The voice behind it all...

Ever since I was a little girl I have been fascinated by what makes people tick-why they think and behave in the ways that they do. Just think for a minute how different your inner voice is to the rest of the world and think what happens when your inner voice interacts with the world? We are socialised to act and think in certain ways, yet we also have uniqueness to our thoughts and actions.  Along my journey I have met extraordinary people from all walks of life- from hanging out with hippies for a few years in the Transkei to associating myself with sheltered private school kids for the rest of it.

My psychology degree coupled with marketing has made me realize the extent to which the phrase "consumer behaviour" is too rigid for such a complex, unique and forever changing phenomenon. People are different and this phrase tends to exclude the sheer extremity of these differences by simply restricting the explanation of such diverse behaviours to one umbrella term.

At the moment I am a marketer and a consumer. I am continuously being reminded and assured that customer’s perceptions are so important. These perceptions are not only crucial for companies to use in adaptation or monitoring of products and services, but for customers to make smart decisions to relieve them from brand-choice anxiety. Don't you think? I'm sure you have experienced this sometime in your life! Let’s face it, there is a lack of truth out there surrounding brands and unfortunately we as the consumers have to be the ones to try and test products and services before we are able to hold positive or negative views about brands. Just think of your most recent purchase...you were either a grinning show-off or you wanted to exert extreme force on the brand developer for making you buy such a shoddy product. 

Today, tough decisions among the youth are not what they will spend their pocket money on. Rather, they are plagued with the anxiety of which brand to choose to fit in and maintain a certain status among their friendship groups. Consumers, both young and old, tend to rely on truthful experiences and persuasive recommendations from their family and friends but to lesser extent retailers. 

So... it is my fascination with consumer’s inner beings from different walks of life which has led to my interest to decipher true customer perceptions regarding brands.  I hope that my honest beliefs and perceptions about brands can get your different views of brands on board so that together we can help consumers enter an online world of brand truth and satisfaction!