Ford is producing for India and the company has a global presence.

They have their manufacturing

centres in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Sanad. The company came in India in 1995 and has made an
investment of more than 2 billion US dollars. The company believes in the integration of business and
sustainability which made a change in the automobile sector. Ford has a vision and a mission and they
are working towards achieving the long-term goals

Ford has expanded and the company is producing excellent and successful products like Ford EcoSport
and Ford Endeavour, which are produced in Maraimalai Nagar, which is located near Chennai and the
company also manufactures in Sanand, where they produce Ford Figo, New Ford Aspire and Ford
Freestyle

Ford wants to bring a change in the Indian market, especially in the automobile sector, that’s why they
have the largest number of products they are offering in the Indian market and they are meeting the
needs and interests of all the customers by producing a world class line of affordable products for all the
customers . Ford ahs a huge variety of products starting from, hatchbacks and Sedan in Figo and Aspire
to CUVs and SUVs in Freestyle, EcoSport and Endeavour. Thus, along with these products Ford has their
showstopper which is Ford Mustang.

Along with these economical, stylish, safe, sustainable and technologically empowered cars, Ford also
has one litre Eco boost to the five litre Volume eight Engine.

Ford is concentrating in India as a market for efficient cars and high functioning engines for India and for
the other countries as well. Thus, exporting is a done at a high rate at Ford, thus this exporting program
is done at around 80 countries in the automobile market around the world. Out of all the sites Sanand is
the main centre of operations. Ford has almost tripled its manufacturing capability to 7,00,000 engines
and around 5,00,000 vehicles.

Thus, Ford is expanding and launching new products in the market. Thus, the company is getting the
customers attention and trust and building a brand with a huge customer base. The company is offering
great assistance and service which are rich in quality and which satisfy customer needs and wants. Till
March2019, the company has 600 sales points and has covered around 300 cities in the whole country .
To increase the customer base, the company is taking many steps such as offering the right price for the
service which can be predetermined by the customers on the Ford website , which helps the customers
to find out what will be service and maintenance cost of the car, this helps them in evaluating all the
options even before they purchase the car. Customer’s are the top priority for this brand that’s why they
have distributors across the country which provides the customers with the genuine parts. Thus, all the
company approved parts are available at around 4000 places around the country. Out of them around
2000 points are the independent repairing centres.

In India Ford is providing services like “FORD- CREDIT”, which has the genuine count of the inventory and
is a retail financing company. Ford Credit is recognised for its trustworthy and reliable loans at a great
price, the programme provides a clean and transparent loans to the people at great rates and good
terms and conditions which can be adjusted according to the needs and requirements of the people
accompanied with amazing customer service. The brand is well known internationally. The program –
Ford Credit is functioning in around 102 countries where it is very well used and appreciated by the ford
users and the dealers as well.

Ford has its operations across India, the company has a great team of around 15000 people who are
talented and hardworking, the operations are located in New Delhi and Chennai. The company also
provides Global Delivery services

The company is using India as a centre for innovating new technology and products. The company has
set up a new research and innovation centre in Chennai with a huge investment of around 300 million US
dollars, the centre creates new innovative products for the people and add employment and
opportunities for the people of the country. In the next few years Chennai will be among the top three
centres for the company. The centre in Chennai will be the second centre for Ford which will contribute
majorly for the product innovation and development in Asia and employ a large part of the workforce It
has a lab which tests products and technology which helps the company to tests the company which is
for the future generation

The company is focusing on Mobility, Ford has the plan of being the brand which focuses on the mobility.
This initiative helps the brand in completing the long-term goals, that is providing convince to the people
and the services which are provided by the brand acts as a catalyst in making the life of the people easy,
comfortable and convenient

Ford with its mobility plans is working ibn Indore, Hyderabad and Mumbai to bring in the solutions to the
problems faced by the brand. The company is designing an integrated program which focuses on the
product enhancement along with road safety
The presence of the brand is not just focusing on profit and monetary benefits, the brand focuses on
building the community and work to make the society better and safer. The brand not just follows CSR
responsibly they imbibe the policy in their products and technology to bring a change from within, to
bring the change from within, and to bring a sustainable change in the society. The brand covers all the
issues starting from road safety to education.

Ford is one of the top five automobile company in the world. Ford’s mission acts like a guiding line for
the company to align its strategy in the right direction so that the long-term goals of the company are
met. Thus, the mission statement provides guidance to the company to reach its goals which the
company wants for itself in the coming future. A mission statement helps the company to achieve the
goals the company wants. A company’s mission statement clarifies the direction in which the company
wants to achieve its goals. Fords vision and mission statement helps the company to achieve the position
of the company it has today.

