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STUDY OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR TOWARDS BIKES

Omesh Chadha*

Abstract
In this era of cut throat competition, no company can even survive in the market place without knowing its products strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It has to fortify itself against threats from the environment and exploit its strengths or increase profits. And in order to do so, the company has to conduct regular surveys to know the customers opinions, needs, and preferences. This helps the company to manufacture the product like wise for each customers expectations. It has now become more important for the customer confidence and higher positioning of buyer perception. Thus, Surveys becomes genuine key to success. The motorcycle segment is dominated by 4 major players viz. HERO HONDA, BAJAJ, TVS, ROYAL ENFIELD. The expanding Indian market, the growing size of the middle class and the rise in aspirations of the youth along with opening up of the Indian economy have collectively influenced the steady growth of the two wheeler market in India. With leading foreign brands in collaborations with Indian manufacturers entering the Indian market, the customer could not have asked for more. In fact, the Indian bike market has grown immensely and the preference for variety, looks, design has brought in a number of models in the market. In the last 2 to 3 years, the craze for motorcycle over the scooters has picked up and one can find today even girls craving for a motorbike. Not only in the Metros but in small towns and cities also .We are witnessing a tremendous segmentation in the Bike market. The entry level model will continue to be a high-interest segment for the aspirants.

*Research Scholar, (Ph.D. Programme), Singhania University, Rajasthan. (Established by the Govt. of Rajasthan & recognized as per section 2f of UGC act, 1956) Pacheri Bari, Distt. Jhunjhanu, Rajasthan-333515.

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Against this backdrop, the present project work has been undertaken. With the focus of the consumer shifting to brand and product features, the project is a study aiming at understanding what does a customer wants from Power segment bikes(150cc & plus).

Keywords Customer Satisfaction, Segmentation, Market Share, Purchase.

INTRODUCTION

MOTORCYCLE The motorcycle segment is dominated by 4 major players viz. HERO HONDA, BAJAJ, TVS, ROYAL ENFIELD. Besides there are players like:- HONDA(itself alone), LML,KINECTIC. The market share of each of the player is as given below. Near 70% of the motorcycle sales is from Indo-Japanese motorcycles and rest coming from Indian motorcycle manufacturers. The Indo-Japanese segment is catered by 4 to 6 models from each of the players viz. . HERO HONDA, BAJAJ, TVS, ROYAL ENFIELD etc. But majority of sales is of 100cc to 125cc motorcycles. The Indo-Japanese motorcycles are costlier due to import content and royalty payments to their Japanese collaborations. But, These motorcycles are far ahead of Indian Manufacturers viz. Rajdoot from EYML, Yexzdi from IDEAL JAWA; in terms of technology and fuelefficiency. MARKET SHARE IN THE MOTORCYCLE SEGMENT HERO HONDA HONDA TVS BAJAJ ROYAL ENFIELD LML KINETIC 46.8% 3.2% 9.4% 24.6% 2.8% 9.2% 4%

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Table 1

The expanding Indian market, the growing size of the middle class and the rise in aspirations of the youth along with opening up of the Indian economy have collectively influenced the steady growth of the two wheeler market in India. With leading foreign brands in collaborations with Indian manufacturers entering the Indian market, the customer could not have asked for more. In fact, the Indian bike market has grown immensely and the preference for variety, looks, design has brought in a number of models in the market. In the last 2 to 3 years, the craze for motorcycle over the scooters has picked up and one can find today even girls craving for a motorbike. Not only in the Metros but in small towns and cities also. Trying to catch up with these, manufacturers are busy working out customer profiles. With the competition hotting up one can find a host of discounts including: cash rebates and free accessories to push sales of the commuter bikes. Certain changes are also visible as far as customer preferences are concerned. The basic 100cc bike market is suddenly experiencing a slow down in the growth. This Commuter bike was a favorite till the other day commanding up to 90% of the total bike sales. The shift towards 100cc plus bikes is suddenly discernable and the segment is expected to double in the next year itself.

