Share with everyone some of your reference groups and discuss how they became your reference
groups. Also, give one specific example where one of those reference groups clearly influenced the
way you made your purchasing decision in the past.
– A reference group is an actual or imaginary individual or group conceived of having significant
relevance upon an individual’s evaluations, aspirations, or behavior. Three ways reference
groups influence consumers are informational, utilitarian, and value-expressive. Some of my
reference groups are aspirational and membership. Aspirational reference groups comprise
idealized figures such as successful business people, athletes, or performers. Membership
reference groups allow ordinary people whose consumption activities provide informational
social influence. Aspirational influenced the way I made my purchase decisioning on Teva
Footwear. When Chaco’s came out everyone had them, and they were a new craze and trend
for people my age. When I got my first pair, I hated them and only wore them a handful of times
because they were not comfortable to me and would give me blisters. So, when I was searching
for a new sandal and doing research, I came across Teva. I noticed that, they were fairly new to
trend and came across that actress Yara Shahidi (stars in the movie Salt and the tv show Black-
ish) lives by them. She’s worn them to numerous events and is an advent customer of the brand.
I also went by word of mouth from some of my friends who also had great things to say about
them. I bought my first pair two years ago and absolutely love them. Would definitely
recommend. Teva also has a great Brand Community, and I follow them on all social media
networks.