Product portfolio

Product portfolio

Understanding the buying cycle

The buying cycle, also referred to as the purchase cycle entails the process through which a customer goes in the process of product or service purchased.  Through the process, the customer undergoes various stages in the cycle. These stages provide the necessary education and information for the buyers as they get closer to the final stage of making a buying decision. There are five stages involved in the consumer buying cycle. The buying cycle stages, however, look different concerning different products being purchased. The general outlook of the buying cycle, however, is characterized by the realization of the consumer that they have a problem, consideration of the possible available options to solve the problem, making a purchasing decision, and finally purchasing the right product with the possibility of solving the existing problem. The various stages require different types and sets of strategies that encourage the buyer to move to the next step. The customers undergo different interactions, depending on the different stages of the purchasing cycle. Through the various interactions that the customers experience in the different stages, the customers manage to move to the next steps that place them in a better position of making the purchasing decisions.  The buyers control the various stages of the buying cycle as they can only move to the next steps after getting the insight that they require from the previous steps.  The retailers, however, have the role of aligning their strategies and the sell processes in strategic ways to ensure that they match the needs of the customers in the various purchasing cycles.

Detailed understanding of the stages in the purchasing cycle

The understanding of the various stages ion the purchasing cycle is necessary for the understanding of the ways through which the consumers make their purchase decisions.  Through this section, there is a detailed elaboration of the various stages of the purchasing process to process to provide an awareness of what happens at each of the stages

1. Awareness

The awareness stage details the first stage of the consumer purchase cycle.  At this stage, the potential customers get to the understanding that they have a problem. They realize that the problem that they face needs to be solved. At this stage, the companies dealing with the various products that could be necessary for solving the problems of the consumers by channeling significant amounts of their efforts into the marketing of their products.  The reason for engaging much effort in their marketing strategies is promoted by the fact that the companies realize that the number of new customers they attract are limited to the size of their markets. Following the realization of the existing problem and the determination of the products of the various companies that could solve their problems, they move to the subsequent stage of the marketing cycle entails the consideration process.

2. Consideration

The next stage, following the realization of the problem, is the consideration stage.  At this stage, the consumers engage in the process of attempting to make a comparison of the available solution to their problems.  The work of the salespersons and the various organizations to which they are affiliated start making a difference at this stage. The customers at this time are attempting to determine a solution to their problems. The various organizations that engage in the production of the possible solutions, at this stage, hopefully, have their products in the market. The role of the marketers mainly entails the provision of detailed information that explains ways through which their products and services could facilitate the provision of the best solutions to solve the problems in a better way in comparison to the competitors. The marketers are also mandated to detail to the consumers the possible benefits that they would experience by using their products. The final step in this stage is that the consumers get to realize that they have to purchase to solve their problems.

3. Intent

The third stage in the purchasing cycle is the intent stage. This stage involves the process through which the decision makers put out the various possible alternatives against each other.  The consumers access multiple options to determine the ones that make the most financial, emotional, and logical sense to them. The product that the consumer chooses to buy at this time is the one that they considered to make the most sense to them.  The role of the sales team dealing with the selling of the product is to seek to convince the customers that their product could provide the best solution in comparison to all the other product alternatives that the buyers consider.  The marketing team is responsible for convincing all the clients to engage in a buying decision that involves buying their product.

4. Purchase

The fourth stage is the buying stage. At this point, the customer is well informed of alternatives and has decided on the product to buy.  The job of the marketers is not yet finished at this point. The marketers have the responsibility of establishing an ongoing relationship with the consumer regardless of if the consumer decides to buy their product or not.  The role of the marketers entails the provision of the necessary assistance for the customers in the journey of solving their problem.   By being close to the customers, the marketers get the best chance of being able to convince the customer to purchase their product again. In the case that the consumer failed to buy the outcome of the organization, then the organization gets the opportunity of persuading the customer to buy their product the subsequent time.

5. Repurchase/Continuous Purchase

The final stage is significantly different for the different companies, depending on the products that they are selling.  For perishable products, this stage takes place almost instantly.  The stage, however, takes longer to occur for companies that deal with long lasting products.  Ideally, this stage is repeated indefinitely. It provides an avenue for companies and firms to continue the growth of their revenue and profits.

