Transcript Group Influence and Opinion Leadership

MKT201 - Week 11
Group Influence and
Opinion Leadership
(Ch. 11)
Reference Groups
•
Reference Group
–
–
An actual or imaginary individual or group
conceived of having significant relevance upon
an individual’s evaluations,
aspirations/intentions, or behavior
Three ways reference groups influence
consumers
1. Informational
2. Utilitarian
3. Value-Expressive
–
Some people are more influential than others in
affecting consumers’ product preferences.
Reference Groups
A Reference Group is an Actual or Imaginary Individual or Group Conceived
of Having Significant Relevance Upon an Individual’s Evaluations,
Aspirations, or Behavior.
Reference Groups Influence Consumers in Three
Ways/Forms:
Value-Expressive
Informational
Utilitarian
Information, brandrelated knowledge,
experts’ experience
Influenced by other social/family
members, etc.; as expected
Image enhancement,
admired or respected
by others;
Help showing as:
athlete, successful
person, good parents,
etc.
When Reference Groups Are Important
e.g. sailboats
A Reference
Groups Influence
Is More Powerful
and Important
for Purchases
That Are:
Luxuries
Rather Than
Necessities
Socially
Conspicuous
or Visible to
Others
e.g. living room
furniture, clothing
Relative Reference Groups’
Influence on Purchase Intention
(2 dimensions of the “degree of importance” of reference group:
publicly/privately consumed, luxury/necessity product)
Figure 11.1
When Reference Groups
Are Important (or so Persuasive)?
• Social Power:
– The capacity to alter the actions of others
– different sources or basis of social power:
• 1. Referent Power:
– When consumers imitate qualities by copying behaviors of
a prominent person they admire.
• 2. Information Power:
– Able to influence consumer opinion by virtue of their
(assumed) access to the “truth”
• 3. Legitimate Power:
– Granted to people by virtue of social agreements,
sometimes conferred by a uniform
When Reference Groups
Are Important (cont.)
• 4. Expert Power:
– Derived from possessing specific knowledge about
a content area
• 5. Reward Power:
– When a person or group has the means to provide
positive reinforcement
• 6. Coercive Power:
– Influencing a person by social or physical
intimidation
The Power of Reference Groups
e.g. social or physical intimidation/threat gangsters; fear appeals
Coercive
Power
e.g. reward, social acceptance
– awards or medals
Reward
Power
SOCIAL POWERCapacity to alter the
actions of others
Types of
Reference
Group
Power
Expert
Power
e.g. a famous scientist,
expert in Robotics
Referent
Power
e.g. Michael Jordan
– admired person
Information
Power
Legitimate
Power
e.g. policemen, professors, doctors
e.g. Editor of a
newspaper
Expert Power
• A physician has expert
power, and a white
coat reinforces this
expertise by conferring
legitimate (legal or
high professional
quality) power.
Types of Reference Group Influence
• Reference Group:
– Any external influence that provides social cues
(signals)
• (1) Normative Influence:
– The reference group helps to set and enforce
fundamental standards of conduct. (e.g. parents’
influence on marriage attitude; a Photo club)
• (2) Comparative Influence:
– When decisions about specific brands or activities
are affected. (e.g. Harley-Davidson club)
Discussion Question
• Marketers often portray
products being used in
groups that represent
favorable reference
groups to the target
market.
• What type of message
does this ad convey?
What type of influence is
this ad designed to exert
on its target audience?
Discussion Question
• What type of message
does this ad convey?
– Persuasive message
with the use of
Reference Group’s
influence
•
What type of influence is
this ad designed to exert
on its target audience?
– Comparative
influence
Brand Communities and Tribes
• Brand Community:
– A set of consumers who share a set of social relationships
based upon usage or interest in a product. (don’t necessary
live near each other)
• E.g. Brandfests (e.g. organized events sponsored by Nike)
• Consumer Tribe:
– A group of people who share a lifestyle and who can
identify with each other because of a shared allegiance
(loyalty) to an activity or product (such as skateboarding,
basketball, car driving)
• Tribal Marketing:
– To link one’s product to the needs of a group as a whole.
(e.g. Mini Cooper, Mustang – car racing)
Products as a Way to be Popular
• Many products, especially those targeted to young
people, are often touted/promoted as a way to take the
inside track to popularity. This Brazilian ad lets us
know about people who don’t like a certain shoe.
Bonehead – stupid person
Membership vs. Aspirational
Reference Groups
• Aspirational Reference Groups
– Comprise idealized figures such as successful business
people, athletes, or performers.
• Membership Reference Group
– Ordinary people whose consumption activities provide
informational social influence. Membership are affected by
several factors:
• Propinquity: Physical nearness.
• Mere Exposure: Liking persons or things simply as a
result of seeing them more often (mere exposure
phenomenon)
• Group Cohesiveness: The degree to which members of a
group are attracted to each other and value their group
membership.
