ET4 Project 2 - VALS Survey Analysis
Des Manttari
ET4 – EXTRA CREDIT 2: VALS Survey
Prof. J. Novak -- December 16, 2003.
VALUES AND LIFESTYLES SURVEY
I. VALS: Overview and Questionnaire.
SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (www.sric-bi.com) is a website which provides an online Values and Lifestyles Survey (hereinafter, “VALS”) in order to collect psychographic information on individuals for marketing purposes. The survey is broken down into 40 questions. At a glance, it is structured very similarly to evaluations used in Human Resource Consulting firms to determine personality traits for hiring purposes. Several of the questions are mere rewording of previous questions. For example, question 12 states: “I dress more fashionably than most people” while question 19 states: “I like to dress in the latest fashions.” The first 35 questions offer four response choices as follows: mostly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, and mostly agree. My answers tended to show that I am a person who tends toward stability, avoids change and excitement, does not care for trends, and who is highly intellectual and likes to invent things.
The remaining questions were created to secure the standard demographic information based on sex, age, educational level, and income bracket. Of course, no marketing survey would be complete without acquiring a valid email address for potential marketing campaign attempts.
II. Analysis of the VALS Type in Context and Segments.
After completing the survey, I was given an explanation of my VALS type in context. According to the explanation given, “VALS measures the underlying psychological motivations and resources that many consumers share that predict each group’s typical choices as consumers.” It boldly asserts that although I may not agree with the final assessment, that the “description that we provide you should form an overall portrait that, as a whole, reflects you as an individual fairly well.” Based on the results of the questionnaire, VALS “places U.S. adult consumers into one of eight segments based on their responses.” The horizontal dimension of primary motivation consists of ideals (Thinks and Believers), achievement (Achievers and Strivers), and self-expression (Experiencers and Makers). The vertical dimension of secondary motivation is either as Innovators who possess high resources and high innovation or Survivors with low resources and low innovation. The VALS survey argues that mere demographics are insufficient to determine consumer product choices and that “energy, self-confidence, intellectualism, novelty seeking, innovativeness, impulsiveness, leadership, and vanity play a critical role.”
III. My VAL Survey Results: Innovator/Achiever.
Based on my answers to the VAL questionnaire, my primary VALS type is “Innovator” and my secondary type is “Achiever.” I was told that my primary VALS type represents my “dominant approach to live.” My secondary classification “represents a particular emphasis” I give to my dominant approach. It was further explained that “consumers who are primarily motivated by achievement look for products and services that demonstrate success to their peers.” A detailed analysis of my Innovator/Achiever status was provided on the site. Innovators are “successful, sophisticated, take-charge people with high self-esteem.” We are most receptive to new ideas and technologies. Furthermore, we are “very active consumers” whose purchases “reflect cultivated tastes for upscale, niche products and services.” I was told I crave variety and that my “possessions and recreation reflect a cultivated taste for the finer things in life.” This is interesting, since I stated that I “mostly disagree” to a lot of variety in my life (question 3) and that I “mostly disagree” with trying new things” (questions 17 and 32). Since my answers tended to be on the intellectual side and that I tend to like to make things, I came across as a consumer who did not indulge in the latest trends and who would probably buy established quality products.
My “Achiever” evaluation seemed to go hand-in-hand with my “Innovator” status in that “Achievers are active in the consumer marketplace.” Based on my answers that I did not like change, I was evaluated as being “politically conservative,” living a “conventional lifestyle,” and as someone who respects authority and the status quo. The analysis stated that I ‘value consensus, predictability, and stability over risk, intimacy, and self-discovery.” This assessment is true to the answers I provided. As a consumer, I was told I tend toward “prestige products and services” as well as “ a variety of time-saving devices.” Based on my intellectualism, my life is apparently structured around family, my place of worship, and work. This reflects my “somewhat agree” answer to question 27 pertaining to a “woman’s life is fulfilled only if she can provide a happy home for her family.”
IV. Marketing Methods Which Will Be Attempted On Me.
Based on my answers to the VALS survey and my provision of an email contact, I expect that I will be contacted in the near future for products which fit my Innovator/Achiever profile. Combining my need for prestige established products and time-saving needs, I will probably be solicited for state-of-the cart technological products such as computer systems, personal organizers such as Palm Pilots, various wireless and portable communication devices, and electronic gadgets such as I-Pods, video gaming devices (PlayStation 2 consoles and games being the most established), DVD players, and Internet business-related services. Since I indicated that family and work is important, I will most likely be offered products for an assumed spouse and children. Since I am earmarked as someone who desires to impress peers, I will be offered conservative clothing and accessories such as expensive jewelry and watches. Based on being an intellectual, I may receive special discounts from bookstores such as Amazon.com, Borders, or Barnes & Noble, depending on any affiliate programs that are tied into their marketing strategies and relationships with various vendors.
According to an article on the SRI Consulting site entitled, “Who Will Buy Intelligent In-Vehicle Products?” and my Achiever profile, am supposedly the “true mass market” target consumer for in-vehicle intelligent transportation systems (IT) products. The article states that “Achievers follow Actualizers in their product-acceptance behavior. Achievers are successful career- and work-oriented people who tend to make purchases as a show of status.” Vehicle safety and control products will be pushed on me. In another article entitled “Video-Game Consoles: Web Interface of the Future,” I seem to be a targeted family-oriented consumer of video game consoles which wireless, broadband links and home peripheral devices. I will be offered discounts on state-of-the art products based on digital information, communications, and entertainment.