The five stages of the consumer buying process.

The consumer buying process refers to the totality of the processes that involve the sequential steps that the consumers are engaged in in the process of attempting to arrive at a final buying decision. In most cases, the consumers are involved in a typical buying process that is uniform for all consumers. Marketers are compelled to realize ways through which the consumers attain the ultimate decision before they buy a product.  Through the determination of the consumer buying process, the marketing organizations and marketers get the ability of compelling consumers to buy their products. Five stages guide the consumer buying process.

1. Problem Identification:

The stage entails the recognition of the consumer needs that are not met.  The unmet need provides the driving force that compels the consumer to develop a buying behavior. In essence, the buying behavior that the consumer develops is sourced from the identified need. The problem referred to as the buying process only arises in the case that the consumer has a need that is not met or a problem is identified with regards to the needs of the consumer. The importance of the need identification in the consumer buying process is that it compels the consumer to engage in the purchase of a product.

The need identification is through the fact that consumer realizes an existing difference between the actual stage in which he is and the state in which they desire to be.  The identification of the consumer’s need is created by either external or internal factors those stimuli. The internal stimuli they trigger the buying decisions of consumers include normal and primary factors, including thirst, need for comfort, hunger, and other elements that the consumers naturally feel from within. The external stimuli that affect the buying decisions of the consumer include features that are externally triggered. For instance, a consumer could be attracted to a new car brand or a new fashion trend after being exposed to them.  The exposure that the consumer gets on the new items creates the desire for the consumer to purchase them. For efficient marketing, the marketers are compelled to realize the factors and circumstances that are likely to act as triggers to the consumers.  These marketers can do this through the collection of information from several clients.  The marketers could then use the collected data to developing marketing strategies to triggers the interests of the consumers.

Information search

The next stages entail the move by the consumers to attempt to find the necessary information.  The interested customers, following the identification of the problem, try to determine a solution. The information search is through various avenues, including arching television, reading newspapers and magazines, asking for a reference from family and friends, visiting dealers and shoe rooms, and by contacting salespersons.  Among the sources of information that the consumers could trey include personal information. These include the data generated by family members, relatives, friends, and colleagues.  The consumers could also use commercial sources; these sources include tradeshows, exhibitions, advertising, dealers, and salesmen.  The third category of sources includes public sources. The public sources include consumer rating agencies and the mass media. The consumer could also use experimental sources. In collecting information on the available brand, the consumers will not collect detailed information on all the brands available in the market. The consumer analyzes all the available brands in sequence and groups them in various sets, including total brands set, choice set, awareness set, and affordable set.  The consumer then engages in the research for information for the limited brands in the market.  For the better performance of the brand, the marketers should seek to get their brands into either the awareness set of the choice set.  The companies are compelled to engage in the identification of the various sources and their relative importance. The companies are responsible for questioning the customers on the nature of the sources that they exercise. Through this, the consumers could then provide a comprehensive list of the sources that they use and the relative values of the sources.  Through this, the marketing team can prepare effective communication for the target market.

Evaluation of alternatives

The consumer at this stage engages in a vivid review of the various brands determined in the previous step, this is by the fact that the consumer cannot buy all the brands identified, and only a single purchase is required. The choice that the customer makes, in this case, is the choice that could provide the highest level of satisfaction.  The consumer evaluates competing brands to determine the possible best brand.  In the evaluation of the brands, the consumer has to determine the necessary choice criteria to use.  There are various criteria to be used for the evaluation of alternatives. These include the determination of the benefits that the brands offer, the determination of the features, qualities attributes, and performance of the brand the various pricing of the different brands and the history of the brands. It is Alsip essential to determine the popularity or image reputation of the brand.  Other essential features to consider are product-related service that the brand offers. These include aspects such as the consideration of if the product offers warranties, free installment, and other after-sale services. Also, it is essential to determine the viability of the brand and the ratting of the dealer from whom the product is sourced.

