Consumers Buying Roles Initiator, Influencer, Decider, Buyer and User

Five roles’ people might play in a buying decision:

• Initiator:

A person who first suggests the idea of buying the particular product or service.

• Influencer:

A person whose view or advice influences the decision.

• Decider:

A person who decides on any component of a buying decision; whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, or where to buy

• Buyer:

The person who makes the actual purchase.

• User:

A person who consumes or uses the product or service.

A company needs to identify these roles because they have implications for designing the product, determining messages, arid allocating the promotional budget. If the husband decides on the car make then the auto company will direct advertising to reach husbands. The auto company might design certain car features to please the wife. Knowing the main participants and their roles helps the marketer fine-tune the marketing program.

9 Role:

1. Maintainer:

Members who service or repair the product so that it will provide continued satisfaction is a maintainer.

2. Preparer:

The preparer is the person who changes the product to a usable form for consumption. For example, in a typical family consumption of food items, the mother plays the role of the preparer.

3. User:

The user is the person who actually uses or consumes the services or products. In most of the grocery product purchase, the entire family uses the product. In a typical purchase of a washing machine, the housewife plays the role of the user.

4. Buyer:

The buyer is the person who actually purchases and pays for the purchase. In a typical family decision-making process, the father plays the role of the buyer who is involved in the economic transaction process.

5. Decider:

A decider is a person who finally determines part or the whole of the buying decision, ie. all quantity like whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, when to buy, or where to buy are considered. In the event of buying baby products, the mother plays the role of the decider.

6. Gatekeeper:

A gatekeeper is a person who permits the flow of certain information and restricts the flow of some set of information. Parents play the role of a gatekeeper in the selection of movies for children.

7. Influencer:

An influencer is a person who directly or indirectly has some influence on the final buying decision of others. The parents play the role of influencers in the purchase process of chocolate.

8. Initiator:

An initiator is a person who first gets the thought or gives the suggestion/idea of buying a particular product. A child might play the role of an initiator in the purchase process of chocolate.

9. Disposer:

The disposer is the person who finally disposes of the package of the product. For example, the mother plays the role of a disposer after the product is consumed by the family.