MODULE 3 CONB

Family and Household

Three sociological variables that help explain how families function are shown in fig 1.
Cohesion: Is the emotional bonding between family members. It measures how close to each
other family members feel on an emotional level .Cohesion reflects a sense of connectedness
to or separateness from other family.

Adaptability: Measures the ability of a family to change its power structure, role relationships,
and relationship rules in response to situational and developmental stress. The degree of
adaptability shows how well a family can meet the challenges presented by changing situations.

Communication: Is a facility dimension, critical to movement on the other two

Nature of Family Purchase

Initiators(s): The Family member who first recognises a need or starts the purchase process.

Information gatherer(s): The individual who has expertise and interest in a particular
purchase. Different individuals seek information at different times or on different aspects of
the purchase.

Influencer(s): The person who influences the alternatives evaluated, the criteria considered, and the
final choice.

Decision maker(s): The individual who makes the final decision .Of course, joint decisions also
are likely to occur.

Purchaser(s): The family member who actually purchases the product. This is typically
an adult or teenager.

User(s): The user of the product .For many products there are multiple users
Dynamics of Husband wife decision making

The results show that a spousal sense of fairness serves as a mechanism for contemporary
couples to harmonize conflict over time in family decisions. Specifically, spouses’
perceived fairness mediates the relationship between spousal prior influence and spousal
decision behavior in subsequent decisions. Spouses also consider their partner’s perceptions of
fairness when taking action to restore fairness. Moreover, the effects of perceived fairness are
moderated by spousal traits of empathy, egalitarianism, and empowerment in a gendered pattern.
Marketing researchers need to recognize and investigate family decision making.
Husband-wife decision making has changed in recent years, due to changing household roles.
An analysis of husband-wife decision making is conducted. The focus is the selection of the
family physicians, dentists, eye-care specialists, lawyers, insurance agents and pharmacists.
Design of marketing strategy for these professionals can benefit from knowledge of decision
influence. Husbands have more influence in the selection of insurance agents and lawyers.
Women select the pharmacists. There is little joint decision making in the selection of health
care professionals. Marketers are interested in the relative amount of influence that a husband
and a wife have when it comes to family consumption choices. Most Husband-Wife influence
studies classify family consumption decisions as husband dominated, wife dominated, joint
(either equal or syncratic) and autonomic (either solitary or unilateral)

Conflict Resolution in Family decision making

According to March and Simon, the sufficient conditions for inter-group conflict are: (1) differences
in goals and (2) differences in perceptions about relevant alternatives or goal objects. Sheth suggests
that both of these conditions are present in family decision making, since each family member has a
specifically defined cognitive structure which may include different purchase motives (goals) and
evaluative beliefs (perceptions about alternatives).

Sheth suggests that the presence of inter-member conflict in joint buying decisions entails attempts
to resolve it that are tactically different and varied in appropriateness, depending on the cause of
the conflict. Four forms of conflict resolution are suggested by Sheth, including problem solving,
persuasion, bargaining and politics.

Problem solving is viewed as a common form of resolution when the conflict is the consequence of
disagreement on evaluative beliefs rather than buying motives. The problem-solving process may
lead to more information search, in order to evaluate alternatives and/or reliance on "credible''
personal sources from outside the family.
Persuasion may be used as a mode of conflict resolution when there is agreement at a fundamental
level, but disagreement as to specific subgoals. Persuasion entails interaction among family
members in order to resolve the conflict and no attempt to gather more information is involved.

The use of a bargaining process to resolve conflict is suggested when there is fixed disagreement by
family members over buying motives. Sheth suggests that in bargaining strategies the concept of
distributive justice or fairness is often evoked and the existence of conflict is explicitly acknowledged
by family members.

The fourth mode of conflict resolution suggested by Sheth is politics which is likely when there is
disagreement about not only specific buying motives, but also about the style of life of the family.
This mode of conflict resolution may result in the formation of coalitions and subgroups in order to
isolate the family member with whom there is disagreement and to force this individual to join the
majority.

These factors are shown in the diagram and consist of social class, lifestyle, role orientation, family
life-cycle stage, perceived risk, product importance and time pressure.
Social Influence
Every consumer is an individual, but still belong to a group. The group to which a consumer belongs
is called a membership group. This is a direct and simple classification. The second group type is a
reference group. The reference group influences the self-image of consumers and consumers’
behavior. The reference group provides some points of comparison to consumers about their
behavior, lifestyle or habits. Usually there are many smaller reference groups, which are formed by
family, close friends, neighbors, work group or other people that consumers associate with. The
groups to which a consumer does 7 not belong yet can also influence. These aspirational groups are
groups where a consumer aspires to belong and wants to be part in the future.

Opinion Leaders

Opinion leaders are people consumers look to for guidance in making purchase decisions, usually
someone with more knowledge of the subject.

Characteristics of Opinion Leaders

Opinion leaders are generally people who have the ability to influence others. They usually have
deeper expertise in a certain area, and are often looked to for help in making consumer decisions.
For example, a local high school teacher may be an opinion leader for parents in selecting colleges
for their children. Often, an opinion leader is among the first to use a new product or service, and
can then pass on his or her opinions of the product to others. Opinion leaders are often trusted and
unbiased and have the social network of friends, family, and coworkers necessary to disperse
information.

Opinion Leaders in Marketing

Opinion leaders are particularly useful in marketing. If a marketer can identify key opinion leaders
for a certain group, she can then direct her efforts towards attracting these individuals. In marketing,
celebrities are often used as opinion leaders. Although they may not actually know more about a
product or service, there is usually the perception that they do. Celebrity endorsements in marketing
are a way to give clout to a product or service. Opinion leaders can have a profound influence on the
success of a product, and on one’s own consumer purchases.

Culture

Culture can have a profound effect on consumer behavior and impact how a product is marketed. In
this sense, culture is defined as the distinct way peoples’ experiences, customs and beliefs define
how they behave. American culture, for example, values hard work, thrift and achievement. There
are generally three components of a culture: beliefs, values, and customs.

A belief is a proposition that reflects a person’s particular knowledge and assessment of something.

Values are general statements that guide behavior and influence beliefs. The function of a value
system is to help a person choose between alternatives in everyday life.

Customs are modes of behavior that constitute culturally approved ways of behaving in specific
situations. For example, taking one’s mother out for dinner and buying her presents for Mother’s
Day is an American custom.

Culture can be further divided into subcultures. One’s race, religion and class are all ways
subcultures can be established. For example, a person can be a part of the larger “American” culture
and still be a member of other subcultures based on his or her socio-economic background. Each of
these subcultures will have specific influences on consumer behavior.

Culture as an Influence on Consumer Behavior

Culture is considered an external factor in influencing consumer behavior. Since different cultures
have different values, they will have different buying habits. Marketing strategies should reflect the
culture that is being targeted. The strategy should show the product or service as reinforcing the
beliefs, values and customs of the targeted culture. Failing to do so can result in lost sales and
opportunities.

Social Factors

1.Role in the Society

Each individual plays a dual role in the society depending on the group he belongs to. An individual
working as Chief Executive Officer with a reputed firm is also someone’s husband and father at
home. The buying tendency of individuals depends on the role he plays in the society.

2. Social Status

An individual from an upper middle class would spend on luxurious items whereas an individual from
middle to lower income group would buy items required for his/her survival.
B2B Buying