1. THE CHANGING AMERICAN SOCIETY: VALUES3
CHAPTER
THE CHANGING AMERICAN SOCIETY: VALUES
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2. Consumer Behavior In The News…
Can You Rank the Top 3 Homebuyer Groups?
Single Males
Single Females
Married Couples
Source: J. Lisle, “Single Women Become A Force in Home-Buying,” The Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com), February 20, 2006.
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3. Consumer Behavior In The News…
You were correct if you said:
Married Couples (59%)
Single Females (21%)
Single Males (11%)
According to a Harvard Research Specialist:
“Women are not seeing marriage as a first step to buying a home…”
Source: J. Lisle, “Single Women Become A Force in Home-Buying,” The Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com), February 20, 2006.
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4. Changes in American Cultural Values
Cultural values are widely held beliefs that affirm what is desirable.
Observable shifts in behavior, including consumption behavior, often reflect underlying shifts in cultural values.
Therefore, it is necessary to understand the underlying value shifts in order to understand current and future consumer behavior.
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5. Changes in American Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Other-Oriented Values
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6. Changes in American Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Reflect a society’s view of the appropriate relationships between individuals and groups within that society.
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7. Changes in American Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Religious/Secular
Sensual Gratification/Abstinence
Postponed/Immediate Gratification
Hard work/Leisure
Material/Nonmaterial
Active/Passive
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8. Changes in American Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Religious/Secular
America is basically a secular society.
A religious group does not control the education system, government, or political process and most Americans’ daily behaviors are not guided by strict religious guidelines.
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9. Changes in American Cultural Values Sensual Gratification/Abstinence
Self-Oriented Values
Sensual Gratification/Abstinence
Early traditional America favored a more religious belief in the virtue of abstinence, but as America became more secular, sensual gratification became increasingly acceptable.
Today, sensual gratification is somewhat less acceptable than in the recent past. While still perfectly acceptable to consume products for pleasure, the range of products and occasions for consumption has narrowed over time.
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10. Changes in American Cultural Values Postponed/Immediate Gratification
Self-Oriented Values
Postponed/Immediate Gratification
Americans are seemingly unwilling to delay pleasure.
Virtually all major purchases are made on credit, and many of these involve credit card debt that is extremely expensive.
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11. Changes in American Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Hard work/Leisure
Americans continue their strong tradition of hard work, leading much of the industrialized world in hours worked.
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12. Changes in American Cultural Values Material/Nonmaterial
Self-Oriented Values
Material/Nonmaterial
There is a strong material orientation in America, which has formed America into a consumption-driven society.
Americans are working longer hours, in part, to afford material possessions! BUT…
Voluntary Simplicity - there is evidence of role overload, burnout, and emotional exhaustion, causing some to rethink their priorities and try to simplify their lives.
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13. Changes in American Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Active/Passive
Americans value an active approach to life.
Although less than half of all American adults exercise regularly, they take an active approach to both leisure and problem-solving activities.
Children spend increasing amounts of time in scheduled activities.
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14. Changes in American Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Prescribe a society’s relationship to its economic and technical as well as its physical environment.
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15. Changes in American Cultural Values Environment-Oriented Values
Cleanliness
Tradition/Change
Risk Taking/Security
Problem Solving/Fatalistic
Admire/Overcome Nature
Performance/Status
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16. Changes in American Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Cleanliness
Americans have long valued cleanliness, especially personal hygiene.
A recent study shows that anti- bacterial hand sanitizers such as Purell are a new additional to the arsenal of products carried around by mothers.
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17. Changes in American Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Tradition/Change
Americans have always been very receptive to change.
New has traditionally meant improved! American society has remained appreciative of change, but now less so just for the sake of change. Why? The aging population, who are generally less accepting of change.
However, the creative class, those who work in professions that generate new ideas and technologies accounts for an impressive 33% of the work force.
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18. Changes in American Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Risk Taking/Security
Americans have developed more of a risk-taking approach into the 21st century than had occurred throughout much of the 20th century.
Previously, security was emphasized, stemming from the Depression, WWII, and the Cold War.
