Defining consumer behavior?

The decision process and physical activity individuals engage in when evaluating
acquiring, using, or disposing of goods and services.
Customer and Consumer
Customer
The term “customer” is typically used to refer to someone who regularly
purchases from a particular store or company. Thus, a person who shops at A & P
or who uses Texaco gasoline is viewed as a customer of these firms.
Consumer
The term “Consumer” more generally refers to anyone engaging in any of the
activities used in our definition of consumer behavior. Therefore, a customer is
defined in terms of a specific firm while a consumer is not.
The Ultimate Consumer
Our primary attention will be directed toward ultimate consumers, those
individuals who purchase for the purpose of individual or household
consumption.
The Individual Buyer
The most commonly thought of consumer situation is that of an individual making
a purchase with little or no influence from others. However, in some cases a
number of people can be jointly involved in a purchase decision. For Example
planning vacation or deciding on a new car can involve an entire family.
Any study of consumer behavior would be incomplete if it treated only one
consumer role.

1
The Decision Process
1. Need Recognition
2. Information search
3. Evaluation alternatives
4. Purchase decision
5. Past purchase behavior
Consumer behavior is seen to involve a mental decision process as well as
physical activity.
Some consumer Behavior Roles
S Role Description
r
1 Initiator The individual who determines that some need or want is not
being met and authorizes a purchase to rectify the situation.
2 Influencer A person who by some intentional or unintentional word or
action influences the purchase decision, the actual purchase,
and/ or the use of the product or service.
3 Buyer The individual who actually makes the purchase transaction.
4 User The person most directly involved in the consumption or use
of the purchase.
A subset of Human Behavior
Behavior in such a broad context suggests it is actually a subset of human
behavior. That is factors affecting individuals in their daily lives also influence their
purchase activities.
Internal Factor
Internal influence, such as learning and motives,
External factor
Such as social expectations and constraints, affect us in our role as
consumers as in our other capacities.
The behavioral science disciplines that have most contributed to our
understanding or consumers are:

2
Psychology
Study of the behavior and mental processes of individuals.
Sociology
Study of the collective behavior of people in groups.
Social Psychology
Study of how individuals influences and are influenced goods and are
influenced by groups.
Economics
Study of people’s production, exchange and consumption of goods and
services.
Anthropology
Study of people in relation to their culture.
Why study consumer behavior
Significance in daily Lives
In a general sense, the most important reason for studying consumer behavior is
the significant role it plays in our lives. Much of our time is spent directly in the
marketplace, shopping or engaging in other activities. A large amount of
additional time is spent thinking about products and services, talking to friends
about them, and seeing or hearing advertisements about them. In addition, the
goods we purchase and the manner in which we use them significantly influence
how we live our daily lives.
Application to Decision Making
Such applications can exist at two different levels of analysis. The micro
perspective seeks application of this knowledge to problems faced by the
individual firm or organization. The societal perspective applies knowledge of
consumers to aggregate level problems faced by large groups or by society as a
whole.

3
Micro Perspective
The micro perspective involves understanding consumers for the purpose
of helping a firm or organization accomplish its objectives. Advertising managers,
product designers, and many others in profit oriented businesses are interested in
understanding consumers in order to be more effective at their tasks.
Societal Perspective
Consequently, the collective behavior of consumers has significant
influence on the quality and level of our standard of living.

Applying Consumer Behavior Knowledge

The following selections have been made from a variety of practical applications
in the field of consumer behavior
Consumer behavior and Marketing management
The following selections have been made from a variety of practical applications
in the field of consumer behavior.
Consumer Behavior and Marketing Management
Effective business managers realize the importance of marketing to the success of
their firm.
The process of planning and executing the conception, Pricing, promoting, and
distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy
individual and organizational objectives.
For understanding
In other cases, the marketer may decide to concentrate company efforts on
serving only one or a few of the identified target markets. An excellent example of
this occurred in the bath-soap market. By segmenting consumers according to
their life style patterns and personalities, the Colgate Palmolive company was able

