QUESTION:

ANSWER: BUYER POTENTIAL STAGES

INTRODUCTION: The customer decision making process is the process by which customers become aware of and identify their needs,

collect information on how to best solve these needs, evaluate alternative available options,make a purchasing decision and evaluate their

purchase. CONCEPT: A new product is a

good, service or idea that is perceived by some potential customers as new .It may have been around for a while ,but our interest is in how

learn about products for the first time and make decisions on whether to adopt them. When making a purchase ,the buyer goes through a

decision process consisting of need recognition , information search ,evaluation of alternatives and post purchase behavior .Consumers undertake

complex buying behavior when they are highly involved in a purchase and perceive significant differences among brands. In situation

characterized by low involvement but significant perceived brand differences , consumers engage in variety seeking buying behaviour.

STAGES IN THE BUYING PROCESS: Consumers

go through several stages in the process of buying a new product- 1- Establish your

budget- There is a thumb rule of not spending more than half of your annual household salary on the car .An individual earning Rs 10 lakh a

year should at best buy a car worth Rs 5 lakh .Take a loan for no more than four years. Keep your car payment to 10% of your

salary ,including EMIs and insurance expenses. 2- Research car option- If you have a trade-in don’t

wait for the salesperson to tell you what its worth. On Kelley blue book, you can get a sense of the value ahead of time so you know if you are

receiving a good offer or try the Kelley blue book instant cash offer feature,where dealers will give you a guaranteed price for a trade ,

eliminating complicated haggling at the dealership.

3- Financing- Prior to visiting any dealership, have a sense of what kind of deposit you can put down and what monthly payment you can

afford .Try a service like autogravity ,which allows you to select rates and terms that fit your budget and then obtain offers from lenders.
4- Buying vs Leasing- Research the cars you might be interested in before you head to a dealership, rather than going in unprepared .To

determine what kind of car you want. Use resources like Autotrader ,which can be used to search new and used cars in your area by

make ,model ,price ,body ,style and more. 5- Negotiate- Truecar is also helpful to

use .you can search for and request pricing on any make ,model or year of car. You may get a slew of phone calls, emails and texts from

dealers but having information from different dealerships can help you negotiate prices. You should also visit dealer sites to look for rebate

offers. 6- Test drive – You may want to pass on the test drive if you are familiar with a

particular make and model but its a good idea to inspect the car and give it a good test drive ,just to make sure all is working and there are

no noticeable rattles that could cause you headaches after your purchase.

7- Find repair records- In addition to checking the repair history on the specific car ,you are interested in .Auto trader suggests looking up the

repair record of the make and model .Power and consumers reports reliability ratings to see if the vehicle you are considering is known to be

a reliable one. 8- Know your rights- For any new or

used car ,take the time to get familiar with the warranty package and return policies. Do you need to supplement the warranty? Is there a

lemon law in your state ? Currently , there are only six states that have one, so be sure to check.

CONCLUSION: HOW DOES THESE BUYING STAGES HELP CUSTOMERS?

Vehicle buying is a big decision and carries a lot of research and responsibility .Insuring that you have all the information you need is very

important .This is an extremely competitive industry with everyone buying for your business. Just remember that you are the customer and

decisions need to be yours .It is true that there are frauds and that some sales people play dirty .As long as you are prepared and go with

information in hand ,you can be successful . The customer buying decision process is rarely linear. it is similar to a purchase funnel in that

starts wide at the top and ends more narrowly at the bottom.

QUESTION:

ANSWER: BRAND POSITIONING

INTRODUCTION: Brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where or how it sits in customers mind .Brand

positioning defined by kotler as the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the

target market .It is insure that all brand activity has a common aim is guided ,directed and delivered by the brand’s benefits to buy and it

focuses at all points of contact with the customer.

CONCEPT: By shaping consumer preferences, brand positioning strategies are directly linked to consumer loyalty, consumer based brand

equity and the willingness to purchase the brand. Effective brand positioning can be referred as the extent to which a brand is perceived as

favorable ,different and credible in consumers’s minds . Health and nutrition startups have a great

appetite for creating awareness and delivering nutrition based products among consumers in the health and wellness sector.Over the last

few years , changing food consumption patterns have caused a trend of lifestyle changes giving nutrition startups a chance to tap into
nutrition at home. India is estimated to have contributed 490 billion and services of 40% in the health and wellness market .Here , tapping

into natural and ayurvedic ingredients, as well as extending services to fitness and mental wellness has given startups a running start with

a large customer base.

