Social Influences Impact Product and Brand Purchase Decision

Question: Discuss aboutt the Social Influences Impact Product and Brand Purchase Decision. Answer: The company that we will take up for this assignment is Woolsworth Supermarket, a retail super market chain that is the largest retail chain in Australia majorly selling grocery and vegetables but side by it is also selling other products like DVDs etc. and has its own range of products too. Together it has captured nearly 80% of the Australian market. The major products being sold are the grocery items with the belief that they are selling fresh healthy food to their customers straight from the farmers (Wools-Worth Group). The super-market has largely selling the chain of grocery items with its concentration mainly on food items that are unprocessed like fresh vegetables and fruit directly from the farmers field. It has used acquisition and loyalty programs in past to expand its base of customers. Being one of the pioneering retail chains it has used the demographics, taste and culture of the Australians to achieve an unequal high growth trajectory as compared to its competitors. Australian cuisine includes a lot of sea-food and locally available meat of kangaroos, beef and sheep. With dairy also emerging as a main part of farming the various products produced from it has also entered in the diet of the Australians. Fruits are grown everywhere in the country and constitute a major part of diet with certain fruits considered special. In the staple diet wheat, sugarcane and other grain crops are grown intensively in Australia. With immigration from Europe and Asian countries diversity in the cuisine has been creeping continuously and it cant be denied that Australia which was dwelled 60000 years ago by the aboriginals and later by out-laws had over a time-frame with its rich mineral deposits and high rate of immigration has also led to absorption of change in the taste, preferences, diet of the Australians. (Garret, Johnny, 2014) If we really, based on the analysis of society of Australia, would like to identify two peculiar societal culture values it will be (Kotler, Philip et al) High absorption index: Its capacity to allow people from different back-grounds and different nations to live and co-exist peacefully without any bias under the aegis as a commonwealth country with full traditional and societal structure of a developed-colony. Low Connectivity: Australians identify themselves very less with their country and high growth or exceptional capabilities are seen with awe. They are persons who would like to live a life in an ordinary way and would want a society of equal values and standards. With this if we analyze how the two identified societal factors should be inculcated in themarketing strategy of the organization Woolsworth, we would have to keep in mind that we are dealing with the people who can easily change their societal values and belief both publicly and privately what technically we can call internalized social values and this will allow that immigrants strong bonding to their values will allow mix of both and with frequent it would allow a change in the taste too. In short we will see that a wide range of products can be brought on the shelf of store and sold successfully as the absorption of new things so great. So quality will prevail and length of time and branding wont matter much. Woolsworth has used the concept of freshness as stated to sell its product which is a hygiene factor necessary for the Australians in terms when they select product. If we now go on to price and people it can be easily seen that they do not intend to go for something which is being sold on hiked attributes as being against the societal norms listed under low connectivity and they prefer a moderate healthy life-style so the product-shelf should be optimized on price. Promotions on loyalty and rewards will definitely allow the organization to retain and also to expand its base but more than that it needs to market itself on the fact that it has to be associated with hygiene factor than the motivational factor due to its cultural dilemma which arises due to weak link to branding or image. (Robbins et al) In next few lines we will consider 7Ps namely price, place, promotion, people, product, physical environment and processes and relate it to the associated targeted market segments and in-process would like to create a viable strategy-map of the same too. Places all over Australia are rich in resources be it land or other natural resources so anything that connects the nature and price will go with such a place. We can bet that the fellowmen will prefer road-side unknown vendors rather than high-class expensive hotels. To go for it they will not go for motivational factors and would prefer a life less ordinary with hygienic available food free from chemicals and easily available which makes the tagline of the organization apt. If we see consumer behavior here these are easily driven customers and would go for cheap fresh quality easily available objects and would avoid any deviations in their choices to stand out as distinct (James et al). They would choose time-tested products which at present goes in favor of the organization we are discussing seeing it is a century old. To test for the new products lined up with their positioning and segmentation we can consider that we see that they are not motivated to buy any new products but will go quality and ease and also trust-factor which will come through word of mouth or their experience accidentally or due to some other reason. One way to decide which new products will go in the market there is a need to study the current immigration patterns closely as it has been seen from the past that as the composition of population, on their ethnicity, has changed the pattern of consumption has changed too. Right now if we see the trend Asians are coming in in more and more numbers so Asian foods and products should come up as a new product line in the company (Ohmae, Kenichi). In a nutshell we are discussing a country where people have weak social attachments and have extensive taste for diverse natural resources and cuisines which are changing with always-changing demographic reality. Motivational levels are low and hygiene is considered utmost with little or no bias. Competitive spirit is less and emphasis is on quality which has led to life less known but well dwelled. And for this organization to survive it has to bring in the quality in its sell with trust-factor kept at all time high to enable high-parallel growth channels. References Kotler, Philip, Keller, Kevin Lane, Koshy, Abraham, Jha, Mithileshwar, Marketing Management, 13th edition, Pearson Education Robbins, Stephen P., Judge, Timothy A., Sanghi, Seema (2009). Organizational Behavior, 13th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall Cooper, Donald R. Schindler, Pamela S (2009). Business Research Method, 9th Edition Tata McGraw Hill Ohmae, Kenichi (2013). The Mind of the Strategist: The Art of Japanese Business, 16th Edition Tata McGraw Hill Wools-Worth Group (2017). retrieved on 18 April 2017 from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/ Garret, Johnny (2014). Australias 10 Top favourite Dishes, Retrieved on 18 April 2017 from https://www.jamieoliver.com/news-and-features/features/australias-favourite-dishes/ Kart, Optima (2013). Optima Kart, Retrieved on 18 April 2017 from https://optimakart.wordpress.com/2013/06/01/the-7ps-7cs-in-marketing/ James, Muriel, Jongeward, Dorothy. (1978). Born To Win, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Penrose, John M.. Rasberry, Robert W., Myers, Robert J.. Business Communication for Managers. 5th Edition Cengage Learning Winston, Wayne L. (2011). Microsoft Excel 2010: Data Analysis and Business Modelling. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.