Consumer behavior involves the use and disposal of products as well as study of how they are purchased. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this may influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased consumption. Consumer behavior refers to the act of individuals who are directly involved in obtaining and using goods and services which leads to the act of purchase. Consumer behavior is not only the study of what people consume but also ‗where‘, ‗how often‘ and ‗under what conditions‘. Consumer behavior has no history or body of research of its own. It is a new discipline that borrows heavily form concepts developed in other fields such as psychology (study of individual), sociology (study of groups), social psychology (study of how an individual operates in groups), and anthropology (the influence of society on the individual). Factors like personality, perception, attitude and learning on the one hand and the product, price, physical attributes, advertising and societal influence on the other shape the behavior of consumers. Therefore, the marketer has to comprehend these elements for better understanding of the consumer. Interestingly, consumer‘s reactions to marketing are often low-key and passive.

It is important for the marketers to understand the buyer behavior due to the following reasons. The study of consumer behavior for any product is of vital importance to marketers in shaping the fortunes of their organization. Consumer‘s tastes and preferences are ever changing. Study of consumer behavior gives information regarding color, design, size etc., which consumers want. In short, consumer behavior helps in formulating of production policy. Consumer behavior is a very important aspect based on which the marketing decisions are made. Superior products are the results of the study of consumer behavior.

 To know the factors that influences the consumers‘ behavior of sports bike  To know the satisfaction leaves of consumers of sports bikes  To offer suggestion for further improvement of the sports bike

Consumer behavior is affected by a host of variables ranging from personal, professional needs, attitudes and values, personality characteristics, social

professional status to social influences of various kinds exerted a family, friends, colleagues, and society as a whole. The Combination of these factors help the consumer in decision making further Psychological factors that as individual consumer needs, motivations, perceptions attitudes, the learning process personality characteristics are the similarities, which operate across the different types of people and influence their behavior. There are four major factors which influences on the buying behavior of consumer. 1. Cultural Factors 2. Social Factors 3. Personal Factors 4. Psychological Factors 1. Cultural Factors: Cultural Factors exert the greatest impact on buying behavior of consumer. A buyer is always influenced by his culture, sub-culture and social class. Culture can be described from the dawn of civilization; human beings have been looking for ways and means to better their lives. Culture is the most fundamental determinant of a person‘s wants and behavior. Culture refers to the set of values, ideas and attitude that are accepted by a homogeneous group of people and transmitted to the next Generation. Whereas Subculture is a member of a culture, shares most of the core value, beliefs and behaviors of that culture. However, most individuals also belong to several sub-cultures. Each culture consists of smaller sub culture that provides more specific identification and socialization for their members. Subculture includes nationalities, religions, racial groups and geographic regions. Social class determines to some extent, the types, quality and quantity of product that a person buys or uses. Social class is a basis for identifying and reaching particular good prospects for products and services.

Consumer behavior is also influenced by such social factors as reference groups, family and social roles and Status.

Buyer‘s decisions are also influenced by personal characteristics, the buyers‘ age, life cycle stages, occupation, economic circumstances, lifestyle and personality and self-concept. A person‘s acquired needs are influenced by certain psychological factors such as motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes.

The data collected from various sources such as : Primary Data: The primary data collected through questionnaires administered to a sample of 50 consumers selected from Kurnool town of Andhra Pradesh. The Questionnaire was pre-Designed and pre-tested before it was administered. Secondary Data: Secondary data was collected through various publications of newspapers, magazines, books and magazines websites of various two wheeler companies. Sample Design: A sample of 50 consumers selected from Kurnool town of Andhra Pradesh for this study to analyze the consumers‘ behavior with reference to sports bikes.

The research done on observing the response of users of sports bikes left us with a number of findings. All these findings and conclusions are basically drawn from the questionnaires, which are filled by the respondents in person.

INTERPRETATION: Out of 50 respondents, maximum respondents i.e 50 % respondents got information from their family and friends, 30 % respondents got information from internet , 10 % respondents got information from news papers &

S. Aneel Amrutha Raju1* Dr. G. Ramakrishna2 Dr. D. Chandrasekhar Naidu3 5

from company dealers.

INTERPRETATION: Out of the 50 respondents, 20 % of the respondents bought sports bike for their comfort, 20 % of the respondents bought for necessity, 16 % of the respondents bought for luxury, 12 % of the respondents bought for status , 12 % of the respondents bought to reduce travelling expenses, 10 % of the respondents bought for saving time and 10 % of the respondents bought for lack of transport.

maximum respondents i.e for 52 % of respondents the factor that made them to select the present vehicle is Brand Image, for 16% of respondents the factor is Design, for 14% of respondents the factor is Performance, for 12% of respondents the factor is Company reputation, for 6% of respondents the factor is Resale value and remaining factors are not selected by respondents.

