Culture is an integral part of every human being. The basis behind which we operate, our culture determines our values, our behaviors, and our wants and needs. For most consumers it is a driving force responsible for their buying decisions. And yet, it flies under the radar as an innate societal structure very rarely prioritized by brands.
We’re lifting the veil.
Hoping to educate marketers on this crucial aspect of consumer behavior, we brought in expert Margaret J. King, Ph.D., Director of The Center for Cultural Studies & Analysis to discuss how culture greatly impacts consumer buying decisions.
Here’s what we uncovered:
The psychology of human culture
Unbeknownst to most people, human culture has ties to every decision we make. This isn’t a deliberate tactic of human survival as much as it’s a natural psychological response to life.
“Everything that people do happens within their cultural framework. Everything. Including psychology," said King. "Psychology is the study of mind and behavior; culture is the very broadest form of psychology that we all have, but we don’t know we have it. It’s embedded [in us] just by growing up in a culture. We have this software that runs behind the individual identity; it’s a psychology that we all share without knowing that we share it.”
Psychology can be described in two categories: its biological and social components. Culture, which often falls under the umbrella of social norms, can be tackled in subcategories such as one’s class or community.
“There’s a biological base [to psychology], there’s who we are as biological beings and the way our brain and body works and then there’s the effect of the social [status], what class you’re in, what country you live in and all of those things come together when you’re raised in a culture,” said King. “Culture goes way beyond basic needs, way beyond physical needs and the body. It goes into aspirations, it goes into who we think we are as a group and where we want to go,” said King.
The topic of identity and public perception has been discussed in marketing circles before. What most have yet to recognize is its connection to human culture.
The motivators fueling purchase
Now that we've broken down this psychology of culture that we all carry, let's talk about how it influences purchasing decisions.
“There’s a lot involved in any purchase, we just aren’t consciously aware as consumers. When you and I make a purchase we aren’t aware of all this elaboration that goes on," said King. "For example, car purchasing — there are 3,000 models out there but people are not considering 3,000 models when they buy a car. They just aren’t. They’re considering three. There’s the one they really like, there’s a medium and there’s a least favorite. Cars are very reflective of value. They are a moving advertisement for who you are and how you see yourself and how you wish to be perceived."
“There are these drivers, these motivators for the way you want to be seen, but that’s not determined by individuals, that’s determined by the shared values of culture.”
King says most of the world runs on group psychology, basing their actions on how it will reflect out into the world or what effect it will have on other people.
“We do everything in a social context. We spend 90 percent of our time trying to figure out where we are in the hierarchy, in our group, in our family, in our job. Most of our daydreaming has to do with other people and our positioning [in society], and goods and services and experiences is just one of those indicators,” said King.
King says understanding the value of people’s relationship with their culture, and those who it’s composed of, should be the foundation upon which marketers formulate their campaigns.
“Every buying decision, every piece of persuasion has to fit within the cultural values [of your target audience],” said King. “People don’t relate to the mass market, they relate to class and community and 'who’s most important in my reference group?' and that’s where you see issues in marketing; if you have this new innovative topic but people can’t understand what it is or what it’s supposed to do for them [you won’t see repeat purchases or truly influence consumers].”
“Marketers think [influencing consumer behavior] is about creativity, putting out an ad that’s funny or that people will talk about, but very little research is done about why people would buy the product in the first place,” said King. “I think the more marketers understand human behavior, the better [marketing] decisions they’ll be making because they’ll be making them based on what’s really driving people.”
While King says uncovering a person’s cultural motivations might not be obvious, it can be uncovered by asking yourself one question: What do people want out of this product?
“[If you’re a marketer working in quick-service restaurants], ask yourself ‘what do people want out of meals?’ and go back to the roots of eating. Aside from food being nourishing, food is very social, that’s why pizza is such a big deal, that’s why it’s such a big seller because you can share it with other people, it’s round and people can group around it,” said King. “Why do people do X in the first place — that’s the cultural question. Then focus on how you can build on that.”
Culture is a vast topic, so deeply ingrained in the human experience that it can be easily overlooked, but marketers cannot afford to ignore the effects it has on consumerism any longer. The impact culture has on consumer buying decisions is endless, but so are the benefits.