4
to identify a unique group of consumers in need of a certain type of deodorant
soap. Development of Irish Spring for this target group led to the capturing of 15%
of the deodorant soap market within three years of introduction.
Marketing Mix Determination
This stage involves developing and implementing a strategy for delivering
an effective combination of want satisfying features to consumers within target
markets. A series of decision are made on four major ingredients frequently
referred to as the marketing-mix variables: product, price, place and promotion. -
making.
Product
The nature of the physical product and service features are of concern
here. Among decision that are influenced by consumer behavior are:
What size, shape, and features should the product have?
How should it be packaged?
What aspects of service are most important to consumers?
What types of warranties and service programs should be provided?
What types of accessories and associated products should be offered?
Price
Marketers must make decisions regarding the prices to charge for the
company’s products or services and any modification to those price. These
decision will determine the amount of revenues the firm will generate. A few of
the factors involving consumer behavior are :
How price aware are consumers in the relevant product category?
How sensitive are consumers to price differences among brands?
How large a price reduction is needed to encourage purchases during new
product introductions and sales promotions?
What size discount should be given to those who pay with cash?
Place

5
 The place variable involves consideration of where and how to offer
products and services for sale. It also is concerned with the mechanisms for
transferring goods and their ownership to consumer, decisions influenced by
consumer behavior include:
What type of retail outlet should sell the firms offering?
Where should they be located, and how many should there be?
What arrangements are needed to distribute products to retailers?
To what extent is it necessary for the company to own or maintain tight control
over activities of firms in the channel of distribution?
What image and clientele should the retailer seek to cultivate?
Promotion
Promotion of concern here are the goals and methods of communicating
aspects of the firm and its offerings to target consumers. Consumer related
decisions include:
What methods of promotion are best for each specific situation?
What are the most effective means for gaining consumers’ attention?
What methods best convey the intended message?
How often should a given advertisement be repeated?
Such questions had to be addressed when managers of sun cloud decided on a
rather novel advertisement for their sunglasses.
Consumer Behavior and Nonprofit and Social Marketing
Can crime prevention, charitable contributions, or the concept of family
planning be sold to people in much the same way that some business firms sell
soap? A number of writers have suggested that various social and nonprofit
organizations can be viewed as having services or ideas that they are attempting
to market to target groups of “consumers” or constituents. Such organizations
include governmental agencies, religious orders, universities, and charitable
institutions. Often these groups must also appeal to the public for support in

6
addition to attempting to satisfy some want or need in society. Clearly, a sound
understanding of consumer decision process can assist their efforts.
Consumer Behavior and Governmental Decision Making
In recent years the relevance of consumer behavior principles to governmental
decision making has become quite evident. Two major areas of activity have been
affected:
1) Government policies that provide services to the public or result in decision
that influence consumer behavior .
2) Design of legislation to protect consumers or to assist them in evaluating
products and services.
Government Services
It is increasingly evident that government provision of public services can
benefit significantly from an understanding of the consumers, or users, of these
services. Numerous analysts have noted that our frequently failing mass
transportation systems will not be viable alternatives to private automobile travel
until government planners fully understand how to appeal to the wants and
needs of the public. In other case state and municipal planners must make a
variety of decisions, including where to locate highways, what areas to consider
for future commercial growth, and the type of public services to offer.
Consumer Protection
Many agencies at all levels of government are involves with regulating
business practices for the purpose of protecting consumer welfare some
government programs are also designed to influence certain consumer actions
directly and discourage other. In addition , over thirty federal agencies, including
department of commerce, the food and Drug administration and federal Trade
commission have increased their efforts to provide consumer with information
believed useful for making purchase decisions.
Consumer Behavior and Demarketing
Various government policies have supported such efforts because of their
favorable effect on economic development. Recently, However, it has become
increasingly clear that we are entering an era of scarcity in terms of some natural

7
resources such as oil, natural gas, and even water. The scarcities have ked to
promotions stressing conservation rather than consumption. The efforts of
electric power companies to encourage reduction of electrical use serves as one
illustration.
The term “demarketing” refers to all such efforts to encourage consumers to
reduce their con

