Melissa Conlon

What type of consumer are you?

Each and every consumer has their own way of approaching buying decisions. When it comes to my own, I generally reflect the habits of an individual consumer. Most of the items I purchase are for my own benefit and can be used to enrich my life in some way. However, I am also a small business owner, running a service-based business. When appropriate, I will make purchases that will provide me a return-on-investment and enrich my life and business even further.

I remain incredibly intentional (almost to a fault) about the things I purchase. I’ve also been very impulsive and time and time again, it doesn’t serve me. I have been the type of consumer that would simply buy things because of their low price point, even though they would serve zero-to-no benefit for me. When I buy things, I will do extensive research on the product and make sure that it will best serve me. I want the best bang for my buck, but I also seek high-quality.

What influences your buying decisions?

Of all the influences / advertising that constantly penetrates my life on a daily basis, I am most likely to be influenced by the people around me. I am very much anti-ads (probably because I’m a part of Generation Z!), and will seek out the truth about products and their organizations. The people in my life – whether they’re colleagues, friends, or family – have similar qualities and traits as I do, so I value their opinions the most.

As I briefly touched upon before, I will also do research on a potential product I’m looking to buy. Like many other consumers, I typically will go to YouTube to watch product reviews. I look for reviews from others that are looking to solve the same pain points as my own. There are many great products out there to choose from, but it ultimately comes down to your lifestyle and the pain points a particular product can solve for YOU.

Which stage actually leads to your purchasing decisions?

With all of that said, I will typically purchase a product during the research stage. If I’ve reached this point, it likely means that I have the money on hand for it and I’m ready to make a purchase. I don’t research every little thing I purchase, but the bigger the purchase, the more I will research it.

How are you influenced by marketing research and marketing design?

I am definitely the type of consumer to love a great marketing design. However, I do my best to sure to look past the aesthetics and look at other things (ingredients, benefits, etc) before making my purchase based on it’s design – which I have certainly done before! If I’m in a store looking for a new product with not a particular one in mind, I am first immediately drawn to the visually-pleasing ones. This is something that I have seen grown increasingly popular in marketing along with unique terminology to promote their product as substantially better than it actually is.

Do you experience any post-purchase behavior?

I’m not one to leave reviews whether products are stellar or terrible, but when I have a great experience I will likely become loyal to that brand / product. I have returned things before, but will typically only go through the mayhem of doing so if I purchase a product in-store. I’m also very keen on telling others about a great experience with a product or brand – word of mouth is incredibly powerful!