BUYERBEHAVIORASPROBLEMSOLVING 85
toscoreselectionbyfemaleshoppers.Thiswasparticularlytrueforwomen'ssuitsordresses,
linensandbedding,cosmetics,andwomen'ssportswear.
DeBeersLimited,whichhasaneightypercentshareofthemarketfordiamondsused
inengagementrings,employed(lconsumerdemographicprofileindevelopingtheirpro-
motionalprogram.Theirtargetmarketconsistsofsinglewomenandmenbetweentheages
of 18 and24.Theycombinedthisprofilewithsomelifestyleaspectstodeveloptheirpro-
motionalprogram.
Peopleindifferentincomebracketsalsotendtobuydifferenttypesofproductsand
differentqualities.Thusvariousincomegroupsoftenshopinverydifferentways.Thismeans
thatincomecanbeanimportantvariableindefiningthetargetgroup.Manydesignercloth-
ingshops,forexample,aimathigher-incomeshoppers,whilea storelikeK-martappeals
tomiddle-andlower-incomegroups
ExternalInfluences
Externalfactorsareanotherimportantsetofinfluencesonconsumerbehavior.Amongthe
manysocietalelementsthatcanaffectconsumerproblemsolvingareculture,socialclass,
referencegroups,andfamily.
Culture Aperson'scultureisrepresentedbya largegroupofpeoplewitha simi-
larheritage. TheAmericanculture,whichis a subsetoftheWesternculture,isofprimary
interesthere.TraditionalAmericanculturevaluesincludehardwork,thrift,achievement,
security,andthelike.Marketingstrategiestargetedtothosewithsucha culturalheritage
shouldshowtheproductorserviceasreinforcingthesetraditionalvalues.Thethreecom-
ponentsofculture-beliefs,values,andcustoms-areeachsomewhatdifferent.Abeliefis
a propositionthatreflectsa person'sparticularknowledgeandassessmentofsomething
(thatis,"Ibelievethat...").Valuesaregeneralstatementsthatguidebehaviorandinflu-
encebeliefs.Thefunctionofa valuesystemistohelpa personchoosebetweenalterna-
tivesineverydaylife.
Customsareovertmodesofbehaviorthatconstituteculturallyapprovedwaysofbehav-
inginspecificsituations.Forexample,takingone'smotheroutfordinnerandbuyingher
presentsforMother'sDayisanAmericancustomthatHallmarkandothercardcompanies
supportenthusiastically.
TheAmericanculturewithitssocialvaluescanbedividedintovarioussubcultures.
Forexample,African-Americansconstitutea significantAmericansubcultureinmostU.S.
cities.A consumer'sracialheritagecanexertaninfluenceonmediausageandvariousother
aspectsofthepurchasedecisionprocess.
SocialClass Socialclass,whichisdetenninedbysuchfactorsasoccupation,wealth,
income,education,power,andprestige,isanothersocietalfactorthatcanaffectconsumer
behavior.Thebest-knownclassificationsystemincludesupper-upper,lower-upper,upper-
middle,lower-middle,upper-lower,andlower-lowerclass.Lower-middleandupper-lower
classescomprisethemassmarket.
Theupper-upperclassandlower-upperclassconsistofpeoplefromwealthyfami-
lieswhoarelocallyprominent.Theytendtoliveinlargehomesfurnishedwithartand
antiques.Theyaretheprimary marketforrarejewelryanddesigneroriginals,tendingto
shopatexclusiveretailers.Theupper-middleclassismadeupofprofessionals,managers,
2ndbusinessowners.Theareambitious,future-orientedpeoplewhohavesucceededeco-
nomicallyandnowseektoenhancetheirqualityoflife.Materialgoodsoftentakeonmajor
symbolicmeaningforthisgroup.Theyalsotendtobeverycivic-mindedandareinvolved
inmanyworthycauses.Thelower-middleclassconsistsofmid-levelwhite-collarworkers.