Positioning is one of the fundamental elements of marketing ,both for consumer products and b2b .Positioning is a brand’s unique way of

providing value to its customers. Effectively positioning a product or service gives it a usp.A USP is an attractive feature or characteristic of a

brand that differentiates it from similar alternatives. A successful positioning strategy relies

on a deep understanding of the marketplace you want to compete in.Customers can recognize a clear positioning strategy ,they understand

whether a brand is competing on price or quality.This is the only way the product or service will deliver on customers expectation and the

promises of its positioning. There are strategies upon which businesses can base their positioning-

1-POSITIONING BASED ON PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS- Using product characteristics or benefits as a positioning strategy associates your

brand with a certain characteristics that is beneficial to customers. 2-POSITIONING

BASED ON PRICE- Positioning your products or services based on price is associating your brand with competitive pricing. Usually, with

pricing positioning strategy ,a brand aims to be the cheapest or one of the cheapest in the market. Company use a price based position strategy

to present their products and services as the most affordable option. The one limitation is that a lower price may convey lower production

quality, even if that is not the case.it can also initiate a price war ,though that will only apply in certain industries .

3- QUALITY BASED POSITIONING STRATEGY – Companies implement this strategy when they had like to emphasize the quality of their

product .Often ,this quality comes at a premium cost .The quality of a product can be shown through exceptional craftmanships, small batch

production ,high quality material and even sustainable practices that make it more expensive to produce. Budget conscious shoppers may

bypass your brand in favor of a cheaper alternatives. The income and shopping habits of your target customers would determine whether

emphasizing quality is the right approach for your brand.

4-CONVENIENCE –BASED POSITIONING STRATEGY- A convenience based positioning strategy highlights why a company’s product or service

is more convenient to use than the competition’s. This convenience can be based on location,ease of use, wide accessibility , multiple

platform support and more. Positioning your product or service as the most convenient will automatically attract busy consumers .It will also

justify a higher price point. On the other hand ,offering convenience can be costly .If you are offering a service on multiple platforms or in

various cities, you will need strong logistics and software development teams to deliver on your promise.

5-DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY- A differentiation positioning strategy relies on a product’s uniqueness or innovation qualities in comparison

to traditional competition .If you implement this strategy ,consumers who value innovation would be attracted to your brand and product .If

your product is completely new, consider providing the research and testing that went into its creation. Often, innovation –driven consumers

like to know how the new technology or product works.

CONCLISION- WHERE DOES A BRAND SIT IN THE HEARTS AND MINNDS OF CUSTOMERS?

Before determining its positions in the market ,a firm should decide on a segment of the market that they want to target. This segment of the

market should be profitable-either there are many customers or it is a niche in the market that presents an opportunity due to a lack of

competition. A business decide how to make their brand as attractive as possible to this group of customers they want to target.
QUESTION:

ANSWER: (a)- Mumbai

despite being late entrants ,carmakers from korea have found a sweet spot in india on the back of technologically superior products. Hyundai and

kia have swung customer sentiment and market share into their corner of the pie chart at the expense of Indian autocompanies. Owing to our

technological process and wide variety of powertrain options along with best in segments. The 23% market share of the Korean brands is

significantly higher than the 18% share during the corresponding year ago period. The ability to deliver products to the market in the shortest time

has also helped, which has not been the case for some of the Indian car makers.

Yes it is right decision.it enables them to combine all the advantages and focus on best ways of marketing as combined strength.

(b)- PROMOTIONAL TOOLS

INTRODUCTION: Promotional tools are tactics or activities you plan and execute to persuade consumers to buy your products or services .It

helps marketers to create a distinctive place in customers’s mind,it can be either a cognitive or emotional route.A promotional plan sacrifices

how much attention to pay to each of the elements in the promotional mix and what proportion of the budget should be allocated to each

element. CONCEPT: Promotion is a type of communication between the

buyer and the seller .It helps in making the people aware of a product ,service or a company .It is one of the basic elements of the market mix,

which includes the four p’s price,product,promotion and place.

ADVERTISING- Advertising means to advertise a product,service or a company with the help of television,radio or social media.It helps in

spreading awareness about the company,product or service .Advertising is communicated through various mass media including traditional
media such as newspapers ,outdoor advertising or direct mail and new media such as search results ,blogs ,social media, websites or text

messages. DIRECT MARKETING- Direct marketing is a form

of a advertising where organizations communicate directly to customers through a variety of media including cell phone text messaging ,email,

database marketing .Among practitioners ,it is also known as a direct response.

SALES PROMOTION- The sale of product depends on the selling of a product .Personal selling is a method where companies send their agents to

the consumer to sell the products personally .Here ,the feedback is immediate and they also build a trust with the customer which is very

important. PUBLIC RELATION- Public relation or

PR is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization ,business, government agency or a nonprofit

organization and the public .A successful PR campaign can be really beneficial to the brand of the organization.

CONCLUSION :HOW DOES PROMOTIONAL TOOLS HELP PRODUCT FOR SET UP NEW IMAGE?

The most important purpose that a promotion serves is that it sets a business apart from its competitors . No business will ever need to run any

promotions if there was not any competition .The sales will increase as a result and with a successful promotion like this the business will get more

return on its investment.