Buyer Behavior

Course Code: M401

Reflection Paper
Topic: Joshnar Phool

Submitted to:
Swarup Saha
Lecturer
IBA, University of Dhaka

Submitted by:
Naziba Ali
Roll: 93
IBA BBA 27th

Date of submission: 18th April, 2022

Background & Storytelling Approach
Over the past two decades, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in ensuring access to
education. But, in the early 2000s, the country’s net enrollment rate at the primary level stood at
80% while the dropout level remained high.
The second Millennium Development Goal (MDG) was to ensure that by 2015, every child
attained universal primary education. To fulfil this goal, the government of Bangladesh focused
on (i) developing basic infrastructure and (ii) ensuring social inclusion for marginalized children.
And “Joshnar Phool” was created to achieve the latter by raising public awareness about the
importance of education. The distinguished writer Humayun Ahmed created the character
Shawkat to represent UNICEF's goal of promoting quality education in rural Bangladesh. 
Throughout the drama, we watch him go beyond classrooms to ensure better lives for children.
By understanding the customer group (students), Shawkat and a couple of other characters (Nila,
Farid, and Juthy), worked to eliminate stigmas and negative perceptions about education and
promote a favorable attitude towards education. This effort to understand consumer attitude and
behavior is in line with the goal of our Buyer Behavior course.
Key Takeaways
In any educational institution, marketing has two goals: (i) to increase enrollments (acquisition)
and (ii) to retain the students (retention). Joshnar Phool has done an incredible job by indicating
the strategies for achieving these goals.
From a marketing perspective, the key learnings from Joshnar Phool would be:
1. Adopt a consumer-centric focus: Customer-centricity in education refers to how effectively
a school caters to its customers - the students (also, parents). Schools should support the specific
needs of their students, either on a one-to-one level or in clusters based on their personality,
behavior and learning styles.
This customer-centricity has been rightly reflected in Joshnar Phool. Mr. Showkat makes an
effort to understand each of his student. In the process, he addresses the following pain points of
students:
 Problem 1: A portion of his students (for example, Jongol Ali) do not enjoy traditional
learning.
Solution: Mr. Showkat introduces “Anondomoi Shikkha Obhiggota” (activity-based learning
in nature, practical learning in classrooms)
 Problem 2: Female students (like Tuli and Pakhi) are unable to focus on studies since they
are required to assist their mother with household chores.
Solution: Mr. Showkat organizes a musical gathering emphasizing “Barite poralekhar
poribesh chai.” Besides, he highlights the necessity of regular parent-teacher meetings.
 Problem 3: Some cannot attend school due to their parents' ignorance (for example, Mizan
the farmer would rather prefer his son working with him).
 Solution: Mr. Showkat assures Mizan that his son has the potential of obtaining scholarships
(future benefit). In addition, he advocates for adult literacy (for parents).
 Problem 4: Students cannot continue their education beyond elementary level due to absence
of high school in the village.
Solution: In the School Committee Meeting, Mr. Shawkat suggests that the primary school
be upgraded to high school.
 Problem 5: Working children are barred from attending school.
Solution: NGOs have established schools with only 2-hours class duration i.e. the service has
been tailored as per the consumer’s need.
2. Continuous innovation & product enhancement: As seen in the drama, the Managing
Committee meets on a regular basis to examine the school's current state and identify areas for
improvement. They planned to establish a library, introduce arts and crafts, introduce arts and
crafts, increase the number of skilled teachers, and most importantly, create an enjoyable
learning environment for pupils. By offering these amenities, they aimed to increase customer
satisfaction.
3. Source Credibility: As noticed in the drama, Mr. Showkat is well-respected and perceived as
a community leader. When asked by him, parents would agree to send their children to school.
Other credible sources in the drama include:
 Buzz agent: Amina, Jongol Ali's mother and a School Committee Member, went door to
door convincing parents. As she belonged to the same social class as the consumers, it
was easy for her to persuade the parents.
 Aspirational or comparative reference group: Mr. Shawkat further highlighted the
value of education by bringing his friend Mr. Farid to class, who graduated from a
university in the US.
4. Leverage values and subcultures: While marketing a school, (especially in villages), it is
critical to go where your audience is.  In villages, religious leaders are held in high regard. Thus,
in the drama, ‘mowlana shaheb’ preaches the value of education, quoting scriptures like “Seek
knowledge even if you have to go as far as China.”
Similarly, as villagers love festivities, Mr. Showkat arranged events like “Jari Ganer Ashor” and
so on.
5. Provide positive reinforcement: Mr. Showkat frequently used positive reinforcement with
his students. For example, he asked students to collect as many leaves as possible and, as a
reward, he would build a scrapbook to keep in the classroom.
6. Performing consumer fieldwork: In the village, Ms. Nila conducted field study to ascertain
the causes for skipping school. Even while in Dhaka, she interacted with working children and
their employers to identify why they were not being sent to school.
Final Thoughts
Thus, in the 2000s, Bangladesh excelled at expanding elementary education by encouraging even
the poorest families to enroll their children. And this wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of
dedicated teachers and community leaders (like Mr. Showkat), benefactors (like Mr. Amin) and
social workers (like Ms. Nila).
Joshnar Phool rightly portrays how (i) a small number of educated people raised widespread
awareness about education; (ii) catered to each student’s need; (iii) and consistently improved
the school’s offerings. To further reach the audience, the drama highlights the remarkable steps
taken by the Government - free primary education, stipend programs at the primary level,
budgetary allocation for girls’ education, free secondary education for girls, and the abolition of
child labor, to name a few.
All in all, it is reasonable to conclude that Joshnar Phool is an educative drama in the truest of
sense.