Buyer Decision Process and Marketing Strategies: A Detailed Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the buyer decision process, contrasting the selling and marketing concepts employed by dealerships. It highlights the advantages of the marketing concept in achieving financial objectives by focusing on consumer needs. The report further explores the consumer's journey in purchasing a vehicle, detailing the stages from recognizing a need to making a purchase decision, including cost-benefit analysis, product selection, and decision-making processes. It uses Hyundai as an example to explain four key elements of product consideration: product leadership, product positioning, product brand, and product strategy. Finally, the report evaluates a local online car dealership, carsales.com.au, ranking the importance of its product components, including goods, services, ideas, experience, people, and place. The report offers valuable insights into consumer behavior and effective marketing strategies within the automotive industry.

Running head: BUYER DECISION PROCESS 1
Buyer Decision Process
Name
Institution

BUYER DECISION PROCESS 2
Task 1
Contrasting between a dealership utilizing selling concept and one that uses marketing
concept, the one that uses marketing concept is likely to realize the three financial objectives of
marketing. This is because dealers using selling concept often forget that consumers have a
memory and will not remember about the features that they are told. This is a misconception that
is only motivated by the need to make a sale rather than focusing on the needs and preferences of
the consumer in order to make a sale.
A dealership that uses selling concept is likely to offer attractive prices in order to lure a
consumer to making a sale (free e-book, n.d.). Similarly, in order to achieve sales volume, a
dealership using selling concept will overstate the vehicle features knowingly that the vehicle
will not deliver as promised. On the other hand, a dealership relying on marketing concept to
make a sale will achieve the three financial objective of marketing because they will promote a
vehicle that will satisfy the needs of a particular customer segment.
This is because the features of a particular vehicle are going to be fulfilled thus creating a
win-win situation between the buyer and the seller. The marketing concept plays a crucial role in
enabling a consumer to make a purchase because it aims to cater for the needs of the consumer
through a particular product. It achieves the three marketing objectives because it is able to
resonate with all the factors that consumer’s are expecting to find having in mind that consumers
already conduct their research.
Task 2
As a consumer looking to purchase a new vehicle, the first thing that comes to mind is
that I have to have developed a need for the vehicle which will then motivate me to develop the

BUYER DECISION PROCESS 3
interest to purchase a new car. Once I am sure that I need a vehicle, I will conduct a cost benefit
analysis to evaluate whether the vehicle will satisfy me. I will achieve this by determining
whether I have the money, time and effort to evaluate the qualities of a product and the
dealership that am willing to purchase the vehicle.
The next approach would be to know whether I have the will and have the financial
ability to make the purchase based on a number of factors such as prosperity, recession,
depressions and recovery (free e-book, n.d.). My willingness to purchase the vehicle will also be
influenced by my income. Once am certain of my willingness and ability to purchase the vehicle,
I will start conducting product selection for the vehicle that I desire based on my values which
are going to be influenced by my cultural and personal values.
Later I will do extensive decision making which include seeking advice from my friends.
At this point I will consider a set of products by making a list for further consideration having in
mind my values, product risk, cost as well as situational factors. I will then identify products
quality, perceived risks before I minimize the risks before I decide to visit a dealership to make
my purchase.
Task 3
Hyundai can be used as a good example to explain four elements of product
consideration. The first element of product consideration is Product Leadership which suggest
that an organization such as Hyundai can offer a superior products that has a unique proposition
to the mind of the target market. This strategy not only make other competitors weak but also
make other brands of the same vehicle obsolete. This is evidenced from Hyundai website where
the video shows other vehicle parked as the VENUE model passes in between a depiction of

BUYER DECISION PROCESS 4
guard of honor. As it moves it is contested by another brand PALISADE before it paves way for
the VENUE which is given escort by other brands to take a flight (Why Hyundai: Hyundai
Australia, n.d.).
Product Positioning is another product consideration that indicates the position a brand
has in the consumer’s mind which is often as a result of attitude developed towards the product.
From the video on Hyundai website, it is evident that the car is a luxurious vehicle based on the
way it is portrayed mimicking luxurious lifestyle.
Another product consideration is Product Brand which involves the status that a product
has on the consumers mind. From the Hyundai website, one can clearly deduce that the VENUE
brand is considered to be the best among all the vehicles that are advertised along it.
The last product consideration is Product Strategy which suggests that the company is
offering the VENUE brand for a particular market segment. It implies this vehicle is offered for
the rich market segment.
Task 4
The local dealership that I have selected is an online car dealership carsales.com.au.
Ranking the dealership in terms of the six components of a products, the most important is
goods, services, ideas, experience, people and places in that order (Australia's No.1 Car Website,
n.d.).
Goods ranks first because the type of the cars that they sell from their website are
durable. The cars can be used for a long period of time and once they are no longer in use they
can be sold or reused of other purposes.

BUYER DECISION PROCESS 5
Services follows next because their service are good as a client can selected from various
categories of make, model, location and price, Besides, the site offers much more like doing
research, news about cars as well as offering clients an opportunity to sell.
There is substantial information from the website where a user can quickly conduct
research to find out more about a particular vehicle including whether it has been used among
other specifications which makes ideas as component of product come third.
Experience comes forth because, it is different to click through images rather than being
present to evaluate the vehicle and its features while comparing to others.
The elements of people is lacking because there is only a help button where one is
required to seek assistance but does not have the feeling of speaking to a person.
Place comes last because I have no comprehension of where the vehicles are since am
browsing from the comfort of my home looking at the screen of the laptop meaning that the
elements of place is lacking in the website.

BUYER DECISION PROCESS 6
References
Australia's No.1 Car Website. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.carsales.com.au/.
Free e-book. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.themarketingconcept.com/free-e-book/.
Why Hyundai: Hyundai Australia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hyundai.com/au/en/why-
hyundai.