1. Social Influence

2. Reference Group A set of people Whom individuals compare themselves to Guiding attitudes, knowledge and /or behavior

3. Types of Reference Groups Associative Aspirational Dissociative Marketers –Identify and appropriately represent target consumers –Associate product with aspirational group

4. Aspects of Reference Groups Degree of contact –Primary –Secondary Formality –Structure –Ad hoc

5. Aspects of Reference Groups 2 Homophily –Similarity Density –Know each other Individual characteristics –Degree of identification –Tie-strength

6. Aspects of Reference Groups Marketing Implications Type of group to target How to target a group Target grop or individual Weak ties –Serve as bridge between 2 groups

7. Consumer Socialization Direct teaching Observation Reward / Punishment Reference groups change over time

8. Sources of Influence Marketer / Mass Media Marketer / Personal Nonmarketer / Mass media Nonmarketer / Personal

9. Characteristics of Influence Sources Reach 2 way flow of communication Credibility –WOM

10. Opinion Leaders Info broker between mass media and a group In one specific domain Characteristics –A lot of product knowledge –Heavy users of media –Buy new products –Credible no vested interest

11. Normative Influences Social pressure to encourage compliance with others’ expectations Norms –Collective decisions about what should be Rewards and punishments

12. Normative Influence Process Conformity –Tendency to behave as group wishes –Varies by culture, or so we think Brand choice congruence –Likelihood consumers will buy what others in their group buy

13. Normative Influence Process 2 Compliance Agreement Reactance Boomerang effect

14. Product Characteristics and Normative Influence Reference groups influence –Whether we buy a product –What brand we buy Public / private product? Necessity / luxury

15. Consumer and Normative Influence Susceptibility –Some consumers are more influenced by social pressure Attention to social comparison info –Pay attention to what others are doing Strength of ties

16. The Group and Normative Influence Coercive power Cohesiveness / similarity Group members are experts

17. Marketing Strategy and Normative Influence Foot-in-the-door technique –From small to large Door-in-the-face technique –From large to small Even-a-penny will help –charity Norm of reciprocity –A dollar as a thanks

18. Symbolic Consumption Emblems Role Acquisition Connectedness Expressiveness

19. Special Possessions Mementos Achievement Collections Ceremonial symbolic function

20. Discussion Questions Ned enjoyed being with his body piercing friends and he did so himself. Ping hated these people and hated body piercing. Explain the reference group relations in this example. Can some reference groups have a greater impact than others? Why or why not? How do marketers make use of norms to sell. Do all possessions have a utilitarian use? Explain.