Consumers are connect in both internal and external information search.
Internal search engages the consumer identifying alternatives from his or her memory. For certain small involvement products it is extremely important that marketing programs achieve 'top of mind' awareness. For instance few people will search the Yellow Pages for fast food restaurants therefore the consumer must be able to retrieve one's restaurant from memory before it will be considered. For high participation products consumers are more likely to use an external search. Previous to buying a car for instance the consumer may ask friends opinions read reviews in Consumer Reports consult several web sites and visit several dealerships. Therefore firms that make products that are selected predominantly through external search should invest in having information available to the consumer in need-example through web sites, brochures or news coverage.
A compensatory decision engages the consumer trading off good and bad attributes of a product. For instance a car may perhaps have a low price and good gas mileage but slow acceleration. If the price is adequately inexpensive and gas efficient the consumer may then select it over a car with better acceleration that costs more and uses more gas.
Sometimes a decision will involve a non-compensatory strategy. For instance a parent may reject all soft drinks that contain artificial sweeteners. At this time other good features such as taste and low calories cannot overcome this one 'non-negotiable' attribute.
The quantity of effort a consumer puts into searching depends on a number of factors such as the market (how many competitors are there as well as how great are differences between brands expected to be?) product characteristics (how significant is this product? How difficult is the product? How clear are indications of quality?) Consumer characteristics (how involved is a consumer generally in analyzing product characteristics and making the best possible deal?) as well as situational characteristics (as previously discussed).