Porsche: Guarding the Old While Bringing in the New

594 Words3 Pages
Analyze the buyer decision process of a traditional Porsche customer. Porsche (pronounced Porsh-uh) is a unique company. It has always been a niche brand that makes cars for a small and distinctive segment of automobile buyers. In 2009, Porsche sold only 27,717 cars in the five models it sells in the United States. Honda sold about 10 times that many Accords alone. But Porsche owners are as rare as their vehicles. For that reason, top managers at Porsche spend a great deal of time thinking about customers. They want to know who their customers are, what they think, and how they feel. They want to know why they buy a Porsche rather then a Jaguar, a Ferrari, or a big Mercedes coupe. These are challenging questions to answer; even Porsche owners themselves don’t know exactly what motivates their buying. But given Porsche’s low volume and the increasingly fragmented auto market, it is imperative that management understands its customers and what gets their motors running. SOLUTION Need recognition: This can come from internal stimuli (basic needs such as hunger, thirst, protection) or external stimuli. The traditional Porsche buyer needs a car that reflects their self-image. That is, they are not part of the regular world, but exceptions to it. Such buyers need a car that goes beyond the basic utilities provided by most cars. They need (want) a car that can be enjoyed. They want a car that can be “worn” like an accessory. They want a car that performs without being flashy or phony. Information search: Again, this can be internal or external. However, the nature of internal/external influences is different for this phase. Potential Porsche customers could draw from either source. They draw from internal (i.e., experiential) sources (their own knowledge based on previous experience or exposure to product information) based on how familiar they are with the

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