Values and Lifestyles

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Definition Values and Lifestyles?

Values and Lifestyles is a way of market segmentation whereby consumers are segmented into mutually exclusive groups like "Achievers" or "Experiencers" based on their psychographics. Acronym is VALS.

The original VALS system was built by consumer futurist Arnold Mitchell, trying to explain changing U.S. values and lifestyles in the 1970s. Originally, there were three categories of consumers:

• Need-directed. Consumers who make purchasing decisions based solely on need.

• Outer-directed. Consumers who make purchases based on their perceptions of the way others view them.

• Inner-directed. Consumers who make purchasing decisions out of some inner need.

In 1978, the concept was adopted by consulting firm SRI International who also own the trademark. 

In 1989, VALS was redefined to maximize its ability to predict consumer behavior. A team of experts from SRI International, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley, determined that consumers should be segmented on the basis of enduring personality traits rather than social values that change over time.

The current eight VALS types are: Innovators, Thinkers, Achievers, Experiencers, Believers, Strivers, Makers, and Survivors. Each group is based on two dimensions: primary motivation (ideals, achievement, and self-expression) and resources (energy, self-confidence, intellectualism, novelty seeking, innovativeness, impulsiveness, leadership, and vanity).

VALS segmentation unlike traditional segmentation begins with people instead of products and classifies them into different types, each characterized by a unique style of living - it then determines how marketing factors fit into their lives. This perspective provides a three-dimensional view of the target consumer.

Some of the uses to which VALS segmentation has been put are:

• To identify whom to target and find niche markets much more easily.

• To locate where concentrations of your target group lives.

• To gain insight into why the target group acts the way it does.

• To improve and introduce products that speak to customers' values.

• To target marketing and advertising campaigns much more effectively and much more accurately.

• To position products much more accurately in the marketplace. .

Forum Start a new topic about Values and Lifestyles Write here. Ask a question or explain something. Forum about Values and Lifestyles. Videos on Values and Decision Making I'm looking for an old video on values and decision making. I remember a video that was titled something like "You Are Who You Were When." It had to do with the differences of values between various ... 63   4 comments Values and Lifestyles (VALS) - Strivers Profile Strivers are trendy and fun loving. Because they are motivated by achievement, Strivers are concerned about the opinions and approval of others. Money defines success for Strivers, who don't have enou... 8   Values and Lifestyles (VALS) - Experiencers Profile Experiencers are motivated by self-expression. As young, enthusiastic, and impulsive consumers, Experiencers quickly become enthusiastic about new possibilities but are equally quick to cool. They see... 6   Values and Lifestyles (VALS) - Makers Profile Like Experiencers, Makers are motivated by self-expression. They express themselves and experience the world by working on it-building a house, raising children, fixing a car, or canning vegetables-an... 5   Values and Lifestyles (VALS) - Achievers Profile Achievers are 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 arou... 4

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