Introduction

Study of group dynamics when extended to 'consumer behaviour' will help the marketer to know and understand the impact of various types of groups on the individual's buying behaviour process. Each type of group with which the individual is associated serves important needs and functions for the individual. No single group can satisfy all the needs of an individual member, hence most of us belong to various groups. A family unit helps in biological maintenance, security and a feeling of belongingness. Whereas, sorority is purely social in nature and takes care of the other needs of the individual like helps in providing more educational information, in developing contacts for future employment, get associated through membership to other social organisations, provide information on purchase of speciality/shopping goods etc. For instance, an individual, a senior government official, may simultaneously be a member of the 'Gymkhana Club' and the 'Sports club'. This person may claim that his official duties and values are closely met by the Gymkhana Club, whereas, as a member of the Sports club, he gets a chance to improve his tennis skills by getting to play with professional tennis players.

Over and above, each group exerts a variety of influences on the individuals by putting pressure on him to conform to group norms and also guides his behaviour, be it related to going to the parlour or purchasing personal care products, or choosing a career and so on. In this chapter we are going to discuss the advantages of the groups and the role of the various types of groups which will affect the purchase decision of an individual.

Factors Relevant To Reference Group's Exerting Influence

Reference groups have certain roles and standards on the code of conduct which will have a direct influence on the individual's purchasing behaviour. For example, the family will influence the child's eating habits, the peer group will affect the teenager's TV viewing and reading habits and the organizational group can exert influence on what the individual wears to office and his spending pattern.

In an attempt to adapt to group norms, we abide the values set by the family, peer group or the organization. This, in fact is very often used as a self concept, where reference group will work as the point of comparison.

There are three factors based on which the group can exert influence on an individual's purchasing behaviour:

1) The individual's attitude towards the group 

2) The nature of the group 

3) The nature of the product.

When we talk of an individual's attitude towards the group, his or her purchasing behaviour will get affected if:

• The group is acknowledged as a credible source of information

• The person gives due weightage (and values) to the views and reactions of the group members regarding purchasing decisions

• Accepts the rewards / sanctions or punishment given by the group for appropriate or inappropriate behaviour

Take for instance, the alumini formed by students who have passed out of a management college. The new students wanting to join the college may rely on the ex-students for information and advice regarding the faculty, library, internet facility, cafeteria etc., The more new the member is, more likely he or she will be to look to the seniors for advice and guidance. Moreover, usually there is a hierarchy of expertise in the group, with some members being relied upon more than others for information or help.

Nature of the Group

As for the nature of the group, reference groups are more likely to influence members if: 

• They (members) are cohesive and have similar norms and values, so they are highly credible

• They (members) interact frequently, so the group has the power to cause attitude changes.

• If the group membership is highly valued and considered to be distinctive and exclusive, it will be attractive for the individual.

Nature of the Product

The degree of influence a group has on an individual also depends on the nature of the product. For example, in case of products such as clothes, cosmetics, furniture or perfumes, they connote status and prestige to interact with group members.

The reference group's influence on purchase decisions will, to a certain extent depend upon how visually or verbally conspicuous, the product is to other people. Products such as a new car, jewellery, fashion accessories, designer clothes, branded home furniture are likely to be purchased keeping in mind the likely reactions from others.

Reference Group Characterstics Influencing Consumer Behaviour

There are certain reference group characteristics (or nature) which can exert their influence consumers. Broadly they can be referred to as norms, values, roles, status, socialization and power.

Group Norms

These are the undefined or not documented rules and standards of conduct which the group establishes and the members are required to conform to them. These norms may relate to the appropriateness of wearing (type) clothes, eating habits, type of cars (or mobiles), jewellery or brand of cosmetics.

Values 

These refer to the shared beliefs among group members as to which behaviours are desirable and those which are undesirable. Of course, as discussed in the previous chapter, values are largely defined by cultures and sub-cultures but could vary to a great extent depending upon, the family and peer pressure. For, say one family may give more value to social status while another family may find independent thinking and personal enhancement to be very important.

Within the college campus, it will not be usual to find students valuing social status, moving around together, driving flashy vehicles, wearing branded designer wear or eating at the well known fast food outlets (like Café Coffee Day or Pizza Hut). There could also exist within the same campus another group of students who tend to give more importance to academic oriented activities as they feel this could lead them to achieve the personal goal desired by them.

Roles

These are functions that the group assigns to the individual, so as to attain the group objectives. Marketers try to identify specific roles performed by the group members in order to offer the best available brand or product category. In case of family decision making, the following roles have been identified, the influencer, the gate keeper (who controls the flow of information into the group) the decision maker, the purchaser and the user (or consumer).

Status

Status refers to the position the individual is accorded within the group. The symbolic representation of status is seen in the type of dress, ownership of certain types of products, membership to certain clubs and so on. Higher status implies greater power and influence when compared to one occupying lower status.

Sometimes consumers may purchase products to demonstrate a higher status in a broader societal sense, so that the message is conveyed of more wealth and implied superiority.

Socialization

When an individual learns the group norms and role expectations, socialization is said to take place. When a person takes up a new job he (or she) will learn the informal rules and expectations of the primary work group along with the organization's formal work rules and expectations.

