The Influence of Culture

Subculture on Consumer
Behavior
Chapter :3
By: Ms. Hajra Arif
Mc Donalds Reflect Cultural
Values
 1970-u deserve a break today
 1980- Mcdonalds & u
 Mid 1985 –Good time for the great taste
of McD (Family Oriented)
 1990 (Deep recession) –The new reality
 After Recession- Have u had ur Break
today
 Late 1990- we love to see u smile
 The sum total of learned
beliefs, values, and
customs that serve to
Culture
regulate the consumer
behavior of members of
a particular society.
Contd
 Sub Culture – A Broad groups of
consumers with similar values that
distinguish them from Society as a
whole.
 Cross culture- A Broad groups of
consumers having different values that
distinguish them from Society as a
whole
Cultural Values
 A belief that a general state of Existence is
personally & socially worth Striving for .e.g
 Cultural Values- A comfortable life, Exciting
life, Equality, freedom, pleasure, self respect,
family security etc
 Consumption Values-Prompt, reliable Low
price services, No product misrepresentation
services etc
Contd
 Product Attributes- Service Quality,
Reliability, Performance, Safety,
Convenience etc
How culture Influences
Consumer Behavior
 Purchases-High value on
achievement/Some may buy it for their
younger looks/Some are health
Conscious
 Consumption-American cultures
Cultural Factors Affect Consumer
Behavior and Marketing Strategy
Language

Demographics
Consumer Marketing
behavior strategy

Values

Nonverbal
communications
Factors influencing Non
Verbal Communication
Time

Etiquette Space

Nonverbal
communications
Things Symbols

Agreements Friendship
Cross culture & Subculture
Influence
 1990 & 2000s Recession is helpful in
understanding the International Trade
hence makes the strategies accordingly
e.g kellogs breakfast eating individual
turn in to cereal eating.
 Marketers fail to recognize Brazilian
mothers who rejects Processed foods
because of family cultural values
Characteristics of Cultural
Values
1. Cultural Values are learned-
 Enculturation-Learning about own
culture
 Acculturation-Learning about different
culture
2. Guides to our behavior
3. Enduring
Contd-
 1980  1990
1. Live to work 1. Work to live
2. Be a winner 2. Do not be a loser
3. Home as a cocoon 3. Home as a resource
centre
4. Control the 4. Manage the
environment environment
5. Control the 5. Adapt the
technology technology
Issues in Culture
 Enculturation and acculturation
 Language and symbols
 Ritual
 Sharing of Culture
Weeknights
are Rich
with Ritual
 Selected Rituals and Associated
Artifacts
SELECTED RITUALS TYPICAL ARTIFACTS
Wedding White gown (something old, something new,
something borrowed, something blue)
Birth of child U.S. Savings Bond, silver baby spoon
Birthday Card, present, cake with candles
50th Wedding anniversary Catered party, card and gift, display of photos of the
couple’s life together
Graduation Pen, U.S. Savings Bond, card, wristwatch
Valentine’s Day Candy, card, flowers
New Year’s Eve Champagne, party, fancy dress
Thanksgiving Prepare a turkey meal for family and friends
Cultural meaning and
Product
 Consumers buy the product for
Symbolism rather than the its utility
Role of Product Symbolism

 Communicating Social status

 Means of self Expression
 Means of sharing Experiences
 Products are hedonics e,g Jewelleries
 Products are experiential
Subculture
 Types-
a. Geographic Subcultures
b. Religion
c. Age Cohorts-
• Gen X
• Gen Y
• Baby Boomers
• Mature Market
Age Cohorts
 Mature market (Over 55 years old)-21%
 Baby Boomers (Born Between 1946 &
1964)- 26%
 Gen X (Born Between 1965 and 1976)-
18%
 Gen Y (1977 and 1994)- 16%
The Measurement of Culture
 Content Analysis
 Consumer Fieldwork
 Value Measurement Instruments
 A method for
systematically analyzing
the content of verbal
and/or pictorial
Content
communication. The
Analysis
method is frequently
used to determine
prevailing social values
of a society.
 A cultural measurement
technique that takes
place within a natural
Field environment that
Observation focuses on observing
behavior (sometimes
without the subjects’
awareness).
Characteristics of Field
Observation
 Takes place within a
natural environment
 Performed sometimes
without the subject’s
awareness
 Focuses on
observation of
behavior
 Researchers who
participate in the
Participant- environment that they
Observers are studying without
notifying those who
are being observed.
American Core Values
 Achievement and  Individualism
success  Freedom
 Activity  External
 Efficiency and conformity
practicality  Humanitarianism
 Progress  Youthfulness
 Material comfort  Fitness and health
Criteria for Value Selection
 The value must be pervasive.(General)
 The value must be enduring.(Permanent)
 The value must be consumer-related.
An
Achievemen
t-Success
Appeal
Ad Stressing
Saving Time
and Money
Progress
is a
Winning
Appeal
Cross-Cultural
Variations in Consumer
Behavior
Culture
 Culture:
 Is comprehensive

 Is acquired or learned

 Provides boundaries for members

 Is typically “invisible”

 Enculturation is the process of learning one’s own

culture.
 Acculturation is the process of learning a new
culture.
 Views of Foreign Experts in
the U.S.
 “There are no small eggs in America. There are only
jumbo, extra large, large, and medium.”
 “If you are not aggressive, you’re not noticed.”
 “For a foreigner to succeed in the United States…he needs
to be more aggressive than in his own culture because
Americans expect that.”
 Americans say “Come on over sometimes,” but foreigners
learn (perhaps awkwardly) that this is not really an
invitation.
 “Here that [socializing outside the business relationship] is
not necessary. You can even do business with someone
you do not like.”
 Orientations Toward Time
 Monochronic cultures (Americans, Germans, Swiss)
handle information in a direct, linear fashion
 schedules, punctuality and a sense of time that

forms a purposeful straight line

 “time is money”

