W7 Reference Groups and Brand Communities

W7 Reference Groups and Brand Communities

1. reference groups

   • ‘an actual or imaginary individual or group conceived of having significant relevance upon an individual’s evaluations, aspirations or behaviour’ (Solomon et al. 2013)
   • Consumers use them as sources of attitudes, beliefs, values or behaviours,
   • These groups can provide a setting and can enforce standards of behaviour
   • They can act as a point of comparison

2. 2 types of reference group influence

   • normative
     • Reference groups that influence general or broadly defined values or behaviour
   • comparative
     • Reference groups that serve as benchmarks for specific or narrowly defined attitudes or behaviours

3. 3 forms of reference group influence

   • informational (seek information)
     • Based on the desire to make informed decisions; faced with uncertainty, consumers seek information from different sources including reference group; includes observing others (e.g. family, friends, experts)
   • Utilitarian Influence (Conformity & social interaction)
     • This is reflected in our attempts to comply with the wishes of others to achieve reward or avoid punishment; satisfy the expectations of others(e.g. family members, workmates)
   • Value-Expressive Influence (Enhancement of self-image)
     • Motivated by our desire to enhance or support our self concept through referent identification. It operates through the process of identification, which occurs when a person adopts a behaviour/opinion of another because that behaviour/opinion is associated with satisfying a self-defining relationship

4. forms of group influence & marketing strategy

   • informational
     • can be powerful, and is perhaps the most easily affected by a well planned marketing strategy. Marketers might direct certain information directly to experts and opinion leaders who serve as reference points for groups of consumers.
     • This marketing information has to be processed by multiple individuals. Thus, the information may be selectively attended to and interpreted by both the reference person and the group members to whom it is transmitted. There is not guarantee that the reference person will transmit positive information.
   • utilitarian
     • is very difficult for marketers to use directly, since the reference group members control the possible rewards or punishments.
     • Marketers can devise advertising strategies that portray people receiving reinforcements (or punishments) for appropriate behaviours. Through vicarious learning, consumers might develop these same behaviours.
   • value- expressive
     • marketers should have a good understanding of the key values in the reference group and how the group influences the self-concepts of individuals.
     • These values can be portrayed in advertising or salespeople could be trained to bring out the values during their presentation. The expressive value of the product may not be consistent with marketer objectives. Sometimes different segments have conflicting values that are expressed by product usage

5. types of reference groups

   • aspirational
     • those against whom we like to compare ourselves and aspire to belong to them
   • associative
     • those who more realistically represent our current equals or near equals
   • dissociative
     • those what we would not like to be

6. brand communities

   • a form of reference group that is built around a shared allegiance/commitment to a product or activity and is a set of consumers who share a set of social relationships based upon usage of or interest in a product.
   • Members of a brand community typically do not live near each other and they often meet only for brief periods at organized events called brand-fests (e.g. those sponsored by Jeep, Saturn or Harley-Davidson).
   • These events help owners to ‘bond’ with fellow enthusiasts and strengthen their identification with the product as well as with others they meet who share their passion.
   • Share emotions, moral beliefs, styles of life, and affiliated product

7. power of reference groups

   • referent power information power legitimate power expert power reward power coercive power