Marketing 2
“Consumer behavior” – chapter 11-14
1
,Table of contents
Chapter 11 – Social influences on consumer behaviour ......................................................................... 5
Sources of influence ............................................................................................................................ 5
Marketing and non-marketing sources ........................................................................................... 5
How do these general sources differ? ............................................................................................. 5
Opinion leaders ............................................................................................................................... 6
Reference groups as sources of influence........................................................................................... 6
Types of reference groups ............................................................................................................... 6
Characteristics of reference groups ................................................................................................ 6
Reference groups affect consumer socialisation ............................................................................ 7
Normative influence ............................................................................................................................ 7
How normative influence can affect consumer behaviour ............................................................. 7
What affects normative influence strength .................................................................................... 8
Informational influence ....................................................................................................................... 9
Factors affecting informational influence strength......................................................................... 9
Descriptive dimensions of information ......................................................................................... 10
The pervasive and persuasive influence of word of mouth (WOM) ............................................. 10
Chapter 12 – Consumer diversity .......................................................................................................... 10 2
How age affects consumer behaviour ............................................................................................... 10
Age trends in the United States .................................................................................................... 10
Teens and millennials .................................................................................................................... 11
Generation X.................................................................................................................................. 11
Boomers ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Senior............................................................................................................................................. 11
How gender and sexual orientation affect consumer behaviour ..................................................... 11
Sex roles......................................................................................................................................... 12
Differences in acquisition and consumption behaviours .............................................................. 12
Gender and sexual orientation ...................................................................................................... 12
How regional influences affect consumer behaviour ....................................................................... 12
Regions within the United States .................................................................................................. 12
Regions across the world............................................................................................................... 13
How ethnic influences affect consumer behaviour....................................................................... 13
Ethnic groups within the United States ......................................................................................... 13
Ethnic groups around the world .................................................................................................... 14
, The influence of religion.................................................................................................................... 14
Chapter 13 – Household and social class influences ............................................................................. 14
How the household influences consumer behaviour ....................................................................... 14
Types of households ...................................................................................................................... 14
Household and family life cycle ..................................................................................................... 14
Changing trends in household structure ....................................................................................... 15
Roles that household members play ................................................................................................. 15
The roles of spouses ...................................................................................................................... 16
The role of children ....................................................................................................................... 16
Social class ......................................................................................................................................... 17
Types of social class systems ......................................................................................................... 17
Social class influences.................................................................................................................... 17
How social class is determined ...................................................................................................... 18
How social class changes over time .................................................................................................. 18
Upward mobility ............................................................................................................................ 18
Downward mobility ....................................................................................................................... 19
Social class fragmentation ............................................................................................................. 19
3
How does social class affect consumption? ...................................................................................... 19
Conspicuous consumption and voluntary simplicity ..................................................................... 19
Status symbols and judging others................................................................................................ 19
Compensatory consumption ......................................................................................................... 20
The meaning of money .................................................................................................................. 20
The consumption patterns of specific social classes ......................................................................... 20
The upper class .............................................................................................................................. 20
The middle class ............................................................................................................................ 20
The working class .......................................................................................................................... 20
Chapter 14 – Psychographics: values, personality, and lifestyles ......................................................... 21
Values ................................................................................................................................................ 21
How values can be described ........................................................................................................ 21
The values that characterise Western countries........................................................................... 22
Why values change ........................................................................................................................ 23
Influences on values ...................................................................................................................... 23
How values can be measured ........................................................................................................ 24
Personality ......................................................................................................................................... 25
, Research approaches to personality ............................................................................................. 25
Determining whether personality characteristics affect consumer behaviour ............................ 27
Lifestyles ........................................................................................................................................ 28
Lifestyle and behaviour patterns................................................................................................... 28
Voluntary simplicity ....................................................................................................................... 28
Psychographics: combining values, personality and lifestyles .......................................................... 29
VALS ............................................................................................................................................... 29
Other applied psychographic research ......................................................................................... 29
4
,Chapter 11 – Social influences on consumer behaviour
Social influence: information by and implicit or explicit pressures from individuals,
groups, and the mass media that affects how a person behaves
Sources of influence
Marketing and non-marketing sources
Influence can come from marketing and non-marketing sources and can be delivered
via the mass media or personally.
Marketing sources delivered via mass media
Marketing source: influence delivered from a marketing agent, e.g. advertising,
personal selling
Marketing sources delivered personally
Salespeople, service representatives, and customer service agents are marketing
sources of influence who deliver information personally on different locations.
