Dogs and their crazy owners

Bozeman is a very pet oriented city... there are equally as many dog stores as there are human stores! my roommate recently got a puppy, and i realized how crazy dog people truly are. The difference in dog accessories is just as bad as going to the mall for people. the colors of dog bed, collars, even clothes is amazing! I think that going into the business of selling dog accessories in businesses such as bozeman is a great booming business. I was thinking that in a town like Sheridan it would be great to open such a store.

Demographics of grocery stores

I went to Smith's the other day and I had a realization that in Bozeman there are a lot of grocery stores! my roommates and I made a connection to consumer behavior.... Smith's attracts all the single men and bachelors... Rosaurs attracts all the women and single moms.... and Albertsons is the family/super saver people.... all these people are the consumers that make up most demographics in Bozeman. Ironically... Smith's is where we shop, which shows us that we are more of the type of girls that relate to the single men.... which is funny because 90% of our friends are guys.

Its amazing how the "feeling" of the grocery store determines the consumers and how they spend their money. though all the grocery stores are pretty similar... the prices and the level of "organic"ness is what makes the difference.

The Co-Op

frequently at the Bozeman Co-op, you see see some very colorful people. by Colorful, I mean people who either A) don't care who sees them, or B) Care A LOT about who sees them.... Today, I saw some very interesting people purchasing some interesting things. One thing that people at the coop seem to do a lot is care about what other people see them buying as well as care about what other people are buying. They are constantly looking over their shoulder to look whose watching.

According to takepart.com "new market analysis by the organization also reveals that organic’s appeal now extends far beyond a certain, um, stereotypical demographic: whatever you want to call the slice of American pie that contains white people listening to NPR while driving to Whole Foods in their Subarus with an “I’m Ready for Hillary” bumper sticker pasted over “HOPE” on the back"

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/04/21/who-is-buying-organic

Drinking by the Label

I recently read an article from NPR that was called "Drinking with your Eyes," Its interesting how labeling plays such a big part in the food industry. Wine is the most common thing that tricks the consumer into thinking something tastes better or a certain way by simply putting a certain type of label on it. Something that is labeled in a more "natural" brown looking package is perceived to be healthier, where things that are brightly colored, like candy usually is, are thought to be not as healthy.
by accommodating the consumer's wants and ideas, the businesses are ensuring their successful selling. I will totally admit that I buy by label, which definitely gets me in trouble sometimes, but 60% of the time it works every time.
Here's a link to the original article.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/10/10/231458853/drinking-with-your-eyes-how-wine-labels-trick-us-into-buying

Pinterest

As of recently, Pinterest is beginning to play a huge roll in the retail marketplace for businesses! Pinterest is a place for consumers to find things they like in a "catalog" online and link it directly back to the producers website. It is a very visually pleasing site, because its not just one kind of product unless you search for one product specifically. 

This is becoming a place for businesses to focus their social media efforts and push their products the the front of their customer's vision. 

The consumer behavior aspect really is interesting, when someone finds a product that they like, their first idea is How much? and where do I get it? Pinterest gives consumers the answer they want! 

Visually pleasing images are what determines the number of pins and how much interest there is in the product. 

my only thought it, How long will it last? whats going to take its place? I wonder how the people behind Pinterest would answer that. 

wild horses

According to Wikipedia, Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. 
I am relating this to the current wild horse situation in the United States. 
The organizations that are all for saving the wild horses and the organizations that those organizations are trying to shut down are all trying to cater to the consumer's wants and needs. It is interesting to look at the ideas that consumers use to relate to the subject, they put so much more emotion into their processes when there are animals involved. Even though if you look at it from an economical stand point, the only right way to fix the problem is through horse slaughter. BUT, that industry has been shut down by the people who are trying to save the horses. By using emotion to appeal to the consumer, those organizations have created a following that only sees horses that are oppressed by the government and trying to live wild and free; when in reality, they are skinny and sick and dying because there is nobody to take care of them. 
I think that consumer behavior is what is playing a big part in the situation and there needs to be a balance established with both sides. 

faces in advertisments

My roommate, Nevada Watt (the half Canadian  is an amazing silversmith. As of lately, i've been helping her put her designs on her website and we discovered something interesting. With the Ball caps she sells, people only buy them if there are faces in the photos people buy the caps off of. We tried taking photos of them backwards on someone to where just the back of their head is showing, but people wont buy them! this is an interesting consumer behavior because you don't realize how much the face in the advertisement actually plays into the purchasing of the product. I think that when people see someones face, smiling in the ad it is more personal to them, where if it is the back of their head they don't even notice it. there is no emotion or feeling in the photo. 

