Cultural Factors-3

iii) Physical Appearance: Physical fitness, good health, and smart appearance are on premium today. Slimming centers and beauty parlors are mushrooming in all major cities of the country. Cosmetics for both women and men are being sold in ever increasing numbers. Exclusive shops retailing designer clothes at fancy process are doing brisk business.

iv) Materialism: There is a definite shift in the people’s cultural value from spiritualism towards materialism. People are spending more money than ever before on acquiring products such as air-conditioners, cars, scooters, video cassette recorders, etc. which add to both physical comfort as well as status. A company which wants to grow must keep a tab on such major cultural trends to ensure that its products fit in well with these new trends.

Sub-cultureWithin the large framework of a society there exist many sub-cultures. A sub-culture is an identifiable distinct, cultural group, while following the dominant cultural values of the overall society also has its own beliefs, values and customs that set them apart from other members of the same society.

Cultural Factors-2

Today we discuss some of these changes for cultural factors are as follows:
i) Convenience: With more women joining the work-force there is an increasing demand for products that help lighten and relieve the daily household chores, and make life more convenient. This is reflected in the soaring sale of gas stove, mixes, washing machines, roller shades, woven wood shades, blinds, vacuum cleaners, ready to eat/cook packets of dehydrated frozen/precooked foods, fast food outlets etc.

Fifteen years ago when Hindustan Lever first introduced the concept of dehydrated vegetables and marketed Hima peas, the concept did not succeed. The cultural value was of eating fresh and freshly cooked food. But today that cultural value does not have successfully marketed.

ii) Education: People in our society today wish to acquire relevant education and skills that would help improve their career prospects. This is evident from the fact that so many professional, career-oriented educational centers are coming up, and still they cannot seem to meet the demand. As a specific instance count the number of institutions offering courses and training in computers that has opened in your city. The establishment of IGNOU is also a result of this cultural trend.

Cultural Factors-1

Though a marketer can influence all the three types of learning through his company’s advertising strategy, it is informal learning which is most amenable to such influences. Children learn much more about products and services through advertisements in mass media (especially TV) than they do either from their parents or teachers. Brand loyalties and images developed in the early formative years of childhood tend to be deep-rooted and affect the child’s consumer behaviour even in later years of adulthood. Marketers’ interest lies in identifying the potential consumer segments and ‘catching them young’.

The kind of products and advertising appeals that can work effectively in a society depend largely on its cultural background. In the American Society, individualism, freedom, achievement, success, material comfort, efficiency and practicality are values which are followed and imbibed by the younger children. Products and services which fulfil these values are most successfully marketed in America.

In the Indian society, on the contrary, conformity, spiritualism, respect for the elderly, traditionalism and education are some of the dominant cultural values. However, our society is undergoing a cultural metamorphosis and you can discern some major cultural shifts which have far reaching consequences for the introduction of a vast variety of new products and services.

Cultural Factors

Culture
Culture is an extremely critical and all pervasive influence in our life. “It is a mould in which we are all cast, and it controls our daily lives in many unsuspected ways” (Edward T. Hall-T. Hall-The Silent Language). The study of culture encompasses all aspects of a society such as its religion, knowledge, language, laws, customs, traditions, music, art, technology, work patterns, products, etc. We can understand with the example of curtain and blinds. In many Asian countries curtains are part of their culture. Those countries are still using curtains as part of their window treatment. Which in other countries blinds, roller shades, woven wood shades blinds has taken place of curtains. So, culture is extremely important factor for consumer behavior. All these factors make up the unique, distinctive ‘personality’ of each society. For our purpose of studying consumer behavior, culture can be defined as the sum total of learned beliefs, values and customs which serve to guide and direct the consumer behavior of all members of that society.

1. Formal learning in which parents and elders teach children the proper way to behave; for instance a child may be taught that too many toffees and chocolates are bad for his teeth. This learning may influence his response, both as a child and adult, towards these products.
2. Informal learning in which we learn by imitating the behavior of our parents, friends, or by watching TB and film actors in action;
3. Technical learning in which instructions are given about the specific method by which certain things have to be done such as painting, dancing, singing, etc.

