Final Reflection On Blogging

My reflection at the end of completing most of the blogs on topics covered through the last year. Is that blogging is not soo hard for what i throught it was. you just have to put you head down and type away. its more like your writing out your daily journal, about what you did in lecture and what you have learnt from it. blogging is extremlly good way of getting you own thoughts across to others. as you can write whatever you feel on it. the option to add pictures and videos allowed me to make my blogs look more attractive. therefore people would want to read it, they would not find it boring like a book with no picture. videos allows me to gain a clearer understanding of the topic discusses as well as clearly link to the topic giving others a clear view and examples of the discussed topic. i worked extremelly hard on my blogs however i was really bad to leave it last mintue. the best way to get a sucessful blogging flow is to post striaght away when its free in your head or you will struggle. i got used to blogging quite quickly and find it a great site to use. i just hope that my blogs to get me good grades. and in future will help other students to learn the topics i have disucussed :D:D:D:D:D .....

Segmentation ,Targeting and Positioning

segmentation is “The process of splitting customers, or potential customers, in a market into different groups, or segments, within which customers share a similar level of interest in the same or comparable set of needs satisfied by a distinct marketing proposition.”
(http://www.marketsegmentation.co.uk/segmentation_tmsc.htm)

 

Market segmentation is when the markets are split in different groups. with similar needs and interests. Each segment is then put in to certain profiles. Many companies used market segmentation to put their buyers in to groups in order to analyse and target the right market.
Company may put the segments into certain profiles in which they put their customers. Some examples of profiles in segmentation can be :

 

• Age

 

• Culture

 

• Lifestyle

 

• Income

 

• Social class

 

• Gender

 

Segmenting the market in to group enable the company to be able to advertise and target the right product and services to the right target market.
For example companies selling toothpaste have a range of different products that are directed at certain people. The segmentation profiles would be the types of toothpaste and what they are for. Such as sensitive may be a profile which they would target people with sensitive teeth with the product of sensitive teeth toothpaste. Also toothpaste are for different needs are suited to different markets. Such as toothpaste for white teeth, fresh breath , protection, children, babies etc.

 

STP MARKETING

 

S- Segmentation

 

T- Targeting

 

P- Positioning

 

Market Segmentation (Segmenting) - dividing the market according to a specific set of criteria for a relatively homogeneous group of buyers.

Selecting the target market (Targeting) - is linked to the highlighted term attractiveness of segments and selection of operating concepts of the market.

Seo offers (Positioning) - This is the business of creating value and image (image) data on the offer by the target market, leading to the seizure of an explicit, place in the minds of customers through the range and create competitive advantage.
(http://eng.biznesowe.edu.pl/124-marketing_stp/)

STP Marketing by Doyle

  

STP is important to make sure to chose the right target market the aim of segmentation is to find the right market. The tactic used are:

 

Breaking the market into components
Regrouping them into market segments
Select which segment to target

 

There are a range of advantages of segmentation for companies these include:

• Helping to reach the right customer and not wasting time.
• Increase profits by targeting the right audience with the right product and service.
• To retain customers through FLC
• Help to gain more customers alongside gain feedback from the chosen target market

Intial thoughts on blogging

Blogging is a excellent way of expressing your learning and understanding of topics learnt in certain modules. It is like a computerised diary about you day to day life . more like a review of the lecture and summary of what we learnt in our own words, when i first started to use blogger i was extremelly confused as to what i was supposed to do with it. i also was confused with how to do certain things on it. however it is extremelly easy once you get used to it.blogging is well known and i know highly used by people. so hopefully i shall be using blogger many more time in the future.
 we have to complete 15 post on this blogger in order to complete our final assignement each blog will cover topics learnt through out the lectures for the module "understanding the customer" till the end of the year. these blogs are like a diary to what we have learnt also like a web book that other students can read and learn about what we learnt in our lecutres.

