Vitality of socio-cultural environment

What do you think determines the purchase behavior of buyers? Well, the two major factors which mould the buying behavior of consumers are the marketing mix and the socio-cultural environment of the buyers. Marketing mix is the marketers' domain while marketers have no influence over the socio-cultural environment of the buyers.

Lets us talk about the socio cultural environment. It includes ones' family, friends, culture, beliefs and societal norms. As the domain of discussion is socio-cultural environment, culture definitely plays a major role. Now If you see the Hofstede's Model for accessing cultures, you can well infer that certain cultures are individualistic while others are collectivistic. Indian culture is collectivist while American cult is individualistic. Well, you may ask how can I say this with conviction.

Let me take a simple example. If you listen to Western music, it has individualistic orientation. If you hear the lyrics of the song in the video, you can figure out the fact that people in US or UK beleive in being solitary and fight the battle of life alone. As such, people prefer to listen to music that reflects individualism and and to some extent rebellion. Hence, socio-cultural environment of people determines their taste even in music and this is what marketers need to tap on.

The crux of this post is to tell that socio-cultural environment plays a vital role in determining buyers' buying behavior. As such, marketers must not ignore the cultural patterns of their target segments.