Jun
08
Observations About Consumer Culture
Posted by Ad Hustler | Posted in Doing Business | Posted on 08-06-2010
I’m a people watcher. Here are some observations I make about consumer culture. These are kind of brain farts but use them to profit.
- People will spend more for a name brand whether or not the product is actually better
- Girls love to shop because they think they’re supposed to
- People think that other people care what car they drive, so they spend way more then they can afford on transportation
- People pretend they are affluent even though they don’t have a penny to their name
- Skinny = successful
- People like to pretend they are connected to important people even though they aren’t
- People buy houses way bigger then they can afford
- People have no clue WHAT they can afford when it comes to anything
- People make buying decisions more based on WANT then actual NEED
- People CONFUSE wants & needs
- People make buying decisions more based on WANT without really thinking about if they can afford it
- If someone thinks they can make money off of a scheme they will throw money at that scheme whether or not it makes any sense
- Men are driven by the fear of loss
- Many adults aren’t all that more mature then kids are
- People hate to take risks, they want a sure thing
- People will stay at a job they HATE but are comfortable at because they fear change
- If you go out to dinner with more then 4 people and are going to split the check, the pool of money will ALWAYS come up short
- Broke people will buy lunch every day even though they can easily save $40 per week brown bagging it
- People aren’t very confident in themselves, so if you boost their self esteem you can get them to do anything
- People identify with celebrities even though celebrities are nothing like them
- People always claim they have no time to do anything even though they clearly do
- People will indulge a desire NOW regardless of the consequences LATER
- People want to be rich but think the actual rich don’t deserve what they have
- People think they are way smarter than they are
- People don’t appreciate what they have
- People want to fit in
Anything you can add?
Are you spying on me and my buying habits?
LOL @ Mike
Pretty much sums it up, that’s why Acai and biz opps work so well.
People are stupid.
Stupid people = opportunity to make money.
Happy times!
When I was a wee lad, a wise mentor once said:
“Everybody’s fucked up. It’s just a matter of degree.”
Since then, every time I meet or transact with someone I immediately assign a number of 1-10.
guilty of many of these myself.
Brilliant insights both Marketers and Psychologists will find many practical applications. LOL too! Is this the reason why iPad is selling like crazy?
One of the books I read last month, “Hot Button Marketing” (http://www.hotbuttonmarketing.net/) discusses a lot of these and many more “hot buttons” that motivate people to buy.
Understanding peoples’ emotions is a powerful thing in our industry, bookmark this post and pick up that book if you haven’t read it yet.
I really like, “People aren’t very confident in themselves, so if you boost their self esteem you can get them to do anything.”
Now all you got to do is split test and see which people fit in which categories and market to them!
haha nice list
Great list. I love the part about how the bill comes up short when splitting during dinner.
One more addition
“People will choose the less complicated option even if the reward is less”
Brilliant post. Don’t agree with all of these, but most are great!!
Completely the truth, great writeup.
Great post man. A few of those I said “wow, I should stop doing that because it sounds annoying”
These things are good to know but not to be abused. The are the tools of ‘high pressure’ selling, which is usually a rather sleazy affair.
Judicious and ethical marketers will use discretion.
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
funny skinny=successful.I’m not that skinny but I’m very successful.The same thing with Steve Wazinak.
@Brad – Neither am I. It’s not my thoughts, it’s my observations about / the thoughts of the average consumer.
[...] Observations About Consumer Culture [...]
[...] Observations About Consumer Culture – This post has a GREAT list of observations that AdHustler has made about consumers. Some real truths in this post that you can use to get further into the mind of those buyers! [...]
[...] Observations About Consumer Culture – This post has a GREAT list of observations that AdHustler has made about consumers. Some real truths in this post that you can use to get further into the mind of those buyers! [...]
funny skinny=successful.I’m not that skinny but I’m very successful.The same thing with Steve Wazinak.
Great Observations! Very amusing as well!
wheres your rss feed? probably hidden in plain sight knowing me lol
Out There Media is the international leader in Mobile Advertising. The company is headquartered in Vienna and has subsidiaries in Dusseldorf, Singapore, Moscow, Kiev, Athens and Sofia.
Regards for all your efforts that you have put in this. Very interesting info. “Wayne All I have to say about that is asphinctersayswhat. Arcade owner What Wayne Exactly.” by Wayne’s World.