Consumer Socialization

Consumer socialization refers to the process by which consumers acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to deal properly at the market place. Through the process of socialization, consumers will learn to understand the appropriate consumption behaviour from the various sources of information and media.

Consumers will try to emulate the behaviour of role models within the group 

Power 

The group is able to exert influence on an individual's behaviour. Although there are various sources of group influence, here we have discussed only three which are particularly relevant for marketing strategy.

a. Expert Power

The consumer will treat a source of information (either friend or relative or the sales person) to have expert power only if convinced about the source's credibility or knowledge or experience with the product.

b. Referent Power

As the term goes, referent power indicates the individual's identification with members of the group. More the similarity between the individual's beliefs and attitudes and that of the group members, more will be the referent power. The individual is either a member of a group or may aspire to be a part of a group because of common norms and values.

c. Reward Power

This is with reference to the group's ability to reward a person associated with them. For instance, the employer (or organisation) can bestow reward on an employee via finance (monetarily) promotion and improved status. The family can reward an individual by providing moral support, praising and approval. Social groups can provide reward through complimenting the member on his (or her) purchase decision. Similarly the group which had displayed reward power also have coercive power over the member. For instance, the group may express disapproval by demoting the employee, or not supporting the family member or ignore the individual at social meets, respectively - for deviant behaviour of the member.

Types Of Reference Groups

1. Normative reference group 

Reference groups can be of many types. Reference groups that directly influence general or broadly defined values or behaviour are usually called normative reference group. For example, a child's normative reference group will be his family. The family inculcates certain norms of behaviour, which will be complying to "good values" and "belief". The family plays an important role in moulding the child's consumer behaviour and values. And this is reflected in the type of food he consumes, the selection of dress for specific occasions, the type of outlets where he prefers to shop etc.

2. comparative reference group

Another reference group which will serve as a benchmark for certain specific or narrowly defined attitudes is called comparative reference group. Such a group serves as a point of comparison, especially for evaluating one's own status. Further, this estimate of one's status may vary according to the group with which one compares oneself. Consumers will compare their attitudes to those members of an important group and then work out whether the group will be supportive. For instance, people are interested in moving into residential complexes (areas) where they feel the neighbours are similar to themselves. This is because such neighbours will have similar social and economic characteristics as themselves. This could be the reason why consumers are seen seeking information from friends, who are perceived to be having similar tastes as themselves. This aspect is conveyed in ads like the (Stayfree Lite sanitary napkins, Recova, Sunsilk Shampoo) or a well informed sales person (Eureka Forbes). 

The ads of SBI Life, where elderly folks' rediscover their childhood through a game of cricket is a comparison to how carefree one can be by investing in SBI Life insurance or the ad on the drastic effects if one doesn't bother about the cholesterol level and how this can be reversed by consuming Saffola oil.

In college, sometimes students consider their peer group, who are seen wearing jazzy clothes, zooming past in cars etc. as a comparative reference group, who seem admirable and also worthy of imitation. Such a comparative reference group can influence an individual's dress code, lifestyle behaviour etc.

3. Indirect reference groups

There could be indirect reference groups in the form of movie stars, sports personalities etc. The above mentioned categories /types of people generally have a large following in the form of fans. Though there is no face-to-face contact or interaction between the fans and the respective star, they are able to influence their fans. The fans admire their hero/heroine and try to imitate their hairdo, dress code, lifestyles, attitudes and behaviour also. Though the star may not be able to directly influence every fan on his day-today purchases, their judgments on facts and fashions, or social messages etc. carry a lot of weightage and this is reflected in the consumer's purchase decisions. Since the star's views are heard with awe and respect, very often marketers use such personalities to promote their products.

4. Informational Influence

Consumers will accept information from a group, which is considered as a credible source of information and has expertise. Further, if he believes that the information will enhance his knowledge about product choices he may trust and believe this source. For instance, while purchasing consumer durables such as T.V., microwave owen, motor bikes or cars, consumers will regard personal sources of information as very trustworthy.

There are two conditions under which informational influence is sought by the consumer. 

• When there is social, financial or performance risk involved in buying the product (say purchase of a car).

• If the concerned individual has limited knowledge or experience regarding the product, informational influence is likely to be most important for him. (For instance, say technical products such as insurance policies, computers, printers or cellular phones).

studies have indicated that expert power can be based on the usage and experience of friends, neighbours or well as professional's expertise.

5. Aspirational group 

At times people get influenced by groups to which they do not belong. For instance, an aspirational group is one to which the individual wishes or aspires to belong. The individual may not have a formal membership and also does not have face to face contact, but he aspires to be a member. This aspiration acts as a positive influence on that person's attitude and behaviour. For example, a teen-age cricket player may hope to play some day for the country and he identifies with the Indian cricket team although there is no face to face contact. Thus his belief, values, attitudes and behaviour will be such, so as to match the ideologies of his aspirational group. Similarly, the consumer will select the product brand because of the personality it has attained, matches and expresses his own aspirations and self image. Personalities such as Aishwarya Rai (for Lux International soap), Priety Zinta. (Heads & Shoulders Shampoo) Shahrukh Khan & Priety Zinta (Santro Xing Car), Vishwanathan Anand (Horlicks) can all be referred to be aspirational group influences. Thus aspiration group can influence consumer behaviour in case of products like cigarettes, liquor, apparels, cosmetic products, automobiles and fashion.

