in corporate identity and brand management we learnt about consumer decision-making, and to cut a long story short, there're three steps people take when they're making decisions: do, feel, and think.

i.e.:
think: searching for information, evaluating a product performance, or recognising an unfulfilled need for a particular product.
feel: having a positive attitude, developing a preference and conviction for a brand, and
do: trying and buying the product.

so do, feel, and think occur in a sequence when consumers (you) buy products. the three steps, however, do not always happen in the same order for every product. for example, when you buy cigarettes, you do the buying act first, then you feel for the brand, whether positive or negative, lastly you evaluate the brand (think). so cigarette-buying = do --> feel --> think.

say for a major purchase like a car, however, it's different. you would have to do some information search and evaluating first (think), then develop conviction for a particular brand (feel) and lastly, do - buying the car. think --> feel --> do.

so the three things u need to remember are do, feel and think. pretty light stuff, huh? =)

if you're not getting the explanation so far you might as well skip this entry altogether.

anyhow, so our product here is love, and the consumer is you. or me, if you want. any human being will do. except arnold swazhenneggerr (you know who i'm talking about).

so, when it comes to love, what would be the appropriate steps, in your opinion, to take?

a couple of my friends who've already been in more than two relationships concluded that where love is concerned, feel --> do --> think is the de rigueur route to take. so you'd feel for your potential partner first, then 'do' by officially getting together (don't think i don't know what you're thinking), and lastly you think whether your girlfriend/boyfriend is right for you.

my opinion was that 'buying' love should go in a manner thus: feel --> think --> do. you have feelings for this guy, you think whether he's right for you, then you get together! doesn't that make perfect sense?

well, but my thesis stands for nothing. i mean, my friends been through more than one relationship, how in the world would my one experience stack up against theirs? sigh, i rest my case.

but i would love to hear your opinion nonetheless.

p.s. thanks to doris nga for her CIBM references. this shows that i pay attention during lectures.