Consumer Behavior and Consumer Education

Consumer also stand to benefit directly from orderly investigations of their
own behavior. This can occur on an individual basis or as part of more formal
educational programs. As we study what has been discovered about the behavior
of others, we can gain insight into our own interactions with the marketplace. For
example, when we learn that a large proportion of the billions spent annually on
grocery products is used for impulse purchases, and not spent according to pre-
planned shopping lists, we may be more willing to plan our purchases in an effort
to save money. In general, as marketer can influence consumer’s purchases, we
have the opportunity to understand better how they affect their own behavior.
chapter 2

Culture Defined
It is difficult to present only one definition of culture and expect it to
portray the richness of the field and its relevance to understanding consumers.
However, the following two are representative:
That complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law custom and
any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
The characteristics of Culture
They seek to characterize culture in only a few words. It is evident that the
concept is difficult to convey clearly in any definition. As one writer notes, “it’s
like putting you had in a cloud. This section, therefore, will expand on these
definitions by discussing the significant characteristics or features of culture.

8
Many characteristics of culture may be cited to illustrate its nature, but most
social scientists agree that …

Culture is invented
Culture does not simply “exist” somewhere waiting to be discovered.
People invent their culture. This invention consists of three interdependent
systems or elements:
1. An ideological system, or mental component, that consists of the ideas,
beliefs, values, and ways of reasoning that human beings learn to accept in
defining what is desirable and undesirable.
2. A technological system that consists of the skills, crafts, and arts that
enable humans to produce material goods derived from derived from the
natural environment.
3. An organizational system that makes it possible for humans to coordinate
their behavior effectively with the actions of others.
Culture is learned
Culture is not innate or instinctive, but is learned beginning early in life and
is charged with a good deal of emotion. The great strength of this cultural stamp
handed down from one generation to another is such that at an early age,
Children are firmly imbued with their culture’s ways of acting, thinking, and
feeling. This obviously has important implications for the behavior of consumers,
because these preconditions of that behavior are molded by their culture from
birth.
Culture is socially shared
Culture is a group phenomenon, shared by human beings living in organized
societies and kept relatively uniform by social pressure. The group that is involved
in this sharing may range from a whole society to a smaller unit such as a family.
Important parts of American culture are shared with foreign countries by way of
export. In many areas around the world there is an insatiable appetite for
American popular culture, broadly defined as ranging from movies, music, TV

9
programming, and home video, to licensed consumer products Mcdonald’s
hamburgers, Levi’s jeans, and Coca-Cola soft drinks.

Culture are similar But Different

All culture exhibit certain similarities. For example, each of the following elements
is found in all societies: athletic sports, bodily adornment, housing, language, law,
music, religious ritual, and numerous other items. There is, However, great
variation from society to society in the nature of each of these elements, which
may result in important consumer behavior differences around the world.
Culture is Gratifying and Persistent
Culture satisfies basic biological needs as well as learned needs. It consists
of habits that will be maintained and reinforced as long as those who practice
them are gratified. Because of this gratification, cultural elements are handed
down from generation . Thus people are comfortable doing things in the
customary way. Our through inculcation with culture causes it to persist even
when we are exposed to other cultures. No matter where we go or what we do,
we cannot escape our culture heritage. Its persistence means that change,
although not impossible, is often quite difficult because resistance to it may be
strong.
Culture is Adaptive
In spite of our resistance to change, cultures are gradually and continuously
changing. Some societies are quite static, with a very slow rate of change, while
others are more dynamic, with very rapid changes taking place.
Culture is Organized and integrated
A culture “hangs together” that is its parts fit together. Although every
culture has some inconsistent elements, it tends to form a consistent and
integrated whole.
Culture is Prescriptive