6. Disclamant group

 Another type of reference group is the disclamant group. This is a group whose values or behaviour does not appeal to the individual. Here a person may have membership or face to face contact but he disapproves of the group values, attitudes and behaviour. So his behaviour will be the opposite or reverse to the norms of the particular reference group. For example, an individual's (teenager) family may be members of the 'Saibaba cult'. But, the particular teenager does not have faith in "Saibaba' so his behaviour will be so as to oppose and avoid any claim of relationship with the followers of 'Saibaba'.

7. Avoidance Group

This may be a group with which the person may not hold membership nor have face to face contact and also of whose values, attitudes and behaviour, the person totally disapproves. Here the person will tend to avoid the group and will adopt values, attitudes and behaviour which will be in opposition to that of the group. A teenager may have no faith in the practices, values, attitudes and behaviour of the ISKCON or Hari Krishna cult group. So he will avoid any contact with the group.

It has been seen that the importance of group influence varies among products and brands. Donald W. Hendon, had done a study, involving two hundred consumers to describe which of their product and brand choices had been strongly influenced by others. The findings are given here below.

Donald W. Hendon in his study on "A New empirical look at the influence of Reference groups on Generic product category and brand choice: Evidence from Two Nations", observed that products choice based on group influence changes as products go through their product life cycle. In the introductory stage of the product, the decision to buy is heavily influenced by others, but not the brand choice. In the growth stage, both the product choice and brand choice are heavily influenced by the group. In the maturity stage of the product, not the product choice but the brand choice is heavily influenced by the group. In the decline stage, group influence is weak on both the brand and product choice.

From all the above discussions we have seen that intimate group's consisting of one's family, friends, close colleagues (peer group) and closely knit groups can strongly exercise a strong influence on the lifestyles and the buying patterns of its members. Apart from the most influential and primary group i.e., one's family, the peer group can be defined as close-knit groups consisting of individuals with a common social background and normally belonging to the same age group. The peer group has the greatest influence on the individual especially towards stabilizing styles and behaviour patterns.

Marketers have to identify the reference groups relevant to a particular target market. They also have to look out for ways to reach a particular reference group. Opinion leaders are found in all strata of society. It may be noted that a particular person may be a opinion leader in certain product areas while a follower in other areas. So especially in areas where group influence is strong, marketers must work out on how to reach the opinion leaders. This can be done by identifying certain personal characteristics matching with opinion leadership, analyzing and determining the media preferred by them and then involving the opinion leaders to participate in influencing the group.

'Tupperware India Pvt. Ltd.', a branch of the parent company, Tupperware Home parties, a U.S A based company has been successfully using reference groups to sell its plastic ware through home party plan selling. As the term 'home party' indicates in an informal social gathering, the tupperware dealer will communicate about the products to the group and few of the guests may purchase some of the products just demonstrated, and the hostess will be given a commission on the sales made.

The above example of Tupperware shows that the reference group introduces the person to new behavioural patterns and lifestyle. The reference group also influences the person's attitudes and personality, 'self image' and 'self concept' because he/she would prefer to purchase products which will match the preference of the group at large. Moreover, there is also group pressure to conform to the group norms, which will automatically affect the person's actual product and brand choices.

Groups Relevent To Consumer Behaviour

This is because being a social human being, individuals always have contact with others like his immediate family and friends, fellow workers, fellow commuters, official customers and sometimes even strangers. All these interactions will affect the individual's behavioural pattern. So it becomes important for the marketing manager to understand and examine the influence of others on the individual, that is, both the influence of the group on the individual consumer and the personal influence exerted by an individual on another.

To understand this, we will discuss about the various types of groups which are relevant to the consumer and who can also influence his decision making process.

A. The Family Influence On Consumer Behaviour

Meaning of the Term 'Family'

The term family is a basic concept and is one of the most important primary groups to influence consumers' buying behaviour. Incidentally, it is with the family that most persons will have maximum interactions over a lifetime. A family can be defined as two or more persons living together who are related by blood or marriage.

Types of Family

Family can come into existence on account of orientation, i.e., it is the family a person is born into, consisting of one's parents, brothers and sisters and other relations such as grandparents, uncles etc. or the extended family. Such a family grouping has an established purchasing pattern which an individual is exposed to since childhood. So the person learns of the family's purchasing pattern right from her childhood. This gets imprinted in her mind and can lead to entrenched attitudes towards certain brands and suppliers. In fact, even selection of diverse products and services such as washing powders, instant or filter coffee/tea, banking services, health clinics, holidays etc. seem to be greatly influenced by family norms. In order to generate new customers. marketers have to design marketing programmes aimed at overcoming the reluctance of consumers to break these norms.

A family can also be referred to as a family of procreation which consists of a buyer's partner (or spouse) and children. This family has a more direct influence on everyday purchase decisions. All the members tend to influence different buying decisions.

