Business Research Methods

Phase Two

Submitted by, Arun Antony (09) Krishna Chaitanya (25) Manoj Padmanabhan (30)

2 Exploratory Research Objective: To verify whether the statement poorer sales is valid. Design: We used secondary data analysis as the tool for Construct development of the construct Poorer Sales and also for better understanding of the above research objective. Implementation: We collected sales data from the companys sales in charge for Bihar-Jharkhand region and compared it with the sales in the Eastern and Central UP Region.

Eastern and Central UP Region 2000 - 2001 2001 -2002 2002-2002 Sept (6 months) 100% 100% 100%

Bihar-Jharkhand Region 14% 14% 13%

Table 1.1 Comparative sales of Drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand Region and eastern- Central UP. Region*

Eastern and Central UP Region

Bihar-Jharkhand Region

Urban Population 1.55 Cr 1.13 Cr No of towns contributing to 90% of Urban population 206 119 (Ease of reach) Market Potential Index 0.52 0.41 Table 1.2 Market size comparison between Bihar-Jharkhand Region and Eastern- Central U.P. Region# From table 1.2 we can say that sales in Bihar-Jharkhand region should be in the region of 60-70% of the sales of eastern and central UP region. But from table 1.1 we can see that the sales are just about 14%. This means that the sales potential of Bihar-Jharkhand region is not achieved. From this we validated that sales were poorer * Source: Company Regional Sales Personnel. The actual sales figures are confidential. # Source: RK Swamy/BBDO Guide to Marketing Planning based on 1991 census data.

Arun Antony

Krishna Chaitanya M

Manoj Padmanabhan

3 Objective: Reasons for poorer sales in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to easterncentral UP region. Design: The tool used was Pilot survey of the consumers and retailers. Pilot survey was chosen because the product was not a high involvement one. Also we felt that focus group and depth interviews may not provide us with insights to justify the cost involved. Implementation: Pilot survey of 11 retail shops and 28 customers. We asked them questions, which were different for retailers and consumers. We asked 5 retailers in Sakchi, 4 in Bistupur, and 2 in Sonari. Customers were selected from the same regions. Some of them were customers of the drug retailers and a few we chosen at random from the street. We also chose about 10 students from XLRI for the survey. Observations from the Pilot Survey from consumers: Preference for taking the drugs prescribed by the doctors Preference for drugs, which do not cause sedation People do not normally consider cold as a serious issue. Only if it interferes with their functioning or doesnt get cured in a week or so they take medication after consultations with doctor. They feel that there is not much difference between drugs for headache and cold. They take the same drug for all once they find it effective. They make choices of drugs based more on friends or families opinion rather than advertisements. Preference for other OTC drugs compared to Drug X They do not think of Drug X when they have Headache or Cold. They do not compare prices of various cold tablets before purchasing, as the difference is not perceivable enough.

Observations from Pilot Survey of Retail Shops Drug X is not asked for by name by consumers Customers prefer prescription drugs like cetrizine to OTC drugs. These prescription drugs are asked for by name even without prescription. The Margins they get for drug X are relatively less compared to other OTC drugs. Some of them dont keep drug X, as the supply is not regular

Arun Antony

Krishna Chaitanya M

Manoj Padmanabhan

4 Research Questions From the results of the pilot survey we framed the following research questions 1. Are lower margins given by distributors a reason for poorer sales of Drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region? 2. Is the habit of treating common cold as not serious enough to take medicine immediately a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region? 3. Is no top of the mind recall a reason for poorer sales of drug X in BiharJharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region? 4. Is the preference for prescription drugs a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region? 5. Is distribution limitation a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region? Hypothesis formulation The hypotheses corresponding to these questions are Hypothesis 1: H0: A smaller margin given by distributors is not a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region. H1: A smaller margin given by distributors is a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region. Hypothesis 2: H0: The habit of treating common cold as not serious enough to take medicine immediately is not a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region. H1: The habit of treating common cold as not serious enough to take medicine immediately is a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region. Hypothesis 3: H0: Not having top of mind recall is not a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region. H1: Not having top of mind recall is a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region.

Arun Antony

Krishna Chaitanya M

Manoj Padmanabhan

5 Hypothesis 4: H0: Preference for prescription drugs is not a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region H1: The preference for prescription drugs is a reason for poorer sales of drug X in Bihar-Jharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region Hypothesis 5: H0: Distribution limitation is not a reason for poorer sales of drug X in BiharJharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region. H1: Distribution limitation is a reason for poorer sales of drug X in BiharJharkhand region compared to eastern-central UP region.

Arun Antony

Krishna Chaitanya M

Manoj Padmanabhan