Having completed the VALS, I must say that
I agree with the results that I have obtained to some degree. According to the results that I obtained
from the test, I was best described as an ‘experiencer’ (my primary type) and
an ‘innovator’ (my secondary type) of sorts.
Strategic Business Insights defines an
‘experiencer’ as “[a] young, enthusiastic, and impulsive consumer.”
‘Experiencers’ are also defined as individuals who “find an outlet in exercise,
sports, outdoor recreation, and social activities.” To that end, the test was able to capture my characteristics to a reasonable level – I am a young
and rather enthusiastic individual. Nevertheless, I disagreed with the latter
description. I am not obsessed with exercising – I only
actively participate in one sport – swimming. I largely agreed with the rest of
the descriptors, however. Moreover, I disagreed with the ‘favourite things’ list. Firstly, I
am certainly not a big fan of VW – indeed, there is not a single brand of car that I like. Rather, I much prefer riding bikes and taking public transport. Secondly,
I do not like Red Bull, because of the (perceived) harmful chemicals that are
present in these drinks. I agreed with the other ideas/products in the list,
however.
On the other hand,
I do believe that I do fit the characteristics of an innovator better.
Strategic Business Insights defines an ‘innovator’ as “change leaders [who] are
the most receptive to new ideas and technologies.” Moreover, an ‘innovator’ is
defined as being “very active consumers, [whose] purchases reflect cultivated
tastes for upscale, niche products and services.” To that end, I am extremely
welcoming of new ideas and technologies. I also try to buy objects with careful
consideration. Another striking
descriptor of innovators is given: “Image is important too Innovators.” This
statement rang close to home for me, primarily because of my Asian background –
I definitely saw parallels between this statement and the concept of ‘face,’ as
seen in many Asian cultures. I also generally agreed with the
‘favourite things’ list that was given for an innovator. However, I strongly disagreed with a BMW as being one of my ‘favourite things.’
This is in part because I find luxury cars to be extremely pointless, and a status symbol.
To some extent, this psychographics
analysis was successful at capturing my personality and interests. I was
particularly shocked at how the ‘innovators’ list described me so fittingly. Nonetheless,
I do believe that this test completely failed at capturing my idiosyncrasies. For
instance, it assumed that all individuals preferred one specific type of car
(as evidenced by the various brands that were given for different types of
people). I attribute this failure to the limited range of questions that were
asked from me.
Sources:
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