There can also be single parents with children below 18 years. There could be such single parent households because of marriages ending in divorce or an unmarried parent with an adopted child under 18 years of age. In such a family, along with financial burden, the single parent will also have limited time to spend with his or her child. So such parent's are likely to spend more on their children, partly out of a sense of guilt. The outcome is that children in single parent households are likely to have more purchasing power and influence over a wide range of purchases.

In the recent past, there is visible, especially in metro cities, the emergence of households with live-in couples. Some heterosexual couples are choosing not to follow convention and remain unmarried though living together. Such live-in-couples are dual earning households and tend to have higher disposable income. Such households can easily become a good target for luxury goods, travel and entertainment. This calls for marketers to work out suitable marketing programmes to tap this market.

Benefits of Family

There are a few benefits which are applicable to a family member:

Financial and Economic Support

A big family function is that it provides the necessary economic and financial support to its family members. In urban India, nuclear family set up is quite common, whereas in rural India, we can still come across joint families or extended families. In the cities, with most of the homes becoming dual income households (with more and more women taking to work) we can see the existence of extended family where a parent (or grandparent) is needed to do baby sitting and some minor household chores. In such dual income households both the husband and wife shoulder the economic and financial support well being of the family together.

Socialisation

From a consumer behaviour point of view, family facilitates the process of socialisation. As a part of the socialisation process, right from one's childhood, each individual is taught the basic values and code of conduct expected from the society. All these are imparted so that one becomes a responsible citizen. Socialisation can take the form of direct interactions received from our parents and indirectly what we learn by observing the behaviour of others (parents, teachers, elders etc.) around us.

Marketers are interested in the consumer socialisation process. During childhood, parents are the role models for their children, so during this period, their consumption pattern (dressing, eating habits etc.) will be greatly influenced by the parents. During teens (or as college goers) it will be the peers and friends opinion and attitudes which will affect their purchasing decisions. Later on, after completion of studies when one starts working, our consumer behaviour can be influenced by our colleagues and working friends. After marriage, while setting up a new household one's consumption pattern and purchasing decisions will be greatly influenced by one's spouse. In this way, while moving along the family life cycle, the process of extended socialisation continues, with the changes occurring in one's life.

Socialisation is of interest to marketers because it is a two way process a person gets influenced by his or her family, friends, neighours and others and in turn he or she also influences those who are socialising with them. Thus, the challenge before the marketer is to identify all those involved in the socialisation process and target them with suitable advertisements to influence their purchase decisions. For instance, these aspects are portrayed in the ads for different product categories such as: Kellogs (children and parents enjoy it together). Liquid Surf Excel (Bond between the newly married daughter and mother), Vicks suckable tablets (grandmother to grand children), Allahabad Bank (Son and Farther have preference for the same bank), ICICI Bank (Husband and Wife), Whisper choice (mother and daughter), HDFC Standard Insurance (Parents, son and his child) and so on.

Household Life Cycle

The purchasing pattern or consumption behaviour will vary depending upon the age of household members, their marital status and whether or not there are children in the house. This is because of the changes occurring in the spending pattern of the family life cycle (FLC), Family lifecycle refers to the several phases people go through in their lives, i.e., the process of family formation and dissolution. Each life cycle will differ from the earlier stage in terms of (a) family set up or structure (b) the financial status and requirement (c) products or services needed and preferences, and (d) consumption pattern and buying behaviours.

'Patrick E. Murphy and William S. Staples (1979) had suggested modern family life cycle categories such as younger or middle age divorced couples and other married couples without children. An understanding of the FLC will help marketers to gauge the changes occurring in the individual's consumption pattern over his life time.

Classification of families on the basis of stage in the family life cycle (FLC) will give valuable insights into the family consumption related behaviour. However, with the many changes occurring in the contemporary family set up and lifestyle with the inset of the modern society, the traditional FLC stages have given way to the non traditional FLC stages. When households undergo status changes such as divorce, temporarily out of job, death of the spouse etc., the family as a consumption unit may undergo spontaneous changes in brand preferences. For instance, divorce may result in either or both the spouses trying to set up a new residence, obtain new landline phone connection, get membership to a good club etc. If divorced couples have children, then the concerned spouse will have to plan for additional entertainment

expenses.

If the family unit comprises of young couple (dual income family) with growing children, they will have another life-style and with more purchasing power and are likely to spend more on durable consumables and entertainment. Thus marketers will have to pack their products and services relevant to the varying family lifestyles and FLC of the consumers. Recognising this need, Club Mahindra advertises about its family holiday offerings. It describes its family holidays as "A heady mix of family holiday experiences where every moment is special".

Figure Labelled "The traditional family life-cycle" and "Sequence in non-traditional household life cycles" convey about the traditional family life cycle and non-traditional household lifecycles of an American family. However, with the many changes occurring in the demographics, social and cultural, economic etc. environmental in India it may not be wrong to say that the traditional joint family system has given way to a similar family life cycle. This can probably take the form, as mentioned in figure "The likely family life cycle in India".

