The dimensions mentioned have strong links with one another and also play a significant role in CDM. They focus the attention of any marketer in consumer product categories towards the consumers' perception of a category, a brand and their own needs.

The chart above shows the several stages involved in consumer decision-making. It is useful to understand the basic model of CDM and its implications for marketers before considering its other aspects. Whenever a new product category is introduced by marketers with a new concept, concept selling would have to be done at the need stage, examining the actual and desired states of the consumer. Ceasefire, the mini fire-extinguisher which kick-started a new wave of demand among households, was able to market the concept using primary advertising. (The brand no longer retains the same hold over the market now due to a variety of reasons.) Though the fire extinguisher concept was not new to the market, a mini version was. It was able to trigger a perception very different from the huge and heavy traditional ones that were widely used in cinema halls. The primary advertising mentioned the fact that different kinds of fires (with an overtone of fear appeal) required different kinds of extinguishing gases and that Ceasefire was the ideal solution for the need. Concept selling has to discuss in detail the benefits of the product and how these solved the existing problem of consumers or how they helped consumers to reach a `desired state'.

While primary advertising concentrates more on the benefits of the product, with the objective of creating a market for the product, secondary advertising has a focus on the brand. In case of a pioneering brand bringing in a new concept, primary advertising has to be supplemented simultaneously with secondary advertising to ensure the pioneering brand gets the competitive advantage of having marketed the concept. Titan may not have been a pioneering brand in quartz watches but it is currently a leading brand because of the brand-building efforts undertaken by the brand though it was a `follower' brand.

Which stage to target?

While the need stage is important for new-concept products, there may be a number of categories where most consumers may be in the purchase stage. For example, in the category of soaps (in most markets in the country), consumers are in the purchase stage and they may not get too involved with the information search or the evaluation stage given the nature of this low-involvement category. They may attempt a variant or a new brand which they may have become aware of either through TV or POP material at the point of sale. An existing brand could probably bring in a variant (possibly Hindustan Lever brought in Lifebuoy Active at a competitive price to ensure loyalists of Lifebuoy do not pick up a competitive brand during the purchase cycle) or relaunch the brand (Margo) to ensure most consumers stay with the brand. Hamam's herbal variant in soaps and Colgate's herbal variant in toothpastes are examples of retaining consumers at the purchase stage with the equity and loyalty of the brand.

Strategy for durables

In the category of durables, a different approach may be required to make use of the basic CDM model. Information search stage (for categories with which consumers are familiar) is an important stage, especially for those which provide value or which provide new features. LG and Samsung in televisions (and LG in refrigerators) used the print media extensively to highlight the new features offered in their brands. This is one of the reasons for their `above- average' performance in these categories.

The information search stage is also important for certain categories such as microwave ovens and electric cookers for which the needs may have been created by the brands over the last decade (niche markets). This stage provides the consumers with specific benefits and `pulls' them towards the `purchase' stage. It may be a good idea for a brand of microwave oven or electric cooker to make use of the `information search stage' in conjunction with the `purchase' stage. The `purchase' stage occurs when consumers are `pulled' to retail outlets through the information provided by the brand. Demonstration is vital at the `purchase' stage as this provides heightened motivation for purchase. (Some consumers may also be impressed by the brand and may tuck it away in their minds for later reference.)

Evaluation of alternatives in such cases also happens along with the purchase stage, based on their perception of brand benefits, price, service and the demonstration provided at the retail outlet (for new-concept products). It may be a conceptual error to `take' the consumer to the purchase stage by offering the new-concept product as a freebie along with another product costing much more than the `new-concept' product (for example, if an electric cooker brand is given free with a refrigerator when the consumer is not even clear about the product, the following could take place: Due to the high visibility campaign to highlight the sales promotion, prospective consumers could think that the `new-concept' product has failed in the market and hence is being advertised as a freebie and/or the consumer may not put the `new concept' product to use for lack of adequate knowledge either about the usage or it benefits.

It is to be emphasised at this stage that for any `new-concept' product to succeed (especially durables), good word-of- mouth publicity is required at the post-purchase stage. A satisfied consumer of a brand of microwave oven would be an opinion leader among prospective target segments. This kind of opinion leadership has a tremendous amount of credibility associated with it. Another important aspect with regard to `new to market' durables is the after-sales service at the post-purchase stage. A company would do well to allocate an exclusive team to look into/follow up with consumers who are about `six-months-old' with regard to the product (the team should make frequent visits/phone calls to these consumers until they are familiar with regard to the usage, features and benefits and a period of six months is recommended as `usage warm-up' time). This would be an investment for a brand though it could lead to higher overheads in the short run. A fully satisfied buyer (within the `usage warm-up' period) is likely to become an advocate of the brand.

Akai's approach

Providing value at the information search stage could also take the shape of a high visibility campaign for conventional durables such as TVs and refrigerators. Akai had phenomenal success (though the period of success was limited due to a variety of reasons) in the colour television category when the brand entered the Indian context. The `value' was the exchange scheme provided by the brand taking into consideration the scope and potential for second-hand TVs. There was huge potential for such TVs in the semi-urban markets and urbanites had the need to replace their sets. Akai successfully used the `need' aspect of these segments along with a high visibility campaign to capture a sizable chunk of the market during a short time. It should also be noted that the brand came out with campaigns that reassured consumers about the quality of components used in the brand and this ensured there was no post-purchase dissonance after purchase. CDM models offer several alternatives that marketers could explore.

(The writer is Professor of Marketing, IIM-Bangalore. For further information, the author's book Conceptual Dimensions in Consumer Behavior - The Indian Context, published by Pearson Education could be consulted.)

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