10
 Culture involves ideal standards or patterns of behavior so that members of
society have a common understanding of the right and proper way to think , feel,
and act. Norms are society’s rules or guidelines specifying what behavior is
appropriate or inappropriate in given situations. For example Americans generally
take for granted the norm of first come, first served. This rule affected our
shopping patterns as we line up waiting to be served in a bank or restaurant. This
type of norm is an example of a folkway, which is a customary and habitual way of
acting. If someone “ broke in” at the head of the line, thus violating the norm,
group members would likely respond negatively. Sanctions are pressures brought
to bear on deviant individuals so that they confirm their behavior to what society
expects. It may be that other patrons in line might frown at or mutter remarks
about the offender in an attempt to coerce acceptable behavior . Mores are
norms that are vital to society’s survival and well being, prohibiting such things as
murder, robbery, and treason. Violators of mores are often sanctioned severely,
such as punishment by death or imprisonment.
Cultural Values
Cultural values are important to the organized and integrated nature of
culture. A culture value can be defined in a sociological perspective as “ a widely
held belief or sentiment that some activities, relationships, feelings, or goals are
important to the community’s identity or well-being. In a psychological vein,
identity or well being. In a psychological vein, Milton Rokeach defines values as
centrally held and enduring beliefs that guide actions and judgments across
specific situations and beyond immediate goals to more ultimate end states of
existence.
U.S Culture Values
Each culture has what may be turned occur values, which are the dominate
or basic culture values that people accept with little question. In America,
although values are not always obvious or easy to analyze, there are major
pattern that can be identified. This is not to say that American values are
exclusive to the United States, or that all Americans share them. However, the
American value system is appreciably different from those of some other
cultures, and most Americans do subscribe to the cultural pattern described
below,

11
The following discussion of our culture values may seen some what obvious to the
reader, but this simply underscores the fact that Americans accept these value as
“givens”. The values to be discussed represented dominant themes which are
ideal types, and thus may be subject to some expectations.
Individualism
This value is complex and closely interrelated with such things as freedom.
Democracy, nationalism, and patriotism . It is founded on a belief on the dignity,
worth, and goodness of the individual. People have freedom that is they are
independent from outside constraint. However, they are not feed from all social
restraints but are to act a responsible agents.
Equality
Americans believe in the intrinsic equality of people, that is, that each
person is a worthwhile individual. Everyone has an equal right to life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness, and an equal opportunity to strive for social and
economic rewards.
During recent decades there has been an increasing push for social and economic
equality in America. One of the most profound impacts during this period has
been women’s demand for equality, which has brought about changes in the
marriage relationship and the American family. The women’s liberation
movement represents a value structure that has resulted in greater independence
and equality of women. It has been expressed in numerous ways, such as more
women having careers outside the home, changing sex roles within the home,
and some women opting for lifestyles other than marriage. Virginal Slims
cigarettes has in a series of ads, successfully related to this equality movement.
Activity
Our culture stresses activity, especially work as a predominant value. This
derives largely form the Puritan or Protestant ethic, which stressed that idleness
was evil. An individual was expected to work hard, save money, and be thrifty.
Thus work was conceived as a means of religious discipline.
Progress and Achievement

12
 Americans believe in progress for society and in achievement and success
for the individual. We are oriented toward the future rather than the past, and
believe in change and forward movement. Personal achievement is stressed, as
evidenced by the Success story and by our desire to master the physical world.
We also prize the characteristics of self-reliance and initiative.

Efficiency and Practicality

American greatly appreciate technical excellence and constantly search for
better ways of doing things. Our entire economic system is founded on these
ideas and emphasis mass production and mass consumption.
Americans are interested in the performance features of products, such as speed,
economy, safety, and durability. This appreciation of the practical as opposed to
the intellectual also helps explain why certain advertising messages are very
successful. Advertising effectiveness tests consistently show that using. How to
oriented headlines does better than using non problem solving approach.
PIC 7
Over the Environment
Americans do not like be controlled by their environment, rather, they seek
to control it. This not only includes controlling the weather and harnessing the
sun and tides as energy sources, but also extends to areas like genetic
engineering. Even the nature of products introduced in American is indicative of
this underlying cultural value. For instance, there seems to be a product answer
for every chore the consumer might face. During each Christmas season, our
television sets bring us news of products that knit our clothes, attach our buttons,
and spin, chop, slice, and dice our vegetables. All of these items attest to our
desire to provide an engineered answer for almost every situation we face. A wall
street Journal consumer survey found that the recent inventions that Americans
Prize most are those that yield convenience and control: the microwave overn,
VCR, TV remote control, smoke detector, home computer, and automatic coffee
maker. These are products people perceive as making their life a lot better.

