Strategic Marketing Basics

Contact groups, reference groups and cultures are among the most influential external factors    guiding purchasing behaviours.

 

1. Contact groups

 

• Formal contact groups: company, school, community, sport’s club, etc.

• Informal contact groups: family, friends, colleagues,etc.

These are groups where people meet regularly (in person or on the web), norms are established, comparisons are made, opinions formed, etc., especially about consumer goods and services. In almost every group, opinion leaders with natural charisma influence the opinions of other group members and contribute to shaping them. These natural leaders are important for marketers because they must be the first to convince when a new product is launched!

 

2. Reference groups

 

Whether we are part of one or not, these are groups to which we refer, which we consider as models. We identify with them, we want to belong to them, we imitate their members !

For example, teens tend to identify to show business, movie or sports idols.

 

3. Cultures

 

Culture can be defined as a set of ideas, values and attitudes that are common to groups or sub-groups of individuals. When one speaks of sub-culture, it is clearly the culture of a small group within a larger group.

We speak about geographic or ethnic cultures, youth or student cultures, urban culture, etc.