ASSIGNMENT

OF

BUSINESS RESEARCH

A STUDY ON

Identifying The Preception and Prefrences of Female Customers

for CarsAnd Their Buying Behavioral Pattern ,
Regarding Maruti Suzuki Cars in Ranchi.

Submitted By: Group E

Ms. TRISHA RANI- MBA/10033/16
Ms. RIYA KUMARI- MBA/10035/16
Ms. PRIYA AGARWAL- MBA/10040/16
Ms. MRANALINI PAREEK- MBA/10048/16

SEC A, II SEM.
SESSION -YEAR 2016-18
 CONTENT
S.NO TOPIC SIGNATURE
1.
INTRODUCTION
a) Background.
b) Need for the study.
c) Research problem
definition.

2.
LITERATURE REVIEW.

3.
RESEARCH
OBJECTIVES AND
HYPOTHESIS.

4.
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
a) Research design
b) Sources of data.
c) Methods of data
collection.
5.
DATA ANALYSIS AND
FINDINGS.

6.
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

7.
REFERENCES

8.
ANNEXURES.
 1 .INTRODUCTION
a)BACKGROUND

In this era of Modernisation,( ) four wheelers are now a days a necessity rather than symbol
of status for every individual. Automobile industry witnessed the boom in recent years. The
present study focuses on various factors influencing buying behaviour of consumer while
purchasing car.

This paper has made a exploratory approach to identify the key factors that influence the
women consumers with regards to the selection of four wheelers like cars, the women
consumers are in dilemma to identify and select an appropriate model. Earlier the four
wheelers were designed only for male fraternity.

Consumer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the consumer
playing the three distinct roles of users, payer and buyer. Consumer behaviour is the study of
when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy products. It blends elements from
psychology, sociology and economics.

It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups.
The main objective of the research is to identify the preferences of women while purchasing a
four wheeler. The survey will be helpful for the Automobile Industry, Marketing Manager
and others who would like to study the buying behaviour of the women drivers.This research
will be helpful for the existing and new entrant car manufacturing companies in India to find
out the female customer expectations .

The Automobile Industry is growing and if compared the sales and production of four
wheelers is more. Earlier there was a phase when two wheelers were more in demand. But
now a days four wheelers are essential for every family. It is not just a status symbol but a
necessity and comfort what people prefer now.

The 21st Century Women is economically empowered and plays an important role in all
issues pertaining to the family. The increasing proportion of working women has also had a
dramatic effect on purchasing patterns. The purchase decisions made by women are largely
based on very clear likes and dislikes, tastes, preferences and habits. Consumer perceptions
and attitudes are likely to be conditioned by their demographic characteristics and life styles.
A working women in her early 50’s with grown children is likely to emphasize a very
different set of attributes in buying a car compared to working woman in her early 30’s with
two children in day care .

The attitudes and perceptions of these two consumers will vary accordance with their needs.
The Car manufacturers have yet to recognize the key changes in the demographic trends, and
have not designed marketing programs to suit this segment. There is dearth for information
with respect to the female segment for Cars.

The paper is an attempt at making marketing sense in identifying the preferences and
decision making process by the female segment, for Cars in Jharkhand region for Ranchi,
India .With better understanding of customer’s perceptions, companies can determine the
actions required to meet the customer’s need. They can identify their own strengths and
weaknesses, where they stand in comparison to their competitors, chart out the future
progress path and improvement. So it would be very interesting to know consumer’s
preference in today’s fast changing passenger car market and how is the customer’s buying
process.

b)NEED FOR THE STUDY

The need for this study is reviewing, analyzing and classifying factors which determine the
choice of Cars among female segment, between the age group of 18-50. The advanced
attributes / features they seek for ,before buying a car for themselves.

