The Marketing Book 5th Edition

Consumer decision making: process, level and style 135

Dissonant buying behaviouroccurs when the
consumer is highly involved but sees no sig-
nificant differences among the brands available
and buys the product in a hurry. Such con-
sumers are likely to continue to seek alternative
brands that will fulfil their expectations. It is
typical of highly involved innovators.
Habitual buying occurs when there is no
significant difference in brands and the con-
sumer is not highly involved in the purchase,
e.g. salt. Extended information processing is
unnecessary; experience is the safest guide. It is
typical of low-involved adaptors.
Variety-seeking behaviouroccurs when there
is low involvement and brand proliferation.
The consumer chooses something new to
relieve boredom. It is typical of low-involved
innovators.
Each active segment has its own decision
style and its own level of involvement (see
Table 6.2).
For all of the products we have investi-
gated, launch markets are likely to be com-
posed predominantly of involved consumers;
the predominant consumer behaviours are
therefore complexity and dissonance. However,
some less-involved consumers also adopt at
this stage: habit and variety-seeking are also
likely to be encountered. All four types of
consumer behaviour will also be encountered
to different extents in post-launch markets. In
fact, the market or markets for imitators may be
more heterogeneous and require a more
dynamic marketing approach.
In general, higher levels of involvement
with a product field are considered a sign of

greater problem awareness and pre-purchase

search and evaluation, a higher level of pur-

chase, and more detailed and informed post-

decisional evaluation. If involvement is, after

all, principally a measure of personal interest,

it follows that positive behaviours of these

kinds will be more probable where such

involvement is greater. The appropriate strate-

gies of market segmentation and product pos-

itioning have attracted much attention (e.g.

Tyebjee, 1979). However, the issue of adap-

tive–innovative cognitive style complicates the

prescriptions offered by this marketing

approach. Highly-involved adaptors are far

more likely to engage in detailed information

processing than innovators, but limited deci-

sion making may characterize highly-involved

innovators.

The market for new ‘healthy’ foods con-

tains innovators, more-involved adaptors and a

significant group of less-involved adaptors.

That for new software applications contains

more-involved adaptors, more-involved inno-

vators, plus groups of less-active, less-involved

adaptors and innovators. Because new product

marketing relies on the diffusion sequence over

time, none of these can be ignored, even at the

launch stage. What consumers absorb about an

innovation at that stage may colour their

impressions for a long time to come.

Marketing strategies should therefore be

sensitive to the coexistence of adaptors and

innovators in both the initial and established

markets for new products. A marketing strat-

egy directed towards, say, the adaptors is likely

to alienate the innovators. Perhaps the failure of

Table 6.2 Decision styles of market segments

Dissonant buying Complex buying Variety-seeking Habitual buying

Problem recognition

Search and evaluation

Post-purchase evaluation