Consumer Behaviour In New Zealand Wine Market

Question: Discuss about theConsumer Behaviour In New Zealand Wine Market. Answer: Introduction Background of the Research Brand image is a very necessary quotient for every business organization. It is the process by which the organizations are able to enhance their strengths and potentiality to grab a huge number of customers in the market (Peyrache Bouchenoire, 2010). It is already known to all that the customers are the key stakeholders of every organization. The success and sustenance of the companies depend widely on the buying behaviour of the consumers. People now are more conscious about their status that they only prefer buying branded products that can satisfy their needs. Brand image has a direct impact on the buying behaviour of the consumers and this particular research report will strongly entail the effectiveness of the brand image of the wine market of New Zealand on the consumers. Branding plays a vital role in expanding the efficacy of the business. Identification of the Topic and Research Questions Branding has become the most significant factor in the present world. It is timeless and is the combination of various attributes thereby helping the people to identify a specific product and the company to which it belongs. Through effective branding strategies, the wine market of the country facilitates the consumer decision making process regarding the purchase of the wines. Wine makers of New Zealand are quite ambitious and aim at producing a wide variety of wines of delicious tastes for satisfying the consumers (VEDPATHAK, 2013). New Zealand produces unique wines that have attained immense recognition all over the world. The industry has gained an international reputation as they have involved their efforts and skills in producing tasty wines for the consumers as per their preferences. In this particular research report, the researchers will evaluate how the wine market of New Zealand has been able to attract a huge number of customers thereby influencing their buying behaviour. Certain relevant questions can be highlighted in this respect which will be assessed by the researchers by the end of the study. What are the techniques adopted by the New Zealand wine market to enhance their brand identity? How does the brand image impact on the consumers buying behaviour? How does brand image develop the trust and loyalty of the consumers? How far the New Zealand wine market influences the consumer buying decision and retains them through their brand identities? Significance of theResearch The decisions of the consumers regarding the purchase of the products depend widely on the brand image of the companies. From the previous researches, it has been assessed how the brand image of the wine companies in New Zealand, for instance, Beach House Wines, Bald Hills Vineyard, Greystone Wines, etc., have used several marketing techniques or promotional strategies for the upliftment of their brand standards effectively in both the domestic as well as the international market (Joseph, 2010). Researchers have thoroughly focused on the studies in which the buying behaviour of the consumers has been widely shed light upon. The people particularly rely on the branded products and buy things with the well known brands. Hence, it can be said that the sustainability of the wine industry of New Zealand is definitely based on the interests of the consumers developed by the respective brands of the wine companies. The growing demand for the wines in New Zealand wine market tended the resea rchers to gather enough information and explore the usefulness of the brand image of those companies in the market. Literature Review Introduction A literature review is mainly based on the various information and evidences collected by the past researchers on a particular topic through which a broad understanding and key ideas relating to that particular topic can be evaluated. An in-depth analysis on the effectiveness of the brand image on the consumer buying behaviour of the wine market in New Zealand will be depicted by the researchers in this concerned report. This chapter basically will incorporate numerous findings and analysis of the consumer buying decisions that are influenced by the brand image of the companies in the country. As per the words of Uhlmann (2005), the companies can attain sustainable advantage through proper branding strategies that will make them extensively competitive. This research study has been specifically made to perceive or find out how the brand image can influence the consumer behaviour of the people regarding wines of New Zealand. Concept of Branding Branding is considered to be the most effective marketing tool of the companies that drives the consumers purchasing decisions and their buying behaviours regarding a particular product or service. Brand image creates a positive impact on the minds of the consumers. It is the stamp or identity of the companies on which the people remain dependent. According to Vincent (2012), the consumers very well realise the importance of branding and thus the purchasing products on the basis of such factor. In the wine market of New Zealand, the brands of the wines are being promoted widely so as to grab the attention of many customers. With the development of an excellent brand identity, the companies are able to seek advantage and attain effectiveness successfully. Moreover the wineries of the