Nature of Purchases

Purchase decisions are very often influenced by the family responsibilities or income constraints. For example, singles (who are young, unmarried drawing reasonable income) tend to spend more on clothes, personal care products, entertainment and vacations. Whereas, newly married couples (dual income) with significant discretionary income may spend more on setting up a new house, furniture, interiors etc. This consumption pattern and purchasing power will change once they have children, then later on when the children grow up and so on. 

Thus, there are could be modifications which arise from the changes occurring in the living status with a different set of needs relating to the household appliances, shopping expenses, and entertainment expenditures.

Family Decision Making

Although marketers have recognised the 'family' as the basic decision making unit, in order to get a complete picture of the consumption process, they like to examine the attitudes and behaviour of the user of the product or consumer and the major decision makers in the purchase decision. For this firstly they need to identify roles of the family members in their decision making process. In family decision making, the individual members can assume any of the roles specified in Table 9.7, depending upon the product or brand category. So, the marketer needs to identify the specific roles of those involved in the purchase decision process and direct marketing communication accordingly. It may be noted that a family member can play one or more roles in the purchase decision process.

The number and the persons who may perform these roles may differ from family to family and from product to product also. At times, a single member will independently assume a number of roles. Say, the mother while passing the Pizza Hut on her way home, may pick up the attractive offer (multiple food items) for Rs. 75 only. Her decision does not directly involve the influence of other family members. She is the initiator, decider and buyer, she may or may not be the sole user (or consumer). Products may be consumed by a single family member (face pack, cosmetics, deodorant etc.) or consumed directly by many family members [Dabur Real Juice, Fanta, Pepsi (1-2 litre packs)] or indirectly by the entire family (T.V, Fans, DVD player etc.). Thus, depending upon the product or service and its utility value, the single role can be performed by two or more members. Or in certain cases one or more of these basic roles may not be required. 

Another aspect of family consumption decisions of interest to marketers is whether the decisions are husband dominated, wife dominated, jointly taken or in solitary (or unilateral). Traditionally, husbands had dominated in decisions related to cars and insurance and wives for food and toiletries. However, all the social changes occurring with women having taken to work and gaining financial independence, they are also actively involved in the decision making process especially for products such as automobiles, financial transactions, vacations etc.

So, it is necessary that marketers continue with their efforts at planning marketing strategies by understanding more on the family, roles played by the members and so on.

B. Friendship Groups

So far we have seen how important the role played by the family is in influencing an individual's buying behaviour. But an individual for his/her protection, self awareness and enhancement needs others around him/her. Leon Festinger in his "A theory of Social Comparison Processes" has claimed that there exists in the human organism a drive to evaluate his opinions and abilities. If objective, non social means are not available, people evaluate their opinions and abilities by making a comparison with the opinions and abilities of others (Source: Consumer behavior, Peter D. Bennett and Harold H Kassarjian). In other words, human beings prefer the company of others and these people's opinions also matter to them. Consumers also enjoy the company of their friends when purchasing certain types of goods. Such friendship groups are able to influence the consumer especially for products like clothing, fine jewellery, cosmetics and personal care items, food items etc.

If we were to segment the youth market based on age and sex, then the influence of the friendship group becomes more prominent. The youth market constituting of youngsters in the age group of 18-30 accounts for a reasonable percentage of the country's population and is of considerable marketing significance. The tastes and preferences of the youth market are greatly influenced by their friends' views and opinions. This youth market is fast emerging as a growing market today. This youth market generally comprises of about to graduate students, post graduates, executives, emerging professionals etc. A high intent to purchase products and services is found in this market. They easily get motivated to purchase reasonably rated and the high value products as perceived by 'their friends'. The influence of friends on the buying behaviour is seen in their desire to have access to credit cards, wearing men/women wear which fall in line to their friends' choice adopting hair style/using deodorant and personal care items according to the acceptance of their friends circle. Even people who are found to smoke, reveal that the smoking habit was introduced to them by their friends.

The influence of friends is also seen in the buyers' choice of food-habits and drinks. Marketers have realised the role played by friends in influencing the consumption pattern of individuals in certain category of products and have designed suitable marketing communication programmes.

Examples of a few advertisers using the friendship theme while advertising about their product brands include:

• Sunsilk Shampoo, Dabur Vatika hair oil, Livon, Veet hair remover, Fair & Lovely cream - brands in the personal care category 

• Pepsi Cola, 7-up, Sprite, Moutain Dew - brands in the soft drinks category 

• Cadbury Byte, Cadbury Eclars, Kitkat Lite - brands in the snacks category

• Colgate and Close-up toothpastes, Wringly's chewing gum - brands in the tooth care and mouth freshner category.

C. Formal Social Clubs

Human beings are generally considered to be sociable in nature and spend much of their time in group situations. They like to be associated with formal social clubs like the Rotary Club, Lions Club etc. The reason for their getting associated with such social group may be to achieve a specific goal like making new friends, career advancement or pursuing a special interest or promoting a specific cause. Such formal social system generally comprises of three elements:

Activities are the tasks that people perform. Interactions are the behaviour that occurs between people in performing tasks. And Sentiments are the attitudes that develop between individuals within the group. George C. Homans argues that these concepts though separate are closely related. A change in any of these three elements will produce some change in the other two.