GROWTH OF TWO WHEELER INDUSTRY India is the second largest manufacturer of two wheelers in the world. It stands next only to Japan and Chine in terms of the number of two wheelers produced and sold respectively. India is one of the very few countries manufacturing three wheelers in the worlds. It is the worlds largest manufacturer and seller of three wheeler. The two wheelers market has had a perceptible shift from a buyers market to a seller market with a variety of choices. Players will have to complete on various fronts viz pricing, technology product design, productivity, after sale service, marketing and distribution. In the short term, market shares of individual manufacturers are going to be sensitive to capacity, product acceptance, pricing and competitive pressures from other manufacturers.

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All the three segments, motor cycles, scooters and mopeds have witnessed capacity additions in the last one year and it will continue in the upcoming period as an when Honda opens a local subsidiary. Over this period, only the motorcycle segment is

expected witness higher demand vis--vis supply, while the scooter and mopeds supply will outstrip demand. The Indian two-wheelers industry can be broadly classified into three major segments scooters, motorcycles and mopeds. The domestic two wheeler sales of 3.778mm in FY2010 constitutes scooter sales of 33.4%(39% inFY10), motorcycle 47.7%(41% inFY10) and moped 17.6% (20% in FY10). The motorcycle segment has gradually increased its presence from 27% in FY08 to 47.7% in FY2009 mainly at the expenses of the scooter and, to some extent, the moped segment Now 78.5% in FY10). The demand for scooter is on the wane and witnessed a 10% yoy fall in FY 2007. Than 40% YOY fall in 09, With the gradual shift in demand, sales in the scooter segment is expected to fall further, while on the other side motorcycle and scooterette segments will record continued growth in the future. This will translate into a demand fall of around 20% in scooter while sales of scooterettes will rise by around 30% inFY11. With the ongoing expansion from Bajaj Auto Ltd., LML and TVS Suzuki, the capacity in the sector will increase from 2mm in FY 2009 to 3.15mm by FY11, leading to a surplus situation. We expect the motorcycle segment to continue to grow at an average of 30% in FY11. This will increase demand for motorcycles from 1.796mmin FY2009 to 3.15mm inFY11. The supply of motorcycles as per the present trend will increase from 2.08mm inFY2009 to 3.38mm in FY11. The segment will be witnessing several new entrants in FY11, mainly in the four stroke sub-segment like Suzuki, Dokuti etc. This will lead to an over supply situation and increase the competition in the Japanese segment. One expects the demand for mopeds to grow at a modest rate of 5% in FY11. The demand for mopeds will increase from 0.726mm in FY2009 to 0.7623mn in FY11. The moped production capacity is expected in increase from 1.17mn in FY2009 to 2.2mn in FY11.

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As incomes grow and people feel the need to own a private means of transport, sales of two wheelers will rise. Penetration is expected to increase to approximately to more than 25% by 2011 end.

REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE

Various surveys and researches have been carried out regarding what a consumer wants from a bike. Some of them, which I will be taking into account are Parmod Pathak, Saumya Singh, does some of the work that had been already done in this regard and their work was published in Pradigm, Vol.VIII No. 1 January-June 2004. Another major contribution had been done by Dubey J and Patel R and their work was published Management Vol. 42 in Indian No.11 (November ) pp. 66,70 Laudon D and Della Bitta Albert do another major contribution. Parmod Pathak, Saumya Singh reviewed about " What Does A consumer want from a Bike " dubey J and Patel R reviewed about "Role of Advertisement : in buying decision of bikes " Auto India and Overdrive India web sites provides us a lot of information about the various features provided by various power bikes. www.thehindubusinessline.com (how the 150cc mode 1 stake up) www.flonnet.com (Bike with mileage and power) (150cc plus category) Motor Cycle Trader Feb. 08 (Power bike changing scenario)

Objectives of the study

Objectives are the pillars of any research and survey. The main Objectives of the present study are as follows:

To study the rapid changing perception of consumers towards power segment bikes.

