Page 195 - Foundations of Marketing

162 Part 3 | Customer Behavior and E-Marketing

Reference groups can affect whether a person does or does not buy a product at all, buys
a type of product within a product category, or buys a specific brand. The extent to which a
reference group affects a purchase decision depends on the product’s conspicuousness and on
the individual’s susceptibility to reference group influence. Generally, the more conspicuous
a product, the more likely that reference groups will influence a consumer’s purchase deci-
sion. A product’s conspicuousness is determined by whether others can see it and whether
it attracts attention. A marketer sometimes tries to use reference group influence in adver-
tisements by suggesting that people in a specific group buy a product and are satisfied with
it. Whether this kind of advertising succeeds depends on three factors: how effectively the
advertisement communicates the message, the type of product, and the individual’s suscep-
tibility to reference group influence. In this type of appeal, the advertiser hopes that many
people will accept the suggested group as a reference group and buy (or react more favorably
to) the product.

Opinion Leaders

An opinion leader is a member of an informal group who provides information about a
specific topic, such as smartphones, to other group members seeking information. The opinion
leader is in a position or has knowledge or expertise that makes him or her a credible source
of information on a few topics. Opinion leaders are easily accessible and they are viewed by
other group members as being well-informed about one or multiple topics. Opinion leaders
are not the foremost authority on all topics, but because such individuals know they are opin-
ion leaders, they feel a responsibility to remain informed about specific topics, and thus seek
out advertisements, manufacturers’ brochures, salespeople, and other sources of information.
Opinion leaders have a strong influence on the behavior of others in their group, particularly
relating to product adoption and purchases.
An opinion leader is likely to be most influential when consumers have high product
involvement but low product knowledge, when they share the opinion leader’s values and
attitudes, and when the product details are numerous or complicated. Possible opinion leaders
and topics are shown in Table 6.3 .
opinion leader A member of
an informal group who provides Social Classes
information about a specific
topic to other group members In all societies, people rank others into higher or lower positions of respect. This ranking
social class An open group of process, called social stratification, results in social classes. A social class is an open aggre-
individuals with similar social gate of people with similar social rank. A class is referred to as open because people can
rank move into and out of it. Criteria for grouping people into classes vary from one society to

Table 6.3 Examples of Opinion Leaders and Topics

Opinion Leader Possible Topics
Local religious leader Charities to support, political ideas, lifestyle choices

Sorority president Clothing and shoe purchases, hair styles, nail and hair
salons

“Movie buff” friend Movies to see in theaters, rent, or buy, television programs
to watch

Family doctor Prescription drugs, vitamins, health products
“Techie” acquaintance Computer and other electronics purchases, software
purchases, Internet service choices, video game purchases

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