Diffusion of Innovation

Still today we have discussed on some Social factors like reference group, family, roles, status, group norms, etc……In our last post we have discussed on Opinion leaders as a part of reference group. Today we are going to discuss on Diffusion of Innovation which is another factor of the reference group.

Diffusion of Innovation
Opinion leaders are usually innovators. They are always trying out new products and brands, and recommending them to the opinion receivers. The acceptance of new products, brands, and ideas is known as the diffusion of innovation. In a narrow sense, innovation is defined as something new or modified which has a relative advantage over the existing products, brands, and ideas is known as the diffusion of innovation. In a narrow sense, innovation is defined as something new or modified which has a relative advantage over the exiting products. Marketers are concerned with the pread or diffusion of this innovation which is a two-step process. The first step is the spread of awareness of an innovation from its sources to the consumers. The second step is the individual consumer decision-making process which leads up to the acceptance or rejection of the innovation. We will discuss on cultural and sub culture factors in our next post.

Opinion Leader-2

Both opinion leaders and followers receive information on all kinds of products and services from the mass media. But the opinion receivers are more influenced by the opinion leaders rather than the media. In the eyes of the opinion receiver, the opinion leader has more credibility than the mass media. The opinion leaders become a sort of ‘middleman’ receiving information from mass media and passing it on to opinion receivers.

Advertisers and marketers are concerned with reaching the opinion leaders and ensuring that they receive the intended information which they can, in turn, pass on to opinion receivers. Thus the first task of the marketer is to identify the opinion leaders. In a particular society, persons who are members or participants in a number of social organisations and have a high social activity participation are likely candidates for opinion leaders. Having identified the opinion leaders, the next task is to reach them through the media which they patronise. Direct mail pieces, magazines and journals of clubs and social organisations and special interest magazines (for speciality products) are some of the appropriate channels for this purpose.

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Opinion Leaders-1

Apart form the family, a consumer is influenced by the advice he receives from his friends, neighbours, relatives and colleagues about what products and services he should buy. This process of influencing is known as the opinion leadership process and is described as the process by which one person (the opinion leader) informally influences the actions or attitudes of others (opinion receivers).

The influence is informal and the setting in which the influencing process takes place has nothing to do with the actual buying or selling of the product in question. For instance, during lunch hour you casually ask your colleague to recommend a good scooter mechanic. Or you discuss with your relatives and neighbours what brand of TV they possess and try to ascertain which is the brand recommended by most, before purchasing a TV for your own home. Further, the process often occurs between two persons rather than in a large group setting. Thus, the opinion leadership process can also be thought of as the ‘word-of-mouth’ communication.

The advice of opinion leaders is sought in case of specific products. People who have acquired considerable knowledge and experience in a particular field are thought of as opinion leaders in that area.

Other Social Factors-1

As out talk on Social factors we have discussed on some social factors like Family, Status, Roles and today we are going to discuss on Group norms and Conformity.
Group norms
The norms of a group are the implicit rules of conduct and behavior that are expected of its member. For instance, in certain multi-national companies in India, the norm for office wear includes a full-sleeved shirt and tie, notwithstanding the terrible heat conditions. If marketers can identify the various groups to which potential consumers belong, they can successfully market those products and services whose consumption is dictated by the group norms.

Conformity
Conformity implies that members of a group have adopted attitudes and behavior patterns that are consistent with the group’s norms. In the context of consumer behavior it refers to the percentage of members who knowingly use the same brand or product. Example group a working for project a have same work environment and identical dress code. Their office window has same vertical window blinds and other group has different colors vertical window blinds. These ways they are trying to show conformity towards their group within the company.
We will discuss on Opinion Leaders in our next post.

