week 3 Discussion Board

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Week 3 Discussion Board
Part one: Consumer Type
The results from the VALS Survey revealed that I am most the Experiencer consumer. My secondary type consumer group was strivers. Experiencers as a group of the consumer are said to be persons that want everything, defy the current mainstream, like the latest fashions, regard themselves as being sociable, love physical activity and have a strong belief on the importance of friendship (Experiencers 1). A striver consumer love fun, are imitative, are reliant on public transport, love video game and have high temporary unemployment. The results are interesting but are accurate to a moderate extent. It is true that I value friendship, love physical activity, am sociable and have a desire to own many things. Before taking this survey, I would have described myself as an informed consumer that only goes for limited things, which are of value. In one question on morality, I answered that religion is not the only way to defining it. This is because morality is based on many tenets such as culture and norms.
Part 2: Purchase after Persuasion
Persuasion plays an important role when it comes to purchasing decisions. As a young person, I have a liking for electronic products. While on my random visit to the mall, I visited the Apple store and had an interaction with one of the salespersons. She emotionally, confidently and with genuine enthusiasm told me the benefits and superiority of the iPhone over the Android phone.

Based this interaction, I was convinced into buying the iPhone 7 smartphone. However, the phone was not very different from the android phone, and I felt being “cheated” into unnecessary expenditure. Persuasion helps companies to sell their products. The best way to convince the customer is for a salesperson to be confident, have adequate information about the product and understand the needs of the customer (Importance of Persuasion in Marketing and Sales 1). It seems that the salesperson had mastered all these from the manner she managed to convince me.
Part 3: Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance refers to a state of regret after a purchase. One day I was convinced into buying a skinny pair of jeans from some store across the street. Despite having doubts that it was too small for me, the store owner convinced me into buying it. However, the jeans were too small, and when I returned it to the store, the owner refused to take it back arguing that the seal had been broken and that it will be difficult to sell to another customer. If I had not been carried away, believed in my instincts and had not ignored the terms of sale, I would not have purchased the jeans in the first place.

Work Cited
“Importance of Persuasion in Marketing and Sales.” MSG, nd, https://www.managementstudyguide.com/importance-of-persuasion-in-marketing-and-sales.htm
“Experiencers.” Strategic Business Insights, nd, http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes/experiencers.shtml