Purchase Decision

The purchase decision comes following the preference of a single product over the rest of the products.  At this stage, the consumer chooses to purchase the product that is better in comparison to the competitors.  The previous stages facilitate the stage. He suggests that by the time the consumer makes the purchasing decisions, the decision is preceded by an elaborate evaluation to determine the best possible alternative.  Out of all the brands available in the choice set, the consumer chooses the brand with the ability to provide maximum satisfaction and benefits.  At this stage, three factors determine the likelihood of the buying decision of the client to result in an actual purchase.  In the case that the consumer is not well convinced by the factors, there could be the result of modification,  avoidance, or postponement of the buying decision. The factors that affect customer decisions include the attitude expressed by other people.  The degree to which the attitude of other people affects the buying decision of the customer is dependent on the level of the negative attitude that these individuals have towards the brand that the buyer prefers. It could also be determined with regards to the level onto which these influencers with the buying decision the client, or the level to which the client comply with the buying decision of the other people.

The second factor that affects the buying decision at this time is the anticipated situational factor. There is the likelihood that the buying decision could change in the case that they could cause negative effects on some of the situational factors, including family income, health status, price hike, no availability of the preferred brand, and other similar factors.  The final factor that affects the consumer buying decision this time is the perceived risk as determined by the consumer.  The degree of the perceived risk of the consumers depends on various factors including the attribute of the uncertainty and the market entry of new superior goods into the market.  The risk is also dependent on the self confidence that the consumer has. `Other than the main decision that the consumer makes in the purchasing process, here are various sub purchasing decisions that the consumer makes.  The sub decisions include the brand decisions, the vender decision, the quality decisions, the timing decisions, and the payment decisions.

Post-purchase decisions

The post-purchase decision entails the final stage in the consumer buying process.  The consumers engage in the buying process with underlying needs that they expect to be met. Even though the consumer engages in an elaborate systematic decision-making process, there is no assurance that the needs of the consumer will be met by the decisions in which they involve. This is as there is always a possibility of the existence of underlying variations between the expected consumer satisfaction and the actual level of satisfaction that the product brings about.  The post-purchase decision, therefore, is a behavior that generates its influence from either the degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the consumer. The marketers, for the improvement of their business, are forced to determine the post-purchase experience that the consumer generates. Among the factors, for the marketer to consider in the post-consumer attitude of the buyer include the post-purchase satisfaction, the post-purchase action, and the post-purchase use and disposal.

Factors to consider in the designing of the garment

• Trend inspiration (color, trend, and fabric)

in the design of the garment, there was a desire to create a fashion trend that would attract a large number of customers to ensure the success of the trend. This need to come w=up with a trend that would be outstanding in the market and attract a large number of v=clients led to the f creation of the fashion trend inspired by various factors to make the brand outstanding. With regards to the color, as the garment being created was a summer garment, the color choice was, in a way that sought to make the garment to efficiently blend well in the summer season. The choice of the color for the garment, therefore, focuses on bright colors that would be blended to give the garment an amazing summer feel. The main colors were chosen for the garment are bright colors, including orange, red, and lime green that efficiently fit in the construction of a summer garment. The trend that inspired the making of the garment is the summer trend. There is the need for the creation of a unique, stylish trend for the summer season that is both classy and comfortable. The fabric choice for the summer dress is cotton fabric, the choice of the fabric is facilitated by the fact that the fabric is highly absorbent and allows for the circulation of air, making it not retain heat.

• Market research to identify customer

in the market research to identify customers, the focus was to ensure that the company identifies potential customers for whom the garment would be made.  The choice of the customers would depend on the analysis of the consumer purchasing cycle and the consumer buying process. This then makes it possible to identify the existing consumer problem, and the consumer needs that the company would seek to fulfill.

• Range building process

the range building process entails the process through which the garment industry would go in the process of creating the outline to be followed in the creation and distribution pf the garment. Among the various factors that this process entails include the total number of garment pieces that would be produced,  the illustration of flat drawing for every garment,  the specific garment styles, the cost needed for the production of every garment, the selling price per garment and the order quantities per stu=yle. Through the determination of these factors,  the production of the garment becomes more specific and better detailed, ensuring a better chance of success of the garment.

