Values

Having Values is very important in todays society. Having a good set of values can go a long way making you a better person for example people are more likely to accept a person with good values then a person with bad values. Values can be determined in many ways such as perspectives on life, body language and more.

The following diagram shows how having good values such as determination and respect can take you a long way to what you want to be,

This diagram shows how being respectfull, accessible and flexible can get you what you want. In this case a business organisation is looking to recruit someone. The person who is best suited for the job must have the three qualities, respectful, accessible and flexible.

Kahle’s List of Values (1983)

1. Self Respect
2. Excitement
3. Being Well Respected
4. Self-fulfilment
5. Sense of accomplishment
6. Warm relationship with others
7. Security
8. Fun & enjoyment
9. Sense of belonging

These set of values are great as they are somewhat guidlines for a healthy and fun life for example every person wants self respect, self fulfilment and security in there lives. That is what makes us human. We all want the best things in life, to some that may be money and to others that may be a family but both require the individual to have good values in order to achieve there goals.

Learning, memory and nostalgia

These three aspects are very important to any person. Learning new things helps the brain to expand and get stronger for example as a baby you are learing new things all the time. As the baby gets older he/she is not only learning new things but is now begining to understand how to put it into practise. Memory is also very important. The more you train your brain (learn) the better your memory becomes as the brain is getting stronger all the time.

"learning is the acquisition of knowledge & memory is the storage of internal representations of that knowledge” (Blakemore, 1988)
“without memory we would be servants of the moment …… relying on reflexes …. Civilisation itself is the distillation of human memory”

The ability to learn new things is amazing as it enables you to take control of what you want for example, I am studying Business Marketing Managment at university. My brain is more business like then people studying Art. The reason behind htis is what I have learnt over the last few years at college and high school.

Group conformity, opinion and peer pressure

Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people. This influence occurs in both small groups and society as a whole, and it may be the result of subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social pressure. Conformity also occurs by the "implied presence" of others, or when other people are not actually present. For example, people tend to follow the norms of society when eating or watching television, even when they are at home by themselves.

Peer pressure plays a big role in the buying behaviuor of customers and also in every day life for example, peer pressure can lead to someone buying a item they do not need but because someone has told them to buy it.

From my own experience peer pressure can be a good and bad thing for example when in a theme park you do not want to go on a big ride but you are pressured into it you will have overcome your fear however, people may use peer pressure in a bad way for example trying to get someone to smoke or drink when it is against there beliefs.

Click on the following link for a short video.

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umIK69njrB0

Enterprise week

Enterprise week was a great way for students to get a better knowledge of how the business world works and what steps are needed in order to be a success in the business world. It is very important for any future business manager, assistant manager and more to get all the help, info and experience they can whilst still in education. The knowledge gained at university and college can help future business owners.

The favoured event at enterprise week was the apprentice challenge. This challenge consisted of about 20 teams and it was a elimination type challenge. The event was to sells items and at the end of the event who ever made the most profit would win. This gave the groups involved a fantastic chance to expand their thinkin and come up with ways to maximise profits. Some group decided to get sponcers and recieve money from them and other groups decided to hold fund raising activities. The event was an all around success as the groups got along with eachother very well, a lot of money was raised and everyone had fun.

Another event that took place that attracted a lot of attention was the 'BUCKS GOT TALENT' event. This was an event for musicians and bands. The chosen winners would get the chance to feature in the 'beat the bands' event held on the 19th of November.

Gender difference in buyer behaviour

This is where the difference in gender has a say on what the customers preferences are for example, a female shopper would like to shop at Primark, Top Shop and River Island whereas a male would prefer to shop at Sports Direct, JD Sports and Footlocker. The difference in gender results in differences in preferences. Although this is not the case all the time it is more often than not. When shopping males tend to see something they like, check the size and then purchase without trying the item on. Females on the other hand want to know more, they will try on the item and then want something that matches. They will take into consideration the price where males will just buy if they have enough money.