Enterprise Week

To be honest i dont remeber much from that week. unfortunately this will therefore be quite a short post as i have left it so late and totally forgot most points about enterprise week. During enterprise week I did not really take part in many activities that were involved in but i will explain about my experience to the event that I attended.


during this week we did not have any lectures to attend for our modules however we did have to attend two important lecture. There were also a range of events that students could attend mainly free of charge. The lecture that we were told to attend i Unfortunately did miss the first lecture however i attended the second lecture “ telling it how it is" i don’t really remember a lot about it as it was a long time ago. And as I’m such a last minute person unfortunately i decided to write about it in the end. When i hardly remember anything. The lecture was quite useful to me as we did find out a lot of information about marketing communication and they way the marketing and working environment is. Also we were able to ask a range of question along with hear the insight of people from different organisations and their job roles. The information i gathered from the discussion allowed me to retain note and information to use in one of my assignment. As there were so many students in the lecture theatre at the time of the lecture it helped me as their where a larger level of students asking more questions to the guest speakers. Which helped me to gain future more information about different topic i was learning. It also helped me to gain an insight into the industry and what job roles are available in different kinds of agencies.

Generational Marketing

This blog is going to be on generational marketing, which is method of marketing to a specific generation and the way we promote and sell products and services to them. There are a range of different products and services that are available for all generation types. Each of the generation have different types of characteristics about themselves. Promoting products and services to a specific generation can be easily done by the way they may act or speak.

A few generation types are known as :

1. Millennial or generational 2001ers- these are the people that are born after the 1980's

2. Baby busters or generation Xers- these are the ones born between 1965 to 1980

3. Baby boomers- these are the ones born between 1946 to 1964

4. Mature citizens- these are the ones born between 1909 and 1945

As many organisers have a range of products and service. They may chose to promote them to a specific generation, in order to do this they provide the products and service to suit the particular generation type. The lifestyle and social values of specific generations influence their decision on buying certain products and services. in order for the organisers to successfully market to the chosen generation they need to understand the target.

Each generation goes through the same life cycle from when they are born till they are at old age. In order to build brand loyalty marketing agencies find out more about their consumers and the place they have in society quickly.


Age subcultures impacts a the identity of a person and their habits, alongwith their spending. Depending on the way a person is whist growing up and the environment and generation around them. Their spending pattern will have a significant similarity to someone in the same generation group rather than someone in a higher or lower group. People in the similar age group or sharing similar experiences are known as age cohorts. people in the same generation group are potential targets for marketers.

Now I will tell you about one of the generations we have:

The over 50s

Seems like such a boring market doesn’t it, The old people . commonly known as the old age pensioners ( OAP’s). The over 50s may seem like a boring generation but actually they aren’t . although people now days don’t seem to hold the same values and aspirations as the over 50s did in their time. Marketers tend to market products and services to them.

During the years the over 50s have been through they had been through alot:

The great depression in 1932

The world war 2 starting 1939

World war 2 ending 1945

The welfare state 1948

Geroge VI dieing 1952

Commericail TV beginning 1955

Motorway Aid Travel 1958
England wining world cup 1966
Man on the moon 1969
Decimalisation 1971
Brain joining the EU 1973
Frist female prime minster 1979
The Falkland war 1982
Peace in northern Ireland 1998

The over 50s
Marketers have researched on what products and services over 50s used the most therefore directly market those products to them. The 50s don’t really buy lots of things like we do and are interested in things such as gardening and boring things.
The over 50 are likely to buy product that have a brand and that have been around for a long time. Some of the products that they buy and things they commonly attract to are :

Fairy liquid

Domestos original

Andrex

Cussons imperial leather

Birds eye

Domestos

Pledge clean & dust

Bassett’s liquorice allsorts

Mcvities ginger nuts

Beef ox
Health food shops
Poppy day appeal

Clearly you can see that these are well known brand that have been around for a long time. Where there are lots of alternative products out now that people by instead of spending more money on the expensive known brands.
Likewise with household products holidays and leisure spending the over 50s tend to spend on well know brand with full guarantee and quality service.

The over 50 attitutes and values are quite old fashion and may seem quite boring as most of them like staying at home. However they are many that now are quite active. They are also finicaily active and now a days want to stay active and fit looking after their health. They are also very keen to keep up to date with new trends and technology such as the internet.

