Philip Morris is a company dealing with tobacco products. It is the leading company in the USA Cigarette manufacturer. The company has incorporated other brands. The brands include Cambridge, Benson & Hedges, merit, players, Virginia slims and Marlboro. Many factors influence the selling of the products/services offered by any institution. Consumers must have the ability to buy the product or the service the institution offered. This is often referred to as consumer purchasing power. Several factors influence the consumer’s purchasing power. At Phillip Morris USA, they have ways to ensure that their products reach the adult cigarette users in a most effective, responsible and a profitable way. This happens through one on one communication with the users legally allowed to use cigarettes.
Culture refers to the society`s character in reference to factors ethics and values. Culture also involves the customs and behaviors of people. Culture changes as people learn new things and this has impact on the purchasing power of individuals. Culture dictates the way in which people should stay and this influences the products or services people buy. When people go to school, they learn and adopt a new behavior. For example, when a teen goes to college and he/she learns the disadvantages of smoking, they stop smoking. Christians have a culture and they belief that smoking is bad. Phillip Morris cannot go to churches marketing their products (Brandt, 2006). America is a multicultural society and not all people smoke cigarettes.
Social factors affect the way people of a given society buy products or service. A social class is a group of people who have same social, educational and economic status. People in the same social class have the same purchasing power (Wright, 2006). The income determines the social class largely. There are cigarette smokers in a given class that consider smoking as a prestige. They smoke for entertainment. Some products and services appeal to people belonging to a social class. The social class determines the type of cigarettes the smokers will smoke. This is because different brands come with different prices.
Personal factors determine the purchase of the product or a service. Personal factors include occupation, age, lifestyle, economic condition and personality. The nature of an individual job determines if he or she will smoke the cigarette. People working in factories cannot smoke because most factories do not allow smoking in their workplace. An individual designation may restrict a person from smoking cigarette. The CEO of an organization may not engage himself or herself in smoking as it has an impact on the image of the organization he or she is heading. Phillip Morris sells the tobacco products to adults and not children. The age of a person determines the type of products or services the person is entitled to have or have access. The young people in America cannot smoke cigarette or drink alcohol. This is because the law prohibits them. The personality of an individual determines the things one spends money. Everybody has a personality that reflects the buying behavior. A person whose personality dictates that he/she remains fit will not smoke cigarettes. Lifestyle is also another factor that influences the purchase of a product or service. People who smoke have their lifestyle. The lifestyle of a person comes from the surroundings the person finds him/herself. Phillip Morris markets its products through retailers to restrict the access of its products. Phillip Morris trains its retailers to comply with the federal laws. It also denies the use of its products for entertainment purposes and access in the public media.
References
Blythe, J. (2008). Consumer behavior. London: Thomson Learning.
Brandt, A. M. (2006). The cigarette century: The rise, fall and deadly persistence of the product that defined America. New York: Basic Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group.
Wright, R. (2006). Consumer behavior. London: Thompson Learning.
