The Covid-19 vaccines have now become available in most countries . According to our world data , several countries have vaccinated nearly half of their populations . While the vaccination rate raises the hope of getting to the end of this pandemic soon , the intriguing twists and turns in the pandemic narrative call for caution . We don ’ t know when and how the story of this disease and its implications will come to an end .

The way I see it , these Covid-19 vaccines have become the biggest and boldest mass market products directed to the adult consumer market globally . With millions getting the jab and over a billion consumers targeted in the world , these products are being talked about at every corner of every street in the world . There are real great marketing lessons to learn on the consumer decision making process related to the uptake of these Covid-19 vaccines .

My interest around this topic comes from the view that , this situation presents interesting lessons for scholars and practitioners of marketing and consumer behavior . Another reason why I have a big interest in this issue , is that in my business , SBO Research , we are occasionally called upon to conduct surveys , on consumer adoption of new products in the health sector . This includes consumer studies on injections , over the counter medicines , ethical drugs , hospital services and health seeking behaviors of certain market segments . At the time when the old treatment for malaria was being replaced with the current one , we were assigned to study the effectiveness of communication materials designed to disseminate information on the new malaria treatment among doctors , clinical officers , and patients .

This got me thinking about what we saw in the early days of Covid-19 vaccine distribution , when certain concerns were being raised by nurses and doctors , which suggested that relevant information had not been effectively disseminated . This could partly explain the slow uptake we saw at the start of the vaccination process .

The third stage involves decision making . In the case of these Covid-19 vaccines , the role of the marketer at this stage is to facilitate decision making and create confidence , by providing more specific information to help reduce perceived risk and by demonstrating how it has worked on the early users .

In this article , I apply the consumer behavior logic regarding the flow of decision-making stages that consumers go through in adopting new products , to the question of the decision to get the Covid-19 vaccine . Consumer behavior refers to the activities people undertake and decisions they make when planning , choosing , buying and using products to satisfy their needs . It encompasses all the actions and decisions that consumers make from the time they identify a particular problem or need , to the time they purchase and use a product that satisfies that need .

We review the process and the steps individuals tend to go through before deciding to get the vaccination because the acceptance of new products , comes down to people and their attitudes and behavior . All these are consumer choice issues . There are a lot of lessons for us to learn about consumer behavior in the uptake of these vaccines .

The question of what brand to get depends on what is available in each country . Here in Kenya we now have Astra Zeneca . Sputnik V was available at some point , but was discontinued . Recently , we have heard of discussions about the potential to bring Johnson & Johnson , and Pfizer vaccines .

Furthermore , these vaccine brands have faced unique issues and conspiracy theories which have complicated consumer understanding and decision making . Some have faced great publicity issues and questions centering on the fast speed of development and adequacy of trials . Again , this vaccine phase in the Covid-19 pandemic narrative has introduced new vocabulary to the masses

34 MAL42 / 21 ISSUE

MAL42:21 | Page 36

The Consumer Decision Process For Covid-19 Vaccine