To study the satisfaction level of consumers, who uses bikes. International Journal of Research in Finance & Marketing http://www.mairec org

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To study effect of advertisement on the purchases decision of the consumers. To study the main factor that most influence the consumer to buy a bike. To study the brand preferences of buyers. To study the factors influencing consumers to buy power bikes.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
For finding something new in any field research has to be done. Research not only helps the present study rather it provides a base for the future study. Research on this topic is being done taking into consideration the present problem and with a hope that it would provide a base in future while capital budget is being set. Research basically means moving from certain known facts to the unknown. And thats what is being done in this project. All possible resources are being considered i.e.; primary as well as the secondary so that the result can be most appropriate. All efforts are being done for successful completion of the project. The main aim of the research is to reveal the truths of the facts which are hidden and which have not been discovered as yet. Manini (a well known researcher) has rightly said, All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than over confidence, for it leads to inquiry and inquiry leads to inventions. Before conducting any research the researcher must have a framework of what has to be done throughout the project along with the procedure to be followed. And this framework is well known by the term research design. Every research design consists of a proper sequence and same has been done here. It consists of the following stages: Formulation of the problem. Reviewing of available literature and facts. Deciding about requirement of the data. Finding all possible sources of data. Selection of the best possible sources. Anticipation and interpretation of the results

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RESEARCH DESIGN A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner of that aims to combine relevance to the search the research purpose with economic in procedure. The descriptive research study is used to complete this project report. DATA COLLECTION There are mainly two sources of data collection primary sources and the secondary sources. Primary Data During the course of experimental research we collect the primary data with the help of Questionnaire. There is greater flexibility under this method as the opportunity to restructure, question is always present and there are less chances of non-response. Secondary Data For Secondary data the book which has been referred here is Newspaper and Websites. The Author provides an overview of the whole retail marketing, with a particular focus on how it has changed the way businesses of every size across to customers.

UNIVERSE All respondent Area : Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Non-Probability sampling technique Random sampling

SAMPLING SIZE Information was collected from a sample size of 50 respondents from each District which included both males and females. All of the above were completed in all respects. Therefore, data has been tabulated from the 200 completed forms.

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Sampling Unit : One. As one Questionnaire is being filled by one respondent.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

A study of such magnitude is bound to suffer from certain constraints and limitations, some of these are summarized below: Sample size chosen was not sufficient to conclude Few of the people approached were not aware of the concept Lack of interest was shown by the respondents Area constraint was there Cost incurred in doing this project was high Few of respondents were not able to answer the questions properly Some respondents didnt give answers to full questionnaire As I used the questionnaire method for doing my market studies, so it is not necessary that every respondent will give true information. One of the limitation was the inexperience of the researcher which unfortunately cant be blamed on other persons.

RESULTS
The findings of the study are presented under the following four headings: 1.) Pre-Purchase Analysis 2.) Factors influencing brand preferences 3.) Brand wise ownership of the sample respondents 4.) Post-Purchase analysis

1)Pre-Purchase Analysis: Purchasing is a dynamic science and also the most important function of every family. A home maker must devote time, attention and energy to it. It is influenced by certain considerations which lead the consumers to select a particular brand of products. Besides, the availability of wide varieties of brands aggravates and complicates the act of purchasing. As purchasing is complicated involving many decisions at every step and as each family differs widely in this, it is felt necessary to study the purchasing habits of International Journal of Research in Finance & Marketing http://www.mairec org

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consumers in selecting the brands of Bikes in the study area. It is studied under the headings : Sources of information Purpose of purchasing and Persons influencing purchase decision.

a)Sources of Information: In this survey an attempt is made to find the sources of information on which most of the people rely for their purchase decision.

