Consumer Behaviour and the Extended Self - Essay Example

Consumer Behaviour and the Extended Self Everyone realises that any marketing that takes place in any business will be pegged on understanding the consumers’ behaviours and their desires. The organisation must seek to understand what the client wants and the best way of satisfying this demand. The goal is to create a product that gets a market within the shortest time possible, and one that assures the clients that the product will be an answer to their problems. The self is also involved in the decision-making before consumers go ahead to make any purchase. The self has to be content that product accentuates the various attributes that define the individual based on the tastes and needs at the time. Consumer behaviours are very important when coming up with new ways of dealing with the products in an organisation because it determines the level of contentment that comes from owning this product. Consumer Behaviour Organisations spend billions of dollars annually to attract and retain customers across the world. These billions go to studies that identify the role of the behaviour in picking out the products from a market shelf and advertisements. The organisations understand that the ability to make more sales will depend solely on the ability to actualise the various attributes of the society by meeting the requisite goals (Dahl, Frankenberger & Manchanda 2003: 273). These include the realisation of the distinct habits that influence and define the consumers at all times. These could be blended successfully into psychological, economics, marketing, sociological and asocial anthropology. This blend of knowledge is essential as the organisation looks for those determinants that appeal to a wider section of the population and attempt to influence these attributes (Hornik & Miniero 2009: 35). Every person has a reason why certain products are favourable for the family and the reason others are favourable for personal use. This distinction between the family and self is an important one because people get to understand that they can make various changes based on their purchases and the behaviour towards each of the product (Ward, & Thuhang 2007: 4). Sometimes, the society is the determinant of what is to be bought. For instance, in areas where there are more Muslims than other religions, it is difficult to find any place that sells pig-related products. Likewise, in areas where certain beer products are produced locally, it is difficult finding other beers in sale in that region. There are countries that are more receptive of Coca Cola products than Pepsi or any other soft drink. The society places standards that companies find useful to their demands. An organisation entering into such a market must understand the consumer behaviour and reflect on its impact on the company as a whole (Bird 2002: 155). The consumer is a buyer, user and payer in the buying of products. These are three roles important for the understanding of the society. The prediction of which direction the buyer will take will depend greatly on the ability to pay for the product and feel content about it (Hornik & Miniero 2009: 36). The uses will also determine whether the price paid was ideal and whether the product met the goals of the purchase. Determining this is critical because the customer will recommend or advice against that purchase to other buyers. The goal is to have as many people review the product favourably to increase the number of loyal customers and change the way things take place. This will cut the costs on advertisements and maintain more customers that are loyal and improve on their ability to predict the next move by the customer (Ward, & Thuhang 2007: 6). The Self The self is an autonomous part of the consumer that defines the choices made based on several attributes. The main aspect of self-concept is the determining factor in the purchases made and the deals taking place. The idea is to have those beliefs that evaluate the products bought based on the qualities held regarding the worth of the object in question. This may be the inner or outer self. The inner self is private and most who see it are close relatives and family members (Hornik & Miniero 2009: 38). The outer self is that which is easy to display to friends and the society as a whole. Western cultures take self-concept in terms of individuality and individual appearances. These aspects define the social features for the buyer. For the eastern cultures, the opposite is true. Self-concept bases its existence on interdependence with the family and the society. Instead of taking it as an individual project, it because a societal aspect that defines the person based on the relationships made and that group offers the individual the identity possessed. The aspect of the self involves three main attributes, which are self-esteem, the real self and the ideal self (Moore 2009: 106). Self-esteem is that which allows one to possess a positive attitude towards self-concept. Low self-esteem may hinder an individual from picking up a product that is more beneficial and ends up picking a product that is inferior because of lack of self-belief (Bird 2002: 207). The society needs to understand that problem ought to be tackled adequately for the general understanding of the consumer’s needs and demands. High self-esteem allows an individual to understand personal worth and make better amends when purchasing products. The way companies market their products can affect the way the consumer views the brands (Escalas & Bettman 2000: 108). An advert may appeal to the individual in the sense that the growing need for the realisation of these attributes triggers social comparisons and critical dissemination of the ideal images amongst the society members. These models and images define what is ideal for the individual so as to raise self-esteem. Some may advertise hand and body lotions as one of the ways of reducing acne and other blemishes to raise their esteem (Bird 2002: 210). The ideal self is that which the media projects as the perfect idea of what human beings should aspire to look or