Factors affecting female car buyers in Oman
Discuss about the Journal of the Consumer behaviour and Psychology.
The development of the trends in the market and the change in the needs of the people has helped in the proper understanding of the consumer behavior towards a product or an industry. The report is aimed at reviewing an article, which is based on examining the preference and the brand choice of the female candidates of Oman relating to cars. The women being economically empowered and holding an employment has their own choices and preferences. The basic changes in the structuring of the society have helped in making the companies more viable to the changes and the swings in the female consumer behavior. Therefore, the proper understanding of their preferences is an important factor that is being addressed through the report. It will be helping the automobile companies in understanding the needs and trends of the market. The report is aimed at evaluating the article with the help of two other articles for the proper understanding of the potentials and the methodology that is used as a part of the research.
The study is based on the determination of the consumer behavior, more specifically the female customers, for buying the specific brands of cars in the Muscat region of Oman. The report will be helping in the proper determination of the factors that are affecting the demand for the cars and the decision making of the female candidates of the society for making a purchase of their favorite brands. The report will be helping the automobile manufacturers in understanding the requirements of the female customers and thereby determine the trend that is being faced by the market. The hypothesis of the review helps in determining the differences in the marketing that is required to be taken by the car manufacturers for addressing the requirements of the male and the female genders, which seems to be the same as per the report findings. The hypothesis of the research also delves into the findings of the differences in the decision making and the choice of the female candidates over the male. On the other hand, the specifications of the marketing and the management of the productions are based on the differences in the taste of the target customer segments. The customer behavior and decision making is one of the major issues that are being faced by the companies while determining the marketing of the products. The females prefer small sized cars as they are easier to park. On the other hand, the color and the design of the car also affect the demand for a specific kind of car. The budget of the female candidates is again a significant consideration that is required to be taken by the organization before marketing its products for the target segment. The Brand awareness is one of the primary concerns of the organization and the loyalty of the segmented group, that is the females, is recorded too be high which has helped the companies in designing their products as per the requirements of the customers
Analyzing market trends for automobile manufacturers
The concerned article is based on the understanding of the various aspects of the consumer behavior and the determination of the same in order to understand the prospects of the automobile industry to undertake their marketing campaigns. It is a descriptive research method, which is based on the qualitative analysis of the data for analyzing the decision making variables for women customers in purchasing cars. The report helps in the identification of the different aspects of the change in the consumer decision making and the manner in which it is influenced through the market trends (Refer to Appendice 1). The report has enumerated the understanding of chief determinants of the decision making process that will be helping the organizations in marketing their products to the target segment. According to a manager who was interviewed in the report, there company undertakes no initiative to discriminate between the choices of the male and female decision making while marketing their cars. However, there are specifications based on the requirements of the women.
Tifferet and Herstein (2012) believed that the hedonic consumption of the women has affected the brand preference and the loyalty in the market. Therefore, the companies must take steps in order to understand the varied requirements of the women based on the color and the design of the cars (Lysonski and Durvasula 2013). The budget of the women has helped in determining the size of the cars. On the other hand, the efficiency of the women in parking the car is again an important consideration that must be made by the organization while marketing the cars in the target market (Zhang and Benyoucef 2016). The decision making of the consumer behavior is based on the emotions and the attachment that is being felt by the consumer towards the product, which finally leads the buyer to make a buy. The author has taken steps for determining the demand for the cars and the brands in the concerned article through the segmentation of the women consumers.
The segmentation has helped in the proper understanding different requirements of the women in the market. The requirements are based on the speed, performance and the design of the cars. On the other hand, the budget for the cars helps in determining the potentiality of the female customers. Tifferet and Herstein (2012) stated in their article “Gender differences in brand commitment, impulse buying, and hedonic consumption” that the women has greater brand loyalty than the male. Therefore, the organizations must take steps to retain their brand equity through the proper monitoring over the quality of the products and the services that are being provided to the customers (Wang, Yu and Wei 2012).
On the other hand, Shehzad et al. (2014) stated in their article “Influence of Brand Name on Consumer Choice & Decision” that the brand name or the image plays a crucial role in maintaining the sales and the profitability of the organization in any given customer segment. The methodology that was used by the authors for making the research was data collection through which the authors interviewed the samples for their research for obtaining the results. The understanding of the market trends and the requirements of the people are being facilitated through the trend analysis that was undertaken by the authors at the inception of the research (Solomon et al. 2014). The basic correlation of the report with the concerned analysis is based on the factor of understanding the requirements of the women in emphasizing on the brand equity. The report proposed by Tifferet and Herstein (2012) clearly stated the high brand loyalty of women. Therefore, the companies in Oman must take steps in order to bring in improvements in their brand equity for holding on to the female customers. The research has emphasized on the understanding of the impulsive shopping that is being undertaken by women in Oman. As per the findings of Simha (2013) in his article “Identifying the Preferences and Brand Choices of Female Customers for Cars: A Study Conducted In Muscat Region, of Sultanate of Oman”, the brand equity and the management of the brands is a necessity for maintaining their market. The organizations have taken no steps for bringing in the change in the patterns and the products for marketing to the segmented group (Muruganantham and Bhakat 2013).
