Communication and Consumer BehaviorSubmitted by:

Sajjad Raheem (1613)

Usman Shahid (1569)

M. Yousaf (1563)

Arslan Ali (1551)

Sania Bakhtawar (1567)

Muneeb Ahmad (1549)

M. Younis (1547)

“Communication and Consumer Behavior”

• Communication is the exchange of information and ideas between different individuals.

• The communication Process starts when a sender sends information to the receiver through a channel. It is shown below:

Sender(Source) Message Channel

(Medium)Receiver

(Consumer)

Encodes Decodes

Feedback

“The Source as a Message Initiator”

• The message is initiated by a source, called a sender.

• Sender can be a formal or informal source.

Formal and Informal sources

• Formal Source- A formal source is either a for- profit or a not-for-profit organization.

• Informal Sources- An Informal source is defined as a person whom the message receiver knows personally. But now-a-days informal sources may include people who influence one’s consumption via online networks and other web forums.

Impersonal and Interpersonal Communications

• The sources of impersonal communications are organizations that develop and transmit appropriate messages through their marketing department, advertising, or public relation agencies or several audiences.

• The senders of interpersonal communications can be either formal sources or informal sources.

Reference groups

• Those groups which serve as frames of reference for individuals in their consumption decisions because they are perceived as credible sources.

Normative and Comparative Reference Groups

• Reference groups influencing broadly defined values or behavior are called normative reference groups.

• Reference groups serving as benchmarks for specific or narrowly defined attitudes or behavior are called comparative reference groups.

Membership and Symbolic Reference Groups

• Reference groups are also classified on the basis of membership status:

• A group to which a person either belong or qualifies for membership is called a membership group.

• Where as a symbolic group is the one in which an individual is not likely to receive membership but he acts like a member by adopting the groups values, attitudes, and behaviors.

The Credibility and Dynamics of Informal Sources and Word-of-Mouth

• Informal sources are credible sources because informal communication takes place between friends or family members and there is a lot of trust between them.

• At first, it was thought that informal communication is a one-way process but later studies indicated that it is a two-way process and is named as word-of-mouth (WOM).

Word-of-Mouth

• A word-of-mouth encounter starts when one party offers advice or information about a product to another party. It is a two way process as there is an opinion leader (who offers advice) and an opinion receiver (who receives advice).

• Although the term word-of-mouth implies personal, or face-to-face communications but it may also take place on a telephone and internet.

e-WOM

• Word-of-mouth taking place online is called e-WOM. e-WOM occurs online in social networks, brand communities, blogs and consumer message boards.

Social networks, Brand communities, Blogs and consumer message boards

• Online social networks are virtual communities where people share information with others. Example is www.facebook.com

• Brand communities are the online forums which focus on particular products and services.

• Online portals where consumers can give their feedback about a product are called consumer message board. A blog is a personal online journal initiated and managed by a blogger. A blogger can post information on it blog.