• Determining pricing architecture

the determination of the pricing architecti=ure details the method that would be used in the determination of the pricing for the garment. The pricing architecture to be used in this case if focussed on ensuring that the pricing of the garment does not only ensure the effecientgeneratio of profit for the company but rather that it would also ensure the sustainability of the buying process.

• Sourcing strategy

the sourcing strategy entails the process through which the company would engage to ensure that it generates the required raw materials for the manufactory of t garment. The strategy to be used entails ensuring that the raw material that the company contains through the procurement process is significantly affordable, ensuring the maximization of profits. The company, in this sense, seeks to engage in strategic sourcing of the raw materials.  strategic sourcing would ensure that the organization has an elaborate understanding of the needs of the clients. Consequently, ensuring that the materials obtained for the creation off the garment would ensy=re that the organization matchets the needs of customers.

• Costing & negotiation

the costing and negotiation process should be done in a way that creates an advantage for both the buyer and company. The basis of this costing and pricing negotiation exercise is to ensure that the ultimate costing will be in a way that attracts the customer to buy the product by convincing the customer of the good prices pries placed on the product. The pricing should, however, also be in a way that ensures that the company generates a fair profit from the product. In this case, the costing and negotiation of the garment should be in a way that convinces the buyers of the efficiency of the garment. The pricing negotiation should be based on outlining the quality of the product. The customer should, therefore, be convinced to buy the product despite the price placed on it, as the customer would be convinced of the quality of the product.

• Quality management process including garment fitting and fabric testing based on end-use

the quality management process entails the production of the garment in a way that it would br viewed to efficiently fit the desired quality and the need expressed by the expected customer. Through the quality management process, the company engages in a set of procedures and processes that are followed to determine and ensure that the deliverables that a team produces fit the purpose for which they were meant. The onset of the quality management process entails the setting of quality targets on which the customers agree. The ultimate goal would then be to fulfill the set principle of the set targets. With regards to the garment fitting, the company would be involved in the process of seeking to determine if the ultimate garment that is produced matches the previously established needs of the customers. By the fact that the garment was developed as a summer garment, there is the need to determine the effective-neds of the garment as a summer garment. In this case, the marketing team would be engaged in an elaborate follow up to determine the response that the garment gets from the target market. The success rate of the garment would be determined through the realization of the percentage of the target consumers who actually gets to adopt the use of the garment. The collected response would evaluate the responses a reaction of the buyers on the dress ti determine its reception.

• Critical Path Management

following the completion of the project of creating the summer clothing, the company would engage in critical path management to determine the success rate of the project in attaining its intended purpose in the market. In the project management exercise, the critical management path refers to a detailed sequence of project network functions that add up to the longest overall duration. This is even in the case that the longest overall duration has float or not. It is essential in the determination of the shortest possible time for the completion of a project.

• Corporate social responsibility factors for your chosen garment

with the increased sensitivity to environmental factors including the realization of the factors of environmental pollution, and the ways by which the pollution harms the environment and the biodiversity, the practice of corporate social responsibility is a factor that organizations should endeavor to engage in. Corporate social responsibility entails the activities in which the organization engages in for the purposes of giving back to the society in which they operate through charitable means. The best corporate res[posnbility project that the organization would engage in relation to the launched garment is to facilitate environmental cleaning exercises. This, the company could do through engaging in measures to ensure the removal of pollutants, including plastic from the environment. It could also involve measures to engage in the cleaning of eater boodies through the removal of waste plastics that get into the water bodies. Among the factors that necessitate the need to engage in the Corporate social responsibility include the fact that as a fashion factory engaged in the pri=oductionof first fashion, the organization could be seen to be in the contribution of environmental pollution. Through engaging in the CSR exercise to clean the environment, the factory, therefore, counters for the pollution that it causes, a factor that enables it to be able to attract customers who are environmentally conscious. This is stressed by the fact that there is an increasing change in consumer behavior,  causing some consumers to chose to interact with environmentally conscious companies solely.