Why is it Important for Marketers to know about
Families and Households?
1.
impart lifestyle and consumption values to their members
2.
influential in consumption decisions
3.
4.
make several joint purchase decisions prime target market for goods and services

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Family Life-cycle
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 bachelor newly married, no kids young couple, kids < 6 young couple, kids >6 older married w/ dep.
empty nesters, working retired widower - working, not working
Changes Over Life-Cycle
 financial situation
 brands considered
 interests
 primary decision maker

Why is it of value to understand the family life cycle?
The family life cycle concept attempts to explain consumer behavior patterns of individuals as they age, marry, have children, retire, and their discretionary income vary over their life span
 At each stage members have new and constant needs for goods and services I.e consumption patterns change
 Life cycle determines which product categories are bought but not how much is spent on each category
 Basic strategy is how to keep customers through the FLC? (e.g.
Automobile)

Stage of the
Household
Life Cycle
Structure of Household
Unit
Household
Purchase and
Consumption
Behavior
Household
Decision
Processes
Marketing
Strategy

Choose your vacation

Family Life cycle and Travel
Travel locations, arrangements etc. differ significantly across the family life stages
 Young singles the most action motivated,
 older marrieds the least motivated by action.
 young marrieds with children were highly motivated to escape
 older marrieds were not.
 Young marrieds with children had most interest in rest and relaxation.
 Young single travelers had the most ego motivation where
 middle-aged singles were least motivated by ego.

 Young singles placed much greater emphasis on outdoor experiences
 older marrieds did not regard outdoor activities as important.
 Older unmarrieds, young marrieds, and young singles thought cultural attractions were important.
 For the older married and older unmarried segments, weather was very important in vacation destination selection.
 attractions such as theme parks were important for divorced travelers with children and young married travelers with children.

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1) Bachelor Stage. (Young single people not living at home):
(a) Few financial burdens,
(b) Fashion/opinion leader led,
(c) Recreation orientated,
(d) Experiment with personal financial management
(e) men and women differ in consumer behaviour
- women more housing-related items and furniture,
men more on restaurants and cars
(f) buy: basic kitchen equipment, basic furniture, cars, holidays,

2) Newly married couples (Young, no children) (DINKS)
(a) Better off financially than they will be in the near future,
(b) High levels of purchase of homes and consumer durable goods,
(c) Establish patterns of personal financial management and control;
(D) Buy: cars, fringes, cookers, life assurance, durable furniture, holidays,

3) Full nest I. (Youngest child under six):
(a) Home purchasing at peak,
(b) Liquid assets/saving low,
(c) Dissatisfied with financial position and amount of money saved,
(d) Reliance on credit finance, credit cards, overdrafts etc.,
(e) Child dominated household,
(f) Buy necessities - washers, dryers, baby food and clothes, health foods vitamins, toys, books etc.;

4) Full nest II.
(Youngest child six or over):
(a) Financial position better,
(b) Some wives return to work,
(c) Child dominated household,
(d) Buynecessities - foods, cleaning material, clothes, bicycles, sports gear, music lessons, pianos, junk foods, holidays etc.;

5) Full nest III. (Older married couples with dependent children.:
(a) Financial position still better,
(b) More wives work,
(c) School and examination dominated household,
(d) Some children get first jobs; other in further/higher education,
(e) Expenditure to support children's further/higher education,
(f) Buy: new, more tasteful furniture, non-necessary appliances, boats, holidays, etc.

Empty nest I. (Older married couples, no children living with them, head of family still in labor force):
(a) Home ownership at peak,
(b) More satisfied with financial position and money saved,
(c) Interested in travel, recreation, self-education,
(d) Make financial gifts and contributions,
(e) Children gain qualifications and move to Stage 1.
(f) Buy luxuries, home improvements e.g. fitted kitchens etc.;

7) Empty nest II. (Older married couples, no children living at home, head of family retired):
(a) Significant cut in income,
(b) Keep home,
(d) Concern with level of savings and pension,
(e) Assist children
(f) Buy:medical appliances or medical care, products which aid health, sleep and digestion, hobbies and pastimes,

8) Solitary survivor I. (In labour force):
(a) Income still adequate but likely to sell family home and purchase smaller accommodation,
(b) Worries about security and dependence;
(c) Concern with level of savings and pension,
(d) Buy: hobbies and pastimes,

9) Solitary survivor II. (Retired):
(a) Significant cut in income,
(b) Additional medical requirements,
(c) Special need for attention, affection and security,
(d) May Seek sheltered accommodation,
(e) Possible dependence on 'others for personal financial, management and control.
Buy: Prepaid funeral

Large bags for larger families
Small bags of specialty potatoes for affluent couples without children. And with small kitchens

Marketing Potatoes through the FLC
Traditional Families - one parent works, one parent stays home, children live at home.
 eat dinner at-home more frequently than other demographic groups.
 also consume more potatoes per person than those in families without children.
 affluent groups tend to eat fewer potatoes than low- to moderateincome groups with the same demographics.
 the mainstay of fresh potato marketing, but over time it has come to represent less and less of the total population

Two working parents, children present
 Dinner is a hectic time.
 Parents and children arrive home about the same time.
 Kids are excited (and hungry); parents are tired (and hungry).
 Convenience concerns often override other factors in deciding what's for dinner.
 Dinnertime solutions need to be quick and easy.
What sort of potato products would they be interested in?

Single parent families single working parent, children present.
 Dinner is just another thing on the "to do" list along with soccer practice, homework, etc.
 needs easy, quick meal solutions.
 What sort of potato products should be marketed to families with children?

