UNDERSTANDING SALES &

MARKETING FUNCTIONS IN BUSINESS

A. MITHURSAN
DSSM-03-535

DSSM Project
ReportModule 1 & 2

KDC Academy of Management

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... 3

Student Declaration ...................................................................................................................... 4

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 5

1 Identifying & Analyzing Industries and Business Sectors ...................................................... 6

1.1 15 industries in business ....................................................................................................... 6

1.2 Nature of industry…………………………………………………………………………..8

2 Understand the consumer behavior ......................................................................................... 9

2.1 ) Identify the customer products ........................................................................................... 9

2.2 ) Factors affecting to buy a product ..................................................................................... 9

3 Understanding the Consumer buying process……………………………………………….12

4 Overall Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 14

5 References .................................................................................................................. ………15

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 Acknowledgement

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my lecturer Mr. Mahesh Weeratunge,
who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on visualize behaviors & views
in different sectors while identifying different service levels. I came to know about so many new
things and real-world phenomena and I am really thankful for giving this opportunity. Secondly, I
would also thank my lecturers and friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within
the limited time frame.

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Student Declaration

Dear Examiner

Diploma in Strategic Sales Management (DSSM) Programme

KDC Academy of Management

I hereby certify that, the assignment/project of Diploma in Strategic Sales Management (DSSM)
in Certificate Level is the result of my own independent work unless otherwise mentioned
specifically under referencing guidance.

Thank you

Student Number : DSSM-03-535

Signature :

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 Executive Summary

This report firstly analysis about fifteen industries with three companies in each industry. And
then I have discussed three industries selected above. I provide brief description each industry
well manner. I include nature of the industry, type of customers as well as products and
availability for selected industries.
secondly, I analysis about factors affecting the buying decisions of Laptops. And I explained
about behavior of consumer using 5 steps (Need/ problem recognition, Information search,
Evaluation, Purchase decision, Post purchase evaluation) consumer buying behavior process of
Laptops.

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1 Identifying & Analyzing Industries and Business Sectors

1.1 Different business sectors and Industries

Industry Compan
y
Health care  Lanka Hospital

 Nawaloka hospital

 Asiri Hospital
Education  NIBM

 ICBT

 SLIIT
Construction  Sathuta Group

 Maga Engineering (Pvt) Ltd

 Sierra construction (Pvt) Ltd

Logistics  Lanka Shipping & logistics (Pvt) Ltd

 DP logistics (Pvt) Ltd

 Premium trading & logistics

Banking & Finance  Commercial Bank of Ceylon

 Nation Trust Bank

 DFCC Bank
Automobile  Ford Centre

 Softlogic Automobile (Pvt) Ltd

 Indra Traders
Technology  John Keells computer service

 MillenniumIT

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Hospitality  Cinnamon Hotels & Resort

 John Keells Hotels

 Aitken Spence

Telecommunication  Dialog Broadband Network

 Hutch

 Airtel
Petroliam refinery  Lanka IOC PLC
 Sena Mils refinery Pvt Ltd
 Chervon Lubricants Lanka PLC
Food & Beverage  Ceylon biscuits Ltd
 Cargill’s Ceylon
 Kick Cola Pvt Ltd
Foot wear &  Prime start trading Pvt Ltd
Leather Industry  D Samson Pvt Ltd
 Prime start trading Pvt Ltd
Shipping Service  Sri Lanka shipping company Ltd
industry  Ceylon shipping corporation
 Lanka logistic and shipping pvt ltd
Tobacco Industry  Vistart Pvt ltd
 Orient Lanka Ltd
 Ceylon tobacco Ltd

 Edulanka

Apparel  Brandix

 MAS

 Teejay Lanka

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2 Describing Nature of industry

2.1 ) Industry 1

 Health care industry

Health care industry in Sri Lanka has various sectors as private, government and Ayurveda. Most
of the companies are B2C, patients with high income mostly go to the private hospitals and others
go for the government hospitals. E-channeling is a trend and all services are available 24/7.

2.2 ) Industry 2

 Telecommunication

Cellular mobile services, Wireless, wire line fixed access and data communications are
competitive these days. Major players are Dialog and Mobitel. Works for both B2B and B2C.
Customer care is now available through Apps and WhatsApp also. Now going to move from 4G
to 5G with the competitive world.

