Today’s market is characterized by highly competitive organizations which are all vying for consumer’s loyalty. Firms are faced with the challenge to maintain their own competitive edge to be able to survive and be successful. Strategies are carefully planned and executed to gain the ultimate goal of all: company growth. However, internal factors are not the only elements which influence growth. There are also external factors and components working within the organization which shape the direction of the organization. Among this is the consumer – the fuel of the organization.
The dynamics of contemporary living define most of the aspects of human life today. From traditional ways to technologically driven mechanisms, life indeed is no longer the same centuries and decades ago. The recent developments and revolutionary processes resulting to increased convenience of people in various applications contributed to the topical standards of living. Along with the changing business world, customers change as well, becoming more demanding, knowledgeable and highly sophisticated. Before, it is enough if they have purchased a product or service the best way possible. Now, the process of commercial interaction does not end that way. There are more complex steps to be done and satisfactory results to be achieved In turn, company management had shifted their focus on their clients or customers so as to stay successfully in business. This transition meant that organizations have to completely reformulate their conventional business aims and purposes from being process-focused to customer-centered. In the business, consumers are now
The consumers eventually developed as a result of the radical emergence and amalgamation of innovative and manipulative processes in the global marketplace. Established characteristics in terms of their behavior and identity are important aspects to consider in studying the significant role they play in any economic endeavor. Furthermore, the subject of consumerism in given societies is becoming popular and a sought-after area of research. In connection, the presence of consumer policies and laws in the global market serve as controlling mechanisms to regulate the diversity of the international economic battlefield. This makes the buying experience even more multifaceted and interactive.
Advertising is the common playground where consumers ensnare themselves with products/services available in the market. The adverse effects of advertising are perceived to be reinforcing elements in the development of consumerist behavior and culture. This is where the aspect of policy decision making is applicable. The creation of regulating policies in connection to advertising and its effects to consumerism and consumer behavior is quantified.
This paper aims to critically analyze the extent of the relationship of consumerism, consumer behavior and identity in relation to policy and decision-making of the state and business organizations particularly in advertising. Specifically, it opts to qualify the extent of consumerisms in relation to consumer behavior and culture. Guidelines in advertising are the parameters to be used in policy decision-making. Additionally, it will provide several conceptual backgrounds about said areas of the general consumer. To fully substantiate the arguments and findings in this research, information taken from vast sources of literature is used as supporting documents. There are also cases or examples that will be provided to illustrate the claims.
The Consumer: its Behavior and Identity
Understanding buyer behavior is one of the more perplexing tasks confronting every manager. The difficulty arises from the heterogeneity of buyers, from their being groups of individuals who differ from one another. But differences notwithstanding, consumers do share attitudes, opinions, reactions, and desires at various times (Schiffman & Kanuk 3). Business experience, marketing research, theoretical constructs and models, and trial-and-error methods help to find some of the common denominators.
Believing on the idea that the consumers are the fuel of every profit and/or non-profit organization, studying their behavior and identity remains parallel and important in every decision-making activity. Consumers have always been regarded as vital factors in relation to different business organizations operations and functioning. They live and act in a constantly changing cultural, social, technological, legal, and economic environment. Shaped by the environment, marketing institutions and activities in turn have an impact on it. Their behavior and identity, on the other hand, significantly determine the business future in a particular part of country and given culture. As we all know, as region varies on its own, so does the consumer behavior and identity of such group of people in a region. Through observations of the consumer behavior, the category in competition, organization, and the marketing strategies of businesses are well evaluated. Consumer behavior is influence with different aspects in its environment. It can be viewed with different factors such as the cultural, personal, psychological and social factors of the consumers.
Consumer behavior is one of the most interesting and important aspects of marketing management. Virtually all decisions involved in developing an effective marketing mix for a product or service rely on thorough knowledge of the consumers who comprise the target market (Johnson and Mullen 5). Understanding the behavior of the consumer can help marketers anticipate reactions to changes in the marketing mix, or determine whether new products are likely to be adopted. Consumer behavior is also closely related to marketing research – another important field that deserves further comprehensive investigation.
Each organization provides some products/services that are used by some consumers, even though they may not always recognize the products/services or the consumers as such. For example, it seems fairly obvious that the college students who drink a cola produced by a specific beverage company are the consumers of that beverage product (Johnson and Mullen 6). However, in a general sense, we can all think of public high school students as the consumers of a state's educational product; voters can be thought of as consumers of a political candidate's leadership and administration product; and, the members of a religious group might be viewed as consumers of a church's spiritual product. Thus, the study of the behavior of consumers involves examination of a wide range of everyday human behavior.
