Analysis of Consumer Behaviour and External Factors for BMW

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of consumer behavior in the context of BMW, a luxury automotive brand. It explores the influence of various external factors, including reference groups, family dynamics, social class, culture, and market forces, on consumer purchasing decisions. The report delves into the consumer decision-making process, outlining the stages from problem recognition and information search to evaluation of alternatives, purchase decisions, and post-purchase behavior. It examines how factors like social media, advertising, and consumer reviews impact these stages. The report also highlights the importance of understanding the target consumer's motivations, preferences, and perceptions of the BMW brand to tailor marketing strategies effectively. The analysis includes the impact of economic factors, political stability and environmental concerns on consumer behavior. It concludes by emphasizing the role of the company's sales force in managing post-purchase dissonance and building customer confidence.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Consumer Behaviour
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1CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Influence of external factors on consumers of BMW
Impact of the reference groups and the family
There are various kinds of external factors like the reference groups along with the
family that have effect on the consumers of BMW. It can be stated that there exists
congruency in between the group membership and the brand usage that is dependent on fit in
between member group and that of self. The customers will have self-brand connections that
are positive in the event of a member group using the brand. The people from the higher
social class would be able to buy the products of the luxury brand BMW and they would also
be able to influence people of the same class in buying the luxury car (Bmw.com 2019). It
has been found that the consumers belonging to the same class exhibit the same kind of
buying behaviour. The individual members of the families serve the various kinds of roles in
the decisions by drawing on the shared family resources (East et al. 2016). The children
belonging to the upper strata of the society also influence the family purchase as they would
want to portray a positive image before the friends that they can gain in the event of owning
the luxury vehicles of the brand BMW.
Impact of the social class and culture
The social class along with the culture has a great amount of influence on the
purchase of the BMW. The people of the higher middle class and the upper class buy the cars
as they want to indulge themselves in a lavish manner. The people in the higher classes want
to pay the premium for buying the luxury cars as they feel that it would provide them with the
sense of the individuality that can provide them with a distinctive position in the society. The
people of the higher class want to purchase the products of the luxury brand as it can make
them feel superior when compared to the other people in the social structure. The decision
can be perceived as being emotional and the unique qualities of the BMW make the people

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buy the popular brand (Parsons, Maclaran and Chatzidakis 2017). The people in UK and
America have a strong material culture and they are proud regarding the car culture
prevailing in the country. The people in these countries use the cars as the symbols of their
place in the society.
Impact of the market forces
There are various kinds of market forces that have effect on buying of the luxury cars.
There are enforcement legislations that are related to the CO2 emission in various countries
that have effect on the buying of BMW. The political stability within a country has effect on
the buying decision of the customers. The fluctuations in the GDP can have implications on
the spending of the customers and the global inflation rates would have effect on the purchase
of the luxury cars of the brand (Szmigin and Piacentini 2018). The countries having the
financial crisis would have a detrimental effect on the buying of the luxury cars of BMW.
Buying patterns of the luxury car would be hardly hit in the event of recession taking place
within a particular country.
Decision making process of consumers of BMW
Recognition of Problem
The consumer decision making process can be divided into the five stages-
recognition of problem, searching of the information, evaluating the alternatives, purchasing
decision and the post-purchase behaviour. The people recognize the need of a comfortable
personal vehicle that makes them buy the cars of the luxury brand. The people want to buy
the luxury car that has superior functionality along with the high quality.
Searching of information
The information can be searched in relation to BMW with the help of the personal
connections like the friends and the family. A person can also get abundant information in

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relation to the luxury car-maker with the help of advertisements over the platform of the
social media and from the corporate websites (Dong and Koo 2018). The mass media can act
as a powerful means that can help the consumers in getting relevant information about the
popular brand. The people who have already used the car can also act as a source of reliable
information about the car. The customer satisfaction ratings can help in providing useful
information about the brand.
Evaluating the alternatives
The consumer carries out the evaluation of the alternative proposals and compares the
automobiles on the basis of their performance, design, price along with the fuel efficiency.
The modern customers area also concerned about the environmental effect of the cars and this
is an important area of consideration by the people (Haq and Weiss 2016). BMW has
responded to the challenge by the reduction of emission of CO2 emissions in the new
vehicles. The development of the alternative drive technologies can also influence the people
in buying the luxury products of BMW.
Purchasing decision
The customers can get information in relation to a less priced competitor that can
make the people consider the alternative. The deterioration in the financial situation of a
person can also make a person evaluate alternatives. This kind of situation can be said to be
beyond direct control of company however the company can provide the opportunity of
purchasing on the credit to the customers that can work to the benefit of the people (Poo and
Dalziel 2016).
Post-purchase behaviour
In the event of purchasing the BMW, the customer starts using it and he can then
decide whether the car have been able to meet his expectations. There are people who do not

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have sufficient driving experience and they would feel the post-purchasing dissonance. The
salespeople of the company can play an important role by providing the right information to
the customers. The information pertaining to the car characteristics can help in the process of
reduction of perceived high risk in relation to the purchasing of a car. It can help in building
the confidence of the customer and reduce possibility of that of post-purchase dissonance.

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References
Bmw.com (2019). The international BMW Website | BMW.com. [online] Bmw.com.
Available at: https://www.bmw.com/en/index.html [Accessed 25 Aug. 2019].
Dong, H.B. and Koo, J., 2018. Conspicuous and Inconspicuous Luxury Consumption: A
Content Analysis of BMW Advertisements. Reinvention: An International Journal of
Undergraduate Research, 11(2).
East, R., Singh, J., Wright, M. and Vanhuele, M., 2016. Consumer behaviour: Applications
in marketing. Sage.
Haq, G. and Weiss, M., 2016. CO2 labelling of passenger cars in Europe: Status, challenges,
and future prospects. Energy Policy, 95, pp.324-335.
Parsons, E., Maclaran, P. and Chatzidakis, A., 2017. Contemporary issues in marketing and
consumer behaviour. Routledge.
Poo, B. and Dalziel, N., 2016, September. Consumer Perceptions towards Radical
Innovation: Autonomous Cars. British Academy of Management.
Szmigin, I. and Piacentini, M., 2018. Consumer behaviour. Oxford University Press.