Understand the customer preference of different market segments from online word of mouth: Evidence from the china auto industry

Abstract

With the explosive growth of social media, manufacturers and marketers are increasingly using public opinions in social media for their business decision making. This article aims to understand the customer preference of different market segments from online word of mouth. Using the real data collected from the leading online community of China auto and the ordered Logit model, we find that from the viewpoint of car types, the price is the most important factor for the customer satisfaction. However, from the viewpoint of price range, the price is no more the most important factor for the customer satisfaction. From both viewpoints, the results are similar that different car attributes have different weights on satisfaction. Our findings will make the car manufacturers and marketers come away with a more detailed understanding of the mindset of Chinese consumer groups, and keep a competitive advantage in the fierce China auto market.