How is Branding Affecting the Buying Decision in the Champagne Market - Research Paper Example

How is branding affecting the buying decision in the champagne market? Affiliation Introduction Champagne is abeverage that is usually produced from grapes that are grown in the champagne part of France. It is a type of sparkling wine that is classified as a luxury brand in the drinks and beverages market (McGarry & Dodd 2005). Champagne has a high quality and quite strong heritage that make it a unique product in the market. A number of research findings have shown that most customers do not really care or are even unaware of the real value of champagne, and their decision is mainly based on the famous brands in the market such as Moet and Ace. The main purpose of this study is to fully establish the influence of branding on the customer’s decision in the process of purchasing. Therefore the research question is based on our objective which is “How is branding affecting the buying decision-making in the champagne market”. This study involves a precise and detailed literature review to in order to understand the existing information about this topic and then further develop the research based on the new findings. This research is quite relevant as the results and conclusions that will be drawn at the end of this study will assist the champagne producing companies to make market decisions that are based on their customers’ behavior. This study uses a well-drawn methodology with a methodology for information collection and analysis that is relevant to this research. Lastly, the study will include a conclusion that will be based on the finding of the research with some recommendations regarding the same. Research Question How is branding affecting the buying decision in the champagne market? Research Aim The aim of this research is to establish the effect of champagne branding in the buying behavior of a customer. Research Objectives To do a critical evaluation on the existing literature about champagne branding and the champagne luxury market in order to have some knowledge on how branding influences the customer’s purchasing decision. To establish through interviews and questionnaires on how champaigne branding has more influence on the customer’s buying decision than the taste of the beverage. Literature review According to Sharp and Smith (1991), champagne has had a competitive advantage over other types of sparkling wines in the luxury industry. This has been attributed to many customers being loyal to the brand rather than the actual taste of the beverage. They use the means end approach to establish the main values that consumers of wine especially aspirational drinkers seek to satisfy in their consumption behavior. Their studies conclude that self-esteem, level of accomplishment and family class significantly affected the customer’s buying decision-making. Moreover, they suggested that the buying behavior of a customer was mostly affected by their difficulty in evaluating the product. In another study by Lange, Martin, Chabanet, Combris, & Issanchou (2002),champagne regular and aspirational drinkers were required to do an evaluation on tasting basis, unfortunately. Those who participated in the experiment did not realize the difference between two brands of wine (both grandes marques and a little famous brands) after having a blind taste, but when the brands were labeled they could be able to make clear judgment about the wines.Nevertheless,Vignes & Gergaud (2003) suggest that consumers usually make distinctions after having a taste on champagne and their way of rating greatly vary out of their perception of the quality of the product that is determined by the image and market reputation. The main significant part of this research project is to the exploration of how brand of champagne influence the customer’s buying decision in the context of wines market thus more facts are needed to come up with a valid conclusion. According to Charters & Pettigre (2006), most customers are disinterested in the aspect of evaluating wine which largely depend on mental rather the sensory response such as tasting. In short, a number of propositions can be made which include (1) the fact that it is hard for consumers to evaluate sparkling wines through tasting (2) other factors such as individual preferences and class affect the customers’ buying decision-making (3) Product reputation and quality affects the buying decision-making of a consumer. Methodology The main objective of this research was to explore on the consumer’s decision-making based on the brand of chamagane.The research not only aimed at investigating the consumer’s decision making behavior but also the responses and views about branding the product.Therefore,the research took a quantitative approach where data collection was collected based on individual opinions and views. Questionnaires and interviews are the best methods to obtain quantitative data in a quick and efficient manner. The target population was identified through a sampling method where a group of 100 consumers were randomly selected and information collected through questionnaire and interviews. Data collected was analyzed and presented using tables. To validate and improve the trustworthiness of the data and the analysis techniques, a data comparison was done with the previous champagne consumer behavior studies conducted by the researcher through negotiation of the varying opinions and perspectives on the findings. Discussion and Findings In the research findings a number of attributes were used to determine consumer behavior in terms decision making. The tables below show the finding that was obtained from the research. Characteristic Frequency Percent Luxurious brands(champagne) 