Case Study - 3.1: How The Internet is Impacting the Buying Decision Process As marketers, we know that the Internet has dramatically affected the buying process for many products as online purchasing continues to grow at a dramatic pace. But we should also understand that the Internet and Web 2.0 have also had a major influence on the buying decision process as well. A recent study by McKinsey concludes that consumers no longer proceed in a linear "purchasing funnel process when deciding to make a purchase. The funnel analogy has been a basic guideline for marketing thinking and planning for many years- consumers start with a number of potential brands in mind (the wide end of the funnel) and then systematically move through linear stages of familiarity, consideration and purchase by narrowing the choices along the way to get to the one brand they ultimately purchase. It sounds logical, and has been until now. The explosion of products, media alternatives and access to word-of-mouth experiences through social media and other Web 2.0 access points has created a radically new decision process. Marketers and their agencies must acknowledge this new "consumer decision journey," as McKinsey describes it, and revise the focus of their marketing to be in the right place at the right time to reach consumers when their message is most likely to influence their purchases. The McKinsey research examined the purchase decisions of almost 20 000 consumers across five industries and three continents, and identified four critical stages of the decision buying process - initial consideration, active evaluation, moment of purchase, and post-purchase experience. Rather than moving in a systematic straight line, the McKinsey study found that today the decision process is more circular than linear and the subsequent stages often produce a broader consideration set than those initially considered. The first step in the buying decision is the same. The consumer considers an initial set of brands based on brand perceptions and exposure to recent touch points. It should be noted, however, that other research has confirmed that the initial consideration set is typically much larger than it might have been in previous buying decision based on the greater number of products and a decline in brand loyalty from a preferred brand to a preferred set of brands. It's the second step in the buying decision that has been most affected by the web. Rather than narrowing the choices, the consumer enters an active evaluation phase where the number of choices may be dramatically expanded. Internet access to information from a variety of social media and other word-of-mouth touch points can have a dramatic effect on the brands that were initially considered, and those original choices can be easily replaced with more informed choices based on trusted input and evaluation. This active evaluation phase shows a profound change in consumer response and requires much more consideration by marketers if they want to be successful. The traditional "push" marketing elements, that most likely affected the initial consideration set, can be easily modified by an empowered consumer who now takes control of the decision process. Today's empowered consumer actively seeks corroboration of previous brand impressions and new input from Internet reviews and other information sites as well as word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family and other trusted sources. The McKinsey report concludes that traditional marketing remains important, but argues that marketers must move aggressively to learn to also find ways to influence these consumer-driven touch points in order to remain in the consideration set