Consumer behavior and marketing strategy 12e hawkins motherbaugh chapter 07

CHAPTER

07

Group
Influences on
Consumer
Behavior

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Learning Objectives
Explain reference groups and the criteria used to classify
them
Discuss consumption subcultures, including brand and
online communities and their importance for marketing
Summarize the types and degree of reference group
influence
Discuss within-group communications and the
importance of word-of-mouth communications to
marketers
Understand opinion leaders (both online and offline) and
their importance to markets
Discuss innovation diffusion and use an innovation
analysis to develop marketing strategy

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Consumer Behavior In The News…
What Matters to Early Tech Adopters?
 Which of the following laptop aspects is most
important to early adopters of technology?


Price and warranty



Brand reputation



Technologically advanced



Innovative design

 What are the marketing implications?

Source: “Early Adopters Expect More From Technology,” Advertising Age, March 15, 2010.

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Consumer Behavior In The News…
What Matters to Early Tech Adopters?
 Which of the following laptop aspects are most
important to early adopters of technology?
 If you said tech advanced and innovative
design you are right! Price is just not that
big a deal.
 What are the marketing implications?
 Think iPod/iPhone/iPad!! Clearly designed
with the early adopter in mind – higher
priced, but great design and technology!
Source: “Early Adopters Expect More From Technology,” Advertising Age, March 15, 2010.

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Reference Group Influence
A group is defined as two or more individuals who share
a set of norms, values, or beliefs and have certain
implicitly or explicitly defined relationships to one another
such that their behaviors are interdependent.
A reference group is a group whose presumed
perspectives or values are being used by an individual as
the basis for his/her current behavior.

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Reference Group Influence
Four criteria that are particularly useful in

classifying groups:
groups
1. Membership
2. Strength of Social Tie
3. Type of Contact
4. Attraction

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Types of Groups
Consumption Subcultures
 Identifiable hierarchy
 Set of shared beliefs and values
 Unique jargon and rituals

Sneakerheads – The Culture of Shoe Collectors
viewer discretion due to language content

YouTube Spotlight
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Reference Group Influence
Brand Communities
Brand communities can add value to the ownership of the
product and build intense loyalty.
When a consumer becomes part of a brand community,
remaining generally requires continuing to own and use
the brand.

This can create intense brand loyalty!

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Video Application
The following Video Clip demonstrates
how MINI Cooper used marketing to
create a brand community and generate
buzz!

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Types of Groups
Online Communities and Social Networks
 Community interacts around a topic of interest on
the Internet
 Online Social Network Sites
 Facebook and MySpace
 YouTube and Flickr
 Twitter

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Types of Groups

When Using Social Media in Marketing
 Be transparent
 Be part of the community
 Take advantage of the unique capabilities
of each venue

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Reference Group Influence on the
Consumption Process
 Types of Reference Group Influence
 Situational Determinants of Reference
Group Influence
 Brand vs. Product Class Influence
 Marketing Strategy and Reference Groups

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Reference Group Influence on the
Consumption Process
Types of Reference Group Influence
Reference group influence can take three forms:
1. Informational Influence
2. Normative Influence (a.k.a. utilitarian influence)
3. Identification Influence (a.k.a. value expressive)

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Reference Group Influence on the
Consumption Process
Consumption Situations and Reference Group Influence

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Reference Group Influence on the
Consumption Process

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Communications within Groups and Opinion
Leadership
 WOM
 Opinion Leaders
 Market Mavens, Influentials, and e-fluentials
 Marketing and Online Strategies

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Communications within Groups and Opinion
Leadership
WOM Versus Advertising
(% who put people vs. advertising as best source)

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Communications within Groups and Opinion
Leadership
Opinion Leaders
An opinion leader is the “go to person” for specific
types of information. This person filters, interprets, and
passes along information.
Opinion leaders possess enduring involvement for
specific product categories. This leads to greater
knowledge and expertise.
Opinion leadership is category specific – an opinion
leader in one product category is often an opinion
seeker in others.
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Communications within Groups and Opinion
Leadership
Mass Communication Information Flows

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Communications within Groups and Opinion
Leadership
Situations in Which WOM and Opinion Leadership Occur

The exchange of advice and information between group
members can occur directly via WOM in the following

situations:
Likelihood of Seeking an Opinion Leader
1. Individual seeks
information from
another, or
2. Individual
volunteers
information

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Communications within Groups and Opinion
Leadership
Crowdsourcing
 Goes well beyond consumer-generated ads .
 Can involve setting up a forum in which customers
help other customers.
 Can include input into product and service design.

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Communications within Groups and Opinion
Leadership
Mavens, Influentials, and e-fluentials
1. A market maven is a generalized market influencer who
provides significant amounts of information about various
products, places to shop, and so on.
2. Roper Starch identifies a group similar to market mavens

called influentials.
influentials Influentials are 10% of population but
use broad social networks to influence the other 90%!
3. Roper Starch identifies a group similar to Internet market
mavens called e-fluentials. They wield significant online
and offline influence.
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Communications within Groups and Opinion
Leadership
Marketing Strategy, WOM, and Opinion Leadership

 Strategies designed to generate WOM and encourage
opinion leadership include:
1. Advertising
2. Product Sampling
3. Retailing/Personal Selling
4. Creating Buzz

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