1 Chapter 04
2 Understand Business to Consumer Markets
subculture A group within a culture that shares similar cultural artifacts created by differences in
ethnicity, religion, race, or geography.
family A group of two or more people living together and related by birth, marriage, or adoption.
household life cycle (HLC) A structured set of chronological activities a particular household
follows over time.
social class A ranking of individuals into harmonized groups based on demographic
characteristics such as age, education, income, and occupation.
aspirational purchases Products bought outside the individual’s social standing.
opinion leaders Individuals with expertise in certain products or technologies who classify,
explain, and then bestow information to a broader audience.
market mavens Individuals who have information about many kinds of products, places to shop,
and other facets of markets, and initiate discussions with consumers and respond to requests
from consumers for market information.
reference group A group of individuals whose beliefs, attitudes, and behavior influence
(positively or negatively) the beliefs, attitudes, and behavior of an individual.
desirability The extent and direction of the emotional connection an individual wishes to have
with a particular group.
degree of affiliation The amount of interpersonal contact an individual has with the reference
group.
primary group A reference group an individual has frequent contact with.
secondary group A reference group with which an individual has limited contact.
involvement A significant outcome of an individual’s motivation that mediates the product
choice decision. It is activated by three elements: background and psychological profile,
aspirational focus, and the environment at the time of purchase decision.
high-involvement learning The learning process in which an individual is stimulated to acquire
new information.
low-involvement learning The learning process in which an individual is not prompted to value
new information, characterized by little or no interest in learning about a new product offering.
real state An individual’s perceived reality of present time.
preferred state An individual’s desires that reflect how he or she would like to feel or live in the
present time.
Marketing Management 2nd Edition 4-3