INFLUENCE OF BRAND NAME ON CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS- AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON CAR BUYERS

In the modern society brands not only represent the product or company but also have a strong association with perceived quality, consumers’ life style, social class, taste etc. The purpose of this paper is to create a deeper consideration of what influence a brand name can have, when people go for purchasing, choose the products between different brands, especially private vehicle like car. Moreover, this paper also tries to explore the relation between brands and the consumer decision making process. This study has been conducted through literature study as well as questionnaire administered survey. Simple random sampling procedure has been used to determine sampling frame and size and a convenience sample of hundred respondents of different age groups, income and occupation have been considered for the survey. The collected data were analyzed to comply with the objectives and also to draw conclusions. From the study it is revealed that when consumer purchases a car, brand names do influence his/her choice. The study also reveals that branded cars have a great place in consumer mind, when customers go for purchasing a car, they prefer to purchase a well known branded car. Customers do not want to try new or unknown branded cars because they have not much information about the lesser known brand.