q.1. The Civiliann Hummer was a highly premium ranged automobile.

Thus the custo

mer base for the vehicle was limited to high net worth individuals and famous pe
rsonalities. The buying decision of customers from these segments depends mostly
on brand's suitability to their image and and also reflects their personality i
n public. The Hummer had an extremely low mileage. It means that it was kind of
an anti-environment machine. As famous personalities cannot associate with such
products as they don't wan't to be looked upon as anti-environment, and with ris
ing environmentalism at that time, the Hummer was an attractive but a no buy opt
ion for customers. Also, Hummer was positioned as an off-road vehicle for advent
ure seekers, and not much focus was given to luxury which is expected from a $50
,000 vehicle. The rugged image of the Hummer further reduced it's customer base
as it was only a choice for tough males. So,these were the main problems with th
e Civilian Hummer, which reflected in low sales in the first year itself, even a
mong all the excitement it created.
q.1. The Civilian Hummer catered to an exclusive market which included rugged in
dividualists, adventurous and andrenaline individuals, as Arnold Schwarzenegger
was one of the first buyers, and an unintentional promoter of the brand. The veh
icle was also associated with war and victory which wasn't cool enough to attrac
t young people to own the car, increasing the market exclusivity to a further ex
tent. The vehicle was very high prices, extremely fuel inefficient and low on co
mfort level which you expect out of such a high priced vehicle. This showed up i
n the low sales (as per expectations) in the 1st year after the launch of the Ci
vilian Hummer.
q.2. AM General should have carried out research to estimate the target market f
or the vehicle, and the number of peole within that market to aoid exclusivity d
ue to wrong positioning. Consumer perception towards military vehicles, which ar
e very much different from mainstream automobiles, should've been guaged through
surveys at auto-fairs. Also it was essential to know whether people would be re
ady to buy such a fuel inefficient vehicle. Thus, research on people's affinity
towards Green products in the region of interest would be a helpful activity. Th
is could be done by comparing secondary data on sales of automobiles which were
fuel efficient compared to the ones which were fuel inefficient combined with a
primary research.
Research is required in bringing out an automobile product as the market is floo
ded a variety of products and thus customers consider a lot of factors while buy
ing. There may not be a single product which satisfies all the criteria of custo
mers, thus a knowledge of these factors can help us build our product in a way t
hat satiates majority needs of the customers. Automobile being a high value purc
hase, customers expect that all their requirements by fulfilled, as in most case
s, it is a long term decision or in other words a one time buy. Thus exploiting
customer preferences can help us be a part of their long term decision.
q.3. The data I'd like to collect is:
1. Sales pattern of cars belonging to the same segment
2. Demographic data relating to automobile buyers
3. Data on threat of substitutes (eg. efficient public transport or cab services
)
4. Per capita income for the region we're planning to target
5. Avg. Family size of target segment
6. Brand image perception of people
7. Environment awareness index
When it comes to selecting the type of research i.e. primary or secondary, neith
er of them is self-sufficient in itself to provide us with insights that'd help
us with the launching process. A proper mix of data from both types of sources i
s required to reach a proper solution. The secondary data can be in the forms of
facts or behavioral research conducted previously. Primary data can be more abo
ut getting to know the present perception of the targeted people towards the bra

nd, product and prodct category on a more personalised basis to tap any hidden i
nsights which secondary data fails to address.
q.4. The market segmentation for the Civilian Hummer can be done as follows:
- Geography: Countries or cities with rough terrains may be a better target mark
et, as people would want to try this beast in the place best suited to it's tale
nts.
- Demographics
Sex: Male
Age: 25-50 yrs as the Hummer appeals to the rough and adventurous 'MEN'
Income: Poeple with income upwards of $3,00,000 (owing to the price of Hummer,
$50,000)
- Behavioural: lavish spenders, owner's of luxury vehicles, quality before price
, fans of exclusivity
- Psychographic: tough image, adventurous, risk taking, successful, ambitious, r
ebels, luxury seeking,
Segmentation is necessary in automobile advertising, as cars are not just a util
ity today but a reflection of one's personality and class. Thus targeting the ri
ght audience is of utmost importance. Also it helps us guage the requirement a p
articular market demands from a desired model and thus helps the manufacturer in
troduce those feature to increase desirability of the vehicle. Segmentation can
also save us from any wasteful marketing activity directed towards the wrong aud
ience, thus optimizing the cost of marketing.