The result of the customer’s evaluation of options is a prioritized list of alternatives, the highest of which the customer selects and purchases. Ideally, the entities involved with the third stage of the life cycle, the actual purchase process, are the firm from which the customer buys, service providers that enable the transaction, complementors, and…

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In the difficult days of the in-between period, a desire to move on must be coupled with a drive to find strength, wisdom, and emotional support, if only on the outer boundaries of our social world. The practice of shifting connections, as we describe in more detail below, entails looking for new peer groups, guiding…

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Once a customer identifies a need, and the options to meet that need are clear, he or she evaluates them in the second stage of the model. Unless we are dealing with a low-value or repeat purchase situation, this process usually involves researching the options’ value propositions, taking into account not only factors such tangible…

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Our close contacts don’t just blind us, they also bind us to our outdated identities. Reinventing involves trying on and testing a variety of possible selves. But our long-standing social networks may resist those identity experiments. Remember Gary McCarthy’s chagrin when he learned, three years out of college, that his family had already pegged him…

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The first stage of the life cycle describes customers recognizing an unmet need (or want), and their becoming aware of and identifying potential solutions. The constituents present at this stage usually are the firm, its competitors, and affinity groups. Share and Enjoy: