Maruti Suzuki:

Pre- Maruti era, technology was stagnant, companies releasing new models but that was just a change in name there was no significant change in technology and engineering. Maruti released three models 800, Van and Gypsy. 800 and Van are targeted to the passenger segment and gypsy for terrain riders. There were 1, 20,000 bookings after the announcement. Then the problem has started. They started cancellation of bookings. The rate of cancellation has gone up from 0.4% in July to 4.8% in September. Many surveys have been conducted to find out the problem but it is only he van that has created a problem. People made multiple bookings as they started to purchase vans only in case of unavailability of 800. The van came out to be a very good on driving comfort, pick up, however some concerns were raised about the safety. But on the rest all aspects people had a good opinion and came out to be well too but if the product is praised then the sale should happen but that is not happening. Problem: Cancellation of bookings, even though Maruti van scored high on all aspects the sale is not happening. TG: A vehicle for transporting cargo meant for small traders, salespeople, distributors, travel agencies. The Buying Space: What is that the consumer looks in a car before he purchases it? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Safety Reliability Mileage Pick up Style and performance

The Consumer Decision process: The problem here with the Van is people do not perceive it as a passenger car. A father can go to his office in the van but he cannot go to a restaurant in the van with his family. It is not such kind of a car. So the company faltered in deciding the target group of the van itself. It has failed in the first step and so the sales were not happening. It did not take into account the factors that the consumers perceive about a van as a passenger car. Group Influences on the consumer behavior: 1. Culture: It is important to consider who is playing a dominant role in the purchase decision of a car.

2. Social Class: Consideration of the occupation, education and wealth of the consumers during the decision process. 3. Personality: Each person is different and each one responds differently to a similar stimuli. 4. Lifestyle and Psychographics: Our target group is small traders and travel agencies which have a completely different lifestyle than a family. Maruti did not consider these factors in their survey and has failed to reposition the van properly. Bookings are getting cancelled because the consumer has the above influences and he would re consider the purchase decision evaluating the external alternatives. The van is not a passenger car as the consumers do not perceive that way instead it is a car for transporting cargo. The focus should be on the target group which should be decided evaluating the decision making process and the buying space of the consumers.