Roles in Family Decision-Making and the Variables that Determine a Person's Social Class

Questions and Answers
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Questions and Answers
Question 1
* Discuss the different roles in a family decision-making scenario.
Every family finds itself having to make crucial decisions that impact the many and different activities families engage in on a daily basis. These activities range from what families have for dinner, lunch, or dessert to where kids will go to college, and even where the family plans to vacation. At every instance, people in a family assume different roles that they then use to influence decisions within the family.
The first role is known as influencers. These are people who present information to their families. Their goal is to inform and help ease the decision-making process for their families. For example, they can share information on the cheapest and most reliable internet services for homes. The influencers are followed closely by the gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are almost similar to influencers, but the information they provide is skewed to meet their needs or preferences (Kamra, 2021). For example, they will provide information about a fast food joint whose food they have tasted and liked and fail to provide information on a new joint that the family is yet to try. The third role falls to those who get to make the decisions of the family. This role is known as deciders. Deciders are the people with the power to make the final decisions for the family.
The fourth role is known as buyers. Buyers are the people who act on a decision to either purchase or pay a down payment on a vacation venue, etc. The fifth role in a family decision-making scenario is for preparers. Preparers are the people who act on the product and convert it into a form that the family can enjoy. For example, the mother or the father can grill some pork ribs for the family or prepare pasta after the decision to have the same has been tabled and decided. Preparers give way to the users, whose main role is to make use of the products or services that the family acquired. Here is where a majority of the children belong. Another role that is existent in a family decision-making scenario is the one for maintainers. Maintainers are the people tasked with ensuring the continuity of a product or service. For example, the parents will be charged with making sure that the family gets to experience the same level of enjoyment when they go vacationing. Lastly, there is the role of disposers. Disposers are the opposite of maintainers. Instead of ensuring continuity in the use of a product or service, they ensure its cessation or termination.
* Evaluate how marketers can influence family purchases by considering the roles involved in the decision-making process. Use examples to support your arguments.
Family is considered a major determining factor that influences people’s decisions. Nanda, Hu, and Bai (2006) note that family has been seen as a determinant that impacts “the decision making process.” With this understanding, marketers can influence family purchases by targeting the roles involved in the decision-making process. It is crucial to note that these roles are not fixed. As Nanda, Hu, and Bai (2006) indicate, these roles in families are not permanent. They change with time and happen to vary in families as well.
One way that marketers can influence family purchases by considering the roles involved is by first providing as much information about their products as possible. As already indicated, every family has an influencer or a person who collects relevant information on products and services and shares it with their family. Therefore, marketers need to make sure that information about their products is highly available. Influencers will easily pick up such information and make it available to their family. This means that adverts have to be frequent and with a target in mind. For example, if Disneyland has a family offer because it is Christmas, this information should be shared as much as possible. Disneyland marketers should ensure that as many influencers have their hands on the said information.
Marketers also need to identify with their niche or target market and tailor their products to meet the needs of their markets. For example, if teenagers are the main target market, the marketers have to make sure that their appeal to teenagers is insurmountable. This will help ensure that every teenager who gets to see an advert is hooked. Therefore, when the family comes to make decisions on the same product, the teenager will act as the gatekeeper and provide as much positive information on the product as possible. This can also work with parents who often play the role of deciders and buyers. If at all the parents are hooked on a product, then it is highly likely that the entire family will yield to their demands. For example, the Disneyland package could be affordable compared to the planned trip to Barbados, and considering the effects of COVID-19 on the economy, parents could have a firm foundation when they negotiate with their children.
* If you were a marketing manager, who do you think should be targeted when creating a marketing campaign for a family holiday to Disneyland?
Depending on the age of the parents, I would target the parents. Winsor (2015) identifies five different customer groups for Disneyland. There is one group that she tags or calls grandparents. She says that this group mainly include individuals who were young when the amusement parks started, and therefore, their fixation with Disneyland was born early. She notes that such people are loyal and wish to pass the same to their children and possibly grandchildren. These parents will want to take their families to Disneyland and get to experience their childhood once again. They will be present and dependable at all times.
Aside from the parents, kids and teenagers are also another group that I would consider targeting. Kids and teenagers greatly influence their parents’ decisions. Parents want to give their children memorable childhoods, and Disneyland is indeed one of the most memorable experiences of any child. Therefore, while preparing a marketing campaign for Disneyland during the festive season, children and teena...