CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION

SMALL CAR SEGMENT

Consumer Buying Process

Need Recognition

Information Search

Evaluate Alternatives

Purchase Decision

Post Purchase Behaviour

Objectives of the research....

Examine the psychographics of potential small size car customers. Probe the buying behavior of car owners. Find people expectations or satisfaction regarding the small cars. To judge the awareness level of small cars. To study the attributes of different brands of small cars. To probe into consumers knowledge about cars. To know the marketing mix of this product category.

Segment-Wise Classification of the Indian Car Market Segment

Range Price in lacs Models Economy Maruti 800, Maruti Omni, Premier, Fiat , Reva. Mid-Range 3-4 Uno, Zen, 118 NE, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Esteem, Contessa, Opel Astra, Ford Escort, Cielo, Mitsubishi Lancer, Hyundai Accent

Premium

5-7

Key Demand Drivers...

Disposable Income
Mobility Needs of People

Change in standard of living

easy monthly installment and loan schemes available

Data Analysis...
Sample size 30

Respondents
Owners of Santro Owners of Zen Owners of Indica Owners of 800

27
6 9 6 4 3

Owners of other cars -

Various Factors Important in Car Purchase..

Cost

Style
performance

Performance and Style

Performance and Cost

Style and Cost

Style Cost and performance

FACTORS IMPORTANT IN A CAR PURCHASE

COST 3% 3% 7% 7% 18% STYLE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE AND STYLE PERFORMANCE AND COST STYLE AND COST STYLE COST AND PERFOMANCE

12% 50%

What are the sources of advertising that you recall, as a influencing factor to you?
Television Newspaper Hoardings Magazines Sponsorships Any other
INFLUENCING FACTORS IN DECISION MAKING

80 70 60 50
PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS

73

35 40 30 20 7 10 0 1 INFLUENCERS 20

FRIENDS FAMILY MEDIA OTHERS

Source of Information for buying a car..

SOURCES OF INFORMATION
40 35 35

30

NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS

27 25 21 20 22

27 TELEVISION MAGAZINE FRIENDS DEALERS MECHANIC OTHER CAR OWNERS

15

10

0 1 SOURCE OF INFORMATION

Are you satisfied with your current car ?

Most of the small car consumers are somewhat happy with their purchases. A probe into respondents satisfaction level, ranking from 1 to 5 where 1 was full satisfaction and 5 full dissatisfaction with theirs cars, gave 70% as an average figure of satisfaction level. Out of a total of 27 respondents, 17 ranked their satisfaction level as 1, 5 ranked 2, 2 ranked 3, 2 ranked 4 and only one respondent showed null satisfaction.

Which car is best in overall performance among the 4 choices ?

WHICH CAR IS THE BEST IN OVERALL PERFORMENCE

26% 70% 42% 34% SANTRO INDICA MARUTI-800 MARUTI ZEN

Conclusion and Recommendations..

Consumers of small cars are seeking a very good overall performance in a car than any other attributes . Most of the consumers prefer Small cars and mid sized cars for their good mileage, good acceleration, easy driveability, requiring small rooms for parking. Good looks hardly count for the buyers of small cars. Good after sales service and low maintenance in a vehicle is a garnish on customers delight. Safety and credit facility are almost ignored factors. Family has the highest influencing power in making a purchase decision for an Indian consumer. Usually consumers get detailed information through friends, magazines, other car owners and dealers. Maruti has got the highest advertisement coverage followed by Hyundai and Indica. Indica and Santro has outscored Zen and Uno in brand recall with their scintillating marketing and advertising strategies. Santro has created a niche position for itself as a celebritys car, Shahrukh Khans car. Zen as compared to Maruti 800 was not able to create such a brand name in the minds of consumers.

Continued...
Zen and Santro are perceived as cars with a more feminine appeal. The dream cars of the consumers are high luxury cars like Mercedes S-class, BMW, Ferrari, Pajero, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Porsche Most of the respondents are in an income bracket of Rs.20001 to Rs.25000 and above Rs.25000. This indicates that most of the car owners belong to either upper of upper middle class segment. Performance of a car clearly outweighs its style and cost on the consumers list of priorities to buy a car. A mere 25% of respondents gave style and 30% gave cost as their reasons to buy a car. 85% of respondents gave performance of a car as a factor for making a purchase decision.

Scope and limitations of the study...

Limited sample size, that is only 30 respondents.

Taking the convenience sampling might have led to some bias as people with different age groups have different perception.
People with above age group of 35 and above have more awareness than people between the age group of 20-35 years.

Consumer Buying Process

Total Set
Maruti 800 Santro Zen Indica Honda city Ford ikon Esteem Accent Awareness Set
Maruti 800 Santro Zen Indica Honda city Ford ikon

Consideration Set
Maruti 800 Santro Zen Indica Ford ikon

Choice Set
Maruti 800 Santro Zen Indica

Decision Santro

Thank You