Marketing Management

-Prof.Roshni Sawant
“Marketing is a human activity directed at
satisfying needs and wants through
exchange process “
-Philip Kotler
Marketing Vs Sales
 Marketing Mix

o Product
o Price
o Promotion
o Place
 Product
A product is anything that can be offered
to a market for attention, acquisition, use
or consumption that might satisfy a want
or need.
Levels of Product :

Level 1 : Core Benefit : Fundamental

benefit that the customer is buying E.g. :-
Hotel : Comfort
Level 2:- Generic Benefit
Basic version of the product.
e.g. : Hotel/Restaurant : Consists of a building
with Permit rooms.

 Level 3 : Expected Product

A set of attributes and conditions that buyers
normally expect and agree when they purchase
the product.
e.g. : Hotel : Clean Bed, soap, towels,
telephone
Level 4 : Augmented Product
It includes additional services and benefits
that distinguishes the company’s offer
from competitor’s offers.
e.g. : Hotel : Complimentary breakfast.

 Level 5: Potential Product: All

augmentations and transformations that
the product might ultimately undergo in
the future.
e.g. : Computer compatible TV .
 Price
The exchange value at which seller sells
and buyer buys the product .
 Differential Pricing : Same brand is sold at
different prices/different times to consumers.
E.g.: Skimming strategy & Dumping
 Competitive Pricing : Prices are set to
exploit competitive position.
E.g.: Penetration strategy
 Product Line Pricing : Related brands are
sold at prices that exploit mutual
dependencies
E.g.: Product Bundling, Complementary Pricing,
Premium pricing ,Image Pricing:
 Promotion
It involves all the activities the company
undertakes to promote its products to
the target market .
 Advertising
 Sales Promotion
 Personal Selling
 Public Relation
 Sales Promotion Tools
 Samples : Free samples with newspapers eg: Brunch
,Me etc
 Coupons: FMCG companies: 15% discount coupon
or some rupees off for the next purchase
 Banded Pack : Two related products banded
together (toothpaste with toothbrush )
 Contests : Answer a few questions, write a
slogan.
 Cont…….

 Scratch ’n’ win offer:

 Money back offer
 Free Trials: Free auto drives
Dealer promotion Tools :
 Annual Schemes
 Quarterly schemes:
 Scratch ’n’ win scheme
 Place
 It include various activities the company
undertakes to make the product
accessible and available to target
audience .
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
 Product life cycle (PLC)
 Anything that is capable of satisfying customer
needs. This definition includes both physical
products (e.g. cars, washing machines, DVD
players) as well as services (e.g. insurance,
banking, private health care).
 Businesses should manage their products
carefully over time to ensure that they deliver
products that continue to meet customer wants.
The process of managing groups of brands and
product lines is called portfolio planning.
 The stages through which individual
products develop over time is called
commonly known as the "Product Life
Cycle".
 The classic product life cycle has four
stages (illustrated in the diagram below):
introduction; growth; maturity and decline
 Introduction Stage
At the Introduction (or development) Stage
market size and growth is slight. it is possible
that substantial research and development costs
have been incurred in getting the product to this
stage. In addition, marketing costs may be high
in order to test the market, undergo launch
promotion and set up distribution channels. It is
highly unlikely that companies will make profits
on products at the Introduction Stage. Products
at this stage have to be carefully monitored to
ensure that they start to grow. Otherwise, the
best option may be to withdraw or end the
product.
 Growth Stage
The Growth Stage is characterised by
rapid growth in sales and profits. Profits
arise due to an increase in output
(economies of scale)and possibly better
prices. At this stage, it is cheaper for
businesses to invest in increasing their
market share as well as enjoying the
overall growth of the market. Accordingly,
significant promotional resources are
traditionally invested in products that are
firmly in the Growth Stage.
 Maturity Stage
The Maturity Stage is the most common stage
for all markets .In this stage competition is most
intense as companies fight to maintain their
market share. Both marketing and finance
become key activities. Marketing spend has to
be monitored carefully, since any significant
moves are likely to be copied by competitors.
The Maturity Stage is the time when most profit
is earned by the market as a whole. Any
expenditure on research and development is
likely to be restricted to product modification and
improvement and perhaps to improve production
efficiency and quality.
 Decline Stage
In the Decline Stage, the market is shrinking,
reducing the overall amount of profit that can be
shared amongst the remaining competitors.Care
has to be taken to manage the product carefully.
It may be possible to take out some production
cost, to transfer production to a cheaper facility,
sell the product into other, cheaper markets.
Care should be taken to control the amount of
stocks of the product. Ultimately, depending on
whether the product remains profitable, a
company may decide to end the product.
 Examples of PLC
 Introduction stage :
3G Phones ,Blackberry ,E-Conferencing .
 Growth stage :

Email ,smart cards .