In a formal organisation set-up, job (activities) have to be done, that require people to work together (interactions). These jobs must be sufficiently satisfying (sentiments) for people to continue doing them. With more and more positive interactions with each other, more and more positive sentiments will be developed by the people towards each other. As this process continues, there is a tendency for the group members to become more alike in their activities and sentiments. The group now tends to develop expectations or norms that specify how people in a group might behave under certain specific circumstances. In other words, there will be group pressure to influence the perception and behaviour of the members. group

If an individual is elected as the secretary of the Lions Club, then according to the social status accorded to him he should proudly possess certain products / services like car, own house with good furniture etc. The initial thrust on joining the club as a member may have been to get acquainted with new friends, since he had recently arrived at the place. Now with his newly acquired status, he is influenced by the other club members and to keep up to the image as the secretary of the Lions Club, he has to maintain a lifestyle pattern adhered to by those occupying the seat before him.

In the same way, a Page 3 socialite may join the ladies club, so as to get admiration from like minded people who have already joined the club. All the members of the club are vying each other and in their desire to be appreciated by others, they furnish their houses with expensive furniture, wear fashionable and costly clothes and jewellery and drive expensive cars. Thus here as members of the prestigious club, they get influenced by the other members, to conform to group pressure and this seen in the way they purchase various products.

Marketers realising the role played by the formal social groups on their individual members, can work out a suitable sales promotion and communication programme and deliver the same to its target segment.

D. Shopping Friends/Groups

According to psychology, 'group' refers to the number of people who interact with one another, are psychologically aware of one another and perceive themselves to be a group. In the same way, shopping groups can be assumed to exist because the friends or group members need to relate to each other mainly because of the physical location of people, similar perception of things, matching personality, styles, outlook etc. These factors are also responsible for the increase in the frequency of the interactions between the members of a shopping group.

Usually shopping groups are off shoots of the family or friendship groups. The term shopping itself indicates that efforts have to be made to search around while purchasing goods or services. The shopping group prefers to shop around and select goods after comparing the quality, terms, style, customer services, price etc. Usually, when with a shopping group, the buyer will be influenced by their pressure and group's brand preference. The products purchased along with a shopping group may include music system, watch, clothes, jewellery, draperies, vehicles etc.

Since the shopping group will comprise of individuals who interact frequently, the group's views on fashion, lifestyles etc. exercise a strong influence on the living style and buying pattern of the individual. Further, since the shopping group are close knit, they act as an advisor and recommend styles and behaviour pattern to the individual members. The shopping group will express their views on various aspects of the purchase - the cost angle, prestige, usage or utility aspects, availability of competitors brands and past experience of the member who has made use of the product. Since the buyer has a lot of faith and confidence in the views expressed by his shopping group, he will consider their view point before deciding on the purchase of the product.

For instance assume that the college going son in the family is interested in the purchase of an ipod. Usually, he is accompnised by his friends on shopping trips. Further, he gives due consideration to the suggestions and view points expressed by them. Brand name, unique features, how compact it is, price etc. could be some of the variables, the prospective buyer is weighing in mind. Finally, in all probability he will purchase the ipod brand recommended to, by his friends.

So depending on the product category and target market segment, the marketer should develop a marketing programme, keeping in mind, the shopping group who are likely to be involved in the decision making process and thus, able to influence the individual buyer.

E. Work Group

This group can comprise of formal work group and informal work group. The formal work groups are those which are deliberately created by companies in order to fulfil specific tasks or functions clearly related to the total organisational goals and objectives. Based on their duration, the formal work groups can be of two types.

• Permanent formal work group

• Temporary formal work group

The permanent formal work group are part of the top management team, work units in various departments of the organisation, staff groups providing specialised services to the line people in the organisation, permanent committees and so on.

Temporary formal work groups are committees or task forces created for a particular purpose/mission. They may be created to study say review the salary policies, to suggest measures to improve the relationship between the union and management or to think of new products and services and so on. This temporary formal groups may exist till the task assigned to them have been completed. Very often the committee / temporary work group will comprise of members, who are already on the permanent payroll of the company. However, till the completion of the work assigned to the committee, there will be close interactions between the members.

Irrespective of whether the formal work group is permanent or temporary in nature, due to the close interactions between the members of the work groups at the place of work, the group can influence the consumption related attitudes of its members. In the formal work group setup, especially in a superior subordinate relationship, the superior (boss) is likely to influence the buying or consumption pattern of the subordinate. Very often the subordinate aspires to hold a higher position in the near future and so he will symbolically try to adopt the values, attitudes and consumption behaviour of the superior. This is also referred to as aspiration based personality. The theoretical version says that the consumer has a vision of himself as he wishes to be and also as he wishes the world to see him. So the product and brand he selects will be the best expression of his own aspiration and self image. In a formal work set-up, this will be reflected, especially influenced by his superiors and colleagues, in the individual's choice of FMCG products like hard drinks or liquor and more prominently seen in case of products like automobiles and vehicles, apparels, personal use products, fashion and cosmetics.