Differences in marketing to male and female customers
The brand loyalty of women are considered to be the higher than that of male (Rani 2014). Therefore, the articles have highlighted that the organizations must take steps to improve the brand image in the markets for bringing in improvements in the structure and the functioning of the organization in the market. The car is something that is perceived by women of Oman and the Western world as an element that helps in making them independent (Kopetz et al. 2012). Therefore, every potential female customer buys a car based on the demand and the requirements that the car is aimed at fulfilling. The article helps in determining the requirements of the women customers, which helps the organizations in designing the cars (Rucker, Galinsky and Dubois 2012). On the other hand, the proper understanding of the different aspects of the change helps in bringing in modifications in the products. The survey that was undertaken by the authors of the articles has helped in determining the demand and the determination of the decision based on the requirement of the women customers (Refer to Appendice 2).
The proper identification of the characteristic elements of the Omani market will be helping the entrepreneurs in making their sustainable growth and development. The identification of the factors that are applicable for the market is based on the understanding of the market trend and the understanding of the requirement of the people. The qualitative research that is being undertaken by Simha (2013) points out the various elements of the consumers buying behaviors based on the decision making. Buyer’s decision making is specifically based on the quality of the products that are being delivered by the companies and the understanding of the requirements of the people (Huang and Kuo 2012). On the other hand, it buys the raw materials and processes for sufficing the needs of the customers and thereby the customers buy their needs from the market. Therefore, in order to support the huge needs of the customers, the market undertakes the buying activities.
Figure 1: 7Os framework
(Source: Simha 2013)
Occasion of buying |
The market buys the raw materials when there is a high demand for the commodities, which the nation is failing, to support. |
Operations |
The organization performs their distinctive functions for making their progression in the markets (Heitz-Spahn 2013) |
Organizations |
The organizations perform in the market in order to determine the demands of the people. |
Objective of purchase |
The market buys the raw materials for development of the products in order to fulfill the demands of the potential customers. |
Objective of buying |
The market buys the product in order to transform it into an utility for the customers |
Outlets |
The different outlets from which the market buys its products and makes the products available to the consumers (Hung and Petrick 2012) |
Occupant |
The people who can afford the high priced brands occupy the market. |
According to Simha (2013), the women in the nation are economically empowered through the higher rate of education and the equal opportunities of employment that is being given to the female customers. According to the report, there is an improvement in the employment and growth possibilities of women from 22.2% in 2003 to 27% in 2010 (Rezaei 2015). Therefore, it has enhanced the chances of making the women more self-dependent. The independence of the women is facilitated through the identification of the needs of buying a car (Griskevicius and Kenrick 2013). They do not like depending on their husbands and their partners for getting a ride on their cars, and thereby they desire to have a car of their own. In order to support their needs the automobile manufacturing organizations must take steps in order to facilitate the needs of the target segment (Katawetawaraks and Wang 2013). On the other hand, the high financial status of the inhabitants of Oman and the industrial development has helped in the enhancing the scope of the organizations for their growth and expansion in the Omani markets. The dependence of the organizations on the legislation of the nation has encouraged the growth and expansion of their business enterprise in the Omani markets. The determination of the demands of the female customers have helped the organizations in making their progress in the international markets. The reliability of the target customers and the proper maintenance of the quality of the products will be helping the organizations in making their progress in the market structure (Shah et al. 2012). The flexible judiciary and the legislation of the nation have helped in the evolution of the companies in the market. The proper identification of the different channels and the determination of choice of the customers and the buying habits will be helping the companies to flourish in the Omani markets.
Impact of design, color and budget on purchase decisions
Conclusion and recommendations
Therefore, from the above analysis it can be concluded that the proper understanding of the needs and the requirements of the target segment of the market helps in determining the aspects of the growth and expansion. The customer loyalty of the women is ranked to be highest than that of the male members. The most intriguing characteristic of the Omani market is based on the economic stability of the nation. It has helped the companies in making their improvements based on the determination of the demand of the customers in the market. Therefore, the companies are required to take steps in order to maintain their brand equity for gaining the confidence of the women customers. On the other hand, the companies must also take steps to bring in improvements in the design of the products and more specifically the automobiles for fitting the requirements of the female customers in the market. The steps will be helping the companies in retaining the customers and thereby it will be helping the company in making their progress in the Omani markets.
References
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