feel like. In the early years, the military was the major source of heroism because they protected the country from external attacks. It was also the source of everything considered as disciplined. Today, the media has taken over. The models, actors, and actresses define what is ideal and what is not. They define the right size for an individual, the best places to live, family life, what should trend and the best way of increasing one’s relevance in the world (Bird 2002: 250). They define the goals that everyone has and what one should aspire to be in life. Some of the products even use these individuals for their adverts. Some like Nike have used Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong to advertise their products. The audience will believe that these products are good just because their favourite athletes don them (Escalas & Bettman 2000: 128). The real self is had to show out because of the social constructs in place. The society has a certain standard that is expected of everyone regardless of the social class. Many consider the person that manages to remain true to self as backward and conservative, while the one that follows the trends is the fun and modern one. These are constructs that deny an individual the ability o retain the true self and account for the various attributes that make the person enjoy fantasy (Burroughs & Rindfleisch 2002: 350; Matilla & Wirtz 2008: 563). Some use this as a gimmick to market their products where they use the terms that appeal to inner souls and needs of their buyers. The goal is to create a new understanding of the society based on the various attributes portrayed by a majority of the people. Sometimes, the real self is lot in between the many needs of the society and the products that emerge promoting various feelings and emotions, yet in real sense do not satisfy the inner needs of the individual in question (Bird 2002: 255). The real self is the most neglected source of marketing amongst a variety of the individuals, but is also is a great determinant of consumer behaviour. After learning about the types of self, there is the extended self that defines and create new avenues for the realisation of the personal interests within the society. The goal is to understand and relate an individual based on the products bought and the effect these have on the buyer’s self. Most people define their lives based on four main aspects of thee extended self: individual, family, community, and group. The meanings that people attach to their possessions are what define the extended self (Ward, & Thuhang 2007: 10). The individual will define him or herself based on the clothes and cars one possesses and their prices. Some will flaunt their cash to everyone and others will remain conservative and not even know what is trending across the world. Others will be following every part of the conversation for the sake of keeping in touch with what is happening in the world of fashion (Matilla & Wirtz 2008: 564). The family will have a definition based on the furnishings of the house it lives in and the worth of the things in the house. The goal is to show the worth based on what is owned. The community defines the elf based on the neighbourhood and the people who live in that same area. The group aspect defines an individual based on the teams supported or those that one plays in, or those that one is associated to in terms of successful ventures (Hill & Harmon 2007: 110). The Self and Consumer Behaviour Theories Based on the utility theory of demand on consumer behaviour, the consumer only gets satisfied if the product consumed is good. This describes aspect of the self that affirms the benefits accrued from the product can be essential in determining the growth of the extended self and a feeling of contentment based on the raised self-esteem (Gaumer & Leif2005: 75). This becomes the first step towards the realisation of a better future and the ideal means of ascertaining that people can make huge gains in dealing with their lives. The organisation that understands and makes good use of this attribute is ideal for the creation of a better consumer and one that understands the importance of getting quality products. The goal of an advertisement is assure the consumer benefits from making any purchase at the organisation and assuring the company of coming back for more (Hill & Harmon 2007: 114). This highlights a successful venture that benefits the consumer, derives more from the purchases of a consumer with a heightened self-esteem and a good grasp of the extended self. Thus, the best way of measuring satisfaction is by using customer feedback gained from their use of the products as well as the number of sales within a particular period. Given the three assumptions of the buyer as being a rational and logical buyer, having various constraints in their budgets and possessing a variety of preferences, understanding consumer behaviour is quite easy. The economic approach shows the consumer as rational and interested only in the self. This makes it easier to make decisions based on the ability to maximise utility of what is present and expend the minimum effort possible for the sake of making the greatest profits (Richarne 2007: 78). The aim of this economic approach is to accentuate the different roles of the economic self and select the optimum course of action that shows a realistic buildup to what interests the consumer the most. The problem is that making decisions requires one to have the full information about the products on sale, and that means the individual has to look for the different ways of meeting this demand (Hill & Harmon 2007: 115). These are unrealistic because most advertisers understand that offering every detail of the purchase may disadvantage them against their rivals. Some will hide the internal costs of the products and just provide an overview of the situation rather than provide everything and reduce the curiosity that would make them get the products from the retailers. This inadequate information denies them a chance to make an ideal decision regarding the product on sale. The social relationships and values come