Understanding the Customer: Groups

A group consists of two or more individuals who share a set of norms, have role relationships and experience interdependent behaviours. Consumers are often influenced in their purchase decisions depending on the group in which they belong or admire to be a part of by a desire to be accepted by others. Members of a group are often likely to participate in activities they would not normally do as an individual as a result of their identities becoming merged. The term 'reference group' can used to define any external influence that provides social cues on an individual. Reference groups are 'an actual or imaginary individual or group conceived of having significant relevance upon an individual's evaluations, aspirations, or behaviour' (Solomon). Well known groups such as the Royal Family, successful football teams, popular music bands, influencing individuals such as Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, or even groups close to home including class mates, social groups, sports teams etc can all be classed as a reference group due to the immediate influence placed upon an individual to fit into that each particular group or group in which they aspire to belong. A consumer's behaviour can be heavily influenced by the social factors that they come into contact with.

Groups can be categorised into 8 different sections:

Reference groups - groups that have a direct or indirect influence on the person's attitudes or behaviour.
Acquired groups - groups that you choose to go into (educational/work).
Aspirational groups - groups that you wish to belong to or wish to be associated with (celebrities/sports personalities).
Disassociation groups - groups that you do not wish to be a part of (chav's).

Contrived groups - groups that are formed for a specific purpose (committes/unions).
Associative groups - groups that you realistically belong to, people that you can associate with (friends/family).
Peer groups - groups with people of equal standing, people you see everyday (university/work).
Ascribed groups - groups that you are born into (ethnicity/social class/family/gender).

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs strives to determine the reasons behind why people are driven by particular needs at particular times. Maslow suggests that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy, from the most important to the least important. The most important needs in this scale must be satisfied first before the person 'moves' to the next level. In advertising and marketing campaigns marketers use the needs mentioned in Maslow's hierarchy in order to create a pivotal message for the consumer, encouraging them that they need the product or service to ultimately satisfy these needs. The hierarchy of needs consists of: