My family and I have recently moved in with my dad and step-mum in order to pay off our debts. I’m nearly 35 for goodness sake.
Needless to say, I’m on a strict budget to try and get back on the road to financial solvency. Translated as: Can’t spend money on anything besides everyday staples such as food, etc. Let’s just say that I was somewhat apprehensive about the consumer activity diary assessment. I work hard at my cleaning business and have recently had days of absolute frivolous spending, think, splurge after a prolonged diet. This assessment is giving me permission to consume.
The first thing I wanted to buy was a product that directly appeased my vanity. Remember the diet thing? Well, I hadn’t bought a face product (cleanser, moisturiser) for months. I was scraping floaty remnants of Neutrogena face wash and using Sorbolene Cream as a face moisturiser. So, with the assessment providing the impetus to spend, I decided to buy a cream that promised to help me attack wrinkles, ease the darkness from under my eyes and basically refresh my skin (need recognition).
My starting point was the internet (information search). I typed in best anti wrinkle cream and read the reviews. I decided on a product called Lifecell. There were a few reasons I clicked on the purchase tab (purchase decision). 1. The American company South Beach Skincare was going to send me this miracle cream for free. I only had to pay $15 for the shipping fee, 2. celebrities (not that I’m a celebrity junkie) such as Paula Abdul (she is queen of endorsing new products and lines), and Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman endorsed it, (but so did Paris Hilton. Yugghh, I didn’t see that one the first time), 3. South Beach Skincare claimed that Lifecell got rid of wrinkles instantly. This, I had to see. Not only did the grooming-starved, now very vain side of me buy this product but the internet ad page piqued my curiosity.
‘When a marketing organisation launches a new product, four decisions are involved – when, where, to whom and how.’ (Adam & Armstrong, 2009, p., 323). The where is the very reason I was able to find out about Lifecell, and thus, in turn purchase and educate myself and others about it. This fact is also linked with the whom. South Beach Skincare understood their target market: busy, women that used the internet daily. How? With a little help from their celebrity friends and everyday converted women posting their reviews on Youtube. Of course, the marketing mix is goes deeper than this. But even the transparent methods worked on a seasoned sceptic. My emotions were engaged as soon as I typed that first letter into the Google search engine on my mission to eradicate the telltale signs of my ageing skin. My (emotional) needs and (positive) motivation were intagled with my decision-making. (Schiff, Bednall, O’Cass et al 2008, p., 79).
I was excited about purchasing Lifecell. It only cost $15 so I hadn’t blown the budget and I was proactive about my wrinkles. Five days later, the medium sized box was on my doorstep. In it Lifecell, a box of vitamins to help along the product and a very nice letter promising augmented features such as after sales customer service. But does the product work? I think it thought it did at first. It felt nice, smelt nice and I think the wrinkles around my mouth and neck were less visible. But weeks later I haven’t really used it. Therefore, I think deep down it didn’t work and I experienced the post-purchase behaviour of cognitive dissonance (Adam & Armstrong, 2009, p., 179).
My male partner, on the other hand, is happy with Lifecell and eagerly slaps it on his face each morning.
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