After taking the VALS survey, I was defined as an “experiencer”
as my primary VALS and “maker” as my secondary VALS. In reading the descriptions
of each of these VALS categories, I realize that I do have aspects of both, but
I also feel that my views and behaviors slightly differ from the description of
the experiencer and maker.
In terms of being
an experiencer, I do feel like I am enthusiastic and I like to purchase the
new, offbeat, and risky products. I also agree that my energy finds an outlet
in exercise, sports, outdoor recreation, and social activities. However, I am
definitely not an impulsive buyer and I don’t spend a high proportion of my
income on new products. I don’t like spending money at all, and I never buy
anything unless it’s on sale. I always go for the cheapest things. I also don’t
really care about having what’s “cool”. I like looking good, but I don’t really
care about always having the latest trends.
As far as the
products that I would be most interested, I do really like VW and
entertainment, but I don’t like Red Bull.
In terms of being
a maker, I do agree that I am motivated by self-expression. I also like to
learn from experience and do work to make the world a better place. I do
believe I am practical, but I feel like I have interest in living outside the
context of family, practical work, and physical recreation. I am passionate
about travel and learning about the world. Different cultures fascinate me and
I love to experience new things. I also feel like I am suspicious of big
business and don’t necessarily agree with the virtues of consumerism. Material
possessions aren’t as important to me as the relationships I form with other
people.
The products
“makers” are most interested in don’t appeal to me at all. I am not into NASCAR
at all and I don’t want a Dodge Ram. These things seem to appeal more to men.
Overall, I think
the VALS survey got my behavior half right. Some of the things it said were
true to my values, but about half of the things it defined me as are not true
to who I am. This shows that these highly complex systems for evaluating
consumer behavior are not always accurate. Companies spend a ton of money to
learn about their target audiences, and the accuracy of my VALS report shows
that the research they are doing might not even be effective. Human behavior is
hard to define because everyone is different. Character traits manifest
themselves in different ways in everyone. Therefore, defining consumers based
on their interests won’t necessarily reflect how they behave in a consumer
society.
No comments:
Post a Comment