Match.com
Positive Versus Negative
Reference Groups
• Avoidance Groups
– Groups that consumers purposely try to distance
themselves from
• Nerds (stupid, unattractive)
• Druggies (addicted to drugs)
• Preppies (manner and dress like in traditional
preparatory school)
– The motivation to distance oneself from a negative
reference group can be as powerful or more
powerful than the desire to please a positive group
Positive Reference Groups
• This recruiting ad
presents a compelling
role model for young
women contemplating
a career in the armed
forces.
Consumers Do it in Groups
Some Phenomena
• Deindividuation:
– A process in which individual identities become
submerged within a group.
• Social Loafing:
– People do not devote as much to a task when their
contribution is part of a larger group effort
• Risky Shift:
– Group members are willing to consider riskier alternatives
subsequent to group discussion
• Diffusion of Responsibility:
– As more people are involved in a decision, each individual
is less accountable for the outcome
Consumers Do it in Groups (cont.)
• Value Hypothesis (to explain the increased
riskiness/risky shift):
– Riskiness is a culturally valued characteristic to which
individuals feel pressure to conform to attributes valued by
society
• Decision Polarization:
– Whichever direction the group members were leaning
toward before discussion becomes more extreme
subsequent to discussion (risky choice Vs conservative
choice)
• Home Shopping Parties:
– Capitalize on group pressures to increase sales (e.g.
Tupperware party)
Deindividuation
• Costumes hide our true identities and encourage
deindividuation.
Home Shopping Parties
• Women at a home
Tupperware party.
Group Influences
• Group pressure often influences our clothing choices.
Group Effects on Individual
Behavior
Deindividualism
moving toward extreme; risky conservative
e.g. behave wildly at
costume parties
Decision
Polarization
devote less effort for
group work
Social
Loafing
more purchase with
one other person
Group
Effects
Risky
Shift
greater willingness to take risk
following group discussion
Shopping
Behavior
Bandwagon
Effect
more & more group
members, more conform
Conformity
• Conformity
– A change in beliefs or actions as a reaction to real or
imagined group pressure.
• Norms
– Informal rules that govern behavior (for a society to function)
• Factors Influencing the Likelihood of Conformity
– Cultural Pressures
– Fear of Deviance (resulted in punishment or sanctions)
– Commitment
• Principle of Least Interest (person/group that is least
committed to staying in a relationship has the most power)
– Group Unanimity (same opinions), Size, and Expertise – as groups gain
in power, compliance increases
– Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence
• Role-relaxed consumers (those are low in susceptibility to
influence of others)
Conformity
Conformity Refers to a Change in Beliefs or Actions
as a Reaction to Real or Imagined Group Pressure.
Types of Social Influence
Situation is uncertain,
ambiguous
Normative
Informational
Person Conforms to Meet
the Expectations of a
Person or Group.
Conformity That Occurs Because
the Group’s Behavior is Taken
as Evidence About Reality.
e.g. clothing; ?? wearing masks in
public (SARS)
e.g. mimic others’ behavior, gift-giving
Factors Affecting the Likelihood of Conformity
Cultural Pressures
China/Japan - collectivism
Fear of Deviance
e.g. terrorists’ willing to die
Commitment
As groups gain in power,
compliance increases
Group Dynamics
Sex Differences
Interpersonal Influences
susceptibility to be influenced by others
Social Comparison
• Social Comparison Theory:
– Asserts that people look to the behavior of others to
increase the stability of their self-evaluation
– People tend to choose co-oriented peer: a person of
equivalent standing
• Resisting Conformity:
– Independence: Being oblivious (unaware of) or indifferent
to the expectations of others
– Anticonformity: Defiance (opposing) of the group is the
actual behavior
– Reactance: The negative emotional state that results when
we are deprived of our freedom to choose
Resistance to Influence
Anticomformity
Independence
Defiance of the
Group is the
Object of Behavior
Oblivious to
(unaware of) what
is expected by
others
Vs.
Reactance
Need to Preserve Freedom of
Choice; People try to Overcome a
Loss of Freedom; Negative to
extremely overbearing promotions.
Discussion Question
• This ad for a video
game says,
“Conformity Bytes!”,
but then captions
(titles), “Join the
Revolution!” Why?
• Does this ad
encourage
independence or
anticonformity?
Word-of-Mouth Communication
• Word-of-Mouth (WOM):
– Product information transmitted by individuals to
individuals.
• Negative WOM and the Power of
Rumors:
– Negative WOM: Consumers weigh negative info
from other consumers more heavily than they do
positive comments
Word-of-Mouth Communication
Much Information About Products and Services is
Actually Conveyed by Individuals on an Informal
Basis called Word-of-Mouth Communication (WOM)
Factors That Encourage WOM Are:
Person is Highly Involved With the Product
Person is Highly Knowledgeable About the Product
Person Has a Genuine Concern for Someone Else
(benevolence)
Person May be Uncertain About a Recent Purchase
Word-of-Mouth
• The U.S. Postal
Service hopes to
create a buzz via word
of mouth.