country can also establish a firm position in the overall New Zealand wine market. Brands can be of very much significance and can create a distinctive image among the people (Solomon, 2003). As per the opinions of Johnson Gustafsson, (2000), customers nowadays are extensively exposed to the products of numerous wine brands in the market. They have the right and freedom to choose any product they want to consume depending on the brand identities. Hence, to achieve success and recognition in the same industry, the companies need to focus on brand publicity and create awareness among the public regarding the qualities and varieties of the products. The wine marketers regard brand as the promise or an oath made to the consumers that the wines that they will buy will be of the best quality and will be the same in the future. This enhances the sales of the companies to a great extent thereby increasing the efficacy of the companies. Adoption of proper branding strategies have made the wine market of the country much efficient and attracted more consumers quite easily (Marketing Greatest Hits, 2010). Lastly it can be depicted that branding provides a positive imprint on the mi nds of the people and thus the consumer buying behaviour is influenced. Importance of Brand in the Organizations Brand is of utmost significance in the organizations. Brand is an important aspect for every organization as it helps to create a long lasting impact in the minds of the consumers (Solomon, 2003). Based on the perspectives and likings of the customers, the wine companies of New Zealand have aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of their products through proper brand identities. Customers are not at all easy to convince. As the conditions and trends of the wine market are constantly changing, the tastes and perceptions of the consumers also are simultaneously changing. Thus, in the words of Meer de Walcheren, (2004), only with the help of the products it is not possible to attract the customers in the market. But when the companies present before the people a combination of the products, their qualities and effective brand image under one roof, the consumers are likely to get attracted towards them. The companies must popularise their products by developing a proper brand image (Wendel l, 2011). It gives recognition to the products and the quality of services that the companies promise to cater to the people. Branding goes much beyond the graphic element or just the companys logo. As it is known that brand is what the customers perceive, hence, it needs to be innovative and creative with the detailed inscription of the qualities and price of the products that they deliver. This in turn will make the consumers attracted and thereby enhance the sale values of the companies, helping them to yield beneficial fruits in the market. Branding Strategies In order to establish a successful brand identity in the market, it is of utmost necessity that the companies need to focus on what all effective and fruitful strategies can be adopted by them so that they can create awareness among the public. Promotion is very much important for the organizations as proper promotion can make them attain a successful position in the market (Uhlmann, 2005). MacRury (2009) stated that advertising is an effective tool that is used by the companies for developing a brand image in front of the consumers. In order to divert the consumers attitudes towards the products, the marketers need to properly advertise and promote their products widely. Advertising can be done by the companies in various ways for instance, through radios, televisions, campaigns, distributing leaflets, banners, hoardings, etc. Moreover, it has been opined by Harden Heyman, (2009) that with the advancement of technology and predominance of social media channels, promotion of the bra nds has become quite easier (Brennan Croft, 2012). Through the help of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Instagram, etc. the companies can be able to spread awareness to the public regarding their product brands. Advertisements tend to convince the buying decisions of the people to a great considerable extent (Shimp, 2003). By taking the celebrities as brand ambassadors, the companies aim at creating a positive influence on the people. Advertisements help to build up a strong relationship with the purchasing behaviour of the consumers. It becomes easier for the companies to maintain consistency and keep on attracting customers at a constant pace. As per the opinion of Solomon, (2004), the companies need to make sure that their branding techniques can permeate the entire organizations which will not be possible if they do not incorporate the effective mediums through which they can advertise their products. Hence advertising can be considered as the most effective and beneficial tool for promotion and enhance the brand of the compan ies by influencing the consumer buying behaviour. Impact of Brand Loyalty on Consumer Behaviour As opined by Vedpathak (2010) the buying behaviour of the consumers is considered as a rational asset for every company, as they know the importance of engaging customers in the market. The consumers get associated with those companies who promise them to provide quality products and effective services that will clearly satisfy their needs to a great extent. According to Huffman (2003), the prime purpose of marketing and creating brand