Consumers differ from one another in terms of their sex, age, education, income, family life-cycle stage, personality and life style, and other personal characteristics which influence their buying behavior. Man is social animal and is influenced by the people with whom he interacts. Each person interacts with and is a member of many groups. These groups provide a point of reference of comparison for the consumer and are known as reference groups such as family, friends, social organizations, professional associations; the strongest influence is exerted by the family.
Culture is the most pervasive influence on our lives and influences all aspects of our behavior; consumers operate within the cultural framework of their society and purchase only those products which fit in with their cultural norms. Within each culture there exist many sub-cultures comprising distinct nationality groups, religious groups, racial groups, geographic groups that have their own unique values and life-style. Social classes are group of people who have similar income, education, wealth, social status, value and beliefs. The marketer must understand that people with different cultural, sub-cultural and social class background have different product and brand preferences and need suitably modified products and marketing strategies.
Showing posts with label social class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social class. Show all posts
Monday, January 12, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Social Class-1
Social class is a complex variable which is determined by a persons’ income, occupation, education, personal performance and possession of different types of products. Social classes can be categorized on the basis of number of different bases such as blue collar workers and white collar workers, educated and uneducated and so on. Consumer behaviour is the study of why, how, what, when, where, and how often do consumers buy and consume different products and services.
Knowledge of consumer behaviour is helpful to the marketer in understanding the needs of his different consumer segments and developing appropriate marketing strategies for each. It is also useful for the marketer in developing and understanding of how consumers responds to the various marketing stimuli, which he provides in terms of the product, price, promotion and place. If the marketer can correctly identify those stimuli that evoke a positive response in the consumer he can very easily design effective marketing strategies using these stimuli.
The study of consumer behaviour also provides an insight into how consumers arrive at the purchase decision and the variable which influences their decision. Once the influencing variables have been identified, the marketer can manipulate them so as to induce in his consumers a positive purchase decision.
Knowledge of consumer behaviour is helpful to the marketer in understanding the needs of his different consumer segments and developing appropriate marketing strategies for each. It is also useful for the marketer in developing and understanding of how consumers responds to the various marketing stimuli, which he provides in terms of the product, price, promotion and place. If the marketer can correctly identify those stimuli that evoke a positive response in the consumer he can very easily design effective marketing strategies using these stimuli.
The study of consumer behaviour also provides an insight into how consumers arrive at the purchase decision and the variable which influences their decision. Once the influencing variables have been identified, the marketer can manipulate them so as to induce in his consumers a positive purchase decision.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Social Class
In every society there is inequality in social status amongst different people and the people are categorized into different social classes. Social classes can be defined as relatively permanent and homogeneous divisions in a society in which individuals or families sharing similar value, life-styles, interests and behavior can be categorized.
Social class is a concept based on distribution of status and the categories are usually ranked in a hierarchical order ranging from low status to high status. People belonging to a particular class tend to restrict their interaction to people belonging to the same class, unless it is for a very specialized purpose. Within a social class there are shared values, attitudes and behavioral patterns of consumption of certain products and services. But if we compare different social classes, we would find differences in values, attitudes and behavior between each class, as also a pattern of consumption behavior unique to each class. For example, upper classes use vertical blinds and roman shades as window treatment, while lower class of society use curtains. So, when someone talked about blinds it’s having a label that it’s for upper class.
Social class is an ideal basis for segmenting the market, as different social classes exhibit distinct product and brand preferences. Within the same social class, there is sharing of information on different products and brands, while between the different social classes there is little communication. For example, social classes helps term life insurance companies to have their term life insurance policies as per the social class.
Social class is a concept based on distribution of status and the categories are usually ranked in a hierarchical order ranging from low status to high status. People belonging to a particular class tend to restrict their interaction to people belonging to the same class, unless it is for a very specialized purpose. Within a social class there are shared values, attitudes and behavioral patterns of consumption of certain products and services. But if we compare different social classes, we would find differences in values, attitudes and behavior between each class, as also a pattern of consumption behavior unique to each class. For example, upper classes use vertical blinds and roman shades as window treatment, while lower class of society use curtains. So, when someone talked about blinds it’s having a label that it’s for upper class.
Social class is an ideal basis for segmenting the market, as different social classes exhibit distinct product and brand preferences. Within the same social class, there is sharing of information on different products and brands, while between the different social classes there is little communication. For example, social classes helps term life insurance companies to have their term life insurance policies as per the social class.
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