Roles in Family Decision-Making and the Variables that Determine a Person's Social Class

Questions and Answers
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Questions and Answers
Question 1
* Discuss the different roles in a family decision-making scenario.
Every family finds itself having to make crucial decisions that impact the many and different activities families engage in on a daily basis. These activities range from what families have for dinner, lunch, or dessert to where kids will go to college, and even where the family plans to vacation. At every instance, people in a family assume different roles that they then use to influence decisions within the family.
The first role is known as influencers. These are people who present information to their families. Their goal is to inform and help ease the decision-making process for their families. For example, they can share information on the cheapest and most reliable internet services for homes. The influencers are followed closely by the gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are almost similar to influencers, but the information they provide is skewed to meet their needs or preferences (Kamra, 2021). For example, they will provide information about a fast food joint whose food they have tasted and liked and fail to provide information on a new joint that the family is yet to try. The third role falls to those who get to make the decisions of the family. This role is known as deciders. Deciders are the people with the power to make the final decisions for the family.
The fourth role is known as buyers. Buyers are the people who act on a decision to either purchase or pay a down payment on a vacation venue, etc. The fifth role in a family decision-making scenario is for preparers. Preparers are the people who act on the product and convert it into a form that the family can enjoy. For example, the mother or the father can grill some pork ribs for the family or prepare pasta after the decision to have the same has been tabled and decided. Preparers give way to the users, whose main role is to make use of the products or services that the family acquired. Here is where a majority of the children belong. Another role that is existent in a family decision-making scenario is the one for maintainers. Maintainers are the people tasked with ensuring the continuity of a product or service. For example, the parents will be charged with making sure that the family gets to experience the same level of enjoyment when they go vacationing. Lastly, there is the role of disposers. Disposers are the opposite of maintainers. Instead of ensuring continuity in the use of a product or service, they ensure its cessation or termination.
* Evaluate how marketers can influence family purchases by considering the roles involved in the decision-making process. Use examples to support your arguments.
Family is considered a major determining factor that influences people’s decisions. Nanda, Hu, and Bai (2006) note that family has been seen as a determinant that impacts “the decision making process.” With this understanding, marketers can influence family purchases by targeting the roles involved in the decision-making process. It is crucial to note that these roles are not fixed. As Nanda, Hu, and Bai (2006) indicate, these roles in families are not permanent. They change with ...