Consumer Education Marketing Research and Tire SurveyConducted for The CaliforniaIntegrated Waste Management Board

By

California StateUniversity, ChicoInstructional Media Center & Program for Applied Research and Evaluation

Project Objectives include collection of dataon vehicle owners' current knowledge of:

Products derived from California waste tires Proper tire maintenance Various legal tire disposal options Factors that influence purchases of new tires

Marketing Research methods consist of:

Literature review Focus groups conducted in five languages Telephone survey in five languages

Literature Review Objectives

Provide background knowledge to the research team regarding prior research.

Identify topics and issues that should be addressed in the focus groups and telephone survey.

Aid in the development of focus group and survey questions. Find information that may be useful in the forthcoming

marketing communications effort.

Literature Review Methods

Extensive research using electronic databases – ABI/Inform – Factiva – PyschINFO– Lexis/Nexis

Internet search with multiple search engine– Google– Alltheweb– Altavista– Dogpile

Literature Review Methods (cont.)

Deep search within specific websites– Rubber Manufacturer’s Association– Cal EPA– CIWMB– Goodyear

Direct communication with experts – discussions with 13 individuals (e.g., Dan Zielinski, Vice President, Rubber Manufacturer’s Association (RMA))

Key Findings from the Literature Review

Some information was available that addressed consumers’ knowledge of tire maintenance and safety.

Few reports available indicate that consumers know little about proper tire care and maintenance.

AAA report (1999) - 48% of respondents incorrectly consulted tire sidewall for recommended air pressure.

National Highway Traffic Safety Report (2001) - 33% of passenger cars and light trucks have at least one significantly under-inflated tire; 9% have a bald tire.

Rubber Manufacturer’s Association (RMA) 2002 – indicates motorists are not well informed and not doing a very good job.

Very limited information available regarding consumers’ tire buying habits. A few studies out there.

1992 - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study. Most consumers knew the UTQGS and FMVSS information.

1999 - Tire Review and 2002 Tire Business studies found that the in-store salesperson was an important source of information and influence for about 40% of the customers.

2001 - J.D. Power and Associates tire satisfaction study. Five most important characteristics: product quality, long-term performance, situational performance, design, and winter traction.

Very limited information available regarding consumers’tire buying habits. A few studies out there. (cont.)

No prior research could be found regarding consumers’ attitudes, perceptions, or knowledge about tire recycling and disposal.

Marketing communication efforts have focused on tire safety and maintenance; largely developed as an outgrowth of the Firestone debacle.

Summary of Literature Review

Only a few public efforts have been made to understand how consumers go about deciding what tires to buy.

Limited information was available about consumer knowledge of tire safety and maintenance.

Perhaps no studies have been conducted that investigate consumers’ knowledge of tire recycling and disposal.

No prior research investigated possible differences based upon ethnicity of tire consumers.

The literature review clearly indicates a need for research and helped facilitate a systematic development of the focus group and survey questions.

Key Focus Group Findings

Five focus groups in five languages onFeb. 5 and Feb. 6  1. English 2. Spanish 3. Mandarin 4.  Vietnamese 5.  Tagalog 

59 participants– 39 males– 20 females

Topic Areas Covered

Recent tire purchase information Tire purchasing criteria Knowledge and behaviors related to tire

maintenance and safety Knowledge of tire recycling and disposal Familiarity with tire recycling and disposal

campaigns

Recent tire purchase information

Recent tire purchases prompted by concerns for wear and safety.

Some purchases were planned with the knowledge that the timing was right because of miles driven on the tires or the passage of a certain amount of time since the tires were originally purchased.

Unplanned purchases were the result of noticing, by chance, wear that heightened concern, or were the result of flat tires.

Tire purchasing criteria

Where consumers could get the best price The convenience of a dealer location Recommendation of family and friends Only a few consumers reported “shopping around”

for dealers and preferred to return to dealers where they had previously purchased tires.

Brand name, reputation of the manufacturer, and experience with a particular brand seemed to override the need for most consumers to conduct research on tires prior to purchase.

Tire purchasing criteria (cont.)

Dealer advertising had little impact on decisions to purchase.

Dealer sales personnel had little impact on purchase decisions. Sales people were not trusted by many consumers and were more likely to influence decisions not to buy.

