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BMW: Marketing and Consumer Behavior

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Marketing & Consumer Behavior: BMW In the mind of the consumer, the BMW is a very luxurious, high-end, expensive car that carries prestige and sophistication. This has raised concerns with the MINI and the Certified Preowned BMW, because both of these changes mean that more people will be able to afford these cars and some of the cars will be sold at a much lower price. This changes the market for these cars to a certain extent, and that provides more people from all walks of life and income groups an opportunity to own a BMW. The typical driver of a BMW would not want this, because it would dilute what he or she has in the sense of how the driver feels about the prestige of owning and driving a BMW. When anyone can afford to buy something, it ceases to be prestigious in the minds of those who already own it (Joshi, 2005). This could easily be what happens to the typical BMW driver, who is generally male, upper-middle class to upper-class/wealthy, and working in the corporate world. These individuals own their BMWs not as transportation, but as status symbols. Companies in the past have ruined their image and even folded up because they have made unwise decisions when it came to a new technology or new market (Christensen, 1997). That is not likely to happen to BMW, because its customer base is too large for that. Still, there are some concerns about whether the company will continue to be as successful with the wealthy crowd if it offers its wares to people who are

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