Author(s): Rajanikanth M and Kunal Gaurav
The farmer’s profits are decided by his choice of machinery and managing abilities. The tractor is the greatest agricultural tool used by the farmers but in India, the penetration is very low. In this context, there is much scope for the Tractor manufacturers in terms of sales. The present paper aimed to study the reference group's influence on tractor purchasers, especially farmers in rural areas. In general, a reference group can be understood as an individual or group of individuals who have the ability to significantly influence the behavior of an individual. The reference group influences can be divided into three types, viz. Informational, utilitarian, and value expressing influences. Purchasing a tractor needs much investment from an Indian farmer, so he will do much investigation and groundwork and considers many factors. The use of the reference group is one of them. The study has been conducted by using a questionnaire that includes 14 carefully worded statements that are formed upon the reference group influence scale created by Park and Lessig (1977). A random sample of 384 was chosen from the farmers who wish to buy Tractors. The study has shown that Indian farmer is more sensitive to his reference group and his decision is much influenced by them. The marketers need to prepare and implement the strategies that aim at these reference groups.