Social processes play an important role in influencing the buying decisions of consumers. Humans tend to consult with people around them before making decisions. This is because people understand that, by consulting, one can reach better decisions thawouldmade the decision just by themselves.

Culture is one social process that has immense influence on the purchasing behavior of an individual. Culture is a shared system of beliefs, customs and values. Members of the community use culture to cope with their world, and with one another. It has a strong influence on perceptions and values of people who live within it people easily accept products and services. Studies have shown that culture has a big effect on the loyalty of individuals towards products. A marketer who understands this will emphasize product characteristics that are appealing to that culture when marketing his products.

Cultures are further divided into subcultures. The basis for subdivision varies widely from culture to culture and religion to occupation (Barachini, 2009). People have different values depending on the subcultures they belong, and this also affects their buying patterns. For instance, Muslims do not eat pork while Hindus do not eat meat at all. Failure to observe some cultural practices while sending out marketing communication targeting those cultures can end up appearing offensive (Barachini, 2009). Words have different meanings across different cultures; hence a marketing communication specialist must take caution to ensure that words used have the intended meaning.

One of the social processes that greatly influence consumer buying behavior is reference groups. Members of the reference group are people who have influence on an individual. These are the people with whom an individual compares themselves; hence they are very likely to purchase products that the group thinks are valuable. Reference groups comprise of Primary groups and secondary groups. These are the groups that one interacts with most in the day to day life. They consist of friends, family members, relatives and work colleagues.

In reference groups, it is common to find people who have used the product before. For this reason, individuals take the reference groups as a source of information on what products they should buy (Toomey & Francis, 2013). In most cases, one cannot lack a person in the group who has familiarity with the products and specifications they need. Studies have shown that individuals tend to purchase what has been recommended by those close to them. Others like family also play an important role in the buying patterns of an individual. A family man will tend to buy products that can be used for family use, as opposed to being used by only one person. While a single man makes most of his buying decisions alone, the buying decisions of the married are as a result of a decision reached by the whole family.

It is important for a person in charge of marketing communications to understand the vital role that reference groups play in the buying patterns of individuals (Toomey & Francis, 2013). With such knowledge, they can influence the buying patterns of individuals through their reference groups. If a person in the reference group buys a product, there is a likelihood that many other people in the neighborhood will buy the same product.

Social status is another process that influences buying behavior. In every society, there is stratification of the society where individuals are ranked in different social classes based on a number of factors (Hess, Lang & Xu, 2011). In most cases, social status reflects one’s economic status. Those that are well off economically are ranked higher in the economic status compared to the poor. People belonging to the same social class share similar values, interests and behaviors. Members belonging to a certain social class have almost similar reference groups. People in one social class can influence other

Studies have shown that different social classes go for different categories of products. While those in the upper middle class spend most of their earnings on luxury goods, those in the lower social classes buy products that are necessary for survival (Hess, Lang & Xu, 2011). Middle class people are known to want to keep up with trends and have a craving for the nice things in life. The visibly poor, on the other hand, live each day as it comes. It is important that a person in charge of marketing communications understands the social classes as they greatly influence the buying patterns of individuals (Hess, Lang & Xu, 2011). While those in higher social classes have a lot to spend, those in lower social classes barely afford the necessities. Marketing communication messages have to be tailored to reflect the needs of each specific social class. A message targeting the upper class should be tailored differently from one that targets the working class.

Social and cultural settings do influence consumer behavior. Consumers in different countries have different buying tendencies based on the differences in their social and cultural settings (Barachini, 2009). There have been arguments that these differences are slowly fading due to factors like globalization. Understanding how cultural setting influence consumer behavior is especially important for multinational companies, which have operations in several countries. Different cultural settings have different perceptions on risk taking. On the other hand, trying a new product, is risk taking on the part of the consumer. Hence the cultural setting has a lot of influence on how easily the new product penetrates the market.

References

Barachini, F. (2009). Cultural and social issues for knowledge sharing. Journal of Knowledge

Management, 13(1), 98-110. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/230303720.

Hess, T., Lang, K. R., & Xu, S. X., (2011). Social embedment and online consumer

behavior.Journal of Electronic Markets, 21(3), 157-159. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com.zproxy.apollolibrary.com/citedby/prod.academic_MSTARe_889198752?accountid=458

Toomey, D. A., & Francis, A.L., (2013). Branded product placement andpre-teenaged

Consumers: Influence on brand preference and choice. YoungConsumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, 14(2), 180-192. Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/journals.htm?issn=1747-3616&volume.=14&issue=2&articleid=17089799&show=html&view=printarticle&nolog=20768&PHPSESSID=en06bf2vnrm336cgl4id7618s2-Tiffany Bryant