An empirical approach to consumer buying behavior in Indian automobile sector

Purpose – In today’s highly competitive business scenario, advertising symbolizes one of the key marketing activities. The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship between advertisement effectiveness and consumer buying behavior for major automobile companies of central India. Design/methodology/approach – A judicious mix of qualitative (focus group and Delphi technique) and quantitative (structured questionnaire survey) research methods was used for the present study. Findings – Study found that for automobile sector, effective advertisements have a positive impact on consumer buying behavior. It suggests that customer’s attitude can be shaped favorably through effective advertising. Automobile companies must arrange special training sessions and learning programs for their sales force to ensure supportive customer purchasing behavior. Research limitations/implications – The scope of the present study is limited to major automobile companies of central India only. Although, the findings can be interpreted and generalized in a global business scenario. Originality/value – The research work is first of its kind that attempts to study the impact of effective advertising on consumer buying behavior in Indian automobile context. The findings and recommendations can be used for strategic planning of training sessions and workshops for different stakeholders in automobile industry.