Consumer behavior as defined by Wilkie is “the activities that people engage in when selecting, purchasing, and using products and services so as to satisfy needs and desires” (3). Wilkie continued: “…such activities involve mental and emotional processes, in addition to physical actions”. In general perspective, consumer behavior studies individuals, groups or organizations with regards to obtaining, using and disposing of products and services. It also accounts the decision processes that lead and follow these behaviors. Consumer behavior investigates consumers' actions, as well as the reasons for those behaviors. On a macro level, marketers look for demographic shifts as well as society's values, beliefs and practices which affect the consumer’s interaction with the marketplace. On a micro level, consumer behavior is focused on human behavior and the motivations underlying these behaviors; concepts drawn from sociology and psychology figure prominently in the study of consumer behavior.
There are many factors that determine these activities, and the product/service is just one of them. There are some frameworks that helps explain customer behavior. Among these are brand orientation model and integrated framework for cross-cultural consumer behavior. Others, on the other hand, are expressed through demographic research, such as the relationship of culture on consumer behavior. These models and studies are applicable to consumer behavior in general products/services. But delving into such topic discussion will make this report technical and might astray away from its real objectives. However, this essay will try to stipulate on the relationship of culture and its effects.
Advertising and Consumers: the Missing Link
Advertising is plays a great role in terms of the buying experience of people (Wyatt 2). The promises of advertised products/services are subject to trial and materialization by the consumer. Thus, purchasing the said product/service is the sole way to prove its claims.
The daily exposure of people to all the different kinds of media makes it accessible for them to be familiar with what is latest in the market. With the assistance of ads, consumers are engaged in buying experience. As a part of their consumer behavior stimulation, there are internal assessments that are occurring within the limits of the human nature. In Taiwan, Kim and colleagues studied the behavior of consumers in relation to the medium. They indicated that the elements of advertising, the manner of presentation, or a certain ad for instance, greatly affect the culture, concept and emotions, and other human attributes of a certain setting. More often than not, advertising contributes to the development of changes in connection to the existing behavior and identity of the consumer. It may also lead to the practice of consumerism.
Consumerism: the Basis of Consumer’s Freedom
In studies of consumerism, it has become almost a platitude to claim that the purchase, use and display of goods in some way expresses social identities. The relationship of consumerism and customer behavior has been long overdue. Its interconnection opened up various horizons for academic marketing and management probing.
Consumerism is already an ingrained part of every given culture (Barnhill 55). It has become so disturbing on a global scale. Defining consumerism is always equated into a negative image. However, with this report, consumerism will be tackled in connection to the rights of consumers as well as its association to consumer behavior and identity towards policy decision-making. Traditionally, consumerism is known as the purchasing of products beyond the basic requirement of consumption.
Barnhill indicates:
“In a Buddhist view of mutual co-arising and radical interrelatedness the cause of consumerism is boundlessly plural--a virtual infinity of conditions affecting and being affected by countless other conditions. The desires of individuals have been conditioned by the way parents raised them, by the historical conditions (for my parents, the Depression; for me, the 1950s), by the use (and increasing abuse) of media, and so on. (56)”
Furthermore, environmental conditions are persuasive contributory factors along with politics, economics, social institutions, industrial technology, and ideological tendency (Barnhill 56). Take for example, the consumerist behavior of Filipino people during the holiday season perfectly illustrate the factors affecting the practice (Villegas).
With the various criticisms in consumerism, it has been connected with media applications such as advertising. In advertising, consumerism is a strong force driven by considerable sums spent that is designed to generate both a desire to follow trends and the resultant personal self-reward system based on acquisition. The basic idea of materialism is one of the by-products of consumerism.
The presence of consumerism in various cultures is studied in relation to policy decision making (Barnhill 56). The regulations made by the state are directed to the welfare and being of every buying individual. Laws on consumer rights are created to protect people against abuses in the economic marketplace. There are considerations that are taken at hand when passing and eventually implementing such laws. The extent of consumer behavior and identity as well as the relationship of culture are fully considered in realizing its intended purpose. For instance, the advertising medium proliferate consumerism. Every advertisement is produced with the aims to procure interest among the buyer and persuade him/her to have the product/service. The aesthetics of advertising easily provoke a culture of consumerism (Harris 49). Paradoxically, quaintness in advertising shows consumerism correcting itself, disassociating itself from its own conceited techniques, hiding consumerism from the consumer and ostensibly rejecting the commercialism on which it is based. Thus, superficial presentation of some advertisements could easily attain its goal.
In reference to my personal experiences, advertising materials that are too-good-to-be-true are appealing to me. The tendency is that I am persuaded to try on the product/service being advertise. My buying behavior was stimulated by the ad. Therefore, it creates an identity that can lead to addiction and constant purchase beyond my normal consumption. As a result, I am practicing a culture of consumerism.
