Social Factors

A consumer's behaviour also is affected by social factors, like as the consumer's family, small groups and social roles and status.

I.   Group

Various small groups influence a person's behaviour. Groups that contain a direct influence and to which a person belongs are called membership groups. On the contrary, reference groups serve as indirector or direct (face- to-face) points of comparison or reference in the forming a person's attitudes or behaviour. Reference groups to which they don't belong frequently influence people.  Marketers try to recognize the reference groups of their target markets. Reference groups expose person to new behaviours and new lifestyles, affect the person's attitudes and self-concept, and create pressures to conform that can affect the person's brand and product choices.

The significance of group influence varies across brands and products. It tends to be strongest while product is observable to others whom buyer respects. Manufacturers of brands and products subjected to strong group influence have to figure out how to reach opinion leaders-people within a reference group who, because of special knowledge, skills personality, or any other characteristics, exert influence on others.

Many marketers try to recognize opinion leaders for their products and the direct marketing efforts toward them. In other cases, advertisements may simulate opinion leadership, thereby reducing the requirement for consumers to seek advice from others.

The significance of group influence varies across brands and products. It tends to be strongest when product is visible to others whom buyer respects. Purchases of the products that are bought and used privately are not much affected by the group influences because neither the product or nor the brand will be noticed by others.

II.   Family

Family members may strongly influence buyer behaviour.  Family is most important consumer buying organization in the society, and it has been researched broadly. Marketers are interested in the roles and influence of wife, husband and children on the purchase of the different services and products.

Husband-wife involvement varies widely by stage in the buying process and by product category. Buying roles vary with evolving consumer lifestyles.

Such changes recommend that marketers who've usually sold their products to just women or only men are now courting the opposite sex. For instance, with research revealing that women now account for closely half of all hardware store purchases, home improvement retailers like Home

Builders and Depot Square have turned what once were unapproachable warehouses into female- friendly retail outlets. New Builders Square II outlets feature decorator design centres at front of store. To attract more women, the builders Square run ads targeting women in, Woman's Day, House Beautiful, Home, and Better Homes and Gardens. Home Depot even offers bridal registries.

Likewise, after research show that women now make up 34 % of the luxury car market, Cadillac has begun paying more attention to this significant segment. Male car designers at Cadillac are going regarding their work having paper clips on their fingers to simulate what it feels as to operate knobs, buttons, and other interior features with longer fingernails. The Cadillac Catera features an air-conditioned glove box to preserve such like items as film and lipstick. Under hood, yellow markings highlight where fluid fills go.

Children can also have a strong affect on family buying decisions. For instance, it ran ads to woo these "back-seat consumers" in Sports illustrate for Kids, which attracts chiefly 8- to 14- year-old boys. "We're kidding ourselves when we think kids aren't alert of brands," says Venture's brand manager, adding that even she was amazed at how frequently parents told her that kids played a tie-breaking role in selecting which car to buy.

In the case of expensive services and products, wives and husbands frequently make joint decisions.

III.   Roles and Status

A person belongs to many groups-clubs, family, organizations. The person's position in each group may be defined in terms of role and status both. A role consists of activities people are expected to perform according to persons around them.