VALS Test - My Consumer Behaviors

In my Intro to Communications class, I was asked to complete the VALS survey. In this survey I was asked particular questions about my personality and my look on how life should be lived. Specifically, the test looks at my attributes in relation to the Survey of the American Consumer to determine what VALS type I am. After completing the test, I discovered that my primary VALS type was an experiencer, with a secondary VALS type as an achiever.

The test explains that experiencers are “motivated by self-expression. Young, enthusiastic, and impulsive consumers, Experiencers quickly become enthusiastic about new possibilities but are equally quick to cool.” Because I own a wedding video business, I can agree with these characteristics that my purchases are often impulsive, especially with business expenses when I find myself purchasing the newest and greatest video equipment or accessories just because a larger, national video company did the same. In fact, the site’s description of “experiencers” go on to say that “Their purchases reflect the emphasis that they place on looking good and having "cool" stuff.” Which I can also admit describes me.

However, I believe that one can grow out of these attributes. Perhaps my impulsivity of a young and enthusiastic consumer may grow out of me when I graduate; additionally, because of a larger budget where I may have to pay more bills. Arguably, age plays a large role in the VALS type. Perhaps most students will receive an “experiencer” rating.

Moving on, the site describes my secondary VALS type, which is an achiever. The site describes an achiever as “Motivated by the desire for achievement, Achievers have goal-oriented lifestyles and a deep commitment to career and family. Their social lives reflect this focus and are structured around family, their place of worship, and work. Achievers live conventional lives, are politically conservative, and respect authority and the status quo. They value consensus, predictability, and stability over risk, intimacy, and self-discovery.” For the most part, this well describes me. First of all, most activities are based around goals that I wish to achieve for future jobs and business. For example, I hope to become a national wedding filmmaker. In response, I look to make every one of my local wedding videos superior, in hopes to spread my business further. The VALS description goes on to describe attributes that repeat those of “experiencers”. Also, the site states that I am likely to buy time-saving products. Which is very true, for my business takes up a lot of my time. For example, this year I purchased a CD/DVD duplicator, which saved me a lot of time on large projects.

Overall, The VALS test accurately describes the consumer needs and behaviors. As a business person and wedding professional, I find this very interesting and useful. For example, I find that many brides and grooms, although not financially stable, are very young and therefore, may be in the “experiencer” category. I believe this because lots of their friends and family will be at the wedding and they may want to newest and best things to impress their peers. Therefore, flashy and new items may be in the market for the wedding business. I only wish that I could receive test results of potential clients so that I may find what they need.