The Needs and Choices for Body Modification among Individuals - Term Paper Example

MRKT - Buyer Behaviour - Assignment 1—Individual report Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Image Altering Options 3 a. Botox 3 b. Lasik 4 c. Tattoo 4 d. Body piercing 5 e. Hair transplantation 5 f. Breast Implantation 5 3. Interview 6 4. Analysis of findings from the interview 7 5. Recommendations 10 6. Conclusion 11 7. Reference 12 8. Bibliography 13 1. Introduction Human beings have always been fascinated with beauty since times immemorial. They have constantly strived to beatify their surroundings in as many ways possible. And today when physical beauty is more of choice than fate a large number of individuals are joining the league to beautify themselves. While most of them use the tried and tested methods, a lot others are more open to experimentations that lead to new styles and modified physical appearances. Body modification has become much more than a fashion statement. It is synonymous to one’s self recognition and expression. A lot of other factors like of age, sex, ethnicity, etc are involved in designing the needs and choices for body modification among individuals. Body modification is influenced by a large number of issues. In fact, the concept of enhancing one’s looks depends upon a host of factors like demographics, income distribution, among a few others. The diversified notions regarding different body modification products can be judged best by analysing the customers who are in any case the best judge of a product. Theoretical models of consumer behavior portray the decision making process of an individual as a function of ones own needs and wants; however, in many cases, buying decision of the same individual gets affected by the needs of others i.e., family, friends, social class etc. Consumer behavior is a new subject which has its inputs from economics, psychology, social science and political science. Effectively, the behavioral trend of customers is tracked through the stimulus-response analysis. Marketers provide a stimulus through their product offerings and try to attract the customers through packaging, promotion and pricing. The customer responds to the stimulus by their choice of purchase. The most efficient method to analyse a customer’s buying behavior is through inductive analysis. In this study, the effect of internal and external factors that might be affecting the customer is identified. ( Solomon M. R., Dann S. Dann and Bennett, 2007) 2. Image Altering Options In analysing the buying behavior of customers for body modification products, a survey was conducted across some random respondents. The summary of the findings are diverse and interesting. In order to make the research comprehensive, different forms of body modification techniques were selected; Botox treatment, Lasik surgery, tattooing, body piercing, hair transplantation, and breast implantation. a. Botox Botox treatment is a common therapy to remove wrinkles in the eyebrows area. It is done through the injection of botulinum toxin in minute doses. The revolutionary effect of this drug has been observed in treatment of swollen eyelids. However, this provides only temporary relief as the problem resurfaces after a few months. The customer’s need for this treatment stems from the desire to look fresh. Naturally, the target customers of such a product are old aged people and people who are on the verge of old age. The injection is very costly. Moreover, it also requires strict maintenance in terms of refrigeration to enjoy better results. Generally, image conscious women form the majority of Botox consumers. However, the treatment is also becoming popular with few men who feel that a revamped look is a necessity for their social as well as professional life. (Cosmetic and Therapeutic Botox Injections, 2002) b. Lasik Lasik surgery is an ophthalmic treatment for “vision correction” that is done through “refractive surgery”. This mode of treatment has become very popular because it helps a person to get rid of spectacles and contact lenses. A majority of customers of this mode of body modification are young individuals who feel that spectacles hamper their lifestyles. According to the interview done, almost all the candidates who had done Lasik surgery felt that wearing a glass was changing the natural look of their face and hiding their eyes. Respondents with contact lenses complained of irritation in their eyes, mostly when they had to move outdoors. The most important reason for its popularity is its reasonable price. The total cost being decent enough, going for a Lasik surgery seemed to be very close to an impulse buying decision. Young professionals with a job role that required interaction with clients constituted a major part of the beneficiaries of this treatment. (Bascom Palmer Lasik Center, 2008) c. Tattoo Tattooing is perhaps one of the most widely accepted and practiced form of body modification. It is a form of body art that speaks about the person on whom it has been done. Tattooing can be done in literally any part of one’s body. Depending upon the budget of the customer a tatoo can be a permanent or a temporary one. Generally tattoos are done in beauty parlours (in some cases, massage parlors as well), and both male and females are equally open about makeing a statement about themselves through innovative body arts. (Laumann A.E. and Derick A.M., n.d.) One common concern regarding the technique used in tattooing was the hygiene factor; people are becoming more conscious regarding the safety of the process and even willing to spend some extra amount to avoid the risk of transmittable diseases. (Babbs D. and Zobrist C., n.d.) d. Body piercing Body piercing is another popular type of body modification art that is gaining increased popularity all over the world. As the name suggests, this form requires on to pierce or cut certain body parts. A considerable number of youth, both male and female, can be seen to practice body piercing. In order to increase the appeal, generally the piercing is done by wearing rings. Eyebrows, eyelids, ear pinnae, naval regions and lips are the most prominent areas which are pierced. In its cruder form, certain parts of the sex organs are increasingly being used for piercing. (Laumann A.E and Derick A.M., n.d) e. Hair transplantation The high paced lifestyle has taken its toll on the modern generation. One way in which it has hit the present generation is by making them more susceptible to ill health, a