ITPEC IP April 2023 Question 82
As segmentation in marketing, consumers are classified on the basis of the attitude toward product purchase. Which of the following is an appropriate attitude toward product purchase of a consumer called an opinion leader?
Explanation
Buying a new product early and passing information about it to friends and acquaintances — what an opinion leader does when consumers are segmented by their attitude to purchase.
This segmentation follows the adoption curve: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. Opinion leaders are the early adopters. They buy soon after a product appears, and because others trust their judgement, what they say about it spreads to friends and acquaintances and shapes later buyers' decisions. Both halves are needed: early purchase and influence on others.
Answer (d)
Why not others:
- •(a) — passing on an evaluation only after the product has become popular follows the market rather than leading it; by then most people have already decided
- •(b) — weighing friends' evaluations and public opinion before buying is the behaviour of the majority, who follow the opinion leaders
- •(c) — being eager to own a new product before anyone else is the innovator's attitude; it says nothing about informing or influencing others
Key rule: Innovators want to be first; opinion leaders (early adopters) buy early and also sway other people's purchases; the majority waits for their verdict.
Business Strategy Management · AI-written, may contain errors
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