There are government policies that control media like advertising standards. Countries like UK, Canada, and some developing nations maintain protocol in using the said medium. It is always subject to regulation and continuous assessment. The measurement of its extent of applicability in connection to the personal characteristics of consumers is strictly implemented. Its degree of interdependency to consumer behavior and the present existing culture is not fully taken into considerable attention. This is the reason why the extent of policies must be measured in connection to consumer behavior as well as identity.
Consumerism and Policy Decision-making: Consumer Behavior and Advertising Linkage
The emphasis on consumerism and an increasing awareness of environmental and ethical issues all have their implications for marketing strategists. Many firms are blending communications activities with public purpose policy decision making. Of course, innovation and the production of the new are intrinsic to consumerism and tend to structure the conceptual field of the study of consumerism. The connection of creating advertising policies to the release of new products/services is undeniable. Thus, advertising is among the medium where policies must be evaluated.
New connections between the cultural and the political, the visual and the material, advertising and belonging, consumerism and the rights of citizenship has been deliberate issues tackled by each government. Within European nation-states, individuals' access to citizenship rights has increasingly been framed through discourses of consumerism (Jones 39). National belonging and citizenship to consumerism and focus on choice as a prime mechanism in the production of consumer-citizenship identities linked the idea of individual behavior and culture.
State policies must deal with the basics of consumer behavior. Considering the various factors affecting the decision making of consumers, the government is expected to regulate advertising processes in all sorts of medium. While advertising is recognizable media to proliferate economic activity, policies created must deal with the common protection of consumers. However, the degree of effect to consumerism is boundless due to the fact that consumers possess the freedom to choose aside from the fact that every consumer differ in behavior and identity. In advertising standards promoted by authority, it is highly needed to present what is real and substantial to consumers. The ethics of advertising is necessary for every media regulating system. Advertising policies and standards posed by authorities must be in accordance to the general moral discretion of the society and organization. Advertisements of organizations must maintain its commitment to corporate social responsibility. Every advertisement must be taken into scrutiny to identify its effect in establishing the culture of consumerism. The protection of consumers’ rights and welfare is the main concern of the state as well as the business organization.
Consumerism, Consumer Behavior and Identity: an Amalgam of Processes in Culture and Decision-making
It is true; there are internal processes that occur during a buying experience. This is simply apparent because of the personal characteristics of a certain consumer especially to the environment. Kim and colleagues stated that “the standards and values that stem from the environment greatly influence consumer behavior, affecting purchasing and consumption activities, and the business organizations concerned. (485)”
The cultural context of consumer behavior can be defined as “the totality of the customs, arts, sciences, religions, politics, and economics that distinguishes one society from another, and that influences the individual consumer's behavior” (Johnson and Mullen 138). The presence of subculture among the main culture makes the difference. Subculture is usually defined as a category of people who share a sense of identification that is distinguishable from that of the culture as a whole. This shared sense of identification may result from a shared set of values, from a common history, or from similarity in socio-demographic attributes. Social class is perhaps the type of subculture that is most often used by consumer psychologists. The attribute that distinguishes between levels of social class is the relative level of social benefits (e.g., influence power, prestige, income, etc.). In connection to consumerism, it could be assumed that it is now a subculture.
Figure out this scene: Barbara’s decision to purchase a wine for her boss was influenced by the distinctive gold lettering on a rich burgundy background, the slim and sophisticated “feel” of the bottle and its French label. She also bought the white wine because she associated it with elegant dinners. Moreover, Barbara evaluated the quality of the wine based on its expensive price. Clearly, Barbara, not a wine drinker, is affected by her perception in purchasing wine to impress her boss.
This decision process is influenced by the information available to the consumer and the way in which the consumer processes that information. The decision process is also influenced by the consumer's beliefs, attitudes, and intentions as well as many other individual characteristics. Whether consumers will search for and use label information will be influenced by both characteristics of the product and of the buyer. Product characteristics include the extent to which the product's probable performance can be assessed by visual inspection and its complexity, that is, the number of decisions the consumer is required to make about it. Consumer characteristics include experience with purchasing the product, and the kinds of criteria the consumer uses in judging the product. The evaluative criteria are shaped by the consumer's beliefs, attitudes, and perception of risk in the purchase. Cultural difference and those of consumerism in relation to potential and individuality are parallel (Schiffman & Kanuk 18).
The premise on economic interpretation of consumerism as the belief that the freedom to choose among consumers should dictate the economic structure of a society is the basis of evaluating the extent of policy decision making of the states as well as business organizations. The relationship of consumerism, consumer behavior and identity in connection to activities, policies, and actions taken by the state and business organization must be based and dependent on the consumer’s behavior and identity.
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