Information and Experience
An individual who has first-hand experience with a product or service, or can easily obtain full
information about it, is less likely to be influenced by the advice or example of others. On the
other hand, a person who has little or no experience with a product or service and does not
expect to have access to objective information about it (e.g. a person who believes that advertising may be misleading or deceptive) is more likely to seek out the advice or example of others.
For instance, when a young corporate sales representative wants to impress his client, he may
take him to a restaurant that he knows from experience to be good or to one that has been
highly recommended by the local newspaper. If he has neither personal experience nor information he regards as valid, he may seek the advice of a friend or a parent or imitate the behaviour
of others by taking him to a restaurant he knows is frequented by young business executives
whom he admires.