VALS illustrates two critical concepts for understanding consumers: primary motivation and resources. The combination of motivations and resources determines how a person will express himself or herself in the marketplace as a consumer.
Primary Motivation: Ideals, Achievement, and Self-Expression
The concept of primary motivation explains consumer attitudes and anticipates behavior. VALS includes three primary motivations that matter for understanding consumer behavior: ideals, achievement, and self-expression. Consumers who are primarily motivated by ideals are guided by knowledge and principles. Consumers who are primarily motivated by achievement look for products and services that demonstrate success to their peers. Consumers who are primarily motivated by self-expression desire social or physical activity, variety, and risk. These motivations provide the necessary basis for communication with the VALS types and for a variety of strategic applications.
Resources
A person’s tendency to consume goods and services extends beyond age, income, and education. Energy, self-confidence, intellectualism, novelty seeking, innovativeness, impulsiveness, leadership, and vanity play a critical role. These psychological traits in conjunction with key demographics determine an individual’s resources. Various levels of resources enhance or constrain a person’s expression of his or her primary motivation.
Group L
The VALS types for Group L range from strivers to achievers to experiencers, all within the innovators category.
Let us take the case of Experiencers and devise a Marketing Strategy for them for a mobile handset.
The Experiencers prefer high end product so the specs have to be top notch. Also, the Experiencers spend a comparatively high proportion of their income on fashion, entertainment, and socializing, hence pricing will not be an issue. The cell phone can be priced at premium. The availability should be exclusive and the promotion should appeal to the self-expression characteristic of the Experiencers. Case in point can be HTC (Taiwanese Mobile Handset maker)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7nbGSpMxPE
The ad gives a stark message of what experiencers seek but in a subtle way. By taking an unknown figure, Nick Jojola, the whole concept of new possibilities is well exhibited. And lastly the tagline which says ‘Quietly Brilliant’ helps connect to the experiencers.
Also let us explore the case of Believers, as none in Group L is f this type.
Believers are motivated by ideals. The product that they would prefer is no frills and traditional/conventional. As they are conservative, the pricing has to be very competitive, perhaps lowest in the market. The availability of product should be ensured at wide scale and easy as well. Lastly the promotion should be such that it emphasizes on the functionality of product and has a sense of belongingness. Case in point can be Nirma detergent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzb7yqFYPO0
It has all the elements; right from the point where the functionality of the detergent is explained snd it is referred by many similar ladies in the market, so as to give the Believers a connect.