Marketing 334 Consumer Behavior Chapter 7 Group Influences Based on Consumer Behavior, 10th edition by Hawkins, Mothersbaugh and Best

Consumer Behavior In The News… Goodyear is beginning to offer “collegiate tires” which have the college name in white letters on the tire’s sidewalls. Goodyear claims these tires are only for “the ultimate fan.” 7-2 Source: J. Halliday, “Tire maker eyes college sports fans,” Advertising Age, November 8, 2004, p. 8.

Consumer Behavior In The News… What would “drive” a fan to put his/her team’s name on their tires? How big do you think this market is? Source: J. Halliday, “Tire maker eyes college sports fans,” Advertising Age, November 8, 2004, p. 8.

Reference Group Influence A group is defined as two or more individuals who share a set of norms, values, or beliefs and have certain implicitly or explicitly defined relationships to one another such that their behaviors are interdependent. A reference group is a group whose presumed perspectives or values are being used by an individual as the basis for his/her current behavior.

Reference Group Influence Four criteria that are particularly useful in classifying groups: Membership Strength of Social Tie Type of Contact Attraction

Types of Groups Consumption Subcultures Brand Communities Virtual Communities Leaders Participants Lurkers

Types of Groups Marketing and Brand Communities Brand communities can add value to the ownership of the product and build intense loyalty. Jeep has a longstanding loyal brand community

Types of Groups Virtual Communities Marketing in virtual communities is both possible and potentially beneficial. The approach taken must be tailored to the type of virtual community. Many online groups are sensitive to “commercial” interference and companies have to be careful not to overstep.

Reference Group Influences on the Consumption Process Types of Reference Group Influence Situational determinants of Reference Group Influence Brand vs. Product Class Influence Marketing Strategy and Reference Groups

Reference Group Influences on the Consumption Process Types of Reference Group Influence Reference group influence can take three forms: Informational Influence Normative Influence (a.k.a. utilitarian influence) Identification Influence (a.k.a. value expressive)

Communications within Groups and Opinion Leadership WOM Opinion Leaders Market Mavens, Influentials, and e-fluentials Marketing and Online Strategies

Communications within Groups and Opinion Leadership Mass Communication Information Flows

Communications within Groups and Opinion Leadership Situations in Which WOM and Opinion Leadership Occur Individual seeks information from another or Individual volunteers information Likelihood of Seeking an Opinion Leader

Communications within Groups and Opinion Leadership Marketing Strategy, WOM, and Opinion Leadership Strategies designed to generate WOM and encourage opinion leadership include: Advertising Product Sampling Retailing/Personal Selling Creating Buzz

Communications within Groups and Opinion Leadership Online Strategies to Leverage Buzz and WOM Viral marketing Online Guides Blogs

Applications in Consumer Behavior Example of Online Viral Marketing Campaign Courtesy of Hershey Corporation.

Diffusion of Innovations Categories of Innovation Adoption Process Diffusion Rate Adopter Categories Marketing Strategies and the Diffusion Process

Diffusion of Innovations Categories of Innovations Continuous Innovation Dynamically continuous Innovation Discontinuous Innovation

Diffusion of Innovations Diffusion Rates for Popular Consumer Electronics (Cumulative) 7-19

Diffusion of Innovations Factors Affecting the Spread of Innovations 7-20

Diffusion of Innovations Adopter Categories Innovators Early Adopters Early Majority Late Majority Laggards