A presentation on “Influence of Culture on

Consumer Behavior”

presented by:Jay Shah,

FMS-B,The M.S.U of Baroda.

DEFINITION

Culture is the sum total of learned values, beliefs and customs that serve to direct the consumer behaviour of members of a particular society.

Beliefs and values- Accumulated feeling and priorities that individuals have about things and possessions.

They are mental images that influence the responses of a person in a specific situation .

Customs – Usual and accepted ways of behaviour.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

INVISIBLE HAND OF CULTURE

• The impact of culture is automatic and natural and hence many times its takes for granted.

• Culture exists at different subjective levels :

Level 1- Supranational :Cultural differences that cross national boundaries, present in more than one country. Consumer behaviour relevant factors: language, symbolism meaning, racial composition etc.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Level 2 - National :Cultural characters of that uniquely define citizens of a particular country.

Level 3 – Group :Cultural divisions that include collection of individuals.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Jay Shah, FMS-B

CULTURAL LEARNING

• Adults teach younger childrenFORMAL LEARNING

• Learning by imitating adultsINFORMAL LEARNING

• Teachers instruct children in schoolsTECHNICAL LEARNING

Jay Shah, FMS-B

ACQUISITION OF CULTURE

• Enculturation– learning of one’s own culture .

• Acculturation :learning of a new or foreign culture.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS

To acquire common culture, a common language for communication is needed.

To communicate with consumers , marketers must use appropriate symbols to convey product images or characteristics.

Symbols can be verbal and non verbal. Verbal symbols – television advertisement. Non verbal-figures ,symbol for additional meaning

Jay Shah, FMS-B

RITUALS

Ritual is a symbolic activity consisting of a series of steps occurring in a fixed sequence.

Culture includes ritualized experiences.

Rituals tend to be replete with ritual artefacts that are associated with or somehow enhance the performance of ritual.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

SHARING OF CULTURAL BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS

Institutions that traditionally share the responsibility for transfer of culture :

1. Family 2. Education institutions 3. Houses of worship 4. Mass media5. Virtual communities

Jay Shah, FMS-B

MEASUREMENT OF CULTURE

Content Analysis, consumer fieldwork and value measurement are 3 research approaches that are frequently used to examine culture and to spot culture trends

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Content Analysis

A method for systematically analyzing the content of verbal and/or pictorial communication. The method is frequently used to contrast aspects of two different cultures.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Field Observation

A cultural measurement technique that takes place within a natural environment that focuses on observing behavior (sometimes without the subjects’ awareness).

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Characteristics of Field Observation

• Takes place within a natural environment.

• Performed sometimes without the subject’s awareness.

• Focuses on observation of behavior.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

In addition to fieldwork methods, depth interviews and focus-group sessions are also often used to get a first look at the emerging social or cultural change .

In the informal environment of focus group discussions consumers may reveal attitudes or behaviour signalling a shift in values.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

VALUE MEASUREMENT SURVEY INSTRUMENTS Rokeach Value Survey (RVS): A self-administered inventory

consisting of eighteen “terminal” values (i.e., personal goals) and eighteen “instrumental” values (i.e., ways of reaching personal goals).

List of Values (LOV): A value measurement instrument that asks consumers to identify their two most important values from a nine-value list that is based on the terminal values of the Rokeach Value Survey.

Values and Lifestyles (VALS): A value measurement based on two categories: innovation and resources.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

INDIAN CORE VALUES

Indian society is driven by a set of core values.

Variation in urban values due to: Changing Lifestyles, Westernization and Diffusion of technology.

Indian consumers are culture-conscious as they follow the cultural expectations of the society.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

1) Family Orientation:

• Concept of Extended Family- parents, siblings, grandparents, etc.

• Chief wage earner supports the entire joint family.• Disposable income of such a consumer gets radically

reduced.• Looks for a value-based brand at a lower price point.• Mixes Brands to balance the expenditure.• Down-trading- consumer buys less expensive brands after

using higher brands.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Product-line extension

Jay Shah, FMS-B

2) Savings Orientation: (Voltas AC commercial)

• Uncertainty of income generation as huge population still lives in rural parts.• Unlike developed nations, various community services are not being available.• Consumers fall back on their savings even to celebrate festivities.• All class of consumers consider jewelry as a means of investment.• Popularity of installment payments because of splitting savings between traditional purchases and appliances purchases.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

3) Festivities:

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 Onam edition 2015.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

•Cultural celebrations are very much a part of Indian culture.

•Sub-cultures also have various festivals.

•Brands offer sales promotional programs during festive seasons.

•Smart customers make “value-based” deals during these times.

•Consumers postpone their purchases, especially durables, in the hope of getting such deals.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

4) Shopping as a ritual:

•Shopping done from huge departmental stores to conventional outlets.•Only about 5% of products are retailed through departmental stores is a reflection of the fragmented nature of retailing.•Bargaining is an unwritten rule.•Members of the family visit outlets with the objective of comparing prices and arriving at a best deal.•Compensatory style of decision making- buyers analyse one brand after another.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Jay Shah, FMS-B

5) Mythology:

•Mythological stories, sculptures, and music are an inherent part of the Indian culture.