2.3 Industry 3

 Banking and Finance

Banking sector has Licensed commercial banks and Licensed Specialized banks. BOC is the major
player with higher ratings. Online banking has come to trend with mobile Apps. There are ATMs
and card payments for efficient payments. Any type of account can be open according to
requirements. These banks are registered in Colombo stock exchange.

2.4 ) Industry 4
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  Education

Sri Lankan education is governed by Ministry of Education. There are private and public schools.
After advance level students go for universities. Top ranking schools are Royal College & Ananda
college Colombo. NIBM, SLIIT are private campus who provide higher education and nowadays
there are online lectures and online classes.

2.5 ) Industry 5

 Apparel

Employees for around 15% work for apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Most of the business run as
B2B with major giants in apparel sector as MASS and Brandix. They do exports and gain a huge
income for the country. Mostly moving towards fashion industry with the requirements of buyers
from foreign countries.

Task 2
01. There are several factors influence the buying behavior of the consumers such as personal,
cultural, social, and psychological factors.

Personal Factors
Age and lifecycle stage, employment, economic conditions, lifestyle (activities, hobbies, attitudes,
and demographics), personality, and other factors are all considered. Individuality and personal
factors matter in making decision or buying behavior. Moreover, Age and way of life, personality
and self-concept, occupation, life style are examples for personality factors. E,g- During this
economic crisis those who have money from his occupation could by Apple Laptop, but daily
wage worker’s son can’t buy apple laptop.
Cultural Factors
We can classify into three categories such as Culture , Sub culture and social culture.
Culture is a shared norm, beliefs, values among the group of people or community. It is a crucial

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factor in deciding the buying behavior. Buying behavior vary from country to country and culture
to culture.
For an example- Hindu’s buy vegetable food in Friday. But, other religious people might eat non
veg meal.
Sub Culture
A subculture is a culture exist among the dominant culture and collection of people who have
common interests, vocations or employment, faiths, ethnic backgrounds, and geographic regions
yet are not part of the prevailing society.

For example: Dressing pattern of Muslims and Hindu’s differ in most of the functions (marriage).
Based on the sub culture, buying decision might vary.
Social Class
Social classes are described as groupings that are more or less homogeneous and are rated against
one another in a social hierarchy. Every civilization has some type of social class, which is
significant to marketers since people in the same social class have comparable buying habits. As a
result, marketing operations might be adapted to various socioeconomic classes.
E.g- Respect for those who are rich in the particular society irrespective anything.
Social Factors
Reference group, aspirational groups, member groups, families, roles and status all the dimensions
come under social factors. Sometime individual buying decision influenced by outside factors. E.g-
Since, M.S.Dhoni get the Ceylinco insurance service, I also want to get the insurance service from
Ceylinco. We can have classified in to reference group, family and social roles and status.
Reference group
Reference group is an influencial group which have potential to form a person buying behavior or
their attitudes.
E.g- Since, M.S.Dhoni get the Ceylinco insurance service, I also want to get the insurance service
from Ceylinco.
Family
The family is the main reference group that may influence the consumer behavior. Nowadays,
children are well informed about goods and services through media or friends circle, and other
sources. A family creates first perceptions about brands or products and consumer habits.
E.g- In order to purchase a Jewelry, all the family members concern should be there in buying

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decision making.
Role & Status
An individual roles & status vary among the particular group. It may be family, community or
society.
E.g- one person from the family may willing to purchase formal dress and another one in same
family may purchase model dress. It depends on their role and status.

