Seeing how identity factors into

successful marketing plans

Advertising and marketing can influence consumers to buy products that

symbolically represent the self-concept they’re attempting to achieve. When

your advertisements and marketing messages are passed on to consumers

by using reinforcement of their self-concepts, consumers are more inclined

to purchase your products. On the other hand, if consumers feel that your

advertisement doesn’t fit with their self-concepts, they’re less likely to accept

the advertisement and purchase your product.

 If you know the specifics of your consumers’ lifestyles, you can profile their

patterns of acting and interacting with the world around them. And even

better is the fact that you can develop marketing strategies targeted to

common market segments based on similarities in lifestyle. You can then

use this information to not only get the right message about your product in

the right places for your intended consumers, but you also can develop your

products to meet the lifestyle interests of your target markets.

For example, suppose I’m a home builder who’s looking to develop a new

housing addition in a specific zip code. I decide to do a lifestyle assessment

of people located in that zip code. The lifestyle assessment shows me that

the median income is $450,000 annually and that most of the homeowners in

the area are married and have two kids. The average home purchase price is

$800,000. Because of this assessment, I now know that if I build my housing

development in this area, the houses can range from $750,000 to $950,000

and should sell with no problem. After I’ve selected my area and finalized the

plan, I can then begin marketing to this zip code