Lecture 8 Social Influences Flashcards

1
Q

What is social influence?

A

Influence of individuals or groups on a person’s actions, reactions and thought

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2
Q

What are the sources of influence?

A
  1. Marketing Source Mass Media; advertising, sales promotion, publicity, direct mail, social media
  2. Marketing Source Delivered Personally; salespeople, service representatives, customer service agents
  3. Non Marketing Source Mass Media; news, reviews, cultural heroes, organisations, social media
  4. Non Marketing Source Delivered Personally; family, friends, co-workers
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3
Q

What is the difference between marketing and non-marketing sources?

A

Reach → mass media reaches larger audience

Capacity for two-way communication → personal hold more influence as info can be tailored to the buyers needs

Credibility → non-marketing more credible

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4
Q

What are opinion leaders?

A

They are individuals who act as an information broker between the mass media and opinions of an individual or group.

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5
Q

Why are opinion leaders important?

A
  • Offer credibility with expertise and first hand knowledge
  • Non-marketing source of influence
  • Gatekeepers; power for dissemination into a market
  • Add symbolic meaning onto products they endorse
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6
Q

Which type of influencer generates higher consumer intention to purchase?

A

Micro influence who disclose sponsorships; seen as genuine and thus persuasive

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7
Q

What are the three different types of reference groups?

A
  1. Aspirational reference groups: groups that we admire and desire to be like e.g. celebrities
  2. Associative Reference Groups: groups that we actually belong to e.g. friends, uni club
  3. Dissociative reference groups: groups whose attitudes we disapprove of e.g. Nazis
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8
Q

How do reference groups influence consumer behaviour?

A
  • Knowing target groups aspirational reference group enables marketers to associate their product with a group that represents it
  • Accurately represent associative reference group; use of accurate clothing, hair, demeanour in ads
  • Help to develop brand community; bring together like minded individuals to reinforce brand loyalty and encourage positive attitudes
  • Avoid using dissociative reference groups
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9
Q

What are the characteristics of reference groups?

A
  1. Degree of contact- direct/indirect, extensive/limited; primary or secondary RG
  2. Formality- degree of structural formalisation; rules/criteria/expected behaviour
  3. Group attractiveness- appeal to consumers
  4. Homophily- similarity among members
  5. Density- degree to which members know each other
  6. Degree of identification- identification consumer has with the group
  7. Tie-strength- how close consumers are with members of the group
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10
Q

Importance of WOM

A
  • Best way to disseminate info within a market is to target individuals in dense networks characterised by strong ties and frequency contact
  • WOM spreads more effectively among people with weak ties, thus marketers can use this to identify new networks
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11
Q

What is normative influence?

A

Social pressure designed to encourage conformity to the expectations of others

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12
Q

What does normative influence promote?

A
  • Brand-choice congruence and conformity- consumers buy and behave how others do
  • Compliance vs Reactance- doing what the group asks vs doing opposite
  • Social Relational Theory
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13
Q

What is Social Relational Theory

A

Consumers conduct their social relations according to:

  • The rights and responsibilities of their relations with group
  • A balance of reciprocal actions with group
  • Their relative status and authority
  • The value placed on different objects and activities
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14
Q

What affects Normative Influence strength?

A
  1. Product characteristics; normative influence is stronger for luxury and public products
  2. Consumer characteristics: personalities of some consumers make them susceptible to influence
  3. Group characteristics: impact degree of influence through coercive power, cohesiveness and collectivism
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15
Q

How can normative influence be used it marketing?

A

Advertising rewards/sanctions from product use and non-use

Create norms

Stimulate referrals → “bring a friend” programs

Create conformity pressure → associate product with a group

Provide freedom of choice → multiple products in a product line

Use expert service providers similar to customers

Ask consumers to predict their own behaviours

Use compliance techniques
Foot-in-the-door: small favour –> larger –> even larger
Door-in-the-face: outrageous request –> reasonable request
Even-a-penny-will-help: very small favour that hardly qualifies as one

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16
Q

What is informational influence?

A

The extent to which sources influence consumers simply by providing info

17
Q

What affects informational influence strength?

A
  1. Product characteristics; complex or risky products, difficulty in telling brands apart
  2. Consumer/influencer characteristics: expert influencers, personalities susceptible to influence
  3. Group characteristics: cohesiveness; greater opportunity to share info
18
Q

How can informational influence be used in marketing?

A
  • Create informational influence by using experts → credible sources in ads
  • Create a context for informational influence → hosting product-related event; stimulate WOM
  • Create both forms of influence → can be more successful at targeting