Monday, September 13, 2010

Trifecta

 Hello World
After googling “impulsive buying,” I skip over the Wikipedia link and click on a more a reliable, businessdictioanry.com. This website defined it as “Spur of the moment, unplanned decision to buy, made just before a purchase.” The real take-away from that search was the last part of the definition stating that “usually about 80% of the time) )[it can] lead to problems such as financial difficulties, family disapproval, or feeling of guilt or disappointment.” Sure, impulsive buying might not be as harmful for things like chocolate or Hometown Buffet, but larger purchases can reveal a deeper knowledge about one’s financial stability and spending habits.

After working in retail, I have come to the conclusion that consumers are usually uneducated and frivolous in their decision making. Customers go after the new “hot” or “must have” item without really acknowledging the real reason for that purchase. Everyone and their mother, grandmother and great grandmother wants the IPhone. Do they know how to use it or even turn it on for that matter? You’d be surprised at the questions I get. “Is WebBrowsing the same as email?” I’ve come to the realization that people just buy things for no other reason than maintaining the status quo and to have something to show off to their friends. It is a marker of prestige and one’s ability to make that extravagant purchase at that point in time. It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford it! That’s beside the point…

Time and time again I have witnessed this obsession with material wealth. My most recent job as a sales associate at AT&T qualifies me to analyze the actions made by most consumers. People, unable to pay the past due balances on their account have it set in their mind they must purchase top of the line PDA phones, at any cost. Most people living paycheck to paycheck insist on having these items as well. This is evident to me when I hear I have to wait a week because “they don’t get paid until next Friday…” (Most people find no shame in telling me this). I feel like a marriage counselor when couples argue (in front of me) that they can't afford this, OH WAIT, yes they can, they just have to wait for their checks to clear. Now you might be skeptical and wonder if a phone is really an impulse buy , and I would say DEFINITELY YES!

Many of my customers are pulled in by a “sales greet” and then convinced to buy a phone. You would think that something as serious as a cell phone, binding you into a two year contract would warrant someone to think twice. I would then urge you to spend a few hours in my store and you will change your mind set.

Impulsive buying and consumer behavior is a topic that I’ve always thought about passionately in my head, but I’ve never actually sat down and organized my thoughts. Through this blog I hope to answer the question of WHY? WHY do people purchase things they know they cannot afford? It blows my mind and I don’t think I will ever find an answer. It’s actually common knowledge that the poor tend to spend their money and the rich tend to invest, which speaks volumes for capitalist society. Please don’t get me wrong and draw the conclusion that I think ‘all spending is bad.” We need “spenders” in our system to make the world go round. But if we brought to light the “not so smart choices” of these spenders, maybe our world would be a better place.

Please join me as I delve into a topic that I know you’ve been guilty of at one point or another. As this blog is a continuous work in process, I hope to touch a nerve with a few readers and together learn how to make better financial decisions. The topic of personal finance is taboo and will undoubtedly make us uncomfortable to talk about it out loud. We will not understand the topic or change our circumstances unless we force ourselves to sit down and assess our own financial decisions. So please, if something I say sparks a nerve with you, comment and make your voice heard!

Profile
Phillip Graves contributes to a blog entitled the Consumer Behavior Blog in which he explores the psychology of why consumers make certain purchases. This blog was of great interest to me because it not only focused on consumer behavior but also critiques the marketing strategies of certain companies. He said that market research is ineffective because consumers are usually not knowledgeable and there are so many differing ideas that coming to a consensus is impossible. In relation to my topic, Phillip focuses on the company rather than the consumer. This can give some good insight on why customer's take the actions that they do.

Phillip’s blog is academic in nature, since he claims to be a consumer behavior expert. He authored a book called Consumer.ology where he discusses the psychology behind why consumer’s make the decisions they do. He again stresses that market research is ineffective and that the key to understanding consumer’s lies in their psychology. His writing and studies are based in the United Kingdom, where he has consulted for various corporations. Although I could not find Phillip on Technorati, there were a good amount of responses to his blog entries. Phillip frequently posts to his blog on a range of topics that he seems to be very knowledgeable about. I find that he uses his blog as a tool to market his books.