Apart from the formal work groups existing in the organisations, if the ecology of the work area and the time schedule of the work permit, informal relationship will develop into informal work groups. Various studies have revealed that these friendships and informal associations are often based simply on the probability of one person's meeting another in the course of daily activities. In the informal settings the members of the informal groups develop a good two way communication path simply because of the probability of interaction created by physical proximity, similarity of interests or other fortuitous factors.

Under the circumstances, the informal group able to influence the consumption behaviour of its members. This, influence is seen in their choice of products like eatables, soft drinks, credit card, television, refrigerators, other home appliances etc. A consumer buys certain FMCG brands not only for its functional benefits but for psychological gratification, For instance, the advertisement of 'Sunflame hot stove' shows a housewife cum career woman saying "it (Sunflame) helps me to cope efficiently with my tasks as housewife while I get on with my career".

Marketers must realise that the work group also plays a very important role in promoting their products and work out marketing programmes to communicate information about their products and its usage to the work groups.

Reference Group & Consumer Conformity To The Group

Marketers, being aware of the fact that an individual joins a voluntary (and informal) group because he agrees with the beliefs and value systems of the group, are interested in knowing the ability of the reference group to exert pressure on the individual consumer to encourage conformity and change his attitudes and behaviour.

The ability of the group to achieve conformity of its value system can be seen clearly in a marketing context in an experiment conducted by M. Venkatesh. Here subjects in groups of four were asked to choose the best of three identical men's suits. When three of the four group members were instructed by the experimenter to publicly choose a preselected suit, 22 of 42 critical subjects also choose that particular suit. However, when there was no group pressure, control groups selected the suits on a chance basis. (Source: Consumer Behavior-Peter'D. Bennett, Harold. H. Kassarjian, 1987, pp. 99)

The above study indicates the influence the group has on an individual can change his buying pattern.

There are certain methods adopted by a reference group to encourage conformity, that is to change the consumer attitudes and behaviour. To facilitate this, the reference group must:

a) Inform or Make the Individual Aware of the Product

For example, A housewife may inform her neighbour about the availability of a new brand of washing machine, which can help in the washing of clothes. The neighbour is happy and convinced that she can wash clothes in the washing machine whenever the maid is absent.

b) Provide an Opportunity to the Individual to make a Comparative Study of her way of Thinking viz-a-viz the Attitudes and Behaviour of the Group: 

The above mentioned housewife may invite her neighbour home to have a look at the new washing machine purchased by her. This will provide an opportunity for the lady to have a live demonstration and also understand the positive aspects of owning a washing machine.

c) Influence the Individual to Adopt Attitudes and Behaviour that are Consistent with the Norms of the Group

The housewife may provide literature and more information about her brand of washing machine and also introduces her neighbour to some of the housewives who have had a positive and happy experience using the washing machine.

d) Legitimize the Individual's Decision to Experience the Usage of the same Product as the Group 

Finally, when convinced on the goodness of purchasing the washing machine, the neighbour who has initiated the purchase decision will now try to influence the housewife on her selection of the particular brand. This is attempted by talking to her about other friends' pleasant experience with using the same brand of washing machine.

It has been observed by marketers that customers are looking out for products/brands which will be accepted by the group with which they would like to be associated. Hence marketers are focusing their products at people/group with whom the target market can identify as an user of the same.

This identification may be based on either of the following:

1. 'Admiration'

The target market admires the personality and look up with awe at the person who is shown promoting a particular brand of the product. For instance, Amitabh Bachchan has been a brand endorser for companies like Parker Pens and ICICI Home loans to promote their products. Actress Deepika Padakone is seen endorsing brands such as BSNL, Fiama Di Wills and Parashute Oil. These personalities are admired and hence appeal to the target market.

2. 'On Aspiration'

The target market aspires/dreams of a particular lifestyle or way of life. This image or ideology is more relevant in the case of cosmetics, clothing etc. For instance Grasim Gwalior has always used celebrity lifestyle advertising, and for this the lifestyle of the Pataudi family was chosen as the model. Skoda Octavia is positioned as "The well built lifestyle car, Engieered to peerless perfection".

3. On Empathy

The media should communicate about the product/service such that it represents a self expression or portrays a vision of the model shown in a similar situation. For instance, IDEA Cellular used this mode when it launched the first ever women's card claiming that they "Understood the need gaps of women". This was made available with both prepaid and postpaid connection. The card had value adds such as tips on beauty fashion, health and safety alerts to near and dear ones.

4. On Recognition of a Similar Situation

Here the marketer will advertise showing or in recognition of a situation or a person (real or stereotype). A classic example would be the campaign used by Hindustan Lever, when it had launched 'Surf Excel'. The focus was to get the real time customers/users involved in the advertising and be given a chance to test the product and also give a feedback which would be mass communicated. Further, the company had also used a money back offer for dissatisfied customers. The company had carefully chosen to represent the people that customers would identify with. Another advertisement is of 'Saffola cooking oil', a product of Marico Industries. The commercial drives home the message of Saffola's product benefit "there are many things in your husband's life that you cannot control. Saffola-its your life insurance"-strikes up an immediate association of safety and relief.