awareness among the people is to ensure that the consumers get associated with the products and build up trust upon them on lifelong basis. The creation of brand loyalty is of immense significance. Without such it is quite impossible for the companies to attract customers (Wendell, 2011). There are different kinds of consumers possessing various tastes and preferences that impact on their buying behaviour and purchase decision broadly. Studying about the consumer behaviour involves numerous facts and information that deal with their choices of buying products. As the companies offer the people with the best quality products in the market, they attain brand loyalty and the consumers somewhat start trusting that particular brand. The perceptions of the consumers based on the quality of brands created by the informational cues are firmly associated with the brand (Solomon, 2004). They tend to believe what are being shown to them by the companies. As far as this case is concerned, the wine companies of New Zealand such as Goldie Estate, Glovers Vineyard, etc. have successfully promoted their brands before the consumers and thus they allowed the consumers to make a positive buying decision. Brand image also establishes an emotional attachment with the consumers (Vincent, 2012). Their attitudes and behaviours change with the branding styles of the companies. In the modern world, the consumers are mostly concerned with their status and standard of living and they tend to realise that only the consumption of the branded products can uplift their standards to a high level. They also believe that the branded products will be expensive as they are of superior quality (Marketing Greatest Hits, 2010). Income has got nothing to do with the brand loyalty and purchasing behaviour of the consumers. Sometimes it is seen that the consumers prefer to stick around with one brand rather than switching over to another. These attitudes show that the intensity of trust and loyalty they have on the companies. Trust is the core factor for establishing the long-term relationship between the companies and the customers associated with the wine companies of New Zealand. By virtue of Miller Washington, (2007)The buying behaviour of the consumers is not only based on the purchasing decisions, but also it showcases the understanding level of the companies regardi ng the choices and preferences of the consumers. Thus according to Johnson (2000), with a motive of revealing the influence of brand image on the consumers buying behaviour, it is the first and foremost duty of the companies to build up a strong connection and smooth relationship with them. In this current competitive business world, every company wants to thrive in the market by the increased sale values and competitive advantage. Through the help of brand promotion, they attempt to motivate and convince the consumers to get associated with their products and promise them best buying options. The people positively react to those products and brands that they think will provide benefits more than their expectations. As per the statement of Joseph (2010), they share their knowledge and experience with one another regarding a specific product thereby enabling them to develop a distinctive perception of the brand impacting their buying decisions. Hence, it can be said that the consumer buying behaviour has an effective relationship wi th the brand loyalty and the social status (Vedpathak, 2010). Research Methods Introduction Research methodology is referred to as the most important and significant chapter of a particular research study that focuses widely upon the various relevant facts and information that are being collected by the researchers in order to formulate an effective research outcome (Kumar, 2005). It is a systematic process of unfolding the various unexplored and unidentified evidences that will help the researchers to evaluate and assess the true significance of a particular research topic. In this particular research analysis, the researchers will follow a significant pathway that will foster and explore a broad concept of how brand image of the wine companies in New Zealand can influence the buying behaviour of the consumers in the market. It has been analysed by the past researchers that brand image is of utmost necessity if the companies want to flourish and prosper in the market by gaining quite a huge number of consumers (Coomber, 2002). Thus, the researchers in this study will hereb y find out how the wine companies of the country have extensively enhanced and improved their brand image for grabbing the attention of several customers and influence their buying decisions effectively. Research Paradigm Research paradigm is an approach adopted by the researchers for knowing the unknown dimensions of the research. Through the implication of proper research paradigm, the researchers will be able to identify the relevant information about the topic of the research and with that they can carry out the entire research proceedings with an aim to come out with expected outcomes (Kumar, 2005). For this particular research process, the researchers will aim at adopting the positivism and post-positivism research paradigms through which they can evaluate the positive evidences regarding the effectiveness of branding on the consumer behaviour of the wine market in New Zealand. Also they can portray a post-positive impact on the topic, inundating the positive