Social Influence on Consumer Behaviour-Free-Samples for Student

Question: Discuss about the Effect of Social Influence on Consumer Behaviour. Answer: Introduction Consumer behaviour is related to the effort of studying and understanding the behaviour of the consumers and their buying tendencies. This study helps the organizations in deciding its target customers and ways by which the products will be presented in the market. Social factors have an important role in the ways by which they influence the decisions of the consumers of the various organizations. The human beings are considered to be social animals and they are always influenced by the social environment and the external environment as well. The essay will be mainly based on the analysis of two major social influences which can influence the decision-making process of the consumers (Badgaiyan Verma, 2015). Analysis of consumer behaviour based on social influences The organization that is taken into consideration for analysis of consumer behaviour is Woolworths Group. Woolworths Group is an organization of Australian origin which operates in the retail sector. The organization was established in the year 1924 and it has its operations in New Zealand and Australia. Woolworths has acquired the second biggest organization in Australia in terms of its revenue. The organization is that has become the biggest takeaway liquor retailer. The first store of Woolworths was opened in Stupendous Bargain Basement in Sydney. The company had gone through many losses in the year 2016 and it had opened many innovative stores all through Australia to bring back its lost position (Bartels Onwezen, 2014). The two social factors that are considered in the analysis of consumer behaviour in Woolworths are cultural factors and the social class. The cultural factors mainly comprise of the various set of values and the ideologies of the communities or the group of the individuals. The cultural factors have immense effect on the buying decisions of the individuals. The various individuals have different set of beliefs and habits which they develop from their family, background and status. The culture of the individuals is developed from their childhood from their families (Woolworths.com.au., 2018). The religion, gender and status of the individuals affect their process of decision-making. The economic and social class of the consumers also affect their buying behaviour. The decisions that are made by the buyers are based on the ways by which the social factors are related to their buying process (Gifford Nilsson, 2014). The social class can be described as the divisions that are made withi n the society based on values, behaviour and interest of the various groups of people. The other major factors that can be used to define social class are related to the income of the individuals, the quality of the neighbourhood from where they belong and their profession. These factors affect the ways by which these consumers take decisions related to the purchase of products belonging to different categories and price levels. This depicts that the social factors related to the various consumers affect their buying behaviour and the products that are purchased by them (Hajli, 2015). The marketing strategy of Woolworths has been formulated based on the analysis of the behaviour of the different consumers of the organization. The strategy related to marketing is formulated by the management of Woolworths with the help of a process called the wheel consumer analysis. The wheel consumer analysis is formed based on three strategies which are, affect and cognition, consumer behaviour and consumer environment. The consumer behaviour analysis is given most importance by the marketing executives of Woolworths. The consumer behaviour of the organization is based in many different factors. The social factors related to the consumers of Woolworths influence their purchase decisions (Pansari Kumar, 2017). Woolworths analyses the culture to which the consumers belong and the effect of this culture on their buying behaviour. The culture of the country affects the culture that is adopted by the individuals who belong to that country. Woolworths has formulated many strategies to win the trust of the customers. The organization has always placed the customers at the top priority and has designed their products and offerings based on their tastes and preferences. The company always formulates strategies that can help in acquiring and retaining the customers. The products of the organization are offered in such a manner so that they can cater to the needs of the customers belonging to all parts of the society or from any economic class. The pricing strategy of the organization affects the buying behaviour of the consumers based on their economic class (Pappas, 2016). The design of the stores also influences the buying decisions that are made by the consumers. The main reason being that the c onsumers belong to different cultures and their style of shopping is different. Based on the style of shopping some people may like the shopping experience and feel in the stores and it may so happen that some may not like the feel as well. Thus it can be said that the social factors of the consumers which include their social class and the cultural factors affect their decisions related to the purchasing of products. The 4 Ps of marketing mix of Woolworths are related to the mix of products, price, promotion and place with respect to the marketing strategy of the organization. Product Woolworths is an Australian retail based organization. The company provides different types of items related to grocery which are a major part of the marketing mix. The products of the company include, fruits, meat, vegetables and the packaged products. Woolworths provides huge variety of products related to various brands, international cuisine and local produce. The products are offered based on the preferences and the behaviour of the consumers. The customers are never left dissatisfied related to their choice of products when they visit the stores of Woolworths. This is possible due to the analysis that is performed by the company based on the preferences of the customers related to the social factors (Parsons, Maclaran Chatzidakis, 2017). The diverse range of products offered by the company has helped them in creating a different position in the market. The needs of the various types of customers have been fulfilled with the help of the consumer behaviour analysis. Price The prices of the products that are offered by Woolworths are same or little more than the prices in the market. The prices are kept in such a manner so that they provide competition in the market. The different segments of customers belonging to the various social and economic classes have preferences for different products in the market. Woolworths has fixed the prices of their products based on the various levels of customers The customers are also provided with shopping cards that can help in tracking the purchases in the stores automatically (Raheem, Vishnu Ahmed, 2014). Place Woolworths has its operations in more than 1000 stores in Australia. Among these 950 are supermarkets and others are the convenience stores The company also has its operations in the online platform. Woolworths has also developed a specialised mobile app for purchases of products. The stores are all designed and operated based on the choices and preferences of the individuals who belong to the society where the stores operate. The stores offer products belonging various private brands like, Woolworth Homebrand, Woolworths Gold, Woolworths Select and Woolworths Fresh. The organization therefore aims at creating a customer base at all the levels in the society. The distribution