“Objective, honest research provides a significant service to the consumer, particularly when that person is looking to buy a new vehicle,” says Patrick Busschau, the Ipsos Automotive Business Unit Director.
Brian Joss – “For those looking for an accurate insight into the ownership experience offered by a certain vehicle – including both product quality and feedback on the sales and after service experience – quality market research can provide the answer, particularly when the surveys are conducted correctly.”
Ipsos and its predecessors have been delivering reliable and accurate results in all areas of research for many years, with a history of automotive tracking going back to the early 1990s.
“Especially today with all the sources of information on the internet, as well as on social networking feeds it can be something of a minefield when trying to sort the wheat from the chaff,” explained Busschau. “In addition, today’s buyer has an unprecedented choice of vehicle types, models and specifications from which to choose, which makes the task even more complex.
“There will be a host of differing views when one considers anecdotal feedback from friends and family and the so-called expert views from motoring journalists and other people in the motor industry.
“In recent times the sheer volume of information available to the consumer from the various media sources has also compromised brand loyalty. Historically certain vehicle brands have enjoyed high degrees of brand loyalty in South Africa as many people were passionate about their cars and the companies that make them. This is changing and the informed consumer is considered a disruptor in the automotive market of the 21st century, with brand loyalty slipping down the list of attributes,” explained Busschau.
“Everyone now believes that he or she is an informed consumer when it comes to the matter of cars. While this is obviously a great thing for consumers and for competition in the marketplace, sometimes the information provided can represent biased opinions or could prioritise features that may not be relevant to everyone in the market for a specific kind of product.
“It is for this reason that we, at Ipsos, urge potential buyers to make use of the data we have collected over a long period as a valuable source of information when car hunting,” concluded Patrick Busschau.
Phone Ipsos on 011 709 7800 or email: patrick.busschau@ipsos for info.
