In Order to Target Consumer Culture, Marketers Need to Understand Class - Essay Example

In order to target consumer culture(s), marketers need to understand class Name Class Unit Introduction According to research, there have been an association between consumption patterns and social class. The consumption patterns in most cases are a reflection of the social class. Thus, consumption have been seen by most researchers as a form of self-identification. Goods and services have been used as symbols of social class. The consumer behaviour is thus in most cases based on the social class (Solomon, 2014). In addition, buyers from different social class are motivated to consume by different factors. This research has contributed to the knowledge on the significance of the social class on marketing. This is due to fact that class have impacts on how the consumers utilises their income. For the marketers, they have to target the consumer culture for them to have the best impacts (Featherstone, 1990). This is due to fact that consumer culture helps in effective branding, pricing strategies and brand extension. There has been an argument that in order to target the consumer culture, marketers need to understand class. This essay will analyse for and against the proposition that in order to target consumer culture(s), marketers need to understand class. The essay will then cast own judgement based on research. Arguments for the proposal The proposition is supported by a lot of research on marketing. First, effective marketing involves the ability to understand what motivates consumers to make a purchase (Featherstone, 2007). What motivates those in the upper class is different from what motivates those in the lower social class. This is due to fact that each of the social class has their different consumption needs. Every social class have varying primary and secondary needs. The fulfilment of these needs is the main objective of consumption (Arnould & Thompson, 2005). The concept of social class can help a lot in explaining consumer culture for the marketers. This is due to fact that social class acts as a reproduction of the consumption patterns. In some cases, the consumption patterns are done with an aim of impressing others. This is according to conspicuous consumption (Solomon, 2014). The upper social class consumes as a show of social power while the lower social class consumers to gain physical power. Thus, the consumption culture is used in expressing the characteristics of a given social class (Sassatelli, 2007). Secondly, the proposition is supported by fact that marketers need to understand that social class determines the consumption pattern. Through having an understanding of the social class, it becomes possible to determine the medium of advertisement to use. Research shows that the mode of advertising used has an impact on behaviour of social class conscious consumers (Williams, 2002). This is due to fact that marketing creates a symbolic value for the brand. The image that the advertisement projects to the consumers matters a lot. This is especially if the consumers care of the image they project of themselves. In this case, having marketing that is associated with prestige will influence the willingness to buy by the consumers in high social class. Advertisements have varying impact on the social status especially through persuasion. This is through changing the preferences shifts in a demand curve (Sassatelli, 2007). When a marketer is able to understand the social class, they are able to enhance the status incentive to buy through class targeted advertisements. Failure to have an understanding of the class may lead to counterproductive marketing. The advertisements which are well targeted to the class make it more attractive to buy. The use of targeted advertisements enhances the social pressure for the consumers to buy (Arnould & Thompson, 2005). Research has shown that some firms have succeeded to reach specific groups of consumers through the use of targeted ads. This is especially when advertising for the high end goods. Thirdly, the ability to know what appeals to different social classes can help the marketers in determining the best distribution method for the products. Distribution is one of the Ps in marketing and using the correct channels is very important (Featherstone, 2007). Social class determines where the consumers do their shopping and their preferred means of delivery. If the product being marketed is for the upper social class, it is important to ensure that they have access in the best way possible. This may include looking at the stores in which the upper social class frequents and using them as the distribution channels. Failure to know the consumer classes may lead to challenges in growing the business. This shows the importance of the marketer knowing the social class of the consumers. Marketers should who uses a given store and their economic status (Featherstone, 1990). This is due to fact that the social class determines where to consume. The stores appeal on a selective pattern based on the social class. There are stores where the cultural omnivorous visits which might not be visited by those from lower social class. Cultural omnivorous refers to well-educated high social status people who live in urban areas (Warde, Wright & Gayo-Cal, 2007). This is a group that has a great diversity and volume of taste in arts and fashion compared to others. This is a different category that the marketers can target through adequate knowledge on classes. It would be hard for the marketers to sell to this subculture if they have no information on social class. When determining on what to buy, different classes have specific things which they look at (Arnould & Thompson, 2005). The middle class is highly concerned on the quality and health. For the working class, they mostly look for the products which they can financially afford (Mihić & Čulina, 2006). Fourthly, the proposition is supported by research that marketers have to understand the relationship that exists between the social class and consumption culture. In fact, consumption culture is not only an expression of a social class but also a mechanism that shapes the social structure (Coleman, 1983). Social class offers the insights on what limits the consumer choices and the preference used in the resource allocation. Consumers face budget constraints which determine how they allocate their financial resources with an aim of maximising the utility (Sassatelli, 2007). Despite this, the differences in