Introduction to Consumer Behavior - Assignment Example

Introduction to Consumer Behavior A. Think and Do Johnson considers the ability of processing information and securing transactions to be the basis in simplicity and flexibility for the quick diffusion of apps. Apps are able to perform tasks that Web cannot perform and they intend to take users straight to the content. Smartphone are now widely used throughout the world to access the internet and download various contents instead of using Web pages (Johnson 24-5). Apps are user friendly and are free from security and privacy concerns apart from providing content providers with simpler experience. In general, apps are easy to use and are very flexible compared to the web pages. 2. Search engine companies are responding to the capability of apps to limit or exclude identity of the user by using technology related bias that threatens values such as privacy and favor values related with scrutiny and monitoring. The companies tend to manipulate search results by systematically giving prominence to some sites. Search engine companies have also resorted to offering of personalization and customizing features (Johnson 26-9). Security of users, data and the network has been given first priority by the search engine companies through robust security architecture and rigorous security programs. There are flexibility required for open platform such as protecting user data, system resources and offering application isolation. There is secure inter-process communication, application signing and application defined and user defined permissions. 3. Tagging apps users is helpful in grouping customers and the usefulness is evident when searching on a tag. Tagging further assists in identifying users deemed significant for categorizing app users. New methods of tagging app users also play a significant role in driving repeated usage where new products and services can be built. The new tagging capabilities may further help to expand app landscape and making mobile marketing more competitive (Johnson 29-30). The new methods may also help in optimizing strategies for ranking and maintenance of a user-base in the social media and even change the way users discover apps. 4. Facebook’s challenges of transferring its targeted ad to mobile platforms may play reach a huge number of mobile phone users worldwide. Consumers will be able to learn about different ads at their convenience. Many companies will be able to offer their ads information to the targeted customers globally and provide them with variety of products and services. In this case, consumers will enjoy variety of products advertised through the mobile platform and even make instant transactions from their Smartphone. Mobile platforms are therefore convenience, reliable and flexible to all mobile phone users. However, the consumers may incur a lot of costs because they will have to pay for the ads indirectly or even lured to buy goods and services they may not need simply because they got the ads on their mobile phones. Google’s tracking of the geographical location of search users may be important in locating consumers and enabling companies to provide only appropriate goods and services for specific places. For example, consumers in Scandinavian countries may be provided with ads of warm clothing because the companies already understand what their consumers require. It may also be easy to track and segment consumers thereby providing them only with what they desire at a price they may be willing to buy. Consumer research may be easy to carry for consumers in specific regions and products designed specifically for them. However, this form of tracking may expose some privacy and security issues of the consumers. B. Cyber Assignment a. The car in the ad has an emerging value that focuses on status because of sporty look. It is a current car that everyone desires to have especially sportsmen and youths. The status of the car is of richness and higher social rank. Only young consumers can buy such kind of classy cars and almost every youth looks up to buying such a huge machine (Kurtz & Vivian 149-151). The design and the gold color is a sign of higher social status. High social status and owning such kind of cars is the dream of every youth. This contrasts problem solving that is only considered a traditional value (McMahon 6-9). Currently, everyone moves from problem solving value to status when it comes to car preference. b. The ad is more traditional it is more of family value on the way the lady is dressed instead of wearing bikini which is the current trend. The current trend is more secular and places value to feminine and masculine which contrasts the traditional family values that requires women to dress properly and do not expose their sexy body parts (McMahon 9-11). The lady in the ad faces away from the camera in addition to wearing trouser implying that the ad is not material to the current youths that forms a bigger percentage of buyers. Young consumers are only impressed and attracted to ads that is sexually attractive and exposes the feminine or the masculine natures of the characters used in ads. The ad is more traditional because the audience cannot be attracted to the image that do not show feminine or masculine as per their expectation and media representation of the current trend among youths. c. This ad is current because it shows how individual dressing contrasts the youthful and trendy dressing. Older generation considered individual smartness which included wearing of suits while the current young generation has adopted a conventional way of dressing (Kurtz & Vivian 149-151). The youth currently wears jeans, rubbers and t-shirts instead of suits and this is what separates them from the traditional older generation that valued suits. What matters in the current society is trendiness but not being formal or official in terms of looks and image. When looking at self-orientation, it is obvious that the ad is current because it shows the transition from religious dressing to an active form of dressing among youths. Young generation prefer active form of dressing which contrasts religious and traditional dressing of suits and black shoes. Jeans, rubbers and t-shirts is preferred by the young consumers who no-longer see any value of dressing in suits. Works Cited Johnson, RC. Apps culture reinventing mobile internet. Electrical Engineering Times, 27 Sep. 2010, 24-30. Print. Kurtz, David L, and Vivian Young. Contemporary Marketing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. McMahon, T. What buyers buy and sellers sell: Implications for marketing managers. Journal of Professional Services Marketing, 1996. 3-16. Print. Read More