Unlocking the Customer Value Chain: How Decoupling Drives Consumer Disruption

by Thales S. Teixeira

In the face of such complexity, customers tend to simplify the task of choosing, employing a two-stage approach. First, they use quick and simple filtering techniques to eliminate undesirable options. They then perform a slower, more elaborate comparison of the remaining options. For instance, consumers choosing which yogurt to buy might first eliminate all options that are not major known brands or that cost too much. This leaves them with what marketers have called a “consideration set,” a group of brands that customers actively consider before selecting one to purchase.23 The consideration set is one of the most important marketing concepts of the past few decades.24 It posits that brands in consumer products don’t compete by vying at once for each customer in one big match-up.