Consumers are so different

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

SPEECH PRACTICE

1. Speak on the following: “Consumers, by definition, include us all. They are the largest economic group in the economy”. (John F. Kennedy)

2. Speak on the implementation of each of the 8 basic consumer rights.

3. Comment on the two following statements. Which one is true? Express your point of view.

· “In a free competitive economy, the consumer is a king”.

· “The producer, not the consumer is a king. After all, the producer is the one who advertises. Therefore, the producer is the one who creates wants and thereby influences what consumers will purchase”.

Consumer’sself-orientation determines the types of goals and behaviours that individuals will pursue. Marketers differentiatethe followinggroups of consumers.

Actualizers are successful, sophisticated,active and‘take-charge’people with high self-esteem and abundant resources. They are interested in growth and seek to develop,explore, and express themselvesin variety of ways – sometimes guided by principle, and sometimes by a desire to have an effect,to make achange. Image is important toactualizers, not as evidence of status or power, but as an expression of their taste, independence, and character.

Fulfillers are mature,satisfied, comfortable, reflectivepeople who value order, knowledge, and responsibility. Most are well-educated,and in (or recently retired from) professional occupations. They are well-informed about world and national eventsand are alert toopportunities to broaden their knowledge.Content with their careers,families, and station in life, theirleisure activities tend to center around the home.Fulfillers have a moderate respect for the status quo institutions of authority and social decorum, but are open-mindedabout new ideas and social change.Fulfillers tend to base theirdecisions on strongly held principles andconsequently appear calm and self-assured. Fulfillersare conservative,practical consumers; they look for functionality, value,and durabilityin theproducts theybuy.

Believers are conservative, conventionalpeople with concrete beliefs based ontraditional, established codes: family, church, community, and nation.Many believersexpress moral codes that are deeply rootedand literally interpreted. They follow establishedroutines, organized inlarge part around their homes,families, and social or religious organizations towhichthey belong. As consumers, they areconservative and predictable, favoring native productsand established brands.

Achievers are successfulcareer- and work-oriented people who like to, and generally do, feel in control of their lives. They value consensus, predictability,and stability over risk,intimacy, and self-discovery. Theyare deeply committed to workand family. Work provides them with a sense of duty, material rewards, and prestige.Their social lives reflect this focus and are structuredaround family, church,and career. Achievers liveconventional lives, are politically conservative, and respect authority and the status quo. Image is important to them; theyfavour established, prestige products and services that demonstrate success totheir peers.

Strivers seek motivation, self-definition, and approval from the worldaround them. They are striving to find asecure place in life. Unsure ofthemselves and lowon economic, social, and psychological resources, s trivers are concerned about theopinion and approval of others. Moneydefines success for strivers, whodon’t have enoughof it and often feel that lifehas given them a rawdeal. Striversare easily bored and impulsive. Many of them seek to be stylish. They emulate those who own more impressivepossessions, butwhat they wish to obtain is generally beyondtheir reach.

Experiencers are young, vital,enthusiastic, impulsive, andrebellious. They seek variety and excitement. Still in the process of formulating life values and patterns of behavior, theyquickly become enthusiastic about new possibilitiesbut are equally quick to cool. At this stage of their lives, they are politicallyuncommitted, uninformed, and highly ambivalent about what they believe. Their energy finds an outletin exercise, sports, outdoor recreation, and social activities.Experiencers are avid consumers and spend much oftheir income onclothing, fast food, music,movies, and video.

Makers are practical people who have constructive skills and value self-sufficiency. They live within a traditional context of family, practical work, and physical recreation and have little interest in what lies outside that context. Makers experience the world by working on it – building a house, raising children, fixing a car, or canning vegetables – and havesufficient skills, income, and energy to carry out their projects successfully. Makers are politically conservative, suspicious of new ideas, respectful of government intrusion on individual rights. They are unimpressed by material possessions of others (e.g., tools, pick-up trucks, or fishing equipment).

Strugglers’ lives are constricted. Chronically poor, ill-educated, low-skilled, without strong social bonds, elderly and concerned about their health, they are often resigned and passive. Because they are limited by the need to meet the urgent needs of the present moment, they do not show a strong self-orientation. Their chief concerns are for security and safety. Strugglers are cautious consumers. They represent a very modestmarket for most products and services, but are loyal to favorite brands.

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