Consumer Behavior in Car Selection: Analysis and Recommendations

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumer Behavior
Student:
Institution:

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
2
Executive summary
The process of selecting a vehicle for personal or business use is based on several factors.
Different people will make various decisions when they are confronted with the question of
buying a car. Given a similar company that produces cars, people will chose different models
based on what suits them. This essay is a report of a market survey conducted to collect data on
what informs consumer choices in car selection. It provides analysis of three respondents who
were given six cars with different features to choose. The analysis applies the compensatory
decision rule in analyzing the behaviors of the three consumers. Also, it uses some other theories
and features such are age, gender, ethnicity, as well as lifestyles to analyze how different people
make car purchasing decisions. From the compensatory analysis, the report provides the
expected cars that the clients may buy. However, the theoretical analysis and other factors
provide the exact cars the customers could actually buy. From these report, there are some of the
recommendations that will help marketers to position a brand car with the respective customer
characteristics. The recommendations are made from the analysis of the consumer behavior by
the use of memory and learning theories.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
3
Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Compensatory Decision Rule..........................................................................................................4
Theoretical analysis.........................................................................................................................6
Recommendations............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
4
Introduction
Different cars have different features. Thus, customers will also behave differently in
making their purchase decisions (Evans et al. 2006). The existence of various vehicle
manufactures justified by the technical and engineering variations incorporated in the cars. In
assessing consumer behavior, the compensatory decision rule requires a customer to assign
weights to different features. Some car choice decisions are based on engine capacity, smart
features, speed, lifespan, warrant, and unique features for automation in checking any fault
(Ozaki and Sevastyanova, 2011). Also, consumers will make decisions based on their income
levels, lifestyles, as well as the nature of roads in their countries. Highly priced cars are always
associated with excellent quality.
Compensatory Decision Rule
From the first respondent, it is evident that the choices of engine size and type, as well as
systems that alert the driver to road conditions are necessary for car selection. The respondent
gave same weights for these factors as the most important in making a purchase decision. From
this criterion, it is expected that the client will go for a Toyota Prius or a Toyota Camry Ascent
Sport.
Decision matrix
Evaluative Criteria Importance Score
Choice of petrol/diesel/hybrid
engine
10
Number of seats available 30