network of Woolworths is strong enough to reach the various customers and fulfil their needs (Rani, 2014). Promotion The promotional activities of Woolworths have always been of great importance. The company has been innovating its capabilities based on the various promotional offers and schemes that they have been able to provide to the customers. The promotional activities of the company are also based on the tastes and the preferences of the various types of customers who are a major part of the operations. The company provides loyalty schemes for the customers which include a variety of facilities. The online platform is also used by the company for the purpose if reaching the various types of customers. Woolworths also provides gift cards and they use extensive methods of promotion based on the media. The online shopping platform of the company also attracts a huge segment if customers who help the company in increasing its revenues and profitability (Sasmita Mohd Suki, 2015). Target market analysis is related to the study of the potential customers of an organization. The company can identify its target market with the help of data collected with respect to the current customer base, the competition of the company is also analysed to decide the target market. The company needs to analyse the services and products and choose specific demographics to select the appropriate market area for its products. The psychographics of the target group of people are also analysed by the company for analysing target market. The analysis of target market is important for deciding the group of consumers who need to be directly targeted by the company with the help of their services and products. These are the group of consumers who require the products that are being offered by the company (Schuitema Groot, 2015). The target market of Woolworths is analysed by the organization with the help of the levels of income of the consumers. The group of people who are targeted by Woolworths mainly belong to the middle to the upper income group of people. The company has been able to place themselves as one of the top brands among this group of people. The sales of Woolworths have grown both in the fields of clothing and grocery divisions. The limited target market of Woolworths is related to the huge growth of revenues in the same area (Sharma, 2014). The various strategies that are used by Woolworths for influencing the target market are, co-branding, endorsement and multi-branding. The strategy related to endorsement has helped Woolworths in creating sub-categories within the various categories. In this manner the organization offers its services to the consumers belonging to the various groups of people. The social and the cultural background of consumers affect the ways by which the they take the decisions of buying products from Woolworths. Market segmentation is related to the process by which a potential group of consumers are divided according to their likes and choices and other basic characteristics related to their preferences. The market segmentation is done based on the gender, psychographic factors like the age, gender and the income of the specific group of people. The place from where the consumers belong affect their likes and choices and further influences their buying decision (Sirgy, 2015). The usage of the products and the lifestyle of the consumers are also related to the segmentation of market. The various types of market segmentation are demographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, behavioural segmentation and psychographic segmentation. The consumers are divided in such a manner so that the company can offer the specific products according to the preferences of the various groups. Woolworths uses the process of market segmentation to decide the group of customers to whom the products will be of fered (Zeugner-Roth, Ã… ½abkar Diamantopoulos, 2015). The cultural background and the social and economic factors affect the process of market segmentation that is done by the company. The group of consumers of Woolworths are divided based on the culture to which they belong and their economic conditions are also taken into consideration. The four ways of market segmentation are used by Woolworths to divide the consumer groups and further the offer products which are suitable for the particular groups of people (Rettie, Burchell Barnham, 2014). Conclusion The analysis in the essay shows that the buying behaviour of the consumers is affected by the social factors like, cultural background and social and economic class. These factors affect the ways by which decisions are made by the consumers and the products that they intend to buy. Woolworths is a retail organization and it has its operations in many different areas of Australia. The organization decides the market where it can offer its products and further increase the revenues. The target group of customers and the market segmentation process is also based on the social factors related to the consumers and the areas to which they belong. References Badgaiyan, A. J., Verma, A. (2015). Does urge to buy impulsively differ from impulsive buying behaviour? Assessing the impact of situational factors.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,22, 145-157. Bartels, J., Onwezen, M. C. (2014). Consumers' willingness to buy products with environmental and ethical claims: the roles of social representations and social identity.International Journal of Consumer Studies,38(1), 82-89. Gifford, R., Nilsson, A. (2014). Personal and social factors that influence pro?environmental concern and behaviour: A review.International Journal of Psychology,49(3), 141-157. Hajli, N. (2015). Social commerce constructs and consumer's intention to buy.International Journal of Information Management,35(2), 183-191. Pansari, A., Kumar, V. (2017). Customer engagement: the construct, antecedents, and consequences.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,45(3), 294-311. Pappas, N. (2016). Marketing strategies, perceived risks, and consumer trust in online buying behaviour.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,29, 92-103. Parsons, E., Maclaran, P., Chatzidakis, A. (2017).Contemporary issues in marketing and consumer behaviour. Routledge. Raheem, A. R., Vishnu, P., Ahmed, A. M. (2014). Impact of product packaging on consumers buying behavior.European journal of scientific research,122(2), 125-134. Rani, P. (2014). Factors influencing consumer behaviour.International journal of current research and academic review,2(9), 52-61. Rettie, R., Burchell, K., Barnham, C. (2014). Social normalisation: Using marketing to make green normal.Journal of Consumer Behaviour,13(1), 9-17. Sasmita, J., Mohd Suki, N. (2015). Young consumers insights on brand equity: Effects of brand association, brand loyalty, brand awareness, and brand image.International Journal of Retail Distribution Management,43(3), 276-292. Schuitema, G., Groot, J. I. (2015). Green consumerism: The influence of product attributes and values on purchasing intentions.Journal of Consumer Behaviour,14(1), 57-69. Sharma, M. K. (2014). The impact on consumer buying behaviour: Cognitive dissonance.Global Journal of Finance and Management,6(9), 833-840. Sirgy, M. J. (2015). The self-concept in relation to product preference and purchase intention. InMarketing Horizons: A 1980's Perspective(pp. 350-354). Springer, Cham. Woolworths.com.au. (2018).Woolworths.com.au. Retrieved 28 March 2018, from https://www.woolworths.com.au/ Zeugner-Roth, K. P., Ã… ½abkar, V., Diamantopoulos, A. (2015). Consumer ethnocentrism, national identity, and consumer cosmopolitanism as drivers of consumer behavior: A social identity theory perspective.Journal of international marketing,23(2), 25-54.