SOCIO – CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
Socio-cultural environment refers to a set
of beliefs, customs, practices, norms and behavior that exists within a society
which describes relationship to themselves and others. Socio-cultural factors
intensely influence the way people live and help determine what, where how and
when customers buy a firm’s products. Socio-cultural values and beliefs
influence and change the behavior of the consumer and it becomes difficult for
the marketers to predict these changes.
COMPONENTS OF SOCIO-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
AND ITS IMPACT ON MARKETING
- Changes in lifestyles
Lifestyle relates to the natural behavior
of human being whether individuals, families (households), and societies by
which they make sense of their existence. This includes pattern of living,
expressions, hobbies and opinions, taboos and phobias, affinities and dislikes,
influencing factors and inherited traits. Lifestyle play a significant role in
defining marketing decisions brands are accepted if they fit into their
lifestyle and values, it becomes important for marketing firms to closely align
to national cultural values and family traditions.
- Beliefs, Values & Attitudes
Values refers to a set of principles or
beliefs that guides us in making decisions about behaviors and life choices
especially in terms of qualities such as honesty, ideals, integrity, and
openness. Values have a greater degree of influence on the behaviour of an
individual. Values are influenced by many factors, including our experiences,
perceptions, parents, friends, school and religion. On the other hand, attitude
is an expression, or a feeling towards a certain idea, person, or situation.
Believes signify trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.
- Family structures and Household patterns
Family structure means the way a family is
constituted. Families may differ as there is no standard family structure;
families may have single parents, may have both parents and may have stepparents involved. The family is a major influence on the consumer behavior of
its members. Marketers must understand family and household decisions better by
examining the sociological dimensions of how families make consumer decisions.
For instance, in India, we have most of the families living jointly and most of
the buying decisions are made keeping the family in mind. Further parents take
most of the decision about their children let it be selecting a college, life
partner or a dress.
- Social Mobility
Social mobility is ability to move up or
down in the social scale. An obvious example a child of coolie who becomes a professor
achieves upward social mobility. It is important for marketer to track these
movements and respond accordingly, change in social class results in change in
lifestyle and therefore people shift brands, products according to their social
status.
