We have generally assumed that the process consumers go through for making a purchasing decision is based on various touch points: awareness of a product or service, becoming interested in that product or service, forming positive attitudes and then making the purchase.
However, according to a recent McKinsey Quarterly newsletter, that process does not work any more because it does not recognize "all the touch points and key buying factors resulting from the explosion of product choices and digital channels, coupled with the emergence of an increasingly discerning, well-informed consumer."
McKinsey has labeled the new process "the consumer decision journey," and points out that by understanding that journey, "and directing their spending an messaging to the moments of maximum influence, they stand a much greater chance of reaching consumers in the right place at the right time with the right message."
Read more at: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/The_consumer_decision_journey_2373