Group Influence and Family Decision Making

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Group Influence and Family Decision Making
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Group and Situational Influence

• A group is two or more individuals who share a
  set of norms, have role relationships, and
  experience interdependent behaviors.
• Groups influence the socialization process--i.e.,
  they influence what we learn and how we behave.

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Classification of Groups

• Content or function
• Membership group
• Symbolic group
• Degree of personal involvement
• Primary
• Secondary
• Degree of organization
• Formal
• Informal

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Reference Groups

• A group to which a consumer looks for guidance
  for values and behavior. Serves as a frame of
  reference for individuals in their purchase or
  consumption decisions.
• Broad categories of reference groups
• Normative
• Comparative

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How Do Reference Groups Influence Consumers?

• Social power theory
• Information and experience
• Product conspicuousness and exclusivity

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Social Power Theory

• Groups have potential power over members through
  5 different types of social powers.
• Three processes that impact the likelihood that
  social power will influence an individual member
• Compliance
• Internalization
• Identification

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Social Powers

• Legitimate
• Expert
• Referent
• Coercive
• Reward

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Information and Experience

• Members of reference groups share experiences and
  information about products.
• Family, friends
• Expert power

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Product Conspicuousness and Exclusivity

• How much a reference group influences depends on
  two characteristics of a product
• Conspicuousness
• How visible the product is to people
• Public vs. private
• Exclusivity
• How exclusively the product is owned
• Necessity vs. luxury

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Low exclusivity
High exclusivity
Private necessities Reference group
influence Weak for product ownership and weak
for brand choice. Examples Mattress Floor
lamp refrigerator
Private luxuries Reference group
influence Strong for product ownership but weak
for brand choice. Examples Theater sound
system Pool table Trash compactor
Low visibility
Public Luxuries Reference group
influence Strong for product ownership and
strong for brand choice. Examples Golf
clubs Sail boat Snowboard
Public necessities Reference group
influence Weak for product ownership But strong
for brand choice. Examples Car Computer Clothes
High visibility
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Reference Group Appeals

• Appeals that consumers identify with in some way
• Admiration
• Aspiration
• Empathy
• Recognition

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Types of Appeals

• Celebrity appeals
• Testimonial
• Endorsement
• Actor
• Spokesperson

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Appeals, continued...

• Expert appeals
• Common man appeals
• Executive spokesperson appeals
• Trade or spokes-characters

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Benefits of Reference Group Appeals

• Increase brand awareness
• Decrease perceived risk

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Family

• A family is the most important reference group.
• What is a family?
• Family vs. household

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Functions of the Family

• Economic function
• Emotional support
• Establish lifestyle
• Socialization

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Consumer Socialization

• The process by which children acquire skills,
  knowledge, and attitudes necessary to function as
  consumers.
• Primary socialization agent
• Parents
• Secondary socialization agent
• Peers
• Media

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Family Decision Roles

• Related to sex
• Instrumental vs. expressive
• Traditional vs. egalitarian
• Related to purchase and consumption
• Influencer
• Gatekeeper
• Decider
• Buyer
• User

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Family Decision Making Models

• Husband-wife decisions
• Wife dominant
• Husband dominant
• Autonomic
• Syncratic (joint)
• Classification based on degree of role
  specialization and relative influence.

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Models, continued...

• Purchase decision strategies
• Consensual decisions
• Goal consensus
• Requires problem solving strategy or rule
  strategy
• Accommodative decisions
• Conflicting goals
• Requires conflict resolution, persuasion
  strategies, bargaining strategies

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Models, continued...

• Husband-wife influence strategies
• Expert influence
• Legitimate influence
• Bargaining
• Reward/referent influence
• Emotional influence
• Impression management
• Partners use a combination of strategies

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Influence Strategy Mixes
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Involvement of Children in Family Decision Making

• Children are significant market segment
• As influencers of family purchases
• As individual consumers
• Primary influence on family purchases
• Personal involvement
• Initiation stage of purchase process
• Sub-decisions

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Children.

• Direct vs. indirect influence
• Influence strategies

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Family Life Cycle (FLC)

• A classification scheme based on the assumption
  that families pass through an orderly progression
  of stages, each having unique characteristics,
  financial situations, and purchasing patterns.
• A useful tool for predicting certain household
  purchases.

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FLC, continued

• FLC models
• Base categorization on either husbands or wifes
  age and on age of youngest child in family.
• Spending patterns generally follow an inverted U
  pattern over the life cycle.

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Traditional FLC

• Stage 1--Bachelorhood
• Stage 2--Honeymooners
• Stage 3--Parenthood
• Full nest I-III
• Stage 4--Postparenthood
• Empty nest I-II
• Stage 5--Dissolution

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Updated FLC

• Address societal changes
• Never married
• Divorce
• Childless couples
• Single parents
• Delayed marriage
• Delayed children