Exploring consumer involvement key types impact buying decisions

The scope of marketer to effectively influence the consumer decision making process depends upon two major considerations the kind of decision making involved and the level of involvement of the customer with the purchase.

Consumer involvement 

This Involvement theory is based on the concept that there are low and high involvement consumer and there are high and low involvement consumer and there are high and low involvement purchase. according to this theory consumers involvement depends on the degree of relevance of purchase to a consumer. consumer wants to buy a packet of tea or food or bread or butter he does not feel very much involved. it is because the life of these products is very short and ones consumed of the experience with the product is not good next time some other brand can be purchased. The concepts of involvement focused on the issue of whether or not a customer cares much about brand choice, decision while buying a product.

In short, Consumer involvement theory is one of the most dependable approaches to comprehend the psychology of the prospective customer. It refers to the extent of time, thought, energy, and other resources people apply to the purchase process.

There are two types of involvement

1. Low involvement – low involvement is a situation where a consumer needs to buy a product but does not need to patronize a particular brand. Such will be the case while selecting the bath soap, biscuits e.tc usually such products are low priced, frequently purchased convenience goods.
2. High Involvement – high involvement is a situation where a consumer carefully selects a brand due to significant price, style, attractiveness, quality or other difference among various brand that are available products like consumer durable, high priced items, goods that are infrequently purchased or products where offering are dissimilar falls in this category.

A high involvement purchaser is termed as an active consumer and low involvement purchaser is termed as passive consumer. If a customer is more involved in purchase decision, he will carefully choose a brand and will repeat his purchase, so every brand manager aims at increasing the level of involvement with his offering .to achieve this he has to link his brand to some central and silent issue in a customer life. Broadly speaking decision are of two kinds, ones taken from heart (emotional decision) and other which result from an application of mind (rational decision) purchase of medicine is a rational decision that of a perfume an emotional one. Any kind of involvement situation low or high can be coupled with either thinking kind of decision making or feeling kind of decision making.

So, the concepts of involvement focused on the issue of whether or not a customer cares much about brand choice, decision while buying a product.

Types of consumer involvement in buying 

1. Communication in involvement – communication involvement signifies sharing the available information with others in the family or organization. If one member has some information on the subject matter of decision, he should communicate it with the other member before arriving at a decision.
2. Commitment – commitment is another important form of involvement. When a member of the family falls sick the other family member are committed to arrange medical treatment for the suffering member function like marriages entail the commitment of the entire family.
3. Ego involvement – Ego involvement is intended to satisfy one’s ego for example all the members of the family involve themselves is purchasing a product for a single member belonging to that family wife involves herself in the purchase of garments for her husband and husband involves himself in the purchase of cosmetics for his wife.
4. Extent of information – one the consumer recognizes the need he then engages in a search process. search means acquisition of information from the environment. The extent of information search is part of purchase importance.
5. Purchase importance – Involvement of individuals depends upon the degree of importance of purchased, then the purchase decision assumes a great deals of importance in respect of location and area of the flat the title deals should be free from charges.

Causes of Consumer Involvement

1. Personal factors - 
• Product’s image and needs it serves are congruent with a consumer’s self-image, values and needs? 
• High involvement
2. Product factors
• The greater the perceived risk the greater consumer involvement
• The more alternatives there are to choose from, the greater the involvement
• The higher the hedonic value of goods, the greater the involvement
• The more socially visible a product is, the greater the involvement

Effects of Consumer Involvement

1. Information Search – Higher consumer involvement leads to more active and detailed searching for product-related information.
2. Information Processing – Highly involved consumers process information more carefully and thoughtfully.
3. Depth of Comprehension – Greater involvement results in deeper understanding and better interpretation of marketing messages.
4. Extent of Cognitive Elaboration – High involvement encourages consumers to think, analyze, and connect new information with existing knowledge.
5. Extent of External Arousal – Increased involvement makes consumers more responsive to external marketing stimuli like advertisements and promotions.
6. Greater Emotional Arousal – High involvement creates stronger emotional reactions toward the product or brand.
7. Information Transmission – Highly involved consumers are more likely to share product information and experiences with others.

Role of Consumer Involvement 

1. It is an inner urge that creates within an individual an interest or desire to hold certain relevance or importance.
2. Involvement possesses certain properties
3. A mechanism underlies the very process of involvement as a process involvement is impact by certain that get restrained by and finally affect its degree of intensity and level of persistence.

Process of decision making 

Behind the visible act of making a purchase lies a decision process that must be investigated. The purchase decision process is the stages a buyer passes through in making choices about which products and services to buy. The process of buying decision is concerned with the process adopted by buyers. He considers perceived risk. 

1. Performance – the product may not perform as expected at the time of purchase.
2. Physical risk – some products may harm physically to the user.
3. Financial risk – the product may not be worth its price for instance, there are many management schools and computer centres who charges heavy fees and one pays though his nose in the expectation that good job will become available after passing out but when one does not get a good job it is not worth the expenses and this is a financial risk.
4. Reliability risk – one buys certain brands in the hope that they will be reliable but when they break down very often, they cause inconvenience and discomfort. This may not cause financial loss because of warranty but is a great risk.
5. Social Risk – if a car breaks down on its way or food is found bad at the time of serving it cause embarrassment and result in social risk and it has to be considered while making purchase decision.

Five Stages of Consumer Behavior

1. Problem Recognition: Perceiving a Need -
• Perceiving a difference between a person's ideal and actual situations big enough to trigger a decision.
• Can be as simple as noticing an empty milk carton or it can be activated by marketing efforts
2. Information Search: Seeking Value - Two steps of information search
• Internal search
• When past experience or knowledge is insufficient
• The risk of making a wrong purchase decision is high
• The cost of gathering information is low.
• External search
• Personal sources, such as friends and family.
• Public sources, including various product-rating organizations such as Consumer Reports.
• Marketer-dominated sources, such as advertising, company websites, and salespeople
3. Alternative Evaluation: Assessing Value
• The information search clarifies the problem for the consumer by –
• Suggesting criteria to use for the purchase
• Developing consumer value perception.
• A consumer's evaluative criteria represent both - the objective attributes of a brand and -The subjective factors.
4. Purchase Decision: Buying Value Three possibilities
• Do not buy from whom to buy which depends on such considerations? Of Terms of sale
• Past experience buying from the seller and Return policy.
• When to buy which can be influenced by? Store atmosphere, Time pressure, A sale and Pleasantness of the shopping experience
5. Post purchase Behavior: Value in Consumption or Use
• After buying a product, the consumer compares it with expectations and is either satisfied or dissatisfied.
• Cognitive Dissonance - The feelings of post purchase psychological tension or anxiety a consumer often experiences
• Firms often use ads or follow-up calls from salespeople in this post purchase stage to try to convince buyers that they made the right decision.

Practical Insight: Consumer involvement shows how much effort and thought a buyer puts into a purchase   low involvement means quick, routine buys, while high involvement means careful evaluation and deeper engagement before deciding. Higher involvement often leads to stronger brand preference and repeat purchases.

FAQs on Consumer Involvement

What is consumer involvement?

Consumer involvement refers to the level of interest, attention, and effort a consumer puts into making a buying decision.

What are the main types of consumer involvement?

The main types are high involvement, low involvement, situational involvement, and enduring involvement.

What causes consumer involvement?

Consumer involvement is influenced by factors like personal needs, product importance, perceived risk, price, and social influence.

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Sandeep Ghatuary

Finance & Accounting blogger simplifying complex topics.

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