We all get that feeling after we buy something that we shouldn’t
have, the “Shoot, did I really just buy that?” Well, there’s a name for this
feeling of anxiety post purchase and it’s called cognitive dissonance, also known as buyer's remorse. Maybe it was a decision made on a whim or
maybe you were pressured by your friends because it just looked “soooooo cute”
on you. But the beauty of purchasing is that you can always return something
you just maybe didn’t really need to buy.
My advice? Wait a week. If in a week you can’t stop thinking
about that top that fit you just right around the waist and flattered your
neckline perfectly, then go buy it! That’s what mom always taught me anyways.
The thing that marketers do really well at is advertising a product to make it
look just too good to be true so that you, as the consumer have to buy it right
then and there before it disappears. It won’t disappear, I promise you that.
Marketing is all about the psychology of consumer behavior.
Believe it or not, a lot of how we as consumers act can be related to the
generation we were born into. The Baby
Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 certainly are not going to be the first
ones to purchase, say, the all new Apple watch that is hitting the marketplace
soon. Of course, some will, but that technological advancement with the many
different things on which you can do with it will really speak to those of Generation Y, my generation. We are
those who were born between the years of 1977 and 1994. We like things that
make us have to pay attention and have a lot going on. We grew up in the world
of technology and therefore are the ones who want it now.
We love personal
connections. Have you noticed lately how a lot of commercials have been using
pathos, or the use of emotion in advertising, to catch the consumer’s attention?
That is all because we are sucker’s for the Dad who plays catch with his son
out in front of the Subaru, or those ASPCA commercials that literally make you
feel like you want to either cry or go adopt one of those poor dogs. Our
generation love to feel that personal or emotional connection with a product or
service,
and that is what marketers are going to capitalize on.
When marketers decide on how to advertise certain products
or services to certain people, they really look at the consumer behavior of the
demographic which they are really targeting to sell to. They research the buyers’
general personality, motivation, self-concept,
attitudes, beliefs, social class and lifestyle to determine what the best way is
to broadcast whatever it is they want you to buy. That is how they get you
because guess what, they know you –maybe
even better than you know yourself when it comes to purchasing something. They
do their research by using reference groups
so that they have the best advantage possible to rope in the buyer. And 90%
of the time it works. And that’s the point; that is what makes you buy that
flattering top that you really didn’t need to buy that you might feel bad about
later but just looks “soooo cute” on you that you couldn’t resist. Marketers
are good at what they do because they understand the behavior of their buyers.
*Info from Ch. 5 Marketing 11th Edition Roger Kerin, Steven Hartley, William Rudelius. McGraw-Hill: New York, 2012
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