Today’s Over 50s are a larger, more affluent and more dynamic group than any previous generation. It is important for us not to be blind to the fact that not all over 50s are old un fit and boring. Also many in their different ways the majority are actively seeking to enjoy life, and want to interact with brand and service providers. Therefore this generation can also be marketed in to with ranges of product and services also in the coming years people are becoming more fitter and the over 50s are somewhat wealthier as well.

Gift Giving

This blog is on gift giving from what I think gift giving is when you buy something in good will for someone. Either for an occasion like birthday, wedding, anniversary , graduation and many more. Sometimes buying a gift for someone is extremely hard as you don’t know whether they will like it or not. It depends on who the gift is for. Well sometime people say its not what you buy for the person or how much you brought it for “it’s the thought that counts”. Many children get extremely excited during Christmas or the birthday as the know they are going to get lots of presents. The gesture of giving a gift to someone is warm and emotional. Also forgetting to give someone a gift is extremely emotional for women epically. E.g. for a husband to forget a anniversary present! I feel sorry for him. Likewise for a boyfriend to forget a valentine present the girlfriend would be extremely unhappy and problem not let the guy forget for the next few years. gift giving may not only be for occasions. People give gift to their love ones just to make them happy.

During the main festivals, and religious events. Most shops and retailer tend to put their products and service on sale as the know that lots of people are going to be buying gift for their family and friends. Such as Christmas sales, Eid sales, boxing day sales, Easter sale etc.

During these time a lot of companies advertise the products and service to gain more customer with special deals and promotions.

Women are more likely to be the practical ones when it come to gift giving, and would spend more time choosing gifts and purchasing them. They find time to invest in making their friends and family happy. Whereas men find it worthwhile to spend time doing other things. When coming to buying gift they don’t spend much time thinking and purchase things straight away. Buying gift for love ones need time and a lot of attention whereas men simply don’t have the time or mentality to do it properly. Whilst women do .

SOCIAL CLASS AND PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

“Social classes are the hierarchical arrangements of people in society as economic or cultural groups.”
People are put in certain social classes, based on social power, wealth or another criterion

Although there are many factors that influence people in their buying behaviour. these can be because of the persons nature or nurture. Social class is a large factor that affects the way decision of purchase. Most societies are put in to different social classes. Depending on which social class a person is from their are significant difference between them and another person within another social class. These difference are in culture, education , income, dietary preferences, housing status, power, ownership, economic circumstances. People may not always stay in the same class as they can move up or down depending on economic and social changes in their life’s.

Social class can be measured in grades : ( UK Population )
A - upper middle class
B - middle class
C1 - lower middle class
C2 - skilled working class
D - working class
E - lower class

If you look at the following website there is a lot more information about social class by Kath Mcguire.

http://www.ucel.ac.uk/shield/docs/notes_class.pdf

in the past the past there where not many grades in social class as their where only upper class, middle and lower class. Depending on what class you are in the spending and personal income left. Consumers in the higher class had more income therefore would be able to spend more money on purchasing things whereas the buying behaviour of he middle and lower class was different as they would not have alot of money to spend on products and service which the upper class can. Advertisers now a days due to the increase in income and the variety of classes their are many different groups that they are target their products and services. Their are ranges of different products and services directed at a certain social class. As women now are at a higher status then they where in the past. Marketers can market far more ranges of products and service to them.

Social class and income are both needed to predict the consumers behaviour when it comes to expensive items like cars or homes and large purchase decisions

Culture

Culture includes the following;

• Language

• Religion

• Values and attitude

• Education

• Social Organisations

• Aesthetics

• Law And politics

• Technology and materials

 

Personally I feel that culture is a way a person is presented towards others. Culture could be your family background, tradition and also be the seen as from the way you behave. Throughout your life you fit into a range of different cultures. Culture has many different meanings which can be to do with rituals, traditions, among a organisation or society. Culture is basically what people perceive in their lives as right and wrong. Along with aspects of Family values , Society’s values and attitudes , Community learning and Communal or collective memory

 

Culture in which we live creates the meaning of everyday products and how these move through a society to consumers. Culture, a concept vital to the understanding of consumer actions, may be thought of as the collective memory of a society. Culture is the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions among the members of an organization or society. It defines human community. It includes both abstract ideas, such as values, sports, that are produced or appreciated by a group of people.