vivacity of the significant effects of branding strategies on the buying decision of the consumers in the concerned market. Moreover, the incorporation of the effective research paradigms will help the researchers to simplify and describe t he various changes that have been brought in the branding techniques of the wine companies of New Zealand so as to approach new consumers in the wine market of the country. Research Method The entire research will be formulated by the researchers in order to imbibe a clear cut concept of the branding strategies undertaken by the wine companies for attracting the customer on a wide scale basis. In order to cultivate the importance of brand image in influencing the customer buying behaviour in the wine market of New Zealand, the researchers will choose the descriptive research design to broadly describe the key branding strategies adopted by the companies facilitate the consumer buying decisions. Deductive approach must be used so that the researchers can witness the importance of the brand image on catching the eyesight of most of the consumers (Peyrache Bouchenoire, 2010). A proper questionnaire will be formulated and the research participants will be chosen as per convenience to collect maximum information from them regarding the research topic. Convenient sampling technique will be chosen in this case where the researchers will approach the management, marketing exe cutive and staffs and also sales executive and staffs of the top 10 wine companies of New Zealand to get information from them. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection procedures will be used by the research executors for extracting both primary and secondary data, in order to have effective conclusion for the research study (Newman Benz, 2008). If these processes are not followed by the researchers, then it will not be possible for them to derive expected positive outcomes from the research (Jha, 2008). Incorrect and inappropriate information derived can lead them to yield misleading outcomes that will hamper the efficacy of the research process. Thus, it needs to be ensured all the information collected are viable and reliable enough to have valid feedbacks from the respondents. Sampling In this particular research study, convenient sampling technique will be chosen through which the management, sales executives and staffs, marketing staffs and executives will be selected as respondents of top 10 wine companies of New Zealand. This will help the researchers to reach out the respondents easily and obtain much prcised yet relevant information about the impact of brand image on the consumer behaviour of the wine market of the country. Interviews and seminars will be held where they can approach the participants. A total of 100 respondents will be chosen who will divided into 5 small groups of 10 participants each for having exact data regarding their perceptions to the particular research topic (Scruggs Mastropieri, 2006). Both open ended and close ended questions will be presented before the respondents so that their exact perceptions and opinions of what they think about the effectiveness of the brand image of the breweries on encouraging the consumers to purchase pr oducts of their preferences, can be judged. Not only that the researchers will even refer to various academic books, journals, websites, etc. which will evaluate the insights and perspectives of the respondents regarding the topic of research. Numeric data will also be collected which will underpin the authentic information about the research topic. Analysis of Data The entire data and information collected by the researchers will be analysed and represented in the form of graphs, charts, trend lines, etc. so as to draw attention regarding the strong impact that the brand image of the wine companies of New Zealand has on the minds of the consumers and how it changes the attitudes and behaviour towards buying the products (VEDPATHAK, 2013). Statistical analysis will hereby help the researchers to find out authentic information regarding the extent to which the wine market of New Zealand has attained immense recognition and fame by applying effective branding strategies and spreading awareness among the public about the available quality products, thereby influencing on their buying behaviour. Potential Outcome The research is fairly straight forward and the questions are clearly stated. From the evidence in the relevant literature it is sure that there can be one potential outcome of this research. The people of the local and international market give high value to the brand image of the product they are buying. In case of wine, the brands that are manufactured in the breweries of New Zealand is regarded by the population with high value and the identification of the wine as valuable is decided through the brand of the wine. The brand is not actually only a label but a summary of identifying factors of the specific company and its specific product and a reassurance to the customers about the characteristics of the wine that they are buying (Uhlmann, 2005). So, it is almost sure that the identification of the different brands and the buying decision of the customers depend upon the brand value that is placed upon the different brands of wines and act as the marker for quality of the product . It is clear that the customers depend on the brand of the product to influence their purchasing decisions. The different