Sunday, March 18, 2007

VALS survey

Last week in class, we talked about the VALS survery. VALS is a marketing tool that classifies people based on personality traits. Using these classifications, businesses can develop strategies to effectively market to different classifications, as different types of personalities exhibit different types of consumer behavior. The VALS survey can show you what your VALS types are.

You can take the VALS survery online here. I decided to take the survey and blog about my results. According to the survey, I am a:

Striver/Believer
Your primary VALS type is Striver, and your secondary type is Believer.


According to VALS, the primary type represents the dominant approach to life while the secondary type is the particular emphasis you give to the dominant approach.

Here is some more information about my two classifications:

STRIVER
Strivers are trendy and fun loving. Because they are motivated by achievement, Strivers are concerned about the opinions and approval of others. Money defines success for Strivers, who don't have enough of it to meet their desires. They favor stylish products that emulate the purchases of people with greater material wealth. Many see themselves as having a job rather than a career, and a lack of skills and focus often prevents them from moving ahead.

BELIEVER
Like Thinkers, Believers are motivated by ideals. They are conservative, conventional people with concrete beliefs based on traditional, established codes: family, religion, community, and the nation. Many Believers express moral codes that are deeply rooted and literally interpreted. They follow established routines, organized in large part around home, family, community, and social or religious organizations to which they belong.


I agree for the most part with both of these. I don't really think I'm trendy, but I like to have fun and feel motivated by achievement. The one thing I disagree with definitely is the money issue. I don't think I'm very motivated by money (and if you knew what types of jobs I usually take, you'd definitely agree) and I also don't think I purchase products that show material wealth. I definitely agree with the Believer type. I think I am very idealistic and traditional. I definitely like established routines.

Taking this survey was really interesting and made me think about how my personality affects my purchase decisions.

2 comments:

Ben Gruber said...

I thought this blog is very interesting. I want to try it out for myself. I just dont know how much I believe tests like this one. Especially the online ones when they are not administered by an actual person. I get a little skeptical sometimes, but maybe I am just a non believer... Well written though.....Sorry about the other post

Laura said...

Yeah I know what you mean. I felt like some of the questions were poorly worded, and there wasn't a neutral response. So if you only somewhat agree, don't you somewhat disagree too... but you have to pick one or the other. I guess I did learn something from my marketing research class?