Personal Influence

Change in a persons attitude or behavior as a result of communication with others

Opinion Leadership

The process by which one person (the opinion leader) informally influences the consumption actions or attitudes of others who may be opinion seekers or opinion recipients.

WHAT IS OPINION LEADERSHIP?

Opinion Leader

Opinion Receiver

IS THIS OPINION LEADERSHIP

During a coffee break, a co-worker talks about the movie he saw last night and recommends seeing it. A person shows a friend photographs of his recent Australian Outback vacation and the friend suggests that using a polarizing filter might produce better pictures.

Are opinion leaders necessarily key personalities

REASONS FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OPINION LEADERSHIP

Credibility Positive and Negative Product Information Information and Advice

Opinion Leadership Is Category-Specific

PROFILE OF OPINION LEADER

Should have a social class position Greater exposure in mass media Greater interest & knowledge in area on influence Possess differentiating feature

WHY OPINION LEADERS ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE OTHERS

Self involvement

Attention, superiority, seeking confirmation Need to share ones feelings Release of tension (product benefits) Caused due to the ad ( good / funny ad)

Social involvement

Product involvement

Message involvement

WHY OPINION RECEIVERS ACCEPT

PERSONAL INFLUENCE

New-product or new usage information Reduction of perceived risk Reduction of search time Receiving the approval of the opinion leader

A Comparison of Motivations
OPINION LEADERS
SELF-IMPROVEMENT MOTIVATIONS Reduce post-purchase uncertainty or dissonance Gain attention or status Assert superiority and expertise Feel like an adventurer PRODUCT-INVOLVEMENT MOTIVATIONS Express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a product or service Learn what products are new in the marketplace

OPINION RECEIVERS
Reduce the risk of making a purchase commitment Reduce search time

Learn how to use or consume a product

Market Maven

Individuals whose influence stems from a general knowledge or market expertise that leads to an early awareness of new products and services.

Characteristics

Expertise is of general nature Need not be early adopters Higher media exposure Scout for more info.: shopping / net More probability if women : role Limited use : communicate change in price , store location

ISSUES IN OPINION LEADERSHIP AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Programs Designed to Stimulate Opinion Leadership Advertisements Stimulating Opinion Leadership Creation of Opinion Leaders

Diffusion Process

The process by which the acceptance of an innovation is spread by communication to members of social system over a period of time.

Adoption Process

The stages through which an individual consumer passes in arriving at a decision to try (or not to try), to continue using (or discontinue using) a new product.

DEFINING INNOVATIONS

Any idea , practice or material perceived to be new by the relevant adopting unit

WHICH PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS INFLUENCE DIFFUSION

Relative Advantage Compatibility Complexity Trial ability

Observability
Cost

STRESSING EASE OF USE

AND CONVENIENCE

Adopter Categories

A sequence of categories that describes how early (or late) a consumer adopts a new product in relation to other adopters.

Adopter Categories

Early Adopters 13.5% Innovators 2.5%

Laggards

Early Majority 34%

Late Majority 34%

16%

Percentage of Adopters by Category Sequence

HOW PROMOTION VARIES IN STAGE OF

DIFFUSION PROCESS

Innovators and early adopters Early majority

Stress on excitement of ownership

Late majority

Laggards

Use mass adv. To promote brand preference Product demonstration and stress on warranty schemes Spend on promotion

Innovators: Description
2.5% of population Venturesome Very eager to try new ideas Acceptable if risk is daring More cosmopolite social

Early Adopters: Description

13.5% of population Respected More integrated into the local social system The persons to check with before adopting a new idea Category contains greatest number of opinion leaders Are role models

Early Majority: Description

34% of population Deliberate Adopt new ideas just prior to the average time Seldom hold leadership positions Deliberate for some time before adopting

Late Majority: Description

34% of population Skeptical Adopt new ideas just after the average time Adopting may be both an economic necessity and a reaction to peer pressures

Laggards: Description
16% of population Traditional The last people to adopt an innovation Most localite in outlook Oriented to the past Suspicious of the new

Stages in Adoption Process

NAME OF WHAT HAPPENS DURING THIS STAGE STAGE Awarenes s EXAMPLE

Consumer is first Janet sees an ad for a new MP3 exposed to the product player in the magazine she is reading. innovation. Consumer is interested in the product and searches for additional information. Consumer decides Janet reads about the MP3 player on the manufacturers Web site and then goes to an electronics store near her apartment and has a salesperson show her a unit. After talking to a knowledgeable friend, Janet decides that this MP3 player will allow her to easily download the MP3 files that she has on her computer. She also feels that the units size is small enough to easily fit into her beltpack.

Interest

whether or not to believe that this Evaluation product or service will satisfy the need--a kind of mental trial.

Stages in Adoption Process

WHAT HAPPENS NAME OF DURING THIS STAGE STAGE EXAMPLE

Trial

Consumer uses the product on a limited basis

Adoption (Rejection )

If trial is favorable, consumer decides to use the product on a full, rather than a limited basis--if unfavorable, the consumer decides to reject it.

Since an MP3 player cannot be tried like a small tube of toothpaste, Janet buys the MP3 player online from Amazon.com, which offers a 30-day full refund policy. Janet finds that the MP3 player is easy to use and that the sound quality is excellent. She keeps the MP3 player.

AD APPEALS TO FASHION INNOVATORS