12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1
Pick A Segment
The segment I have chosen is the idea that more and more people nowadays are beginning to lean towards more of a gun-control mindset. After the recent events, they are calling for reform in how people purchase firearms and the process that precedes it. As a result, I may be losing potential buyers due to this phenomenon. Essentially, I am losing customers to liberalism.
Interviews
1) Grad Student (age 26)
In this interview, I outlined my business plan to offer lower cost firearms and innovative firearm components to the demographic group that this same person is apart of. I clearly stated what my intentions were, how I was going to implement my plan, and my overall goals. After this "pitch" of sorts, I asked him what his political leanings were. He stated that he was a Democrat, placing him in the group of people who do not fall in my category of buyers and are most likely not sway-able. After recent events, he said he is even more aware of the need to reform gun-control and add more rules to the system.
2) Professor (age 42)
I began with the same pitch outlined above to the grad student, delving into my plan to offer products at lower costs and how my business would differ from already present firearm businesses. I also including the segment on the 2nd Amendment and why I believe it is vital that we hold true to our Constitutional rights as American citizens. I then asked him what his political leanings were and what he thought of my business idea. He responded politely that he did not support firearms and was a pacifist. He went into detail about how his brother was in the military and had been deployed to Afghanistan on two tours. During that tenure, his brother died in the service, causing unimaginable grief for this brother. As a result, he is a staunch opponent of firearms and use of a deadly weapon, regardless of whether it is for personal defense or another reason.
3) Friend From Church (age 38)
I interviewed this friend and gave the complete run-down that I did in the previous interviews, highlighting the same important points so as to provide the exact pitch. He responded in turn by saying that he is a Democrat and is against the ownership of guns. He talked about all the tragedies that have occurred lately, touching on Las Vegas and the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. I replied that those attacks were as a result of radicalization and the need for more thorough background checks. His response was that even though he believes in personal protection, nobody should have access to weapons like that. In the end, he effectively communicated his beliefs, which clashed with mine.
Information Search
The solution that these three people arrived at all including some type of gun control. They became aware of their "need" by some past experience, political leaning, or optimistic thought-process. They tend to look at all the mass shootings that occurred recently and arrive at the conclusion that gun control will stop these shootings from taking place. Their friends and family most likely are aware that they have these beliefs and those same people are very likely to have the same thought-process. These types of people are very hard to convince otherwise of their values, particularly when it involves a controversial topic such as firearms and how we as a nation enforce the associated guidelines.
Research Findings
I discovered, though not surprising, that there are numerous people who because of their belief system are unwilling participants and customers of my business proposition. This is not surprising, due to unforeseen tragic disasters that have befallen this country in recent months and years.
Drawing Conclusions
This segment is an easy belief to latch onto, because the media will always be pro gun-control and most likely present a liberal world-view. I can completely understand why they believe this, and it is much more comforting. This need is easily accessible in information searches, due to the logging and documentation of all events that have transpired with a deadly weapon used in the instance.
It's often difficult to have a conversation about firearms when this segment associates them with these tragic events with dozens of casualties. Of course it is the individual who causes these events, not the weapons they choose to use, yet it's understable that people feel strongly about removing weapons when they are utilized to harm. I always go back to the argument that if an individual is radicalized and motivated to kill, he/she will do so by whichever means are accessible. Events like the one in Nice, France where 84 innocent people lost their lives from a Islamic terrorist driving a lorry truck illustrate that mass casualty events can still occur without the use of firearms. Is this to say that there shouldn't be any regulation of guns in the United States? I don't think so, for instance banning the equipment that the Las Vegas attacker used to convert his semi-automatic gun to fully-auto would be something I would stand for because I do not believe fully-automatic weaponry is necessary for protecting ourselves. But a full seizure or radical change to our gun laws would not be taken lightly by many proud, law-abiding gun owners. In the past few days, the mainstream media, including late-night talk show host like Jimmy Kimmel and speakers on The View are heavily pushing for full-scale gun reform and requesting viewers to get onboard with the agenda, which is reason it is important to stay informed with reforms and political action.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very controversial time in the world of firearms currently. It seems more and more people are for gun control as of recent, and it is hard to blame them for their beliefs. I personally feel as though if someone wants to own a firearm, they should definitely be allowed to. However, the evaluations must become more rigorous because not everybody is mentally capable of handling the responsibility of owning a gun. It is a difficult time to get into this industry because of all of the controversy behind it. Still, this segment would just be a piece of the population that you would not advertise to because it is next to impossible to sway someone's opinion on such a subject.
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