Time Constrained activity
Main stages of the purchase decision making process
It is important to understand the main stages of decision-making process for customers when planning to purchase an item. This will help in planning how to influence the decision in favour of the company’s products. The figure below shows the main stages in the decision-making process.
As shown in the diagram above, the first stage of buyer decision-making process is always the recognition of a need or problem that should be addressed. The buyer will need to identify the stimuli that need to be addressed by a specific product. The need can be functional, social, or desire for change. The second stage is information search. Once the need has been identified, the next stage is the information search.
The buyer will search for the relevant information about the products that can address the problem so that he or she can make an informed decision. Alternative evaluation is the third stage in this process. The buyer will evaluate the available alternatives with the view of choosing the best product with the most reasonable price. Purchase decision comes is as the fourth stage in this process. The buyers finally make the choice of the products they desire. The fifth stage is the post-purchase behaviour where the consumers’ views whether or not the decision which was made was worth the desired value.
Theories of buyer behaviour in terms of individual and markets
Scholars have developed a number of theories to help explain the behavioural pattern of consumers when they are making purchase decisions. These theories try to explain the individual behaviour and the behaviour of the market. One of the widely used theories of buyer behaviour is the classical economic theory. Sauter (2011, p. 98) says, “According to classical economic theory, people make their buying decisions based on a rational analysis of their own self-interest in the situation.” This theory holds that whenever one is planning to make a purchase, the guiding principle is the economic benefit that will be generated from the purchase.
Process theory is another popular buyer behaviour theory. It seeks to determine the difference between the decision that would be made by rational actors, and what always takes place in the practical context. This theory holds that the consumers are always influenced by what they see, and that many firms always benefit from impulse buying.
Factors that affect the buyer behaviour
A number of factors may affect the buyer behaviour in the market and the marketing unit of this firm should understand them. One of the main factors that influence the buyer behaviour is the cultural practices and believes. A consumer’s buyer behaviour is influenced by his or her beliefs about the product as defined by the culture. The rich are attracted to class as a way of emphasising their status in the society.
On the other hand, the poor will go for any product that can meet the need in the most basic way. Sometimes the behaviour can be defined by the level of need. As explained in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a person will always try to meet the needs, which are basic.
Relationship between brand loyalty, corporate image and repeat purchasing
There is a close relationship between brand loyalty, corporate image, and repeat purchase. A company’s corporate image is very important in influencing the loyalty to a brand. Firms always maintain advertising and offer products of high value to achieve a positive corporate image. This image will win the trust of the customers who will then become loyal customers. Having a team of loyal customers in the market increases the assurance of sales of the firm’s products.
Individual report
Market size trends within the United States
The United States is the most attractive market that the management of Emirates Airline should focus on in its expansion program. According to Loshin (2003, p. 48), the country is home to about 318 million people, making it the third most populous country in the world. Out of this population, about 65% are adults who are in gainful employments or enjoying retirement benefits, which give them the financial power to use the services offered by Emirates Airline (Sauter 2011, p. 124).
Americans travel a lot to various parts of the world as tourists or for business purposes. Growth in tourism sector has helped expand the airline industry. Innocenti (2013) says, “Purchases of travel and tourism-related products by international visitors totalled $10.9 billion during February 2013.” The scholar further notes that the country attracts over 35 million international tourists yearly, with a projected growth of 18% within the next two years. Emirates Airline should not ignore this massive market.
Competitor’s Analysis
The level of competition in this North American market is very stiff. According to Thierauf (2001, p. 114), the United States’ air industry has become so stiff that some airlines have opted other routes to avoid the repercussions of such high levels of competition. Some of the top brands in this industry include the following airlines:
- American Airline
- Delta Airline
- United Airline
Competitor SWOT Analysis
Strengths and Opportunities of Competitors
It is important to understand the factors that give competitors strength and opportunities to prosper in the market. The American Airline is one of the leading competitors in the market. Analysis of the firm’s profile reveals that it has the largest market share, with about 149,014,560 passengers on an annual basis. It has over 954 fleet and 339 destinations Sauter (2011, p. 83). The airline has positioned its brand as a convenient and price sensitive firm in order to target the middle class from various parts of the world. Delta Airline has about 129,549,212 passengers annually, with 719 fleet and 322 destinations.
