Buyer behaviour toward sports car manufacturer Ferrari

Ferrari 458 Italia is a very high end product which produced by Italian sport car manufacture Ferrari. It is a super car that normally bought by celebrity, footballer or rich list peoples. The price for this super car fetch £170 000. It’s been name on what car? magazine as one of the best and most technical car that Ferrari produced to date. Ferrari just produced about 50 car in a year. Sales for this Ferrari 458 Italia has drop dramatically during recession for the past two years.

Recently on the new dated 26 august 2010 (http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2010/08/ferrari-announces-investigation-into-458-italia-fires.html), this super car cause fire and it burn itself when owner park their vehicle. A technical fault has reported for this cause. Further investigation has been carried out by Ferrari, but still no solution been made. Ferrari threaten to recall its Ferrari 458 Italia for investigation. Following this incident, sales for this super car slump dramatically. Buyer has no confident to purchase this vehicle scare of health and safety issue.

Executive summary

Buying behaviour is a decision process and act of people buying a product. Consumer buying behaviour is a complex matter because it involved internal and external influence.

Figure 4.1 Black box model of consumer buying behaviour

Source; Black box model of consumer buying behaviour

Source: Keegan et al. (1992, p. 193)

Consumer purchasing decisions are often affected by factors which are out of their controls, but have directly or indirectly impact toward them. Marketer need to know what influence customer buying behaviour. Some consumer will search information from friend and relatives, or info from the seller or from the magazine. Now a day, technology has been widely use by consumer before they attempt to make a purchase. Consumer will search through the internet through comparison site to compare the price from several seller, they also can view feedback left from former consumer about particular product. Consumer purchase decision are affected by factor that are outside of their control but have direct or indirect impact on how we live or consume.

Impact of external influence;

Global and/or national culture

Culture defined as our attitude and beliefs, in other way when a child growing up, they influence by their parents, brother or sister and relative who guide them. Culture is the most basic cause a person wants and behaviour. As they grow up, individuals learn about religion and culture, which influence them and develop these opinion, attitude and belief. Every country has their own culture.

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Culture play an important role for marketer to deciding to sell a product in particular geographical area or not. It is very important to understand the local culture of the population area. For example, no pork, alcoholic and casino permitted in Islamic country, because it’s against their law and belief.

Sub-culture

Each culture contains small sub-culture, or defined a group of people who shared value systems based on common life experience and situation. Nationality group such as Asians people have distinct culture styles and attitude. This culture of minority group of people has been influence by other group culture in the society that they currently live. For example, Indian people that come to live in UK about 50 years ago, they have their own culture and belief when they rise in their own country.

But once they live in UK for a long period of time, their culture had been influence by western culture. These sub-cultures make lot of markets segment, so marketers have to design products and advertising program tailored to the need of this sub-culture. E.g. some of the Asda store begins to sell Asian food on their shelf to suit this particular segments needs.

family and household

Family member can strongly influence buyer behaviour. Consumer buying behaviour also will be influence by family and household. The buyer parents make up of the family of orientation. For example, when I small, my mum will buy Colgate. So when I grow up I will continue use Colgate toothpaste instead of other brand toothpaste because I have uses it for many years. I unlikely will change to others brand, but if my friend or other external influence can change my perception then I might change to other brands. From parents and family member, a person acquires an orientation toward religion, politics, and economics and a sense of personal ambition, self-worth, and love.

The family is the most important consumer buying organization in society. The family are more direct influence on everyday customer buying behavior. Marketers are interested in the roles and relative influence of their husband, wife, and children on the purchase of a large variety of products and services.

opinion leaders

Opinion leaders are those people you will ask for their view and opinion for particular products because of their professional. So it maybe, your friend who work with camera shop. Consumer will ask their professional view towards particular camera before deciding to purchase which camera that perfectly suit them.

reference groups

Human are greatly influence by each other. The terms come across because an individual used a relevant group as a reference against oneself is compared. References groups are groups that serve as direct or indirect points of comparison or reference in the forming of a person’s attitudes or behavior. Marketers try to identify the reference groups of their target markets. The importance of group influence varies across products and brands, but it tends to be strongest for conspicuous purchases. This particular group have a strong impact toward consumer.

The aspirational reference group refer to that other against whom would like to compare one another. They can be a celebrity, singer or actor. Marketers will use them as advertising on particular product to attract consumer. For example, Cheryl Cole as a model for L’Oreal product. It’s been use to attract consumer. Consumer who likes this celebrity appearance, style and look will purchase this product. They think if use this product for some time; their skin will be as beautiful like this celebrity.

Associative reference group who more realistically represent the individual about the same or nearly. For example co-workers, neighbour, member of the club or organisation.

