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