Consumer Influence and The Diffusion of Innovations

Chapter 13
Consumer Influence and the

Diffusion of Innovations
Consumer Behaviour
Canadian Edition
Schiffman/Kanuk/Das
Copyright 2006
Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Opinion Leadership
The
process by which one person (the

opinion leader) informally influences the
consumption actions or attitudes of others
who may be opinion seekers or opinion
recipients
Copyright 2006 Pearson
13-2
What is Opinion Leadership?

Opinion
Leader
Opinion
Receiver
Opinion
Seeker
13-3
Special Issues
Opinion
leaders are four times more likely to

be asked about political issues, three times
more likely to be asked about computers or
investments, and twice as likely to be asked
about restaurants
Information seekers seek a strong-tie
source when they know little about a topic,
and weak-tie sources when they have some
knowledge
13-4
Purchase Pals and Surrogate

Buyers
Purchase
Pals
Information sources who accompany a

consumer on a shopping trip
Surrogate
Buyers
Professional buyers who help consumers with

their purchases
13-5
(continued)
13-6
Figure 13-1 (continued)
13-7
Market Maven
Individuals
whose influence stems from a

general knowledge or market expertise that
leads to an early awareness of new products
and services.
13-8
Motivations Behind Opinion

Leadership
The
Needs of Opinion Leaders
To reduce their own post-purchase dissonance

For tangential personal benefits
Because of high levels of product involvement
Because of message involvement
continued
13-9
Motivations Behind Opinion

Leadership
Motivations
of Opinion Seekers
To obtain new product or new usage

information
To reduce their risk by getting knowledge
To reduce search time
To receive the approval of the opinion leader
13-10
Reasons for the Effectiveness of

Opinion Leadership
Credibility
Positive
and Negative Product Information

Information and Advice
Opinion Leadership Is Category-Specific
Opinion Leadership Is a Two-way Street
13-11
13-12
13-13
13-14
The Interpersonal Flow of

Communication
Two-Step
Flow
A communication model that portrays opinion

leaders as direct receivers of information from
mass media sources who, in turn, interpret and
transmit this information.
Multi-step
Flow
A revision of the traditional two-step theory

that shows multiple communication flows
13-15
13-16
13-17
Measuring Opinion Leadership

OPINION LEADERSHIP
MEASUREMENT
METHOD
DESCRIPTION OF METHOD
SAMPLE
QUESTIONS ASKED
SELF-DESIGNATING
METHOD
Each respondent is asked a

series of questions to
determine the degree to which
he or she perceives himself or
herself to be an opinion leader.
Do you influence
other people in their
selection of
products?
SOCIOMETRIC
METHOD
Members of a social system are

asked to identify to whom they
give advice and to whom they
go for advice.
Whom do you
ask?Who asks you
for info about that
product category?
13-18
Measuring Opinion Leadership

-continued
OPINION
LEADERSHIP
MEASUREMENT
METHOD
DESCRIPTION OF METHOD
SAMPLE
QUESTIONS ASKED
KEY INFORMANT
METHOD
Carefully selected key informants in Who are the most

a social system are asked to
influential people in
designate opinion leaders.
the group?
OBJECTIVE
METHOD
Artificially places individuals in a

Have you tried the
position to act as opinion leaders
product?
and measures results of their efforts.
13-19
Opinion Leadership and

Marketing Strategy
Identify
and provide samples to opinion
leaders
Design programs to stimulate opinion
leadership
Develop ads simulating opinion leadership
Create opinion leaders
Control negative word-of-mouth
communication
13-20
Diffusion Process
The
process by which the acceptance of an

innovation is spread by communication to
members of social system over a period of
time.
13-21
Adoption Process
The
stages through which an individual

consumer passes in arriving at a decision to
try (or not to try), to continue using (or
discontinue using) a new product.
13-22
Defining Innovations
Firm-oriented
definitions
Product-oriented definitions
Market-oriented definitions
Consumer-oriented definitions
13-23
Product-Oriented Definitions
Continuous
Innovation
Dynamically
Continuous
Innovation
Discontinuous
Innovation
13-24
Factors That Affect the Diffusion

of Innovations
The
Innovation
The Channels of Communication
The Social System
Time
13-25
Product Characteristics That

Influence Diffusion
Relative Advantage
Compatibility
Complexity
Trialability
Observability
Felt
Need
Risk
13-26
Social System and Diffusion

Does
the target market have:
A positive attitude towards change?

