BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Part 1 (Sections 1–4): 900–1,000 words; Part 2 (Section 5): 300–500 words
Part 1 Tasks (Objectives from Phases 1–4): My Personal Customer Profile.
Using the information that you have researched about your own buying behavior during Phases 1–4, it is time to create your personal customer profile.
For this Key Assignment draft, you are compiling all of your ideas related to social, group, and anthropological views of consumer behavior and the influences and effects of social class, family structure, cultural background, and group identification. You are also considering how technology, the economy, and political factors influence your consumer behaviors, create customer retention, and help you understand your own consumer behavior.
The profile is designed to explain your personal buying habits and behaviors—essentially why you buy.
Your customer profile will include the following sections:
Section I: Why Do I Buy? My Buying Behaviors and Attitude
This section will include information about what motivates you to purchase products or services. It will show how your cultural and societal influences are interrelated in your buying choices. Katz (1937) noted that consumer attitudes exist to satisfy one of these 4 functions: Utilitarian, Value-Expressive, Ego-Defensive, and Knowledge.
Section 1 should include the following:
Your photo
An analysis of 3 purchases that you made recently with reasons why you bought the products or services
Explain 1 societal influence that affected the purchases.
Explain 1 group influence that affected the purchases.
Explain 1 cultural influence that affected the purchases.
An analysis of your buying attitude and its influence on your consumer buying decisions
Click here for additional information on consumer attitudes.
Choose 1 of the buying attitudes in the following table, and explain why you buy. Include an example of a product or service that matches this buyer attitude and purchasing behavior.
My Buying Attitude
Why I Buy
Utilitarian: Individuals with this attitude buy based on the amount of pain or pleasure that it brings.
Value-Expressive: Individuals with this attitude buy based on how the product affects their social identity.
Ego-Defensive: Individuals with this attitude believe that a certain product or service may compromise their self-image.
Knowledge: Individuals with this attitude examine facts and real-world situations when buying a product.
Section 2: What Speaks to Me? My Communication Style
This section examines your personal communication style and how it affects your buying choices. This section will also include what type of advertising messages and appeal influence your purchase decisions.
Section 2 should include the following:
An explanation of what advertising appeal attracts your attention the most and why. To help you get started, click here.
An analysis of how a brand can get your attention quickly and effectively to make you a lifelong, loyal customer.
Include an example of an ad that appealed to you and why. It can be a print ad, social media site, television or radio commercial, direct mail piece, or any communication that “spoke” to you and made you consider purchasing the product.
My Buying Attitude
Ad Message Appeal: Why the Message Spoke to Me
Utilitarian: Individuals with this attitude buy based on the amount of pain or pleasure that it brings.
Value-Expressive: Individuals with this attitude buy based on how the product affects their social identity.
Ego-Defensive: Individuals with this attitude believe that a certain product or service may compromise their self-image.
Knowledge: Individuals with this attitude examine facts and real-world situations when buying a product.
Section 3: What Can I Buy? My Demographic and Psychographic Profile
This section includes your demographic and psychographic information.
Section 3 should include the following:
Your demographic statistics:
Age
Gender
Income
Marital status
Education
Your psychographic factors:
Lifestyle interests
Habits
Hobbies
Analyze your present social class and its influence on your lifestyle choice and purchasing decisions, including how your customer profile influences purchases. Consider the following:
Your personality traits
Your social class
Your lifestyle
Your cultural background
Your family roles and influences
Section 4: My Likes and Product Preferences
This section looks at how your behaviors, attitudes, communication style and demographic and psychographic information draw you to certain products.
Section 4 should include the following:
Develop a product preference section analyzing how your behaviors, attitudes, communication style, and demographic and psychographic information draw you to certain products.
Explain what brand fits each of your product preferences or lifestyle choices and why.
Conduct this analysis for the following categories of products:
Car
Education
Technology
House
Food and beverage
News
Part 2 Tasks (Objectives from Phase 5)
Section 5: My Blog Response: Why I Buy Stuff
Based on your previous analysis, respond to a blog that you are interested in from a company Web site or community discussion.
Add a copy of what you posted to the blog and a short summary in about 150–200 words.
Section 5 should include the following:
Your selected blog’s link, your post, and a summary of the response
What information you learned and researched about your buying habits for the blog post
Observations and reflections about how you might approach buying products and services in the future based on what you now know about your own consumer behavior
Your final Key Assignment should include the following sections:
Section 1: Why Do I Buy? My Buying Behaviors and Attitude
Section 2: What Speaks to Me? My Communication Style
Section 3: What can I Buy? My Demographic and Psychographic Profile
Section 4: My Likes and Product Preferences
Section 5: My Blog Response: Why I Buy Stuff
References
Dean, G. (2010). Understanding consumer attitudes. Retrieved from the Marketography Web site: http://marketography.com/2010/10/17/understanding-consumer-attitudes
Evic, U. (2011). Guide to advertising appeals – The 7 ad appeals explained. Retrieved from the Ezine Articles Web site: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=5781979&Guide-to-Advertising-Appeals—The-7-Ad-Appeals-Explained
Katz, D. (1937). Attitude Measurement as a Method in Social Psychology. Social Forces, 15, 479–482. Retrieved from http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/Katz/Katz_1937.html
