Earlier topics of discussion were all educative and very applicable in our daily life activities. I particularly enjoyed and identified myself with the topic of stimuli and sensation as an integral part of marketing strategies. Indeed, most people do not realize how they do their purchases.
Most of us assume that it is particularly a random thought that crosses our mind that makes us buy commodities. This topic however breaks everything down and ideologically analyses step by step process of making a purchase. Marketers, therefore, ensure that they target one of these steps a phenomenon that triggers the mind to make a decision in a particular manner towards the purchase of the commodity.
As a future marketer, I find myself in a world where understanding the consumer’s mind is inevitable. I should be in a position where I can influence the purchasing decision-making of the consumer. I should therefore be able to blast into the real world as regards marketing and branding. As this theory explains, branding which forms the fundamental principles of marketing should be done in such a manner that it impacts positively decision making. It should also ensure that it augers well with the moods of most consumers.
The whole discussion about stimuli and sensation was interesting and I particularly could identify with such strategies as attractive branding, seasonal marketing, and moody marketing. For instance, as we approach this Valentine season, branding of commodities and packing in red creates a sensational attraction to many people. Consumers will tend to buy commodities that are packed in red just because of the color code associated with Valentine’s. Branding should therefore identify with a season, a mood as well as a phenomenon. Marketers should therefore be ready to change their marketing strategies with changes in seasons, moods, or in such phenomenal times.
Apart from the general ideas about marketing as my future career, I also learned how marketers seduce consumers into impulse buying. Everybody should learn to avoid impulse buying and buying outside our purchasing capacities. Realizing the process of buying and decision making is therefore important and may help consumers to learn the tricks that marketers use in an attempt to induce impulse buying. Every time I go for my shopping, I should look at the two sides of the coin so that I can avoid buying outside of my capacity and also to learn some of the tricks that marketers are using to promote their sales.
The fact that sensory-emotional processes, sometimes triggered in our memories in our adult life may also prompt making purchasing decisions was also appealing. Marketers therefore have taken this as a marketing strategy. They will brand commodities in such a manner that will trigger our past emotions and prompt us to buy.
In conclusion, I would want to ask something that did not sound out very clearly about how the whole process of decision-making can be interacted or influenced by any form of a marketing strategy. In my perception, decision making about a purchase is greatly determined by the capacity to make the purchase and the necessity of the commodity. Again, making a decision is more of a personal preference and sometimes we are all different in the way we perceive things. Sometimes what is appealing to one person does not appeal to the other. So my question is, to what extent do stimuli and sensation influence making a purchasing decision?