This subject fascinates me and I hope to draw from his knowledge to come to a better understanding of the topic for myself. Phillip defies generally accepted marketing principles and claims that the standard way of thinking is incorrect. His blog counters the status quo and forces the reader to challenge their preconceived notion of consumer behavior and marketing.

I hope to mirror my blog as Phillip’s writes his, because he delves into topics that I also hope to analyze in my own blog. He authored one entitled “The Consumer Need Myth and Why Customers Really Buy.” This is the topic of my first blog and Phillip came to the conclusion that companies must target either a physical or emotional need of the customer. Phillip discusses that companies are usually out in the market to fill a need, but Philip argues that usually consumers don’t really know what they need, rather they know very little about the product they purchase. Moreover, the act of buying something is a goal that is set out in a person’s mind, and after the act is done, our brain releases the feel good hormone, dopamine, reacting to the idea that we have successfully completed a goal. He explores the psychology of “shopping” and discusses how it has always been beneficial to obtain material possessions. For example tools and “mechanisms for protecting ourselves” has always been valuable to us. Presently, material items that we purchase are a way of “protecting” our image and preventing us from being too much of an outsider.

The layout and organizational structure of Philips blog makes it easy for the reader to navigate. It is very simplistic, but not overly so that it makes the reader want to leave the site. His homepage contains only 3 tabs for external links, but it effectively organizes his blog. My own blog will draw information from Phillip’s blog; however, I will not have an in depth working knowledge of the topic. I hope to draw from his topics and expand his research by finding other scholars that agree or disagree with his opinions.

Voice Critique
I was immediately drawn to Gerd’s Consumer Behavior blog because the first page contained images of trendy products, celebrities and pop culture. In one of her posts entitled “Why I Love Ikea,” Gerd lists her #5 reason as the “You cannot go to an IKEA store without stopping by the cafeteria for the Swedish meatballs.” I liked this post in particular because I also enjoy them and no trip to Ikea is complete unless I eat a tray of meatballs covered in gravy, not to mention the mashed potatoes on the side. This blogger clearly shared my obsession with food and cheap furniture. This display of personality really helps the reader get an immediate sense of the blogger's voice. The graphics posted on her blog also speaks volumes to her personality and voice.

Gerd also complements many of her blogs with relevant images or video clips, which help the readers get a better feel for the topic being blogged about. She spiced up her blog by integrating a YouTube clip of a man that lived at Ikea while his apartment was being fumigated. I thought this was a clever way for her to market her own blog, while at the same time exposing another person’s media stunt.

This blog was very conversational in nature because it usually begins each blog entry with a question. In doing this, Gerd initiates a conversation with her reading audience I chose her blog because it was very easy to navigate and browse. She effectively created a nice flow by using bulleted and numbered lists. In doing this, it brought by attention to the main points and allowed me to skim over the blog quicker. Her Ikea blog is a prime example of this. Given that she is a female student interested in pop culture/media, her persona leads me to believe that she is a typical student on a budget that shops at Ikea. This topic reflects Gerd’s personality as a blogger because she chooses topics that would be of interest to the average college student. Given that she is a college student herself, she can connect to that specific audience.

In another post, Gerd’s personality is very apparent when she blogs about the over-consumption of different products and it’s effect on the environment. Again she employs her device of bulleted lists and offers several suggestions on how to reduce pollution. Her first lists includes ridiculous items like
• “Meat consumption takes 10 times the amount of resources to produce as a corresponding amount of vegetables. Therefore; quit eating meat.
• Did you hear about the British MP who announced that he was going to quit flushing after doing “number one” on the toilet? You can do better: Stop flushing the toilet even after number two; it will save much energy and water.
• While you’re at it, quit showering.”
She engages in a casual conversation with her audience if
“you love meat too much to give it up, you like smelling nice, you think the sound of a toilet flushing is like music to your ears.”
Gerd uses humor when talking to her audience and says if they agree to the above statement, then they must heed her second bulleted list of tips. By offering the first set of lists, she sets the tone that she can be comedic about the issue, however she transitions to a more serious tone. Her second list offers more realistic and practical solutions to over consumption. At the end of the blog she speaks more to her persona by saying “Next week I become a green consumer super-hero!” and places a picture of an imaginary super hero. Again she does this to add humor and possibly relay to the audience that although she blogs about a sensitive topic, she can still be funny.

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