Ford Motor Company’s Vision Statement

Ford’s vision statement is for people to work together as a lean and to grow and diversify the company in
all the countries. The company also focuses on the customers, employees, dealer, suppliers and
community altogether and to work together and create substantiality for the future. The Ford vision
statement focuses on the three major objectives

1. Global presence

2. Focus on all the people who are a part of the company – employees, dealers, customers,
investors.

3. Lean business

The global presence focuses on the point that Ford Motors wants to grow its market share in the
automobile market. Ford id among the top five automobile companies of the world and one of the main
focus of the company is to increase its market share and Ford has to concentrate more on its vision
statement on the Global presence perspective as the company wants to capture the untapped market
and grow. The company is excellent in its operation and the company needs to focus more on increasing
its marketing and sales and increase its global presence and be the leader of the automobile sector.
The vision statement also focuses on the Focus on all the people who are a part of the company –
employees, dealers, customers, investors by focusing more on the human resource policy of the
company and concentrating on corporate social responsibility which the company owns not just to the
society to all the people who are associated with the company who are the employees, dealers, investors
of the company . Thus, the company forms the policies which benefits all the parties associated with the
company. Thus, company takes care of the society by investing in many issues starting from road safety
to the education sector. The company wants to bring a change within and outside the organisation

Ford Motor company’s Mission statement

Ford’s Mission statement is “ ONE TEAM, ONE PLAN , ONE GOAL”

This mission is well known as Ford mission

Thus this mission can be explained below as –

One Team – It focuses on the fact that all the people who are associated with the company may work
together as the employees, Dealers, investors, customers, society and they collaborate to achieve the
goals which make the lives of all the people who are involved better.

One plan – To make the business plan which accommodates the current requirements of the company,
and to work towards the growth of the company. The business model accommodates the strategies
required by the company for the growth and sustainability but it also accommodates the needs and
wants of all the parties involved in the company. The company wants to work as a team, for all the
people who are involved in with the company to integrate and work together for a brighter and a more
sustainable future.

One Goal – It involves the long term plan for the company, as the long term goal of the company is
integrated with all the parties involves with the company and that’s how the future will change , if the
future goal of all the people involved with the company will not align , the intensity of the growth of the
company may be less and the mission of the company may not be achieved

The automobile industry today is the most lucrative industry. Due to the increase in disposable income in
both rural and urban sector and easy finance being provided by all the financial institutes, the passenger
car sales have increased at the rate of 38% per annum in June 2005-06 over the corresponding period in
the pervious year. Further competition is heating up in the sector with a host of new players coming in
and other like Porsche, Bentley, Audi, and BMW all set to venture in the Indian markets. One factor that
could help the companies in the marketing of their product is by knowing and creating a personality for
their brands. This research attempts to answer some of the questions regarding brand personality of
selected cars in India by conducting the market research. This personality sketching will help in knowing
what a customer (or a potential customer) thinks about a given brand of car and what are the possible
factors guiding a possible purchase. Similarly, the idea of measuring the customer satisfaction will serve
the same purpose of determining the customer perception. Thus, by measuring the” willingness of
existing users of a car to recommend it to others” will help the car manufacturers to chalk out the entire
Customer Buying Behavior. This research will be helpful for the new car entrant companies in India to
find out the possible gaps between the customer expectations and the present market offerings. It will
be mainly a primary research and the information will be gathered from both primary and secondary
research. The research will analyze the applicability of existing research concepts, theories, and tools for
evaluating consumer satisfaction. Keywords: Automobile, Car Market, Buying Behavior, Perception

The automobile industry is growing at a rapid rate, due to the increase in the disposal income, people
are more attracted to convenience. The ideology of the people has changed and people are not only
saving money, people are more prone to spend their earnings on buying convenience. With the increase
in loan facility and easily available finance people are buying cars at a much rapid rate than before, due
to these factors there is increase in sales of the passenger cars up to 40%. With the increase in
competition, there is entry of the manufacturing of luxury cars in India like Audi, BMW, Porcha and many
other brands. This research helps in finding out what are the purchase enablers which works for different
brands especially Ford. Thus, there are various purchase enablers and a single enabler and even some
combination of enablers can have a huge impact on the marketing and sales of a company.