brands of the New Zealand made wines are no different in this regard than any other product. So, the outcome of the study is going to be indicative of the fact that the different brands of wines in the market that are made in New Zealand have definite dependence on their own brand image to boost sales of the product and retain the customer base (Vincent, 2012). These perceptions of the brand that is created in the mind of the customer definitely create trust and brand loyalty in the customer and the branding is not an optional function in the wine market, it is necessary for the customers to make buying decisions. Steps of the research process Time (weeks) Analysis of the research topic 1 Secondary Data collection 2-3 Literature review 4-5 Surveys and market study 6-7 methodology 8 Data analysis 9-10 Conclusion and recommendations 11 Identification of key assumptions Key Assumptions The key assumption of the study is the belief that the customers of wine in the national and international market depend upon the brand image of the New Zealand made wine to influence their buying decision (Joseph, 2010). Their choice of the product they buy does not depend on the actual taste or quality of the wine but the representation of the brand image. In other words, the projected image of the wine and its quality carry more weight in the customers buying decision than the other qualities of the wine. Limitation of Study The limitation of the study is dependent upon the customers choice of brand as the identification of the particular manufacturer of wine is not dependent on only one factor. The projected image of the wine by the company might not be only one of the reasons influencing the customers to buy that particular brand of wine. There is also the reason of recommendation of a friend or family or the previous experience of tasting the particular wine of the same brand which can act in conjunction with the brand image to influence the buying decisions. The effect of the brand image and their influence on the customers buying decisions in most of the cases cannot be separated (Consumer decision making buying, 2004). This is one of the major limitations of the study as the buying decision can be influenced by several factors and the different factors and their effects cannot be separately judged. This is the main limitation of the study. Potential Threats The futility of trying to find out the reason the customer was influenced to buy any particular brand of wine is one of the most probable threat to the study. If the buying decision is not only influenced by the brand image of the wine manufacturer and also their experience and other promotional elements of the company then the effect of the companys brand image cannot be discerned by the researcher. There is also the case of previous experience of the customer which might generate loyalty of the customer (Joseph, 2010). So, the results of the study can be rendered useless if that is the case. The only way to mitigate this effect is to take the buying decisions of the first time customers into consideration. This will make sure that the customer opinion is not influenced by any other factor and only the brand image will be considered in the buying decision of the customer. Ethical Considerations The ethical considerations of the study are many and each of them is of different importance. The first ethical consideration of the customers is based on the different effect of the study on the customer. The customers that are being considered for the survey must be informed about the survey and their opinion should be considered valid only if they agree to participate in the study (Scruggs Mastropieri, 2006). No one respondent should be forced against their will to participate in the survey and the process needs to be voluntary. The letter of consent needs to be collected from the participants before they participate in the study. There is also going to be secondary data collected in the study and the sources of the data need to be verified by the researcher to make sure that the data collected is going to be relevant and from reliable sources. The Data Protection Act and the compliance with the Data Protection Act of the information collected needs to be verified by the research er so that the data collection does not violate and law. These ethical considerations need to be kept in mind while the data is being collected. Conclusion It is evident from the study that the brand image of the wine brands of the new Zealand are important for the companies, as they often influence first time customers to try the brand. And this choice is almost always based on the brand image of the wine or the projected image of the product that entices the new customers to try the product. There is also the consideration of the fact that the buying decision of the customers and potential customers might be influenced by other factors and they have to somehow be separated from the main reason behind the choices made by the customers (Hamlin Chimhundu, 2007). The research questions will be addressed in the research in the following way. The methods of making a viable brand image will be observed from the marketing operations of the different brands of the New Zealand wine market. The consumer buying behaviour in terms of the brand image and identity will be observed by doing market study and survey among the customers. 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