Consumer Behaviour: Transportation in Singapore Essay Example

large.This way, results and findings can be generalized to a larger population (the targeted segment for the project). In qualitative research, results cannot be generalized, it focus more on richness of date, speed of data collection, accuracy of recording behaviour and gaining insight for model building. In quantitative research method, we use formal questions and predetermined response options to gain meaningful insights to relationships. It can make accurate predictions about relationships between market factors and consumer behaviour.Lastly, in quantitative research, we can test hypothesis between factors in quantitative research. Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics. (TB Pg 28) There are two bases of segmentation namely consumer rooted segmentation and consumption specific segmentation. Two ways that we can employ to segment the market includes segmenting the market according to the usage rate.

This means we can target different consumers according to their usage of the public transport system.We can group them according to heavy, medium, light users and nonusers. Heavy users can be given more rebates in the transport fares. For example, currently passengers who change their mode of transport from trains to buses enjoy greater savings in their transport fares than passengers who use only the trains. The more you use, the greater savings you get! This can encourage greater usage of the public transport service and falls in line with the LTA aim of improving rider ship in the network.

Another way to segment the market is to group them according to their demographics such as income level.Income level can determine different social classes in the society and we can group

them together to study them in details to fulfill their needs. Higher income personnel may own cars and thus form the minority group who will use public transport. More efforts can be put in to encourage them in using the public transport such as ingraining the idea into them that taking public transport is a way of protecting the environment by reducing pollution and is an efficient system to use.

Question 1d For my project, I will choose to target the segment of customers according to their usage rate of the transport system.More studies can be done to learn more about them in terms of their income level range, the proximity of their homes to the train or bus station, their social classes and living lifestyles. Understanding them through surveys can give us valuable insights about their personalities and their attitudes towards the public transport. We can encourage more low usage customers to use public transport by catering to their needs after learning about their living lifestyle.

Since the high usage rate customers tend to be platinum users, incentives should be given to them to reward them for exhibiting premium loyalty to LTA.For example, once they have spent a certain amount of $60 in a week, they can be given instant cash rebate of $5. This is a way to keep customers with us. On the other hand, for gold customers, they tend to be heavy users of the transport system yet they are also price sensitive. Thus we might want to give them discounts for each trip they take by introducing them a special Ez-link card that vary amount of discount based on distance.

Building trust with the customers results in the establishment of long term relationship with them which is vital to the survival of LTA.Therefore, this segment group should be targeted and all efforts put in to retain them. Question 1f Frequent users of public transport • Likely to be independent. • Cost conscious. • Likely to be open minded • Tends to be time conscious.

Personalities by definition are those inner psychological characteristic that both determine and reflect how a person respond to his or her environment. Understanding commuter’s personality helps to categorise them into different group based on one or several similar traits. Furthermore grouping frequent users of public transport helps to influence their specific responses and ttempt to appeal to the group relevant traits. It is important to retain this particular group of commuters as they form the largest percentage among all other public transport users. Frequent users are independent as they adapt and learn the way to their destination using public transport. They are usually low on the need for uniqueness because they commute the way everyone does.

So long as they can reach their desired destination on time and with relative ease. In my opinion, frequent users are relatively more open minded because they do not restrict them self to just one mode of public transport.They transit between modes of public transportation in order to reach their destination on time. Public transport is the cheapest form of transportation in Singapore. Affordability is one of the main advantage for frequent users due to the high cost of having personal transportation.

Frequent users tend to be low on optimum stimulation level (OSL) as they

are conservative and are contented with what they have. Question 1g Every individual has an attitude towards any object be it service, product quality and more, it could be favourable or unfavourable towards the given object.Attitudes are learned from experiences from a given object as a result from using it, word-of-mouth or exposure from mass media. All attitudes have motivational quality meaning it affects consumer’s decision based on past experiences. Moving ahead, public transportation are based on providing services to the mass public, therefore changing the public attitudes positively is as important as maintaining them.

Public transport commuters are mostly independent; they will search for information and plan their trip before moving on.It is important for operators to provide accurate and timely information so as to keep commuters satisfied. Cost is an influential factor for most users as it directly affects their attitudes towards public transportation. Rising fares may cause unfavourable attitudes among commuters especially the lower wage workers, students and elderly. If the cost rises from using public transport, it might result to a switch of having personal transportation.

Most frequent users are concerned with the predictability of public transport timing.For example, train rides users can predict and control the time they need to reach their destination. If trains were not punctual which could result in overcrowding and lastly missed the trains, attitudes may change for the negative. Commuters may switch to other mode of transport to avoid getting late to work or appointment where time is better managed. Personality affects attitude as a result of experience and all other source of information. Identifying the consumer personality traits are vital to better adjust to

their wants and needs which helps sustain and increase consumer’s attitudes towards the given objects.

Consumer learning is defined, from a marketing perspective, as the process by which individuals acquire the purchase and consumption knowledge and experience that they apply to future behaviour. Consumers learn through a series of process which evolves constantly and changes due to the newly acquired knowledge or from actual experiences. The acquired knowledge and experience serves as feedback which provides the basis for future behaviour in similar situation. LTA needs to identify how public transport will fulfil commuter’s needs which may motivates them and thus learning takes place.For example, public transport users would like to have a shorter waiting time for train and buses. If they are able to match the expectation with much consistency, users may be motivated to take up ridership instead of having private transportation.

Behavioural learning is also known as stimulus-response learning. When a person acts or responds in a predictable way to a known stimulus he or she is said to be “learned”. Instrumental conditioning is a behavioural learning theory based on a trail-and-error process, with habits formed as a result of rewards or incentive received for a certain responses or behaviours.For example, Singapore Mass Rapid Transport (SMRT) collaborated with Citibank to roll out a credit card which serves as a loyalty card where rewards and rebates are given when commuter’s used it onboard their services. Therefore SMRT uses positive reinforcement to influence and encourage repeated usage of public transportation services.

Reinforcement is linked with customer satisfaction; therefore it is important for our public transport sector to maintain customer satisfaction through the use of feedbacks and

surveys.Using such methods, public transport operators are able to build and maintain relationship with their commuters. The everyday traffic congestion on the highways and city has been unreliable in time management during the morning rush hour whereby public transport services are more predictable. All credits goes to LTA the introduction of restricted bus lane usage during rush hours by the LTA. The recent marketing campaign by SMRT named “Go Green with SMRT 2010, Let’s Clear the Air”.

It aims to increase ridership by encouraging people to take up public transport as a form of contributing to our environment.