Group Influence

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Chapter 12

• Group Influence

Group Influence
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The meaning of groups

• Two or more individuals who
• Share a set of norms, values or beliefs
• Have certain role relationships
• Experience interdependent behavior
• A social system in which members
• Have regular contact
• Act cooperatively
• Share common goals

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Importance of groups

• Play an important role in consumer socialization
• The process by which we acquire the skills,
  knowledge and attitudes necessary to function as
  consumers
• As consumers we learn to think and behave
  according to societys expectations as modeled by
  the groups we interact with

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Types of social groups

• Primary groups small and intimate groups we come
  together with frequently and face-to-face
• Secondary groups less intimacy and personal
  interaction
• Key difference is the extent of influence over
  ones attitudes, beliefs, behavior, etc.

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• Formal groups organized, hierarchical groups
  where structure is defined, roles delineated,
  etc.
• Informal groups often emerge from formal groups,
  but may also emerge between neighbors, friends,
  etc.

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Roles

• Patterns of behavior expected of individuals
  within a given social context
• May develop in one of three ways
• Formal role definitions prescribed by the group
• Informal rules of the group
• History of prior experiences

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• Roles influence consumption behavior
• A role-related product cluster is a set of goods
  necessary to play a given role

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Status

• The relative position of a person in a groups
  social spectrum
• Consumers often purchase goods and services
  appropriate to their status within a group

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Reference groups

• Any person or group that serves as a point of
  comparison (reference) for an individual in
  forming either general or specific values,
  attitudes, or a specific guide for behavior
• Reference groups are groups that serve as frames
  of reference for individuals in their purchase or
  consumption decisions

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Types of reference groups

• Normative groups that influence general or
  broadly defined values or behavior
• Comparative groups that benchmark specific or
  narrowly defined attitudes or behaviors
• Indirect individuals or groups with whom a
  person does not have direct contact, such as
  movie stars, sports heroes, celebrities,
  political leaders, etc.

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• Membership reference groups
• Aspirational reference groups
• Dissociative reference groups

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Factors that affect reference group influence

• Degree of influence a reference group exerts on a
  consumers actions depend on several factors
• Nature and extent of consumers information and
  experience
• Credibility, attractiveness, and power of the
  group
• Conspicuousness of the product

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1. Consumers information and experience

• Greater the consumers access to information
  about or experience with a product, the less
  likely it is that he or she will be influenced by
  the advice or examples of others

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2. Credibility, power and attractiveness of the
reference group

• Direct relationship between these factors and the
  influence the group wields
• Consumers are more likely to be persuaded by
  those whom they consider trustworthy and
  knowledgeablei.e., high credibility

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• Consumers who are concerned with the power that a
  group can exert over them might choose products
  or services that conform to the norms of that
  person or group
• Consumers who are concerned with the acceptance
  or approval of others they like or identify with
  are likely to adopt their product, brand, or
  other behavioral characteristics

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3. Conspicuousness of the product

• A purchase that will stand out and be noticed is
  more likely to be made with the reaction of a
  reference group in mind
• Particularly true for luxury and status-revealing
  purchases

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Implications for marketing

• Marketers who employ reference group influence
  must understand that consumers have multiple
  reference groups
• Different groups may influence consumer purchases
  in different areas
• Marketers must first identify the types of groups
  that consumers are likely to refer to when making
  a purchase
• Then they are in a position to select appropriate
  influencers to deliver the marketing message

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Selected consumer-related reference groups

• There is a large and diverse range of groups that
  have the potential to influence consumer
  behavior we will look at four
• Friendship groups
• Shopping groups
• Work groups
• Consumer action groups

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1. Friendship groups

• Generally considered informal groups
• Next to family, considered the most likely to
  influence individuals purchase decision
• Seeking and maintaining friendships is a basic
  drive of most people
• Opinions and preferences of friends are an
  important influence in determining the products
  and brands a consumer selects
• Marketers recognize this and often depict
  friendship situations in their ads, especially
  for products such as clothing, snack foods and
  alcoholic beverages

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2. Shopping groups

• Two or more people who shop together
• A range of reasons
• Social--to share time together
• Risk reduction--to have a second opinion
• Informational--others in the group may know more
  about certain products

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3. Work groups

• The workplace actually creates two different
  types of group formal and informal
• Formal work groups involve individuals who work
  together as a team and thus there is an
  opportunity for influencing each others
  consumption-related activities
• Informal work groups are people who have become
  friends through their work, though they may not
  work as a team

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4. Consumer action groups

• Today there are many groups whose purpose is to
  provide information and assistance to consumers
• Several different types
• Public vs. private
• Single-issue vs. broad-based
• Temporary vs. permanent

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Reference group appeals

• Four very common and effective reference group
  appeals used by advertisers include
• Celebrity appeals
• Expert appeals
• Common-man appeals
• Executive appeals

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1. Celebrity appeals

• Celebrities represent an idealization of life
  that most people imagine they would love to live
• Four ways in which celebrities are used to
  promote products
• Testimonial based on personal usage, a celebrity
  attests to the quality of the product
• Endorsement celebrity lends name and appears on
  behalf of a product (may not be an expert)
• Actor celebrity presents a product through his
  or her character
• Spokesperson celebrity represents the brand or
  company over an extended period of time

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• Celebrity appeals work only if the person is
  perceived as credible
• The more products a celebrity is associated with,
  the more credibility erodes

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2. Expert appeals

• A person who, because of his or her occupation,
  training or experience is in a unique position to
  help consumers evaluate a product or service

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3. The common man appeal

• Uses the experiences of satisfied customers
• Consumers can easily identify with them
• Especially effective in public health
  announcements
• Commercials that show individuals or families
  solving problems by using the advertised product
  are called slice-of-life commercials because they
  focus on real issues that consumers can identify
  with

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4. The executive spokesperson

• Became popular in last 20 years as CEOs became
  better known to the public
• As with celebrities, success depends on public
  perception of the spokespersons credibility