How Female segment differ when buying car, similarities as well as differences in the way
females go about purchasing a car.The extent to which female drivers influence new-vehicle
purchasing decisions or behavior.

d) RESEARCH PROBLEM DEFINITION

Due to the emergence of globalization and liberalization there is a stiff competition among
the Automobile industries which are focusing attention in capturing the Indian markets an
automobile are no more considered as luxury once, now occupies a part of day to day life and
has become a necessity. Customers have now changed their attitude that yesterday’s luxuries
are today’s necessities.

To be a successful marketer it is absolutely essential to study the perceptions of the

prospective buyers and track their drivers of those perceptions. The research focuses on the
prospective female buyers of cars which has been remain untapped.

There is a significant scope to examine the perception and buying behavior of the Female
consumers of cars. Due to their increasing purchasing power, the Females of this district
have started to buy cars for business or personal use or the prestige and maintenance of social
status.

This study tries to analyze the influence of perception in the consumersmind and how this
information can be used successfully by marketers to gain entry into the minds of the Female
consumers.

The study also analyses the new car buying behavior , in appealing specifically in the
Ranchi region of women customers.
 2 .LITERATURE REVIEW

Document 1 of 1
Car makers go the extra mile to woo women customers
ProQuest document linkAbstract: Car makers such as Nissan are going the extra mile to
understand the needs and desires of women inIndia-underscoring women's growing role in
the purchase of high value items such as cars and homes,traditionally a decision taken by
male members of the family. "When it comes to spending money, traditionallywomen have
had little opportunity as they were expected to manage the household budget rather than play
anyrole in house- or car-buying decisions," said Sharad Sarin, a marketing professor at
Xavier Labour ResearchInstitute, Jamshedpur, and an expert on consumer behaviour.

1. New Delhi, March 14 -- The group, which included fourJapanese employees of rival
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd, wanted to meet his wife Ragini."Did you think about (buying)
any other car before buying a Figo?" Rena Sofue, a Nissan employee with arather
long and unusual job title, asked Ragini.Sofue is manager, attractiveness creation
group for women, at Nissan's customer-oriented engineeringdepartment.

Her job is to convince women members of a family to purchase a Nissan and provide
feedback to make thecompany's models more desirable for women.
Car makers such as Nissan are going the extra mile to understand the needs and desires of
women in Indiaunderscoringwomen's growing role in the purchase of high-value items such
as cars and homes, traditionally adecision taken by male members of the family.The change
has been brought about by rising education levels and ability to pursue a career, which
giveswomen more purchasing power.

"When it comes to spending money, traditionally women have had little opportunity as they
were expected tomanage the household budget rather than play any role in house- or car-
buying decisions," said Sharad Sarin, amarketing professor at Xavier Labour Research
Institute, Jamshedpur, and an expert on consumer behaviour."Today, that is changing.
Globalization, liberalization and a growing emphasis education have helped to raisethe status
of women in a family." Sarin gave another example to make his point. "In the 1960s, if you
see, wehardly used to have cigarettes made for women. But over a period of time, we have
seen mild, menthol, lightsand what not.So, this evolution is happening in this sector."
Economic independence and education have made women more assertive about their
choices. More than ever, women engineers and designers are influencing the outcome
ofvehicles to help make them more women-friendly.

Globally, women make up around 40-45% of automobile consumers. "But in India, there may
not be more than15-20% women drivers in the country and most of them are in the metro
cities," said Sarin."Paying attention to the women segment is not new, but their growing
importance in the auto segment is a
welcome change." Not surprisingly, car makers are increasingly designing vehicles with
women's comfort inmind. So far, cars designed for developed markets in the US and Europe
and sold in India fail to factor thatIndian women are shorter than their Western
counterparts."Hardly anybody pays attention over the height of the seat or the size of the
bonnet," said Sarin. "So, there is adefinite market in that segment. In the future, I am sure
more and more car makers will pay attention to that."Sofue and others like her are leading
thechange by designing models that are attractive and comfortable forwomen in a market
where passenger vehicle production is expected to surge more than fourfold to nine
millionunits a year by 2020, according to government estimates.