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Other Social Factors

Today we continue our talk on Social Factors like Roles and Status.
Roles
An individual may participate in many groups. His position within each group can be defined in terms of the activities he is expected to perform. You are probably a manager, and when in your work situation you play that role. However, at home you play the role of spouse and parent. Thus in different social positions you play different roles. Each of these roles influences your purchase decisions.

As a manager, you would like to buy clothes which reflect your status within the organization, such as safari suit, three-piece suit, tie, leather shoes etc. But at home where you are in a relaxed and informal situation you may wear shirts or any comfort dress.

Status
Each role that a person plays has status, which is the relative prestige accorded by society. Status is often measured by the degree of influence an individual exerts on the behavior and attitude of others. People buy and use products which reflect their status. The managing director of a company may drive a Mercedes to communicate his status in society. He may go to Europe or U.S.A. for a holiday, rather than going to Mussoorie or Ooty.

Social Factors - Family-1

Today we continue our discussion on one important social factor and which is a family. Traditionally, it has been the wife’s role to purchase food, clothing and other household sundries, while the husband played a dominant role in the purchase of automobiles and life insurance. But with the emergence of the working woman, these lines of traditional role demarcation have been getting increasingly blurred. Husbands now have to shoulder a greater part of the household duties while women are asserting themselves in areas so far treated as the husband’s domain. Thus, the same decision, in different families may be made either by the husband or wife, or both may have an equal voice. Children are also beginning to exert their influence on the family’s purchase decision. This is especially true in case of products such as television, stereo music systems, records, personal computers, etc. where the children are likely to have more updated information about various brands and product attributes.

Commenting on the consumer behavior trends in the hi-fi stereo music today, Vice-president of Peico Electronic (Consumer electronics division) said, “It is teenagers who select sets, and their papers just buy them” (as reported in ‘India Today’ July 31, 1987).

In our next post we will discuss on other social factors like Roles, Status, Group norms etc.

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Social Factors - Family

As our talk on social factors we continue our discussion on one important factor and that is Family. The family is the most important of all these groups and we shall discuss it in detail. The family, as a unit, is an important consumer for many products which are purchased for consumption by all members. It is a source of major influence on the individual members’ buying behavior. We can identify two families which shape an individual’s consumption behavior. One is the family of orientation that is the family in which you are born and consists of your parents, brothers and sisters. It is from parents that we imbibe most of our values, attitudes, beliefs and purchase behavior patterns. Long after an individual has ceased to live with his parents, their influence on the sub-conscious mind still continues to be great. In India, where children continue to live with their parents even after attaining adulthood, the latter’s influence is extremely important.

The second type of family is the family of procreation consisting of the consumer’s spouse and children. Within the family, different members play different roles. Marketers are interested in finding out exactly the role played by individual members so that they can appropriately design their promotion strategy to suit these differing roles.

Reference Group -2

Reference groups are used in advertising to appeal to different market segments. Group situation with which potential customers can identify are used to promote products and services. Hidden in this appeal is the subtle inducement to the customer to identify himself with the user of the product in question. The three types of reference group appeals most commonly used are:

a) celebrities,
b) experts, and
c) the ‘common man’.

Celebrities are well known people (in the specific field of activity) who are admired and their fans aspire to emulate their behavior. Film stars and sports heroes are the most popular celebrities. Soft drinks (Thums Up), shaving cream (Palmolive), toilet soap (Lux), textiles (Dinesh, Graviera) are advertised using celebrities from the sports and film fields. Experts such as doctors, lawyers, accountants and authors are sued for establishing the benefits of the products. Colgate and Forhans toothpastes are examples of products which use the expert reference group appeal for promotion.

Another reference group appeal is that which uses the testimonials of a satisfied customer. It demonstrates to the prospective customer that someone just like him uses and is satisfied with the product.

Direct reference groups which exert a significant influence on consumer’s purchase decision and behavior can be classified into six categories. These are:

i) The family,

ii) Friendship groups,

iii) Formal social groups,

iv) Formal shopping groups,

v) Consumer action groups,

vi) work groups.

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Reference Group -1

Formal and informal groups:
A formal group has a highly defined structure, specific roles and authority positions and specific goals. Rotaty, Lions, Jaycees are some of the well-known social groups in our society. Labor unions, social clubs and societies are other types of formal groups to which individuals may belong.

In contrast, an informal group is loosely defined and may have no specified roles and goals. Meeting your neighbors over lunch once a month for friendly exchange of news is an instance of an informal group.

Membership and symbolic groups:
A membership groups is one to which a person belongs or qualifies for membership. All workers in a factory qualify for membership to the labor union. A symbolic group is one which an individual aspires to belong to, but is not likely to be received as a member. A head clerk in an office may act as if he belongs to the top management group by adopting their attitudes, values and modes of dress. Both membership and symbolic groups influence consumer behavior but membership groups have a more direct influence. Primary, informal and small groups exert the maximum influence on consumers and are great interest for marketers.

Any of these groups can serve as a reference group for a consumer if it serves as a point of reference or comparison in the formation of the values, attitudes and behavior. As a part of one women social reference group, all member women are eligible to have a free medical insurance or maternity coverage. Different kinds of groups, whether small or large, formal or informal or symbolic qualify as a reference group. The concept of reference group is a very wide one and includes both direct and indirect or group influences.

Indirect reference groups comprise those individuals or groups with whom an individual does not have any direct face-to-face contact. Such as film stars, TV stars, sportsmen, politicians.

Reference Groups

We are talking consumer behavior and factors affecting it. We talked personal factors like learning, beliefs and attitudes, family life cycle, education and occupation, income and personality in our previous post. We talked social factor Lift Style and today we are going to talk about reference groups.

Reference Groups
As a consumer, your decision to purchase and use certain products and services, is influenced not only by psychological factors, your personality and life-style, but also by the people around you with whom you interact and the various social groups to which you belong. The groups with whom you interact directly or indirectly influence your purchase decision and thus their study is of great importance to marketers. If your friend is going to buy a cheap life insurance policies from agent a, then we are going to buy from same agent.

A group is defined as two or more people who interact to achieve individual or common goals. The three categories of groups which are important for the marketer to understand are:

• Primary and secondary groups
  
• Formal and informal groups
  
• Membership and symbolic groups

Let’s talk on each group in details.
1) Primary and secondary groups:
A primary group is one with which an individual interacts on a regular basis and whose opinion is of importance to him. Family, neighbors, close friends, colleagues and co-workers are example of primary groups. Secondary groups are those with which an individual interacts only occasionally and does not consider their opinion very important.

2) Formal and informal groups:
Rotaty, Lions, Jaycees are some of the well-known social groups in our society. Labor unions, social clubs and societies are other types of formal groups to which individuals may belong. A formal group has a highly defined structure, specific roles and authority positions and specific goals.

Social Factors - Consumer Behavior

We are talking consumer behavior in our blog. In our previous talk we talked different factor effecting consumer behavior. We talked Personality, income, Education and occupation, family life cycle as factor having effect on consumer behavior. Today we are going to talk about Social factors.

Social factors also have effect on consumer behavior. Social factors include Life-Style, Reference Groups, Family, Roles, Status, Group norms, Conformity etc. Today we talk on Life Style as social factor effecting consumer behavior.


Life-Style
Life-styles are defined as patterns in which people live, as expressed by manner in which they spend money and time on various activities and interests. Life-style is a function of our motivations, learning, attitudes, beliefs and opinion, social class, demographic factors, personality etc. While reading this unit, you are playing role of a student. But at the same time you also have your career, family and social roles to play. The manner in which you blend these different roles reflects your life-style.

