CULTURE

&
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
The Wheel of Consumer Behavior
 CULTURE

• What is culture?
• Culture and subculture
• How does culture manifest itself?
• How does it impact marketing tasks?
What is Culture?
• “That complex whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, morals, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society.”

• “Meanings that are shared by most people in a

group”
Characteristics Of Culture

• Culture satisfies needs

• Culture is learned
• Culture is shared
• Culture is dynamic
• Culture is organized & integrated
• Culture is prescriptive
• Culture is gratifying
Levels Of Subjective Culture

Supranational Ethnic, Language etc.

National Regional, Population etc.

Group Family, Friends, Work group etc.

 Manifestations Of Culture
• National Character – American, Indian

• Language – English, Hindi, German

• Symbols

• Taboos

• Rituals
 Measurement Of Culture

• Observation
• Attitude Measurement tasks
• Content Analysis
• Projective Tests
• Depth Interviews & Group Discussions
Impact of Culture
Norms—ranges
of appropriate
behavior

Consumption
Cultural Values
Patterns

Sanctions—
penalties
for violating
social norms
Cultural Lessons
• Diet Coke is named Light Coke in Japan--dieting
was not well regarded.

• Red circle trademark was unpopular in Asia due

to its resemblance of Japanese flag.

• Packaging of products is less important in some

countries than in U.S.

• Advertisement featuring man and dog failed in

Africa--dogs were not seem as man’s best friend.
Popular Culture

Companies often create product icons to

develop an identity for their products.

Many made-up creatures and personalities,

such as Mr. Clean, the Michelin tire man and
the Pillsbury Doughboy, are widely
recognized figures in popular culture .
 SUB-CULTURE

• “ Subculture is a distinct cultural

group that exists as an identifiable
segment within a larger, more
complex society ”.

• “ Within the larger society there are

specialties or sub-systems of values
resulting in a considerable variation
in behavior pattern, which exist
within the total culture”.
 Sub cultural Category
Classification
Sub cultural Category Variations
Religion Hindu, Christian, Muslim,
Jain etc.

Geographic Location North, South, East, West

Age Old, Teenage, Middle age

Gender Male / Female

Occupation Service, Profession,

Business
 SOCIAL CLASS

• a hierarchy of social status in a

society leading to interactions of
people as equals, superiors, or
inferiors.
• influenced most heavily by educational
credentials, occupation prestige level,
income, and area of residence.
Social Class
People within a social class tend to
exhibit similar buying behavior :

• Occupation
• Income
• Education
• Wealth
Social Classes & Buying Patterns

• Upper Upper Class

• Lower Upper Class
• Upper Middle Class
• Lower Middle Class
• Upper Lower Class
• Lower Lower Class
Social Class-Characteristics
• Persons within a given social class tend to
behave more alike.

• Social Class is hierarchical.

• Social class is not measured by a single variable

but is measured as a weighted function of one’s
occupation, income, wealth, education, status,
prestige, etc.

• Social class is continuous rather than concrete,

with individuals able to move into a higher social
class or drop into a lower class.
Social Class – Marketing

Three basic conclusions regarding social classes, highly

significant for marketing are:

• There is a social class system in large metropolitan

markets, and substantial differences exist between
classes with respect to their buying habits.

• There are far reaching psychological differences between

classes. The classes do not think in the same way. Thus,
they respond differently to a seller’s marketing
programme, particularly his advertising.

• Class membership is a more significant determinant of

buyer behavior than is the amount o income.
Groups, families and
households
At the end of this session, you should
understand:

• The roles of families and households as consumers.

• The influence of different family lifecycle stages
and family decision-making processes on
consumption behaviour.
• The marketing implications of changing household
composition and consumption trends.
• The nature of groups and their influence on
consumption behaviour.
• The role of opinion leaders in influencing consumer
behaviour.
• The influence of different social types on
consumption behaviour.
The nature of groups
• A group is two or more people that join together
for a common goal or need

• Some terms commonly used with groups:

• Norms – the expected rules of behaviour within a group

• Roles – the set of expectations other people have of the

behaviours and attributes appropriate to that position

• Status – a person’s actual or perceived position within

a group

• Socialisation – the process through which group norms

and role definitions are learned
Features Of Group
• The interests, ideals & values of the group members are
common.