2. 01 February 2017 Page 1 of 3 ProQuest

"I am responsible for the products to be attractive for female customers," said Sofue in an
emailed response toa query.
"I am specialized to analyse the difference of male/female from physical, behavioural and
mental aspects and toplan the product specifications to be attractive for female customers." In
the 1990s, most cars came with acourtesy mirror only on the passenger side, never on the
driver's side. The notion was that while men woulddrive, women would sit and do their
make-up on the passenger seat. Today, most cars come with such mirrorson both sides.

"If you have noticed in our new WagonR, there is a tray under the driver's seat where women
can keep theirboots and drive with comfort," said Mayank Pareek, managing executive
officer, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. "Wekeep these things in mind while manufacturing a car."
Even men who do not include women directly in thepurchase decision are influenced by what
they perceive women's impression of the vehicle would be.In mature automobile markets
such as the US, women car ownership is as high as 45%.

That excludes many women who drive vehicles registered under a male member of their
family."Considering these factors, Nissan Motor had established the group to work
intensively on product developmentfor female customers," said Sofue, who is now in China
working on a similar study for Nissan.

India is not a unique case, but some factors are peculiar to the country. "Women's opinions
matter surely forfamily cars. Normally, it is a joint decision," So fue said. Many a time a "car
is purchased and registered under a male name, but chosen and driven by female owners,such
as wives anddaughters." Many women feel they aren't being taken seriously at the dealership-
a challengefor car companies in an environment where every sale counts. Some dealerships
are even offering sensitivitytraining to the male salesmen.

"Women are very capable of bargaining and want to be involved in the process," said Pradeep
Saxena, aformer marketing veteran with Hero Honda Motors Ltd and now a market
researcher with TNS Automotive.
"There's a missed opportunity when dealers don't hear what women want and what they need,
especially when women have more purchasing power and are more involved in decision-
making." Rising competition will mean car makers may have to introduce at least two-three
models a year, said Jatin Chawla, sector analyst with IndiaInfoline Ltd.
The nation's automotive sector will become the fourth largest in the world by 2015,
overtaking the Europeanmarket, consultancy firm Booz and Co. said last month.

With more models to choose from, car makers such as Nissan and Maruti have realized the
importance ofwooing women, a segment that will grow in numbers among car buyers.
"At the end of the day, if you ignore women in today's world you will lose business," said
Saxena.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from MINT.
For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact
Editor athtsyndication@hindustantimes.com
Subject: Automobile industry; Women;

Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/856740788?accountid=132709

3.CONSUMER SATISFACTION, DISSATISFACTION AND POST-PURCHASE

EVALUATION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON SMALL SIZE PASSENGER CARS IN
INDIA

Assael (2008) once the product is purchased, the consumer will evaluate its performance in
theprocess of consumption. The most important aspect in consumption is how consumers
useproducts, how satisfied they are with the purchase and how likely they are to buy that
particularproduct or brand in the future. In post consumption evaluation, consumers
experience a sense ofConsumer Satisfaction Dissatisfaction And Post-Purchase Evaluation:
An Empirical Study On small Size Passenger Cars.
In India98either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Satisfaction occurs when consumer’s
expectations arematched by perceived performance; when experiences and performance fall
short of expectations, dissatisfaction occurs. The outcomes are significant because consumers
store their evaluations inmemory and refer to them in future decisions. Gardial, et al(1994)
evaluative criteria are definedas “the relevant set of product characteristics describing
consumers desired product features, aswell as their desired product performance levels
associated with each.Woodruff, et al (1991)consumers may use evaluative criteria as
standards of comparison about product performance(expectations) or any host of other types
of standards informing product evaluations. Gardial, etal (1994) provided a first investigation
of the potential differences between pre and post-purchaseevaluative criteria by using
retrospective personal interview about consumer product experiences.Anderson and
Sullivan(1993); and Mittal, Ross and Baldasare(1998) when consumers dislike theproduct
consumption experience, a changed set of criteria represents new ways for the product
todisappoint. Indeed, there is evidence of an asymmetric effect of disconfirmation and
performanceon (dis) satisfaction, in that negative disconfirmation and poor performance has
been found to bemore impactful than equivalent positive disconfirmation and acceptable
performance. Hunt (1977)consumers compare some a priori expectations of product
performance with actual performanceand render a judgement that the experience was
noticeably better or worse than anticipated.