13
Products such as the car phone, CD Player, video camera, and pulsating shower
massage are perceived as just modern frills.
We also desire to master our own bodies and the surrounding environment.
Because of this value, we spend tremendous amount of money on deodorants,
Shampoos, colognes, and cosmetics in order to improve or hide our true bodily
features while we buy detergents, cleaners, wanes, rug shampoos, room

Pic 8
Religious and Moral Orientation
According to various Gallup polls over 90 percent of Americans believe in
God and over 60 percent believe in life after death. In fact, the united States is
found to be more religious than any other industrialized country in the world.
More than twice as many adult Americans consider religion to be very important
to them as compared to western Europeans.
Pic 9
Humanitarianism
Americans have a strong sense of personal concern for the rights and
welfare of others. We provide aid ins mass disasters, have a large philanthropic
system, and feel that we should give our money and our time to such
organizations as the United Fund, Red Cross, CAEW, and the peace corps. The
operation of religious and other charitable institutions is a huge business and
draws good support even in unfavorable economic times. In 1990 $ 122 billion
was given to America 200,000 non profit charity groups by individuals,
corporations, and foundations.
10 pic
Youthfulness
Young people set much of the tone of our culture and have been a growing
force in our society as their proportion has risen. Because Americans want to look
and act young, we consume great quantities of those products that hold promise
for achieving these ends. For instance, hair colorings for men and women are very

14
much in demand, as are preparations to do away with winkles, flab, and sports
caused by the again process. The available array of vitamins and other
supplements is another indication of our youth orientation.
Marketers have played up the theme of youthfulness in numerous product and
service promotions with slogans such as “you are as young as feel” and “for those
who think young.” An effective twist on this approach, but accomplishing the
same result, was a successful slogan for Clairol’s loving care hair coloring “you are
not getting older, you are getting better.”
Pic 11
Materialism
The U.S culture is materialistic, and Americans are the world’s most
voracious consumer each year buying millions of color- TV sets, washing
machines, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, lawn movers, radios, and other items.
Material progress has made America a land of abundance where more than half
of all families own their homes, and two cars per family is the standard. In fact, a
recent wall street journal survey shoed that three fourths of the 2000 consumers
questioned said they have fulfilled most if not all of their material needs. If
consumers are reaching a level of satiation, materialism may lose its importance.
However, for some time now it has been on the rise. On study of the growing
materialism found in American advertising indented that ads increasingly stress
the good life of luxury and pleasure. In addition, an analysis of popular literature
and comic strips since world war II indicates that we are increasingly preoccupied
with prestige brands. Marketing role in fostering materialism and any consequent
unhappiness and dissatisfaction that results is an important social issue needing
further study.
Related to the core cultural value of materialism is the growing trend toward
hedonism, or devotion to pleasure. We desire maximum pleasurable sensation
with minimum effort. Our culture increasing devotion to hedonism is reflected in
the sale of all sorts of products ranging from luxury cars and homes to many foods
and such pastimes and electronic video games. In addition, we are more willing to
admit the existence of this situation to ourselves and others. For example, a
classic L’ Oreal hair color ad states, “It costs a little more, but I’m worth it. “This

15
and many similar ads stress how good the feelings is that comes from using a
certain product.
Social Interaction and Conformity

