Attention to Social Comparison Information - Essay Example

?Case Study Question Table of Contents Question 3 Social Influencing Factors 3 Reference Groups 3 Family 5 Social 6 Question 2 7 Marketing Mix 7 Product 9 Price 10 Place 10 Promotion 11 References 13 Bibliography 15 Question 1 Social Influencing Factors In a modern day phenomenon, the purchase decisions of the consumers are not believed to be made spontaneously by them without any influence from external factors. Numerous aspects are known to subsist, which further create an impact on the consumer purchasing behaviour such as social class, family and reference groups (Bearden & Etzel, 2001). The recent researches, based on a similar notion, have often argued that social grouping influences consumer behaviour quite strongly and inevitably. The element of social grouping is known to encompass small groups, economic status and social roles. A few of such kinds of groups are deemed to pose a direct form of manipulation or control over a particular individual. For instance, reference groups are considered to act as direct as well as indirect kinds of assessment or orientation in developing an individual’s beliefs or approaches which in turn deliberately influences the purchase decisions considered by those people (Te’eni-Harari, 2010; Armstrong & et. al., 2005). Reference Groups From a theoretical perspective, groups are found to exert influence on various individuals and are generally regarded as reference groups. Individuals are known to make use of pertinent groups for the purpose of a specification either as an indication or an orientation in opposition to which the individual is evaluated. The degree of manipulation with regard to the reference groups posed on the behaviour of the individuals is known to be frequently made apparent in relation to the kinds of products as well as brands bought by individuals. Consumer behaviour is considered to be the reflection of the sum of consumer’s decisions concerning purchase, utilisation and disposition of products or services over time. The pattern of purchasing behaviour denotes more than just the method of how an individual decides upon consuming tangible products. It also includes other aspects such as obtaining ideas or opinions from friends concerning the use of services (Arnould & et. al., 2004). It is in this regard that referents who are known to possess higher extent of authority, for instance those with assumed proficiency, are expected to often act as influences on the basis of information sources for hesitant or ignorant consumers (Eszter, 2008). Conversely, the utilitarian form of influence is supposed to get replicated in the requirement for psychological associations in terms of the specified reference group. It has been further mentioned in this regard that the utilitarian related influence tend to stand for the idea with regard to normative influences. For instance, teachers, peers and parents are considered to be the normative referents offering prospective consumers approaches, customs and values with the help of a direct form of interaction (Childers & Rao, 1992). The behavioural pattern of the consumers is known to relate to the process of understanding the purchase related decision-making by the consumers (Kotler, 2003). With regard to the above mentioned context it can be understood that the aspect of the buying related pattern of the consumers is also explained to be the familiarity of the groups, individuals or organisations along with the procedures that are implemented for the purpose of choosing, protecting, utilising and disposing of the selected services, ideas, products and experiences in order to satisfy the requirements as well as the influences of the mentioned procedures posed to the society overall as well as the consumers. Thus, it can be conclusively identified from the stated explanation that a particular behaviour is triggered for a specific individual or with respect to a definite group owing to which it can be discerned that social aspect is amongst the factors that tend to greatly affect the purchase related decisions made by the consumers. It can be seen from the explanation provided that the reference groups are known to hugely influence the purchase decisions of the consumers, especially the younger group of consumers. It can also be noted in this context that reference groups not only direct individuals towards new forms of behaviours but even influence an individual’s self-concept and outlook. This in turn effects definite brand selection and inclination (Kotler, 2000). Therefore, it can be affirmed that market trends are partially but quite strongly directed by references. The influence of the mentioned social factors can be evidently observed on the young European consumers with the help of the surveys provided in the case. The young age group, especially the teenagers, are considered to be a lucrative target for the marketers as this age group tends to pursue the recent movements in music, clothes and leisure. The young age group also seems to be quite concerned with keeping up to date with the trends that are perceived to be followed by their peers. Family It has further been observed that family also acts as a potential factor of influence on the orientation of a particular individual towards aspects such as economics as well as politics among others along with a feeling of self-esteem, individual aspiration and love. It has been found that even when the buyer is not in much interaction with his/her parents, the family still holds the potential to noticably influence the behaviour of the buyer. Much focus is found to be provided on family influences owing to two different reasons. The reasons relate to the fact that a lot of products are bought by numerous consumers who act as a unit of the family where the other members belonging to the family tend to have an effect on the purchase decision of any individual member of the same cluster (Walters & Paul, 1970). In this regard, wealthy parents in Europe are found to spend very little time with their children and recompense their absence in the form of providing increased pocket money to the teenagers which in turn enhances the buying power of the young customers, including for