Question

Topic: Student Questions

High Or Low Involvement Buying Behavior ?

Posted by Anonymous on 9/6/2009 at 11:12 PM ET 250 Points
i've come across the concept of high and low involvement buying behavior yesterday in class. I am just confused that for food, say sushi, does customers follow a high involvement buying behavior?. Because i observe that some people just go in to the supermarkets and some stores and make spontaneous purchases (sushi is not very expensive). To them, sushi is just like another type of fastfood. Yet there are people who are deeply concerned with their health and always search for infomation and choose the stores that offer the most nutritios and healthy sushi. Somehow, they are highly involved buyer. What do you guys think?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 9/7/2009 at 9:58 AM Accepted
    Consumer involvement can vary considerably for the same item (e.g., sushi). It's not really about the product or brand being considered as much as it is about the consumer and his/her needs. Something that's very important to the consumer will generally get a lot more attention and involvement than something that's "routine."

    Don't think of products or product categories as having "high involvement" or "low involvement." Think of consumers fulfilling their needs by setting priorities for their time and devoting the appropriate amount of "involvement" as they go about the process of fulfilling those needs.

    For some, the decision to buy another tube of toothpaste (or loaf of bread, or slice of pizza, etc.) is no big deal, while others will find it a more important consideration. Same with sushi.

    Net: It's not about the product. It's about consumers' attitudes toward the purchase decision.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 9/7/2009 at 1:09 PM Accepted
    Dear bboy_2284,

    Whether it's the decision to stay in bed, cross the street, fall in love, swim in shark infested waters, buy sushi and a newspaper, or to lash out and buy a Ferrari, the driving dynamic in pretty much all human decisions is choice.

    In turn, choice is driven by perception, want, need allocation and need fulfillment, value appropriation and measurement, and by personal or societal motivation.

    The label of high or low involvement in buying or acquisition, REGARDLESS of the thing being bought or acquired is deeply rooted in two desires in two different areas: need and fulfillment, each of which connects to both our personal and group dynamic.

    Need and fulfillment each fit and fill a deeply felt and highly personalized void, both in our day to day lives as individuals, and in our social need to show or prove that we belong to a clan or group. It's all deeply connected to concepts of need, value, worth, and stature, all of which I'll be covering in my new book.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 9/9/2009 at 11:35 AM Member
    Dear bboy_2284

    " ... so you mean a product can be both a low involvement product and high involvement product based on the customer's perception?"

    Precisely! Congratulations! You have won a prize: you are the second student I've come across in the last week that's worked something out for themselves! Well done. Keep it up and you'll go far. I mean that. Figuring this stuff out ISN'T easy, but once you DO figure it out, suddenly, the clouds part and the sun shines brilliantly down upon your world and you are GOLDEN!

    Yes, perception is the lodestone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodestone

    Perception isn't just some "thing". Perception is EVERYTHING.

    Which is why a marketer's use of dream, want, desire, need fulfillment and supposition are so vital when it comes to shaping the direction of a lead's or prospect's decision to engage in a product, or to walk away and take their money with them.

    Ignore perception and you ignore the customer's power. When this happens, you bore or over ride the customer, she walks away, and your sale is TOAST!

    Engage perception WITH YOUR MESSAGE and you bind the power of the customer's wants, needs, dreams, and desires to the solution that is your product, service, or goods.

    Get this right and you'll be on the road to riches. Screw it up and you'll still be a marketer, but you'll be a very poor marketer.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA
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