Introduction
This topic broadened my understanding of Abraham Maslow and his idea of the hierarchy of needs. The theory ranks the relevance of the five distinct levels of physical and psychological human needs (Kotler & Keller, 2016). As an enthusiast in the transportation and automotive industry, I find Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to be useful in understanding what motivated people to purchase cars. Maslow’s five needs are ranked from most basic (biogenic) to most complex (psychogenic). The concept argues that humans must fulfill their lower-level wants before addressing their higher-level desires (Fallatah & Syed, 2018). Consequently, our drive will be directed toward meeting whichever need we believe we must fulfill.
In the majority of automobile advertisements, protection and safety are emphasized. Therefore, if I am a family person intending to purchase a vehicle, and my fundamental need is the safety and wellbeing of my household, a car such as Tesla Model S plaid will appeal to me greatly and meet that need. In some advertisements, it is evident that status, power, and prestige are the central concern. If I were to purchase such a vehicle, I would consider the Porsche Cayenne. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I would assume that my safety, physiological, and social needs are already fulfilled, which is why I may be driven to purchase this automobile to meet my ego desires.
Consequently, as an expert in the transportation and automotive industry, I feel that manufacturers connect most effectively with potential consumers when they respond to their needs practically and genuinely. Consistently, Quareshi (2017) opines that automobile manufacturers that want to thrive in the sector should assess the level of need their consumers are seeking to satisfy and promote their goods in such a manner as to persuade them that they will meet that need. To this end, it is evident how automobile firms promote their vehicles to appeal to various audiences, and these strategies have proven to be extremely beneficial for automakers.
The Buying Decision Process
I selected this topic because I found its concepts quite relatable, particularly to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. A typical customer goes through five steps before purchasing: problem awareness, information seeking, substitute evaluation, purchase decision, and behavior following a product purchase (Kotler & Keller, 2016). Applying Maslow’s theory, problem awareness describes the triggers or needs that push an individual to consider buying a product. This insight has led me to make crucial findings in the global automotive sector. For example, I have noticed that most individuals in developing countries who buy a vehicle for the first time are driven largely by household necessities or convenience, unlike those in advanced economies where an automobile is purchased to meet a user’s needs.
Although many believe that buying a new automobile is an expression of one’s achievement, this is not always the case. Considering that the first-time purchaser lacks similar precedents, it is only reasonable that the development of the fuel reliability element has no bearing on this choice. Thus, an improvement is understandable for a regular customer but not for a first-time consumer. Once customers identify a need, they seek information to make a rational decision.
If the product is an automobile, the customer will likely examine the cost of the car, its capabilities, engine type, car type and model, brand, style, or color. These factors are used to evaluate alternatives among rival brands, for example, a Toyota V8 or BMW X6 using information from various sources, including word of mouth, family, internet, company websites, dealership, and more. What I have found to be interesting is that most people have specific brands in mind when looking to buy a car. Indeed, research has shown that most car buyers do not spend much time comparing across brands but within a brand (Amron, 2018). I attribute this to the global reputation of such brands as Toyota and Nissan.
The Importance of SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is a concept for recognizing and assessing a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As an aspiring CEO in the automobile sector, this topic piqued my attention since it gave valuable insights into how firms can utilize SWOT analysis to enter the market and grab opportunities efficiently. Identifying business weaknesses and threats is a crucial stage in developing an operations management plan (Kotler & Keller, 2016). For instance, a company that has investigated possible brand risks can preemptively plan for emergencies and have communications ready. Implementing these measures earlier in the marketing planning phase implies that a firm can anticipate difficulties and effectively impact public discourse about the firm.
A classic example of failure in this department is GM’s Ignition Switch scandal. The corporation’s legal division was likely defending huge cases connected to the ignition, whereas another division was probably gathering, reviewing, and searching for a solution to the issue. In my opinion, the firm failed to recognize that these two functions may have been related and should have taken a unitary action instead of addressing them separately.
Conclusion
Consequently, a SWOT analysis gives an accurate perspective on the business’s chance of success and enables it to delve deeply into its existing or prospective market. In addition to learning more about its rivals, brand strengths, and possible threats and problems, a company may discover prospects to acquire market share and grow its visibility (Benzaghta et al., 2021). Accordingly, I would suggest that for car manufacturers, brand positioning requires identifying unique or underserved market opportunities and effectively expressing the relevant message to those clients.
References
Amron, A. (2018). The influence of brand image, brand trust, product quality, and price on the consumer’s buying decision of MPV cars.European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 14(13), 228. Web.
Benzaghta, M. A., Elwalda, A., Mousa, M. M., Erkan, I., & Rahman, M. (2021). SWOT analysis applications: An integrative literature review. Journal of Global Business Insights, 6(1), 55-73. Web.
Fallatah, R. H. M., & Syed, J. (2018). A critical review of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.Employee Motivation in Saudi Arabia, 19-59. Web.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th Ed.). Pearson.
Quareshi, T. K. (2017). Understanding consumer perception of price-quality-value relationship.International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovation in Technology, 3(1), 913-919. Web.