Target Consumer Culture - Coursework Example

CULTURE Student’s Name Student No Unit Name Word Count Consumer Culture Introduction There are so many factors that influence customers purchase behavior. Some of these include social factors, economic factors, psychological factors and personal factors. As part of their work, marketers are required to profile customers based on their unique characteristics. This allows for easier targeting which helps cut on waste and increase marketing impact. To target consumer culture, marketers need to understand an array of factors including social class. People are placed in social classes based on income, occupation, wealth, family background, and education. Each social class has unique features and approaches to consumer purchases. Rich people tend to have higher disposable income hence have the ability to buy more products and services when compared to those of the lower class. Also, the type of spending varies as the former prefers goods of higher quality and makes purchases from exclusive shops. In contrast, the lower class focuses on necessities such as food. Marketers should know the social class that their targeted audience belongs to. If they are targeting the upper-class segment, their market products should meet their expectations regarding quality, service, and other values. In addition to this, marketers should familiarize themselves with the target market reference groups and psychological factors among others. Marketers should know all the important occasions marked in a country as they are usually characterized by heavy spending. This paper analyzes both sides of the importance of understanding class to target consumer culture and the judgment of the analysis. Paragraphs Arguing For The Motion Culture plays a key role in shaping consumers behavior. Culture has a significant effect on individuals needs and wants because it is through it that they are taught how to live, what to hold dear, and how to carry oneself in the society (Wells, 2014). Different society’s values different attributes that it seeks to influence each of its members to have. For example, the traditional American culture values are freedom, self-independence, hard work, security, hard work, and community involvement. Therefore, while formulating marketing strategies, marketers are often forced to factor in these values in their messages. The ads have to bear the three components of culture those individuals of the culture share. These include beliefs, values, and customs. A belief is an acceptance that something is true or that it exists without the evidence to prove it. Values are general statements that direct actions and influence beliefs. The objectives of a value system allow people choose alternatives in their daily lives and prioritize choices that are essential to them. Companies need to play safely within the value system or seek backlash from the public (Neelankavil and Rai, 2014). Some businesses have often found themselves in trouble with the public after they blatantly refused to ignore the general feelings or opinion of people towards a certain issue. For example, Benetton a French cloth retailer was forced to apologize to its customers, business partners, and governments for running an anti-death punishment ad which featured the inmates who were had been condemned to death. The company was notorious for its shock ads but was forced to abandon it for the conventional ads that were deemed appropriate for the society. Within societies, there are classes of people. Social class is the outcome of a combination of values such as power, prestige, wealth, income, education, and family background (Côté, 2011). The term social class refers to groups that are ranked based on their relationship to ownership and the control of the factors of production (Piff et al., 2010, p. 447). It is made up of people’s material resources and their perceived rank within the social ladder. It has a major influence on people’s purchase behavior since it shapes their perceptions of their needs and wants. People in the same social system usually live in the same area, attend the same schools, have similar tastes in fashion and shop in the same places. In most countries, the society is divided into upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class, and lower class. The social classes often dictate the resources that people have at their disposal. There is also the general belief that social class influences how people act. The understanding of how people behave based on their society status is important for businesses. According to a 2011 consumer survey index, most poor families devoted a larger share of their budget on basic utilities such as food, utilities, and healthcare (Goldstein, 2012). On the other hand, rich families spend a larger percentage of their income to education and a much bigger portion on saving for old age. Such kind of information is important for any marketer out there seeking to sell goods and services to a targeted segment of the population. Most people’s spending decisions are influenced by the desire to maintain their social classes. Thus, they will buy specific brands, shop in certain outlets, clad in selected brand clothes, travel in selected airlines, and hang out in selected joints. For this reason, most companies tend to identify themselves with specific social class segments if they do not produce goods for the mass market. In other words, they position themselves in the market. Businesses convey their positioning through their products, services, price, distribution, and their communication. They focus on differentiated marketing for the identified market segment. For example, companies such as Apple Inc and Samsung target high-end smartphone users (Giachetti, 2014, p. 10). Their products which feature the latest technologies sell at very high prices which are beyond the reach of most people. On the other hand, there are some mobile companies such as Techno and Huawei that target the average consumers through their low-cost phones. Notably, a greater percentage of the high-end