Non-marketing sources delivered via mass media
Non-marketing source: influence delivered from an entity outside a marketing
organisation, e.g. friends, family, the media one is more
influential than others
Non-marketing sources delivered personally
Word of mouth: influence delivered verbally from one person to another person or
group of people 5
Marketing and non-marketing sources delivered via social media
Social media are increasingly used by both marketing and non-marketing sources.
Social media have a mass reach but a more personal feel. Consumer-generated ads
can stimulate a range of social media conversations.
How do these general sources differ?
Reach
Mass media sources are important to marketers because they reach large consumer
audiences.
Capacity for two-way communication
Personally delivered sources of influence are valuable because they allow for a two-
way flow of information. Personal conversations are often more casual and less
purposeful than mass media. Information may also seem more vivid.
Credibility
Marketing and non-marketing sources differ in their credibility. Consumers tend to
perceive information delivered through marketing sources as being less credible,
more biased and manipulative. Because non-marketing sources are credible, they
tend to have more influence on consumer decisions than marketing sources do.
, Opinion leaders
Opinion leader: an individual who acts as an information broker between the
mass media and the opinions and behaviours of an individual or
group
Opinion leaders are regarded as non-marketing sources of influence, a perception
that adds to their credibility. They have several characteristics: learn a lot about
products, heavy users of social media, buy new products when they are first
introduced, knowledgeable (product knowledge, experience).
Gatekeepers: a source that controls the flow of information
Market maven: a consumer on whom others rely for information about the
marketplace in general
Reference groups as sources of influence
Reference group: a set of people with whom individuals compare themselves for
guidance in developing their own attitudes, knowledge and/or
behaviours
Types of reference groups
Aspirational reference group: a group that people admire and desire to be like
Associative reference group: a group to which people currently belong
Brand community: a specialised group of consumers with a structured set of 6
relationships involving a particular brand, fellow customers
of that brand, and the product in use
Dissociative reference group: a group people do not want to emulate
Characteristics of reference groups
Degree of contact
Reference groups vary in their degree of contact. Those with which consumers have
considerable contacts tend to exert the greatest influence.
Primary reference group: group with whom consumers have physical face-to-face
interaction
Secondary reference group: group with whom consumers do not have direct
contact (but does influence them)
Formality
Some groups are formally structured, with rules outlining the criteria for group
membership and the expected behaviour of members. Other groups are more ad
hoc, less organised, and less structured.
Homophily: the similarity among group members
Homophily: the overall similarity among members in the social system
“Consumer behavior” – chapter 11-14
1
,Table of contents
Chapter 11 – Social influences on consumer behaviour ......................................................................... 5
Sources of influence ............................................................................................................................ 5
Marketing and non-marketing sources ........................................................................................... 5
How do these general sources differ? ............................................................................................. 5
Opinion leaders ............................................................................................................................... 6
Reference groups as sources of influence........................................................................................... 6
Types of reference groups ............................................................................................................... 6
Characteristics of reference groups ................................................................................................ 6
Reference groups affect consumer socialisation ............................................................................ 7
Normative influence ............................................................................................................................ 7
How normative influence can affect consumer behaviour ............................................................. 7
What affects normative influence strength .................................................................................... 8
Informational influence ....................................................................................................................... 9
Factors affecting informational influence strength......................................................................... 9
Descriptive dimensions of information ......................................................................................... 10
The pervasive and persuasive influence of word of mouth (WOM) ............................................. 10
Chapter 12 – Consumer diversity .......................................................................................................... 10 2
How age affects consumer behaviour ............................................................................................... 10
Age trends in the United States .................................................................................................... 10
Teens and millennials .................................................................................................................... 11
Generation X.................................................................................................................................. 11
Boomers ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Senior............................................................................................................................................. 11
How gender and sexual orientation affect consumer behaviour ..................................................... 11
Sex roles......................................................................................................................................... 12
Differences in acquisition and consumption behaviours .............................................................. 12
Gender and sexual orientation ...................................................................................................... 12
How regional influences affect consumer behaviour ....................................................................... 12
Regions within the United States .................................................................................................. 12
Regions across the world............................................................................................................... 13
How ethnic influences affect consumer behaviour....................................................................... 13
Ethnic groups within the United States ......................................................................................... 13
Ethnic groups around the world .................................................................................................... 14
, The influence of religion.................................................................................................................... 14
Chapter 13 – Household and social class influences ............................................................................. 14
How the household influences consumer behaviour ....................................................................... 14
Types of households ...................................................................................................................... 14
Household and family life cycle ..................................................................................................... 14
Changing trends in household structure ....................................................................................... 15
Roles that household members play ................................................................................................. 15
The roles of spouses ...................................................................................................................... 16
