When clichés simply become consumer behaviour
December 1st, 2010 • Uncategorized
Wearing their beret, eating their cheese and walking with a baguette under their arm through beautiful streets covered with cafes and fancy restaurant. Could it be possible that this typical image, or should I say cliché of French people be accurate enough to be part of consumer behaviour? Last summer, my three best friends visited me in France, and as I heard them telling about their experience in France, they explained to me that what they’ve seen from France was exactly like they imagined it. “They eat bread at every meal! And cheese twice a day!” said Malin (from Sweden). And it is true…
As we say in Class 15 (COMM101), what affect consumer behaviour are cultural factors, social factors and personal factors. Is it part of our culture to eat fresh bread every day, therefore how much bread will be sold entirely depend on demand, which is affected by the society and the decisions made by consumers. Consumer behaviour will affect marketing strategies of companies, as well as how those might be structured or organized, because according to an Harvard Business article: “the company’s mission is to serve customers and employees”. In Brazil, service in general is cheaper and more popular. At a gas station for example a person will pump the gas in your car. IKEA is not present in Brazil either because people are not used to building their own office desk, and it is not because they are lazy, but rather because it is in their culture and social factors to have someone do it for them. How a company will sell its products, advertise and increase its image is based on demand. It’s about people’s choice, costumers’ willingness to pay for what they need, it’s all about culture, location… but most importantly people.