These purchase enablers can help us find the factors which trigger the people to make the final purchase
decisions, as these enablers motivate the customers for choosing the particular car of the particular
brand, these purchase enablers have a long term impact on the customer, basically it starts from the
image of the brand and the brand personality, that is how a consumer perceives a brand and that is how
a consumer associates themselves with a brand , Thus these purchase enablers start working from a
deep root ;level and they are employed till the post purchase services offered by the salesman , Thus, by
studying these purchase enablers we can find the right triggers which motivate the customers to finally
undergo the purchase making decision .

By studying the decision making purchase cycle of a customer we can understand which part of the
purchase making makes a difference for the customer and we can change all the problems faced by the
customers and make the purchase experience very easy and convenient for the customer . The purchase
cycle has five steps, it starts from problem recognition

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INTRODUCTION The concept of “buying behavior” is of prime importance in marketing and has evolved
over the years. It is important to understand consumer buying behavior as it plays a vital role in crating
an impact on purchase of products. The human wants are unlimited and always expect more and more.
Car Models are no exception to this behavior. This lead to constant modifications of Car Models & its
features and today we see a new model coming into the market practically every quarter. The market is a
very important place to study the behavior of consumers and also provide useful insights what a
consumer requires in a product. It is only through research that a company will be able to study the
buying behavior of consumers. “As one of the measurements of the performance of the quality
management system, the organizations shall monitor information relating to customer perception as to
whether the organization has met customer requirements. The method for obtaining and using this
information shall be determined” The requirement has been there in the QS9000 standard clause 4.1.6
which says: “Trends in customer satisfaction and key indicators of customer dissatisfaction shall be
documented and supported by objective information. These trends shall be compared to those of
competitors, or appropriate benchmarks, and reviewed by senior management.” There is obviously a
strong link between customer satisfaction and customer retention. Customer’s perception of service and
quality of product will determine the success of the product or service in the market. With better
understanding of customer’s perceptions, companies can determine the actions required to meet the
customer’s needs. They can identify their own strengths and weaknesses, where they stand in
comparison to their competitors, chart out the path future progress and improvement. Customer
satisfaction measurement helps to promote an increased focus on customer outcomes and stimulate
improvements in the work practices and processes used within the company. The decision-making
process consists of a series of steps which the consumer undergoes. First of all, the decision is made to
solve a problem of any kind. This may be the problem of creating a cool atmosphere in your home. For
this, information search is carried out, to find how the cool atmosphere can be provided, e.g. by an air-
conditioner or, by a water-cooler. This leads to the evaluation of alternatives and a cost benefit-analysis is
made to decide which product and brand image will be suitable, and can take care of the problem
suitably and adequately. Thereafter the purchase is made and the product is used by the consumer. The
constant use of the product leads

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to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the consumer, which leads to repeat purchases, or to the rejection
of the product. The marketing strategy is successful if consumers can see a need which a company.s
product can solve and, offers the best solution to the problem. For a successful strategy, the marketer
must lay emphasis on the product/brand image in the consumer.s mind. Position the product according
to the customers. likes and dislikes. The brand which matches the desired image of a target market sells
well. Sales are important and sales are likely to occur if the initial consumer analysis was correct and
matches the consumer decision process. Satisfaction of the consumer, after the sales have been effected,
is important for repeat purchase. It is more profitable to retain existing customers, rather than looking
for new ones. The figure below gives an idea of the above discussion.

In this model, the consumer passes through five stages: problem recognition, information search,
evaluation and selection of alternatives, decision implementation, and post-purchase evaluation. a)
Problem Recognition: In this information processing model, the consumer buying process begins when
the buyer recognizes a problem or need. For example, Doug may realize that his best suit doesn’t look
contemporary any more. Or, Kathleen may recognize that her personal computer is not performing as
well as she thought it should. These are the kinds of problem that we as consumers encounter all the
time. When we found out a difference K

In the consumer purchase process the consumer goes through five stages starting from problem
recognition , information search, evaluation , selecting the alternatives , decision implementation an post
purchase evaluation . These are the steps which a customer takes when he purchases a product or wants
to purchase a product

