Social and Group Forces on Consumer Behaviour

The ways in which we think, believe, and act are determined to a great extent by social forces and groups. And our individual buying decisions, including the needs we experience, the alternatives we consider, and the way in which we evaluate them, are affected by the social forces that surround us. Our description begin with culture, the force with the most indirect impact, and moves to the force with the most direct, the household.

CULTURAL INFLUENCE

Culture is a complex of symbols and artefacts created by society and handed down from generation to generation as determinants and regulation of behaviour. The symbols may be intangible (attitudes, beliefs, values, and language) or tangible (tools, housing products, works of art). It does not include instinctive acts. However, the way people perform instinctive biological acts such as eating is culturally influenced. Thus everybody gets hungry, but what, when and how people eat vary among cultures

Cultures do change over time, as old patterns gradually give way to the new

 Time has become as valuable as money

Two: income families are the norm.

Gender roles are losing their identity

Your health is in, and sickness is out.

INFLUENCE OF SUBCULTURES

In any society as heterogeneous as the one in Zambia there are bound to be subcultures. Subcultures are [coups in a culture that exhibit characteristic behaviour patterns sufficient to distinguish them from other groups within the same culture. The behaviour patterns that distinguish subcultures are based on factors such as race, nationality, religion, and urban identification.

A subculture takes on importance in marketing if it constitutes a significant part of the population and specific purchasing patterns can be traced to it.

SOCIAL CLASS INFLUENCES

Social class is a ranking within a society determined by the members of the society. People’s buying behaviour is often strongly influenced by the class to which they belong or to which they aspire.

The conclusions from social research that are significant for marketing are :

A social class system exists in virtually all societies

There are substantial differences among classes with respect to buying behaviour.

Because of the diversity, different social classes are likely to respond differently to a seller’s marketing program.

Thus it may be necessary to design marketing programs tailored to specific social classes

REFERENCE-GROUP INFLUENCES

Each group in society develops its own standard of behaviour that then serve as guides or frames of reference, for the individual members. Families and a circle of friends are such groups. Members share values and are expected to conform to the group’s behavioural patterns. But one does not have to be a member of a group before one can be influenced by it. There are groups we aspire to join ( a campus society or club ) and groups that we admire even though membership may be impossible ( a professional athletic team).

All of these are potential reference groups; groups of people who influence a person’s attitudes, values and behaviour.

Advertisers are relying on reference: group influence when they use celebrity spokespersons. Professional athletes, musicians, and actors can influence people who would like to be associated with them in some way.

FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD INFLUENCES

A family is a group of two or more people related by blood, marriage, or adoption living together in a household. The birth family primarily determines core values and attitudes. The marriage family size is important in the purchase of a car.

A household is a broader concept that relates to a dwelling rather than a relationship. A household consists of a single person, a family or any group of unrelated persons who occupy a housing unit.

Sensitivity to household structure is important in designing marketing strategy. In addition to the direct, immediate impact households have on the purchase behaviour of members, it is also interesting to consider the buying behaviour of the household as a unit. Who does the buying for a household? Marketers should treat this question as four separate ones, because each may call for different strategies:

Who influences the buying decision?

Who makes the buying decision?

Who makes actual purchases?

Who uses the product?

Different household members may assume these various roles or one individual may play several roles in a particular purchase. In families, for many years the female did most of the day-to-day buying. However, this behaviour has changed as more women have entered the workforce, and men and children have assumed greater household responsibility