1. Chapter 15 Consumer Influence and the Diffusion of Innovations
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Chapter Outline
What Is Opinion Leadership?
Dynamics of the Opinion Leadership Process
The Motivation Behind Opinion Leadership
Measurement of Opinion Leadership
The Interpersonal Flow of Communication
Diffusion of Innovations
The Adoption Process
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Opinion Leadership
The process by which one person (the opinion leader) informally influences the consumption actions or attitudes of others who may be opinion seekers or opinion recipients.
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4. What Is Opinion Leadership?
Opinion Receiver
Opinion Seeker
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5. Word of Mouth in Action Figure 15-1
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Discussion Question
Who are the most influential opinion leaders to college-aged people?
Why are they influential?
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7. Dynamics of the Opinion Leadership Process
Credibility
Positive and Negative Product Information
Information and Advice
Opinion Leadership Is Category-Specific
Opinion Leadership Is a Two-way Street
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Many not-for-profit organizations that hope to change behavior, count on opinion leaders.
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9. Motivations Behind Opinion Leadership
Issues
The Needs of Opinion Leaders
The Needs of Opinion Receivers
Purchase Pals
Surrogate Buyers versus Opinion Leaders
Self-involvement
Social involvement
Product involvement
Message involvement
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10. Motivations Behind Opinion Leadership
Issues
The Needs of Opinion Leaders
The Needs of Opinion Receivers
Purchase Pals
Surrogate Buyers versus Opinion Leaders
New product or new usage information
Reduction of perceived risk
Reduction of search time
Receiving the approval of the opinion leader
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11. Motivations Behind Opinion Leadership
Issues
The Needs of Opinion Leaders
The Needs of Opinion Receivers
Purchase Pals
Surrogate Buyers versus Opinion Leaders
Actually accompany consumers on shopping trips
Used 25 percent of the time for purchases of electronic equipment
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12. Motivations Behind Opinion Leadership
Issues
The Needs of Opinion Leaders
The Needs of Opinion Receivers
Purchase Pals
Surrogate Buyers versus Opinion Leaders
Surrogate buyers may replace opinion leaders
An example is a wardrobe consultant who helps in the purchase of business clothes
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13. Part I: Opinion Leaders
Table Key Differences Between Opinion Leaders and Surrogate Buyers
Part I: Opinion Leaders
OPINION LEADER
1. Informal relationship with end users
2. Information exchange occurs in the context of a casual interaction
3. Homophilous (to a certain extent) to end users
4. Does not get paid for advice
5. Usually socially more active than end users
6. Accountability limited regarding the outcome of advice
7. As accountability limited, rigor in search and screening of alternatives low
8. Likely to have used the product personally
9. More than one can be consulted before making a final decision
10. Same person can be an opinion leader for a variety of related product categories
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14. Part II: Surrogate Buyers
Table Key Differences Between Opinion Leaders and Surrogate Buyers
Part II: Surrogate Buyers
SURROGATE BUYER
1. Formal relationship; occupation-related status
2. Information exchange in the form of formal instructions/advice
3. Heterophilus to end users (that is, is the source of power)
4. Usually hired, therefore gets paid
5. Not necessarily socially more active than end-users
6. High level of accountability
7. Search and screening of alternatives more rigorous
8. May not have used the product for personal consumption
9. Second opinion taken on rare occasions
10. Usually specializes for a specific product/service category
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15. Online Retailers Compete with “Specialty Shoppers” Who Give Advice
weblink
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16. Measurement of Opinion Leadership
Self-Designating Method
Sociometric Method
Key Informant Method
Objective Method
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Discussion Question
Who do you know, personally, that you would consider an opinion leader?
What is it about that person that makes them an opinion leader? What personality traits might they have which prompt their status?
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18. Table 15.4 Measuring Opinion Leadership
SELF-DESIGNATING METHOD
“Do you influence other people in their selection of products?”
Each respondent is asked a series of questions to determine the degree to which he or she perceives himself or herself to be an opinion leader.
OPINION LEADERSHIP MEASUREMENT METHOD
SAMPLE QUESTIONS ASKED
DESCRIPTION OF METHOD
SOCIOMETRIC METHOD
Members of a social system are asked to identify to whom they give advice and to whom they go for advice.
“Whom do you ask?”“Who asks you for info about that product category?”
