Countering Marketing

What marketing segment do you belong to? According to the VALS market analysis system invented by the Stanford Research Institute there are 8 social/personality types which are convenient market archetypes. Most simple livers would belong I guess to the market segment called Makers who "unimpressed with material goods" and "buy basic goods". There is also something of the Thinker in the typical simple liver as they looking for "functionality, durability and value", and possibly something of the Survivor who are "cautious consumers".

The premise behind this and other market research systems is that we all have values and needs which can be identified and used as the basis to sell us stuff. I have already talked about another market segment LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) which marketers have identified as a target. I thought I would like put forward a few ideas about how to foil marketers and make your purchases conscious rather than automatic response to marketing stimuli.

A few basic ideas:

• Possessions don't bring happiness - This is the foundation of simple living. An understanding that whatever you acquire can only serve a limited purpose.
• Buying is a moral act - All marketing is aimed at the individual - it's about convincing you that your personal satisfaction is the most important thing at this minute and a certain product can provide that. But everything you purchase has consequences and implications for the producer and for the environment and society at large. Bearing this in mind, you will question every penny you spend.
• Inform yourself about marketing and sales techniques - if you know how a con trick works you will not be fooled by it. Marketing is a con trick. It attempts to persuade you that a product can do more for you than it actually can. The internet has all the information you need.
  
• Buy less - No matter whether marketers are trying to sell you cheap goods in quantity or make you spend more on higher quality goods, foster the determination to buy less - you actually need less than you think. The first question about any purchase should always be "Do I actually need this?". The aim of marketing is always to get you to buy more even if you don't need it and the best thing you can do to counter it, is simply buy less.
• Cut out the propaganda - Advertising comes into our lives in all sorts ways. You can't avoid it. But you can do some things. Ban the TV - even if only from certain rooms in the house or at certain times of the day. It is the main way we receive marketing messages.

We live in a market economy, we need to buy stuff and I suppose we need people to tell us about new products and ideas. What we need though is a shift in the balance where we make conscious decisions about they way we consume and what producers provide.