Social Class...

Social Class today and a century ago has changed dramatically.  However it still plays a huge part in buyer behaviour, therefore this is the next topic I will be discussing.  Firstly, as usual, we will look at the actual definitions of social class. According to Solomon et al (2010) social class is "the overall rank of people in society; people who are grouped within the same social class are approximately equal in terms of their social standing, occupations and life style."  Another definition, which I believe is a perfect summary is stated by Krech, Crutchfield and Ballachey (2000) which said that social class is a division of society made up of people who possess certain common social characteristics.  These are used to qualify them for equal intimate, status relations with each other and it limits their interaction with members of other social classes. OK, so now we understand what a social class is, we need to look further within the subject.

Social Grade Classification
The Social Grade Classification was created by the National Readership Survey over 50 years ago.  This was to grade a person based on their occupation status and income.  Here is the classification:

Grade                    Occupation
A                             Higher Managerial, Administrative or Professional
B                             Intermediate Managerial, Administrative or Professional
C1                          Supervisory or Clerical and Junior Managerial, Administrative
C2                          Skilled Manual Workers
D                             Semi and Unskilled Manual Workers
E                             Causal or Lowest Grade Workers, Pensioners and other who depend on the 
                                State for their Income.

The British society has also been considered to be divided into three main groups of classes. These are;
1) The Upper Class - These are people who inherited wealth and usually include some of the oldest families, with many being titled aristocrats.
2) The Middle Class - This is the majority of the population in Britain.  This includes industrialists, professionals, business people and shop owners.
3) The Lower or Working Class - These include people who are agricultural, mine and factory workers.

However these divisions have dramatically changed since the beginning of the 1900's to present day.  The diagram to the right presents the change in structure.  Its shows that at the beginning of the 1900's there were three main levels, and the majority of people were in the working and lower classes.  Whilst today there are eight specific sections.  The smallest part is the working class section, whilst the biggest parts are lower middle and middle middle class. But how does Social Class relate to consumer buyer behaviour both within the 1900s and present day? Well...

The shopping behaviour of a person varies by social class.  People will usually match their values and expectations with a stores status and will tend to avoid stores which make a person feel out of place.  This leads to stereotyping a store to a social-status.  This results in certain products and brands being bought in different outlets by members of different social classes.  Therefore it is important for marketers to allow the consumer a social-class identification of store through advertisements that they use.

Through research of the shopping behaviour of a group of women, stated by studymarketing.org (2011) there are many insights which influence the shopping process for different social classes these are:

• Lower Classes enjoyed buying new clothes or household items, while upper-middles and higher frequently more specified a pleasant store atmosphere and display.
• All classes enjoyed recreational and social aspects of shopping whilst being exposed to new things and bargain hunting
• Middle and upper class women shopped more frequently than those in the lower class.
• The higher the social class the more she thought it was important to shop quickly.
• The middle to working class women browsed more without buying anything.
• A greater percentage of lower class consumers favoured discount store than consumers in the middle and upper classes. 
• The appeal of high fashion stores was related to social class.

OK so these are the usual patterns of buyer behaviour based on social class.  But lets make it more specific:

Upper and Upper Middles - Consumers in this category are usually more critical of advertising and are usually suspicious of emotional appeals and skeptical of claims.  Consumers in this social class are more knowledgeable about what they want, where and when to shop.  They  are both selective and wide ranging when they shop.  Marketers understand that these consumers usually search for information prior to purchase therefore, advertisers know that they should advertise in places such as; brochures, newspapers as these are usually read by the upper class before they make a purchase decision.  It is important for marketers to play on the goals of people in the upper class.  For the upper class this is usually bargain deals and an emphasis on savings. Products must be shown as unique and special that they must have one.When advertising it was important to show the important details first for specific social classes. The upper classes should be shown the exact special features and specification of the product first and then the price and bargaining deals. Here are some examples of adverts aimed for the upper class:

Middle Class - Consumers in this class show more anxiety when they purchase new things.  Consumers in this category are normally value-conscious and try to find the best buy for their product. When marketers advertise a product to the middle class they need to apply a certain language which fits their class.  For the middle and lower class the words are more simple and the general tone is best so that they are not intimidated.  Whereas the upper class will have a more sophisticated style which tries to impress them. Marketers know that the more appropriate the style of language used, the more likely they will gain trust in the product.  Also when advertising it is good to use the appropriate artistic style for each class.  The middle class approves of simpler and more popular designs in adverts whilst the upper class are more picky and enjoy professional and elegant adverts.
Here are some examples of adverts aimed for the middle class:

Working Class and Lower Class - Advertisers have discovered that lower- status consumers are more responsive to advertising which shows activity, ongoing work and life and expressions of energy.  As consumers in these groups have strong concerns about personal relationships they normally shop together.  This attitude also explains why many have loyalty to certain shops and brands.  The working class usually purchase buy making buyer decisions once in the shop.  Therefore marketers understand that to target this type of people they should make an emphasis on the use of enticing point of purchase displays and easy availability of a product.  The lower class usually purchase on impulse.
Here are some examples of adverts aimed for the working and lower class:

Advertisers also have to consider the placement of their marketing campaigns.  They need to recognise who their target audience is and make sure they advertise in places which specifically relate to that class.  A good example of this is newspapers.  Different social classes will read a variety of newspapers.  People usually with the classification C1 and C2 read 'The Sun' newspaper therefore marketers will advertise here products which are specifically for this group.  Radio broadcasts are another example of marketing communications which do this.

I have also decided to look at how another country measures Social Class.  I decided to look at the ancient Egypt structure.  Digitalegypt.ucl (2003) states that the Egyptian society in relation to social class was structured into 6 different levels.  These were Kings, The Ruling Class, Craftsmen, Farmers, Marginalised Groups and Slaves.  This shows that it was actually quite similar to the structure we have present.  Even though the titles have changed, the basic formation and levels are the same.  Labourers and farm workers are listed lower on the hierarchy whilst skilled workers are middle and then the highest earners and most powerful are at the top.  The structure of society has not really developed, marketers know how to target certain groups and appeal to them due to the fact it has been the same throughout many years.

Social Classes... Have They Changed at all?