Professor “O”
Principles of Marketing
4/26/11
UNDERSTANDING PURCHASING
To understand what makes Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges successful, one must first understand the process that is Consumer Buying. One may think a consumer just opens the fridge and realizes, “Oh! I am out of milk; I should run out and procure another.” However, it is much more complicated than that.
CONSUMER BUSINESS PROCESS The above analogy is partly correct. It demonstrates the first part of the Consumer Buying Process (CBP), Problem Recognition or recognition of a need. Problem recognition occurs the moment the consumer realizes the need for a product or service. When the consumer opened the fridge and saw no milk, they became aware of the need for more. Following the realization of the need for more milk, came the second step of the CBP, information search. The consumer started to think about all the types of milk and which best suits his or her needs. Would Organic or Non Organic be best? Does the consumer need Milk with 1%, 2%, or whole milk fat? Do they …show more content…
Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge offers a chance to relax and pamper ones self and to step out of his or her everyday life. Not everyone can afford to purchase chocolates of such quality. It is a chance to make the consumer feel privileged. He or she gets to sit in boutique like surroundings, enjoying fancy sweets, and also gets to interact with other people who may be considered, or who consider themselves to be “upscale.” It may feel like an accomplishment to be part of that crowd. That is a feeling many people would pay to have. So that is Ethel’s “up card” on the competition. Another factor is that there are not many stores like Ethel’s, so that helps out quite a