smartphone users need them to perform advanced functions such as monitor their businesses or for enhanced security features. On the other hand, low-cost smartphone users need them to carry out normal communication functions such as receiving and making a call. How different social classes use products helps shape how marketers market their product. Some products are marketed as cheap thus affordable, and others are marketed as quality hence durable. A person’s lifestyle choices is among several explanations of consumer’s behavior. Lifestyle is defined in terms of the shared tastes as manifested in consumption patterns. In a more detailed sense, it is the way an individual allocates money for various uses. Lifestyle descriptions often include attitudes, values, and behavioral patterns that are a reflection of culture. By analyzing lifestyle characteristics, marketers can segment individuals into categories based on their activities, perceptions, and views. This is a good resource in determining the way categories of buyers spend time and their money. Dunn (2017) says that in marketing, it is essential to have information on why people choose to buy certain brands, what factors influence consumer purchases and the changing factors in our society. Consumer decision-making process is essential in determining buying behavior. To offer effective service, it is essential to identify segments while considering the needs of different customers. Notes that most big organizations research consumer buying decisions in great detail to have an insight on what individuals buy, places they shop, the quantities they buy, and reasons for shopping. Individuals belonging to the same social class tend to have the same lifestyle and consumer behavior. Gherasim (2013:5) confirms that people in the same social class have similar behaviors including the choice of clothing, leisure activities, and entertainment among others. What a person does for a living determines how much money the family has to spend. The differences in social classes in some countries like India and Brazil are large whereas in some like Canada and Denmark are less extreme. Countries with extreme gaps in social classes have huge disparities in consumer behaviors since the public are required to pay for things such as housing, healthcare, and education. Paragraphs Arguing Against The Motion Beyond class, there are other factors that can be used to determine consumer’s cultures. Some of these include personal factors and psychological factors. Among the personal factors, we have age and life cycle stage. The age of a consumer and life cycle have a significant influence on consumers purchase decisions. The purchase options for people usually change at different times of their life cycles. There is also the occupation of consumers which affects the goods and services that they buy. This group is of main interest to businesses as they center on producing separate products and services for different occupational groups. Similarly, financial and economic situations dictate the purchasing power of consumers. When the economy is doing well, most people tend to spend more on shopping and vice versa. Due to different personalities, the purchasing behaviors of all people cannot be the same. This is where self-concept and personality come into play. On psychological factors, there is motivation, perception, learning and experience and attitudes and beliefs. Different people seek to satisfy different needs which guide what they purchase. These needs can be psychological, social, or self-actualizing needs among others. On perceptions, every person looks at the world and situations differently. In turn, this separates people’s decision taking abilities. The modern consumer is empowered and uses the internet to learn about a product before purchasing it. Learning and previous experiences influences buyers purchase decision. For foreign investments, overall culture is given special emphasis over social class. Companies need to understand the local way of doing business and interacting with people before setting up their bases. Some organizations invest in a lot of resources by offering training to its expatriates and even paying for their foreign languages classes. On the other hand, companies that have always ignored the local culture in places where they set their businesses have always found themselves in problems. Durmaz and Taşdemir (2014, p. 188) pinpoint that marketers are increasingly looking at social class from a global perspective, but sometimes they fail to conquer foreign markets. For example, Wal-Mart was forced to pull out of the Germany market after operating in the country for six years for failing to understand the German shoppers. It copied its United States model of low-priced products sold in big stores which failed to excite the German shoppers. Foremost, Germans prefer to small and medium-sized retailers grounded in local communities. They also have a cultural concern about quality. Due to disparities in culture, Walmart was unable to continue its operations in the country. Walmart faced the same predicament in China after failing to understand Chinese consumers (Salomon, 2016). Chinese consumers tend to be unique from those in the West which makes it hard for Western companies to woo them. There is also the problem of navigating through China’s intricate web of local and national political groupings (Consumer Culture Theory, 2015). Globalization is shaping consumers behaviors. Dunn (2015) argues that due to globalizations, individuals are more exposed to other people’s culture. Therefore, there is a high exchange of transfer of culture between people from different nations due to increased interaction. In other words, the behaviors of individuals from different cultures are becoming more compatible or homogenous. Moreover, marketers are faced with the enormous task of marketing their brands and services in foreign markets. They are therefore required to be aware of intricate buyers needs within the target countries to create a worldwide marketing mix where they