costlier products. In most families recently both the parents are found to be working which further implies increased disposable income for the teenagers making them the most potential buyers of high prices products and/or services. Therefore, factors such as more affluent families and parental guilt also act as family influences on the purchase decisions of the young age group. Social Class The aspect of social class engages classifying individuals into definite groups with varying degree of authority, status and opportunity. The consciousness regarding class is known to exist widely in Europe (Mariana & et. al., 2009). Therefore, social class is learnt to be worked out with the aid of certain weighing factors, such as the nature of employment of a particular individual, income and the education level (Tamboli, 2008). Therefore, the purchase decision of the consumers is also believed to be dependent on the social class as the consumption of certain products are learnt to help in categorizing the diverse social classes. For instance, consumers belonging to a certain social class would indulge in purchasing such products which would aid in displaying the wealth as well as the status of the individual in their belonging society (Bearden & Rose, 1990). Question 2 Marketing Mix The notion of decision-making in relation to purchases by the consumers is considered to be quite imperative as it aids various organisations as well as firms to enhance their respective marketing strategies. A thorough knowledge of the consumers assists in comprehending the thought process of the individuals along with identifying the causes behind brand and product selecting amongst diverse substitutes. Understanding the consumer or their process of decision-making regarding purchases also helps in recognising the ways by which the decision-making process of the consumers is manipulated as a result of the environment around them (Perner, 2010; Hoyer & Maclnnis, 2008). Developing an appropriate marketing mix is therefore considered to be quite vital for an organisation as the notion relates to the amalgamation of the several variables related to marketing operations that are generally supposed to be in control of a particular organisation. Marketing mix is referred to as a tool set that an organization utilizes so as to attain its determined objectives concerning its functions and opportunities availed of by the targeted market (Kotler & Armstrong, 1991). From a theoretical perspective, the tools of marketing mix have been graded into four sets by McCarthy (1996), which are as follows: Product is fundamentally involved with the process of building the correct product or the correct service taking into account the characteristics of the targeted market Price is usually involved with the procedure of making certain that the offered product or the service is made available at a cost which would make the complete mix as appealing as possible to its customers and gives security regarding a future profit Place is involved with making certain the availability of the products or the desired services are concentrated to the targeted market Promotion is involved with the numerous methods that are associated with the endorsement of the product in the targeted market aimed at the strengthening of its existence and the attainment of the advantages (Goi, 2009; McDonald, 2002) The youth market of Europe is fundamentally targeted owing to their potential with regard to making purchases. The teenagers and individuals in their early twenties are considered to be quite lucrative a share of the market for the marketers. Thus, needless to add that the marketing strategies including the marketing mix is designed by taking them into consideration. Elements such as parental guilt and more affluent families are found to be providing this age group with increased disposable income which makes them avid spenders. Moreover, the mentioned age group is also regarded as fashion conscious implying that purchases are frequently made by them in order to comply with the recent trends in the market for various product categories. It has been identified with regard to the French market that clothes and fashion remain the top priority for the youth and going out has been identified to be the other priority. The second priority relates to the actuality that fast-food products and beverages will be consumed by them in a substantial quantity. Therefore, the mentioned characteristics of the French market would assist the British soft drink organisation to accordingly structure their marketing strategies to effectively tap the market share which would further help in enhancing its market share. The targeted consumer group for the soft drink product in the French market has been identified to be the young age-group of 18-28 years. This particular age-group has been targeted owing to the larger sum of disposable earnings available with them and their spending attitude for the reason of enjoying life. The increased amount of disposable income makes them a potential target as they would have enough money to purchase the intended product. Product The product which is a soft drink needs to be placed uniquely in the market with the help of its marketing strategies highlighting the fresh characteristics or rather the new tastes perceived by the potential buyers which would assist in catching the fancy of the targeted consumers. The difference in taste from all other existing products of the other different brands should also be highlighted to tempt the existing consumers to try out the new product. This particular product strategy is likely to lure fresh consumers through the differentiating features or the tastes of the product, i.e. soft drink in comparison to its competitors which is expected to appeal to the young age-group who are usually known to be pleasure seekers. This also needs to be stressed on in order to tempt the fresh youth consumer towards purchasing the product in the targeted French market. The uniqueness of the soft drink needs to be focused on evidently as this would aid to set the soft drink apart from the existing or competing products available in the similar market. Taking into deliberation the feature of reluctance to do anything that