Dissociative reference group include that doesn’t like to be the same. For example those group who wish to avoid being associate with.

Reference group have various degree of influence. Primary reference group come with strong degree of influence. E.g. Member of fraternity/ sorority. Secondary reference group tend to be less influence. E.g., board meeting with all branch manager. The meeting only held once a month. They are likely to have their influence limited because they only meet once a month.

income and social class

In turbulence economic, consumer might watch their spending. Consumer might buy the cheapest product instead of branded, as long the products full fill their needs and requirement. Different income will form a different buying behaviour to suit their pocket. Different society will form a different social class structure. Same type of social class will share similar value, interest and behaviour.

Social class is not only determined by income but it also measured as a combination of occupation, income, education, wealth and other variables. Social class also will influence individual consumer towards their buying behaviours. For example, manager or director will buy a product that suits their social class. They will buy a BMW car instead of FORD car because of their social class and hierarchy of need according to Maslow.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of need

source; http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=maslow+hierarchy+of+needs&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=sZhvTLTnLdfPjAfakej7CA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQsAQwAw&biw=1255&bih=625

Abraham Maslow set a theory in hierarchy about what consumer need and want. He suggess individual needs to meet its basic psychological needs of hunger and thirst. Marketer need to study Maslow hierarchy of need to recognize different level of people have different need. Fail to understand their target audience will lead to unefficiency or failure.

Self-actualization

Esteem

All individual want to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. In other meaning, it called belonging need. People who drive Ferrari car desire to be accepted and valued by other. Its a sysmbol of luxury and prestige in consumer mind. Most people have a need for a stable self-respect and self-esteem. The luxury car buyers have their basic need (to choose a cost effective car) and desire (to possess a luxury car).

According Maslow there is a two versions of esteem need, a low one or high one. Buyer esteem need on lower one is the need for the respect of others, the need for the status, recognition, fame, prestige and attention. The higher esteem need is for self-respect, the need for the strength, competence, mastery, self-confidence, independence and freedom.

Love and belonging

Safety needs

Physiological needs

It is important to different between need and want, may largely depend on how buyer discriminate between “essential” and “special needs”. If some buyer neglect important as meaning essential, then all requisite feature of the car such as maximum speed, acceleration rate, horse power and engine size become very importance. On the other hand, if buyer perceived importance of the special needs then some features may not be anticipated. Customer will choose a car that will satisfy their need and lifestyle when they want to make a purchase.

Task 2

Perception

Brand play an important role when consumer choosing a products. The company make its brand potray its image in the way it want to, in the eyes of its customer. Consumer itself correlate these image and impression in the way that is coherent to their self image and personality. This will lead the customer to build values and royalty towards a particular brands. Ferrari consider a high end automobile in consumer mine. Ferrari 458 italia sell for £170 000 each.

Ferrari creates brand awareness by presenting the brand to customer by help of marketing tools like advertising. Advertising places on what car? Magazine, financial times, by road show and other car magazines. The firm will also send a newsletter to its existing customer about launching a new car. Usually Ferrari will get pre-order before launching or during the launching. It also tries to influence customer perception in other ways.

Brand is important when consumer buy their car. As a result, increasing competition between car manufacture has intensified the important of brand identity. The standard performance on car continue to rise. The persived image of car make plays a key role in buying decision. Ferrari must develop attributes and value that reflect changing social value which influence buyer emotionally, in order to maintain their position in different region of the global market.

Attitude

Most Ferrari car owner tend to purchase car brand they have previously purchase, the customer has potentially developed an attitude towards it. Attitude become an evaluating judgement (desire or not desire) based on prior or present experience such as previous satisfaction toward Ferrari brand car, or can be satisfied with the customer service or service from the car manufacture (after sales and warranty), driving experience, and socio economic status of customer. It also possible that the attitude can be develop based on prior information without experience, as when consumers develop preferences or biases for or against brands based on the brands’ images in the marketplace.

Individual purchasing power is also important to measure consumer attitude. Some of the consumer have strong favourable toward Ferrari brand, but because of their wages they can’t afford to make a purchase. On the other hand, luxury or lower luxury (lower-priced) manufacturers’ cars may be neglected by customers who have high purchasing power (or over-purchasing power in this sense). Majority purchaser not even have a test drive, but because of the attitude toward these brand and they trust this brand quality, they will make a purchase.

Consumer attitude toward luxury brand can be specified to the attitude variable which potential buyer of Ferrari buyer might hold. The following variable were identified; reliability, quality, durability, safety, security, performance, efficiency, technology, handling, value, style, comfort, prestige, status, and visual impact. The first nine variables are in “objective” category. The last six variables are in “subjective” category.

Different type of attitude will develop toward different consumer because of the different type of consumer because recognition, feeling, “response disposition” of customer.

Summary

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