 

Culture is represented by “the skin of an onion, indicating that symbols represent the most superficial and value the deepest manifestation of culture.”

 

 

Culture is made up of three essential components:

1. Beliefs- Mental and verbal processes that reflect our knowledge and assessment of products and services.
2. Values- Indicators consumers use as guides for what is suitable behaviour; they tend to be relatively enduring and constant.
3. Custom- overt modes of behaviour, that constitutes culturally approved or suitable ways of behaving in specific situations.

A consumer’s culture determines the overall priorities he or she attaches to different activities or products. It also determines the success or failure of specific products services. Products which benefit the ones who are wanted by members of a culture have a better chance of being accepted in the market place. those aspects of culture that require some form of intellect to comprehend and which are most highly valued and esteemed by a given society's political, social, economic, and intellectual elite

Few views on culture :
The complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, law, morals, custom and any capability and habits acquired by man as a member of society” Tylor (in Dubois)

A culture is the configuration of learned behavior and results of behavior whose component elements are shared and transmitted by members of a particular society Ralph Linton (1945)

There are a range of different cultures in the world which change with where the person is and people around them . such as Popular culture (or "pop culture") refers to the cultural meaning systems and cultural practices employed by the majority classes in a society.

 

A group are a two or more individuals who share similar interests, norms, behaviors as each other. There are many types of groups ranging in all different ages and types. Groups are not only male or female , they can also be mixtures of both. These groups of people share the similar interests or have something in common with each other. Groups influence the socialization process, as they influence the way a person behaves and different things they learn.


There are large ranges of different groups that are targeted by certain organisations for their customers to be from. Their target market may also be chosen from a certain group. As they have the same attitudes and behaviour. These groups can be from a range of types and the customers can be grouped in different ways. According to Maslow hierarchy of needs groups are located in the “belonging need” .everyone needs unconditional positive regard , such as children learn through conditional positive regard. Marketers and advertisers use this as a pivotal message in ad campaign to gain more consumers.

Social Comparison Theory

We tend to look to the behavior of others to provide a guide and to reassure our self-evaluation. Therefore most consumers are careful about whom they use for benchmarks. Most people tend to compare themselves with others from the same level, or co-oriented peers.
Norms and peer pressure
The main influence that groups have is the acceptance of certain behavioural expectation such as norms and rules. This can be a reaction of pressure from others , internalisation and identification , compliance or counter conformity.

There are a range of reasons to why people may be pressured in to joining groups or change their behaviour to get involved in to a group. This can be because of the importance of becoming a group member, or fear of negative sanction , as well as the support they would get from other group members.

Many organisers also may target certain groups, for their products and services. They advertise their products to these certain groups. They chose these groups in order to be able to market their products to the right target group. In order to find the right group to chose as their target market the organisers use a range of different market research methods to figure out different attitudes , likes and dislikes of their customer group.

There are many companies that a directly targeting certain groups types. Either according to gender, age , social class etc. There are many high street shops that cater for certain groups. These shops mainly cater for 1 or few types of similar groups of group rather many as the group chosen are of large scales.

e.g. bonmarche is a retailer that provides clothing for women over 45. The target group the retailer is targeting are women 45+ therefore there advertisements and clothing are going to appeal for that group. Whereas it would not appeal to teenagers or young women. Whilst new look is a retailer targeted at a younger age group mainly for females however some shops have male clothing as well. You would not see a customer from bonmarche shopping from new look as the retailer of new look is not targeting the 45+ group. Likewise you would not see a new look customer buying cloths from bonmarche as they are not their target market group.