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between the actual state and a desired state, a problem is recognized. When we find a problem, we
usually try to solve the problem. We, in other words, recognize the need to solve the problem. But how?
b) Information Search: When a consumer discovers a problem, he/she is likely to search for more
information. Kathleen may simply pay more attention to product information of a personal computer.
She becomes more attentive to computer ads, computers purchased by her friends, and peer
conversations about computers. Or, she may more actively seek information by visiting stores, talking to
friends, or reading computer magazines, among others. Through gathering information, the consumer
learns more about some brands that compete in the market and their features and characteristics c)
Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives: How does the consumer process competitive brand information
and evaluate the value of the brands? Unfortunately there is no single, simple evaluation process applied
by all consumers or by one consumer in all buying situations. One dominant view, however, is to see the
evaluation process as being cognitively driven and rational. Under this view, a consumer is trying to solve
the problem and ultimately satisfying his/her need. In other words, he/she will look for problem-solving
benefits from the product. The consumer, then, looks for products with a certain set of attributes that
deliver the benefits. Thus, the consumer sees each product as a bundle of attributes with different levels
of ability of delivering the problem solving benefits to satisfy his/her need. The distinctions among the
need, benefits, and attributes are very important. One useful way to organize the relationships among
the three is a hierarchical one (Figure 2). Although simplified, Figure 2 is an example of how a bundle of
attributes (i.e., a product or, more specifically, personal computer) relates to the benefits and underlying
needs of Kathleen. d) Decision Implementation: To actually implement the purchase decision, however,
a consumer needs to select both specific items (brands) and specific outlets (where to buy) to resolve
the problems. There are, in fact, three ways these decisions can be made: 1) simultaneously; 2) item
first, outlet second; or 3) outlet first, item second. In many situations, consumers engage in a
simultaneous selection process of stores and brands. For example, in our Kathleen’s personal computer
case, she may select a set of brands based on both the product’s technical features (attributes) and
availability of brands in the

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computer stores and mail-order catalogs she knows well. It is also possible, that she decides where to
buy (e.g., CompUSA in her neighborhood) and then chooses one or two brands the store carries. Once
the brand and outlet have been decided, the consumer moves on to the transaction (“buying”). e) Post-
purchase Evaluation: Post-purchase evaluation processes are directly influenced by the type of preceding
decision-making process. Directly relevant here is the level of purchase involvement of the consumer.
Purchase involvement is often referred to as “the level of concern for or interest in the purchase”
situation, and it determines how extensively the consumer searches information in making a purchase
decision. Although purchase involvement is viewed as a continuum (from low to high), it is useful to
consider two extreme cases here. Suppose one buys a certain brand of product (e.g., Diet Pepsi) as a
matter of habit (habitual purchase). For him/her, buying a cola drink is a very low purchase involvement
situation, and he/she is not likely to search and evaluate product information extensively. In such a case,
the consumer would simply purchase, consume and/or dispose of the product with very limited post-
purchase evaluation, and generally maintain a high level of repeat purchase motivation (Figure 3).
INDUSTRY STATISTICS OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY  The domestic Indian passenger car market (including
utility vehicles) totaled 900,000 units (with a CAGR of 10 per cent over the past 4 years) while the
exports were 130,000 million units (with a registered CAGR of 68 per cent over the past 4 years) during
financial year 2004  The Indian two-wheeler Industry is one of the largest in the world, and is expected
to maintain robust growth in the future  At the back of this phenomenal automotive growth is the
success of the Indian auto component industry. Presently a US$ 6.7 billion industry, it is expected to
almost treble in less than eight years time to US$ 17 billion by 2012 India offers a distinct technological
and cost-competitive advantage, which global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and
automotive suppliers are leveraging for both manufacturing and research facilities. The passenger car
market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.3 per cent over the next few years. Growth in the mid-size
and premium car segments is

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expected to outpace the overall market growth. This Figure that represents the Gross turnover of
Industry

Source: SIAM

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Source: SIAM

Source: SIAM

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research objectives for the project are to determine the demographic
variables of the customers of different brands of cars, to Examine the customer perception about the

The customer buying process (also called a buying decision process) describes the journey your customer
goes through before they buy your product. Understanding your customer’s buying process is not only
very important for your salespeople, it will also enable you to align your sales strategy accordingly.

The five stages framework remains a good way to evaluate the customer’s buying process. John Dewey
first introduced the following five stages in 1910:

1. Problem/need recognition

This is often identified as the first and most important step in the customer’s decision process. A
purchase cannot take place without the recognition of the need. The need may have been triggered by
internal stimuli (such as hunger or thirst) or external stimuli (such as advertising or word of mouth).

