Hi Guys!
A little bit of a change from the usual blogs as I have mentioned I am an Events Management Student in my second year at Bournemouth University and I thought it would be good for me to develop my skills and knowledge by writing blogs on theorists and my opinions and relating different units and reading I've learnt in order to develop my blog and understanding.
So this week I read Consumer Behaviour: A European Perpective (Solomon et al., 2006) because one of the units we are studying is Consumer Behaviour and Experience and personally I enjoy understanding how people think and how they come to their decisions. But also I chose to read about the European perspetive because I plan to do a placement in Spain for a year for my third year.
The European Consumer
Solomon et al., 2006 states that products are more than just a tangible product and we analyse them into how they fit into each others lives. Which realistically is true for example, if myself or someone buys a piece of clothing... as an example I recently bought a stripy crop top but it wasn't because I was running out of clothes because then it would be just a convenient tangible product it was because its current, its whats on trend (what society says is fashionable) but also I'm trying to define a style that suits me so I feel good wearing it and it took me a while to decide to purchase it or not because I wasn't sure whether the value fo a product would be used to it's advantage. So from that point I do think there is a line between convenience and desires.
Figure 1 - Blanco, 2015.
I also read that marketers categorise consumers into alot more segments other than age, there is income and occupation segments, characteristics of population and interest also known as psychographics. In the past I have only seen presentation slides where it shows different department stores segment their consumers into age brackets but as I have started to develop more understanding I do feel that there is a deeper process into the minds of consumers that make a purchase decision.
In the book it tells that a lot of the influence for product information is picked up in conversations replacing normal advertising. I completely understand this statement but I also think that bloggers also fit into this statement too because if I'm being honest I tend to block out adverts that I've seen because I'm more focused on bloggers and reviews from other people as its more realistic information being processed. This statement flows onto another sentence said saying that bonds between friends have in part been cemented by products they all use. I do agree with this statement in parts due to the fact that some friendships were formed different for example friends who met in school, they have had a long friendship so their bond is from childhood memories but maybe as they get older they wear the same brands, eat the same food and their love for the same product/brand could also increase what they have in common. But back to bloggers, I have felt that I have met and spoken to some amzing fellow bloggers and from blogging we have something we can both relate to and thats the same for full time bloggers who work together so I do feel that marketing and products have a profound value other than consumption. But especially for my my absolute passion is music and I am a self confessed fan girl of You Me At Six so I have friends who love them as well so we share that passion when we see them in concert but also at the concerts as well you meet people who might end up as your new friends so from a product/service you can develop friendships.
Figure 2 - Personal Collection
Senses. This topic has been a big part of my course and has been bought up constantly throughout my course and from learning about how important our senses are to determing our choice for a product I have noticed myself using my senses to bring back memories of a product/service. This book states that the evaluation of senses and how we choose a product is influences by subtle factors or symbolism of a product which makes you remember a product and the experience you had with it. For example, I avidly go to a burger restaurant called 7 Bone in Bournemouth and it's the best burger meal I have ever had and when I was back home for 3/4 months for summer its all I thought of. So when I was back in Bournemouth and was walking to the bus to get back home and walked past it I felt sad cause I really wanted one, but as we walked past we had the strongest smell of the restaurant and the food and that smell bought back so many memories of how much I enjoyed the food and the experiecne in the past. But for other senses, someone could hear a piece of music and know its an advert for a product, someone could taste one part of a meal and it could satisfy them and could fulfil their desires, someone could touch a pillow (random example I know but it's the hardest sense to make an example out of) and know they will get the best nights sleep and for me especially sight is an important factor. This is because the main reason why I take so long choosing a piece of clothing is because I want to make sure its the right vision and style. The major part of choosing the stripy crop top was because I love the writing of the brand name on the bottom of the product it's so quirky and edgy that it makes me feel valued and fortunate that I own such a good quality product. Has anyone else had these experiences from their senses? Or am I just too much of a foodie and visual freak ;)
Figure 4 - Personal Collection
In the book it says that image is influenced by country of origin which determines the brand personality. In terms of being in the UK and consuming products I can't really think of any unique foreign products that I have consumed that look like it's origin other than takeaways I have had restaurants because the clothes and food I buy may come from a different country but it's made to look like british/modern clothes. I have been into Indian/Chinese/Japanese/Italian restaurants which have been modified to look like your in those countries and it works because it gets me excited for the meal because I know whats going to come and I am anticipating for it but thats where I think that with the increase of different cultures in the UK which I think we should all embrace we should be more diverse with the products we sell. I went to Granada for a week with my college for a Spanish Trip and I loved going into the Teterias (Tea Shops) and sitting in the little caves and trying different sorts of herbal teas but to also going into the markets and seeing the types of products that they sell because you got to appreciate the skills and offers that other countries have to give and it made me want to make the msot out of the experience. It also links in with the statement that opinions and desires of consumers are shaped by input from all around the world and it couldn't be more true, before Spain I detested at the thought of herbal tea but once I tasted it I have been addicted to herbal tea! Now everytime someone asks why I go straight back to the Granada story and the memories come flooding back. It proves how important different cultures are to globalisation.
Figure 3 - Anon 2012
As well as the diverse range of segments we also have a variety of desires from hunger/thirst to spiritual fulfilment (Solomon et al, 2006). Which is why engaging different cultures is so important as there is a growing interest in social sciences as there is awareness of importance in daily lives, identity formation and the flows of global culture from North America and Europe. As said by Miller, 1995 that the PESTLE factors have become a vanguard of history which affect countries around the world witht eh icnrease of global trading and cultural exchanges.
Not sure what you guys will think of this blog! There will be more blog posts coming up from different reading I ahve done as it helps me to digest this information and develop my academic skills but also have a few more blogs on Baziic Clothing and future upcoming concerts as well :)
Molly xo
References
Anon, 2012 [photograph]. N/A. Available from: https://viajarbuenobonitoybarato.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/el-pequeno-marrakech-de-granada-la-calle-de-las-teterias/ [Accessed: 11.10.2015]
Blanco., 2015.
[photograph]. Correos. Available from: http://correos.us/healthy-lunches-on-the-run/ [Accessed:11.10.2015].
Miller, D., 1995. Consumption as the Vanguard of History. In: Solomon, Michael R.;Bamossy, Gary;Askegaard, Søren;Hogg, Margaret K. Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective [online]. 3rd edition. Prentice Hill.
Solomon, Michael R.;Bamossy, Gary;Askegaard, Søren;Hogg, Margaret K. Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective [online]. 3rd edition. Prentice Hill.