to play in such instances. Satisfactory rather than optimum choices are sought in this instance (Gaumer & Leif 2005: 76). The psychodynamic approach is another one that seeks to define why an individual would place emphasis on the extended self when making any purchases. In most instances, there are the instinctive forces that drive the individual to act in a certain manner. These drives act as a motivation towards the definition of the psyche, which consists of the Id, the Ego and the Superego. These three are very important in determining how an individual views the world and the position the products purchased fit into in life (Hill & Harmon 2007: 118). The social life has its determinants of drives, and each of the categories within the extended self has a way of defining what product to get after making any purchases. The consumers know that they must satisfy their motivations and drives, and lack of accomplishing this will hinder them from achieving their goals (Murray 2002: 430). The behaviour it constructs argues that consumers make their purchases based on the behaviour associated with the products at hand. The behaviour is one that gains its explanations based on the external events that define the individual. The aim of the consumer is to satisfy biological desires, and the use of the thoughts and feelings that define and determine this behaviour creates a new means of attaining what one wants. The organisation has to look for the key attributes that arouse interest amongst the people and offer them a chance to maximise their potential (Gaumer & Leif 2005: 77). The goal is to create a new mode of interpreting products based on the senses appealed to by the product. Some will not drink coca cola because they associate it with too much sugar. Others will only use Adidas and Nike because their favourite players are donning them. Others will buy a movie ticket because their favourite personality stars in the movie. Whichever way one looks at it, the conditional attributes that define the operant and classical condition from the times of Pavlov and John Watson take part in the decisions made every day (Matilla & Wirtz 2008: 566). The cognitive aspect of the buyer seems to gain motivations and reinforcements from the ads in place. Some of the people use the ads as a motivation that defines what they buy, how they wear, and what they eat. These ads act as motivation that reinforces what they believe should be ideal for them in life. The goal is to create an advert that hooks as many people to the product whether the products are healthy or not (Gaumer & Leif2005: 80). For instance, McDonald’s has for years been blamed for unhealthy lifestyles and that has not stopped them from opening more branches and franchises across the world. The coca cola products have been blamed for high sugar content but that has not stopped making it a global entity. These marketers understand that the human mind is mostly carried away by sight and thus, the adverts must be appealing enough to carry away the people into believing that these products are the most ideal. Furthermore, they want more possessions regardless of where they come from. They want to have as many possessions as they can to fit into a certain class (Hill & Harmon 2007: 120). The extended self seeks possessions that it can make use of based on what it feels as the ideal way to behave in the society. The social norms present today do not make it easy to ignore issues taking place in the society. The goal is to acknowledge that every individual has a certain standard that he or she wants to fit in and this means that the purchases made will always aim at reaching that standard (Murray 2002: 433).. In some instances, the choices made are based on the economy of the place and not the products in question. Others base their purchases on what the media deems as the most essential for the individuals to possess. Some will look at celebrities and set standards based on what these individuals own or support. This sometimes leads to post-purchase dissonance, or buyer’s remorse. People have so many things that they rarely use, and just bought because it felt good at that time (Holt 2002: 64). What Makes Consumer Make Their Purchases In every advertisement, there are the situational influences that are temporal but affect the behaviour of many buyers. McDonald’s understands that there are so many issues surrounding their products. Nonetheless, they understand that people will always rush from one place to the next. They will have to make use of some fast foods to survive. With the rush that is in place in many cities across the world, setting up a McDonald’s in the area will also gain them more money and assure them of the satisfaction they desire (Holt 2002: 68). With time, people will still look out for a McDonald’s because the situation at the time plays a huge role in determining what to buy and the location of the seller will play a huge role. In fact McDonalds has realised that people are looking for healthier lifestyles and has christened their products with appealing captions that attract clients to their shops to buy these products (Murray 2002: 4305). Coca Cola has faced claims of unhealthy soft drinks, prompting it to come up with diet coke to capture the market that seeks to capitalise on soft drinks for a healthier lifestyle. The extended self wants to have a body that fits that of a model and the celebrities are making a good advertisement of such bodies in various parts of the media. Another advertisement that causes the extended self to have some issues with the people that have an urge for possessions is that of Samsung. The company has come up with a variety of top-notch smart phones and equipment that only spell of class and sophistication. This has made more people look for the classiness of their phones and ensure that these gadgets can fit into their lives in many ways (Holt 2002: 69). References Bird, A. 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(2007) “Consumer Gifting Behaviours: One for You, One for Me?” Services Marketing Quarterly vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 1–17. Read More