This is the suggested answer to the Consumer Buyer Behaviour exercise on Colorado Ricardo Mountain Bikes.
Need Recognition
The customer notices their existing bike is ageing and struggles on newer, steeper trails – a gap between their current situation and what they want.
Information Search
They ask other riders in their local off-road community, check Colorado Ricardo’s reputation for durability, and look at what a national brand’s e-mountain bike offers by comparison.
Evaluation of Alternatives
They weigh Colorado Ricardo’s trusted local reputation and hand-built story against the national brand’s wider range and marketing presence, deciding how much that trust is worth in price terms.
Purchase Decision
Existing loyalty to the brand, reinforced by word-of-mouth from other riders, tips the decision toward Colorado Ricardo rather than the unfamiliar national brand.
Post-Purchase Behaviour
If the new e-mountain bike lives up to Colorado Ricardo’s durability reputation, the customer becomes an advocate, recommending it to other riders – if it disappoints, that same trust is what gets damaged.
This post-purchase risk is why Core Competences exercise emphasised keeping the hand-building process intact even as the product range expands.
