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My crazy learnings in consumer buying behaviour lectures

     My friends know about my love for consumer psychology, and I believe that's one prerequisite for the profession I'm in - marketing. I'm a huge fan of Malcolm Gladwell and Martin Lindstrom, and aspire to be a consumer psychology expert myself. Speaking of experts, Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research, Mumbai offers a genius in the form of a professor - Prof. Victor Manickam. His methods may seem crazy to you for a professor at first, but he grows on you slowly, and ultimately bowls you out with his perfect guess (?) about your personality. And he doesn't need to know you well for that. One input from you and boom! He knows you.

     So here I am with the learnings from his consumer buying behaviour lectures, which may seem disconnected and impossible for you, especially if you consider the fact that it was a marketing class. But nevertheless, I've given it a try!

     The lectures he's given shattered a lot of perceptions that I earlier beheld about life in general and the phenomenon of reality in general. Speaking of perceptions, I realised how even basic things like ‘space’ and ‘reality’ are very relative terms. They differ from person to person. Also, when a large number of people agree to having the same perception, it is called reality. Thus, a reality is CONSTRUCTED.

     Moreover, reality is volatile. It changes as the outliers define a new reality. This got me into thinking if as a marketer I should be devising ways to communicate with the majority or communicate in a way that takes everyone’s perceptions into account. After all, it is human tendency to compare every new situation to their previous experiences. So looking at it that way, we end up having no new experiences. This was the most disturbing for me. It got me thinking, I’m pursuing a course in MBA with the belief that it will help me in my professional career in the future. However, I doubt if it will prepare me for every situation that I’m faced with at work. If I keep relying on the hypothetical cases I solve in class as a reference for my office work, I might just be stuck in the same position. Thus, I have realised that I should take every situation as a new experience and face it with a new method backed by my previous knowledge, without completely relying on the latter.

      The lectures also taught me that the products of the future have to be challenging for everyone and not just ‘good’ for everyone. As a marketer coming up with just ‘me-too’ products is not my goal. I must follow the exploratory path wherein I strive for a mutual benefit of the consumers and myself, understanding the personality, perception, motivation behind every purchase and construct that new reality in the process.

     On a slightly personal note, I realised the need to step out of my comfort zone. Staying in my comfort zone will restrict me to experiences that I am comfortable with. However, stepping out of it will make me confident and fearless in the process. And it need not necessarily be on a professional front. Even doing things that are not in sync with my personality will help me in the long run, provided I do them to stand up for what’s right.


     Finally, the lectures made me realise that what we think are the best things in life - that being born in high class families, going to high standard institutions or working in high profile organisations give us a perceived high value, but they also limit our possibilities. Thus, I figured out a way to make the best with what I have, follow the unconventional path and do what’s never been done before, all thanks to the learnings from his lectures.  

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