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Consumer Value Orientation
Cultural Change and Product Planning
Assessing consumers' present and emerging value orientations can help the marketer identify new product opportunities and achieve better product positioning among consumer segments." For example, as values such as "pleasure," "an exciting life," "a comfortable life," and "self-respect" increase in importance, the marketer may find a need for having products with brand names, colors, and designs that enhance these important values. Consider a furniture manufacturer who might link these changing values with a growing demand for furniture style and design that incorporate bright colors, bold designs, unique materials of construction, and unusual comfort features.

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Value segments containing many consumers suggest that products can be positioned by designing them with attributes which are related to the global values distinguishing that particular market segment. For example, a segment of consumers who regard the values "imaginative," "an exciting life," and "independent" as important might be defined as that group which is concerned with individuality and self-expression. The group might be a reliable segment for marketers of products which are partially finished (such as furniture, and homes) and products which can be tailored to the individual needs of consumers through the use of accessories, styling, chemical formulation, and so on. Marketers of homes, automobiles, clothing, cosmetics, and fast foods have successfully used this approach.

Cultural Change and Distribution Channels
Changing consumer-value systems may lead to different shopping patterns, and new outlets may be necessary to reach consumers. For instance, the "ego-involved", self-gratifying values of the marketplace offer many retailing challenges and opportunities. For time-pressured consumers, retailers may offer in-home catalog shopping or online ordering of merchandise. Stores may use discounts and special offers to shift non-employed consumers to off-peak hours in order to expedite shopping by the most time-impoverished consumers. Even drive-in churches and funeral parlors exist for those who don't have time to get out of their cars.

Cultural Change and Promotion
New approaches in copy and artwork are called for in communicating memorably and persuasively with changing consumers. There are a number of ways that advertising is moving to appeal to the values of this new society: (I) defiance of social taboos; (2) more informative copy; (3) more true-to-life vignettes: (4) more advertising that names and debates competitors; (5) more advertising segmented toward the higher-educated, higher-income groups; (6) more advertising that frankly acknowledges mounting public cynicism about advertising: (7) greater stress on ecology; (8) more advertising that realistically, not paternalistically, acknowledges women's changing role in our society; and (9) more advertising that breaks with tradition.

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Cultural Change Market Segmentation
Knowledge of consumer value orientations provides a measurable set of variables, related to needs, which gives the marketer insight beyond merely demographic and psychographic dimensions. The growing diversity of individual tastes, coupled with a hedonistic philosophy and increasing incomes are contributing to ever greater segmentation of the market.

Thus, understanding such value shifts in American society could be useful in predicting changing consumption patterns for products. Also, the marketer might be able to identify large market segments on the basis of value profiles and then develop programs that would enhance those values important to each consumer segment. For example, when one group views a product in terms of status and another views it in a more functional way, then different promotional messages are likely to be needed for each group, as well as, perhaps, tailored products.

Source of Reference:
Albert Loudon and David Della Britta, Consumer Behavior : Concepts and Applications, , McGraw Hill. You can obtain this fine book here

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