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19. SAMPLE QUESTIONS ASKED
Table continued
OPINION LEADERSHIP MEASUREMENT METHOD
SAMPLE QUESTIONS ASKED
DESCRIPTION OF METHOD
KEY INFORMANT METHOD
“Who are the most influential people in the group?”
Carefully selected key informants in a social system are asked to designate opinion leaders.
Artificially places individuals in a position to act as opinion leaders and measures results of their efforts.
“Have you tried the product?”
OBJECTIVE METHOD
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20. Table 15.6 Profile of Opinion Leaders
GENERALIZED ATTRIBUTES ACROSS PRODUCT CATEGORIES
CATEGORY-SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES
Innovativeness
Willingness to talk
Self-confidence
Gregariousness
Cognitive differentiation
Interest
Knowledge
Special-interest media exposure
Same age
Same social status
Social exposure outside group
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Market Maven
Individuals whose influence stems from a general knowledge or market expertise that leads to an early awareness of new products and services.
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22. The Interpersonal Flow of Communication
Two-Step Flow
A communication model that portrays opinion leaders as direct receivers of information from mass media sources who, in turn, interpret and transmit this information
Multistep Flow
A revision of the traditional two-step theory that shows multiple communication flows
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23. Two-Step Flow of Communication Theory
Figure 15.3
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24. Multistep Flow of Communication Theory
Figure 15.4
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25. Issues in Opinion Leadership and Marketing Strategy
Advertisements Stimulating Opinion Leadership
Word of Mouth May Be Uncontrollable
eGo Bikes Video
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26. Marketers Seek to Take Control of the Opinion Leadership Process
Creating products with built-in buzz potential
Strategy designed to stimulate buzz
Viral marketing
Weblogs
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27. At Blogwise You Can Find a Blog on Almost Any Topic
weblink
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28. Proctor & Gamble Uses Tremor to Influence Buzz Marketing
weblink
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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.
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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.
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31. Elements of the Diffusion Process
The Innovation
The Channels of Communication
The Social System
Time
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Defining Innovations
Firm-oriented definitions
Product is “new” to the company
Product-oriented definitions
Continuous
Dynamically continuous
Discontinuous
Market-oriented definitions
Based on consumer exposure
Consumer-oriented definitions
Consumer judges it as “new”
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33. What type of product innovation is this product?
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34. Telephone Innovations
Figure 15.7
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35. Product Characteristics That Influence Diffusion
Relative Advantage
Compatibility
Complexity
Trialability
Observability
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Time and Diffusion
Purchase Time
Adopter Categories
Rate of Adoption
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Adopter Categories
A sequence of categories that describes how early (or late) a consumer adopts a new product in relation to other adopters.
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Adopter Categories
Figure 15.8
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39. This ad is designed to appeal to innovators.
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Discussion Question
Which adaptor category are you?
Does it differ with different product categories?
How about your parents, what category are they?
Is age a factor in innovation behavior?
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41. Table 15.14 Stages in Adoption Process
NAME OF STAGE
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THIS STAGE
EXAMPLE
Awareness
Consumer is first exposed to the product innovation.
Eric sees an ad for a 23-inch thin LCD HDTV in a magazine he is reading.
Interest
Consumer is interested in the product and searches for additional information.
Eric reads about the HDTV set on the manufacturer’s Web site and then goes to an electronics store near his apartment and has a sales person show him the unit.
Evaluation
Consumer decides whether or not to believe that this product or service will satisfy the need--a kind of “mental trial.”
After talking to a knowledgeable friend, Eric decides that his TV will fit nicely on top of the chest in his bedroom. He also calls his cable company and finds out that he can exchange his “standard” cable box at no cost for an HDTV cable box.
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42. Table 15.14 Stages in Adoption Process
Trial
Consumer uses the product on a limited basis
Since the HDTV set cannot be “tried” like a small tube of toothpaste, Eric buys the TV at this local electronics store on his way home from work. The store offers a 14-day full refund policy.
Adoption (Rejection)
If trial is favorable, consumer decides to use the product on a full, rather than a limited basis--if unfavorable, the consumer decides to reject it.
Eric loves his new HDTV set and expects many year of service from it.
NAME OF STAGE
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THIS STAGE
EXAMPLE
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43. An Enhanced Adoption Process Model
Figure 15.10
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44. 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?
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