Table 2 Sources of Information for Selecting a Bike Sources Advertisement Sales People Relatives Friends Total Source: Primary data Number of Respondents 26 10 46 118 200 Percentage 13 5 23 59 100

From the above table it could be inferred that out of the 100 respondents, 118 (59%) obtained the information from their friends. Forty six respondents (23%) got the information from relatives whereas twenty six respondents (13%) got the information from advertisements. It is interesting to note that only ten respondents (5%) got the information from sales people.

b) Reasons for buying: Now-a-days Bikes are considered to be a matter of necessity. However, some people consider it as a matter of prestige. There are people who may buy a Bike for the purpose of availing themselves of petrol allowance or cheap credit facilities. Here an attempt is made to analyze the reasons for buying a Bike. International Journal of Research in Finance & Marketing http://www.mairec org

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Table 3: Reasons for Buying a Bike Category Number Respondents Comfort and convenience Status symbol Loan Facilities For Availing Petrol Allowances Total Source: Primary Data 146 30 14 10 200 73 15 7 5 100 of Percentage

Table 3 shows that out of the 100 respondents, 146 respondents (73%) have purchased a Bike for the purpose of comfort and convenience, while 30 respondents (15%) have purchased a Bike to use it as a status symbol. Fourteen respondents (7%) have purchased Bikes for the purpose of availing themselves to loan facilities. Only 10 respondents (5%) have purchased a Bike for the purpose of availing themselves to petrol allowance.

c)Person influencing purchase decision: Decision making is an act of projecting ones own mind upon an opinion or course of action. Decision making is a conscious and human process, involving both individual and social phenomena based upon factual and value premises, which concludes, with a choice of one behavioral activity from among one or more alternatives with the intention of moving towards some desired state of affairs. Hence an attempt is made to find out the people who influence the purchase decision of a Bike.

Table 4: Decision Makers Regarding Purchase of a Bike Category Yourself Spouse Children Number of Respondents 20 16 20 Percentage 10 8 10

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Collectively Total

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Source: Primary data

Table 4 shows that out of the 100 respondents, a vast majority of them (72%) took the decision collectively while buying a Bike, whereas 20 respondents (10%) took the purchase decision by themselves. Another 20 respondents (10%) were influenced by his/ her children while taking the purchase decision. influenced by their spouse while buying a Bike. Sixteen respondents (8%) were

2.)

FACTORS INFLUENCING BRAND PREFERENCE:

The various factors influencing purchase of a Bike is analyzed by adopting Garrets ranking technique. The respondents were asked to assign the rank for the various factors namely, price, safety, brand name, fuel efficiency, technical collaboration, capacity of the vehicle and warranty terms. Table 5: Factors Influencing the Purchase of A Bike Factor/Rank Number of Respondents Total Respondents I Price Safety Brand Name Fuel Efficiency Technical Collaboration Capacity the vehicle Warranty terms International Journal of Research in Finance & Marketing http://www.mairec org 18 14 12 20 20 46 70 200 of 8 24 36 22 16 52 42 200 12 34 48 26 22 20 38 200 28 24 33 78 II 22 16 61 30 III 14 22 36 32 IV 14 68 19 26 V 64 38 20 20 VI 32 28 16 6 VII 26 4 15 8 200 200 200 200

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Source: Primary data Garrets Formula: 100(Rii 0.5) Percent Position = Nj Where Rij = Rank given for the ith variable by the jth respondents. Nj = Number of variable ranked by the jth respondent. By using this formula, the result obtained was compared with Garretts ranking table and the scores were given. The total scores of each item were added and ranks were given according to its total value.

Table 6 : Garretts Ranking Table

S.N.

Factors

Score

Average Score

Rank

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Price Safety Brand Name Fuel Efficiency Technical Collaboration Capacity of the vehicle Warranty Terms

9539 10470 11336 12393 9750 8706 8013

47.70 52.35 56.68 61.97 48.75 43.53 40.07

V III II I IV VI VII

Source: Primary data

It could be inferred from the table 4.17 that fuel efficiency is the most important factor influencing the purchase of a Bike followed by brand name, safety, price and the like.