Time needed to make tire purchase decisions was within one hour unless the purchase was planned in advance or involved a significant amount of research.

Criteria considered with purchasing tires

Consumers were asked if they considered the following when purchasing:

– Tire qualities/characteristics– Tire life– High mileage– Road hazard warranty

Important tire qualities/characteristics

Consumers most often mentioned:– Brand name (most often mentioned) and associated

reputation of the manufacturer– Performance– Design– Warranty– Price was inescapably linked to all of the above

The role of price in tire purchase decisions

Some were willing to pay higher prices to get the tires they wanted.

Other participants worried that a low price—even a sale price—meant lower quality.

A few acknowledged that living on a budget meant they had to settle for tires they would prefer not to buy.

Expectations regarding tire life

Expectations of tire life depended in some cases on the price of the tire and the warranty.

Others expressed expectations in years. Consumers acknowledged that tire life is linked to

driving habits, driving conditions, and tire maintenance. Opinion was divided about the importance of high-

mileage and/or road hazard warranty. In summary, consumers described a “good value”on a

tire as getting as many of the characteristics they wanted as possible at a reasonable price, a price they could afford.

Knowledge and behaviors related to tire maintenance and safety

A majority of consumers said they knew the recommended pressure for their tires. The three most commonly identified places this pressure could be located were:  1)      on the side of the tire;2)      inside the frame of the driver’s door; and 3)      in the owner’s manual.

Consumers were unsure who establishes the recommended pressure, but they were confident that proper inflation was related to longevity of the tire and to safety.

Tire maintenance practices

Most consumers reported checking their tire pressure. The frequency varied considerably (ranging from every

day to every four months), as did the method for determining the pressure (e.g., tire gauge reading, visual calculation, change in vehicle performance).

Consumers acknowledged tire rotation and wheel alignment were important aspects of tire maintenance, but were not in agreement about the frequency with which these services should be performed.

Tire maintenance practices (cont.)

Most reported using some type of system to chart when tire maintenance should be performed.

A few got reminders from the dealer where they purchased their tires.

New car owners were more likely to get this maintenance done at the car dealership rather than a tire dealership.

Information about tire maintenance

Few were familiar with any kind of public information campaign regarding tires or brochures of this nature.

Approximately half thought it was necessary to read the section of the vehicle owner’s manual regarding tires prior to an emergency.

Knowledge of tire recycling and disposal

The majority acknowledged dealers keep their old tires when they purchase new ones.

They were less clear about precisely what the dealer does with the old tires or the exact amount of the fee they pay the dealer to dispose of them. A few admitted to dumping old tires in the trash. The majority were confident that tires are not biodegradable and saw them as posing severe environmental risks.

They were relatively familiar with ways in which tires can be recycled, but had little knowledge or experience related to retreaded tires.

Knowledge of tire recycling and disposal (cont.)

The majority opinion was that they could not trust the quality of retreaded tires and, therefore, would not purchase them.

Only a few were even vaguely familiar with the California Tire Recycling Act of 1989.

Only a few reported the possibility of having seen literature on tire recycling and/or disposal campaigns.

Familiarity with tire recycling anddisposal campaigns

Only a few were even vaguely familiar with the California Tire Recycling Act of 1989.

Only a few reported the possibility of having seen literature on tire recycling and/or disposal campaigns.

Focus Group Summary

These findings enhance the limited available knowledge about consumers’ tire buying habits and their knowledge of tire maintenance and safety cited in the earlier literature review associated with this project.

They provide the first known documented look at consumers’ knowledge and perceptions of tire recycling and disposal, and related environmental and health issues—all of which were highlighted in the earlier literature review as areas of need.

Focus Group Summary (cont.)

The purpose of the focus group stage of this research project was to fill the gap in knowledge uncovered by the earlier literature review and thereby provide a stronger foundation for the development of a telephone survey to be conducted in multiple languages. The above-described focus group research was successful in achieving this objective.

Telephone Survey in Five Languages

Based on the key findings of the focus group, a telephone questionnaire was developed to collect in-depth information on each of the study objectives.

The questionnaire has been developed and pre-tested. Some questions that were not central to the study objectives were eliminated because the questionnaire was too long.

The questionnaire has been translated intofive languages.

Telephone interviews are now being conducted.