opinion leaders & wom communication

OPINION LEADERS

CONCEPT OF OPINION LEADERSHIP

• Opinion Leadership is the process by which the opinion leader informally influences the actions or attitudes of others, who may be opinion seekers or merely opinion recipients. Opinion receivers perceive the opinion leader as a highly credible, objective source of product information who can help reduce their search and analysis time and perceived risk.

WHO IS AN OPINION LEADER ?• An Opinion Leader is Someone Who is Knowledgeable About An Opinion Leader is Someone Who is Knowledgeable About

Products and Whose Advice is Taken Seriously By OthersProducts and Whose Advice is Taken Seriously By Others.

Are TechnicallyCompetent and

Have Expert Power

OpinionLeaders

Are Often Amongthe First to BuyNew Products

Are Similar to the Consumer in

Values and BeliefsAre SociallyActive in

Their Community

Have Prescreened, Evaluated, and

SynthesizedProduct Information

EXTENT OF AN OPINION LEADER’S INFLUENCE• Very few people are Generalized Opinion LeadersGeneralized Opinion Leaders,

someone whose recommendations are sought for all types of purchases.

• More likely, opinion leaders are either:– MonomorphicMonomorphic, or an expert in a limited field.– PolymorphicPolymorphic, or an expert in several fields.

• Even opinion leaders who are PolymorphicPolymorphic, tend to concentrate on one broad domain, such as electronics or fashion.

Motivations Behind Opinion Leadership

ISSUES MOTIVATIONS

The Needs of Opinion Leaders.

The Needs of Opinion Receivers.

Purchase Pals.Surrogate Buyers

versus Opinion Leaders

Self-involvementSocial involvementProduct involvementMessage involvement


ISSUES MOTIVATIONS





New product or new usage information.Reduction of perceived risk.Reduction of search time.Receiving the approval of the opinion leader


ISSUES MOTIVATIONS





Actually accompany consumers on shopping trips.Used 25 percent of the time for purchases of electronic equipment


ISSUES MOTIVATIONS





Surrogate buyers may replace opinion leaders.An example is a wardrobe consultant who helps in the purchase of business clothes

ROLES OF OPINION LEADERS

Key Roles ofOpinion Leaders

Are Opinion Seekers

Innovators & Communicators

Authority Figure MarketMaven

ROLE OF OPINION LEADERS

Are Opinion Seekers

Innovators & Communicators

Authority Figure

MarketMaven

CHARACTERISTICS OF OPINION LEADERS

Opinion leaders possess high levels of involvement and interest in a specific product or service category. They gather information from various sources (about product development, and are updated about information.

They are subject experts and have tremendous knowledge about the specific product or service category. They are well-informed about product attributes and features, benefits and utility, knowledge about brands, price and availability .

They are product or service category specific; a person who is an opinion leader in a particular product/service category would be an Opinion Receiver/Seeker for another.

Opinion Leaders are also consumer innovators. Because of their interest in a product or service category, they have a tendency to purchase a new product offering as soon as it is launched in the market.

Opinion Leaders also possess certain personal characteristics; by nature, they are self-confident, extroverts, Sociable by nature and gregarious.

OPINION LEADERSHIP MODELS• TRICKLE DOWN THEORY• The Oldest model is called Trickle down theory.

It says that lower class people often imitate or follow upper class people ,Opinion Leaders, Celebrities etc.

• The influence is transmitted down from the wealthier classes to the poorer classes as the poorer groups in society seek to “better themselves”

• Marketers use this to their advantage by obtaining celebrity endorsements of products & this can affect people’s aspirational consumption patterns.

OPINION LEADERSHIP MODELS

The traditional model is called Two-Step Flow ModelThe Updated model is called Multi-Stage Interaction Model

METHODS OF MEASURING OPINION LEADERSHIP

Self-Designating MethodSociometric MethodKey Informant MethodObjective Method


SELF-DESIGNATING METHOD

“Do you influence other people in their selection of products?”

Each respondent is asked a series of questions to determine the degree to which he or she perceives himself or herself to be an opinion leader.

OPINION LEADERSHIP OPINION LEADERSHIP MEASUREMENT METHODMEASUREMENT METHOD

SAMPLE QUESTIONS SAMPLE QUESTIONS ASKEDASKEDDESCRIPTION OF METHODDESCRIPTION OF METHOD

SOCIOMETRIC METHOD

Members of a social system are asked to identify to whom they give advice and to whom they go for advice.

“Whom do you ask?”“Who asks you for info about that product category?”


OPINION LEADERSHIP OPINION LEADERSHIP MEASUREMENT MEASUREMENT METHODMETHOD

SAMPLE QUESTIONS SAMPLE QUESTIONS ASKEDASKEDDESCRIPTION OF METHODDESCRIPTION OF METHOD

KEY INFORMANT METHOD

“Who are the most influential people in the group?”

Carefully selected key informants in a social system are asked to designate opinion leaders.

Artificially places individuals in a position to act as opinion leaders and measures results of their efforts.

“Have you tried the product?”OBJECTIVE

METHOD

ISSUES IN OPINION LEADERSHIP AND MARKETING STRATEGY

1. Advertisements Stimulating Opinion Leadership

2. Word Of Mouth (WOM) May Be Uncontrollable

EXAMPLE : OPINION LEADERS OF COLGATE TOOTH PASTE IN 1. ADVERTISEMENTS

• COLGATE entered the toothpaste market when it was monopolized by the likes of Pepsodent.

• Colgate went on to be the highest selling toothpaste in the year.

• “Stronger, Healthier Teeth”.• Fights against gums.• Attract people on protection, whiteness,

calcium and freshness in the toothpaste category.

EXAMPLE : OPINION LEADERS OF COLGATE TOOTH PASTE

• Mothers.• Dentist.• Advertisements showing it as paste for complete protection.• ‘100% vegetarian’ sentiment.• Free Cavity Check-up.

2. WORD OF MOUTH (WOM)Much Information About

Products and Services is Actually Conveyed by

Individuals on an Informal Basis called

Word-of-Mouth Word-of-Mouth Communication (WOM)Communication (WOM).

: “Two Edged Sword”

FACTORS THAT ENCOURAGE WOM

• Person is Highly Involved With the Product

Person is Highly Knowledgeable About the Product

Person Has a Genuine Concern for Someone Else

Person May be Uncertain About a Recent Purchase

NEGATIVE WORD-OF-MOUTH• Negative Word-Of-Mouth:Negative Word-Of-Mouth:

– Is weighted more heavily by consumers than positive comments.

– Has been shown to reduce the credibility of a firm’s advertising.

– May influence consumers’ attitudes toward a product as well as their intention to buy it.

• Rumors Rumors are the chief form of Negative WOM.– Rumors often result in BoycottsBoycotts products, companies,

or services.

CONCLUSION One of those people who indulge in informal product related

communication, usually provides information about a product or product category, whether it would useful to buy, how it would be used etc. He would also offer advice as to which of several brands is the best and from where it should be bought. This person is known as the Opinion Leader and the process is known as Opinion Leadership. The people who form the audience and listen to the Opinion Leader are called Opinion Receivers. Individuals who on their own seek information and advice about products and brands are called Opinion Seekers. There is a two-way exchange of information, and both opinion leaders and opinion receivers/seekers interact with each other. Opinion leaders provide the receivers/seekers with product information, advice, and relate to them their experiences. In return for this, they gather more information, personal opinion and personal experiences from the receivers/seekers.

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