Technological skill?
A general respect for education and science?
A focus on rational and ordered social
relationship?
An outreach perspective?
The ability to accept different roles?
13-27
Time and Diffusion

Purchase
Time
Adopter Categories
Rate of Adoption
13-28
Adopter Categories
A sequence
of categories that describes how

early (or late) a consumer adopts a new
product in relation to other adopters.
13-29
13-30
Innovators: Description
2.5% of population
Venturesome
Very eager to try new ideas
Acceptable if risk is daring
More cosmopolite social relationships
Communicates with other innovators
13-31
Early Adopters: Description
13.5% of population
Respected
More integrated into the local social system
The persons to check with before adopting a new
idea
Category contains greatest number of opinion
leaders
Are role models
13-32
Early Majority: Description
34% of population
Deliberate
Adopt new ideas just prior to the average time
Seldom hold leadership positions
Deliberate for some time before adopting
13-33
Late Majority: Description
34% of population
Skeptical
Adopt new ideas just after the average time
Adopting may be both an economic necessity and
a reaction to peer pressures
Innovations approached cautiously
13-34
Laggards: Description
16% of population
Traditional
The last people to adopt an innovation
Most localite in outlook
Oriented to the past
Suspicious of the new
13-35
Rate of Adoption
Insert
Figure 13-16 A, B and C as small

graphs; if that is not possible, then have one
or two of them.
13-36
13-37
13-38
The Profile of a Consumer

Innovator
Interest in the Product Category

The Innovator Is an Opinion Leader
Personality Traits
Purchase and consumption characteristics
Media Habits
Social Characteristics
Demographic Characteristics
Are There Generalized Consumer Innovators?
13-39
Diffusion Process and Marketing

Strategy
Identify
diffusion inhibitors and find ways

to compensate for these
Identify innovators and early adopters and
cater to them
Move consumers from awareness to
adoption
Make effective use of word-of-mouth
communications
13-40

Consumer Influence and The Diffusion of Innovations

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Chapter 13

Consumer Influence and the

process by which one person (the

Copyright 2006 Pearson

What is Opinion Leadership?

Copyright 2006 Pearson

leaders are four times more likely to

Purchase Pals and Surrogate

Information sources who accompany a

Professional buyers who help consumers with

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Figure 13-1 (continued)

Copyright 2006 Pearson

whose influence stems from a

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Motivations Behind Opinion

Needs of Opinion Leaders

To reduce their own post-purchase dissonance

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Motivations Behind Opinion

To obtain new product or new usage

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Reasons for the Effectiveness of

and Negative Product Information

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Copyright 2006 Pearson

The Interpersonal Flow of

A communication model that portrays opinion

A revision of the traditional two-step theory

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Measuring Opinion Leadership

Each respondent is asked a

Members of a social system are

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Measuring Opinion Leadership

Carefully selected key informants in Who are the most

Artificially places individuals in a

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Opinion Leadership and

and provide samples to opinion

process by which the acceptance of an

Copyright 2006 Pearson

stages through which an individual

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Factors That Affect the Diffusion

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Product Characteristics That

Social System and Diffusion

the target market have:

A positive attitude towards change?

Time and Diffusion

Copyright 2006 Pearson

of categories that describes how

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Copyright 2006 Pearson

Early Adopters: Description

Early Majority: Description