Consumer Behavior Analysis of Tesla Model 3 in Australia

This paper analyzes the consumer behavior of Tesla Model 3 in Australia using key theories like Maslow's Need Hierarchy theory and McGuire's theory. It discusses the influence of social class, reference groups, and leaders' opinions on purchase behavior. The paper recommends enhancing product quality, targeting the middle-class segment, increasing brand awareness through social media, offering more financing options, and focusing on eco-friendly features.

tesla model 3, australia

Table of Contents
Section 1......................................................................................................................................................2
Brand overview.......................................................................................................................................2
Key theory identification.........................................................................................................................2
Section 2......................................................................................................................................................2
a) Motivation explaining Problem recognition........................................................................................2
b) Linking theory- Psychogenic needs.....................................................................................................3
Section 3......................................................................................................................................................4
a) Attitudes explaining information search..............................................................................................4
b) Linking theory-Influence of Social Class............................................................................................4
Section 4......................................................................................................................................................5
a) Influence of reference groups explaining purchase behavior...............................................................5
b) Linking theory-Leaders opinion..........................................................................................................6
Section 5......................................................................................................................................................7
Marketing strategy recommendations......................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................9
Appendix...................................................................................................................................................11
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Section 1
Brand overview
Tesla is one of the leading automobile brands in Australia of which Tesla Model 3 is an electric
car and it is founded in many countries around the world. It is an eco-friendly car which acquires
accelerates at a speed of 60mph in just 5.1sec.
Key theory identification
The paper will discuss the three theories of consumer behavior which includes problem
recognition, information search, and purchase behavior.
Section 2
a) Motivation explaining Problem recognition
According to the Darwinian evolutionary theory behavioral tendency will changes for the
survival of a species. Thus the consumer also faces some problem on their actual needs and want
and for this motivational theory is selected which identify the actual motive of the consumer in a
particular way (Agag and El-Masry, 2016). The Maslow’s Need Hierarchy theory and the
McGuire’s theory are the two theories related the motivational theory of the consumer needs in
Tesla Model 3.
Abraham Maslow (1965) suggested that the needs for the hierarchical structure should be
maintained so that they fulfill the needs of the consumer. Actually, the theory of the Maslow
models explains the hierarchy of needs that can help us to know the basis of consumer
motivation (Amaro and Duarte, 2015). The hierarchy of the motivational needs according to
Maslow are divided as- Physiological needs that includes the basic desires like air, water, food,
comfort, sleep etc. and if this is not satisfied to the people then it causes sickness, pain,
discomfort etc. and another need which is the safety as well a security of the consumer, and the
last needs is the growth needs that includes cognitive, self-actualization etc. If all the needs of the
consumer are fulfilled then they are motivated to buy the product. Since Tesla Model 3 in an
electric car and also it is considered as one of the best electric car models in the world (Ayeh,
2015). The company makes this car as an eco-friendly vehicle that runs through electric and thus
reduces the global warming. Due to this process, it motivated the customer to use this car.
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Actually, the company recognized the problem of the customer and made the car according to
their needs.
Another theory that motivated the consumer behavior is the McGuire’s theory of motives.
According to the author the theory is based on psychological motives of the consumer and are
divided into the following division: needs for consistency that includes the choice and taste of
the consumer, another one is needs of categories that includes the object that is desired by the
consumer and the other categories are cognitive growth and preservation motives and affective
growth and preservation motives (Banerjee, 2017). According to the theory, the category of the
product mainly influences the consumer. Hence the consumer is motivated by the innovation of
the electric car by Tesla as it does not cause any pollution in the environment and hence are more
attracted to the consumer.
b) Linking theory- Psychogenic needs
The consumer main motive is to purchase the latest product from the market which fulfills their
needs. Thus the consumer behavior mainly depends on the selection process of what they are
choosing and which fulfill their wants and needs. According to Biswas and Roy, (2015), the
psychogenic needs of the consumer divided into the primary and secondary needs. The primary
needs include the basic requirement of the consumer which are air, food, water, sleep etc. if these
needs are not fulfilled then a person becomes irritated and thud it affects their psychology also.
