Consumers Subway

(f) When Subway first entered China, there is no immediate acceptance from the locals. This is a common scenario as consumers need some time to adopt or purchase a new product. Outline the FIVE (5) steps in the adoption process that a consumer will go through in purchasing a new product.

Adoption Process

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        First and foremost, the adoption process refers to the cognitive process which all the consumers pass before they actually purchase the product. There are five stages in the adoption process.

        First step is awareness. Awareness is when the potential customer becomes aware of the products or innovation for the first time. Besides, global marketers will try to create awareness through general exposure to advertising messages. For example, when SUBWAY® first ventured into the China market, the locals did not have any idea what SUBWAY® is and some might even misunderstand the name of subway and think it is an underground railway. Therefore, the locals only stood outside and watched for a few days. Therefore, SUBWAY®’s marketers will use advertising strategies through social media, billboards, flyers and newspaper to advertise their products and make the locals aware of SUBWAY® and to know what it is they are offering to the Chinese market.

        The second step of adoption process is interest. Interest is when the product catches the prospect’s attention and the prospect is interested enough to learn more. The prospect will engage in research and seek information. For example, after the locals became aware of SUBWAY®, they are curious and want to learn more about what SUBWAY® is. They will acquire information on the products SUBWAY® has to offer, and other related elements to the product like the price of the products, the place the product is sold and the promotion, which is what special offers SUBWAY® is offering and their advertisements. They will search for this information either through online, the news on television or newspaper articles and advertisements, or even asking their American associates in Beijing who had already tried SUBWAY®.

        The third step of the adoption process is evaluation. In this step, prospects will have enough knowledge and information about the product. Prospects will assess the product’s relative benefits and decide whether or not to try it. For example, after the prospect has gathered all the information that SUBWAY® offers healthful alternatives to traditionally fatty fast food and the idea of touching their food as sandwiches are eaten with bare hands. In this step, prospects will have decided if they want to try a new alternative to fast food, and if they would be willing to try using their bare hands to eat their food as it is not a common practice in China, but is a culture practiced in the west and brought to the east.