Factors Affecting Consumer-Purchasing Decisions About Cars, Research Paper Example

In the modern world, business people need not to take the consumers for granted. For this reason, there is a need to learn about the buying behavior of consumers. As long as consumer-buying behavior is concerned, it is how customers make decision to buy given products or make use of certain services. There are factors that influence this decision. Many consumers will use a sophisticated system to investigate a given product before they make their mind to buy it. On the other hand, there are those consumers who will make impulse buying. No matter the way of buying one takes, three main factors affect buying patterns. They are economic, social and functional factors (Boone & Kurtz 2002). Business people need to be familiar with the influence of these factors in order to come up with products that will win the consumers. If retailers have a thorough knowledge of these factors, then they will be in a good position to have more customers.

In the motor vehicle industry, there are different manufacturers, each aiming at coming up with the most attractive car. Each of this company is trying to put exciting features to catch the attention of many customers. Retailers need to be hard charging and creative to satisfy the needs of consumers. In marketing cars, the central focus should be consumers. In order to come up with an excellent marketing plan, it is good that consumer behaviors and needs are taken into consideration. Purchase power and lifestyle are other things to consider (Lamb 2002). The retailers should look at what consumers are interested in, why they are involved in the process of buying, how they purchase, from where they purchase, how often they get into the market, and when they purchase. In the modern competitive world, retailers need to have a consumer-oriented approach in order to serve their target market. It is through this approach that they will satisfy consumers and go ahead of their competitors.

Economic factors are the first factors that will affect the consumer purchasing decisions when it comes to buying a car. These factors are the determinants of any purchasing decision. People will buy depending on the economic ability. No matter how bad someone needs a given car, it is impossible to buy something out of his/her reach economically. Affordability is the first factor a consumer will look at in the market. In the motor vehicle industry, an economic factor comes in terms of payments made either monthly or as down payments. The cost of fuel is another factor that has affected consumer purchase of cars (Lamb 2002). With the cost of living going high, most people fear buying cars that guzzle fuel. For this reason, some people tend to be loyal in buying a given car model. If at all they have to change, then they switch to something that is of higher quality, but which is a good fuel consumer.

Apart from economic factors, many social factors affect car buying. Lifestyle is one of them. As far as a lifestyle is concerned, the consumers will be grouped depending on activities, attitudes, and opinions they hold regarding cars. Lifestyle is about how people spend money and time. There are people who have a bad attitude towards a given car; hence will not buy it. There are those who are of the opinion that in order to get a quality car, one should spend large sums of money (Boone & Kurtz 2002). For this reason, marketers have come with various cars to suit the attitudes of every consumer.

The functional factor is all about the needs of consumers. What the customer needs will influence their buying behavior. If consumers go to the market and miss a car that will satisfy their needs, they will not buy. A good car should make sense and be of considerable interest to a given consumer. Even though, this factor significantly influences buying, it does not appeal to emotions. However, when finances are factored in, it becomes necessary (Lamb, Hair, McDaniel & Wardlow 1999). This means that dealers should come up with cars that will excite the consumers even if they are expensive. To influence the customer, the dealers should have exceptional financial program that will convince a customer to buy the car. It is vital that the dealer learns the interests of customers before bringing cars into the market.

The psychological factor also plays a key role in influencing the purchasing behavior of customers. Psychological factor includes what the customer wants. This process need to be introduced early in the sales procedure in order to have the consumers develop a positive view concerning a given car. Normally, each consumer has different wants. This can be in terms of prices, car model, and general appearance of the car. The personal image of the consumer is a vital determinant (Petty & Cacioppo 2001). Some customers want to ride cars that will see them command respect in the society. Consumers want to have the best within their financial reach. For this reason, most people will focus more on buying a good car that will reflect their social class. People who are on a higher social class will not want to buy cheap cars, but rather expensive and porsche ones. Some other emotional forces that influence consumer-buying behavior are fear, image and dreams.

Cultural factors also influence consumer-buying behavior. Depending on the upbringing of certain individuals, they will develop certain buying behavior. Children who are brought up by parents riding in expensive cars will develop the perception about given car models. This is something they will reflect when in the market to buy a car of their own. Cultural shifts have seen car dealers bring new products to suit needs of customers (Lamb, Hair, McDaniel & Wardlow 1999).

Social factors such as gender roles, social status, group where the customer lies, and personality have also led to varying consumer buying behavior in the automobile industry. With the many cars manufactured in the modern world, there are those specifically meant for women while others are for men. It is possible to have gender roles create a distinctive market segment. The cars youths will buy will have a distinct difference from the ones the older generation will buy. Equally, the difference in social class will be reflected in the way people buy cars. Different social class consumers will portray varying customer behavior. In this case, the social class will be determined by education, wealth, occupation, and income (Petty & Cacioppo 2001). In a nutshell, economic, social, functional, and cultural factors play a key role in consumer behavior. People from different social classes will drive different cars to display their personality and financial capability.

References

Boone, L. E., & Kurtz, D. L. (2002). Contemporary marketing (7th Ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Dryden Press.

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., McDaniel, C. D., & Wardlow, D. L. (1999). Essentials of marketing. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub.

Lamb, C. W. (2002). The subject is marketing (2nd Canadian Ed.). Scarborough, Ont.: Thomson/Nelson.

Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2001). Attitudes and persuasion–classic and contemporary approaches. Dubuque, Iowa: W.C. Brown Co. Publishers. (Original work published 1981)