1. Problem recognition

It is the most important step in the process, during our research either the customer was already a four
wheeler owner and had problems with the car he/she already has or the person has the problem before
purchasing the car , that if he wants to purchase the car, the cost of purchase , the cots of service, the
features offered by the car. The mode of financing and many other factors as well. Thus, this is the most
important step in the whole process

This step may be triggered by internal stimuli which is the need to buy a car to have protection from
dust, sunlight and rain a

And also triggered by external stimuli like word of mouth and advertising

2. Information search
Having recognised a problem or need, the next step a customer may take is the information search stage,
in order to find out what they feel is the best solution. This is the buyer’s effort to search internal and
external business environments, in order to identify and evaluate information sources related to the
central buying decision. Your customer may rely on print, visual, online media or word of mouth for
obtaining information.

2. Information search

Thus this is the next step after the customer recognised the problems he has , after recognising the
problems the customer searches the media and sources from which the customer can derive information
, the medium can be internal as well as external , thus purchase enablers like the source of media the
customers prefer and the language in which they prefer, the media which has the most impact on them ,
this study focuses on all these points as which are the purchase enablers at every point of the decision
making process which motivates and drives the customer in taking the final purchase decision

3. Evaluation of alternatives

As you might expect, individuals will evaluate different products or brands at this stage on the basis of
alternative product attributes – those which have the ability to deliver the benefits the customer is
seeking. A factor that heavily influences this stage is the customer’s attitude. Involvement is another
factor that influences the evaluation process. For example, if the customer’s attitude is positive and
involvement is high, then they will evaluate a number of companies or brands; but if it is low, only one
company or brand will be evaluated.

3 . Evaluation of alternatives

At this point the customer wants to enter the automobile industry and wants to make a purchase or
he/she is already a part of the industry and wants a change , in either cases the customer wants to
evaluate all the options and alternatives present, the customer wants to evaluate the bundle of utilities
offered by each company and the cost they are paying for the bundle of utilities , if the customer
considers that he is facing surplus in the deal. The customer goes ahead to the next step

The evaluation also depends on the level of involvement and the attitude of the customer , of the
customer has high level of involvement , he will undergo a lot of options but if the customer has a low
degree of involvement , he will undergo significantly less number of options

4. Purchase decision

The penultimate stage is where the purchase takes place. Philip Kotler (2009) states that the final
purchase decision may be ‘disrupted’ by two factors: negative feedback from other customers and the
level of motivation to accept the feedback. For example, having gone through the previous three stages,
a customer chooses to buy a new telescope. However, because his very good friend, a keen astronomer,
gives him negative feedback, he will then be bound to change his preference. Furthermore, the decision
may be disrupted due to unforeseen situations such as a sudden job loss or relocation.
 4. Purchase decision

This is the stage when the final purchase takes place , at this stage all the purchase enablers are
at work and they motivate the customer to take the final decision and purchase the product, at
this stage the customer chooses the product and the purchase enablers play a huge role in
directing the minds of the customer in making that decision , at this point the perspective
customer becomes the final customer and the purchase decision making process in about to end
.

Thus the purchase decision can be interrupted and can move to different direction by a negative
feedback which can lead to a negative word of mouth and which can ruin the image of the
brand, thus the way customer perceives a brand is changed and influenced by both positive and
negative feedback so all the doubts of the customer must be cleared and the customer must be
well assisted

5. Post-purchase behaviour

In brief, customers will compare products with their previous expectations and will be either satisfied or
dissatisfied. Therefore, these stages are critical in retaining customers. This can greatly affect the
decision process for similar purchases from the same company in the future, having a knock-on effect at
the information search stage and evaluation of alternatives stage. If your customer is satisfied, this will
result in brand loyalty, and the Information search and Evaluation of alternative stages will often be fast-
tracked or skipped altogether.

On the basis of being either satisfied or dissatisfied, it is common for customers to distribute their
positive or negative feedback about the product. This may be through reviews on website, social media
networks or word of mouth. Companies should be very careful to create positive post-purchase
communication, in order to engage customers and make the process as efficient as possible.

5 . Post purchase behaviour

This is the final and the second most important step for the company, as the customers have already
purchased a product and now the customer decides if he likes the product or not , the purchase enablers
involved at this step are important for the cycle as the feedbacks and the word of mouth will affect the
next purchase cycle which will follow , so in spite of the finished purchase , the purchase enablers
involved in this step are very important in enabling the sales in the future .

If the post purchase behaviour is done rights ns the salesman follow up on the customers, resolves their
issues and the company takes care of the customers, the customers become brand loyal and it leads to a
fixed customer base, which will help the company in the long term , as well know the feedback of the
product always goes out, if it is positive or negative .
The positive feedback will help the company in building a strong customer base and build brand loyalty
and the negative feedback can damage the existing image and the perspective customers.