Name: Jamaica Shane Lagman

Section: BSBA MM-2B

Instructor: Prof. Olivia Perdio

Course Packet 03

Activity Sheet

Activity No. 1

A reference group can powerfully influence behavior, attitude, and outlook. Think

about the reference groups in your own life. Choose a reference group with whom you

most closely identify and reflect on how that identification has influenced you. Think of

the pros and cons that may exist because of trying to measure up against that group. On

a piece of preparation, write the heading benefits on one side and drawbacks on the

other. Next, list 3-5 items under each heading. For example, you may identify with a

group of influencers on social media. A benefit of this may be that you know the latest

tic toc dances; a drawback might be that you feel dowdy and out of shape compared to

the influencers in your reference group.

➔ The reference group that influences me the most is my primary group. First, my

family shaped my basic values in life. I feel a sense of belonging to them. As I

grow, I feel a sense of belonging expanding to friends. They give me an identity

and a strong sense of self by providing more intimate and direct face-to-face

interactions. They are very important in shaping who I am as a person.

PROS

1. They help me shape my personality.

2. They take good care of me even in difficult situations.

3. We have same preferences in some situations

Cons

1. Any negative attitudes of theirs will have a lot of influence on me.

2. Effect of social pressure

3. Appearance of leadership by default

Activity No. 2

You learned in the lesson that secondary groups consist of shallow, task-based groups

of people who are together for the short term. Think of an exception to this in your own

life. When has someone moved from your secondary group to your primary group?

How did this occur? Is this person still a member of your primary group? Write 2–3

paragraphs describing how you met someone in your secondary group who then

became a member of your primary group.

I met this person because we have an activity in school and we need to cooperate with

other sections. At first we didn't really talk because we didn't know each other. After a

few practices we recognized each other and we started to talk about a lot of things.

We discovered that we both have similarities when it comes to our preferences. We both

love chocolate, ice cream, anime, and many more. Also, we both don’t know how to

sing that’s why we are always making it a joke. We bond a lot, after our practice at

5:00pm we go to the plaza and we will buy our favorite foods. With that we became best

friends.

Until now we are close and we always check each other. We talk about what's going on

in our lives, especially with our school work. We also help each other when there is a

school task that needs a companion or with our activities that we can’t do alone. We

both will always have a special place in our hearts and lives.
 Course Packet 04

CASE DISCUSSION: FAMILY INFLUENCES

A certain store was keeping a number of brands of washing machines. They had

washing machines to cater to the needs of all the segments of the society. They were

stocking IFB, Videocon, BPL, National, Godrej, and local made washing machines as

well. They had automatic, semi-automatic and manual machines. The automatic

machines were bought by the higher income group. The middle income group was

content with semi-automatic machines. Manual hand operated machines were for the

'lower class of clientele, and also those living in the rural areas, where electrification was

not complete, or the electricity went off for days together. It was observed that when

customers came to buy an automatic machine, they usually came with their spouses and

they looked mainly at the color, style of functioning, electric consumption, care for

handling, price factors, etc. Many customers would not buy on their first visit. They

would come back after an interval of time, and purchase the machine after careful

considerations of the attributes that they were looking for. Many would lower their

choice, and come back to buy semi-automatic, instead of automatic machines. The sale

was observed to be highest during marriage seasons and at festival times. There was a

great influence of the house-wives in buying these, as they were the ultimate users.

With a lot of information imparted by the media, and the children being exposed to it

for several hours, in a day, they seemed to have a good knowledge of the attributes, and

had a great say in the purchases and their opinions were also given weightage by the

parents. Since a chain store is more interested in the sales to materialize, rather than

pushing any particular brand, the salesmen are directed to satisfy the customers or the

family. This should be their first consideration.

Questions for discussion:

1. What should be the role of the marketer in the above case regarding

advertisement, promotion, persuasion, and closing the sales?

- One of the important roles of advertising is to create awareness of the

product or services such as brand name and price. The marketer should

advertise their different kinds of washing machine to help in informing

their target audience about the product. Potential customers must know

about a product, such as product features and uses. Another, through

persuasive messages, the marketers should try to provide reasons

regarding the superiority of their products as compared to others

available in the market.

2. Who others could influence the purchase decisions in a family, in relevance with

the above case?

- The children, because they tend to have greater influence in purchase

decisions involving products for their own use, whereas their influence is

more limited on more expensive, higher risk products. Children exert

direct influence over parental spending when they request specific

products and brands. Also, a child influences the parents behavior by

teaching them new knowledge and consumer skills. A child's influence

can actually lead to internalized and lasting changes in values,

self-concept and consumption behavior on the part of the parents.

3. Do you feel that group interaction helps the buyer too, in his decision-making

process? Elaborate.

- Yes, people buy things to help form and express their self-concept and their

connections with like-minded people. Many things a person buys, especially

showy items such as clothing, accessories, vehicles, restaurants or club

memberships, are symbolic of what he thinks is acceptable to a certain reference

group such as his family, social circle, workplace, community or culture.