Customer Attitude and Perception Analysis of Toyota Prius Model

This report examines Australian customer attitudes and perceptions toward the Toyota Prius, addressing declining sales and customer complaints. It begins with an introduction outlining the importance of understanding customer attitudes in marketing, followed by a brief literature review exploring t...Read More

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CUSTOMER ATTITUDE AND MARKETING
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Topic: Customers’ attitudes and perceptions towards Toyota Prius
Introduction
The marketing activities of an organization specifically rely on identifying the concerns
or the preferences of the customers. The changing attitude and perception of the customers while
making a buy is an important consideration that are made by the organizations while designing
the marketing plan. In this connection, it has been observed that the Toyota Prius model
experienced lower sales volume and increased complaints. Therefore, the research will be taking
the initiative of identifying the perception and attitude of the Australian customers towards
Toyota Prius with the purpose of empowering the different marketing and product development
related activities of the business.
Brief literature review
The perception and attitude of the customers towards a brand is reliant on the image and
the quality of offerings that the organization provides to the clients. The different marketing
activities that are induced by the organizations are specifically focused towards influencing the
perception and the attitude of the buyers towards a proposition. According to Decker and Baade
(2016), the brand image of an organization creates a sense of trust among the customers which
naturally drives the same towards making a buy of the propositions. Moreover, Bhardwaj and
Bishnoi (2019) stated that the quality of propositions and the utility that a brand proposes helps
in influencing customer perception and attitude. It has been observed that around 67% of the
customer are more inclined towards experience or utility based buying practice (Ahn, Park and
Hyun 2018). In case of automobile industry the customers are more driven towards fuel efficient
vehicles providing better mileage.

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According to Junquera, Moreno and Álvarez (2016), most of the companies take the
initiative of improving the experience of the consumers through improved R&D measures. The
buying behaviour, attitude and preferences of the customers are driven by the value of the
offerings and the competitive vantage point of the same against the other existing organizations.
Hulse, Xie and Galea (2018) observed that the trust on the brand and the peer pressure are again
other factors that simply affect the perception and the buying attitudes of the customers. It has
been observed that the millennial population takes the initiative of judging between two similar
propositions through extensive web based research (Singh 2017). Market volatility with the
presence of wider number of propositions that are offered by the competing organizations has
significantly intensified the chances of switches. The customers switch from one brand to
another based on the features, the utility and the innovativeness apart from the brand value.
Hardman et al. (2016) observed that the competitive utilities that are provided by one
brand over another attracts the attention of the customers. In this relation, Schivinski and
Dabrowski (2016) reflected in a research stating that most of the automobile companies take the
initiative of adding more features to the propositions for improving the experience of the
customers. Most of the customers are more driven towards concerns of sustainability and thereby
they exhibit a nature of value based buying. In this connection, the automobile industry has taken
the initiative of devising technological innovations for fuel efficiency, mileage and comfort of
the customers.
According to Ahn, Park and Hyun (2018), comfort and fuel efficiency are the primary
motivators for different customer groups other than the design or colour of the vehicle. The trust
of the competitors on the brand image and the innovativeness of the propositions are more likely
to attract the attention of the customers. Therefore, the different needs and preferences of the

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customers, dominated by their own beliefs towards a brand, specifically influence the buying
attitude of the same towards a brand.
Marketing Research Problem
The concerned organization Toyota Prius encountered significant challenges in
increasing the sales volume. The change in the preferences of the customers or the perception of
the users might have affected the capability of the business in retaining the trust and loyalty of
the customers. The absence of specific understanding of the changes and shifts in the attitude and
behavior of the customers has affected the capability of the organization in increasing the
effectiveness of the business operations while operating in the different markets. The research
will thereby take the initiative of identifying the attitude or the perception of the customers
towards Toyota’s Prius for enabling the organization in empowering different modifications in
the business processes.
Marketing Research Question
The research questions for the study will be:
 What are the factors that influence customer perception and attitude towards a brand?
 How does the perception and attitude of the customers towards a brand impact their
buying intent?
 What are the critical factors that are influencing the perception and attitude among the
Australian customers towards Toyota Prius?
Research Objectives
The research objectives for the study will be:
 To assess the factors that influence customer perception and attitude towards a brand

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 To evaluate the manner in which perception and attitude of the customers towards a
brand impact their buying intent
 To analyze the critical factors that are influencing the perception and attitude among the
Australian customers towards Toyota Prius
Proposed Research Design and Methodology
Proposed research design
The research will be undertaken through the implementation of the explanatory research
design which would support in developing cognition on the causal relationship between the
factors influencing the customers’ perception and attitude on the buying intent. The
implementation of the explanatory research design supports in identifying the cause and effect
relationship which would allow in understanding the manner in which the organization’s
offering, Prius, influenced the perception and the attitude of the Australian customers.
Data collection method
The data for the study will be collected through the conduction of quantitative primary
surveys. A quantitative close ended questionnaire would be created consisting of questions that
would be aligned with the factors affecting the attitude and perception of the customers. It would
significantly analyze the level of satisfaction that the customers received from the buy of Prius
and their recommendations. The questionnaire would be circulated among 100 respondents on a
random basis and their responses would be gathered for analysis. The utilization of the primary
quantitative survey in this case situation would allow in guiding the study towards an unbiased
outcome.

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Data analysis method
The data from the survey would be collected and entered in an Excel file where the data
would be classified and transferred to SPSS. Regression analysis would be initiated with the
purpose of developing a cognition on the association between perception of the customers and
the value proposition of Prius. The P- value would be calculated and tested if it is below 0.05 (p-
value< 0.05) then the alternative hypothesis would be considered. The results from the analysis
will be represented in the findings and conclusions would be drawn from the same.

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References
Ahn, J., Park, J.K. and Hyun, H., 2018. Luxury product to service brand extension and brand
equity transfer. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 42, pp.22-28.
Bhardwaj, R. and Bishnoi, V.K., 2019. Role of consumers’ perception and attitude in car buying
behaviour: A review. International Journal of Management, IT and Engineering, 9(4), pp.244-
259.
Decker, C. and Baade, A., 2016. Consumer perceptions of co-branding alliances: Organizational
dissimilarity signals and brand fit. Journal of brand management, 23(6), pp.648-665.
Hardman, S., Chandan, A., Shiu, E. and Steinberger-Wilckens, R., 2016. Consumer attitudes to
fuel cell vehicles post trial in the United Kingdom. international journal of hydrogen
energy, 41(15), pp.6171-6179.
Hulse, L.M., Xie, H. and Galea, E.R., 2018. Perceptions of autonomous vehicles: Relationships
with road users, risk, gender and age. Safety Science, 102, pp.1-13.
Junquera, B., Moreno, B. and Álvarez, R., 2016. Analyzing consumer attitudes towards electric
vehicle purchasing intentions in Spain: Technological limitations and vehicle
confidence. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 109, pp.6-14.
Schivinski, B. and Dabrowski, D., 2016. The effect of social media communication on consumer
perceptions of brands. Journal of Marketing Communications, 22(2), pp.189-214.
Singh, A., 2017. Effects of customer perception and social interactions on brand equity:
automobile sector. International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies, 9(1),
pp.75-98.

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