Reference Groups and Consumer Behavior

Reference Groups and Consumer Behavior

Introduction

A group is composed of two or more people who share a common purpose. Reference groups are very important for marketers. These groups serve as point of comparison for an individual. The behaviors and beliefs of the group mainly establish norms of behavior for the individual and therefore can affect his behavior from the activities they enjoy to the food they purchase. So it can be safely said that consumer behavior is dependent on these reference groups.

Analysis

Following is an analysis of the interview with Mr. Bruce Weston. He is an employee in a multinational firm, 32 years of age, married with two children. He has done his bachelor's in management and is doing his masters in addition to his job. The questions that I asked him and the ratings he gave me are attached in appendices section. My analysis of the questionnaire is presented here.

The questions in the table were basically set as such to gauge an individual vulnerability to interpersonal influence especially when he is making consumption choices. As mentioned in the scale Mr. Weston mostly gave low scores to all the statements that I asked him. Out of six questions he has given low scores to four questions. This indicates that he mostly disagrees to the statements and thus he is not vulnerable to interpersonal influences. If we categorize him according to a reference group he falls in Dissociative Reference group. The simple reason for this categorization is that he has displayed all the characteristics of the said group. While mostly people are conscious of what they buy and what other will perceive of them if they saw their buying behavior Mr. Weston is not. He is not bothered about the latest trend or fashion when everyone else seems ...