brand also promises to give vitamin E, which the manufacturer claims is required in temperate conditions.

The liquid toilet soap brand is available in four fragrances .The pack can be refilled every time the soap gets fully consumed .Now this introduction is likely to change her decision and may be the choice criteria. If she spends some time in evaluating the liquid toilet soap against the normal bar soap and then decides to try it, we conclude that for her it was a limited problem solving situation. As can be seen, this buying situation will often lead to a trial purchase. the customer may even decide to continue with her current product selection. generally it has been observed that brand extension strategy help the customer to reduce the element of newness in the purchase decision. Like ,for example Unilever deciding to introduce liquid toilet soap under its most popular brand name lux. It may be remembered that customer perceives moderate risk in this situation

Major Types of Buying Situations

Straight rebuy is a routine purchase decision such as a reorder without any modificationModified rebuy is a purchase decision that requires some research where the buyer wants to modify the product specification, price, terms, or suppliersNew task is a purchase decision that requires thorough research such as a new product

Major Types of Buying SituationsStraight rebuy is a routine purchase decision such as a reorder without any modificationModified rebuy is a purchase decision that requires some research where the buyer wants to modify the product specification, price, terms, or suppliersNew task is a purchase decision that requires thorough research such as a new product

Major Types of Buying SituationsStraight rebuy is a routine purchase decision such as a reorder without any modificationModified rebuy is a purchase decision that requires some research where the buyer wants to modify the product specification, price, terms, or suppliersNew task is a purchase decision that requires thorough research such as a new product   

Service Definition

Intangible products that are not goods (tangible products), such as accounting, banking, cleaning,

consultancy, education, insurance, know how, medical treatment, transportation. Sometimes services are

difficult to identify because they are closely associated with a good; such as the combination of a

diagnosis with the administration of a medicine. No transfer of possession or ownership takes place when

services are sold, and they (1) cannot be stored or transported, (2) are instantly perishable, and (3) come

into existence at the time they are bought and consumed. See also service.

Intangibility

Services are activities performed by the provider, unlike physical products they cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard or smelt before they are consumed. Since, services are not tangibles, they do not have features that appeal to the customer’s senses, their evaluation, unlike goods, is not possible before actual purchase and consumption. The marketer of service cannot rely on product-based clues that the buyer generally employs in alternative evaluation prior to purchase. So, as a result of this, the services are not known to the customer before they take them. The service provider has to follow certain things to improve the confidence of the client:

The provider can try to increase the tangibility of services. For example, by displaying a plastic or a clay model showing patients an expected state after a plastic surgery.The provider can emphasize on the benefits of the service rather than just describing the features.

Not all the service product has similar intangibility. Some services are highly intangible, while the others are low i.e. the goods (or the tangible component) in the service product may vary from low to high.For example: Teaching, Consulting, Legal advices are services which have almost nil tangible components; While restaurants, fast food centers, hotels and hospitals offer services in which their services are combined with product (tangible objective) , such as food in restaurants, or medicines in hospitals etc.

Inseparability

Services are typically produced and consumed simultaneously. Incase of physical goods, they are manufactured into products, distributed through multiple resellers, and consumed later. But, incase of services, it cannot be separated from the service provider. Thus, the service provider would become a part of a service.

For example: Taxi operator drives taxi, and the passenger uses it. The presence of taxi driver is essential to provide the service. The services cannot be produced now for consumption at a later stage / time. This produces a new dimension to service marketing. The physical presence of customer is essential in services. For example: to use the services of an airline, hotel, doctor, etc a customer must be physically present.

Inseparability of production and consumption increases the importance of the quality in services. Therefore, service marketers not only need to develop task-related, technical competence of service personnel , but also , require a great input of skilled personnel to improve their marketing and inter personal skills.

Perish ability

Services are deeds, performance or act whose consumption take place simultaneously; they tend to perish me the absence of consumption. Hence, services cannot be stored. The services go waste if they are not consumed simultaneously i.e. value of service exists at the point when it is required.

The perishable character of services adds to the service marketer’s problems. The inability of service sector to regulate supply with the changes in demand; poses many quality management problems. Hence, service quality level deteriorates during peak hours in restaurants, banks, transportation etc. This is a challenge for a service marketer. Therefore, a marketer should effectively utilize the capacity without deteriorating the quality to meet the demand.

Variability

Services are highly variable, as they depend on the service provider, and where and when they are provided. Service marketers face a problem in standardizing their service, as it varies with experienced hand, customer, time and firm. Service buyers are aware of this variability. So, the service firms should make an effort to deliver high and consistent quality in their service; and this is attained by selecting good and qualified personnel for rendering the service.