Opinion Leadership

One of those people, who indulge in informal product related communication, usually provides information about a product or product category, whether it would useful to buy, how it would be used etc. He would also offer advice as to which of several brands is the best and from where it should be bought. This person is known as the Opinion Leader and the process is known as Opinion Leadership.

In some cases, the Opinion Leader just likes to talk and discuss about a product or service category. He voluntarily provides information about the product and product category and/or about brands. The people who form the audience and listen to him are called Opinion Receivers.

There is a two-way exchange of information, and both opinion leaders and opinion receivers/seekers interact with each other. Opinion leaders provide the receivers/seekers with product information, advice, and relate to them their experiences. In return for this, they gather more information, personal opinion and personal experiences from the receivers/seekers.

ROLE PLAYED BY OPINION LEADERS:

Opinion leaders play a key role and act as a vital role between the marketer and the consumer. He communicates informally about product and service offerings and/or brands; he gives product news and advice to consumers (current and potential) and also narrates his personal experience to others. The major roles played by opinion leaders are,

i)                   Authority figure

ii)                Trend setter

iii)              Local opinion leader.

These roles are discussed as follows:

Authority figure: The role that is played by an Opinion Leader when he gives product news and advice, and also narrates his personal experiences to consumers, is known as the authority figure role. By providing product news and advice, as also narrating his personal experiences, he helps current and potential consumers satisfy their needs and wants.

Trend setter: Opinion Leaders act as trend setters. They are inner oriented and do not bother about what others in the society say or do. They are also innovative and often go in for purchase of new product and service offerings (of their interest category) and through the purchase and usage, they set the trend. Opinion Leaders play the trend setter role when they narrate accounts of their personal experiences to others to copy and emulate. In other words, if they purchase a new innovative product of their interest, they speak of their experience as acts of behavior that the audience (opinion receivers/opinion seekers) should emulate. Unlike the authority role (of providing news and advice), they emphasize more on narrating their personal experiences. Rather than knowledge and expertise being the source of credibility, it is the personal experience that provides credibility.

Local Opinion Leader: People like to behave like others in their reference groups. They desire social approval from contractual (membership) and aspirational (non-membership) groups. People from such groups directly or indirectly provide information and advice that helps consumers to make purchase decisions, and buy such goods and services and/or brands that the contractual and aspirational groups approve off. Opinion Leaders are said to act a local opinion leaders when a) they constitute a person’s positive reference group; and b) they provide information about such product and service offerings and/or brands that help satisfy their needs and wants of the consumer group in a manner that is consistent with group values and norms. As local opinion leaders, they provide knowledge and advice, and narrate personal experiences about product and service offerings. Their credibility lies in the fact that as they belong to the same group as others who approach them, they are able to advise on the “good” or “bad”, and thereby guarantee social approval and appreciation.

MOTIVES BEHIND OPINION LEADERSHIP:

Both Opinion Leaders and Opinion Receivers/seekers have their own reasons for providing information and receiving/seeking product information and advice.

These explain the motives behind the Opinion Leadership process.

·      Why do Opinion Leaders provide information?

Opinion Leaders like to give product news, provide expert advice and also love to share their experiences with others. This is because they are involved and interested in a product or service category, and love to talk about it (product involvement).

As they possess knowledge, expertise and experience with a product category, they feel important and powerful when people approach them for information and advice.

·   Why do Opinion Receiver/Seekers request for information?

Opinion Receivers/Seekers gather information so that they can make the right purchase decision, with respect to the right product and service offering, the right brand, at the right price, from the right store and at the right time. They obtain information about new-product or new-usage. It reduces the physical and cognitive effort that the Opinion Receivers/Seekers has to take to gather information, evaluate alternatives and take the right decision.

DYNAMICS OF OPINION LEADERSHIP PROCESS:

i)                   Opinion Leaders provide product information, advice and narrate experiences

ii)                 Opinion Leaders provide both positive and negative information.

iii)               Opinion Leaders are influential and persuasive.

iv)               Opinion Leaders are not generic in nature. They are specific to a product or service category, and possess expertise and specialization in it.

v)                 Opinion Leaders could also become Opinion Receivers/Seekers

TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF OPINION LEADERS:

i)                    Opinion leaders possess high levels of involvement and interest in a specific product or service category. They gather information from various sources (print, electronic and audio visual, internet and websites etc.) about product development, and are updated about information. They have greater interest for exposure to media and news specifically relevant to their subject areas of interest and specialization.

ii)                  They are subject experts and have tremendous knowledge about the specific product or service category. They are well-informed about product attributes and features, benefits and utility, knowledge about brands, price and availability. Because of their knowledge and expertise, people turn to tem for advice. They are authority figures and provide information, advice and narrate experiences to Opinion Receiver/Seekers.

iii)                They are product or service category specific; a person who is an opinion leader in a particular product/service category would be an Opinion Receiver/Seeker for another.

iv)                In most cases, Opinion Leaders are also consumer innovators. Because of their interest in a product or service category, they have a tendency to purchase a new product offering as soon as it is launched in the market.

v)                  Opinion Leaders also possess certain personal characteristics; by nature, they are self-confident and gregarious. Because of the knowledge and experience that they possess, they are self-confident.

vi)                As far as characteristics related to social class and social standing are concerned, Opinion leaders generally belong to the same socioeconomic group as Opinion Receivers/Seekers. The reasons for this are quite logical. First, Opinion Leaders indulge in informal communication, and the Receivers/Seekers would in most cases be their own friends, neighbors, peers and colleagues.

RELEVANCE OF OPINION LEADERSHIP FOR A MARKETER:

·         The study of informal interpersonal communication, particularly through Opinion Leadership holds relevance for a marketer. The Opinion Leader provides product news, advice and experience to Opinion Receivers/Seekers (potential consumers). This reduces the latter’s physical and cognitive effort associated with the purchase decision making process. It also reduces their level of perceived risk. Marketer realizes that Opinion Leaders are regarded as credible sources of WOM communication.

·         As Opinion Leaders act as a vital link between marketers and consumers, the marketers should concern themselves with the identification of Opinion Leaders.

·         Marketers should also measuring and analyze the impact of the Opinion Leadership process on consumption patterns and consumption behavior. This would help him understand those amongst Opinion Leaders who are genuine and powerful and those who are fake and superficial. This is because they can then focus more on the former than on the latter.