External and internal influences also affect consumer behavior.III. EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIORA. Family and Household Influences1. Consumer socialization is the process by which children learn the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they use when they function as consumers making purchase decisions.2. Family also influences consumer behavior through the family life cycle.a. At each stage, the family has needs that drive purchasing decisions.b. Today's family life cycle does not necessarily follow the traditional path.c. Only 70% of U.S. households are family households, residential units with a married couple or a parent and children.d. Nonfamily households, households of unrelated people who live together, now make up about 30% of households.3. Family decision making influences behavior.a. Individual family members may play a role in any stage of the purchase-decision process.b. Marketers try to get more than one family member on their side for a purchase.B. Opinion Leaders and Word of Mouth1. Consumers often seek advice from people who are knowledgeable about the product.2. Opinion leaders are people who can influence the attitudes or behaviors of others.a. They are frequently among the first to try new goods or services.b. Opinion leaders are seen as objective and as specialists in a certain product or category.c. Some marketers develop marketing programs especially for opinion leaders.3. Word-of-mouth communication is the transmission of information informally from person to person.a. It is believable because it comes from opinion leaders, family members, and other sources not connected with marketers.b. Word-of-mouth communications can also deal a marketer a powerful blow when it is negative.C. Reference Groups1. Reference groups are groups that influence the behavior of members, people wanting to be members, and people who do not want to be members.2. Consumers can be influenced by reference groups in three ways:a. In ...