Life-style is measured by a technique known as psychographics. It involves measuring consumers’ responses to Activities, Interests and Opinions (AIO), along with collecting information on demographic factors. Different individual’s responses are collected and analyzed to find distinctive life-style groups. Based on the AIO technique, different life-styles have been identified and described. The different life-styles are then used for market segmentation, product positioning and for developing promotion campaigns, including new products.

online consumer Behavior -1

I was surfing on net for consumer behavior and I found very interesting article on online consumer behavior. I like to share with you all. Share of online selling is increasing in total sales of any product. Product like mobile phone, hardware, wood blinds, window treatment online, gift article, books etc.

This report will outline the most relevant behavioral characteristics of online consumers and examine the ways they find, compare and evaluate product information. Comparison of the newly collected survey data with the existing consumer behavior theory resulted in detection of a number of issues related to a specific consumer group. The purpose of this report is to translate these findings into a set of implementation activities on strategic and technological level. Execution of these recommendations will result in better conversion of visitors into customers and encourage customer loyalty and referrals.

The focus group of this study will be young adults aged between eighteen and thirty-four interested in buying a mobile phone or a related product. We will talk more in next post.

Ref: agents website design analogik, guaranteedblinds

Personality - Consumer Behavior

Personality is sum total of an individual’s psychological traits, characteristics, motives, habits, attitudes, beliefs and outlooks. Personality is the very essence of individual differences. In consumer behavior, personality is defined as those inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how person responds to his environmental stimuli. Personality is enduring and ensures that a person’s responses are consistent over time. Person able to do Hindi Translation is having different personality.

There has been a great dl of research into the concept of personality with the objective of predicting consumer behavior, in terms of product and brand choice. The assumption in all personality related research has been that different types of personalities can be classified and each type responds differently to the same stimuli, and personality can be used to identify and predict that response. In case of products such as cigarettes, beer and cars, Personality has been used to segment the market.

Personality research to predict consumer behavior has either focused on total personality profile or a specific trait and attempted to find a correlation with product brand choice. But both these approaches assume that individuals with a given personality profile or trait are homogeneous in all other respects such as age, income, education, occupation etc. We have seen how all these factors strongly influence a consumer’s decisions.

Income - Consumer Behavior

The income which a person earns is an extremely important influence on his consumption behavior. He may aspire to buy certain goods and services but his income may become a constraint. Income in this context really refers to the income available for spending (i.e. income after tax, provident fund and other statutory deductions). The person’s attitude towards spending versus saving and his borrowing power are also important influencing factors. Small size packaging in sachets for products such as tea, shampoo, toothpaste are meant for the lower income customers who cannot afford a one time large outlay of money on such products.

Products which are considered luxuries are more income sensitive than products which fall in the category of necessities. If you are marketing a luxury product you must keep a close watch on income and saving trends to avoid decrease in sales resulting from recession. To avoid sales decline you may need to re-position the product, change the marketing mix or both.

ref: Insurance CRM Software, SFA Software, Insurance Agency Management Software

Education and Occupation - Consumer Behavior

We talked Family life cycle, it's different stages and it's relation with buying patter of consumer. Today we are going to talk about effect of education and occupation on consumer behaviour. We all know that educated person get easily ready to adopt crm software or sfa software.

Education widens a person’s horizons, refines his tastes and makes his outlook more cosmopolitan. An educated person, as compared to somebody less educated, is more likely to consume educational facilities, books, magazines and other knowledge oriented products and services. For instance, an educated insurance agent gets ready to use agency management software, insurance crm software, and insurance sfa software. While less educated person my not easily adopt such insurance software.

The occupation also shapes the consumption need. People following specialized occupations such as photography, music, dance, carpentry, etc need special tools and equipment. But, apart from this specific need the status and role of a person within an organization affects his consumption behavior. Chief executives would buy three-piece suits of the best fabric, hand made leather briefcase and use services of airline and five start hotels. A junior manager or blue collar worker in the same organization may also buy a three-piece suit but he compromise on quality.

