Marketers should try to understand the nature of family decision making in their own product category. This is because family decision making influence every phase of marketing strategy,the advertising message, the media selected product development,pricing and distribution.
1) Content of Advertising Message: The nature of family decision making will influence the content of advertising massages. A more difficult strategy issue arises when decision are jointly made since different members of the family could emphasize different beliefs. For example when deciding on the new car to buy, husband and wife are likely to place different values on benefits such as performance,style and economy. One way the marketer can solve the problem is to direct separate the advertising massage to wives and husband. However such a strategy is costly and likely to duplicate effort. A more efficient strategy is to develop a single integrated campaign that deals with the family as a decision unit with out reference to gender associations. Evaluation criteria emphasizes by both husband and wife would then be used in developing advertising themes.
Children must also be taken into account in advertising since they play a role in family decision making.
2) Media: How does the marketer select the right media for his advertising? The selection of advertising media will be based on who is involved or dominates in the family decision. When the husband or wife dominates in the family decision, the marketer should choose magazines,and TV programs that are male or female oriented. If the decision is made by husband or wife,and either one is equally likely to make it,the marketer is faced with the difficult choice. He has to decide whether the advertising budget should be split equally between male and female dominated media,or whether he should follow a segmentation strategy and appeal to one or the other.
We can take men's cloth as a good example. The marketer may decide to advertise men's clothing in women's magazine,in men's magazine or in both. If both are used,it means that two separate campaigns would be required,one aimed towards men,the other towards women. The danger or disadvantage of this approach is that the media budget may be too diffused and so having little effect.
A joint decision does not pose the problem of choosing between male or female oriented media since both parties make a decision. However the marketer will still answer the question. How should the budget be split between general and specialised media? Should the marketer attempt to reach both husband and wife together ,or should there be an attempt to reach them separately through male and female oriented media with essentially the same media.
3) Product Development: The knowledge of how family decisions are made and who uses the product,helps the marketer in product development and management. Product can be designed for only one member of the family or for several or all members. Products designed for one member of the family provide the marketers with less of a problem than products design for two or more members. For example,life insurance is usually designed to the specifications of the husband,while children's clothing is designed primarily to the specification of the wife. Garden tools could be designed specification of either the husband or the wife since either one may make the decision. In designing a trowel or hoe,the marketer could introduce a lighter weight materials or an easier grip to facilitate use buy the wife;or heavier duty material and a thicker handle could be introduced to appeal to the husband.
Based on how family decisions are made and who uses the product,the marketer can decide to adopt any of the following strategies.
a) Segment the market by introducing one product to a certain member of the family.
b) Expand the product line to appeal to all members of the family.
c) Introduce an all purpose product so the family could buy one item to be used by everyone.
4) Pricing: Pricing strategy may be influenced by the knowledge of who makes the decision. The fact that husbands generally determine how much to spend for cars and the wives for food items means that price levels must reflect the price sensitivity of these individuals.
5) Distribution: The nature of family decision making may also influence decision strategies. The orientation of a product to each member of the family means separate merchandising display. In store promotional display must reflect purchase influence as well. Wackman (1976) found that children are more likely to get their preferred brand when they make a request in the store rather than at home. This implies that in store promotions for products like cereals,snacks,or sweet should be directed towards the children as well as to the adults.
