Consumer Behavior Who uses personal care products

Consumer Behavior: Who uses personal care products?

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Type of message appeal to be used in the advertising

Companies use advertising appeals as hooks companies to persuade customers. In general advertising, appeals can be categorized into two basic categories: rational advertising appeals and emotional advertising appeals (Nijaz, 2014). Although some ads use elements of both categories, emotional appeals have had a wider array because connecting a company or product with customers’ emotions carries more impact in attracting the attention of the customers, who can easily purchase.

I am working for a manager of an organization launching a personal care product targeting males aged between 18 and 35 years in the US market. The advert appeal designed by the organization for this product should consider income ranges, targeting middle and low-level income earners. Considering that the target market is composed of youth, the message appealed to be used in advertising the product should carry emotional appeals because the market is composed of young people and also, the product is a personal care product. I would suggest the following emotional message appeal be used in adverting the personal care product launched by the company:

“This Lotion Will Give You a Magically Soft Skin, Try It!”

The above appeal message connects with the emotions of the target customers. Male people within the age bracket of 18 and 35 years are more concerned about their skin care, always trying to keep it soft. Therefore, the moment they come across a product which “promise” to keep the skin soft, they would be willing to consume it.

The different cultures

The product will appeal, first and foremost to the urban population. In most cases, the urban people/residents come across most personal care products, and it could be realized that they have tested most of the products available under this category. Therefore, this product could provide an alternative for them to choose from. Maybe, the product they have been using has never “soften the skin” as they promise, and thus this would be an opportunity for them to purchase the right product. Also, the urban population is more concerned about personal care as compared to the rural population. Some of the reasons include the low level of income in the rural areas as compared to higher income in urban areas. Thus a certain percentage of income is used for personal care. This means that the product would appeal to them.

The product would also appeal the most to the college students and the recent graduates. In most cases, this population is aged between 20 and 30 years. I would consider this age as the one more concerned with the personal care, and a good percentage of their earnings (for those who work) is dedicated to personal care since most of them have no families to take care of. It would, therefore, be appropriate to target this population the more because the product is likely to appeal to them the more.

The working class is another culture that the personal care product is likely to appeal to. The working population aged between 18 years and 35 years have more income to spend on personal care products. This population is likely to test various personal care products to identify the best, and on realizing this product in the market, the product would appeal to them because they have money to spend on such products.

Lastly, the personal care product will appeal to the low-income earners because of its pricing. Low-income earners require personal care products but will not afford costly and expensive products and thus will settle for cheap products. If the company lowers the price of the product, the low-income population will be attracted to consume this product.

I would recommend the urban population, college students and recent graduates, and the working class as the three best choices of culture which the product would appeal to. I would recommend the organization to target these three cultures because the urban population has experience in products and are likely to try the new product. On the other hand, college students are concerned about skin care products because of their age, interests and preferences while the working class has enough income to spend on personal care products. By targeting these three cultures, the organization is likely to acquire a huge market and make good sales.

Micro-cultures and additional demographics to target

The organization should target the teens the more because they are among the groups which are concerned about personal care. Compared to the groups with over 25 years, the teens are likely to consume the product especially given that its pricing considers the low and middle income population. Also, the product should be targeted towards the millennials because they have adequate knowledge of various personal care products available in the market. This is the population that is likely to attempt to know the manufacturer of a product before purchasing. Therefore they are likely to come across this product which appeals to them.

Utilizing group influence in marketing of the product

Individuals greatly influence each other because humans are inherently social animals. The organization is likely to benefit from group influence in marketing the personal care product. Reference group refers to a framework of analysis of group influence on individuals (Pittard, 2013). The reason is that individual consumers use relevant analysis groups as a reference standard to compare themselves to some other individuals. In marketing the personal care product, the organization will utilize the following reference group forms:

Aspirational reference group: Involves marketing a product against someone whom people would like to compare oneself with including athletes, famous soccer players, celebrities, etc (USC Marshall & Perner, 2010). Several people would like to compare with these celebrities and therefore, marketing the personal care product using such celebrities would influence the company’s sales.

Associate reference groups: Involves marketing a product among peoples’ equals or near-equals such as church, club or organization members, co-workers, neighbors, etc (USC Marshall & Perner, 2010). Using individuals in these categories to market a product will bring a great impact in sales because most of these groups are social groups which allows persuasion. An individual chose to sell in each of these groups will work as an ambassador of the organization for the personal care product where he/she will explain from the point of experience, the benefits of using the product. Using group influence allows negotiation with potential customers, persuasion and answering of questions relating to the product. This influences the effectiveness of marketing and increased sales.

Disassociate reference groups: Involves marketing among individuals that one would not like to associate with. The personal care product will be advertised among non-users of the product which will in turn pas the information to the other groups of users, thus influencing marketing, market share and the volumes of shares.

Plan to address need recognition, search behavior, and getting the product into the consumers’ consideration set.

Need recognition, also called problem identification is the first step in consumer buying behavior and occurs when a consumer identifies an unmet need which he/she intends to fulfil. To address need recognition, the organization should design a personal care product which addresses the needs of the market (Dudovskiy, 2013). Need recognition is achieved when consumers identify and need and decide to fulfil it. The organization is therefore required to first identify the market gap and design a personal care product to fill the gap such that consumers will obtain that product to fulfil the need. Thus, to identify the market gap, the organization should research the existing personal care products, identify their loopholes and address them in designing their product. This becomes a plan to address a need recognition.

Search behavior refers to behavior on search engines and other search tools where users search information concerning a product on the internet. Customers perform search behavior when they want to understand the details of a product, its use or the information about the manufacturer (Roggio, 2005). The organization is responsible to provide information to customers on the internet to educate the market and create awareness of the product. To address search behavior, the organization should design the product according to market demands, offer the product at affordable prices and use appealing messages in marketing the product to get the customers searching the product, understanding it and increasing the chances of consumption.

Getting the product in consumers’ consideration set means designing the product to fit into the consumers’ use and address their needs. The organization is responsible to get the product into the considerations set by designing the product as unique and able to meet the standards of the consumer. When a consumer searches for a product with specific characteristics to serve a particular purpose, the personal care product manufactured by the organization should be found within the considerations set of the consumer.

References

Dudovskiy, J. (2013, July 6). Consumer decision making process: A detailed analysis. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from Consumer Behaviour, http://research-methodology.net/consumer-decision-making-process-a-detailed-analysis/

Nijaz, N. (2014, July 23). Advertising appeals. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.slideshare.net/nijazn/advertising-appeals-37304802

Pittard, V. (2013, March 6). Using reference groups in marketing. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.business2community.com/marketing/using-reference-groups-in-marketing-0427866#64HCOzBGKjHWP50q.97http://www.business2community.com/marketing/using-reference-groups-in-marketing-0427866#64HCOzBGKjHWP50q.97

Roggio, A. (2005). Understanding consumer search behaviors. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/59292-Understanding-Consumer-Search-Behaviors

USC Marshall, & Perner, L. (2010). Group influences–consumer behavior. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from https://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Group_Influences.html