Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Family Decision Making Chapter 12 Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada

12-2 Family Decision Making More than one person is involved in the purchasing process for products or services that may be used by multiple consumers.

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada 12-3 The Family As traditional family living arrangements have waned, siblings, close friends, other relatives, and “intentional families” continue to provide support –Consuming homemade food is symbolic of family structure and expressing affection Discussion: Is the family unit dead?

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada 12-4 Defining the Modern Family Extended family and nuclear family Just what is a household? –Family household contains at least two people, regardless of their relationship –Divorces and separations are accepted in our culture…marital breakups are ever- present theme in books, music, and movies –Adult females are staying home with family/children more (especially among best-educated/highest achieving women)

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada 12-5 Discussion In identifying and targeting newly divorced couples, do you think marketers are exploiting these couples’ situations? –Are there instances in which you think marketers may actually be helpful to them? –Support your answers with examples

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada 12-6 Age of the Family age group greatest number of marriages and common-law relationships Average age of first marriages is 32 for women and 34 for men Trend toward giving non-traditional items as wedding gifts (home electronics, computers)

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada 12-7 Family Size Depends on educational level, availability of birth control, and religion Marketers keep an eye on fertility rate and birth rate Worldwide, women want smaller families (especially in industrialized countries) –Divorce is common –Fewer young people to support their elders –Some countries want people to have more children

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada 12-8 Nontraditional Family Structures Any occupied housing unit is a household Same-sex households are increasingly common: marketers target them as unit –POSSLQ living arrangement Rise of single-person households –Singles spend more on rent, alcohol, reading materials, health care, and tobacco/smoking AND BABY MAGAZINE

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada 12-9 Nontraditional Family Structures (Cont’d) Voluntarily childless women and childless couples are attractive market segments –Discuss the pros and cons of the voluntarily childless movement. Are followers of this philosophy selfish? Two-income couples without children are better educated and have more professional/managerial occupations

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Who’s Living at Home? Traditional extended family is alive and well “Sandwich generation” –Many adults are caring for parents as well as children Boomerang kids –Living with parents longer or are moving back in –Spend less on housing/staples and more on entertainment

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada The Family Life Cycle Factors that determine how a couple spends time/money: –Whether they have children –Whether the woman works Using FLC concept to segment households –As we age, our preferences/needs for products and activities tend to change –Pivotal events alter role relationships and trigger new stages of life that alter our priorities

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada FLC Models Useful models take into account the following variables in describing longitudinal changes in priorities and demand for product categories: –Age –(“Relaxed”) marital status –Presence/absence of children in home –Ages of children Such factors allow us to identify categories of family-situation types (e.g., “Full Nest I” vs. “Delayed Full Nest”)

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Family Life Cycle

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Life-Cycle Effects on Buying FLC model categories show marked differences in consumption patterns –Young bachelors and newlyweds are most likely to exercise, go to bars/concerts/movies –Those in early 20s: apparel, electronics, gas –Families with young children: health foods –Single parents/older children: junk foods –Newlyweds: appliances (e.g., toaster ovens) –Older couples/bachelors: home maintenance services

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Household Decisions In every living situation, group members seem to take on different roles similar to those within a company Consensus purchase decision vs. accommodative purchase decision Factors determining family decision conflict: –Interpersonal need –Product involvement and utility –Responsibility –Power

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Decision Roles In collective decisions, one may play any (or all) of the following roles: –Initiator –Information gatherer –Gatekeeper –Influencer –Decision maker –Buyer –Preparer –User –Maintainer –Disposer

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Gender Roles and Decision-making Responsibilities Autonomic decision vs. syncretic decisions –Wives tend to have most say buying groceries, toys, clothes, and medicines –Both make decisions for cars, vacations, homes, appliances, furniture, home electronics, interior design, and long-distance phone services –As education increases, so does syncretic decision making –Even after death, spouses seem to still consider the one who has died when making household decisions

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Identifying the Decision Maker Family financial officer (FFO) –In traditional families, the man makes the money and the woman spends it –If spouses adhere to more modern sex-role norms, there is shared participation in family maintenance activities Women seem to be gaining ground in almost all areas of decision making –Women often struggle with the “juggling lifestyle”

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada How Couples Handle their Income

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Identifying the Decision Maker (Cont’d) Household dynamics plays a big role in determining whether husbands or wives are dominant in the family unit –Crown Diamond targets men who want to ‘take the pain out of painting’ –Nissan Quest ‘Moms have changed. Shouldn’t minivans.’ Four factors in joint vs. sole decision making: –Sex-role stereotypes –Spousal resources –Experience –Socioeconomic status

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Identifying the Decision Maker (Cont’d) As women work outside the home, men are participating more in housekeeping activities Women are still primarily responsible for the continuation of the family’s kin-network system

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Heuristics in Joint Decision Making Synoptic ideal vs. “muddling through” Heuristics –Salient, objective dimensions –Task specialization –Concessions based on intensity of each spouse’s preferences

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Children as Decision Makers Boom in Helsinki phone market among little kids –“Mobile parenting” Children make up three distinct markets: –Primary market –Influence market Parental yielding –Future market

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Consumer Socialization The process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to their functioning in the marketplace Sources of knowledge include friends, teachers, family, and the media

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Influence of Parents Direct and indirect parental influences –Deliberate attempt to instill own consumption values –Determine exposure to informational sources (TV, salespeople, peers) –Cultural expectations regarding involvement of children in purchase decisions Grown-ups as models for observational learning –Passing down of brand loyalty Steps involved in turning kids into consumers (see Figure 12-2 on page 359 of the textbook) Parental styles that affect socialization: “authoritarian,” “neglecting,” and “indulgent”

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Influence of Television Advertising’s influence begins at early age –Many marketers start to push their products on kids to encourage them to build a habit at an early age Kids are also exposed to idealized images of what it is like to be an adult Discussion: Are marketers robbing kids of their childhood?

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Gender-Role Socialization Children pick up on gender identity at an early age –One function of play is to rehearse for adulthood –Toy companies perpetuate gender stereotypes Children rehearse adulthood roles via toys as props –Toys “R” Us Girls’ World & Boys’ World –“Male and female play patterns” –Smartees’ line of dolls and Working Woman Barbie

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Cognitive Development Stage of cognitive development –Ability to comprehend concepts of increasing complexity –Very young children are thought to be able to learn consumption-related information surprisingly well Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Cognitive Development (Cont’d) An alternative approach identifies three segments of information-processing capability: –Limited, cued, and strategic –Children do not think in “adult” ways—they cannot be expected to use information the same way –Children do not form the same “adult” conclusions when presented with product information –Multiple-intelligence theory Children’s understanding of brand names evolves as they age –Brand names as simple perceptual cues vs. conceptual/symbolic brand meanings

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Marketing Research and Children Relatively little real data on children’s preferences/influences on spending patterns is available –Kids tend to: Be undependable reporters of own behaviour Have poor recall Not understand abstract questions Product testing Message comprehension –Children may not understand persuasive intent of ads –FTC action to protect children (1990 Children’s Television Act) Discussion: Do you think market research should be performed with children? Why or why not?