Usually group decisions are made through meetings wherein members interact among themselves, persuade and influence other group members and put pressure to conform to group norms. So, an understanding of the factors which can guide and influence consumer's purchase decision can help marketers to work out a suitable marketing strategy.

Benefits Of Reference Group Appeal

There are certain positive aspects associated with groups in terms of better decisions, better commitment of the people towards decisions and especially better communication with increased brand awareness and reduced perceived risk. Some of these aspects are briefly presented below.

1. Better Communication and Increased Brand Awareness

Reference group acts as the source of learning through observation and hearing others experiences and also with more data and information available from other group members. The individual customer is able to communicate and interact with the group. He is able to learn more about the brand based on the views and facts expressed by the group. This constant interactions between the individual, and group, influences his buying behaviour and consequently increases his awareness of the brand.

2. Reduces Perceived Risk

On the one hand the marketer is continuously involved in trying to identify consumer needs, her/his motives, buying habits, behaviour pattern and decision making process and accordingly manufacture and sell products matching such needs and desires. At the same time, the consumers also have to be convinced that the product/service being offered to them will satisfy their needs. There may be hesitation on the part of the consumer to immediately accept a product as it is because of the perceived risk associated with its utility aspect. This perceived risk is reduced with the customers association with the reference group. The group provides and shares the information about the product with the members in an open environment. Moreover, past experiences of other members with the usage of the product brand are also revealed. There is also group pressure to conform to group behaviour. All these will pave the way to remove whatsoever doubt the individual may have about the product and enable him to whole heartedly accept the product due to reduction in perceived risk now associated with the usage of the product.

Marketing Applications Of Reference Group Appeals

Marketers have been using three types of group influence (informational, comparative and normative) for developing advertising and personal selling strategies.

Advertising Strategies

While working out advertising strategies, group influence is portrayed through informational influence by using an expert spokesperson such as a doctors (Lizol disinfectant), engineers (ACC cement) to communicate on the product features and performance. At times they also use celebrities such as sports persons, film stars (Filmstar Mohanlal on Pankajakasturi of Parker Pens and ICICI Home Loan by Amitabh Bachchan). Sometimes marketers request person's who have used the product brand to testify and speak on their experience. Nevertheless, all efforts will be put to ensure that the target consumers will view the spokerperson to be an expert and hence his or her opinion is credible in the product category.

Portraying Comparative Influence

Advertisers have been using comparative influence by using two types of referents. 

• Actual referent or "typical consumer", who cite into common needs and problems which are portrayed as being similar to that of the prospective purchaser.

• Symbolic referent i.e., a celebrity whom the consumer empathizes and identifies with, especially because this person (celebrity) is likeable or attractive. For instance Hema Malini is used as a symbolic referent to promote The Bank of Rajasthan and Zero-B water purifier. Or take the case of Simone Singh endorsing Garnier Hair Dye or Ajay and Kajal being used as referents for Whirlpool Washing Machine. In all the above instances, consumers would like to identify with the referents.

Portraying Normative Influence

Marketers have tried to use normative influence by showing group approval in advertising. Praise for the cup of tea or coffee (Red Label, Bru), glorious hair (Sunsilk Shampoo), tasty snacks (Kurkure) a smooth and comfortable ride (Alto)- are all examples of advertising's simulation of social (or society's) approval. In all the above advertisements, persons who are important to the consumer (spouse, in-laws, friends, neighbours) have shown approval of the consumer's choice.

At times, marketers have used normative influence to show the probable adverse results of not using the product. Dr. Bhatra's Clinic uses fear of social group's not acceptance due to excess hair loss or Lifebouy Soap and Rexona Deodorant demonstrates the fear of group obtracism due to body odour. In the above advertisements, it is indicated that use of the particular product changes disapproval to approval, which re-iterates the fact that coercive power and reward power are linked.

Personal Selling Strategies

Marketers use three types of reference group influence while developing sales strategies. 

a) Informational influence

Informational influence, when the salesperson is considered to be an expert source of information. For example, Acqua Guard water purifier. Such influence reflects expert power.

b) Comparative influence

Comparative influence, when the salesperson is able to re-inforce the customer's ego and social needs by demonstrating similar needs, concerns and predispositions. Such influence reflects referent influence. The sales agents of ICICI or HDFC banks are able to demonstrate their expertise and knowledge in communicating about the variety of financial offerings that can be of interest to the customer. This is expert power in action.

However, price conscious or bargain hunting customers will prefer to shop at outlets such as Big Bazaar. The sales persons at this outlet are persons with similar needs and with low risk involved, they are able to regularly sell products to buyers. In this instance the sales persons are able to sell using the comparative (or referent) influence.

c) Normative influence

Normative influence, which refers to the relative bargaining power of the buyer and sellers to arrive at favourable terms of sale. Of course, bargaining will take place only when the consumers' have the ability to bargain and this may have a direct effect on the sales outcome. This behaviour could be visible during the purchase of products such as cars, home appliances, furniture and second hand items. Studies have indicated that a big reason why some customers are able to obtain items for lower prices is because of their bargaining strength and knowledge.