constraint the youth, the packaging of the product needs to be done distinctively. Price The price of the product should be kept reasonable but a bit higher compared to the ordinary existing soft drinks available in the market in order to add a feel of class. The high priced offerings should be repaid by adding larger quantity of the product per unit so that the consumers do not feel indignant. The increased price for the soft drink will entail a competitive aspect which is likely to prompt the less price sensitive young consumers of French market to purchase the product. Following the pragmatic and realistic nature of the youth market, the price should be kept fair and not too high as the fair price would help the product to penetrate the market easily encouraging the people to attempt purchasing the new product. Place The product should be made available everywhere possible such as super markets, shopping malls, gas stations and even in small outlets where the other brands of soft drinks are already available as these places are learnt to be frequented by the young population. The organisation must ensure that all the outlets have an ample supply of the offered product. There should also be an online order processing facility for the product or the soft drink. This newly added feature would surely attract the teenage generation who are quite comfortable with the online concept and would make the product popular among them. The products should also be planned to be made available from its direct stores located in the city as well. As mentioned, the product can be made available with the help of e-commerce operations where the order for the products would be placed with the help of the internet through their organisational website as the young French population is known to be highly inclined towards the use of technology. Promotion An advertising campaign should be launched by the organisation prior to the introduction of the product in the French market. It should exploit most of the media to the hilt so as to reach to each and every individual within the young customer group of Europe. The advertising mediums should majorly entail television for the reason of familiarising the soft drink along with the print medium, i.e. the press followed by tabloid weekend supplements in bright colours in order to grab the attention of the young consumers. Additionally, the regional magazines’ publications and even brochures can be considered for the effective promotion of the product in the targeted French market. It should have its posters and hoardings in all the possible places so that a larger customer group can be targeted and persuaded towards the purchase of the offered product, i.e. soft drinks. Another effective strategy that the British Soft Drink Company can focus on is to have a press release shortly before the introduction of the product that would assist in generating customer awareness thereby creating a demand for the product even prior to its final launch. The company can also focus on sponsoring events along with conducting road shows while promoting its products. The company can also target the super markets and shopping malls to offer free trail of the product to the people and arouse the curiosity among them which can further lead to greater demand within the market. Notably, promotion needs to be done on a minimum scale making the customers crave for more, augmenting their curiosity. Both under and above promotion should be conducted in order to ensure that everyone is aware of the product. The targeted consumer group is known to prefer in asserting themselves as individuals which implies that the promotions needs to encompass the varied characteristics of the youth in order to lure them individually. With regard to the characteristic of aspiring to universal values, the promotions should need to involve eminent sports and music personalities. The promotional activities needs to be varied and innovative in nature for the purpose of holding onto the loyalty of the young consumers who are identified to possess larger degree of flexibility in their relationship with brands. References Arnould, E. J. & et. al., 2004. Consumers. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Bearden, W. O. & Etzel, M. J., 2001. Reference Group Influence on Product and Brand Purchase Decisions. Journal of Consumer Research, Vol.9, pp. 183-194. Bearden, W. & Rose, R., 1990. Attention to Social Comparison Information: An Individual Difference Factor Affecting Consumer Conformity. Journal of Consumer Research. Childers, T. L. & Rao, A. R., 1992. The Influence of Familial and Peer-Based Reference Groups on Consumer Decisions. Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 19, pp. 198-211. Eszter, T., 2008. The Role of Reference Group Influence in Consumer Behavior. Theses of Doctoral Dissertation, pp. 3-24. Goi, C. L., 2009. A Review of Marketing Mix: 4Ps or More? International Journal of Marketing Studies, Vol. 1, Iss. 1, pp. 2-15. Hoyer, W. D., & Maclnnis, D. J., 2008. Consumer Behaviour. Cengage Learning. Kotler, P., 2000. Marketing Management. Prentice Hall. Kotler, P., 2003. Marketing Management. Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G., 1991. Principles of Marketing. Prentice-Hall. Mariana, C. L. & et. al., 2009. Culture-Major Determinant of the European Consumer Behavior. Annales Universitatis Series Apulensis Oeconomica, Vol. 11, Iss. 2, pp. 1019-1024. McCarthy, E. J., 1996. Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach. Richard Irwin. McDonald, M. H. B., 2002. Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them: How to Use Them. Prentice Hall. Perner, L., 2010. Consumer Behavior: The Psychology of Marketing. University of Southern California. [Online] Available at: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/ [Accessed August 13, 2012]. Tamboli, S. M., 2008. Buying Behavior. University of Aarhus. Te’eni-Harari, T. & Hornik, J., 2010. Factors Influencing Product Involvement Among Young Consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 27, Iss. 6, pp. 2-16. Walters, C. & Paul, G., 1970. Consumer Behaviour: An Integrated Framework. Irwin Inc. Bibliography Ferrell, O. C. & Hartline, M., 2010. Marketing Strategy. Cengage Learning. Read More