The customer’s behavior is one of the fundamental factors determining the success of the marketing strategy, product, and organization as a whole. The customer’s decision-making is affected by a number of factors, such as values, costs, risks, and situational factors (Fanning, 2020). One of the features determining the customer’s product selection and satisfaction is the level of involvement. It may vary depending on the circumstances and is essential to take into account when considering the marketing strategy (Fanning, 2020). The more the customer is interested in the product and fulfilling one’s need, the more likely they will get the product. The laptop computer marketing would differ from snack bar advertising because of the higher level of involvement in the laptop purchase.
The level of involvement and motivation is mostly dependent on the personal values and the concept of self. The personal relevance of a laptop is relatively low, as it is a standardized tool mainly used for work. The laptop specially designed for a person’s desires would have higher personal relevance and increased involvement but is rather money consuming and does not interest the general audience. The laptop also does not primarily affect the person’s concept of self. It does not change the person’s role in the community or increase the sense of self-worth unless it is a costly laptop. However, laptop purchase is still not as common and does not occur every year, so the customer usually carefully evaluates the risks and costs in the long-term perspective. The combination of these factors makes a laptop a relatively common product with routine or even limited involvement.
The overall degree of involvement in the purchase of a laptop remains at the routine involvement in the product’s design when choosing the technical characteristics. However, with the development of technology and online services, buying a laptop becomes less involved with activity with low risks associated as the customer is usually familiar with the product. The customer may only have extensive involvement in the product’s design when the computer is assembled from the parts that the customer chose explicitly. This is not usually the case for most laypeople who prefer a simpler machine for the cost of time spent choosing a laptop of the highest quality.
Computer retailers should take into consideration the typical routine involvement of the customer when buying a laptop. A careful and thorough explanation of laptop features is not needed as in extensive involvement. However, the laptop purchase is still a more significant event than a snack bar purchase and requires the customer’s attention (Fanning, 2020). Since the laptop purchase is a relatively long-term investment, the service should be satisfactory enough for the customer to return after years of laptop exploitation. A specific marketing strategy should also be followed to increase the involvement. Strategic planning of customer involvement largely determines the marketing effectiveness and potential profit. The specific type of routine involvement should be considered and applied to the buying process’s time zone to achieve success (Fanning, 2020). Implying to the person’s self-concept and the role the laptop can play to boost one’s ego or relationships in society can primarily affect the involvement and potential turnover of a prospect to a loyal customer.
The Laptop Computer Selection
A typical customer selecting a laptop would go through the three stages of searching, estimating, and selecting a laptop computer in the first time zone of the buyer decision process. As a typical customer who is not savvy in technology, I would first google “laptops for students” to see the possible options that are relevant to me. The cost is especially important, so I would sort the search results according to the price level. Next comes estimating the technical characteristics available at the lowest price level. My value is the product’s durability, so I would estimate the risks and possible adjustments or laptop repairs. Finally, when selecting one or several computer models, I would consider going to the store and having a face-to-face consultation with a retailer. Testing the chosen laptop would also be useful as the description on the website may be vague. The situational factors come in place as the service and brand or product expectations come in place and determine its satisfaction.
The level of involvement also affects the first stage of the buyer’s decision process. Product purchase involvement is the initial stage of involvement when the need and want for the product just formed (Fanning, 2020). The level of involvement for the purchase would be rather casual or even limited as the purchase of a laptop has certain monetary risks for a student and requires careful consideration. The typical customer’s expectations from a laptop should also be met for a successful purchase. The typical customers often tend to believe their acquaintances’ recommendations more than advertisements, which affects the initial purchase behavior process.
The involvement may be of a different degree varying from low to high involvement, depending on the familiarity with the situation. In the situation with the appearing need for a new laptop computer, most customers have already had a computer before. That is why most customers are usually acquainted with the standards and requirements, and the involvement may be from low to medium. However, not all users are well informed about the technological values of computers and new features so that certain situations may require high involvement and rigorous research in technological aspects and models of laptops. The want is usually to buy an upgraded version of the old laptop or change the brand and a laptop if it failed to meet the customer’s expectations. The involvement is low if the customer buys a newer model in a habitual way (Fanning, 2020). On the contrary, it is high when the customer is interested in a completely different product and researches the possible satisfactory options (Fanning, 2020). Face-to-face consultation and review of the models are often the most suitable option for satisfying the customer’s needs.
JB Hi-Fi Product Considerations
Today, JB Hi-Fi is one of the world’s leading retailers of computers, TVs, and various Hi-Fi technology. It appears to be very distributed not just in Australia but also worldwide. The company’s success makes it interesting to investigate the marketing strategy and product design to apply in other business projects. When designing and promoting a new product or marketing an already existing one, it is crucial to examine a vast number of product considerations to reach success (Fanning, 2020). The information needs to be collected about the product and its nature to tailor the marketing strategy and align it with product considerations. These features primarily affect the buyers’ decision process and overall satisfaction.