Family Life Cycle and Buying Pattern - 1

Why CRM, we are talking here and we talked aspect related with consumer behaviour in our past posts. CRM Software is part of Agency Management System. We are talking Family Life cycle and buying pattern of consumer in last post. Today we continue with that.

Full Nest - Old married couples with dependant children, when a person is in this phase financial positions still better. Spend on education, more tasteful furniture, cars, non-necessary appliances etc.

Empty Nest 1- older married couples, no children living at home, household head still working when a person is in this stage spend on travel, recreation, self-improvement, home-improvement, health care.

Empty Nest 2 - older married, no children at home, head retired - when a person is in this stage drastic reduction in income. Buy medical appliances and medi-care products which aid good health.

Solitary Survivor - In Labor Force - when a person is in this stage likely to sell home, but income still good.

Solitary Survivor - Retired when a person is in this stage Reduce income, spend on medical product.

ref: Insurance CRM Software, SFA Software, Agency Management System

Family Life Cycle and Buying Pattern

Stage in family life cycle is directly related with buying pattern of consumer. Agency Management System or CRM Software can help businessman to understand buying pattern of consumer.

Single Stage----
When a Person is in single stage that is young, unmarried people living away from home their buying pattern could be few financial burdens. Spend on ret. Food. Very basic kitchen equipment and furniture, recreation and leisure time accessories such as Mobile or CD player.

Young Newly married
When a person is in this stage of life with no children, better off financially than they will be in near future, wife is usually working, highest purchase rate. Spend on furniture, durables such as refrigerators, gas stoves, and vacations etc.

Full Nest1—
Youngest Child under 6, when a person is in this stage, spend maximum on home purchase. Interested in new products and influenced by advertising. Buy Tv, baby foods, cough medications, toys such as tricycle.

Full Nest2—
Youngest Child over 6, a person some wives return to work. Better financial position, less influenced by advertising. Buy large size packages, various kinds of food, bicycles, education, house purchasing.

ref: agency management system, Insurance CRM

Personal Factors - Consumer Behavior

Agency Management System include CRM. we are talking here why crm and we talked consumer behavior in our last talk.
consumer’s purchase decisions are also affected by his personal characteristics such as age, sex, and stag in family life-cycle, education, occupation, income, life-style, his overall personality and overall self-concept. We shall now discuss some of the influences.

Demographic factors and life-cycle stage

The first factor influencing buyer’s decision is his age. The need for different products and services changes with age. Babies and children have special needs for products such as milk powder, baby foods and toys. Young adults need cloths, recreational and educational facilities, transportation and a host of other age and fashion related consumption needs.

There are certain physiological differences between men and women which result in their having different consumption needs. Women need specialized medical facilities for pregnancy and delivery. Their requirement of cloths and cosmetics is different from that of men. Each gender thus has its own need for specific products and services.

Consumption behavior is also influenced by the specific stage of the family life cycle. We talk about it in our next post.

ref: agency management system, Insurance CRM & SFA software

Beliefs and Attitudes - Consumer Behavior

Why CRM, we are talking here which is a part of agency management system, as part of our talked we talk consumer behavior. In last post we talked about Learning

A belief is a descriptive thought that a person has about something. A person may believe that a certain cooking oil 'x' has the lowest fat content and is best for health. This belief may be based on some real facts or it i my merely be a notion or opinion that the person has.

The belief that the customer has about a brand is important because it determines his behaviour towards buying and using it. The beliefs constitute the brand image, and if the customer has the wrong beliefs he is likely to generate a negative image about the brand. The marketer must ensure that consumers have all relevant and correct information about the brand to facilitate formation of a positive brand image.


Attitude is a person's enduring feeling, evaluation and tendency towards a particular idea or object. Starting from childhood, attitudes develop over the time with each fresh knowledge input, experience and influence. Attitudes get settled into specific patterns and are difficult to change. It is easier to market a product which fits in well with the existing patterns of attitudes rather than change the attitudes to fit a new product concept.


ref: Insurance CRM Software, , agency management system