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Creating a Psychographic Profile

Use activities, interests, and opinions (AIO) measures to create a psychographic profile for a product of your choice.

Introduction

While the process consumers go through to determine what products to buy is fascinating, the ways in which consumers actually use the products they have purchased is equally as interesting. Some products are associated with certain types of events or behaviors, but often consumers branch out on their own and use products in new and innovative ways. Consumers typically use dryer sheets to soften and add scent to clothing in a dryer, but some customers also use dryer sheets to deodorize their shoes. Companies that pay attention to such behaviors can expand the uses for their products and thereby increase the sales of their products. In fact, one brand of fabric softener now promotes the use of dryer sheets in shoes by placing a picture of that use on the side of the package.

Each consumer is distinct because of the unique composition of traits. However, groups of consumers can be identified based on the individual traits that they share. By studying a consumer’s age, gender, ethnicity, and income, marketers are better able to predict behavior.

Yet, specific pieces of demographic information alone cannot be calculated or analyzed in the same way as financial sales figures. Behavioral predictions that are based on demographics are more likely to provide insight into what direction a company should take its products rather than providing a specific answer.

For example, the age of a consumer might be seen as a determiner of whether or not he or she will purchase a motorcycle. You might predict that younger people would be more likely than older ones to buy a motorcycle. Harley-Davidson, however, knows that age is not the only key determinant. The median age for the purchaser of Harley-Davidson’s motorcycles has been rising over the past five years and is now approximately 47 years! However, the typical Harley owner does not just fit in that age category; the typical Harley owner also fits a certain income profile. The median income of a typical Harley customer is at least $80,000 per year. So, for Harley-Davidson, the age of the consumer and the income together help paint a clearer picture of a typical customer.

Reference

Harley-Davidson. (2008). Investor relations. http://investor.harley-davidson.com/demographics.cfm?bmLocale=en_US

Psychographics is an area of market research concerned with measures of consumer activities, interests, and opinions (AIO). Utilize AIO measures to create a psychographic profile for a product of your choice.

Complete the following:

  • Select a product that is readily available and describe what it is and how it is used by consumers.
  • Using the concept of AIO measures (determining how well a particular consumer fits AIO statements), create a psychographic profile for a typical consumer of the chosen product. Note that the profile you outline may be one of many different profiles that are appropriate for the product.
  • Identify at least two probable items within each of the areas (activity, interest, and opinion) for the profile that you create. As an example, an activity might be “I frequently listen to country music”; an interest might be “I am interested in the latest consumer electronics”; and an opinion might be “International travel is educational for my children.”

Use proper APA style and formatting. The content of your assessment should determine its length.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

  • Competency 2: Analyze consumer behavior.
    • Describe a product for which to create a psychographic profile.
  • Competency 3: Assess the managerial application of customer behavior concepts.
    • Create a psychographic profile of a customer who uses the product using AIO measures.
    • Identify probable items aligned with AIO categories that describe the consumer’s behavior.

Currency Exchange Risks

Write a 250-500-word analysis in which you examine the issue of currency exchange and the risks associated with changes in the exchange rate.

Introduction

Fluctuations in currency exchange rates can have significant effects on business costs, asset values, and profitability. Therefore, it is important for managers to be familiar with exchange rates and currency considerations and to understand the risks involved in currency exchange.

Complete the following:

  1. Examine the concept of the exchange rate between the Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar. Choose a Japanese company, such as Toyota, Canon, or Mitsubishi, and identify a strategy that the company might consider to reduce its currency exchange risk associated with Japanese and U.S. currencies.
  2. Write an analysis in which you include the following:
    1. Identify the exchange rate of the Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar.
    2. Discuss the resulting value of selling goods in the United States exported from Japan.
    3. Explain how weekly changes in the exchange rate would affect profitability for exports from Japan to the United States.
    4. Identify risks related to changes in the exchange rate from a management perspective.
  3. Support your analysis with references from the Capella University Library, GlobalEDGE website, or other Internet sources.

Additional Requirements

Use the following guidelines when writing your analysis:

  • Length: 250–500 words.
  • Writing: Your analysis should be free of grammar and spelling errors, demonstrating strong written communication skills.
  • Format and References: Use proper APA-formatted references and in-text citations when identifying your sources.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

  • Competency 4: Assess the feasibility of business operation in other countries.
    • Analyze the exchange-rate-based value of selling goods in the United States exported from a different country.
    • Explain how changes in the exchange rate would affect profitability for exports from a different country to the United States.
    • Identify risks related to changes in the exchange rate from a management perspective

Enterprise Purchasing Process

Write an analysis of the purchasing process conducted by a specific enterprise.

Introduction

Just as consumers have a process by which they purchase products, every enterprise has a process by which it purchases products. Analyzing how consumers recognize their needs for products and evaluate their alternatives allows companies to determine how many types of products they should offer and how to advertise them. In recent years, when consumers showed a strong interest in healthier living and eating, fast food restaurants began offering alternative menu items. In some cases, such restaurants had difficulty predicting the particular ways that healthy living could be translated into their product offerings. Hamburgers without buns became a short-lived offering at some fast food restaurants. In contrast, healthy alternatives to French fries and soft drinks in kids’ meals are still offered by many establishments.

The purchasing of goods and services drives the economy, but many factors influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. The price associated with a purchase impacts whether or not a consumer will buy. Many other variables, such as how to pay for the purchase and the timing of the purchase, do as well. Many companies will use incentives such as cash-back, zero percent financing, or discounts to try to influence customers buy sooner rather than later.

Consumers have many choices in the types of goods and services they may purchase. They also have a variety of choices in the means by which to make a purchase. For example:

  • Retail stores remain a dominant force in the sales of goods to consumers. A great deal of consideration is involved in retail store layout, employee training, and in selecting the location of the stores.
  • Online shopping continues to increase and evolve, and firms such as eBay and Amazon have become permanent fixtures in the marketing landscape.

Write an analysis of the purchasing process conducted by a specific enterprise of your choice.

Complete the following:

  • Select a current or previous employer and briefly describe the organization and its main business. You do not have to have been involved in the organization’s actual purchasing process and decisions to complete the assessment.
  • Analyze the purchasing process of the company by answering the following:
    • Assess and describe what it was like to acquire products within the company for use in your job. Do not include products that were for resale.
    • If possible, provide examples of both smaller items—such as office supplies or items needed to complete daily tasks—as well as larger items, such as a computer.
  • Describe the process required to obtain the products. Include such information as:
    • The time it took to obtain items.
    • The process, or processes, involved. For example, was the process time consuming or straightforward?
  • Explain any difficulty in obtaining products.
  • Describe how the process could have been improved.

Use proper APA style and formatting. The content of your assessment should determine the length. Visit Evidence and APA for help with APA.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

  • Competency 2: Analyze consumer behavior.
    • Describe a business that acquires, consumes, and disposes of a product.
    • Assess how the business acquires products or services, including the purchasing process.
  • Competency 3: Assess the managerial application of customer behavior concepts.
    • Explain difficulties of obtaining products and how the process can be improved.