-Cultural influences on consumer buying decisions

-Social influences on consumer buying decisions

[SLIDE 1]

Culture is defined as the set of values, norms, attitudes and other meaningful symbols that shape human behavior, and the artifacts or products of that behavior as they are transmitted from one generation to the next. It is the most influential factor on consumer decisions, providing the broadest and deepest influence.

There are three aspects of culture that should be understood by marketers: the link between culture and values, the existence of subcultures, and the impact of social class.

[SLIDE 2]

Culture is strong because it is deep. Culture is:

Pervasive

Culture encompasses all the things consumers do without conscious choice because values, customers, and rituals are ingrained in habits. 

Functional

Culture defines the ways in which people interact by establishing common expectations. In the US, there are assumptions that convenience stores have longer hours, are often open 24 hours a day, and that “banker’s hours” are more limited.

Learned

Culture is not innate. Children learn culture from family, friends, teachers and others with whom they interact. In the US, as mentioned previously, handshake strength has a different meaning than it does in India.

Dynamic

Culture changes to adapt to a constantly evolving environment. The increased pervasiveness of mobile technology is changing cultural norms for interactions.


Values are the most defining element of culture. Remember, from an earlier lesson, that values are beliefs shared by society that prescribe specific conduct in different situations. Therefore, those values can have a large impact on consumer buying decisions. In modern American society, convenience is considered to have high value. That impacts everything from fast food and drink options (McDonald’s and Starbucks) to snack foods, energy bars and other prepackaged items. 

[SLIDE 3]

A subculture is a group of people who share elements of the overall culture as well as unique elements of their own.

For instance, vegetarians and vegans share a large portion of the larger culture, but their buying decisions significantly vary from the larger population in a few key areas. For instance, look for grocery stores and restaurants that cater to their diet choices. In the case of vegans, wider purchasing decisions for things such as clothing and furniture will be defined by their avoidance of animal products. For instance, they might avoid a cooking magazine or web site that prominently displays meat-based meals.

Subcultures also vary widely, in particular by demographics. The previously discussed segments of African American, Asian American, and Hispanic populations have cultural differences that impact buying decisions. The same is the case for age cohorts such as Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. Religions also can have different cultures and the density of religious populations can change the marketing mix. One example is Utah, which has a far higher percentage of Mormons than other states, influencing marketing efforts.

The final note is to realize that a person can be a member of multiple subcultures, and that each subculture can have a different impact depending on the product or service. A vegetarian, millennial, Hispanic buyer will have cultural influences that overlap. Even when discussing households, that matters. There are an increasing number of binational households. While the partner with the most experience in the local culture will have added influence as a cultural bridge, translator, and more, balance might mean the other partner gains more power in decisions such as education and food.

[SLIDE 4]

A social class is a group of people in a society who are considered nearly equal in status or community esteem, who regularly socialize both formally and informally, and who share behavioral norms. The most often used class names are upper, middle, and lower class.

However, even those classes are often broken down further. One example is:

-Upper class

  -Capital class: wealth-derived income, mostly investments, earned or inherited

  -Upper middle class: upper-level managers and small business owners, college educated and incomes far above average

-Middle class

  -Middle class: mid-level white-collar & top-level blue-collar workers, typically post-High School education, above average income

  -Working class: mid-level blue-collar & low-level white-collar workers, skilled or semi-skilled jobs, income below average income

-Lower class

  -Working poor: low paid service workers, some High School, below mainstream living standards, crime and hunger are daily threats

  -Underclass: people who are not regularly employed, depend primarily on the welfare system, little schooling, income below poverty level

While social class can impact all of the 4 P’s, it significantly impacts promotion and placement (distribution). 

Insurance advertisements will change based on class. Middle class ads might be promoted on the evening news, which the middle class is much more likely to watch. To attract the upper class, an ad in the Wall Street Journal or during a golf broadcast would be more effective.

Even for the same product type, placement matters. The upper class is more likely to shop at a premium grocery store, the working class might focus on Walmart, and the working poor is more likely to shop at the growing segment of dollar stores.

[SLIDE 5]

Culture defines a broad set of often invisible and unconscious interactions. Social influences are directly driven by communications between people. There are multiple components to social influence, but three are of particular interest to marketing:

-Reference groups
-Opinion leaders
-Family

[SLIDE 6]

A more complex area is in the use of reference groups. Reference groups refer to all the formal and informal groups in society that influence an individual’s purchasing decisions. People learn how other members of their reference groups consume, and borrow those ideas. There are a few broad categories of reference groups:

-Primary membership group: people interact regularly in an informal, fact-to-face manner, such as family, friends and coworkers

-Secondary membership group: less frequent and more formal interactions, such as clubs, professional associations and religious groups

-Aspirational reference group: a group someone would like to join

-Nonaspirational reference group: One with which an individual does not want to associate

To be a member of a group, you must share norms, values or attitudes deemed acceptable by the group. Note the nonaspirational groups are important if you are marketing a product to a group of people who might not want to be associated with others who buy the product. Boycotts are examples of the issues this can cause.

Harley Davidson is an interesting example because it is an example of both of the last two groups. Upper middle class and middle class professionals often take an interest in Harley motorcycles because of the outlaw image (aspirational). However, they do not want to be mistaken for being a member of a gang (nonaspirational), so the motorcycle company has specific models aimed at those professionals in order to blend both reference group needs.

[SLIDE 7]

In every group, there are people who have more influence than other. Those individuals who influence the opinions of others are opinion leaders.

While being an opinion leader in a group used to be a more informal process, the Internet has been changing that.

Not only does the Internet allow more people to have wider influence than before, it is easy to track who are the opinion leaders. For instance, we can quickly tell how many followers a person has on Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. That means marketing has begun to focus on opinion leaders, providing samples, coupons and other incentives to use and speak about the products.

[SLIDE 8]

The family is often the most important social institution for consumers, strongly influencing values, attitudes, self-concept, and buying behavior.

The family is the first group focused on the socialization process, the process through which cultural values and norms are passed down to children.

In every organization, there are different people who are involved in a purchase decision. Let’s discuss the four categories of involvement in the context of a family buying a bicycle for a younger child:

-Influencer: a brother or sister might use or like a certain bike, influencing the family decision

-Decision maker: who makes the ultimate decision on make and model, often a parent

-Purchaser: the person/people whose money is used for the purchase, often the parent

-Consumer: the person who actually will ride the bicycle

For adults, the decision maker, purchaser and consumer are often the same person. That is not the case with a family. That is also not usually the case in business-to-business (B2B) purchases, and that will be discussed in a later lesson.


[SLIDE 9]

While social influences have a major impact on decision making, that is on average. Some people are highly influenced by society while others are hardly moved. People who follow the latest trends, including supposedly individualist trends, are in the first group. There are driven by factors including the difference in self-image schemas:

-Separated self-schema: a perspective whereby a consumer sees himself or herself as distinct and separate from others

-Connected self-schema: a perspective whereby a consumer sees himself or herself as an integral part of a group

Where on the spectrum between the two a person sits defines how some advertising might work. The influence of others can change buying decisions, especially in decisions where the person feels he or she will be watched. Many people will not buy a gym membership out of fear of how they may appear to others.