INTERPRETATION: Out of 50 respondents, 46% of respondents played role as User in purchasing process, 42% as Buyer , 8% as Initiator , 4% as Influencer.

5. SATISFACTION LEVELS

A. MILEAGE: Considering mileage, out of 50 respondents, most of the respondent‘s i.e.

reaming respondents were dissatisfied. B. DESIGN: Considering design out of 50 respondents, most of the respondent‘s i.e. 30 were highly satisfied, 12 respondents were satisfied and reaming was neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

D. RIDING COMFORT: Considering riding comfort out of 50 respondents, most of the respondent‘s i.e. 28, were highly satisfied and 10 respondents were satisfied, 12 were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and reaming were neither satisfied. E. DURABILITY: Considering durability out of 50 respondents, most of the respondent‘s i.e. 47, were satisfied, and 3 respondents were highly satisfied. F. GUARANTEE: All the respondents were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. G. DELIVERY OF VEHICLE WITHIN TIME: Considering delivery of vehicle within time, out of 50 respondents, most of the respondent‘s i.e. 42 were satisfied, 8 respondents were highly satisfied. H. PICKUP OF YOUR VEHICLE: Considering Pickup Of the Vehicle, all the respondents were highly satisfied. I. SEATING SPACE: Considering Seating Space out of 50 respondents, most of the respondent‘s i.e. 38 satisfied, and 12 were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. J. SAFTEY MEASURES: Considering safety measures out of 50 respondents, 28 respondents were satisfed, and 12 respondents were highly satisfied, and 10 respondents were neither satisfied . K. TECHNOLOGY USED FOR THE VEHICLE: Considering technology used for the vehicle all the respondents were highly satisfied. L. PRICE: Considering Price out of 50 respondents, most of the respondent‘s i-e 28 satisfied nor dissatisfied.

N. PAYMENT TERMS: Considering payment terms, out of 50 respondents , most of the respondents i-e, 22 were highly satisfied, and 18 respondents are satisfied, and 8 respondents are were either satisfied ,and 2 respondents were dissatisfied. O. AVAILABILITY OF SPARE PARTS: Considering availability of spare parts, out of 50 respondents, most of the respondent‘s i-e, 38 were satisfied, and 12 respondents were highly satisfied. P. PERFORMENCE OF ACCESSORIES: Considering performance of accessories, out of 50 respondents most of the respondent‘s i-e 26 respondents were satisfied and 18 respondents were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and 6 respondents were highly satisfied. Q. OFFERS: Considering offers, out of 50 respondents most of the respondent‘s i-e 48 respondents were dissatisfied and 2 respondents were dissatisfied. R. SALES EXECUTIVE RESPONSE AT OUTLET: Considering Sales Executive Response at out of 50 respondents most of the respondent‘s i-e 34 respondents were satisfied and 16 respondents were highly satisfied. S. AFTER SALES SERVICE: Considering after Sales Service out of 50 respondents most of the respondent‘s i-e 20 respondents were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and 16 respondents were satisfied, and 10 respondents were highly satisfied, and 4 respondents were dissatisfied

S. Aneel Amrutha Raju1* Dr. G. Ramakrishna2 Dr. D. Chandrasekhar Naidu3 5

INTERPRETATION:

Rank1: Out of 50 respondents most of the respondent‘s i.e 17 respondents have given first rank to Bajaj, and 12 respondents have given first rank to Royal Enfield, and 11 respondents have given first rank to Honda, and 10 respondents have given first rank to Hero.

6. OVERALL PERFORMANCE

INTERPRETATION: Out of 50 respondents, 40 % of the respondents are satisfied with overall performance of their bike, 30% of the respondents are highly satisfied, 20% of the respondents are neutral, 10% of the respondents are dissatisfied.

 All the respondents have sports bike.  Maximum respondents bought sports bike for their comfort and necessity.  Most of the respondents got information from their family and friends and from internet.  Most of the respondents the factor that made them to select the present vehicle is brand image and design.  Most of the respondents played role as user in purchasing process.  Maximum respondents have given first rank to design and performance.  All the respondents there feel there brand is best.  Most of the respondents are satisfied with overall performance of their bike.

 Mileage of the sports bike should be increased.  Dealers should maintain good customer relationship.  Price of the sports bike should be reduced so that maximum customers can purchase the bike.  Companies should concentrate more on promotional activities such as, 1. Advertising

3. Public relations  The TVS motors, Yamaha and Mahindra companies should concentrate on increasing their market share.

The study reveals that it is a good sign for sports bike manufacturers to concentrate more on their bikes as youth population in India is increasing continuously and showing interest towards sports bikes. The companies should concentrate on reducing price and increasing mileage of the bike that may leads to increase their market share.

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Research Scholar, PP Man 017, Management, Rayalaseema University, Kurnool, Kurnool (Dist) A.P