The Experiments!!

The first assignment for the module of Understanding the customer was to 'Carry out a small-scale experiment to test out the theory regarding perception'. There were 4 choices of experiments that we could do, these were:

An experiment to test out the effect of the use of particular colours on wine labelling on the perception of the quality of that wine (this could also be done with the packaging of chocolates or health and beauty product such as bubble bath)

An experiment to test out music effects on perceived quality e.g. different backing tracks to advertisements for a particular product such as beer or perfume

An analysis of the use of atmospherics in a number of competing retail stores (e.g. use of lighting, music, colour etc) to see how the retail outlet owner is trying to influence people’s perception of his store or product range (Note: this is not just another name for a shopping trip – you will need photographic evidence and store layout)

Observe 2 or more people involved in a high cost purchases (e.g. a car, holiday or computer) and identify the detailed stages in their decision making process. Compare and contrast the different shoppers and account for any differences in behaviour which might relate to their perception of the risks involved.

I decided to choose the one that involved investigating the atmospherics in competing retail stores. This option appealed to me as there is a wide range of shops in the London and High Wycombe area that all vary. I chose three stores, these were: Next, Topshop and Abercrombie. All are different in there own right, Abercrombie being the most different from the other two, this gave me the ability to give a good contrast of store atmospherics between the three.

I think store atmospherics are important because they set the mood for the store can you imagine a store that had no music or colour, I would not like to go in, dont know about you!!??

Perception and the Decision Making Process

This week we looked at perception yet again but we also looked at the decision making process, the decision making process is a step by step process in which the customers buys the product. The first activity of the lecture involved drawing a picture of a typical over 50 year old, but we didn’t draw it with lines and colours, we used words! We basically wrote down what we thought was the typical characteristics of and over 50 year old such as false teeth, glasses and Werthers Originals and so on. Looking at everyone else’s diagrams we had more or less the same criteria for an over 50, however we found out that the oldest person living in the UK was 108, so from the age of 50 to 108 there was a difference of 58 years! This is important as in most surveys or questionnaires there is a category for over 50 but there is another potential 50 years in which the results for that category may change drastically. After that we looked at Kotler’s Buying Decision Process this step by process involves the customer recognising the product, they then search for the information about the product, then they look at other cheaper products that are available to them or look at the same product but for example rather than in-store they look online. The product is then purchased by the customer and they use the product accordingly! However when customers buy confectionary such a chewing gum or a drink they may miss out some of the stages in the buyer decision process.
We also looked at the Harvard risk assessment business model; it states that an individual’s subjective perception of the risk inherent in buying a product, furthermore the tolerance of risk may vary depending on certain people.
Definition of Gestalt Psychology - a theory of psychology that emphasizes the importance of configurational properties

(Definition provided by - http://estb.msn.com/i/3C/E511F5265C4B815FED9AE86D75CA16.jpg)

The Human Senses

Perception is detected by the means of the senses

Definition of perception

· Perception is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world

Introduction to perception (2009) Definition of Perception [online]. Available from: http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/optical_illusions/intro_definition.html [Accessed 14 October 2009]

In today’s lecture we looked at how people respond to adverts that provoke the human six senses...For those of you who don’t know them it’s Smell, Taste, Touch, Hearing and Sight. All of these elements can be applied into the making of an effective marketing campaign. As I am sat on the train on my way home to Leeds makes me proactive and want to get some work done on the train...sooo looking around me I can see people blowing Z’s however there is nothing interesting in Coach B, the carriage wall are a pale cream, the lighting is low and I am pushed for space on the busy 5’oclock train to Leeds. Thinking in a marketing perspective, this would be a perfect place to promote and effectively market a new product, event or person. Why aren’t there any posters? Why are there no televisions? Why are there no flyers on the back of the worn seat in front of me...does anybody know because I would like to!! Further in the lecture we created our own businesses (in groups) and we had to name colours according to the set demographic we were given. Our group was called shitty shades only a joke, but the name of the colour selection was pic ‘n’ mix. We felt the name for these colours would be appealing to our target groups which was around 8 years old. The list of colours were: Icing sugar, Shazam!!, Candyfloss, Custard, Mustard Hotdog, Stardust, Mint Sundae, Bogie Green and Smurf Blue. We felt all of these colours would appeal to the age group we were set.

The first of many lessons!

This is my first ever blog so give this site chance it may get better through the year! On Thursday 31st at Bucks New Uni we looked at understanding the customer, and how each person is that little bit different from the next one. This can then influence the skills and techniques used within marketing as adverts and effective marketing must reach a really wide demographic.
As the ball got rolling in the lesson Ruth asked us to draw a shape on a page, we were then asked to fill in certain information about ourselves such as favourite car, colour, holiday destination ect...When we had filled our shapes with as much or as little information as we wanted, we then swapped them around, people had to guess what type of person they are from judging the information provided on the piece of paper. Some people guessed correctly but some people didnt, it was easy to guess mine as it had LEEDS UNITED in large block capitals on the centre of the page, however some were more illusive as others had just wrote words and not seemed to express themselves using pictures or large words, this could mean that they could be an introvert compared to me which had pictures and large words on...have you guessed it yes I am an extrovert!!!
So what did we learn from this? Well personally I learned that everybody is different and that not everybody may be what they seem or say they are. Some may say they are loud however their writing may show they are introvertd and may be quite shy, my view on this is that they might be shy to people they do not know and once you get to know that individual then may be more loud and chatty like they say they are.