Bernacchi, Kono and Willette (1980) found that there was an effect of satisfaction on
subsequentloyalty to the brand of automobile in their research focus on satisfaction with new
automobile warranty service and the effect of this satisfaction.

4 Quite a few ads in India have lately featured women in the driver's seat. The trend
started with the ads for Hyundai's Next Gen i10. In one of them, actor Shah Rukh Khan is
shown being tricked by his woman companion into giving her his driver's seat. Ford India's
ad for its all-new Fiesta also shows two young ladies enjoying the drive. "Women were
earlier shown only as decorative pieces in skimpy clothes.
"Banks are led by women, the leader of the ruling political party is a woman," says Josy Paul,
Chairman and National Creative Director of BBDO India, a leading ad agency. "There is a
social context. The real thing is happening around us, not only in ads. What is the big news?"
 3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESIS

Objective of the study

1. The objective of this Research is the identification of factors influencing female

customer’s and their preferences for particular segment of cars.

2. This paper also attempts to consolidate findings &suggestions for Automobile Car
market.

3. To know about demographic profile of the Female Car driven customers towards
Maruti Suzuki cars.

4. To examine the decision making process, influencing the customer when buy Maruti
Suzuki cars.

5. To find out the factors which are important while purchasing .

6. To study the attitude of consumers regarding the Maruti Suzuki cars.

HYPOTHESIS

H1 – There is a need of cars specially designed

for Female drivers (18-50)

H2- Perception of female car buyers/ drivers regarding

Maruti Suzuki cars and its features.

The study involves an understanding into the decision

making influences faced by this segment in choosing and
purchasing specific Brand of Car.

How do women car drivers choose car brands?

What is the decision making process when women

choose a car brand?
 4.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

a)Research design

The study is a exploratory research and involves Qualitative method. Information is collected
to assess, review and analyze the decision making variables of the women customers in
choosing/ purchasing cars and will also review the effectiveness of car manufacturers in
implementing Marketing programs for marketing cars especially designed for Females.

The qualitative element frequently takes place at the frontend of the study exploring values
that need measuring in the subsequent quantitative phase. Therefore, this research design
hopes to enable the depth and understanding as well as allowing for enough spread capturing
the different preferences by this segment.

Sample plan

The methodology chosen for the study has been Qualitative in nature which includes
questionnaire with 40 women current and potential Car owners.The representative sample
was chosen primarily based on demographic basis for segmentation.

Universe Type - The universe is finiteie, the set of objects studied.

Sampling unit - Geographical (Ranchi city ) and Females.

Source list – Ranchi city , Female Customer for Cars.

Size of Sample - sample size 40

b)Sources of data:

For the purpose of this study we have selected the Ranchi city, on the basis of “Area
Sampling”.

Primary Data Collection &

Secondary Data Collection

c)Methods of data collection

Primary Data – The Primary data collected is through the questionnaire to the 40 Female
under the age group of 18- 50.

Secondary Data –The Secondary Data collected is through Internet, Journals ,Research
papers ,as mentioned in refrences.
5. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
 6.CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

It can be concluded on the basis of the above study that there may be number of factors which
are responsible for the changing purchase preference of the female consumer in four
wheelers. Among those variables – Safety, Maintenance, Mileage, Easy mode of financing
and easy driving are found to be pointed influencing buying preference of consumers.

With the rapid and consistent growth in the price of the fuel consumers are more conscious
about mileage. So they highly prefer mileage while buying a car. This study found that
females also prefer easy mode of financing a car. With the growing competition in
automobile sector, companies are providing easy financing facility to grab maximum of
consumers.

