Question

An important key to success for marketers is to understand consumers and how they go about selecting the products they buy. Review the concepts of what motivates consumers, social influences, and target markets in your text. Then, pick a unique product (either a good or a service) that you like and perhaps have purchased in the past. Discuss each of the three questions below.

Describe at least three things you would need to know about consumers of your selected product and how they make product decisions in order to develop successful marketing strategies.

Name at least two ways you might go about gathering that information? Describe why you selected each of these and why they be beneficial.

How could you use that information in developing successful marketing strategies?

Answer 1

The product of interest to purchase: Eastpak backpack

Three things need to know about the consumers and how they make decisions:

1. Age Group: The backpack is the product which is selected by the users as per the needs. For instance, the individual's age group of 10-18 years have the need for their schools, while the age group 18-30 may need the backpack for the work (to carry laptops, files, etc.), or traveling.

2. Reference Groups: The reference groups refer to the people with whom the consumers compare themselves. The reference groups affect the attitude and behavior of the consumers.

3. Perception of the consumers: The consumers buy the products after gathering necessary information and influence of the information. The consumer pays attention to the advertisements that are related to the product the individual wants to buy.

Two ways to gather the information:

In order to gather the information, observation and interview method can be used.

Observation: The observation provides information that may be used to market the product. For instance, chatting among friends can reveal the language they use, and the advertisement campaign can be developed in that way. Eastpak used the conversation among friends in a school and identified the ‘Spanglish’ pattern of the chat. Using that reference the advertisement campaign was with “better straps than a $300 Prom Dress” tagline.

Interview: From the interview, the marketer can gather the information that provides information about the features that are sought by the consumers before making the decision and the information consumers want before making the decision.

The teens like to purchase the backpacks to match with the wardrobe. Using the information, the marketer can develop the ad campaign that reflects the mix of colors in the backpack. The advertisement on social media can impact more as the teens are influenced by the reference groups and their purchases.