Introduction

Human beings are, essentially, social, because we live and interact, daily, in several interpersonal relationships circles. The interactions that occur in those circles are free from nationality, ethnicity, race, gender or social-economic classes, being the consumption of products, services and brands an important way of social interaction. Thus, the interactions based on interpersonal influence step into the attitude and the behavior of societies, in general. In this regard, evaluations and information that come from individuals or groups that, for some reason, inspire trust or identification on others, have got much of credibility before their peers. So, the influence of others (individuals or groups) is an important factor for the human behavior.

Objective
To study the influence of reference groups on consumers smart phone purchasing behavior .

Reference Group
Reference groups are defined as social groups that are important to a consumer and against which he or she compares himself or herself. For example, a member group is a reference group to which an individual belongs, whereas an aspiration group is a reference group to which an individual aspires to belong. The typology of groups can be divide them into: primary and secondary groups, Membership verses Non membership groups, Formal and informal groups. The primary group has the higher impact and is the most influential, with the interaction among its participants occurring frequently, face-to-face or not. They share the same values, beliefs and behaviors and their cohesion makes them value the norms and opinions of others within the group. Family is the main example of primary group along with close friends. The secondary group has a less frequent and cohesive interaction, the norms and opinion of the group have less impact in comparison to the primary group. Relatives, professional associations and syndicates are players of this group. A membership reference group is one to which a person belongs or qualifies for membership. All workers in a factory qualify for membership to the labor union. A symbolic reference group is one which an individual aspires to belong to, but is not likely to be received as a member. Rotary, lions, Jaycees are some of the well known social reference groups in our society. Labor unions, social clubs and societies are other types of formal reference groups to which individuals may belong. A formal reference group has a highly defined structure, specific roles and authority positions and specific goals. In contrast, an informal reference group is loosely defined and may have no specified roles and goals. Meeting your neighbors over lunch once a month for friendly exchange of news is an instance of an informal reference group.

Relevance of reference group in marketing

Generally, consumers have influence of reference group on their purchasing decisions. This could be because of the perceived benefits in doing so. Three types of reference-group influence that have been identified in consumer research are informational, utilitarian, and value expressive. At a more specific level, consumers may be seen to accept reference- group influence because of its role in providing informational, utilitarian and value expressive benefits. Informational influence is based on the desire to make informed decisions and optimize the choice. The information source will be more accepted if it comes together with credibility and expertise or can enhance consumers capabilities and knowledge about the surroundings. However the information influence only functions when the individual regards the behavior and value of reference group members as potentially useful information and takes them into consideration. Especially when a consumer lacks the knowledge of a certain product and the experience of purchasing this item, one may perceive the information and recommendation from his/her reference group as credible and thus accept them with certain confidence. Utilitarian influence can be explained by the so-called compliance process in which an individual is willing to satisfy a certain groups expectation in order to obtain the approval or to avoid the punishment from the group. In case of a disregarded product or brand, the consumer will most likely not purchase it in order to avoid any negative consequences exhibited by the referents. If the item is perceived to be a product which meets or exceeds the expectations of the referents, the utilitarian influence will likely drive the individual towards a purchase. A well-known example for the conformity in behavior is the idea of Keeping up with the Joneses. It deals with the social pressure to own new products that others already possess. People often strive to keep up with groups like their friends by purchasing products that they own as well. Usually, those products are perceived as status symbols but will soon become a necessity as ownership increases. Value-expressive influence occurs when an individual uses the perceived group norms and values as his/her behavior model and values. Value-expressive influence may be best explained by the identification process which occurs when an individual adopts some opinions, attitudes or behavior in order to identify himself or establish a satisfying relationship with another person or group. Identifying and using reference groups in marketing are important because reference groups influence the attitudes, goals, aspirations, opinions, and information that determine customer standards and expectations regarding the business, products or services. Understanding reference groups, and how they influence the target customers, will enable to fine-tune your marketing messages and appropriately package the messages for delivery via the customers preferred platforms. Luxury products, for example, should be marketed to the appropriate membership or aspiration groups and should choose appropriate testimonials, recommendations, and spokespeople. As references group has influence on consumers behavior, this project tries to examine how the reference group influences the customers purchasing decision of buying a smart phone.

Research Questions for Survey

Please give your responses for the below questions by Marking only one oval... (* Required) 1. Age (Years): * 18 - 24 25 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 Above 50 2. Marital Status: * Married Unmarried 3. Highest Education Completed: * 10th 12th Graduation Post-Graduation Other: _________ 4. Approx. Monthly Family Income (Rs.): * Below 10,000 10,000 - 20,000 21,000 - 30,000 31,000 - 40,000 40,000 - 50,000 Above 50,000 5. Do you own a smartphone? * Yes No 6. If yes, which brand is it? * Apple Samsung BlackBerry Nokia Sony Other: ___________________

7. You bought the above brand of Smartphone because of its * Features and performance Appearance Price Service support Brand Value Other: _______________ 8. Apart from making calls what do you use your phone most for: * Social networking Playing games Listing to music & watching videos Business activities Taking pictures/Making videos Other:____________________ 9. Are you planning to buy a new smartphone * Yes No 10. Average time that Ill spend for deciding on the purchase of smartphone is : * Less than a day 1-2 days 2-5 days A week More than a week

Please answer the succeeding questions considering if you have to buy a new smartphone. Listed below are a number of statements. Please indicate the extent to which you agree with each of the given statements, using the scale 1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neither Agree nor Disagree, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly Agree.

11. Buying a new smartphone is a very important purchase decision for me * 12. Need for a new smartphone has arisen from my need to multitask * 13. I am planning to buy a smartphone because most of the other people around me have smartphones * 14. I am planning to buy a smartphone because of my need to be active on social networks* 15. I am planning to buy a smartphone to connect cost effectively with my friends and relatives * 16. I am planning to buy a smartphone to upgrade to extra features like better camera, touchscreen, wider display etc. * 17. I am planning to buy a smartphone because I feel it is the need of the hour * 18. Appearance of a smartphone is most important criteria for my purchase decision * 19. Connectivity and application support is the most important criteria for my purchase decision * 20. Price of the smartphone is the most important criteria for my purchase decision * 21. Features and performance are the most important criteria for my purchase decision * 22. Service support for the smartphone brand is the most important criteria for my purchase decision * 23. I seek information about various brands and products from association of professionals or independent group of experts * 24. I seek information about smartphone from people who work with the products as a professional* 25. I seek smartphone brand related knowledge from those friends, relatives, neighbors or work associates who have reliable information about the brand * 26. I seek a brand which has got a seal of approval from an independent testing agency * 27. My choice of brand is influenced by my observations of what experts do * 28. To satisfy the expectations of fellow work associates, my decision to purchase a particular brand is influenced by their preferences * 29. My decision to purchase a particular brand is influenced by the preferences of people with whom i have social interaction * 30. My decision to purchase a particular brand is influenced by preferences of my family members * 31. The desire to satisfy the expectation which others have of me has an impact on my choice of brand * 32. I feel that the purchase or use of a particular brand of smartphone will enhance the image which others will have of me * 33. I would like to have the characteristics of those who purchase or use a particular brand of smartphone * 34. I sometime feel that it would be nice to be the type of person which advertisements show using a particular brand of smartphone * 35. I feel that the people who purchase a particular brand of smartphones are admired or respected by others * 36. I feel that the purchase of a particular brand shows others what i am or what i would like to be *