•Such products are marketed in the places of tourist interest but they are not branded.

•May also have an inferior quality.

•Vast potential for creating a brand in this industry.

•A large chunk of the industry is in unorganized sector.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Jay Shah, FMS-B

6) Food habits: (Amul Butter and Udupi commercial)

•Hot, spicy delicacies are popular in India too.

•Food habit have a strong link with the culture and are difficult to change.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

CHANGING TRENDS IN INDIAN URBAN MARKETS

Urban setting is very different from rural or semi-urban market setting.

Target segments comprises professionally qualified, high-salaried persons with fast-track of life.

Strongly influenced by the lifestyle and aspirations of the West.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

1) Achievement Orientation: (Mahindra commercial)

• Contributes to intrinsic and extrinsic motivational levels.

• Products/Brands reinforce a feeling of accomplishment in individuals and are perceived as rewards.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

2) Work ethic:

• Contemporary customers are breaking away from traditional work practices and are involved in high-tension & fast-paced jobs.

• They have time-pressure and hence prefer time-compression or convenience products.

• Example: Online food products ordering portals.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

3) Material Success: (Maruti Suzuki Swift commercial)

• Young professionals between 25-30 years who are extremely conscious of their materialistic success achieved in the last decade.

• They have tremendous exposure to the environment.• Cutting-edge professionals.• Wealth is spend on essential products which have

contributed to the service economy.• Great demand for quality oriented products.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

4) Middle-of-the-Road Approach to the Tradition:

• Such consumers are urban, highly educated, and in the upper-end of the socio-economic strata.

• Neither too permissive nor too traditional in their approach towards tradition.

• Prefer home-cooked food generally and eating-out being reserved for very special occasions.

• With more women working in urban areas, eating-out is becoming more normal event.

• Example: Ready to cook packs by Knorr.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

5) Impulse Gratification:

• Neo-Urban young adults exhibit a compulsive need to buy products and services through credit cards.

• These consumers may possess multiple credit cards.• Example: Banks offer discounts to students of premier

institutions.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

6) Use of Hi-Tech products:

•This lifestyle aspect maybe of interest to marketers of high-end products.•Here the marketer deals with getting the consumers involved in the brand’s message that suits his/her interests rather than bombard them.•Consumers are oriented towards information, independent & involved in product search.

•They have potential and willingness to spend.•Media-mix approach by brands should be used.•One-to-One marketing or relationship marketing is ideal.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

S. Ramesh Kumar of IIM-B has recently identified 32 Indian Values that are relevant to marketing:

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Mental programming of people in environment

Combination of 1. Symbol :- Women wearing gold as it is perceived prosperous in several parts of India. 2. Heroes :- Celebrities are widely used in advertising. 3. Rituals :- Wedding ritual in India. 4. Values :- It is unusual to find even educated and westernized woman smoking in public place in India.

CULTURAL ASPECTS OF EMERGING MARKET

Jay Shah, FMS-B

INDIAN CONTEXT

Population around 1.311 Billion

74% of population lives in villages

75% males engaged in agriculture

Per capita income of US$700

Jay Shah, FMS-B

CLASSIFICATION OF HOUSEHOLDS

Deprived : Earning less than US$ 1969

Aspirers : Earning between US$ 1969-4376

Seekers : Earning between US$ 4376-10,941

Strivers : Earning between US$ 10,941-21,882

Global Indians : Above US$ 21,882

Jay Shah, FMS-B

conti.

Different kind of lifestyles ,different level of socio-economical structure is available in Indian society.

Lifestyles changes in these different categories and hence product and service range too changes.

Culture changes in these categories as they belong to different sub cultures as these households belongs to different cities and areas.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

EXAMPLES

1. Coca-cola : Usual advertisement in combined in Hindi and English languages ,but in some region no Hindi speaking public available and hence they come out with regional languages in advertisement.

2. Textiles and Television brands does more advertisements during festivals and religious seasons.

3. Cadbury India offers Special packs during festivals like Diwali, Christmas and Rakshabandhan.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

conti.

Some advertisements are aimed at urban area and consumers in rural market derive their aspiration from urban oriented advertisement.

In contrast Lifebouy launched as rural brand with strong carbolic scent and cinema hall showed football player (popular rural sport at that time).

Brand was popular in rural area as germ killing soap. Now

brand reposition itself in urban area as family soap with change in fragrance with the same germ killing proposition.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

conti.

Some brands combines traditional and modern culture for advertisement.

Example : Tanishq launched Diamond (To denote higher status in India)

Advertisement has a song from popular Tamil movie of 1960s which denotes traditional culture.

Bajaj automobiles (Bajaj ad)

Jay Shah, FMS-B

IMC TO EMERGING MARKET

IMC projects and conveys a consistent and coherent brand image through synergized communication through various media channels over a period of time.

Example : ICED green tea.

Jay Shah, FMS-B

IMC TO EMERGING MARKET

Cultural interface values

Target segment and brand benefit

Ritual values that will match the chosen values

Combining cultural interface values and ritual

setting

Customizing the content to each

channel of communication

IMC with synergy toward consistent

brand image

Jay Shah, FMS-B

Jay Shah, FMS-B