Households without children
 Half the U.S. population lives in a one- or two- person household.
 Every demographic in this group has lower potato consumption than households with children and represents a significant (and currently missed) opportunity.
Singles
 Singles have the lowest at-home potato consumption, with affluent singles showing even lower consumption than low- to moderateincome singles.
 They eat out often, and represent a significant portion of fry consumption in restaurants. Many in this group will be moving into the marriage, parenthood segment.
 Potato product ideas:

Double income, no kids
 young married couples just establishing their households. Many can afford to eat out often and don't have cooking skills.
Empty Nesters, children grown and out of home
 Some in this group are still working, some are retired
 almost all want a break from the years of dinner preparation.
 They can afford to eat out or take home upscale meals.
 Often health and fitness conscious, this important group has positive attitudes about potatoes.
 Potato Product ideas:
Married and Single active elderly
 A small percentage of the population at present,
 this demographic, along with empty nesters, is expected to grow dramatically in the next 20 years.
 Potato product ideas:

 Households vary in consumption habits depending on stage where they are in family life cycle
 Household decision making is also different from individual decision making
 Family role structure orientation influences household decision making
 Nature of good or service to be purchased and consumed influences household decision making

Types of Purchase Decisions Made by Families
Group Agrees on the
Desired Purchase
Differing Only in
Terms of How It Will
Be Achieved.

Group Members Have
Different Preferences and Can’t Agree on a Purchase That
Will Satisfy Everyone

Conflict Occurs When There is Not Complete
Correspondence in Family Members’ Needs and
Preferences.
Some Specific Factors Determining the Degree of
Family Decision Conflict Include the Following:
Interpersonal Needs
Product Involvement and Utility
Responsibility
Power
Person’s Level of Investment in the Group
Degree to Which the Product in Question Will
Be Used or Will Satisfy a Need
For Procurement, Maintenance, Payment, etc.
One Family Member’s Influence Over the
Others in Making Decisions

 Influence may depend on the good or service to be purchased, role structure orientation, stage of the decision making process
 four categories:
 husband-dominated;
 wife-dominated
 autonomous or unilateral;
 joint decision

The Apparel Manufacturer Haggar Placed Menswear Ads in
About a Dozen Women’s Magazines After Its Research Found
That Women Exert Influence Over Men’s Clothing Choices

1.
Sex-role stereotypes - separation of decision-making for sex-typed products.
2 Spousal Resources - spouse contributing the greater resources (usually, but not always, money) has the greater influence
3. Experience - individual decisions are made more frequently when the couple has gained experience as a decision-making unit
4. Socio-Economic Status - middle class families make more joint decisions than either upper or lower class families.

Initiator
Disposer
Maintainer
User
Information
Gatherer
Decision
Roles
Gatekeeper
Buyer
Influencer
Decision
Maker
Preparer

 Initiators: initiate consumption behaviour
 Information Gatherers: research alternatives
 Gatekeepers: control flow of information to other members
 Influencer(s): provide information about a good or service to other members
 Deciders: have power to make final buying decision
 Buyers: member(s) who actually make purchase
 Preparers: transform product into useable form
 Users: family members who use the good or service
 Maintainers: responsible for maintenance of good
 Disposers: responsible for disposal of good/service

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Marketing communication: advertising message, media used, person targeted, product positioning
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Product development: products, e.g. minivans and cars built specifically for families; vacations; services, e.g. insurance, hotel
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Pricing decisions: e.g. discounts for bulk purchases
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Distribution: changes in family lifestyle means changes in distribution, e.g. longer retail hours
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Public policy regulations re marketing to children
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Households can be targeted by advertising by lifestyle .

If a car is being purchased by a family for a teenager to drive to school, how will this influence:
 The type of product
 Method of financing
 Price
 Appropriate promotion message
 The media
As opposed to the family purchasing a car that the adult head of the household will use to commute to work?

When marketing to the family children must be a consideration.
How would you reach families with your marketing message?
Magazines
 children’s magazines are good avenues for reaching the youth and mom markets.
 also family-oriented magazines aimed more at parents. Eg.
Family Circle, Sesame Street Parents (5.4 million readers)
Family Fun, Child, Parents, or Parenting magazine.
Internet, e-mail and other technology
 since kids are often the more technologically savvy members of the family
 Web sites

Organizations
 family-friendly organizations are good places in which to focus marketing efforts aimed at the family eg.
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Religious institutions
Schools: primary, secondary, public and private; their affiliated clubs and organizations,
Kids’ groups - Scouts, 4-H, etc.
YMCA or YWCA and other athletic clubs
 Direct Mail

marketing to families employs strategies and practices that strongly appeal to parent customers and their children for the ultimate purpose of increasing sales.
It involves looking at your sales and marketing processes from the viewpoint of a consumer who has money to buy, children beside them and is stretched for time.
Family marketing has three components:
 products
 customer service
 and environment.

For many households, a car purchase is a family event. It can be a pleasant one or a story that is retold with embarrassment and horror. Which do you think will lead to a repeat sale or referral? If you were the owner of a car dealership how would you make the purchase of a car a pleasant family event.

 Provide a good play area. Construction play, a table for drawing, good books, creative activities like train sets, Lego tables, mazes and puzzles. Stay away from videos. Children who sit too long just build up their energy and compensate with over-active play.
 Welcome families with broad smiles, make eye contact with the youngsters.
 Take a few minutes to make the children comfortable by leading them to the play area or explaining where the toys are. Do not put parents into the position of apologizing for their children's behavior.
 Make sure that the vending machine has packaged, healthy treats available, including fruit juice or water in bottles.
 The bathroom should have a change table.
 stop periodically to make sure the kids are engaged and happy .
 Include them if old enough, in some of the discussions.