prominent one among which is the issue of baldness. Men and women, both old and young seem to suffer from this incurable symptom. This has led to the development of hair transplantation therapy where areas of hair growth of the body are transplanted to bald areas through a surgery. This process is in demand, mainly by gentlemen. This process is also used as a restoration process after accidents or body burns. (Hair Transplant All Information, 2008) f. Breast Implantation Breast implantation is sometimes viewed as the most prized gift of cosmetic surgery to women. This method provides enlargement of breasts by the use of silica gel. Though a lot of controversy exists regarding the baneful effects of the use of silica, women from all walks of life are interested in this surgery to make themselves look more appealing. A random survey revealed the importance of breast implantation for women who have been suffering from breast cancer and had to remove them, either partially or fully. In many examples, respondents felt that this path breaking innovation will aid a lot of women to gain self motivation and confidence. Commercially, this technique has been put to extensive use in the film and glamour industry. Models are constant customers for this surgery. (Breast Reconstruction, n.d.) 3. Interview In order to learn the factors that determine the purchasing behavior of individuals for the six categories of body modification services mentioned above, three different subjects were interviewed, chosen on a random basis. Without revealing their personal identity, they can be defined as: Subject 1: A blonde lady aged between 22-29 years, college student Subject 2: A gentleman, aged between 45-50 years, engaged in corporate service Subject 3: A lady aged between 55-60 years, homemaker An interview of the above mentioned candidates revealed interesting search results. The summarised findings are as given below: The blonde lady had a preference for rock culture. She is an avid member of her college band and performed at various venues on weekends. Thus, it was natural for her to choose tattoo and body piercing art as the most favourable ones. In fact, she disclosed that she already had three tattoos on her and that all of them were done keeping the hygiene issue in mind. It needs to be added that her parents belonged to an influential family and she had considerable money to splurge. Moreover, the members of her friend circle influenced her decision to go in for various body arts. It seemed that she suffered from bandwagon effect and in order to keep up with the trend she tried and tested new forms of tattooing and body piercing. Although she liked piercing, an unfortunate attack of infection prevented her from too many options. Of the other treatments that we were surveying, she seemed least interested in hair transplant and Lasik (she believed that only males need transplant and Lasik was needed for those who had glass; and she was not within miles of any of these). On asking her about Botox and breast implantation, she felt that it might be needed when she grows older; she also believed that with the kind of image she had, there was no need of implantation. The subject 2 was working in an MNC as a senior public relations affair administrator. His preference was topped by Lasik surgery and Botox treatment. Needless to say, implantation, tattoo and body piercing was his last choice. He gave a thought about the possibility for the need of hair transplant, but felt it would be necessary after some ten years down the line. In fact, his disposable income allowed him to go in for Botox treatment as and when required. He felt that the Lasik treatment was much needed for him; it would allow him the comfort of glass-free meetings that, more often than not, ran for hours. He also seemed keen for the Botox treatment as it would make him look younger. In an unfortunate event, the subject 3 had been detected with breast cancer. As a part of the treatment, she was required to undergo mastectomy in which one of her breasts had to be removed. Her first preference was naturally, that of breast implantation. She became all the more enthusiastic on hearing that this would allow her to look normal. She also felt an urgent need for Botox treatment but did not want to purchase it, on account of financial constraint. She felt tattoos and body piercing did not make any sense and are quite loud in their appeal. 4. Analysis of findings from the interview In this section, the findings of the interview are analysed in light of the theories of motivation, value, and self and identity. On a broad spectrum, the preference demonstrated by the respondents in the interview, are guided by an underlying motivation. The choice for a certain kind of service is determined by the desire to have it. Similarly, the choice of avoiding a product is due to the perceived negative motivation from it. The subjects had clear motives while making the choices. For the blonde lady, her preference for tattoos and body piercing was related to the motive of being on the same social platform as her friends. The corporate executive needed to hold his image in front of his clients; this was the main reason why he chose the Botox treatment and avoid signals of ageing. Similarly, undergoing the Lasik treatment would fulfill his motive of doing work without the heavy glasses. In the last case, the secret desire of the woman to look like any other normal women was manifested in her preference for breast implantation. The acknowledgement of the young lady that she might need Botox treatment on aging corroborates the fact that needs are ever changing and are never fully satiable. (Dholakia U.M., n.d.) Rationalisation of the traits of a customer is well reflected in the survey. The blonde lady ignores implantation and Lasik by saying that she does not need them, the gentleman feels that body art is for the younger generation. Likewise, the old lady resists her choice for body art by presuming that they are loud in general. These arguments also form the basis for the projection attitude of the customers, whereby they stress on their frustration to arrange their order of preference. (Koo D, Kim J, Lee S., 2008) The arousal of needs happens physiologically. The services that are described here tacitly arouse the need for customers to procure them. For example, clean and hygienic ways of getting a tattoo done are of great significance to the present day youth; they will not mind paying some extra premium for