Although the biological needs are quite different from the primary needs it also motivates the
consumer behavior of adapting the services without any issues. As per Caruana et al., (2016) the
psychogenic needs of every individual are different and that recognizes the individual power,
achievement, and attraction towards the needs. Apart from this the theory also suggested that this
psychological motives also influence the customer of buying a product that helps them to fulfill
their needs in the life. Actually, the psychogenic needs theory of Murry suggested that the
consumer motivation on the problem recognition stage will help them to make a decision on the
product on which they want to buy. As the brand, Tesla is an international brand and it main
motives are to fulfill the needs of the customer and thus they make the new Tesla model 3 which
help them to fulfill the needs of the customer as well as they get huge profit on the product (Chen
and Tung, 2014). Furthermore, depending on the motive of the consumer the Tesla Company has
made this car because nowadays global warming causes a huge damage to the nation and this
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new model of the electric car reduces this problem. As this car run through the electric process
so it helps the people to use this car in the present day.
Section 3
a) Attitudes explaining information search
The attitude of the consumer can give information about the product idea either in a positive or
in a negative manner. The attitudes of the consumer depend on three facts namely customer
belief, feelings and behavioral opinion towards the object that consisting of both brand and on
store also. A consumer can have both a positive and negative belief on a certain object. On the
basis of a consumer opinion, an object can make a huge growth in the industry but if some
negative comments occur then the product will also get a huge loss in their market (Cohen et al.,
2014). As the resources of fuel are limited to the present day so the Tesla Company has
discovered a new and innovative model of the electric car named as Tesla Model 3. The Tesla
Model 3 is an eco-friendly car so the consumer belief that in buying this it does not affect the
environment and hence the global warming will decrease. This positive belief of the customer
makes the brand as one of the leading international brands in the market. Another important
factor that related to attitude is the consumer feelings towards the product. This is very important
because it totally depends on customer beliefs.
The other factor that is related to the attitude is the consumer behavior against the product. Since
the brand makes an electric car which reduces the pollution level so the brand gets a positive
behavior from their consumer (Dahl, 2017). Due to all this factor the brand holds a luxurious
position in the market which signifies that this brand have a good control over the consumer of
buying their product for the better growth of the environment. As the environment are so much
polluted on using the fuel cars so the company has made such kind of car that reduces the global
warming process. Due to this positive attitude the brand is successful on making the electric car
in the market (Domegan et al., 2015). Apart from this many case studies has revealed that
consumer mainly purchases the car not only for their needs but also for reducing the fuel cost
that has been increasing day by day. So thus the brand gets a huge demand in the market for both
the peoples who loves to travel and also for the people who wants to reduce the fuel cost. Hence
the Tesla Model 3 is most successful electric car in Australia because the consumers gives
positive attitude on buying this car.
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b) Linking theory-Influence of Social Class
The marketers should understand the consumer social behavior that influences the quality and
types of the products in the market. Consumers has various roles on purchasing a product which
influences the behavior of the buyer. Social class includes the external environment that affects
the behavior of a consumer. According to Frow et al., (2014) the social class include a group of
people including in their education, offices and also in wealth. Thus the social class gives an
intense effect on the consumer attitudes of which the main effect is on the income level of each
social classes. On the basis of the discrimination of the social class the rich people have a
tendency to buy goods having higher quality while the poor people have the ability to buy goods
according to their needs. Hence this causes a huge attitudinal differences between the both
classes (Zinas et al., 2017). All of this factors suggested that the purchasing behavior of the
upper class society people will be more than the lower ones. Thus the purchasing of the Tesla
Model 3 product by the upper class people are more considered to the lower class. Due to this
problem the Tesla Company makes this innovative car in the market at a low price than any other
electric car in the market and thus it helps the company to sell their car at a huge amount in the
whole market of Australia. This social changes has influences the consumer to buy the car from
this company which increases the marketing procedure of the company (Gummesson et al.,
2016). According to the company head of Tesla due to this social change they wants to sell the
car at a cheapest rate so that the attitude of consumer on buying the cars cannot change as well as
the company should stand a leading position in the market.