These values seem I contrast to our emphasis on individualism, but some

amount of conformity is necessary for a smoothly functioning society. Americans
seem to be especially sensitive to group pressure. America has been characterized
as a country of both inner directed person and other directed persons. Inner
directed individuals have their principals firmly unstuffed by their elders, while
other directed persons receive directions from contemporaries, directly or
indirectly, either personally or through the mass media. Although at one time
most of the population f America would have been categorized as inner directed,
today the predominant pattern is one of other directedness.
The trend of other directness suggests that people are seeking satisfaction of
some need through greater social involvement with each other. Much of the
diverse as motorcycles (you meet the nicest people on a Honda) soothing,
recreation equipment, cigarettes, and beverages of all kinds incorporate the
theme of how beneficial these products are in achieving pleasurable social
interaction.
Do values influence consumer Behavior
Intuitively we can see that culture is a strong force in the consumer’s milieu
affecting his or her choice of behavior. Thus, marketers have long recognized the
importance of appealing to consumers values in marketing.
Pic 13
Cultural Change and countercultures
The core value just discussed are not fixed or static, but instead are
dynamic, changing elements of our culture. Cultural change may corn about
slowly in an evolutionary manner, or a culture may change rapidly, which tends to
place more stress on the system. The marketer needs to understand that cultures
do change and to appreciate the implications this may have for consumer
behavior. For example, when Stouffer’s realized that many grocery shoppers

16
values were shifting from a concern for belonging to the family and working as a
servant for the family to a concern for self fulfillment and working for themselves,
the company responded to this social change. It introduced a line of frozen
entrees positioned successfully on the basis of self fulfillment with the theme “set
yourself free.”
Changing Cultural Values in the United States
1. A renaissance in the arts, literature, and spirituality.
2. The end of the welfare state and the death of socialism.
3. Emergence of English as the worldwide language.
4. Emergence of the Age of Biology and genetic engineering.
5. Shift form dominance of the Atlantic culture to the pacific culture.
6. Decline of cities and growth of the electronic heartland.
7. Worldwide free trade.
8. No limit to growth.
9. Era of globalization.
10.Human resources as our competitive edge.
As the world around us is transformed, American values are undergoing some
major shifts. Opinion research shows that since the 1960s some fundamental and
widely shared cultural views have changed in the United States. Only 20 percent
of the public now cling to the traditional values of hard work, family loyalty, and
sacrifice. Thus, the marketer faces a situation in the new value trends coexist with
long standing values still deeply rooted in the country. This pluralism is one of the
characteristics of our emerging society. Evidence of these changing patterns
shows up among baby boomers.

17
chapter 3
The Nature of Social Class
The term “social class” has been defined as a group consisting of a number
of people who have approximately equal positions in a society. These positions
may be achieved rather than ascribed, with some opportunity existing for upward
or downward movement to other classes. Following are six basic characteristics of
social class.
Social class Exhibit Status
Social class and status are not equivalent concepts although they do have
an important relationship. Status generally refers to one’s rank in the social
system, as perceived by other members of society. An individuals status,
therefore, is a function not only of the social class to which he belongs but also of
his personal; characteristics. For Example the fact that an individual is a scientist
means that she has a high rank in the total social system.
Social classes are Multidimensional
Social classes are multidimensional, being based on numerous components.
They are not equivalent to, or determined solely by occupation or income or any
one criterion: however, they may be indicated by, or be related to, one or more of
these variables are more reliable “proxies” (substitutes) than other.
Social Classes are Hierarchical
Social classes have a vertical order to them, ranging form high status to low
status. They exist as a position on the social scale. Individuals may be placed
within a class on this hierarchy, based on status criteria.
Social classes Restrict Behavior
Interaction between the classes is limited because most of us are more
comfortable and find reinforcement with those “like us” in terms of values and
behavior patterns, Consequently, members of the same social class tend to
associate with each other and not to any large extent with members from
another social class because they share similar educational backgrounds

