1. Consumer Influence and the Diffusion of Innovations
Chapter 15
Consumer Influence and the Diffusion of Innovations
MKT 348
Dr. Franck Vigneron

2. What is Opinion Leadership?
Opinion Receiver
Opinion Seeker

3. Opinion Leader
A person who informally gives product information and advice to others.

4. Opinion Seeker
An individual who either actively seeks product information from others or receives unsolicited information.

5. The person who receives an opinion offered by another person.
Opinion Receiver
The person who receives an opinion offered by another person.

6. Reasons for the Effectiveness of Opinion Leadership
Credibility
Positive and Negative Product Information
Information and Advice
Opinion Leadership Is Category-Specific
Opinion Leadership Is a Two-way Street

7. Motivations Behind Opinion Leadership
The Needs of Opinion Leaders
Self involvement
Social involvement
Product involvement
Message involvement
The Needs of Opinion Receivers
New-product or new usage information
Reduction of perceived risk
Reduction of search time
Receiving the approval of the opinion leader
Purchase Pals
Surrogate Buyers Versus Opinion Leaders

8. Measurement of Opinion Leadership
Self-Designating Method
Sociometric Method
Key Informant Method
Objective Method

9. Issues In Opinion Leadership and Marketing Strategy
Programs Designed to Stimulate Opinion Leadership
Advertisements Simulating Opinion Leadership
Word of Mouth May Be Uncontrollable
Creation of Opinion Leaders

10. Diffusion Process
The process by which the acceptance of an innovation is spread by communication to members of social system over a period of time.

11. Adoption Process
The stages through which an individual consumer passes in arriving at a decision to try (or not to try), to continue using (or discontinue using) a new product. The five stags of the traditional adoption process are awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption.

12. Elements of the Diffusion Process
The Innovation
The Channels of Communication
The Social System
Time

13. Defining Innovations Firm-oriented definitions
Product-oriented definitions
Market-oriented definitions
Consumer-oriented definitions

14. Time and Diffusion
Purchase Time
Adopter Categories
Rate of Adoption

15. Adopter Categories
A sequence of categories that describes how early (or late) a consumer adopts a new product in relation to other adopters. The five typical adopter categories are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.

16. Figure Adopter Categories Percentage of Adopters by Category Sequence
Early
Adopters
13.5%
Laggards
16%
Early
Majority
34%
Late
Majority
34%
Innovators
2.5%
Percentage of Adopters by Category Sequence

17. Issues in Profiling Consumer Innovators
Defining the Consumer Innovator
Interest in the Product Category
The Innovator Is an Opinion Leader
Personality Traits
Media Habits
Social Characteristics
Demographic Characteristics
Are There Generalized Consumer Innovators?