Half Canadian

Half Canadian, from California, going to school in Montana, and named Nevada. This young lady is making waves not only in the world of silversmithing, but also carrying on the traditions of her western heritage buy stamping her work with her own modern style and flair.

The wisdom that Nevada has of her craft isn’t reflected in her years, at the spry age of 20, she is showing knowledge far beyond her years not only of her craft but life in general. Nevada not helps with her family business, but she also has started her own “Nevada Watt Silver n’ Silk” which has become a booming success, all while pursuing a college education in the field of exercise science. Her constant desire to further her education and skill is what is paving the future for this young artist, not only learning from her father, but other silversmiths as well. Nevada’s constant effort of furthering the public’s knowledge of the craft is what our culture needs, the ability to engage old and younger generations alike in the effort to preserve our way of life and the skills passed down from masters of the craft.  

This relates to consumer behavior because she is taking a world of modest-hermit artists and bringing them and their work into the “light” of marketing and developing a product that consumers can interact with and learn about the traditions and heritage that make up the lifestyle. Lifestyle is something that makes people want to buy a product… something that makes them feel close to their product and their emotions. This is why Nevada has had such great success shedding a new light on the world of western art.

*This first insert is a portion from an article I wrote for a magazine last summer, showcasing all my roommates and their western talents.

Its all about the little things...

    

Sometimes, people just need to focus on the little things... life is tough sometimes, and focusing on the good things in life is what makes it easier. 

       

         Bad days are just a thing that happens... but here are a few things that make the worst of bad days a little bit brighter. 

1.  Unexpectedly finding money in your pocket- its like Christmas
2.    Having the perfect amount of blankets in your bedroll- showing up somewhere unaware of the weather, and managing to be unexpectedly prepared.
3.      Having a hair tie with the perfect amount of stretchiness- when you have a lot of hair to contain like us, this is a simple joy.
4.   The first frost when the flies all die-Summer is awesome, except for the flies. Despite winter looming this event makes the cold mornings a wee bit more bearable.
5.     The smell of earth during the first few drops of rain- Trotting out during the first drops of rain-nothing quite like that smell.  
6.     Cold side of the pillow- enough said.
7.      When your roommate knows how to put out an oven fire- don’t worry…. In the midst of this article we had a little incident… but no worries, salt does the trick.
8.     When your dog listens to you in public – not only makes you look good, but you don’t have to follow an ignored command with a “never mind”
9.     When you flip an egg and you don’t break the yoke- like a boss
10.   Hitting all the green lights- is this how superman feels?
11. Being the first to ride across a pasture after a fresh snow- the crunch of the snow with no tracks on it is pretty blissful.
12.  Finding the “other sock”- dang that sock monster, he’s everywhere!
13.  Backing up the pickup to the trailer perfectly the first time- gosh it feels good to be awesome.
14.  Finding jeans that are long enough- this rarely happens, but who doesn’t like stacks… be better than high-waters.
15. Finding parking on campus- 15,000 and us others like this too.
16. When you get your hat shaped perfectly- this brings out the OCD in all of us.
17.  When saran wrap cooperates perfectly – when it doesn’t stick to everything else in the kitchen and actually sticks to what it’s supposed to.
18. When your horse sticks his butt in the ground-At some level deep deep down you want to expect this every time you ask your horse to stop, but then again when it actually happens, you just want to throw your arms in the air and sing hallelujah.    
19.  When your touchy colt that has bucked the last 30 days when you’ve cinched her up, decides she might not try it today- colt-30 me-1
20.  The first scoop out of a fresh jar of jelly or peanut butter- nothing like being the first in unchartered territory.