18
occupations, income levels, or lifestyles. The factor of limited interaction impedes
interpersonal communication between different classes about advertising,
products and other marketing element.
Social classes are Homogeneous
As indicated above, social classes may be viewed as homogeneous divisions
of society in which people within a class have similar attitudes, activities,
interests, and other behavior patterns. For the marketer this means that groups
of people are exposed to similar media, purchase similar products and services,
and shop in similar stores. This homogeneity allows the marketer in many cases to
effectively segment the market by social class and to develop appealing marketing
mixes.
Social Classes are Dynamic
Social stratification systems in which people have some opportunity for
upward or downward movement are known as open systems. People in closed
systems have inherited or ascribed status; that is, they are born into one social
level and are unable to leave it . Thus the difference between a system based on
earned or achieved status versus one based on inherited status is significant with
regard to social mobility. The United states illustrates a social class, or open
system which offers moderated opportunity for mobility. Although such a change
can occur, it is usually not large and general y takes place over an extended time.
Social Class Measurement And Categorization
United states using various measurement approaches. Generally, three
methods have been utilized the subjective method, the reputational method, and
the objective method.
The subjective Method
In this approach, individuals are asked to rank themselves in the social class
hierarchy. However, because most people are reluctant to categorize themselves
as either lower or upper class, the middle class ends up with an unrealistically
large share. Today, file clerks earning as little as $8000 and lawyers making as
much as $80000 think of themselves as middle class, although sometimes with
“upper” and “Lower” as modifiers.

19
The Reputational Method
This approach asks members of a community to rank each other in the
status system. Because citizens must know each other in order to rank each other,
this approach is limited to small communities and therefore cannot be widely
used by marketers.
The objective Method
Individual are ranked on the basis of certain objective factors and are
positioned accordingly in the social status hierarchy. For the marketer who is
seeking only suggestive evidence of class’s impact on a product area, a simplified,
proxy measure is acceptable.
Problems in Social Class Measurement
In spite of the many approaches used to measure and categorize social
classes, there are a number of problems with the concept of doing this. An
analysis of the major research done on this topic has found important short
comings. The following are a few of the problem areas often associated with
social class measurement done by marketers.
1. The ranking of social class is based simply upon an average of the person’s
position on several status dimensions. This ignores the inconsistencies
which arise form an individual ranking high on one dimension but low on
another.
2. A person’s social class is assumed to be stable, and thus the effects of
mobility are ignored.
3. An individual identifies only with the social class in which she or his
categorized, thus ignoring reference group effects from other classes.
4. The social class of an entire family may be measured by examination of
characteristic of only the adult make wage earner, thus ignoring
characteristics of other family members, particularly the employment and
education of the adult female in the family.

