Consumer behavior is influenced by a

host of personal Characteristics such

as

– Age
– Life Cycle Stage
– Occupation
– Social Status
– Lifestyle
 Sociologists have classified members of a
society on a continuum of social positions.
 Members of social class interact regularly
with each other, people are more likely to
be influenced by individuals in their own
social class than by those in other classes.
Factors:
– Education
– Occupation
– Economic Status
 Upper Class – Business community, professionals,
politicians etc.
 Middle Class – White collar jobs, with many of them
having pursued higher education. Majority is private
sector and government employees.
 Working Class – Blue collar workers. Heavily depend on
family members for economic and social support. They
have a local orientation. More likely to spend than save.
 Low End Class – Below poverty line(BPL). With light
regular income also included.
 A person’s reference groups are all the groups that have a
direct (membership group) and indirect influence on their
attitudes or behavior.
 Primary group : interacts continuously and informally
( family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers)
 Secondary group : more formal and less continuous
interaction (such as religious, professional, and trade-union
groups)
 Reference groups influence members in at least three ways.
– They expose an individual to new behaviors and lifestyles.
– They influence attitude and self-concept.
– They cerate pressures for conformity that may affect product and brand.
Where reference group influence is strong,
marketers must determine how to reach
and influence the group’s opinion leaders.
An Opinion Leader is the person who
offers informal advice or information about
a specific product or product category.
Opinion Leaders can informally influence
the behavior of customers towards products
or services, either positively or negatively.
 Long term involvement with the
product category.
 Highly confident.
 Interpersonal communications.
 More gregarious and are willing to
act differently.
 Knowledge about
product/service
HIGH LOW

HIGH MODERATE HIGH

Product/pu
rchase
involvemen LOW HIGH MODERATE
t
 Consumer Behavior by Ramanuj
Majumdar.
 Consumer Behavior by Satish K
Batra, S H H Kazmi.
 Marketing Management by Philip
Kotler.