Individual Differences Variable Student Name

MRKT 410Insert DateIndividual Difference Variable

I have always been a consumer of Coca Cola’s Coke product not just because of its good and creative commercials but also because of its great taste. Generally I like this brand of soft drink as it is truly refreshing according to my experience. It is a good product though everyone has a different opinion concerning a certain product. We cannot all be similar and each and every one of us has different and unique characteristics which make them take certain actions.

Personally I have been feeling some connection between me and coke because of the way the company engages its consumers in a chat through its social media accounts. I just like Coke and its color is so attractive and it blends well with its taste.

Coke is a product whose market is affected by individual difference variables. This is because different consumers think differently about it. There are various individual difference variables which are the unique factors influencing a person’s behavior (McDonald & Dunbar, 2004). Different individuals have different characteristics and these govern how these people make decisions and they dictate the behavior of a person towards anything. We are created differently and these individual difference variables vary so much between different people. Some of the individual difference variables include:

Personality

This defines our individual thoughts, feelings, emotions and characteristics. I would not say that this much affects the consumer behavior of Coke although to some extent it does. Some of the consumers personal principles make them not to consume this product not because it is bad or it will affect them in anyway but because they just do not like it. Consumers have different principles with some arguing that they do not like taking manufactured drinks. Some even declare that the best drink to take is water and their principles would not allow them to take soft drinks or any other beverage.

Attitude and beliefs

The attitude is the personal feeling of any consumer towards a given product. This is dictated by the consumer’s beliefs and behavioral intentions of the consumer which determine whether the consumer is going to purchase the given product or not. A consumer may have a positive or negative belief towards a certain product. While I believe that Coke is my best soft drink and has the best taste and color, some other consumers may believe that it is one of the worst soft drinks. If a person had a bad experience concerning the Coke product, they may even feel nauseated when they think about it. This is where the difference comes in between me and other consumers. Sometimes, some consumers may have had once taken it when they were sick then they vomited. This experience can stick in their minds forever and make them hate it.

Self-concept

Self-concept is what we think of ourselves and how we visualize ourselves. There are some people who are very concerned about how others feel about them.

Psychographics

This is like an analysis of consumers based on their lifestyle and how they lead their lives. I feel that living in a house without Coke in the refrigerator is unbearable. This is not the case for other consumers. Some consumers may feel that buying Coke is a waste of funds and they do not like it at all. In many cases, the lives we lead dictate the decisions we make in our daily lives. Always when I go shopping I ensure that I have this Coca Cola product in the shopping list.

Motivation

My motivation to take Coke is because I feel refreshed when I take it and it is really a sweet drink. The motivation or the factor that makes a consumer go for a certain product is to satisfy a certain unsatisfied need. Everyone has different needs which they would like to satisfy and this usually makes them go for different products. Some other consumers may not have the same feeling I have so this makes us like different things.

Involvement

This is the level to which a product is important to a consumer. If the consumer does not see any importance or benefit in purchasing a given product, then they do not have to buy it. As a Coke consumer, I feel that this drink satisfies my refreshment needs and its taste alone makes me feel good.

A market segment is a group of people with similar characteristics in a given market. Sometimes people think that Coke is consumed by people who like partying which is something I cannot rule out completely (Dawar & Chattopadhyay, 2002). I think there is some truth that Coke is truly a good product for party though it is not exclusively for partying purposes. There are no restrictions which restrict any group of people from taking this drink but I feel people aged above 15 years are the real target for this product. Analyzing the information above and understanding the likes of different groups of people would make coke’s sales increase significantly.

Motivation defines the reason why given people would like to take this product. For instance there are those individuals who would like to take it for refreshment purposes while others buy it for partying. Some buy it because their beliefs would not allow them to take alcoholic drinks. Also to take care of different ages and the different tastes of the consumers, Coca Cola has produced different flavors of soft drinks. This has worked well for a long time to maintain a significant share of the market.

References

McDonald, M., & Dunbar, I. (2004). Market segmentation: How to do it, how to profit from it. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Dawar, N., & Chattopadhyay, A. (2002). Rethinking marketing programs for emerging markets. Long Range Planning, 35(5), 457-474.