In today’s day and age of the internet, the consumer has the advantage of comparing businesses and reviewing the consumer’s experience of a certain business. It’s no longer a word-of-mouth recommendation from a biased local. In a hypothetical scenario, I’ll research Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City, and choose a restaurant I would spend my hard earned money on. This process of elimination would be based on the first three steps of my consumer decision-making process.
The first step in the decision-making process is the need recognition phase. In this phase, the consumer recognizes a need for a service or product. In my scenario, this would mean that I identified my need for a tasty Italian dish in Salt Lake City. This need could be possibly met because there are numerous Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City. The need recognition step is satisfied. The next step of the consumer decision-making process is information search.
The information search phase is when the consumer may want more information regarding their need. For my Italian restaurant research in Salt Lake City, the first step I would do is open my web browse and access google.com. I opt for google.com because the reviews are plentiful, recent, and made by real people. The alternative review source is Yelp, but it’s in a state of decline so it isn’t as robust as google. Next I would search for Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City. From that list, I’ll narrow it down further to restaurants having a 4.5 stars rating or higher. This is done to reduce the chances of having a bad experience based on the experiences of previous consumers. Not all reviews are truthful, so it’s best to be alert for this possibility. Finally, I’ll choose the dining experience that best suits my personality. My dining preference is a casual setting. I can find my casual preference from reviewing the photos of the dining area, the attire of the restaurant staff, and reviews from customers. I selected my three choices and am ready to spend, however it’s wise to have an alternative option should my plan go south.
In the evaluation of alternative steps, the consumer may deem a alternative service or product as a viable choice. The factors that lead to this conclusion stems from the difficulty of narrowing down options, time wasted, money costs, or buyer’s remorse from the belief of a choosing a bad product. My alternative option for Italian food is Applebee’s, a chain restaurant. Applebee’s provides a feeling of safety because this chain is known throughout the nation as a family friendly restaurant that serves quality food. The Italian dishes may be limited, but you can certainly find a pasta dish in their menu. However, I’m sticking with my guns and want to eat at a non-chain restaurant in Salt Lake City.
I chose Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana as my choice for eating Italian food. I made this choice via the research I made on google. Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana met all the criteria I was looking for. This restaurant has 2,800 reviews and has an average rating of 4.5. Moreover, the pictures show that dining here is a pleasant and casual experience. The consumers are dressed in casual clothes and are seated in front of delicious looking dishes, The tables seems like tables you would have at home, adding to the casual atmosphere. Overall the experience can be time consuming, but with internet (specifically google), the decision-making process is smooth, and more preferable than the ancient method of targeted paper ads that I get still get in my mailbox.