that. This need is cashed on by the service provider. Similar psychological needs are demonstrated when the gentleman realises how comfortable it would have been had he been able to see properly without glasses. Interestingly, the result of the survey corroborates the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow, needs that cannot be satisfied at present dominates the purchasing behavior till the time it is satisfied. The student who needs to look cool like her friends in constantly trying and testing new ways of body art; this allows her to cite tattoo and body piercing as her first preference. The gentleman has a tacit need to look young; this in addition to his financial capability channels his demand for Botox treatment. On similar lines, his unaddressed need of being able to work without wearing glasses makes him try for Lasik surgery. It can be commented with reasonable assurance that ten years down the line he might need to get rid of baldness and at that time hair transplantation will take a priority for him. The case of a single behavior being able to satisfy multiple needs is demonstrated by the need of the student to have a clean and hygienic parlour for getting tattoos done. The process assures that she will not end up with an infection (she is already under an attack due to which she has to keep away from piercing) and yet get the much needed style statement. (Milliken M.E., 1997) McClelland, in his theory of Trio of needs addresses that a customer’s behavior is characterised by the sense of power, affiliation and achievement. All of these will be present in varying proportion in the decision that a person makes while purchasing. Customers those who have a sense of power will chose from a lesser number of alternatives, those with affiliation will make it a point to go through advice from their reference groups. Often, buying decision of an individual is influenced by the activities of their family members. It might be the case that the nature of upbringing of the subject 3 in the interview made her feel tattoo and body art to be useless. The survey also highlights the change in buying behavior as we move across the subdivisions of age and sex. While some services are never needed by the male domain and might be on the lowest rank of preference by them, the same has a chance of being highly preferred by a lady. The effect of age in decision making is clear from the fact that only the youngest respondent had a liking for body art in the form of tattoo and piercing. The theory of self is equally important in dictating choice of a customer. The perception of self is the main reason for people getting engaged in body modification techniques. The urge to enhance the power of self identity leads in the desire to have body tattoo and piercing; similarly people viewing aging as a detriment to their self image yearn to get a shot of Botox or a plastic surgery done. In the case of breast implantation, it is recognition of not being like any other woman that fires the desire to have silica implantation. Eventually, the customer believes that her identity will get restored once the implantation gets done. 5. Recommendations This section is designed considering the tattoo parlour as an example of hypothetical service provider. The increasing demand for tattoo as a popular form of body art makes this proposal all the more viable. Moreover, a specialisation in the cultural differences across countries will really assist the business to achieve high sales volume. The marketing can be done initially through advertisements that will aim to arouse the hidden psychological needs of the customer. Once the word of mouth spreads, firm will need to incorporate the strategy that will claim to strengthen the self identity of a customer. This means that the firm, on its part must be innovative to address the identity related needs of the customers on a regular basis. An efficient way of earning higher revenue can be through bulk sales. The company, in this case, can propose to provide discounts for a certain number of customers if they go for the servicing together. This would also be effective in cost saving as the operation will be done at one go. The tattoo parlour was an example; it needs to be kept in mind that service providers of other body modification techniques can apply similar techniques to attract customers to enhance their physical beauty. 6. Conclusion The research conducted to analyse the buying behavior of consumers for body modification products has been successful in establishing the theoretical concepts with those of the interview. Eventually, the strategic recommendations for a hypothetical company providing designer tattoos have also been incorporated. The entire project has been an enriching learning experience where theoretical models have been well complemented with practical evidences. 7. Reference Babbs D. and Zobrist C., No Date, Gen Xers Lead Piercing and Tattoo Fad, [Online], Available: http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost/specials/genx.tattoo1.html [April 10, 2009] Bascom Palmer Lasik Center, 2008, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Health System, [Online] Available: http://www.bpei.med.miami.edu/site/lasik.asp [April 10, 2009] Breast Reconstruction, No Date, NYU Cancer Institute, NYU Medical Center, [Online], Available: http://library.med.nyu.edu/patient/cc/cc06-000009.pdf [April 10, 2009] Cosmetic and Therapeutic Botox Injections, 2002, Ophthalmology, University of Minnesota, Opthalmology, [Online] Available: http://www.med.umn.edu/ophthalmology/centers/reconstsurg/questions/home.html [April 10, 2009] Dholakia U.M., No Date, A motivational process model of product involvement and consumer risk perception, European Journal of Marketing, Vol: 35 Hair Transplant All Information, 2008, University of Maryland Medical Centre, [Online] Available: http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/007205all.htm [April 10, 2009] Koo D, Kim J, Lee S., 2008, Personal Values as underlying motives of shopping online, Asis Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol:20, Issue 2 Laumann A.E. and Derick A.M., No Date, Tattoos and body piercing in the United States: A national data set, [Online], Available: http://academic.csuohio.edu/holcombj/TATTOOS.pdf [April 10, 2009] Milliken M.E., 1997, Understanding Human Behavior: A Guide For Health Care Providers, Published by Cengage Learning, ISBN 0827382219, 9780827382213. 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