Individual Reflection Account

Student’s Name

Course Name

Professor’s Name

Institution

City/State

Submission Date

Individual Reflection Account

As a customer and a business student, I never knew that marketing can benefit or harm consumers until I experienced both sides of the coin. Initially, I used to take marketers' messages at face value and never questioned anything they said. I found myself doing a lot of impulse buying due to the influence of marketers. At times I would buy items valuable to me, and at other times I felt like I purchased products that confer no value for money. I fell into the trap several times simply because marketers are tactical and convincing (Gugnin et al.,2019). I would feel happy and proud of myself when I buy something from marketers and find it excellent. However, sometimes I felt upset and silly for not taking a second thought before purchasing a product that never served its purposes. I would even swear never to repeat the mistake of giving in to marketers' requests so quickly and blindly. Sometimes I would ignore the marketer but later regret my decision when I later understood how good the deal, I turned down was. Ultimately, I had two experiences with marketers, which taught me a life lesson in the marketing discipline.  

In the first experience, the deal was too good, but it ended with premium tears. Samsung has been my favourite smartphone brand. But one day, I was tricked by a marketer into buying another brand, which later disappointed me. It was my young brother's birthday, and I decided to gift him a high-quality smartphone. Three days before the birthday, I saw an advert for a big-sized, more presentable smartphone on television right after 1 pm news. Although the phone looked more presentable and slightly more significant than the Samsung, my all-the-time brand, it was somewhat cheaper. The new firm praised the phone's performance so much. It even offered an online ordering service and free delivery—different from Samsung, which provides online service and delivers to the doorstep, but at a fee (Hobday 2020). However, the new smartphone seller required payment before delivery. I focused on a fair price and the attractiveness of the phone I saw in the advent. I never even noted that they did not highlight all the product features and terms of service. Because it was 2020, when the economy was locked to Covid-19 pandemic, any deal-saving buyer was the better option. I blindly rushed to place the order and made payment. The advert was so descriptive and convincing that I could not resist the product, especially the three-year warranty that convinced me that the phone was the best. Little did I know that all the explanations in the adverts overshadowed the truth and lure customers into making uninformed decisions. I became suspicious when delivery delayed by a day and I could not track the product on transit. Upon the product's arrival, I was shocked to realize that only the phone size and appearance in the advert matched the actual product. Anything else was a total lie, including the phone features and terms and conditions. The receipt indicated that goods cannot be reaccepted once sold. Surprisingly the phone could not support content without external memory, and the warranty promised in the advert was not offered. Finally, I ended up spending my hard-earned money on buying the inferior...