Marketing Communications

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Marketing Communications
Consumer Behaviour And Marketing Communication

FAMILY LIFE CYCLE

The family life cycle can be classified into stages which conceptualize a family life cycle.

These stages are:

1. THE BACHELOR STAGE: Young single people.


2. NEWLY MARRIED COUPLE: Young, with no children.


3. THE FULL NEST I: Young married couple, with the youngest child under
   6 years old.


4. THE FULL NEST II: Young married couples, with the youngest child 6
   years and over.


5. THE FULL NEST III: Older married couples, with dependent children.


6. THE EMPTY NEST: Older married couples, with no children living with them.


7. THE SOLITARY SURVIVORS: Older single people.

The stage of life cycle in which an individual is, has a great influence on his consumption pattern of
various products. Advertisers should define their promotion targets in terms of the family life cycle where
feasible, since all parts of a campaign should be targeted to attract the proper prospects.

REFERENCE GROUP

Reference Group: Is a group that a person accepts as a frame of reference for self-evaluation and
attitude formation.

An individual can belong to such a group or aspire to belong. There are three identified types of
reference group

1) Membership

2) Anticipatory

3) Dissociative.

•    MEMBERSHIP REFERENCE GROUP: these are reference groups which a person

automatically belongs because of such factors as birth, sex, race, income, marital status and

age. Organization in which membership is held forms part of this group, such membership

can be temporary or transitory.

•    ANTICIPATORY MEMBERSHIP REFERENCE GROUP: It is a group which a person aspires

to belong; even if he has not yet belonged to it, his wanting to belong will affect his behaviour

and purchasing.

•    DISSOCIATIVE REFERENCE GROUP: Individuals in this group are those to which a person

does not want to belong or have anyone think that he might be a member. For instance, a

man may use hair colouring to cover up his grey hair in order to dissociate himself from

the middle-aged group.