 Polychronic cultures (Japanese, Hispanic) work on

several fronts simultaneously time is less
important than task
 time and money are separate; timing is more

important than time

 Social Class and
Consumer Behavior
 The division of
members of a society
into a hierarchy of
distinct status classes,
Social Class so that members of
each class have either
higher or lower status
than members of other
classes.
 Social Class and Social Status
 Status is frequently thought of as the
relative rankings of members of each
social class
 wealth Social Comparison Theory
 power
states that individuals
compare their
 prestige
own possessions against those
of others to determine their
relative social standing.
Social comparison Theory
 Social comparison theory was developed
in 1954 by psychologist Leon Festinger.
Subsequent research shows that people
who regularly compare themselves to
others often experience feelings of deep
dissatisfaction, guilt, or remorse, and
engage in destructive behaviors like lying
 or disordered eating.
Status Consumption
The process by which consumers
actively increase their social standing
through conspicuous consumption or
possessions
Convenient Approaches to
Social Class
 Social status is usually defined in terms
of one or more of the following
socioeconomic variables:
 Family Income
 Occupational Status
 Educational Attainment
Targeting
Upscale
Customers
Percent Distribution of Five-Category
Social-Class Measure

SOCIAL CLASSES PERCENTAGE

Upper 4.3
Upper-middle 13.8
Middle 32.8
Working 32.3
Lower 16.8
Total percentage 100.0
 Social Class Measurement
 Subjective Measures: individuals are
asked to estimate their own social-class
positions
 Reputational Measures: informants
make judgments concerning the social-
class membership of others within the
community
 Objective Measures: individuals answer
specific socioeconomic questions and then
are categorized according to answers
Objective Measures
 Single-variable  Composite-
indexes variable indexes
 Occupation  Index of Status
 Education Characteristics
 Income  Socioeconomic
 Other Variables Status Score
Targeting
Upper-class
Consumers
 A composite
measure of social
class that combines
occupation, source
Index of Status
of income (not
Characteristics
amount), house type
(ISC)
/ dwelling area into
a single weighted
index of social class
standing.
 A multivariable social
class measure used by
the United States
Bureau of the Census
Socioeconomic
that combines
Status Score
occupational status,
(SES) family income, and
educational attainment
into a single measure of
social class standing.
 Social-Class Profiles
THE UPPER-UPPER CLASS--COUNTRY CLUB
• Small number of well-established families

• Belong to best country clubs and sponsor major charity events

• Serve as trustees for local colleges and hospitals

• Prominent physicians and lawyers

• May be heads of major financial institutions, owners of major

long-established firms
• Accustomed to wealth, so do not spend money noticeably

THE LOWER-UPPER CLASS--NEW WEALTH

• Not quite accepted by the upper crust of society
• Represent “new money”

• Successful business executive

• Conspicuous users of their new wealth
 continued
THE UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS--ACHIEVING
PROFESSIONALS
• Have neither family status nor unusual wealth

• Career oriented

• Young, successful professionals, corporate managers, and

business owners
• Most are college graduates, many with advanced degrees

• Active in professional, community, and social activities

• Have a keen interest in obtaining the “better things in life”

• Their homes serve as symbols of their achievements

• Consumption is often conspicuous

• Very child oriented

 continued
THE LOWER-MIDDLE CLASS--FAITHFUL
FOLLOWERS
• Primary non-managerial white-collar workers and highly paid

blue-collar workers
• Want to achieve “respectability” and be accepted as good

citizens
• Want their children to be well behaved

• Tend to be churchgoers and are often involved in church-

sponsored activities
• Prefer a neat and clean appearance and tend to avoid faddish or

highly-styled clothing
• Constitute a major market for do-it-yourself products
 continued
THE UPPER-LOWER CLASS--SECURITY-MINDED
MAJORITY
• The largest social-class segment
• Solidly blue-collar

• Strive for security

• View work as a means to “buy” enjoyment

• Want children to behave properly

• High wage earners in this group may spend impulsively

• Interested in items that enhance leisure time (e.g., TV sets)

• Husbands typically have a strong “macho” self-image

• Males are sports fans, heavy smokers, beer drinkers

 continued
THE LOWER-LOWER CLASS--ROCK BOTTOM
• Poorly educated, unskilled laborers

• Often out of work

• Children are often poorly treated

• Tend to live a day-to-day existence

 A composite
segmentation
strategy that uses
both geographic
variables (zip codes,
Geodemographic
Clusters
neighborhoods) and
demographic
variables (e.g.,
income, occupation)
to identify target
markets.
MRI Affluent Market-
Segmentation Schema
 Affluent Segments  Rural Affluent
 Well-feathered Nests Segments
 No Strings Attached  Suburban Transplants
 Nanny’s In Charge  Equity-rich Suburban
 Two Careers Expatriates
 The Good Life  City Folks with
Country Homes
 Wealthy
Landowners
 What is Middle Class?
 The “middle” 50% of household incomes -
households earning between $25,000 and
$85,000
 Households made up of college-educated
adults who use computers, and are involved
in children’s education
 Lower-middle to middle-middle based on
income, education, and occupation (this view
does NOT include upper-middle which is
considered affluent)
What is Working Class?
 Households earning $34,000 or less
control more than 30% of the total
income in the U.S.
 These consumers tend to be more
brand loyal than wealthier consumers
Consumer Behavior and
Social Class

 Advertising
 Market segmentation
 Distribution
 Product development