Chapter 11: Social Influences on Consumer Behavior

  One of the most powerful tools in our society is communication.  If you add that with the daily activities of shopping, you are creating a connection with others and establishing a community of shoppers alike.  Social influences play a vital role in our role as consumers.  There are two primary sources that social influences come from- marketing and non-marketing.  When we are often puzzled about which cleaning product to purchase to eliminate grout, we usually ask a family member or perhaps someone who we trust with their opinion.  This is usually the quickest resource we have due to the knowledge of the person we personally know.     

    Dollar Tree's social influence projection is a huge advantage. Most of its consumers use word of mouth.  But within the last five years, Dollar Tree's outreach and social media have persuaded its consumers to shop more frequently for their needs, all thanks to mass media. Although word-of-mouth is a great asset in consumer behavior, there are different ways of providing information that will convince a consumer to purchase a product.  Informational influence is when individuals affect others by providing vital information.  If a family member recommends a cleaning product that Dollar Tree has, and also describes how it's able to accommodate the need of the consumer, it is highly likely they will purchase the product.

    The reassurance that social influences carry toward the consumer has been built on ongoing outreach through social media marketing.  Dollar Tree has provided more ways to engage with its consumer and its goal is to gain a new consumer by the word-of-mouth from a loyal and satisfied one.