Product leadership is one of the essential product considerations that JB Hi-Fi follows. Product leadership implies providing a unique product for the target audience. JB Hi-Fi manages to succeed on this criterion as its philosophy aims at delivering a specialist range of products for the lowest prices. The retailer aims at collecting the best brands with the lowest prices and provide genuine personal service to make the customer’s experience memorable. The care for the customer became one of the primary features defining the success of the company. The following standards and company policy became the benchmark for the industry. The fast-growing JB Hi-Fi became the point of reference for the technical and entertainment industry.
Besides a defined philosophy, JB Hi-Fi also possesses an individual product strategy. They define their product’s specific value as low prices and put the main emphasis on it in their commercials and marketing campaigns. The following strategy falls under the low-price minimal augmentation criterion. JB Hi-Fi’s primary focus is on low prices and numerous discounts, so they employ the full strategy. The attractive price and bright discount tags make the product more interesting for the customer than at the competitor’s stores. JB Hi-Fi does not need to have a niche approach or carefully consider the segment suitable for the price. They already have a high production volume and meet the customer’s needs for good products at low prices. Since the market is heterogeneous, especially for such a broad specialty of products, JB Hi-Fi applies a lower-price strategy to a specific segment of the market. It is more beneficial compared to a higher price with appropriate augmentation strategy in manufacturer’s stores.
The recipient also plays an essential role as the marketing campaign is typically tailored for a specific audience. JB Hi-Fi focuses on business-to-consumer (B2C) retail but can also be considered a business-to-business (B2B) type. The retail company has to negotiate with other manufacturers to get the product (B2B) and provide it to the customer (B2C). The company carefully considers the consumer, who is the primary recipient of the product, and adapts the marketing strategy. The bright and catchy design combined with funny slogans and low prices makes JB Hi-fi an ideal niche for teenagers and geeks.
Product variability of the retail store is another critical element of the company’s success combined with a low price. One can find a massive range of products for various needs, including shopping and specialty products. JB Hi-Fi focuses explicitly on collecting the immense number of products from various brands together. The product is very heterogeneous, but JB Hi-Fi manages to provide consistently appropriate customer service.
Product Component Ranking in Amazon Computer Department
Understanding and evaluating the product components is essential for both the company and the customer. The customer assesses the product components in general and separately during the decision process to find the best option (Fanning, 2020). The company then adjusts all the components to meet the customer’s needs and adapt to the marketing strategy. The product components considered are the goods, services, ideas, experiences, people, and place (Fanning, 2020). They all come together in a complete impression from the product, and each of them may affect the sales rather radically. Amazon may be an example of a vast online retail corporation where several product components come together.
The apparent product that the customer gets after ordering at the Amazon website is physical goods. However, these goods are usually purchased to provide a service, especially in the computer department. Thus, service becomes the primary component of the product. The computer’s performance that gives benefit to the customer is the main reason for the purchase (Fanning, 2020). Computers are explicitly bought to give access to the internet, play games, or to program. The service that phones provide is the ability to call and communicate with people. The computer or electronic product’s service aims at providing the solution to the technical problem or giving satisfaction from playing video games. The service is performed by the purchased machine towards the person. The border between the service and goods product components becomes very blurry in a complex product system and the interconnectedness of the goods and their service.
The secondary in importance product component of Amazon is goods. Amazon supplies all sorts of goods online, including computer and electronics retail and states. Even the philosophy of Amazon is tailored to provide the goods for the customer. The range of goods is extensive and includes both consumable and durable goods, even in Amazon’s computer departments. Various screen filters, repair tools, cables are the goods used regularly or purchased frequently, so they may be considered consumables. The majority of the goods in Amazon’s computer department are durable goods, such as laptops, workstation computers, and displays. They are long-term utilities with different life-span and are used regularly.
Excellent customer experience is another feature that Amazon sells as a product. It increases customer satisfaction with the goods and services and is used as a strategic imperative (Fanning, 2020). The customer experience at Amazon is mainly formed through the interaction of the customer and a company. The positive cognitive experience of the customer is achieved through reviews and customer questions and answers sections. The cumulative effect builds through a friendly approach of customer service and a wide range of goods. People enjoy online shopping, and such a relaxing experience makes them feel satisfied and come back to Amazon even when they do not need a product urgently.
The ideas surprisingly can also be supplied at the computer department. The unique service and the goods that provide experience lead to the idea product component of Amazon. The idea of accessible computer products that can be shipped right to the door reflects the idea of a computerized environment. The very fact that amazon functions entirely online shows how modernization occurs and the internet takes over the market. In amazon, the computer market also promotes the idea of being environmentally friendly with its climate pledge friendly badge and product certifications. The value proposition and pricing are also the ideas that Amazon computer retail embeds (Fanning, 2020). Amazon provides a unique pricing strategy with numerous pricing options for different products to correlate the customer’s needs. The reference pricing allows the company to manage the floor and ceiling prices and increase price comfortability for the users.
Amazon’s place product component is a digital space – a website with a collection of computer products. It does not determine the product and does not create additional value. However, it creates a setting for interaction and provides the customer with the ability to shop online from any part of the world. People as a product component are also not really presented on Amazon as an online service. The service allows for asking the seller a question on the Q&A section, but it lacks real human contact.
Reference
Fanning, S. M. (2020). The marketing concept: Philosophy, theory, and application (7th ed.) [e-book]. Web.