Family life cycle...

Family seem to be one of the most important things during human’s life. We cannot function without them, because having a family satisfy our “sense of belonging” and “sense of safety” which are one of basic needs on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Our families give us an identity. They provide us with a moral, social and economic support. (Landa, 2008) Basic definition says that family is:

• a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head
• a group of persons of common ancestry
• a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock
• a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation

Nowadays, it is very difficult to define a family in such a basic way because of cultural and sociological reasons and of course because of times when we live. Industrialization, urbanization, and the global economy, along with their communication systems, reach into a nation's families, changing where and how men and women live, how often and when they have children, and how they work. World citizenship, global cosmopolitan culture, and international conferences change gender roles. But role change is not unidirectional and may become either narrower or more diverse.

Quoting Dr Landa:

Today the idea of the family itself is changing and is sometimes being replaced by other groups whose links are based on confidence, mutual support and a sense of common destiny. Religious groups, office colleagues and homosexuals are now sometimes seen to operate as ‘family’. This new way of thinking about the family is radically different and is not based on correct biblical teaching.

These are a few examples of demographical evidences for changes in family structure:

• Average household size is 2.4 people in 2001
• Dramatic increase in one person households 12% in 1961, 26% in 1990, 6.8 million in 2001 – 28%
• More than 50% of women over the age of 65 years live on their own
• Life expectancy for women is 78.8 years for men is 73.2 years
• Divorces have increased to 1 in 3
• 7% of households in 2001 – single parents

(What is interesting: In 2002, children living with married parents (either married biological/adoptive parents or married stepparents) experience less material hardship than children living with single mothers, cohabiting parents, or cohabiting stepparents. In c

ontrast, school-age children and teens living with their own two parents (whether married or not) are less likely to exhibit behavioral problems than

children living with single mothers, married steppar

ents, and unmarried stepparents.)

Linton Hutchinson(2007) says on his blog that there are 8 basic stages of family life cycle:

1. Married Couples without children

2. Child bearing families
3. Families with pre-school children
4. Families with school children
5. Families with teenagers
6. Families launching young adults
7. Middle aged parents- empty nest to retirement
8. Aging Family members- retirement to death of both spouses

The model was developed by Wells and Grubber in 60s. It describes the stages which consumer in their lives as they have families.

Marketers should remember that family is very important as a consumer. It consists of many people in different age, different needs and different preferences. It is very difficult to target family, so why do not target each member? Result is obvious because during one shopping family buys things suitable for children adults or elderly people.

According to Burns (2009) A wife, by virtue of her greater relative exercise of family power, exerts a high degree of influence over the innovative consumer decisions made by her husband. Specifically, it was hypothesized that a wife will have more influence over the choices perceived to be made by her husband than will he.

But is also proved that children have a big influence on their parents choices. It is usually called pester power. More details can be found in next post…