Download Marketing 334 Consumer Behavior

Marketing 334
Consumer Behavior
Chapter 7
Group Influences
Based on Consumer Behavior, 10th edition by Hawkins, Mothersbaugh and Best
Consumer Behavior In The News…

Goodyear is beginning to offer “collegiate tires” which have the
college name in white letters on the tire’s sidewalls.

Goodyear claims these tires are only for “the ultimate fan.”
7-2
Source: J. Halliday, “Tire maker eyes college sports fans,” Advertising Age, November 8, 2004, p. 8.
Consumer Behavior In The News…

What would “drive” a fan to put his/her team’s name on their
tires?

How big do you think this market is?
Source: J. Halliday, “Tire maker eyes college sports fans,” Advertising Age, November 8, 2004, p. 8.
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.
Reference Group Influence
Four criteria that are particularly useful in classifying
groups:
1. Membership
2. Strength of Social Tie
3. Type of Contact
4. Attraction
Types of Groups
Consumption Subcultures
 Brand Communities
 Virtual Communities
 Leaders
 Participants
 Lurkers
Types of Groups
Marketing and Brand Communities
Brand communities can add
value to the ownership of the
product and build intense
loyalty.
Jeep has a longstanding loyal brand community
Types of Groups
Virtual Communities
Marketing in virtual communities is both possible and
potentially beneficial.
The approach taken must be tailored to the type of virtual
community.
Many online groups are sensitive to
“commercial” interference and
companies have to be careful not
to overstep.
Reference Group Influences 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
Reference Group Influences 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)
Communications within Groups and
Opinion Leadership
 WOM
 Opinion Leaders
 Market Mavens, Influentials, and e-fluentials
 Marketing and Online Strategies
Communications within Groups and
Opinion Leadership
Mass Communication Information Flows
Communications within Groups and
Opinion Leadership
Situations in Which WOM and Opinion Leadership Occur
1. Individual seeks
information from
another or
2. Individual
volunteers
information
Likelihood of Seeking an Opinion Leader
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
Communications within Groups and
Opinion Leadership
Online Strategies to Leverage Buzz and WOM
Viral marketing
Online Guides
Blogs
Applications in Consumer Behavior
Example of Online Viral Marketing Campaign
Courtesy of Hershey
Corporation.
Diffusion of Innovations
 Categories of Innovation
 Adoption Process
 Diffusion Rate
 Adopter Categories
 Marketing Strategies and the Diffusion Process
Diffusion of Innovations
Categories of Innovations
Continuous Innovation
Dynamically continuous Innovation
Discontinuous Innovation
Diffusion of Innovations
Diffusion Rates for Popular Consumer Electronics (Cumulative)
7-19
Diffusion of Innovations
Factors Affecting the Spread of Innovations
7-20
Diffusion of Innovations
Adopter Categories
 Innovators
 Early Adopters
 Early Majority
 Late Majority
 Laggards