For a short video on gender difference in buyer behaviuor click on the following link,
http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hpct8u059M.,hgj[pl

Personality and Self concept

Personality

“a person’s unique make up, which consistently influences the way the person responds to his or her environment”

(Solomon, 1999)
"Personality develops from the level of anxiety felt at being a dependent child"

(Horney, 1945)

A customers personality goes a long way into how they perceive a product or service for example a customer’s personality may be very upbeat and therefore the products they purchase may need to resemble that. Another customers personality may be very technological, this would mean that the business may need to attract the customers attention with the latest mobile phone that has all the new technology. The environment plays a big role in the personality of a person for example the way they dress, type of music they listen to and more. From personal experience the environment has a major effect on the way people act. If you live in a high class area you are expected to reflect that in the clothes you wear and the cars you drive. As you can see the area you live in has affected the clothes you buy and the cars you drive. In a wealthy area people are expected to drive high end cars such as Porsche, Ferrari and more.
Values and attributes also play a role personality. The values people have on life may change the way they see things for example, a customer may value a painting, to another customer it is just a painting but to the customer that values it, it is more than just a painting, it is symbolic and has a meaning to it.

Self concepts
“the beliefs a person holds about his or her own attributes & how he or she evaluates those qualities”
“People see themselves as they imagine others see them”
(Solomon, 1999)

Self concept is very important as this is the image you give to other people and how you see yourself for example, you may see yourself as a fun, outgoing person. This is how you see yourself and how you wish to be seen by others. Self concept does not always reflect reality, what one person thinks of themselves may be completely different to how others see them. The difference comes down to the image you give out when with friends, family or colleagues. Self concept can have a big role on the way a person’s life turns out for example, if a person is confident in their ability as a child then as an adult the confidence builds and they are more able to do the things they want without hesitation.

• Self image - the kind of person we think we are - usually comprises social roles, body image & personality traits (very descriptive)

• Ideal Self - is the kind of person we would like to be (e.g. a better mother) which may be slightly or totally different from our self image. The larger the gap the lower our self esteem

• Self esteem - is the extent to which we like ourselves, whether we accept or approve of our self image

where others may see you as fun and outgoing

You may see yourself as dull

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Segmentation.



'A marketing technique that targets a group of customers with specific characteristics'.
(investor words, 1999)


What this means is that a business will rather target a group of potential customers than the whole market. When a business can acknowledge its customers specific characteristics, promoting to that customer becomes a lot easier as the business already knows the preferences of that customer. The business is able to understand what attracts a customer to a specific product or service.


The different areas of segmentation,
· B2B (business to business)
· Segmenting consumer markets


The market segments.

































Targeting.


Targeting the customers you will be selling your products, services to is one of the most important factors to any business. The business must always acknowledge its customers and this can be done by customer database or customer surveys. Once the business knows the potential customers it can start to pick up as the business can start to cater to its targeted customers. targeting you audience is always going to bring up challenges such as,

1. Does the product appeal to all our customers?



2. Can the business do anything to attract more customers without spending a lot of money?

One way to find out if the products will be successful is to carry out a customer survey. On this survey the business will be able to ask questions and recieve answers quickly.


Positioning.


After the organisation has selected its target market, the next stage is to decide how it wants to position itself within that chosen segment. Positioning refers to ‘how organisations want their consumers to see their product’. What message about the product or service is the company trying to put across? Car manufacturer Daewoo in the UK has successfully positioned themselves as the family value model. The UK car Skoda brand which has been taken over by Volkswagen has been re-positioned as a vehicle which had negative brand associations, to one which regularly wins car of the year awards.
(learn marketing, 2006)


When positioning itself a business must always take into consideration the following,

1. Are they easily accessible
2. Do the customers know that you are there
3. Is the business safe in the market position
4. Are the competitors major players (Tesco, Sainsbury’s) or small local competitors (Cost Cutter, Right Price)

Positioning a business in a specific market can be very challenging. first you must acknowledge your customers, get into the market and then cater to there needs.