Reference Groups, Opinion Leaders, & Word-Of-Mouth 2

Question 1

Opinion Leadership & WOM

Answer 1

Informally influence others

Opinion leaders provide:
- advice on selecting the best brands
- how to use the products correctly
- where to buy the products

Question 2

Opinion Leader Motivations

Answer 2

Self Involvement (Agentic Motives):

• Opinion Leaders
  
  • Reduce post-purchase dissonance
  • Gain attention
  • Show off expertise
  • Experience “converting” others
• Opinion Receivers
  
  • Reduce perceived risk
  • Reduce search and shopping time

Social Involvement (Communal Motives):

• Opinion Leaders
  
  • Express friendship by providing others with consumption-related information
• Opinion Receivers
  
  • Buy products that have the approval of others

Product Involvement:

• Opinion Leaders
  
  • Express satisfaction or complain about a product
• Opinion Receivers
  
  • Learn about new products and more efficient ways to use them

Question 3

Characteristics of Opinion Leaders

Answer 3

• Knowledgeable
• Self-confident, outgoing, and sociable
• Read special-interest publications and websites
• Same socioeconomic and age group as receivers

Question 4

Measuring Opinion Leadership

Answer 4

Researchers can study opinion leadership by using a key informant

• A person who is knowledgeable about the nature of social communications among members of a specific group
• Researchers ask the key informant to identify individuals who are opinion leaders

Question 5

Adoption of Innovations

Answer 5

Assumes that all members of a given society would eventually adopt the innovation

Many late majority and laggards are very risk averse and slow to adopt innovations

Question 6

Characteristics that influence an Innovation’s Rate of Adoption

Answer 6

Relative Advantage:
- degree to which the innovation appears superior to existing products

Compatibility:
- degree to which the innovation fits the values and experiences of potential consumers

Complexity:
- degree to which the innovation is difficult to understand or use

Divisibility:
- degree to which the innovation may be tried on a limited basis

Communicability:
- degree to which the results of using the innovation can be observed or described to others

Question 7

WOM’s Online Prevalence

Answer 7

Communicating advice and other information about products, brands, and shopping experiences

Three dimensions underly consumers’ engagement in eWOM:

• Tie strength: the degree of intimacy and frequency of contacts between the information seeker and the source
• Similarity: in terms of demographics and lifestyles
• Source Credibility: the information seeker’s perceptions of the source’s expertise

Question 8

Application: Viral Marketing

Answer 8

Marketing strategy that aims to create content or campaigns that quickly spread and capture the attention of a large audience through word-of-mouth, social sharing, and online platforms
- Sharable content
- Social media amplification
- Creative and memorable
- Low cost and high impact
- Brand awareness and engagement

Question 9

Oreo 2013 Super Bowl

Answer 9

During the 2013 Super Bowl, the lights in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome suddenly went out

Shortly after the blackout began, Oreo tweeted out a simple message

Within an hour, retweeted 16,000 times, 20,000+ Facebook likes, 10M+ exposure

One of the most buzz-worthy ads of the Super Bowl, and it wasn’t even a planned commercial