Psychological Factors
Motivation (Maslow's hierarchy of wants), perception, learning, beliefs, and attitudes are all factors
that influence our purchasing decisions. A consumer's buying decision is frequently influenced by
others. The marketer must know who is engaged in the purchasing decision and what function each
person plays in order to tailor marketing tactics to these individuals. Psychological elements may
be separated into four areas when it comes to influencing consumer behavior: motivation,
perception, learning, and beliefs and attitudes.
E.g- I used the bicycle up to ordinary level. After I passed the A/L exam I purchase motor vehice.
So, with the level of need increases our buying behavior is also changing.
Motivation
It is a key factor to drive the customer toward purchasing decision. A matketer can use different
motivation strategies to positively or negatively influence the buying decision of the consumer.
E.g- Since, the seller call me as sir and give sense of encouragement on the product, I purchase the
product.
Perception
It is a sensation on what we observe. Each person receives thousands of sensory stimuli like light,
color, sound, smell, taste and texture per day. Perception is the process through which these
sensations are selected, organized and interpret to form meaningful picture.
E.g- I perceive since many of the crowd is in the cue to get the meal, I perceive the food is in
quality.
Learning
It is a process of change in individual knowledge, skills and capabilities.
For example, we learn to use the Zoom since, we couldnot have physical classes in Covid-19 time.

Belief

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A belief is a descriptive thought that a person holds about certain things. It may be based on
knowledge, opinion, faith, trust and confidence. It develops brand images.
For example: Apple laptop is always my prior choice due to Brand recognition

Attitudes
It is human tendency to respond in a given manner to a particular situation or object or idea.
Consumer may develop a positive or negative or a neutral attitude towards certain brand of clothes.

2.
Before making a purchase, a customer goes through five phases in his or her decision-making
process. The customer detects the need, acquires information, assesses options, and makes a buying
choice during these stages.

01. Problem Recognition

The first stage in the customer decision-making process is to recognize the problem. A consumer
will not make a purchase unless they are aware of their needs or desires. When a customer feels
compelled to acquire a product, he or she will make a purchase choice. When the buyer perceives
our problem of need, the purchasing process begins with both internal and external stimuli.
E.g- I need to purchase the new laptop for my research work
02. Information Search

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The consumer is aware of their need or desire at this point. Customers also understand that they
want to purchase a product that will help them solve their problem. As a result, people are
interested in learning more about the solution that can solve their problem. This led to the stage of
information gathering. The customer will look for available choices and a solution that is based on
their situation.
E.g- Searching information about the Apple, Samsung, IBM, Lenova Laptop’s storage, camera
quality, battery usage and warranty.

03. After gathering information, the customer will be able to assess the various options. Customers
and buyers will evaluate options differently. In some circumstances, consumers do no or only a
short review and purchase on instinct and intuition.
E.g-
Characters Apple IBM Lenova
Storage 10 8 7
Quality of camera 10 9 8
Warrenty 9 8 7
Total 29/30 25/30 22/30

04. Purchase Decision

At this stage, the customer has weighed his or her options and is ready to make the purchase.
Typically, when a buyer makes a purchase, he or she chooses for the most popular brand. There are
a variety of elements that might influence a consumer's purchasing choice, such as other people's
opinions or marketing-created brand perceptions.
E.g- Based on the outer performance of Apple laptop among others. I will choose to purchase
Apple laptop.
05. Post purchase behavior
Post-purchase behavior is the final stage of the purchasing process. The consumer will assess his or
her degree of satisfaction after purchasing the goods. If a customer is dissatisfied with a product,
the customer's expectations have not been reached. If the product matches the customer's
expectations, they will be happy and eager to spend more money on this brand in the future.
E.g- If the Laptop satisfy or make my academic work easier. I will continue with the brand
otherwise; I will switch over it.

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Overall Conclusion

This report consists of the industries that prevail in Sri Lanka and some companies that belongs to
those industries. Also, this consists of small introduction to telecommunication industry, Apparel
industry, Health care, Education and banking and finance industry. And it secondly explained
about factors affecting the buying decisions of clothes. And I explained about behavior of
consumer using 5 steps (Need/ problem recognition, Information search, Evaluation, Purchase
decision, Post purchase evaluation) consumer buying behavior process of Laptop

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  References

 McKechnie, S., 1992. Consumer buying behaviour in financial services: an overview. International
Journal of Bank Marketing.

 Wen, I., 2009. Factors affecting the online travel buying decision: a review. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management.

 https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/en/financial-system/financial-system-stability/banking-sector

 (99+) 7 Important Factors That Influence The Buying Decision Of A Consumer | LinkedIn

Lecture Notes

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