The role of children ....................................................................................................................... 16
Social class ......................................................................................................................................... 17
Types of social class systems ......................................................................................................... 17
Social class influences.................................................................................................................... 17
How social class is determined ...................................................................................................... 18
How social class changes over time .................................................................................................. 18
Upward mobility ............................................................................................................................ 18
Downward mobility ....................................................................................................................... 19
Social class fragmentation ............................................................................................................. 19
3
How does social class affect consumption? ...................................................................................... 19
Conspicuous consumption and voluntary simplicity ..................................................................... 19
Status symbols and judging others................................................................................................ 19
Compensatory consumption ......................................................................................................... 20
The meaning of money .................................................................................................................. 20
The consumption patterns of specific social classes ......................................................................... 20
The upper class .............................................................................................................................. 20
The middle class ............................................................................................................................ 20
The working class .......................................................................................................................... 20
Chapter 14 – Psychographics: values, personality, and lifestyles ......................................................... 21
Values ................................................................................................................................................ 21
How values can be described ........................................................................................................ 21
The values that characterise Western countries........................................................................... 22
Why values change ........................................................................................................................ 23
Influences on values ...................................................................................................................... 23
How values can be measured ........................................................................................................ 24
Personality ......................................................................................................................................... 25
, Research approaches to personality ............................................................................................. 25
Determining whether personality characteristics affect consumer behaviour ............................ 27
Lifestyles ........................................................................................................................................ 28
Lifestyle and behaviour patterns................................................................................................... 28
Voluntary simplicity ....................................................................................................................... 28
Psychographics: combining values, personality and lifestyles .......................................................... 29
VALS ............................................................................................................................................... 29
Other applied psychographic research ......................................................................................... 29
4
,Chapter 11 – Social influences on consumer behaviour
Social influence: information by and implicit or explicit pressures from individuals,
groups, and the mass media that affects how a person behaves
Sources of influence
Marketing and non-marketing sources
Influence can come from marketing and non-marketing sources and can be delivered
via the mass media or personally.
Marketing sources delivered via mass media
Marketing source: influence delivered from a marketing agent, e.g. advertising,
personal selling
Marketing sources delivered personally
Salespeople, service representatives, and customer service agents are marketing
sources of influence who deliver information personally on different locations.
Non-marketing sources delivered via mass media
Non-marketing source: influence delivered from an entity outside a marketing
organisation, e.g. friends, family, the media one is more
influential than others
Non-marketing sources delivered personally
Word of mouth: influence delivered verbally from one person to another person or
group of people 5
Marketing and non-marketing sources delivered via social media
Social media are increasingly used by both marketing and non-marketing sources.
Social media have a mass reach but a more personal feel. Consumer-generated ads
can stimulate a range of social media conversations.
How do these general sources differ?
Reach
Mass media sources are important to marketers because they reach large consumer
audiences.
Capacity for two-way communication
Personally delivered sources of influence are valuable because they allow for a two-
way flow of information. Personal conversations are often more casual and less
purposeful than mass media. Information may also seem more vivid.
Credibility
Marketing and non-marketing sources differ in their credibility. Consumers tend to
perceive information delivered through marketing sources as being less credible,
more biased and manipulative. Because non-marketing sources are credible, they
tend to have more influence on consumer decisions than marketing sources do.
, Opinion leaders
Opinion leader: an individual who acts as an information broker between the
mass media and the opinions and behaviours of an individual or
group
Opinion leaders are regarded as non-marketing sources of influence, a perception
that adds to their credibility. They have several characteristics: learn a lot about
products, heavy users of social media, buy new products when they are first
introduced, knowledgeable (product knowledge, experience).
Gatekeepers: a source that controls the flow of information
Market maven: a consumer on whom others rely for information about the
marketplace in general
Reference groups as sources of influence
Reference group: a set of people with whom individuals compare themselves for
guidance in developing their own attitudes, knowledge and/or
behaviours
Types of reference groups
Aspirational reference group: a group that people admire and desire to be like
Associative reference group: a group to which people currently belong
Brand community: a specialised group of consumers with a structured set of 6
relationships involving a particular brand, fellow customers
of that brand, and the product in use
Dissociative reference group: a group people do not want to emulate
Characteristics of reference groups
Degree of contact
Reference groups vary in their degree of contact. Those with which consumers have
considerable contacts tend to exert the greatest influence.
Primary reference group: group with whom consumers have physical face-to-face
interaction
Secondary reference group: group with whom consumers do not have direct
contact (but does influence them)
Formality
Some groups are formally structured, with rules outlining the criteria for group
membership and the expected behaviour of members. Other groups are more ad
hoc, less organised, and less structured.
Homophily: the similarity among group members
Homophily: the overall similarity among members in the social system