The brand is positioned as the safest airline in the aviation sector. The firm is an innovator; the fact that has acted as its main strength in the market, though constant complaints from the workers has been affecting its operations. This firm’s future strategic plan is to introduce low cost flights to the emerging economies. United Airline has about 104,472,000 annual passengers, with 705 planes. Its brand positioning is narrowing to the high-end market as it focuses on quality and comfort. The emerging markets in parts of Asia, Africa and Pacific regions, and advanced technology offer a massive opportunity for these firms.
Weaknesses and Threats Faced by the Competitors
These competitors face a number of weaknesses and threats in the market. When it comes to technology, American Airline is a follower because it takes time before adopting new technologies. This has been its main weakness that competitors can use to surpass it as a market leader. Delta Airline’s unwillingness to expand its fleets has seen the number of its passengers drop. Terrorism is one of the biggest threats to these firms. Increasing market competition is also posing a threat to these airlines.
Conclusion
The analysis above shows that some of the existing competitors have an edge over Emirates Airline in this American market. They have experience in this market. However, the issue of terrorism and challenges posed by the rapidly changing technology is affecting these firms.
Emirates Airline’s SWOT Analysis in the United States
The main strength of Emirates Airline is that it has control of the market in the Middle East, which makes it easy to enter the American market because of the existing customer base. The main weakness of this firm is the limited knowledge of the nature of the American market, and this will mean that the firm will have to spend some resources in research to understand the dynamics in this North American market. The growing tourism industry in this country and high number of travellers into and out of this country will offer this firm an opportunity to expand its market share. However, the stiff competition from numerous players in this industry poses a serious threat to its success.
Satisfaction of Customer
Techniques used in assessing customers’ response
Upon making the decision to capture North American market, the management will need to formulate ways of ensuring that its customers are satisfied. The marketing unit will need to identify the most appropriate marketing techniques that can be used in order to determine if the customers are satisfied with the value offered to them. There are a number of techniques that can be used to capture the customers’ response. The most popular technique is through Customer Service Questionnaire. This involves small surveys conducted on the customers soon after receiving a service from the firm.
The main advantage of this method is that the structured questions make it easy to analyse the response. However, its disadvantage is that it is not easy to detect lie in their responses. Another common way of capturing the customers’ response is through the customers’ suggestions. When using the customers’ suggestion techniques, a firm can use the suggestion forms to capture their views. Its main advantage is that customers are allowed to give their views immediately after the service, making it easy to capture their emotions. However, sometimes their emotion may be misleading because they may consider changing their view after a careful thought. The best technique that should be used by Emirates Airline is customer service questionnaire.
Customer satisfaction survey
According to Loshin (2003, p. 54), it is necessary to ensure that the survey is designed in a manner that captures all the important details about the products offered to the customers. In this section, the following survey will be appropriate.
The Survey
{Kindly highlight as appropriate}
- I am satisfied with the value of the company’s products
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Not sure
- Somewhat disagrees
- Strongly disagrees
- How often have you used the services of this company?
- Very often
- Quite often
- Sparingly
- Only once
- Based on the value generated from the service, how often do you intend to use this product?
- Very often
- Quite often
- Sparingly
- Never at all
- Do you feel that there are fundamental issues that this company needs to address to improve the product’s value?
- Numerous issues
- A number of issues
- A few issues
- None at all
- How well do you think this company understands the emerging trends in this industry?
- Very well
- Somehow good
- Not sure
- Not at all
- How likely is it that you will recommend this product to other people?
- Very likely
- Likely
- Not sure
- Not likely
- Never
{Thank you for participating in this mini survey}
Success of the completed survey
The survey conducted as per the attachment above shows a high level of success. It is clear from the survey that the respondent is certain that although this company is making a positive progress towards achieving the high quality value for its product, it is yet to meet the needs of the customers as perfectly as they may desire. The survey shows that this firm needs to engage in market research in order to come up with a superior value for its products.
List of References
Innocenti, P 2013, Tourism studies: The emergence of a new systemic approach: examples from the United States and Europe, Cengage, New York.
Loshin, D 2003, Business intelligence: Getting onboard with emerging IT, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Amsterdam.
Sauter, V 2011, Decision Support Systems for Business Intelligence, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.
Thierauf, R 2001, Effective business intelligence systems, Quorum Books, Westport.