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DissertationOn

Car Market and Buying Behavior- A study of

Consumer Perception

Towards The Partial ulfillment ofPost !raduate Diploma in Management

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Ta"le of Content

1. Executive Summary06

2. Introduction..08

3. Overview of the Auto e!ment1"

". #eview of $iterature20

%. O&'ective of the tudy2(

6. Sco)e of the tudy..30

*. #eearch methodo+o!y.32

8. $imitation of the tudy..3(

(. ,ar- rofi+e.."0

10./indin! and Ana+yi.%1

11.,ro a&u+ation.68

12.,onc+uion*1

13.Sco)e of the Study.*"

1".Annexure...*%

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#$ecutive %ummary

The automobile industry today is the most lucrative industry. Due to the increase

in disposable income in both rural and urban sector and easy finance being

provided by all the financial institutes, the passenger car sales have increased at

the rate of 38% per annum in June 200!0" over the corresponding period in the

pervious year. #urther competition is heating up in the sector $ith a host of

international players coming in and other lie $ols$agon, &udi, and '() all

set to venture in the *ndian marets. +ne factor that could help the companies in

the mareting of their product is by no$ing and creating a personality for their

brands.

This report attempts to ans$er some of the uestions regarding brand

personality of selected cars in -urnool Dist. by conducting the maret research.

This report is categoried into parts, deals $ith introduction to brand personality,

companies selected, product and the industry.

+ne factor that could help the companies in the mareting of their products is

buying 'ehavior of the consumers. The 'uying 'ehavior of the customers can

be studied by no$ing their perceptions about the cars in the maret and about

the possible entrants in the maret. +ne such techniue is by no$ing and

creating a personality for the brands.

This personality setching $ill help in no$ing $hat a customer /or a potential

customer thins about a given brand of car and $hat are the possible factors

guiding a possible purchase. 1imilarly, the idea of measuring the customer

satisfaction $ill serve the same purpose of determining the customer perception.

Thus, by measuring the $illingness of eisting users of a car to recommend it to

others $ill help the car manufacturers to chal out the entire 4ustomer 'uying

'ehavior.

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The reports shall attempt to ans$er some of the uestions regarding brand

personality of selected cars in *ndia by conducting a maret research. The

maret research $ill be helpful for the ne$ car entrant companies in *ndia to find

out the possible gaps bet$een the customer epectations and the present

maret offerings. This $ay these companies $ill be able to find their share in the

ever!epanding *ndian maret pie.

The research $ill trac the customer satisfaction in the follo$ing t$o layers5

6roduct related 6arameters

Dealers related parameters

The customer satisfaction inde $ill be calculated for the car brands taen into

consideration.

*t $ill be mainly a primary research and the information $ill be gathered from

both primary and secondary research. The study $ill analye the applicability of

eisting research concepts, theories, and tools for evaluating consumer

satisfaction.

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&'T(OD)CT&O'

&'T(OD)CT&O'

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*t is true fact that if you are satisfied you recommended to others. )ord of mouth

and customer satisfaction play a very important role in determining maret

perception about an automobile. *t is the maret perception that determines the

success of a company and so it is very important for the car manufacturers to

measure the 7$illingness of eisting users of a product to recommend it to

others. The same is a lot of interest to customers as $ell for it helps them mae

the purchase decision.

& car is one of the most significant purchases that an *ndian household maes

and this proect addresses the most important uestion that perplees car

manufacturers5

7)hat maes the perfect car that influence $ill $illfully purchase9

The proect highlights the factors that influence the buying decision of a

consumer.

The factor under consideration $ould be5

6rice

*ncome of the consumer

#eatures in the car

1afety standard

)arranty scheme

#inance facility

*s a consumer ready for more9 )hich is the driving motive behind the effective

demand of the car9 :o$ the coming of ne$ models lie s$ift does is going to

effect the buying decision of consumer and especially the Tata ; lah car.

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*n other $ords, from the spread of choices offered by various manufacturers

under various segments, of $hich one the customer $ill finally turn the ignition

on and drive.

4ustomer satisfaction inde5 some of the most advance thining in the business

$orld recognies that customer relationships are best treated as assets, and that

methodical analysis of these relationships can provide a road map for improving

them

7*f you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it. < =ord )illiam Thomson -elvin

/;82>!;?0@

7&s one of the measurements of the performance of the uality management

system, the organiations shall monitor information relating to customer

perception as to $hether the organiation has met customer reuirements. Themethod for obtaining and using this information shall be determined

Trends in customer satisfaction and ey indicators of customer dissatisfaction

shall be documented and supported by obective information. These trends shall

be compared to those of competitors, or appropriate benchmars, and revie$ed

by senior management.

There is obviously a strong lin bet$een customer satisfaction and customer

retention. 4ustomerAs perception of service and uality of product $ill determine

the success of the product or service in the maret.

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)ith better understanding of customerAs perceptions, companies can determine

the actions reuired to meet the customerAs needs. They can identify their o$n

strengths and $eanesses, $here they stand in comparison to their competitors,

chart out the path future progress and improvement. 4ustomer satisfaction

measurement helps to promote an increased focus on customer outcomes and

stimulate improvements in the $or practices and processes used $ithin the

company.

4ustomer epectations are the customer!defined attributes of your product or

service. )e cannot create satisfaction ust by meeting customerAs reuirements

fully because these have to be met in any case. :o$ever falling short is certain

to create dissatisfaction.

(aor attributes of customer satisfaction can be summaried as5

6roduct uality

6roduct pacaging

-eeping delivery commitments

6rice

Besponsiveness and ability to resolve complaints and reect reports

+verall communication, accessibility and attitudes

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)e cannot begin to address the customer satisfaction issue $e define the

parameters and measures clearly.

The customer satisfaction inde represents the overall satisfaction level of that

customer as one number, usually as a percentage

Values

Benefits

Features - Attributes

+ -

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The buying process involves the follo$ing steps5

10

ro&+em#eco!nition

Information earch

Eva+uation

ot urchaeionance

uy

eciion

Satifaction

rand Acce)tance

iatifaction

rand #e'ection

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7The fact that $ord of mouth sales are a big deal in this industry has also helped.

*ndustrial field of study and maret surveys reveal that 20!30 percent of sales

are through $ord of mouth.

/or the )ur)oe of the )ro'ect ha under!one throu!h

1urveying the relevant consumer base through ehaustive uestionnaire.

Cnderstand the elements underplaying in each segment

Deducing & analytical overvie$ through different statistical methods

#ecommendation come from atifaction and atifaction come from

11

Service Quality

RelationshipQuality

Product Quality

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O*#(*+ O T,# A)TO %#!M#'T

*ndians have emerged as avid car enthusiasts sporting their pried possess