30 30 Evaluation of wines 7 7 No information search 63 63 Total 100 100 Table 1 The information on the table above clearly illustrates the frequencies and corresponding percentages of consumers who made decisions based on the characteristics listed such as the brands, evaluation and information search. The data reveals that most consumers do not search for information about a a particular brand but, a few do an evaluation of the drinks while the rest prefer luxurious brands. Attribute Revealed Choice (all respondents) Stated choice (all respondents) Stated choice (low involvement) Stated choice (high involvement) Well Known brand 1.18 0.18 0.34 0.166 Brand Taste -073 -0.04 -049 0.35 Cost 1.17 0.17 0.32 0.14 Table 2 According to Lokshin and d’Hauteville (2003) the above three factors: Brand, Taste and cost majorly affected the decision-making process. From their research, they found out that taste, cost and brand though was differing among different regions. They also illustrated that involvement level produced different results for low and high level consumers. Lokshin and d’Hauteville revealed a study that was focused on the champagne purchasing decision in Australia and the behavior of consumers in the process of buying and drinking champagne. In their study they could identify the factors to be influential in the consumer decision making process with brand being the most influential of all the three. The study agrees with my literature review that most consumers took much interest in the brand of wine rather than the taste and other minor factors. They reached at a conclusion that champagne producers could further put more emphasis on brand and that could bring good returns to the champagne wines market. In Qi Guo’ article “The effect of Brand Position on consumer Choices of Luxury Brands”, his studies are related to the influence of brand in the consumer decision-making process as champagne too fall under the class of luxury brands. Though a number of definitions have been brought by different scholars on luxury brands. For instance, Veblen (2007) refers luxury brands to be a social and wealth status. His research indicates that luxury brands play a key role in influencing the buyer decision making as it adds some vale to the product, thus cannot be ignored. This backs up our findings that most consumers are quite conscious about brands since they tend to create unique fashion style, proposition and personality.Guo (2013) studies show that luxury products create a sense of loyalty in the customer behaviour.The research process showed that most buyers or rather consumers do not have knowledge about champagne but their decisions are based on either the given offers or the luxurious brands such as Moet and Lanson. Conclusion From the findings above, one can draw a conclusion that brands have a great role as far as the consumer’s behavior is concerned. This conclusion bases its validity on the literature review that reveals a number studies concerning brand and taste. Buyer rarely takes time to evaluate the value or the taste of champagne as this is mostly affected by the fact that champagne belongs to the class of luxury brands. Our research findings agree to a larger extent with the literature review as far as the research question is concerned. For example, in our finding the well or brands seem to attract more consumers as compared to other factors, this is in agreement with Charters & Pettigre studies that consumers have difficulty in the evaluation of wines and thus the aspect of taste does not have much influence on the buying decision of a customer. It can be also concluded that the determination of social classes is essential in the customer buying behaviour.If at all wines market has to successfully understand the customer behavior; social class has to be greatly considered as it is normal with high class people to identify themselves with greater and luxurious brands. Branding is necessary especially in strategizing on market promotion and campaigning of a new product. This research shades light on the need to take into consideration the brand influence in the consumer behavior, although further studies need to be done to increase more knowledge on the same. It is evident that the research has been relevant to the concerned persons such as consumers and producers as this will help them to make faster decisions as far as product branding is concerned. References Charters, S., & Pettigrew, S. 2008. Why do people drink wine? A consumer-focused exploration. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 14(3), 13-32. GUO Qi. 2013. The Effect of Brand Position on Consumer Choices of Luxury Brands: A Cross- Cultural Study Between British and Chinese Consumers. Canadian Social Science. 9 (6), 127-139. Lange M, Martin H, Chabanet Liber L, Combris & Issanchou, 2002, Champagne. Available: http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-champagne. Last accessed 15th March 2015. Lokshin and d’Hauteville 2003. Impact of Brand Image and Advertisement on Consumer Buying Behavior. World Applied Sciences Journal, 23(1), 117-122. McGarry Wolf, M., & Dodd, T. H. (2005). Dimensions of wine region equity and their impact on consumer preferences. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 14(2), 88-97. Morton, A. et al 2013. Champagne Purchasing: The influence of kudos and sentimentality. Sharp and Smith, G. 1991. The Effect of Branding on Consumer Choice. Montainview Learning, Teaching Brain Science to Business. Veblen, T. 2007. The theory of the leisure class. Oxford University Press. Vignes & Gergaud 2003. Champagne is best served cold. Available: http://www.champagne.fr/en/tasting-and-appreciation/art-of-serving-champagne/cooling-champagne. Last accessed 15th March 2015. Read More