For some purchases, a consumer will spend very little time considering the purchase itself before making the decision to buy e.g. buying a roll of selotape. However, in other cases, consumers will ask the opinions of other people before making their purchase decision. Hence, marketers are always interested in learning which people are likely to influence the purchase decisions of a typical consumer in a target group. For example, if a member of your family is considering attending college, then it is unlikely that they will decide which college to attend without first discussing the matter with several people. The opinions of parents, siblings, friends, teachers, professional acquaintances, etc. will all have a certain degree of influence over the person’s final decision. Identifying the key ‘influencers’ is important. Companies may be able to target some forms of promotional activity at the influencers, so that they in turn will speak favourably about the company’s products/services to the actual purchaser or user.
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