Learning ,Memory & Nostalgia

 

Learning refers to a permanent change in the behaviour , which comes wit experience however this experience doesn’t affect the learner directly however we can learn through knowledge of event that affect others. Many people also learn through new things and new experiences.

 

My definition of learning is when a person’s observations and events around them enable them to in put things into their memory. These things are then used in their everyday life also resulting in changes in their behaviour and decision in their life. Learning is part of the human development process. When a person is born their brain automatically starts to learn new things from observation. Also as we grow up and go through different phrases in life we learn new things.

 

The black box behavioural theory the observable aspect are things that go in to the box (stimuli) events in life and what comes out the box is the reaction and change in behaviour to the stimuli ( response)

Stimulus > consumer > response

 

Memory

 

• “learning is the acquisition of knowledge & memory is the storage of internal representations of that knowledge” (Blakemore, 1988)

 

 

 

The above diagram shows The memory process

 

Memory involves a process of getting information and storing it for future usage. Sometime the mind is like a computer: learning the date is inputted in the brain > processed > outputted for use later on.

A consumer process their stimulus simply as sensory meaning like colour and shape.

 

There are three main memory systems : sensory memory, short – term memory ( STM) AND long term.

1. Sensory memory – this is the storage of information we get from out senses , this is mainly tempory storage and only last a couple of second at most.
2. Short term memory – similary stores information for a short period of time, with a limited capacity.  
3. Long term memory – like the name allows a person to keep hold of information for a long time. although most of the information entered in long term memory does not go away, it may be difficult or impossible to retrieve unless the appropriate cues are present

Knowledge structure

These are complex, bits of information and date are stored in spider web like structure. These information are placed in nodes which are connected to the knowledge structures. Some of the nodes are linked with each other these then cause “Triggering “ . such as when a person remembers something so little because of some event that triggers their memory.

Nostalgia

Nostalgia is wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time: a nostalgia for his college days. (dictionary.com)

 

“Nostalgia has been described as a bitter-sweet emotion, where the past is viewed with both sadness and longing.” (Solomon, 2000)

 

Nostalgia tends to be linked to the 5 senses. A stimulus is sometimes able to enable a response later in time. Advertisers try to use nostalgic themes to attract consumers. These are LINKs to the happiness/good feelings they had at that time towards the product that they are trying to sell.

Advertisers try their best to appeal to the 5 senses. The more they appeal to the easier it is for them to portray the message to their consumer and the stronger the message will be received. Brand names are also a way of attracting consumers however some organisation are extremely strong in appealing to their consumer that they don’t even have a brand name. Ironic advertisements are also a extremely good way to portray messages across to customers as they are likely to be remembered and trigger people memory.

 

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/46/1/34/ < this aticle gives you a little more information about nostalgia 

 

 

Gender differences in buyer behaviour

There are many differences in males and females not only in body but in mind as well and with the way they react to different things. Females tend to take more interest in certain things than males. Likewise males tend to take more interest in other things than females

Men and Women both are impressed and attracted to different things such as women are impressed by sentimental and emotional things such as a woman would be impressed with a man who:

• Compliments her  > respects her > honours her > cuddles her > kisses her > loves her > strokes her teases her > comforts her > protects her > spends money on her  > wines and dines her > buys things for her > listens to her > cares for her > stands by her > supports her > holds her > goes to the ends of the Earth for her.

Whereas men are impressed easily by material things such as :

• food > porn > racing cars > games

Many companies use the gender to help them target the right audience. Gender plays a vital part in the world of marketing, Depending on what product and service a company is selling.

The product and services may be directed at a certain gender type male or female. The form of advertising and attracting changes depending on which gender type is targeted. males and females respond and remember certain things differently to each other. Therefore the way advertisers market their product and services to the gender differ as the marketing communication methods and forms of Advertisements used are directly appealing to either males or females. females are more emotional and sentimental who are likely to remember the little simple things and are attracted by intimate things. Whereas males are likely to remember larger material things and would not seem to be interested in the little inmate things such as women. For example a .group of people were brought to a room and later asked to remember various items there. both genders would remember completely different things. The results where that :

• The men remembered the big picture of an office like the location of a desk or bookshelf.

