Introduction

Evaluate consumer attitudes regarding the mercedes-benz brand

Mercedes recognizes that in order to sustain their current level of success, they must respond to differences in market trends as well as changes in consumer needs and wants. Also because the automobile industry is naturally competitive, car manufacturers have little choice except to widen their appeal and enter previously untapped market groups.

Consumer’s buying patterns

When persons choose, buy, utilise, or dismiss items, ideas, services, or experiences, their behaviour will be studied as a person as well as a group. There are many different types of consumers, such as an individual purchasing a car from a firm that requires a collection of vehicles to satisfy their needs (Arica 2020). Consumers must locate a product that may meet their needs and desires in order to be satisfied. It’s not just about what people buy when it comes to consumer behaviour. It’s the study of how people make purchasing decisions and how that influences their behaviour. From the perspective of a marketer, he must investigate the purchase pattern in order to find solutions to three major issues: where people buy, what people buy, and why customers buy the goods.

It will be hard to persuade a buyer to purchase a specific product because the answer is in the head of the customer, where they will never openly share with us. In reality, there are two categories of clients: individual consumers and enterprise clients (Arica 2020). Individual clients, on the other hand, usually want to buy something for themselves or their families to meet a want or satisfy a desire. Conversely, corporate consumers, buy anything that will be used by the entire company. The author then concentrates on a single case within this study. Individuals will have a variety of backgrounds, such as ages, life stages, and so forth.

BRAND IMAGE AND NAME

Brand image is a key entrance point into a consumer’s decision set. A very well brand name boosts initial attention, willingness to accept, and willingness to explore the product. The A-usage Class’s of Mercedes’ well-known brand name will instantly offer name recognition and minimise the communication task, resulting in fewer marketing costs. Many people consider brand names to be a significant criterion for evaluating products and indicative of quality. When exhibited as a Mercedes rather than a Volkswagen in a field trial, participants had a better opinion of quality when the brand name was used as a factor on the otherwise comparable questionnaire. When a brand name is regarded as a status thing, it motivates consumers. This is especially true when the product is highly complex or technically sophisticated. The term “complex” refers to something that is technologically advanced.

Customers evaluate variables such as pricing and safety while purchasing a vehicle. Mercedes can use these and other characteristics to its advantage in its advertising campaigns. For example, price is a criterion that frequently denotes quality. Evaluative factors that are more hedonistic in nature, such as the feelings that come with possessing it (status and prestige) and driving, may also be considered by the customer (Roberts 2016). Affective impulses like these can be exploited by advertisements. The amount of attitude is also reflected in the brand name.

A piecemeal or analytical evaluation procedure is one in which attitude is calculated from certain extension features (compact, fuel-efficient). The categorization model, which attempts to determine if a new instance (the A-Class) belongs to concepts and frameworks, whether it be expensive cars or Mercedes as a brand, is another method used to describe the ways in which attitudes are formed. If this is the case, current views about that category, such as quality and safety, can be immediately transferred to a new instance (A-Class). This is true as long as the perception of the object falls inside the company’s category.

Brand extension vs. Line extension

Due to higher rivalry, businesses have been relying on their well-known brand names to enter new markets. A line extension is one technique, while a strong brand is another. A line extension is a continual improvement that introduces a new flavour, size, or form to an established product range (Kowalkowski 2011). When a current brand name, such as Marlboro Lights cigarettes is utilised to enter a new market segment in its product class, it is known as brand extension. When a well-known brand name is utilised to enter a new product line, such as Ivory soap or Milky Way ice cream, it is known as brand expansion.

Even though extensions allow employers to reach new audiences and attract more customers, they may not be beneficial for all businesses. Companies risk hurting their image by developing new connections and/or confusing existing ones with extensions. Unsuccessful extensions can weaken brand identities by undermining the positive attribute perceptions that customers have come to identify with the parent brand (Roberts 2016). Nevertheless, studies have suggested that a less distinct characteristic belief (quality) associated with a parent brand name is less influenced by diluting than a very precise and distinctive feature belief (gentleness).

Customer evaluates whether a line project’s new product is desirable or unwanted depending on whether they liked the original brand and ‘if the new product is reflective of, or comparable to, the brand’s current offerings.’ Although the A-Class does not entirely fit into the Mercedes product categories now available, particularly the premium car segment, the essential product (the automobile) stays unchanged. Only the characteristics that describe the car have changed. As a result, the launch of the A-Class is more accurately described as a brand extension than a brand expansion. According to research, the “closer an example is to a category prototype, the more swiftly it will be judged as a member of that category.” It is clear that Mercedes will have to present the A-Class as a better fit than it is, maybe by presenting it as a “luxury” tiny car.

Consumer evaluations of brand extensions

Consumers’ assessments are based on two aspects, product characteristic similarities between the product and other items connected with the brand, and concept consistency between the brand concept and the expansion, according to studies. When a brand’s concept is compatible with that of its extension items, the prestigious brand appears to be more extendible than the functional brand to products with minimal feature similarity. In other terms, Mercedes has a greater chance of succeeding with the A-Class, despite the fact that the firm’s renown is declining. Mercedes’ characteristic resemblance with the A-Class is that the car integrates all of the firm’s high-quality traits, giving the A-Class features similar to the trademark (Kowalkowski 2011).

Mercedes’ goal for the past many years has been to keep the three-point star relevant to younger generations by expanding its portfolio in order to re-establish brand loyalty. It’s the method of converting a general necessity into a specific want. Mercedes aims to communicate with consumers at a younger, less prosperous age, instilling a great sense of devotion in them so that when they get wealthier, they would remain loyal to the Mercedes brand and purchase the more expensive brands.

References

Arica, A. (2020). Outstanding Digital Marketing Strategies Of Mercedes-Benz. Retrieved from: https://digitalagencynetwork.com/outstanding-digital-marketing-strategies-of-mercedes-benz/

Roberts, G. (2016). Mercedes-benz announces digital marketing plan. Just – Auto Global News Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/mercedes-benz-announces-digital-marketing-plan/docview/1803694706/se-2?accountid=30552

Kowalkowski, C. (2011). Dynamics of value propositions: Insights from service-dominant logic. European Journal of Marketing, 45(1), 277-294. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090561111095702