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You Are What You Buy

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Submitted By thorntonke
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When purchasing a product there is a number of factors that influence a consumers decision on what product or service they purchase. Two of these factors is the actual self-concept and ideal self-concept. The actual self-concept is defined as the individuals belief about himself, which includes the person’s attributes and how they evaluate themselves. The ideal self-concept is how you would like to see yourself. When consumers purchase products they are often purchasing the product to enhance how they feel about themselves as well as get closer to their ideal self.

My most recent important purchase was a car in September. I purchased a 2012 GMC Terrain with some special features. The GMC is a mid size SUV that is known to have one of best gas mileage for its type. My choice of an SUV was mainly based on the fact that I like bigger cars because I travel a lot with large items (bowling balls) and I like to sit up higher in a car so I can see everything. Most of the time, SUV drivers are described as people who like to feel in control, which is a lot of the times what I like to do. I often take control of situations because that it is personality.

The purchase of a newer also indicates that I want to have a sense of pride and a feeling of accomplishment because I purchased a brand new car. This explanation would be an example of how I tried to enhance my ideal self-concept of being someone who looks accomplished. I also chose the vehicle based on needs. My old car had very poor gas mileage and it was costing me a lot of money to travel to and from work every day. This was one of the main factors when purchasing the car because I knew that one of my needs was a more fuel efficient car. I also believe the color of a car indicates some ideas of a self-concept. My vehicle color, white, often means that the person is positive and often likes things to be neat and clean. The color also indicates that the owner has the belief that are pure, honest and an overall good person.

The brand personality is the way a brand speaks or behaves. In this case, the brand personality is that the SUV provides people with the necessities in addition to allowing control over the road and ultimately certain aspects of their life. The new car defines my personality of the need to feel accomplished as well as the sense that I like things to be neat and organized.

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