Group Influence and Opinion Leadership

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Group Influence and Opinion Leadership

• Reference Groups
• Types and Power
• Conformity and Social Influence
• Word of Mouth Communication
• Opinion Leadership

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Importance of groups
Consumers belong to or admire many different
groups and are often influenced in their purchase
decisions by a desire to be accepted by others.
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Reference groups
A reference group is an actual or imaginary
individual or group conceived of having
significant relevance upon an individuals
evaluations, aspirations or behaviour. (Cohen
Golden, 1972)?
Reference groups can be formal or informal
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The Influence of Reference Groups

• Informational
• Information sought from professionals, those
  working in area. Brand influenced by
  professionals or independent group WHICH
  magazine
• Utilitarian
• Fellow workers using the product,family influence
  from those using product, role expectations
• Value-expressive
• Self concept, receive respect, what one would
  like to be

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Categories of groups

• Small informal groups tend to exert more
  influence
• Small affect normative (larger have comparative
  influence)
• Groups by membership.
• Aspirational reference groups.
• Identificational reference groups.
• Positive and negative reference groups.
• Virtual communities collection of people whose
  online interactions are based on shared
  enthusiasm.

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Indentificational reference groups
The likelihood that people will become part of a
consumers identificational reference group is
affected by the following factors

• physical nearness (propinquity).
• exposure.
• group cohesiveness.

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Negative or Positive RG's

• Reference Groups can be negative
• Avoid dressing like Blair (Levi's)

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Virtual communities
Figure 10.1  Source Adapted from Robert V.
Kozinets, E-tribalized marketing the strategic
implications of virtual communities of
consumption, European Management Journal 17(3)
(June 1999) 25264.
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Member types of virtual communities

• Tourists lack strong ties to the group and
  maintain only a passing interest in the activity.
• Minglers maintain strong ties but are not very
  interested in the central consumption activity.
• Devotees express strong interest in the
  activity but have few social attachments to the
  group.
• Insiders exhibit strong social ties and strong
  interest in the activity.

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Virtual community of consumption

• Virtual communities come in many different forms
• multi-user dungeons
• chat rooms
• boards
• web blogs
• brand communities

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Tribal Communities

• Brand Communities
• Consumer tribe
• Tribal marketing
• Communities of practice

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Power bases within reference groups
Individuals and groups can exert the following
power within the reference group. It gives them
social power i.e. the capacity to alter the
actions of others

• referent power.
• information power.
• legitimate power.
• expert power.
• reward power.
• coercive power.

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Conformity
People conform to the desires of others for two
basic reasons.

• Informational social influence modelling
  behaviour on others as perceived that other
  peoples behaviour is evidence of the correct way
  to act.
• Normative social influence conforming to
  satisfy the expectations of others and/or to be
  accepted by the group.

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Other factors for conforming

• Cultural pressures.
• Fear of deviance.
• Commitment.
• Group unanimity, size and expertise.
• Susceptibility to interpersonal influence.

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Social Comparison Theory

• Festinger's (1954) Social Comparison Theory
• Behaviour of others provides a measure of what
  should be reality
• People used as benchmark on a selective basis
• Similarity between them and us enhances the value
  of the information
• Co-oriented peer is strongest
• Note used enhance advertising effectiveness

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Group Effects

• Phenomena of de-individuation
• Social Loafing
• Risky shift phenomena (arises from diffusion of
  responsibilty)
• Decision polarisation -tendency gradually becomes
  more extreme

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Shopping Patterns

• Shopping behaviour changes in a group
• More unplanned purchases
• Go to more areas of the shop
• Home shopping parties, most famous is Tupperware

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Resistance to influence

• Pride in independence and ones own style
• Anti conformity v independence
• Reactance
• Forbidden fruit
• overselling

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Word-of-mouth communication (WOM)?
Information obtained from those we know or talk
directly to tends to be more reliable and
trustworthy than that received through more
formal channels. WOM can be efficient due to the
speed at which this can occur. WOM can have a
negative marketing impact informal discussions
among consumers can make or break a product.
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Viral marketing
Viral marketing refers to the strategy of
getting customers to sell a product on behalf of
a company that creates it by sending on
recommendations, etc. Viral marketing is
particularly suited to the Internet, since emails
circulate so easily.
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Opinion leadership
Opinion leaders who are knowledgeable about a
product and whose opinions are highly regarded
tend to influence the choices of
others. Specific opinion leaders can be
difficult to identify but marketers who know
their general characteristics can try to target
them in their media and promotional strategies.
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Value of opinion leaders

• They are technically competent and possess expert
  power.
• They have pre-screened, evaluated, and having
  synthesised product information in an unbiased
  way possess knowledge power.
• They tend to be socially active and highly
  interconnected in their community.
• Effective opinion leaders tend to be slightly
  higher in terms of status and educational
  attainment than those they influence, but not so
  high as to be in a different social class.
• They tend to be similar to the consumer in terms
  of values and beliefs homophily.
• They are often among the first to purchase new
  products.

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Limitations

• Few generalised opinion leaders
• Normally only effective in a limited field
• Opinion Leaders work on a feedback loop

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Characteristics

• Innovative communicators
• Opinion seekers
• Surrogate Consumers
• They are central to consumer decision making

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References

• Ch 10 Consumer Behaviour A European Perspective
  by M Solomon et al
• Ch 14 Consumer Behaviour by G Antonides and W van
  Raaij