• The women remembered more intimate details like a vase of flowers in the corner, or a picture of a husband and wife on a book case.

Schiebe and Condry (1984) examined advertisements according to product type and found major gender differences in the values promoted in advertisements.

Advertisements aimed at women seemed to be stressed over beauty and youth whilst adverts aimed at men were more valued by ambition and physical strength


When men are making purchasing decision they base their decision on partially digested information as they are less patience and not attracted to picture. They want simplicity and clarity . there for they purchase things quickly if it attracts them. They don’t spend time looking around for deals or finding out more about the product they are purchasing.

Whilst women are likely to spend time whilst purchase products finding out all the information, looking around for deals , reading through all the paper work , and less likely to make a quick decision when purchasing something. Women are more open minded than men, and are attracted by pictures and many other things.

For women adverts and products that attract them would be adverts that are mainly directed at women which may have more colour and detail. E.g. toiletry ads , make up ads etc

Women may find humorous adverts rude, and are likely to purchase things direct from the shop rather than online as men are more lazy making quick decisions therefore would purchase things direct , and online.

this video is directly aimed at women:

 
men :

Perception the Experiments

In this session we carried out experiments to see the way people perception of things are varied. Also the way their senses and perception of things are altered by the way things are around them. Also seeing how people perceive things differently not because of the way they are brought up towards it. The experiments where done on simple everyday things we buy in order to see how the purchase decision made not only because of the senses but because of the perception of the item. Such as how people by drinks that are similar in taste however are likely not to by cheap brands but the well known brands. Not only because of their perception of the taste due to them regularly drinking it, due to them knowing is a well known brand even if the other taste just as good.

The experiments that we chose where to see how people react to their senses and the sensation of them towards different objects .the experiments that we did we took out the sensation and sense of sight. One of the experiments were done on crisp people tend to buy crisp on the brand. People tend to think because there are of a better brand the crisp are better quality and taste better however to put their perception to the test. The experiment was done on crisp we chose two crisp of the same flavour so the taste of it would be similar however of different brands one of a higher well known brand ( walkers) and one of a standard brand ( Tesco ). From the senses of sight the crisp look the same, as well as the sense of taste they are similar due to the same flavour. However people still perceive the crisp differently and would preferred to eat well known brands rather than standard brands.

The experiment consist of volunteers from our class who were told to taste both crisp and decide on to which crisp they preferred. Most of the students unknowingly preferred the Tesco brand. However their perception of the brand was low and cheap. Once they were told that they actually liked the Tesco brand crisp over the higher brand walkers crisp. they were shocked at how the perception of a brand actually affects them a lot as they would be likely to choose walkers in Tesco rather then Tesco crisp. without using their senses of taste, because they would overrule their sense of taste over the sight and perception of the brand.

Their where many other experiments which also showed how people perceive things differently. Such as cookies (Maryland and Tesco cookies) , 7 up and sprite , cheap lemonade and Schweppes lemonade.

Personality and Self Concept

The definition of personality is a mixture of all the attributes in a person such as behavioural, temperamental, emotional and mental that characterize a unique individual. The certain individuals personality can be affected by the environment that a person may be in as well as other aspects. Alongside affecting the way they respond within certain environments.

“Personality: a person’s unique make up, which consistently influences the way the person responds to his or her environment”

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

This is the Measure of our dominant preferences for taking in information and making decisions although it May not be polarised clearly between scales you can be “a little of both”. All profiles are on the same level. This is based on the theory of Carl Jung.
the scale

Extraversion (E).... Introversion (I)
Sensing (S) ....Intuition (N)
Thinking (T).... Feeling (F)
Judging (J).... Perceiving (P)

Hollanders research in to personality :

Their are many aspects to the the way the personality of a person is changed and interpreted.

External aspects > how the person interacts with other people

Internal aspects > combination of the person values and attitudes

Dynamic aspect > the way the person faces new situation and how they behave. E.g social adjustments ,consistent aspect is the way the person is in their characteristic style.