Rumors
• Hoaxkill.com is a Web site dedicated to
tracking hoaxes/tricks and debunking/exposing
product rumors.
The Transmission of Misinformation
Figure 11.2
Cutting-Edge WOM Strategies
• Virtual Communities
– Virtual Community of Consumption: A
collection of people whose online interactions
are based upon shared enthusiasm for and
knowledge of a specific consumption activity.
• Multi-user Dungeons (underground chamber)
(MUD)
• Rooms, rings and lists (e.g. chat rooms)
• Boards
• Blogs (weblog)
Multi-User Dungeons
Four Types of Virtual
Community Members
• Tourists:
– Lack strong social ties to the group
• Minglers (merger, mixer):
– Maintain strong social ties, but are not interested in
the central consumption activity
• Devotees:
– Express strong interest in the activity, but have few
social attachments to the group
• Insiders:
– Exhibit both strong social ties and strong interest
in the activity
Virtual Communities
2 factors: self-centrality (dominance of activity towards
self-concept); intensity of social relationship/ties
Figure 11.3
Guerrilla and Viral Marketing
• Guerrilla Marketing
– Promotional strategies that use unconventional
locations and intensive word-of-mouth campaigns
to push products.
• Brand Ambassadors
• Viral Marketing
– Refers to the strategy of getting customers to sell a
product on behalf of the company that creates it.
(e.g. a small ad embedded in Hot Mail)
Guerrilla Marketing Ads
• Ads painted on sidewalks are one form of guerrilla
marketing.
Social Networking
• Web sites letting members post
information about themselves and
make contact with similar others
– Share interests, opinions, business contacts
MYSPACE
http://www.myspace.com/
THEFACEBOOK.COM
http://www.facebook.com/
Opinion Leadership
• The Nature of Opinion Leadership
– Opinion Leaders: People who are knowledgeable about
products and whose advice is taken seriously by others.
– Homophily: The degree to which a pair of individuals is
similar in terms of education, social status, and beliefs.
(appear to be more convincing than heterophily)
• How Influential Is an Opinion Leader?
– Generalized Opinion Leader: Somebody whose
recommendations are sought for all types of purchases.
– Monomorphic: An expert in a limited field.
– Polymorphic: An expert in many fields (in a broad domain
such as electronics or fashion).
Reasons to Seek Advice from
Opinion Leaders
• Expertise
• Unbiased knowledge power
• Highly interconnected in communities
(social standing)
• Referent power/homophily
• Hands-on product experience (absorb
risk)
Opinion Leaders Market Shoes
• Opinion leadership is a
big factor in the
marketing of athletic
shoes. Many styles
first become popular in
the inner city and then
spread by word-ofmouth.
Types of Opinion Leaders
• Innovators
– Early purchasers
• Innovative Communicators
– Opinion leaders who also are early purchasers
– Opinion leaders also are likely to be opinion seekers
• The Market Maven (Expert) – a consumer category
– Describes people who are actively involved in transmitting
marketplace information of all types. (not necessarily have
interests or have purchased the products)
• The Surrogate Consumer – a class of marketing
intermediary
– A person who is hired to provide input in purchase decisions.
(e.g., interior decorators, stockbrokers, college consultants)
Perspectives on the
Communications Process
(tend to be opinion seekers)
Figure 11.4
Fashion Opinion Leaders
• Fashion opinion leaders tend to be knowledgeable about clothing
and highly motivated to stay on top of fashion trends.
Identifying Opinion Leaders
• Many ads intend to reach
influentials rather than
average consumer
– Local opinion leaders are harder
to find
– Companies try to identify
influentials in order to create
WOM “ripple effect”
– Exploratory studies identify
characteristics of opinion
leaders for promotional
strategies
Identifying Opinion Leaders
• Self-designated Opinion Leaders
• Sociometric Methods
Trace Communication patterns among members of a group.
– To better understand Referral Behavior
– Network Analysis: Focuses on communication in social
systems
• Referral Network
• Tie Strength: The nature of the bond between people.
– Bridging Function (weak ties): Allows a consumer access
between subgroups.
– Cliques: Subgroups (friends or associates, etc.; sharing
preferences or brand choices for various products)
Characteristics of Opinion Leaders
Are Opinion
Seekers
Own More
Clothing With a
Broader Range
of Styles
Like
Music and
Magazines
Innovators
Key
Characteristics
of
Opinion
Leaders
AppearanceConscious and
Narcissistic
Self-worship, love of oneself
Early
Communicators
Socially
Active
Revised Opinion Leadership Scale
Figure 11.5