Section 4
a) Influence of reference groups explaining purchase behavior
The purchase behavior of the consumers is of great importance as it helps in evaluating their
desired needs. The reference groups play an important role that helps the consumer for taking
good decisions on purchasing the car Tesla Model 3. According to Huang et al., (2017) the
reference group must have either formal or informal and it will with the consumer purchasing
procedure directly and indirectly. If a reference group agrees to buy the product then the person
will purchase the product but if there are any negative comments arises regarding this product
then by the influencing of the reference group the person does not buy the product (Luca et al.,
2016). Through literature review it is seen that the reference groups are divided into three classes
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namely associative where the group individual mainly belongs and get influenced by the
opinions of the member present in the group, another class that belong to this reference group is
aspirational where the individual belongs to a particular group but they only aspired by their
thoughts and not surely implement this on their task and the last one includes dissociative groups
where the individuals mainly avoid the people belonging to this classes. As per Neghina et al.,
(2015) in case of buying a car an individual is influenced by the reference groups in terms of
information, by seeing another individual buying the same product and also by the beliefs on
another opinion about the product. This thought has been involved because buying a car
comprises a huge amount of money and the customer motive is to be benefited from buying the
product.
Thus the consumer of Tesla Model 3 has very much influenced by the reference group. As the
product includes a high cost so before buying this product the individual should consult with the
group member so that it does not give him any issue in the future for buying this car. Since this
Tesla Model 3 car is an eco-friendly vehicle that reduces the pollution level from the
environment so it has many benefits towards the customer on using this car (Parker, 2014). Apart
from this the car run through electric so the cost of maintaining a fuel car will reduce and due to
this positive benefits of the car Model 3 becomes a leading brand in Australia as well as it
influences the industry in the market level also.
b) Linking theory-Leaders opinion
The opinion of the leader influences the purchasing behavior of the consumer. The leader will be
one who has the vast knowledge about the product that the customer wants to purchase. For this
purposes, the consumer main motive is to discuss with one to get a vast idea about the product so
that it does not cause any difficulties in the future. Apart from this, the opinion leader has a great
influence on marketing procedure (Rani, 2014). If a customer identifies an individual who has
the proper knowledge about the product then the customer mainly listen to that person before
purchasing a product from the company. Since Tesla Model 3 is one of the leading brands but the
consumer has some quarries about the product for this they make an opinion from an individual
who has a vast knowledge about the product (Previte et al., 2015). For diminishing such quarries
between the consumers, the Tesla Company has appointed some sales person who can decrease
the issue of the customer and influences them to buy the product from the market. Due to this
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reason the brand achieve a good position in the market and makes international business in many
countries. Apart from this according to the customer opinion this car has many flaws so that's
why the purchasing of the car has decreased in the present market nowadays. In contrast to this
problem, the Tesla wanted to make another electric car model that can fulfill all the needs of the
customer (Wang et al., 2015). As Tesla is an international brand and its product gives positive
results towards the consumer so they wanted to make a better quality product with the opinion of
their leader so that it fulfills all the needs of the customer.
Section 5
Marketing strategy recommendations
Recommendation 1-Enhancing the market competitiveness through product enhancement
The Model 3 as developed by Tesla has been found to have few of the crucial attributes which
need to be rectified as per the satisfaction level of the customers. It has been seen that the
stopping distance of the car of 152feet coming from a speed of 60miles per hour was found to be
slower than as compared with its competitors which includes Ford F-150 which provides a full-
size pickup. Moreover, in order to get the desired competitive advantage throughout the covered
market segments, it becomes important for the firm to offer more features as well as reliability
with the product experience as this will help in evaluating the desired productivity as well as the
profitability of the fir throughout the competitive market areas. On the other hand, there was
positive feedback regarding the Model 3’s agile handling as well as the range of battery provided
and thus, the firm needs to improve few of the areas in order to provide better user experience to
the concerned customers.
Recommendation 2-Getting right messages to customers and targeting customer needs
One of the vital recommendations is to work as per the satisfaction level of the customers.
Communicating the exact and the right messages to the customers are considered as to be the
vital factor as it helps in bringing the desired success for the firm. Moreover, Tesla needs to
communicate their actual message behind the development of this product so that it can attract a
large number of customers towards the purchase of the car. The change in the perception and
demands of the customers generate great impact on the business processes, thus, Tesla should
investigate the wishes of the customers so that the products are offered as per their requirement.
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Recommendation 3- Increasing the retail outlets and promotion techniques
In order to achieve the desired success for the firm, it is important for Tesla to develop latest
promotional techniques that can be expected with the help of the social media websites as large
number of the users have been seen to use it. Renovations throughout the existing outlets and an
opening of new outlets as well as joining venture with few other companies’ will help in
increasing the selling of the cars for the firm.
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Appendix
Figure: Tesla Model 3
(Source: tesla.com)
Figure: Consumer Behavior
(Source: managmentation.com)
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