lifestyles and consumption pattern are based on the social class. This show having an understanding of the social class will help the marketer in deploying and allocating marketing resources based on the consumer culture. Commodity fetishism is a phenomenon of social consciousness and being. According to commodity fetishism goods are analysed based on their economic value. Goods are thus evaluated based on their economic value (Kline & Leiss, 1978). This leads to the importance of price which a given social class can afford. The price determines the social relationship which cannot be ignored by the marketers (Lee, 2000). It also becomes possible for the marketers to push for the social responsibility when they have an understanding of the class. The proposition is in line with understanding that the social class helps in understanding limitations faced by different groups in making their purchase decisions (Mihić & Čulina, 2006). For example, having limited financial resources may make it hard to use many goods by the working class. This makes it possible to come up with marketing initiatives that targets the right population who can afford the product or service and avoids wastage. It also makes it possible for the marketers to come up with advertisements that make appeal to status. It is important to note that certain goods act as status symbols. A consumer can hold certain goods as status symbols which in turn affects their behaviour. Thus, it is clear for the marketer to target the consumer culture, they have to gain understanding on the social class. This is due to fact that there exist substantial consumer cultures among the classes (Arnould & Thompson, 2005). Class have impacts on the marketing strategy formulation and hence the need to tailor programs based on specific social classes. Argument against the proposal Despite this, there are counterarguments that marketers do not need to understand class in order to target consumer culture. Marketers are cultural intermediaries who lead to social inclusion by mediating production and consumption. This is due to fact that cultural intermediaries acts as taste makers and defines what is cool in the current market place (Negus, 2002). Thus, marketing plays a cultural intermediary and determines what the consumers’ uses. This is through use of different media and influencing consumer behaviour irrespective of their social class (Schor and Holt, 2000). It is important for the marketers to advertise the products to a larger market to enhance brand recognition. An idea becomes more powerful if it is widely shared. Thus, it becomes important for the marketers to ensure that more people are familiar with the brand apart from those buying. For example, BMW is advertised to everyone even those in lower social class who cannot afford it. This makes the consumers to associate the product with a given status even if they do not buy. A high end product may mean less about its owner if it is not distinguishable from low end phones. This can happen if the high end phone is only advertised to high end users. When advertising without caring about the social class, it becomes possible for the consumers to know about the different products and enhances willingness to buy. Another counterargument on the proposition is that advertising becomes less effective if they only focus on a given social class. This is due to fact that broad advertising is seen as optimal (Williams, 2002). In addition, more customers are informed on the product as opposed to class based advertising. Secondly, the use of social classes’ segmentation in marketing is not adequate since it leads to suboptimal growth on the business. This makes it unadvisable to use social class in order to target the consumer culture. This is due to fact that when the marketers consider only the social class in order to target the consumer culture, it becomes harder to convert non-users to users. Marketers who focus more on social class in their marketing only attain a suboptimal growth in their marketing success (Mihić & Čulina, 2006). Marketing involves changing the consumers’ behaviours and limiting oneself to social class makes it hard. Social classes are not behaviours and hence the marketers’ efforts are limited. When the marketers understand the social class and use it to target the consumer culture, they lock out consumers from other classes who want to try the products (Solomon, 2014). It is common for the consumers to make purchases of products with an aim of keeping pace with different social groups. The proposition is seen flawed since when marketers use knowledge of social class to determine the consumer behaviour, thy risk ignoring the subjective social class. Many consumers utilises subjective social class which may be ignored by the marketer. This reduces the effectiveness of the marketing campaign. Moreover, the marketer risks ignoring the status inconsistency by treating a social class as equal. There are also issues with the intergenerational mobility which may not be considered by the marketer (Williams, 2002). It has also been argued that the consumers’ aspirations to change are ignored by marketers who use social stratifications. In some cases, customers do not spend according to their class. There have been cases where the customers spend beyond their capabilities. This makes an exception on using class to understand consumer behaviour. An example is conspicuous consumption which can apply to any economic class. Conspicuous consumption involves purchase of goods and services with an aim of displaying ones wealth or show a certain social class (Frijters & Leigh, 2008). This is especially when the goods and services are too expensive for a given class to afford. Despite conspicuous consumption being associated with the rich, it is also common for lower social economic class to purchase expensive goods and services especially as a show off. For the marketers, marketing goods and services while avoiding a given class may limit their sales. It is hard to confine certain spending to a given class. There are instances where goods perceived to be preserved for upper class are used even by the lower class. Research shows that it is common for those in low social class to spend more on visible goods. This is especially when the poor are living among the wealthier people. There is tendency to spend more than they can afford as they try to keep up with those in upper social class. Thus, the poor use conspicuous spending to compete for status (Podoshen & Andrzejewski, 2012). Thus, marketers