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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.

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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.

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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.