Theory
The ideas of social exclusion and inclusion are connected with poverty, discrimination, and other forms of social inequality. Social exclusion can be described as “the official procedures and everyday practices that function to produce, fortify, and justify economic, spatial, socio-political, and subjective divides” (Good Gingrich & Lightman, 2015, p. 100). According to the recent findings, the most vulnerable groups include disabled people and racial minorities, such as migrants (Smith, Galloway, Jackman, Danson, & Whittam, 2019). People living in disadvantaged areas are also subject to exclusion. Other studies suggest that discrimination can be based on any demographic feature like age or gender.
The problems connected with social exclusion and its consequences are studied in the framework of behavioral science. This field focuses on people’s behavior and how it can be influenced (Sunstein, 2016). The most important notions related to the discussed issue are coercion and influence. According to Sunstein (2016), coercion is a direct act of making people do something. For example, making an employee do a task, which is beyond their responsibilities, under the threat of dismissal, is an example of coercion. On the contrary, influence is an act of leaving a choice for the individual to agree or decline a certain condition. In behavior science, social exclusion can be seen as a way of influencing an individual’s decisions, either deliberately or involuntarily.
It is necessary to understand the difference between the three major elements of social exclusion: economic, social, and cultural capital. Economic exclusion is referred to as “dispossession of economic capital” and is defined by an individual’s level of wealth (Good Gingrich & Lightman, 2015, p. 101). The social aspect is connected with an individual’s place in society. Cultural exclusion refers to the peculiarities of a person’s origin, such as the native language.
The issue of social exclusion is common in different spheres of life, from education to employment. The present paper focuses on the exclusion of customers by companies, which is a widespread issue in many countries. The dispossession of economic, social, or cultural capital may be used as a means of influence on customers’ behavior. The discussed theory allows defining the nature and ways of leveraging social exclusion in customer relations.
Tentative Answer Provided
In different periods, the attitude of companies towards their customers varied. As Su, Jiang, Chen, and DeWall (2017) emphasize, social exclusion has become a tool for influencing customers’ behavior. According to Chen, Wan, and Levy (2016), a human’s common trait is that when individuals feel that their particular need is deprived, they seek alternative ways to satisfy this need. It is possible to suggest that a company may conduct behavioral research and appeal to negative emotions caused by social exclusion. For example, unpleasant experiences of a person, such as racial discrimination or divorce, may influence the choice of a product or a service.
In particular, social exclusion is widely used as a means of influence in retailing and branding. Su et al. (2017) discussed how exactly companies use the knowledge about customer behavior and found out that social exclusion leads to the loss of control. As a result, an individual becomes unable to make decisions, and the company indirectly influences their choice. For example, the research suggests that socially excluded customers remain loyal to brands associated with a group (Su et al., 2017). Therefore, in order to prevent such customers from switching to another product, marketing specialists position particular products and services as sources of social connectedness.
Real cases prove that the wise research of customers’ behavior may significantly influence a company’s performance. By understanding what exactly makes customers excluded from the majority, a company may adopt its strategies to meet their demands. For example, by introducing a cheaper model of an iPhone, Apple managed to attract the attention of people with low socioeconomic status (Su et al., 2017). This strategy is an example of how the company focused on the dispossession of customers’ economic capital, which brought financial success and increased the level of its sales.
Another example of how companies leverage social exclusion is described in the study by Chen et al. (2016). The authors emphasize that socially excluded customers are more motivated to establish a connection with a brand, rather than to use this brand to connect with other people. The results of the research prove that these customers demonstrate a greater preference for anthropomorphized brands compared to non-excluded (Chen et al., 2016). This idea is frequently used in marketing strategies to attract particular groups of customers.
It is probable that leveraging customers’ social exclusion is mostly motivated by the company’s goal to improve or stabilize its position on the market and can be considered a voluntary process. Companies study the behavior and background of marginalized social groups to influence their decisions. They may adapt their goods or services to the needs of excluded customers or appeal to their negative experiences connected with social exclusion. Therefore, a corresponding business or marketing strategy may have a significant impact on the behavior of specific groups of customers.
References
Chen, R.P., Wan, E.W., & Levy, E. (2016). The effect of social exclusion on consumer preference for anthropomorphized brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1-12.
Good Gingrich, L., & Lightman, N. (2015). The empirical measurement of a theoretical concept: Tracing social exclusion among racial minority and migrant groups in Canada. Social Inclusion, 3(4), 98-111.
Smith, A.M., Galloway, L., Jackman, L., Danson, M., & Whittam, G. (2019). Poverty, social exclusion and enterprise policy: A study of UK policies’ effectiveness over 40 years. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 20(2), 107–118.
Su, L., Jiang, Y., Chen, Z., & DeWall, C.N. (2017). Social exclusion stimulates product and brand switching. Rutgers Business Review, 2(1), 150-156.
Sunstein, C.R. (2016). The ethics of influence: Government in the age of behavioral science. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.