are supposed to understand that spending is not always class based. Thus, they can understand consumer behaviour without gaining an understanding of their social class. Another counterargument is based on fact that market segmentation can be carried out by marketers without using social class. Through mass marketing and various forms of market segmentation, it is possible to avoid use of class to understand consumer culture. Through use of aggregate marketing and treating the entire population as a single unit, a marketer can gain an understanding of consumer culture (Wedel & Kamakura, 2012). This is due to fact that most of the customers are perceived to have almost identical needs which can be satisfied using a standard product. Thus, it is possible to have mass production and distribution based on aggregative marketing which leads to lower costs. Through undifferentiated approach to marketing, it is possible to reach a wide customer base (Yankelovich & Meer, 2006). This includes for products such as salt, milk or staples which are used by all social class. Moreover, it is possible to carry out market segmentation without use of social class. There are a lot of ways in which customers can be segmented through identifying similar needs and wants without having to use social class. This includes use of other segmentation variables such as geographic, psychographic and behavioural variables (Wedel & Kamakura, 2012). Thus, the marketers can identify the customers’ needs without use of their social class. My own judgement I support the proposition that in order to target consumer culture, marketers need to understand the class. From the analysis, it is clear that marketers ought to have information on the social class in order to target the consumer culture. This is due to the existing correlation between the consumer social class and culture (De Mooij, 2010). The consumer behaviour can be best explained through the use of the social class concept. First, it is clear that social class determines the shopping behaviour. This is especially on the consumer determination on where to shop. While most people like shopping, the motivation to shop differs based on the social class. It is common for the working class to avoid high status stores which charges more (Coleman, 1983). Thus, a marketer needs to know how the social class determines the consumer culture. Another issue that leads to the importance of marketer having knowledge on social class in targeting consumer culture is media usage. Those in the upper class in the society prefer reading, movies and listening to radios. In addition, they may spend less time on the television. Those in the lower class do not pay for newspaper subscriptions. This class related consumer culture determines how the marketer will advertise. In addition, social class determines the consumer decision making process. This is due to fact that the amount of research that is carried out by a consumer is based on the social class. Those in the lower social class are affected by lack of adequate information which leads to less information when making purchases. For the middle class, they highly rely on advertisements and also search for more information than the rest of the classes (Liechty, 2003). This helps the marketer to determine the consumer behaviour in designing the marketing campaign. To further support the proposition, it is evident that social classes respond differently to marketing methods hence the need to tailor them (Coleman, 1983). Conclusion To sum up, the proposition that in order to target consumer culture, marketers need to understand class is correct. This is based on the supporting evidence which point out that social class is a major determinant in consumer culture. It is clear that varying segmentation, promotion and distribution strategies are required based on the consumer social class. For a marketer to be successful, they have to ensure that they understand different consumer social status and how they affect their culture. Consumer purchase behaviour is defined by their social class and this cannot be ignored. References Arnould, E. J., & Thompson, C. J 2005, Consumer culture theory (CCT): Twenty years of research. Journal of consumer research, 31(4), pp. 868-882. Coleman, R. P 1983, The continuing significance of social class to marketing. Journal of consumer research, 10(3), pp. 265-280. De Mooij, M 2010, Consumer behavior and culture: Consequences for global marketing and advertising, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Featherstone, M 1990, Perspectives on consumer culture. Sociology, 24(1), pp. 5-22. Featherstone, M 2007, Consumer culture and postmodernism, London, Sage. Frijters, P., & Leigh, A. 2008, Materialism on the March: From conspicuous leisure to conspicuous consumption? The Journal of Socio-Economics, 37(5), 1937-1945. Kline, S & Leiss, W 1978, Advertising, Needs and Commodity Fetishism'. CTheory, 2(1), 5-30. Lee, M. J. (ed.) (2000, The Consumer Society Reader, Blackwell, Oxford. Liechty, M2003, Suitably modern: Making middle-class culture in a new consumer society, New Jersey, Princeton University Press. Mihić, M., & Čulina, G 2006, Buying behavior and consumption: Social class versus income. Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 11(2), 77-92. Negus, K 2002, The work of cultural intermediaries and the enduring distance between production and consumption. Cultural studies, 16(4), 501-515. Podoshen, J. S., & Andrzejewski, S. A. 2012, An examination of the relationships between materialism, conspicuous consumption, impulse buying, and brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 20(3), 319-334. Sassatelli, R 2007, Consumer culture: History, theory and politics, London, Sage. Schor, J. B. and Holt, D. (eds.) 2000, The Consumer Society Reader. WW Norton: New York. Solomon, M. R 2014, Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10), Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Warde, A., Wright, D., & Gayo-Cal, M 2007, Understanding Cultural Omnivorousness: Or, the Myth of the Cultural Omnivore. Cultural Sociology, 1(2), 143-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1749975507078185 Wedel, M., & Kamakura, W. A. 2012, Market segmentation: Conceptual and methodological foundations (Vol. 8). Springer Science & Business Media. Williams, T. G 2002, Social class influences on purchase evaluation criteria. Journal of consumer marketing, 19(3), 249-276. Yankelovich, D., & Meer, D. 2006, Rediscovering market segmentation. Harvard business review, 84(2), 122. Read More