This allows females from a middle income group to conveniently own a car by giving easy
installments which is also forcing them to buy a car. Lastly, it was found that theyalso prefer
model while purchasing a car. As we know there is a drastic change in the life style of the
females, they are more conscious about the looks, style and amenities of a car which varies
according to the model of the car.

Women have definitely yielded a totally different picture. It would do well for Marketing
Business organizations to keep themselves abreast with changing times and the changing role
of women. The way she would like to be seen and not the way they would imagine her to be,
be it in Ranchi or elsewhere in the world."There's a missed opportunity when dealers don't
hear what women want and what they need, especially whenwomen have more purchasing
power and are more involved in decision-making.

Maruti Suzuki, India's largest car company , feels women could be the next big consumption
driver. MayankPareek, executive officer, sales and marketing for the carmaker, says that
around 15% of its buyers are women.But in reality, that number could be much larger since
vehicles are often registered in a husband or father'sname. That too will change. "So, this is
not the complete story," explains Pareek

Suggestions :

It can be said that to build a customer focused brand one should offer customers what they
need rather than what you want or think they need and also by showing and not telling the
customers your brand story but also by giving them a great customer experience. Other tips
include monitoring the customer experience, planning for the future and being relevant to
your customers. Not an easytask but by not being customer focused, you will have agreater
challenge getting your brand noticed.Plan the product specifications to be attractive for female
customers

The importance of wooing women, a segment that will grow in numbers among car
buyers."At the end of the day, if you ignore women in today's world you will lose business
 7.REFERENCES

1. Report Information from ProQuest ,February 01 2017 15:52,Document URL:.Why

women consumers matter and what companies are doing about
ithttps://search.proquest.com/docview/944324991?accountid=132709

2. Report Information from ProQuest ,February 01 2017 15:55,Car makers go the extra
mile to woo women customers.Document URL:
https://search.proquest.com/docview/856740788?accountid=132709

3. International Journal of Business and Society, Vol. 11 No. 2, 2010, 97 –

108,consumer satisfaction, dissatisfaction andpost-purchase evaluation: an empirical
studyon small size passenger cars in India.

4. Productivity • Vol. 51, No. 3, October—December, 2010Role of Consumer Behaviour

in PresentMarketing Management Scenario.

5. International Trade & Academic Research Conference (ITARC ), 7 – 8th November,

2012, London.UK.The influence of customer decision making styles in a
developingcountry: the case in the motor vehicle industry.

6. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 2,

February 2014 1ISSN 2250-3153

7. The International Journal Of Engineering And Science (IJES)

|| Volume || 3 || Issue || 5 || Pages || 40-43 || 2014 ||ISSN (e): 2319 – 1813 ISSN (p):
2319 – 1805www.theijes.com A study on buying behavioral pattern of Women
drivers regarding B segment cars in Bangalore.
 8.ANNEXURES

1. Name of the Respondent :

……………….........................................................

2. Age of the Respondent in years :

a) Below 25 years.
b) 26-35 years.
c) 36-50 years.

3. Occupation:
a) Government Employees.
b) Private Employees.
c) Professionals.
d) Business woman.
e) Home maker.

4. Family Income per annum :

a) up to Rs. 3,00,000
b) Rs. 3,00,000 - Rs. 5,00,000
c) Rs. 5,00,000- Rs. 8,00,000
d) Above Rs. 8,00,000

5. Marital status :
a) Married
b) Unmarried.

6. Nature of the family :

a)Nuclear Family.
b) Joint Family.

7. How long have you been using the car:

a) 1-3 years
b) 3-6 years.
c) 6-9 years.
d) 9-12 years.
 8. Who influenced your purchase decision of car :
a)Self
b)Husband
c) Children
d)Friends
e)Relatives
f) Colleagues
g) Parents.
h) Neighbours.

9. Which type of car did you own :

a)Newcar
b)Second hand car

10. Mention from where you bought your car :

a) Dealer shop

b) Sub-dealer shop

c) Brokers.

d) Friends.

e) Relatives

11. Suggest the features that you require for a car :

……………………………………………………………..