 Horney (1945) view on personality is that Personality develops from the level of anxiety felt at being a dependent child.such as whilst a child goes towards others the affection/affiliation gain them complaint. Also they pick up things like prefer brands

Also when they go against others the Power/ domination they get Aggressive.
when they Turn away from others they feel isolation/ indifference they get detached from the family world and the environment around them.
According to McCrae & Costa (1999) view on personality they developed the Big Five scale of personality type which consist of :

• Openness to experience 
• Conscientiousness 
• Extroversion 
• Agreeableness 
• Neuroticism

Each individual personality consist of different levels of each personality type making their own individual personality.
There are many ways people interpret your personality and many ways people can find out what type of person you are using various forms of questionnaires and tactics.
I did a test online to see what type of personality i have. I had to answer 4 questions as to which type I’m more likely to be like. My results :

Also another test that i did showed my personality in another way:

Self concept
“Self-concept: the beliefs a person holds about his or her own attributes, how he or she evaluates those qualities” Solomon, 1999
Self concept is the way a individual views themselves in the way that others are viewing them along with the way the individuals perception of the world around them. This is things such as influences from ,peers, friends , family and others around them.
A person self concept of themselves may be different to the way others actually view them. Such as a person may perceive themselves as a failure however people may be regarded as very successful by others.
self-concept does not necessarily reflect reality - a person who is regarded by others as very successful may perceive themselves to be a failure

Self Image, Ideal Self and Self Esteem

Self image – is the kind of person we think we are . this is usually comprises social roles, body image & personality traits (very descriptive)

Ideal Self - is the kind of person we would like to be to others which may be slightly or totally different from our self image. The larger the gap between the ideal self and self image the lower a person self esteem

Self esteem - is the extent to which we like ourselves this is linked to whether we accept or approve of our self image

There are many a range of people that have researched in to their own definition of self concept.

William James (1890) --- argued that self-concept derives from social comparisons

with others peers, family, reference groups

Goffman (1959) --- saw self-concept as reflecting social role experiences (e.g. daughter, wife, mother, employee, manager) which add facets to our view of ourselves

Cooley (1902)--- Saw feedback from others as crucial in the development of the “looking glass” self

Mead (1934) --- argues that self-concept is formed directly from social experience - not just the reaction from others but also social & cultural values which we internalise

The video shows how certain things affect a persons self image and self esteem:

 

Values

Values is the ideals, customs, institutions, etc. of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard. These values may be positive, as cleanliness, freedom, or education, or negative, as cruelty, crime, or blasphemy.

(Dictionary.com)

Values can also be defined as the ideas the people have about what is desirable. Values can affect a person to an extent depending on the environment they are in and certain events that may affect them due to the changes around them.

The level of importance certain values have on a person is dependent on things around them. This can also be affected by their age and what happens in their life. Such as a group of people in the same environment and age group may have similar important values to them. Whereas the same values to others may not hold importance to them.

Kahle’s List of Values (1983)

•  Self Respect
• Excitement
• Being Well Respected
• Self-fulfilment
• Sense of accomplishment
• Warm relationship with others
•  Security
• Fun & enjoyment
• Sense of belonging

Over the years these values have changed in importance to people. Some may have decreased in importance to people and some may have increased.

There are a range of events in a a certain individuals life that may affect the importance of and order the values are in for a person. These events may be personal to the individual. There are also events that have taken part in the past that have affected everyone not only one individual but everyone in the world. Which therefore then affected the list and importance of pacific values that a person has and the way they live their life. E.g terrorism attracts , role of women , wars etc



These a a few Key event that i have come across in my 19 years:
many of which affected the way i think and my personal life.