Social Class and Consumer Behavior

20
 This section examines the most significant findings concerning various
classes behavior with regard to the products they by, the places they shop, and
the promotions and prices they respond to.
For many products the groups of interest to the marketer are the middle and
working classes by far the largest segment of the market. Because of this, the bulk
of our attention in this section will be focused on these two categories in order to
provide a more complete understanding of these groups. Where possible, special
emphasis will be given to the working class because of the marketer’s inherent
difficult in understanding this market, a difficulty which springs from the fact that
most marketing managers are members of the middle or upper classes. These are
the groups that form the basis of their self-reference criterion that is they tend to
assume that everyone else is like themselves in values, attitudes, tastes, lifestyle,
and so forth. Such a premise is very likely to result in marketing strategy failure.
Products and services Consumed
Product choice and usage differ among the social classes. There are items
that are bought mainly by the upper classes, such as bonds, and exotic vacations,
and others that are purchased mainly by lower classes, such as roller derby tickets
and cheap wine. Not only are there between class purchasing difference but also
within class variations. As mentioned previously, each class level has its
conspicuous consumers and its more conservative buyers that is its over
privileged upper Americans and over privileged Middle Americans of the same
income level, Coleman observes that the latter have a much greater frequency of
ownership of motorboats, remote control TVs, backyard swimming pools, lakeside
homes, late model sports cars for their teenage college children, and large,
expensive cars for themselves.
Shopping Behavior
Shopping behavior also varies by social class. For example, a very close
relation between store choice and social class membership has been found,
indicating that it is wrong to assume that all consumers want to shop at
glamorous, high status stores. Instead, people realistically match their values and
expectations with a store’s status and do not shop in stores where they feel out of
place. Determining the “social difference “between people and stores involves
measuring the difference between a person’s social class and the social class of a
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store’s typical or stereotypical customers. In some research the social distance
measure has been related to the probability of frequenting stores. For Example,
the greater the social distance, the less likely a person is to shop at a given store.
However, Higher class customers are less prone to shop with higher class
stereotypes.
Promotional Response Patterns
Important class differences exist with regard to promotional response. The
social classes have differing media choice and usage patterns. For Example,
readers of National Geographic and the new Yorker are typically of a higher class
than the readers of police Gazette, true confessions, and the star. Even magazines
in the same topic area may be aimed at different social classes as target
audiences. The social classes also have different perceptions and responses to
advertising and other promotional messages, responses which are significant in
the development of proper marketing strategies. The basis of advertising
difference directed at the various classes should be founded on the differing
communication skills and interests of these groups. For Example sophisticated
and clever advertising such as that appearing in the new Yorker and Esquire is
almost meaningless to lower class people who do not understand the subtle
humor and are baffled by the bizarre art.
Price Related Behavior
Research on these variables is extremely limited and most of what exists
relates to the poor. Lower class consumers are more poorly informed about price
and product alternatives. They are also more likely to buy products on sale or
priced lower. Regarding price perceptions among the middle and working classes,
a shopping simulation showed that working class homemakers have a greater
reliance on the general belief that there is a price quality association; that is , the
higher the price of a product is, the higher the quality.
chapter 4
What is a group
A group consists of people who have a sense of relatedness as a result of
interaction with each other.

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Classification of Group
Groups may be classified according to a number of dimensions, including
function, degree of personal involvement, and degree of organization.
Content or Function
Most of us view the content of groups in terms of their function. For
Example, we categories them along such lines as students, factory workers,
church members, and so on. Actually, these are subtypes of the major kinds of
groups that we encounter in a complex society, which could generally be
categories along such lines as family, ethnic, age, sex, political, religious,
residential, occupational, educational, and so forth.
Degree of personal involvement
By using this criterion, we can identify two different types of groups:
Primary and secondary.
Primary
The hallmark of a primary group is that interpersonal relationships take place
usually on a face to face basis, with great frequency and on an intimate level.
These groups have shared norms and interlocking roles. Families, work groups,
and even recreational groups, and even recreational groups are examples of such
groups.
Secondary
Secondary groups are those in which the relationship among members is
relatively impersonal and formalized. This amounts to a residual category that
includes all groups that are not primary, such as political parties, unions,
occasional sports groups, and the American Marketing Association. Although such
groups are secondary, the interpersonal relationships that occur may
nevertheless be face to face, the distribution lies in the lack of intimacy of
personal involvement.
Degree of Organization

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 Groups range from those that are relatively unorganized to highly
structured forms. We usually simplify this continuum into two types: Formal and
informal groups are those with a definite structure. They are likely to be
secondary groups designed to accomplish specific goals, weather economic, social
political, or altruistic.
Group Properties
In order to understand the nature of groups better, we need to examine
several other important concepts, including status, norms, role, socialization, and
power, and their significance for consumer behavior
Status
Status refers to the achieved or ascribed position of an individual in a group
or in society, and it consist of the rights and duties associated with that position.
Status also may refer to some grouping on the basis of age or sex family,
occupation and friendship or common interest.
Norms
Norms are the rules and standards of conduct by which group members are
expected to abide. For informal groups, norms are generally unwritten but are,
nevertheless, usually quite well understood. For example, as a salesperson for
large business machines company, you might be expected to live in a certain area
of town, drive a certain type of car and dress conservatively .
Role
Role is the dynamic aspect of status and includes the attitudes, values, and
behavior ascribed by the society to persons occupying this status.
Essential Role theory recognizes that an individual carries out life by playing
different roles.
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