The influence of reference groups on consumer behaviour on example of child nutrition

<p>The following paper studies the influence of referential groups on consumer behavior on the baby food market in Russia. The object of the study is both: domestic and foreign companies operating on the baby food market, as well as various groups of consumers. Correspondingly, the subject is a consumer behavior and the impact of certain referential groups on it.</p><p>In order to perform a thorough and comprehensive analysis on the subject, the paper contains the analysis of the socio-psychological factors of consumption, as well as of various articles related to the analysis of the consumer behavior and the ways it is being influenced by different referential groups. Besides that, current characteristics of the baby food industry in Russia were also described within the frames of this paper.</p><p>In addition, an auxiliary study has been performed for the purposes of this paper, in order to identify various factors and characteristics of referential groups&rsquo; impact on the consumers&rsquo; choice, particularly on the baby food market, the results of which became the basis for development of the marketing strategy for a real enterprise in the industry. The method chosen for this study was an online survey with the number of participants more than 200 people, who lived in several regions of Russia and belonged to different social groups. The primary target audience for the survey became the parents, both family members or single parents with a child or children aged from 0 to 3 years, who constantly purchase special food for their babies.</p><p>During the analysis, the author has made several important conclusions that can be summarized as follows. Baby food industry in Russia is characterized by dynamic growth, the major current market players are foreign companies. The industry is also characterized by a large number of R&amp;D and innovation. Key referential groups on this market are close relatives (family members) and friends, as well as industry experts and professionals, such as pediatricians, pharmacy staff with medical education, and so on. Important conclusion was made about the importance of the influence of the mentioned referential groups on the formation of consumer behavior, which became the basis for the development of a number of marketing initiatives to promote new products on the market. It should be noted that the developed set of marketing initiatives based on the results of the study have significant practical importance, since they can be used as the main component of the marketing campaign for the introduction of a new product on the baby food market by the company.</p>