Diana death  ---- 1998

September 11th attack ----2001

Iraq war ---- 2003

London bombing 7/7 ---- 2005

Tsunami ----2007

Hati earth quake ----2009
Ash cloud ---- 2010

Laddering technique

Laddering techniques enable us to identify the links between functional product attributes & desired end states
People have specific terminal values (end states) (e.g. self-respect) and choose amongst alternative actions to achieve these end states
Products become a means to achieving these end states e.g. weight watchers meals

Laddering research enables marketers to ascertain their USP & their positioning stratege

•  Ads brief is likely to include:
•  Target market
• Terminal value e.g warm relationship with others
•  Instrumental value e.g. car as a “babe magnet”
• Content
• Benefit
•  Message

 VALS2

• Values 
• Attitudes
•  Lifestyle survey

 Psychographic research – combines detailed demographic data with AIO statements (Attitudes, Interests and Opinions)

My results the VALS 2 :

Your primary VALS™ type is Experiencers, and your secondary type is Innovator.
The primary VALS type represents your dominant approach to life. The secondary classification represents a particular emphasis you give to your dominant approach.

“Experience’s are motivated by self-expression. Young, enthusiastic, and impulsive consumers, Experiencers quickly become enthusiastic about new possibilities but are equally quick to col. They seek variety and excitement, savoring the new, the offbeat, and the risky. Their energy finds an outlet in exercise, sports, outdoor recreation, and social activities.”

“Innovators are successful, sophisticated, take-charge people with high self-esteem. Because they have such abundant resources, they exhibit all three primary motivations in varying degrees. They are change leaders and are the most receptive to new ideas and technologies. Innovators are very active consumers, and their purchases reflect cultivated tastes for upscale, niche products and
services.”
(http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml)

Family Purchase Behaviour

To be honest in the family it’s obvious that now days most decision are made by women rather than men. As women are now catching up with men in all aspects.

“ 80% of UK purchasing decisions are made by women but 83% of 'creatives' are men”

Depending on the way people a natured and what influences they have from their family the way they think about purchasing certain products are determined.

Now a days purchasing product in the family is not only a decessoion made by the elders in the family. These purchase decision also involve other members in the family. Children have become a highly important factor that influence the family purchase power. As alot of perant now make purchase on behalf of there child. Alongside lisening to comments from their children. As companies have not become aweare of this and of influences of certain age groups in the family they are now trying to invest time and money in producing and advertising products and services that suit the younger family members such as environmentally friendly and child friendly.

 
The different types of families are :
Nuclear family- which is a family consisting of the parents and children living together.
Extended family- which is the nuclear family and other relatives living together such as auntie’s or grandparents
Family of orientation – this is the family a person is born into.
Family of procreation- this is the family a person finds through marriage.

There a range of changes that may affect the family structures these can be caused different reason such as Increasing number of births out of marriage, lone parent families , step families, one person family, etc
It seems now to be obvious that women are catching up with men in the world of work. However women are now also working successfully running a family with children as well there are now far more women working although there children are between the ages of 11-15. many also working full time with children of very young ages.

The family lify cycle :

• Bachelor >> Young, single, not living at home
• Newly married Young >>  no children
• Full Nest I >>Youngest child under 6
• Full Nest II >> Youngest child 6 or over
• Full Nest III  >> Older married with dependent
• children
• Empty Nest I >> Older married, no children living at
• home
• Empty Nest II >> Older married, retired, no children
• living at home
• 8 Solitary Survivor I >>  In labour force
• Solitary Survivor II >> Retired

A family as a consumer , needs are affected by the number of children, their ages & whether one, two or more adults are employed outside the home.
In most traditional families the men are always the people who make the money and the women are the ones who spend it. However women don’t spend as carelessly as men do. As they take in to account other aspects of the family needs as well. Whereas in modern families both the men and women share the responsibility of the purchasing in the house hold.
Field (1969) identified three dimensions to determine relative influences of husband, wife, child :

•  Discernment or technical > know how
• Price - (expensiveness) > who pays
• Satisfaction > who uses 

The wife and husband in the family make most purchase decision however the importance of their decision lies on the product they are purchase. Mainly men tend to make decision on purchases of things that suit them rather than for the actual house need, however they make the decision for the purchases of more technical things such as electronics and technology. Whereas women are likely to be doing the purchasing for the house , such as cloths , food , toiletry etc.