Internal and External Influences That Make Me Think More

Purchasing sometimes can become an addict, it can be a way to make myself happy or it can also serve as a way to get out of any stress, sadness or any other kind of emotional experience that I am going through. There are a lot of factors besides my emotions that are part of my purchasing habits and some of them are the internal and external influences that make me think more before purchasing a certain product or service, also, membership in a community is very helpful due that when I am very deep into a particular interest I tend to pay get a membership in a particular community so I can get out of any doubts and gain more benefits while interacting with people who share their personal experiences and are also experts in a particular product, service or activity.

I believe that most purchasing decisions that I have made throughout my life are mainly affected by my current emotions rather than the logic of purchasing that particular product or service. I say this because I feel that shopping is a way to set my mind free, but it can be dangerous sometimes do that in the end I often buy things that I do not need. Most of the emotional factors that drive my purchasing habits are fear, guilt, pride, love, anxiety, and happiness.

Fear has been very crucial in my life, some examples are the following: Fear it has been applied since the moment that I needed to decide what profession to pursue, where to get my degree, and what insurance I should purchase. When I had to decide the profession that I wanted to study I was between two very different fields, politics and business. I was always good at both, but I wanted to become an important politician in my country, but my entire family convinced me that this was a way to dangerous since the government from my country, Bolivia, is full of corruption and there have been times when a good politician was kicked out of the country or even killed just because he or she was against the government. So, I felt this fear that I should not get into politic since not only I can put myself in danger but also my family. Being said this, I finally decided to go for Business Administration which now the decision to study was hard as well.

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I decided to come to the United States because if I stayed in my country, I would have encountered some problems since I could not know where my country will be in the next years and also because a degree from the US is not the same as one from my country or at least that it what my parents put into my mind. Also, other times when fear is applied in my purchasing habits is when I am looking for insurance for both my health and my car. Insurances are the perfect example for purchasing decisions driven by fear since they make you think that without it you will encounter many difficulties when facing an accident.

Guilt is another emotional factor for my purchasing habits because many times I have broke something that did not belong to me and even though I did not need to pay for it, I have always ended up paying. Also, when I see a homeless person in the street in need of some medicine or clothes, I usually go to the drugstore to purchase their medicine and I also buy them some clothes. I do this because if I do not do it, I always get this sense of guiltiness that does not leave me alone. Then, pride is when a new product is coming out and I want it so bad only because I know that it will give me some kind of satisfaction such as attention from other people or a feeling of reward for my hard work.

Purchasing habits driven by love is when I want to express my feelings towards my parents or for the anniversary with my girlfriend. I feel that I need to purchase something special that can express my love to them and so that any time they see or use what I gave them, they will think of me. Anxiety in purchasing habits is crucial, sometimes I feel so anxious that I just want to buy anything I want even though I do not need any of the things I am buying. It is like when you are feeling full after eating and the dessert comes, you need to eat that dessert. That is how I will describe anxiety in my purchasing habits, let’s say I went to the mall to buy a pair of shoes that I needed, then I go for a walk around the mall, enter to many other stores and buy things that I do not need to have. And finally, purchasing decisions driven by happiness is when I feel that a particular product or service will satisfy my needs and in order to make this decision, I normally take more time into deciding because I want that particular product to make me happy all the time that I am using it.

Internal and external influences are also crucial for my purchasing habits. Internal influences can also be described as personal factors, they represent my ability to benefit directly from the product or service. These factors are what motivate me to purchase something based in my perceptions, attitude, motivation, lifestyle, learning, roles and goals. For example, some of the ways that my internal influences can be motivated is when I see famous influencers promoting a product or service of my own interest and so I end up relating myself with them. External influences on the other hand, are influences driven by social influences. This include cultures, religions, family roles, household needs and structures, and any groups that affect my purchase decision.

A brand community is a tool that can help me to become more knowledgeable about a particular brand, sport, or business. Brand community is a term used to describe consumers who are interested in the same thing and consumers are normally involved in these communities to share their personal experiences. I am involved in some membership communities which have helped me to study more about the products or services that I want to purchase.

In my country there is a community for people who are into soccer and it is called “Futbol Pasion” which means “Soccer Passion”. This community serves to organize soccer tournaments, ask about events and reviews about products such as soccer cleats, shirts, balls, etc. Another community that I am involved in is Body Building. This community has helped me a lot with my personal goals because when I am in doubt of what product to buy, such as a protein, I post a question and I receive a lot of replies that help me find the perfect product for me and the community have also helped me to find a personal trainer that lives near me and help me with my goals.

I am aware that my purchasing habits need to change. That is, I need to make purchases based on logic instead of emotions. With this change, my prediction of future consumption in a near term is to save money and buy the things I really need so in the long term with the money saved I can buy more expensive things that can help me improve no only as a person but as a professional such as buying a car, a house or paying my master’s degree.

Overall, my purchasing habits are driven by many factors with emotions being currently the main influencers. Other factors such as internal and external influences are very important in my purchasing decisions since internal influences are my personal interest that include perception, attitude, and motivation within others and external influences are the social influences that are affected by culture, religion, and other types of groups that affect my purchasing habits. Brand communities are a great way to get the most out of a brand or a particular interest such as sports. They help me to decide the right products for me and makes me more knowledgeable about a product or brand. And it is clear that my purchasing habits need to change so I can accomplish my goals related to my future consumption in a near and long term.

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