• Group implies a feeling of unity.

• The members of a group are affected by its characteristics.

• The members of a group are related to each other.

• There is similarity of behavior in a group.

• Control of group over the actions of the members.

• Members of a group have a sense of ‘we’ feeling.

Types of groups
Primary Secondary
Groups with which we have
Groups with which we have
frequent interpersonal contact
limited interpersonal contact

Informal Formal
Groups based on very looseGroups which have a defined
structures, such as familystructure, such as a sporting
groupings and work colleagues club or work committees

Associative Aspirational
Groups to which we actuallyGroups the consumer identifies
belong with and looks up to, but is
unlikely to ever be a part of
Reference groups

A group that influences the

attitudes and behaviour of
individuals who look to it as a
reference point for evaluating their
own situation
 Types of Reference Groups
Reference Group

Group to which a Group to which a person

person is the member is not a member

Membership Group

Dissociative Aspirational
Primary Secondary Group Group
Group Group
Brand Applications of Reference
Group influence on Buying
Behavior
• Use of Experts for product
endorsements

• Use of Spokes persons for Product

endorsements

• Use of Celebrities for product

endorsements
Types of reference group influence

• Normative

• Conformity and social pressures – group outlines what is acceptable behaviour

• Two functions of normative reference groups

• Utilitarian – conform to the group’s influence in order to gain a reward or avoid
punishment

• Value-expressive – conform to the group’s influence in order to enhance your own self-
concept

• Informational

• Providing credible and needed information

Types of reference groups and their
influences
Family

• How does the family affect

consumer behavior?
(consumer socialization)
• Family Life Cycle
• Who is the Decision Maker
(Husband dominant, wife dominant, and
joint decision making)
The family lifecycle
• The family lifecycle concept is based on the idea
that families move and evolve through stages
over time.

• Consumption patterns change over the stages,

for example:

• Income and expenditure levels vary over the stages

• Needs change with the addition of children and vary
according the age of the children
• Financial commitments vary depending on the size of
the family
Family Life Cycle
Family purchasing decision roles

• Different roles in the decision-making

process:
• Information gatherers/holders
• Influencers
• Deciders
• Purchaser
• User

• How are these roles changing in our society?

Who are opinion leaders?
• You don’t have to be famous to be an opinion
leader

• Opinion leaders can be anyone - including you!

• They tend to be people that you:

• Perceive as being more credible
• Perceive as being more knowledgeable
• Experts in this area - job related
• Interested in this area – hobbies

• Roles change - where you might be an opinion

leader in one situation, you might be an opinion
receiver in another situation
Opinion leaders
• Individuals who are perceived to be knowledgeable
about various topics and whose advice is taken
seriously by others

• Important in the information search and evaluation

stage

• A role taken on by different people in different

situations because they have perceived expertise in
that area

• Unlike paid advertising, word of mouth

communication from opinion leaders is respected
because they offer both positive and negative
information about a product’s performance
Types of Opinion Leaders
• Opinion Leader • Market Maven
• Always involved • General market
in product knowledge
category. • Expertise not
• High status, product specific.
socially active.

• Product Innovator • Surrogate Consumer

• Purchases
• Often professional:
innovative
tax consultant, wine
products
steward, stock
• Less integrated broker.
into social
groups.
Opinion leaders and power
• Reward power
• Power to give physical and psychological rewards to
people

• Legitimate power
• Power based on official capacity

• Expert power
• Influence and credibility that a person has, based on
their expertise in a particular area

• Coercive power
Use of messages that warn of bad or
unpleasant consequences of behaviour

• Referent power
• Influence that some people have due to their popularity
 Marketing implications of
opinion leaders
• Opinion leaders influence the diffusion of innovation -
the rate that new ideas are widely accepted by markets
- by encouraging product interest as well as trial

• Products are endorsed by spokespeople or

representatives that are:
• Credible
• Attractive
• Trustworthy

• Market to opinion leaders, for example:

• Offer free samples to potential opinion leaders
• Encourage them to talk to others
Communications within Groups & Opinion
Leadership
Mass Communication Information Flows

Direct Flow Multistep Flow

Marketing Marketing Other

Activities Activities Activities

Opinion Opinion
Leader Leader

Relevant Market
Segment Relevant Market
Segment