3.)BRAND WISE OWNERSHIP:

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Table 7: Brand Wise Classification of Sample Respondents Brand Name Hero Honda TVS Suzuki Honda Enfield Bajaj Total Source: Primary data Number of Respondents 54 20 40 36 50 200

Table 7 clearly shows that Hero Honda is the most popular brand of Bike (52%) followed by Bajaj brand (14%) and TVS brand (10%) and the like.

4.)POST PURCHASE ANALYSIS: Consumer decisions do not end with the act of purchase but continue as the consumer uses the product and evaluates his or her purchase decision. Consumers tend to judge their experience against their expectations when performing a post-purchase evaluation. A long as positive reinforcement takes place, the consumers will tend to continue to purchase the same brand and recommend the same brand to others as a natural corollary. Such behavior at the post-purchase level is often termed brand allegiance. This brand allegiance is analyzed through Consumer satisfaction and recommendation to others.

a) CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: Table 8: Satisfaction with their Bikes Factor Highly satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Total Source: Primary data International Journal of Research in Finance & Marketing http://www.mairec org No. of Respondents 106 94 0 200 Percentage 53 47 0 100

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Table 8 shows that out of the 100 respondents, 106 respondents (53%) are highly satisfied with their Bikes. Ninety Four respondents (47%) are satisfied with their Bikes.

b) RECOMMENDING TO OTHERS: It has been already established in this survey that the respondents seek opinion from the existing users while purchasing Bikes. It is clear (from the Table 9) that friends and relatives occupy an important place among the various sources of information available to the respondents. Only a customer who is fully satisfied with the product, will recommend it to other prospective buyers. So, an attempt is made in this survey to find the percentage of respondents who recommend their brand to other prospective buyers.

Table 9: Recommending the Brand to Others Factors Yes No Total Source: Primary data No. of Respondents 164 36 200 Percentage 82 18 100

Table 9 shows that 164 respondents (82%) recommend the brand, which they own to others who are willing to purchase.

CONCLUSION
Most of the respondents were aware of many popular brands of Bikes. The customers give more importance to fuel efficiency than to other factors. They believe that the brand name tells them something about product quality, utility, technology and the like. The consumers prefer to purchase the Bikes which offer high fuel efficiency, good quality, technology, durability and reasonable price.

SUGGESTIONS
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On the basis of the findings, the following suggestions are made: With a view to improve the fuel efficiency of the Bike, the manufacturers should spend a considerable amount on research and development. It is suggested that the manufacturers should make all efforts to control cost reduction. It is suggested that the brand image and brand loyalty could be boosted by selling quality Bikes at a reasonable price to suit the needs of middle income group.

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Sensky, Tom (2002). "Knowledge Management". Advances in Psychiatric Treatment 8 (5): 387-395. Snowden, Dave (2002). "Complex Acts of Knowing - Paradox and Descriptive Self Awareness". Journal of Knowledge Management, Special Issue 6 (2): 100 111.doi:10.1108/13673270210424639. Spender, J.-C. & Andreas Georg Scherer (2007), "The Philosophical Foundations of Knowledge Management: Editors' Introduction", Organization 14 (1)

Stephen Denning: The Secret Language of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Action Through Narrative (Jossey-Bass, October 2007) Addicott, Rachael; McGivern, Gerry; Ferlie, Ewan (2006). "Networks, Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management: NHS Cancer

Networks". Public Money & Management 26(2): 87-94. Keith Davis and William C. Fredrick, Business and society, 5th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 2004),p. 564 see also William Frederick, Keith Davis, and James E. Post, Business and Society, 6th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 2008). 4Ps Business and Marketing vol.-4, issue-1, (16jan.-29jan. 09) William L. Glueck and Lawerence R. Jauch, Business Policy and Strategic Management (New York: McGraw-Hill Company, 2007), Chap.2

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