Now, Americans are embracing increased risk-taking behavior such as space travel!
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19. Changes in American Cultural Values Problem Solving/Fatalistic
Environment-Oriented Values
Problem Solving/Fatalistic
Americans take pride in being problem solvers, with most believing that virtually anything can be accomplished given sufficient time and effort.
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20. Changes in American Cultural Values Admire/Overcome Nature
Environment-Oriented Values
Admire/Overcome Nature
Traditionally, nature was viewed as an obstacle.
Americans attempted to bend nature to fit their desires without realizing the negative consequences.
However, this attitude has shifted dramatically over the past 30 years.
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21. Changes in American Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Performance Status
Americans are shifting back toward a focus on performance rather than status.
Consumers are still willing to buy “status” brands, however, these brands must provide style and functionality in addition to a prestigious name.
This has resulted in stores competing on a combination of price, service, and quality.
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22. Changes in American Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Reflect a society’s view of the appropriate relationships between individuals and groups within that society.
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23. Changes in American Cultural Values Other-Oriented Values
Individual/Collective
Diversity/Uniformity
Limited/Extended
Youth/Age
Competition/Cooperation
Masculine/Feminine
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24. Changes in American Cultural Values Individual/Collective
Other-Oriented Values
Individual/Collective
A strong emphasis on individualism is one of the defining characteristics of American society, expressing an attitude of “do your own thing.”
This value affects incentive systems for salespeople, advertising themes, product design, and customer complaining behavior.
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25. Changes in American Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Youth/Age
American culture has embraced youth throughout its history, valuing such characteristics as physical strength, stamina, youthful vigor, and imagination.
Therefore, youth appeals in American ads continue to overshadow appeals to age and tradition.
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26. Changes in American Cultural Values Competition/Cooperation
Other-Oriented Values
Competition/Cooperation
America has long been a competitive society, and this is reflected in its social, political, and economic systems.
Successful competitors in business, entertainment, and sports are often rewarded with staggering levels of financial compensation.
It is no wonder that America was one of the first countries to allow comparative advertising.
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27. Gender-Based Marketing
Gender Identity versus Gender Roles
Ascribed versus Achievement Roles
Traditional versus Modern Gender Orientation
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28. Gender-Based Marketing
Gender identity refers to the traits of femininity (expressive traits) and masculinity (instrumental traits). Individuals have varying levels of each trait.
Gender roles are the behaviors considered appropriate for male and females in a given society.
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29. Gender-Based Marketing
Types of Gender Roles
Ascribed role is based on an attribute over which the individual has little or no control.
Achievement role is based on performance criteria over which the individual has some degree of control.
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30. Gender-Based Marketing Traditional versus Modern Gender Orientation
A marriage with the husband assuming the responsibility for providing for the family and the wife running the house and taking care of the children.
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31. Gender-Based Marketing Traditional versus Modern Gender Orientation
A marriage where husband and wife share responsibilities. Both work, and they share homemaking and child care.
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32. Gender-Based Marketing
Gender roles in the U.S. are shifting, both genders making many purchase decisions.
Example: Today, women influence 80% of all vehicles sold.
Implications for dealerships and sales training?
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33. Gender-Based Marketing
Marketing Segmentation Based on Role Identity
Product Strategy
Marketing Communications
Retailing Strategy
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34. Gender-Based Marketing
Market Segmentation
Neither the women’s nor men’s market is homogeneous.
The following female segments provide an example of the diverse nature of the adult female population:
Traditional housewife
Trapped housewife
Trapped working woman
Career working woman
The male market is also diverse in both its attitudes and behaviors toward gender roles, work, and household chores.
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35. Gender-Based Marketing
Product Strategy
Many products are losing their traditional gender typing.
The expanding wealth, independence, purchase power, and time pressure of women makes them an important target market.
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36. Gender-Based Marketing
Retail Strategy
Men are increasingly shopping for household and other products traditionally purchased by females, and females are shopping for “masculine” products such as lawn mowers and power tools.
Retailers have begun showing very masculine men shopping for household products and carry power tools targeted at women.
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