Assignment: Exploring the Consumer and B2B Decision Making processes Background of the Case

You have been hired as a marketing strategy consultant for Nighthawk Motors' new Plug-in Hybrid, the Ecostar. Nighthawk Motors is preparing for the auto show season in the United States and plans to showcase their latest model of the Ecostar at the various auto shows around the U.S. You have been hired as a consultant to develop Nighthawk's marketing strategy to sell the hybrid to consumers in the United States.

Below is a link about designing displays at auto shows.

Why auto show display design is tricky: Marketing executive talks strategy

The Ecostar is a five person compact hybrid automobile equipped with a 1.8L 4 cylinder engine. It has a range of 80 miles on batteries alone and 500 miles on a tank of gas. Its EPA rating is 60 miles per gallon for city driving and 55 miles per gallon for highway driving. The Ecostar is available in white, silver, blue, green, orange, and red. The Ecostar's direct competitor is the Toyota Prius, but the Ecostar's base price is $3,000 less than the Prius. The Ecostar is also produced mostly in the United States with over 75% of its components being built in the U.S.

Below is a link comparing the different models of hybrids. Car Rankings: Hybrid Cars

Although hybrid automobiles have been around for well over a decade, consumers are somewhat wary of buying them because the technology is still evolving. They worry about finding skilled mechanics to repair them. Many consumers have also heard that it will be expensive to replace the batteries when they get old. As well they are worried that they won't be able to trade them in. Your job is to develop a marketing strategy to overcome their reluctance and make the Ecostar the first choice among all compact car buyers and not just among customers predisposed to purchase hybrid cars.

Nighthawk Motors' goal is for the Ecostar to go beyond being a product just for "green" consumers and instead be the number one selling vehicle in the world. Priced at $3,000 less than the current leader, the Toyota Prius, Ecostar has potential to be competitive even in the tough
U.S. market.

Market Research

The success of your marketing strategy will depend on your ability to design a marketing campaign that will influence the consumer decision making process. Your first step will be to research and understand the role that different steps of the consumer decision making process has in enabling the consumer to make a high value purchase decision.

Read Consumer Behavior: How People Make Buying Decisions.

Deliverables

Prepare a case analysis addressing the following issues:

1. Identify the best target market segments for the Ecostar. Provide detailed justification in support of your determination.

2. Analyze the consumer decision making process for automobiles in the segment you have identified for the Ecostar. In this connection examine how Figure 3.9 Stages in the Consumer's Purchasing Process (refer Chapter 3 How People Make Buying Decisions) may be helpful in persuading potential customers to buy a high involvement product as Ecostar.

3. Auto shows are heavily attended by the purchasing agents for major corporations (e.g., IBM, Xerox, etc. for use by their service reps and sales force) as well as rental car companies (e.g., Avis, Hertz, and Enterprise). What strategy would you adopt in order to make large volume sales (or fleet sales) to these large businesses? Discuss how your Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing strategy will be different from your marketing strategy vis-à-vis individual customers. (Business Buying Behavior in Recommended readings will be useful for this question)

Format Requirements:

The case analysis should include three main sections with three main headings: Introduction, Analysis, Conclusions. In addition, in Analysis, use subheadings for each case question as shown below.

Title Page - List your name, class number, class name, Week 4 - Individual Assignment: Case Study Analysis, date of submission.

Introduction - In one or two paragraphs, discuss briefly the company background and case scenario.

Analysis - Answer each of the three questions described above using subheadings for each question.

Conclusion - Summarize the main issues of the case and discuss implications to marketing management and innovation.

General instructions

1. Try to utilize the following five steps of good case analysis i.e., a. Present case facts b. Identify key issues c. List alternative courses of actions. d. Evaluate alternatives e. Recommend best course of action.

2. Do make extensive use of the library resources (apart from the required and recommended readings for Week 4). Research Databases e.g., Hoover's, Mergent Online will be particularly useful. You may also utilize other resources listed under ‘Resources for Marketing Plan'. Please cite all scholarly references adhering to the APA format.

3. Avoid lengthy repetition of the facts of the case in your paper. Your responses should be focused and factual in style.

4. The paper should be about 8-10 pages long and follow the APA format. This page count is exclusive of References. Executive Summary is not required; a concise Introduction will suffice. A brief conclusion at the end is recommended.