meet the specific needs of each country. This means, they have to do more than understanding the social class of the targeted market. Furthermore, different countries have different social class systems which may take several years to fully understand. With increased internet connectivity, there is an increased interaction between people of different social classes which means that beliefs and values keep changing everyday unlike in the past where people were confined within their social classes. Marketers who base their strategies on social classes may find themselves in unfamiliar waters due to changing nature of people’s values and beliefs. Market competition has also increased and consumers are exposed to global brands. Consumers can now order for products from foreign countries and have them shipped with a few days.The contemporary buyer’s behaviors are completely different from those of pre-globalization era. Thus, marketers need to use a variety of techniques to gauge buyers purchasing behavior and should not be limited to understanding class only. Groups that people belong in can also influence consumer behavior. This can be in the form of friendship, face to face interaction and indirect contact. Examples of reference groups include digital social networks, churches, schools, clubs, and professional associations. Some people may be influenced by groups they hope to join one day such as the EPL players. Humans are social and interact daily in several interpersonal circles. It is important to note that these interactions are free from social-economic classes, race, nationality, gender, and ethnicity. The groups are divided into primary and secondary groups, virtual groups, aspirational and dissociative groups and informal and informal groups. The primary group has the most influence on an individual behavior since the interaction among its members are frequently whether physical or not (Francisco, de Nadai Sastre and Joao, 2010). An example of a primary group is family along with close friends. The types of influences that groups have on people are divided into utilitarian influence, value expressive influence, and informational influence. The utilitarian influence is seen when a person submits his actions to the expectations of others to be given a reward or avoid punishment (Lantos, 2011, p. 291). In this case, they are forced to change their beliefs in response to a real or perceived pressure from a group. Value-expressive takes place when a person accepts his or her group’s influence or is keen to have that identification. The last one which is informational which happens when a person positively takes a critique, advice, or experience from others about people on what to buy This takes place because they trust the people who provide them with this information. Conclusion In general, it is true that marketers need to understand class in order to target consumer’s culture. However, in addition to understanding class, they ought to understand other factors such as psychological factors and personal factors. The social class is basically an individual’s material resources and their perceived rank within the society. Social class has a major influence on people’s purchase behavior since it shapes their perceptions of their needs and wants. People in the same social system usually live in the same area, attend the same schools, have similar tastes in fashion and shop in the same places. Once a marketer is aware of the needs of a particular social class, they can then come up with marketing strategies to target them. For example, they have to market quality goods to people belonging to the upper class whereas they should insist on price value for the lower class. Marketers also need to be aware of groups that can be in the form of friendship, face to face interaction and indirect contact. Examples of reference groups include digital social networks, churches, schools, clubs, and professional associations. For instance, most marketers are turning to social media to market their brands to billions of people who are active members of digital networks. The types of influences that groups have on people are divided into value expressive influence, utilitarian influence, and informational influence. The primary group has the most influence on an individual behavior since the interaction among its members are frequently whether face-to-face or not. Reference List Consumer Culture Theory. (2015). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing. Côté, S. (2011). How social class shapes thoughts and actions in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 31, pp.43-71. Durmaz, Y. and Taşdemir, A. (2014). A Theoretical Approach to the Influence of Social Class on Consumer Behavior. American International Journal of Social Science, 3(3). Francisco, S., de Nadai Sastre, P. and Joao, B. (2010). Reference group influence on consumer decision making process: a study in the Brazilian sports utilitarian vehicles segment. Journal of Academy of Business and Economics, 10(2). Giachetti, C. (2014). Competitive dynamics in the mobile phone industry. London: Palgrave. Goldstein, J. (2012). How The Poor, The Middle Class And The Rich Spend Their Money. [online] NPR.org. Available at: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/08/01/157664524/how-the-poor-the-middle-class-and-the-rich-spend-their-money [Accessed 8 May 2017]. Lantos, G. (2011). Consumer behavior in action. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. Piff, P. K., Kraus, M. W., Coˆte´, S., Cheng, B. H., & Keltner, D. (2010). Having less, giving more: The influence of social class on prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 771–784. Neelankavil, a. and Rai, A. (2014). Basics of International Business. London: Routledge. Salomon, R. (2016). Why Walmart Stumbled on The Road to China. [online] Fortune.com. Available at: http://fortune.com/2016/02/21/why-walmart-stumbled-on-road-to-china/ [Accessed 8 May 2017]. Wells, V. (2014). Handbook of developments in consumer behaviour. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Read More