 Maturity stage :

Personal computers ,Faxes, credit cards.

 Decline stage:

Typewritters ,dishwashers ,vaccumcleaners.

BRAND MANAGEMENT
Why Branding is done ?
 BRANDING

Defn:- A name ,symbol, design which is intended to

identify the goods ,services of one company and to
differentiate the goods from those of competitors.
 CITIBANK : The Citi that never sleeps.
 HSBC : The world’s local bank.
 Canara Bank: Growing to serve. Serving to
grow.
 L’OREAL: Because you’re worth it.
 Maybelline: May be she’s born with it. May be its
Maybelline.
 GO GOA : 365 days on a holiday.
 Kerala : God’s own country.
 KL : VISION CITY
 Malaysia : Truly Asia.
 Singapore : Singapore Roars
 Hong Kong: Live it up.
 Orange : Wherever you go, our network
follows.
 Aaj Tak : Sabse Tez.
 Chevrolet Optra : The new name for
luxury.
 Tata Indigo: Spoil Yourself.
 Mitsubishi Lancer: Always in control.
 Raymond : For the complete man.
 Tata Salt : Desh ka namak.
 Louis Philippe: The upper crest.
 BPL : Believe in the best.
 Videocon : Indian multinational
 Sansui :Better then the best,
Born in Japan,
Entertaining the world.
 LG :Digitally your
 Nokia :Connecting people
 Motorola : Intelligence everywhere.
 Ceat Tyres : Born Tough.
 Characteristics/Advantage/Merits
of Good Brand names
 Simplicity
e.g. Nirma, Lux, Bata
 Aid to memory
e.g. Bisleri ,Cadbury

 Capable of describing the features

e.g. All Clear , Duracell, Action shoes,Fair n lovely,
Fair ever
 Cont….
 Class Apart
e.g. Merc-benz, Rolls Royce ,Parker, Rolex, Swatch….

 Distinctive
e.g. 125cc bike ,Electric start Bike….

 Adaptable
e.g. LG (good brand name for TV’s and not for
Refrigerators and Washing Machine …
 Brand Strategy Decision

 Line extension
e.g.Life buoy (original)….
extn – Gold,Plus,Care
Colgate (original )….
extn – Total,Active,Salt,Herbal
Coca-Cola 300ml bottle (original )….
extn- 500ml & 1ltr ,Can (diet coke )
 Brand extension
e.g.Bajaj(Scooters)…Later entered into
category like Bikes (Pulsar) ,Electrical
Appliance (fans) ,Finance (Bajaj Alliance)
TATA …
Motars,Insurance,Tea,Chemicals,Watches,
Cafes,Hospitals,Research centers etc…
Reliance ..
Textiles,Petrochem,Telecom,Finance,Malls
 Multiplebrand
e.g. TITAN (Titan, Sonata )
L.G ( L.G,Sampoorna )

 New brand
e.g.Subiksha
 METHODS OF BRANDING
 Individual Brand
e.g. ITC,HLL,P&G
 Family Brand
e.g. Maggi (Noodles , ketchup)
Kissan (Jam , Squash, ketchup)
 Umbrella Brand

e.g. Godrej, Sony

 Combination of Brand & Company’s name
e.g.TATA Tetley

 Symbols & Marks

e.g. Camel (Camel Ink), American Cowboy
(Marlboro Cigarettes )

 Name of Founders
e.g. Godrej, Colgate, Ford, Mercedes
 Typical numbers
e.g. 555(cigarettes),501 (soap )

 Combination of Names & Numbers

e.g. Premier 118 NE ,Maruti 800,
7 UP,7O’Clock blades ….
 BRAND IMAGE
FACTORS AFFECTING BRAND IMAGE
 Contents Of Advertisement
 Personality used
 Sponsors
 Packaging
 Distribution
 Media used
 BRAND FATIGUE
“It takes place when the sale of branded
products sharply declines over the period
of time and the brand no longer looks
attractive and acceptable to consumers”
In BCG Matrix Product has gone to
DOGS (Low Market Share & Low Growth
Rate )
Causes of Brand Fatigue
 Unchanged in Appearance
 Fails to come up to expectation of
consumers
 Projected qualities ,features & benefits
become obsolete
Measures to overcome Brand Fatigue
Use latest technology

Extend product line

Offer incentives to dealer

Introduces sales promotion technique

 Positioning

Defn: It is the act of designing

company’s offer that adds distinct and
valued place in target customers mind.
 Positioning

 Positioning starts with the product. But

Positioning is not what you do to a product.
Positioning is what you do to the mind of the
prospect.

 Easiest way to get into the mind - Be First

KODAK- Photography
Xerox - Copier
Hertz - Rent-a –car
 6 STEPS IN PRODUC T
POSITIONING :

 What position do you own?

 What position do you want to own?
 Do you have enough money?
 Can you sustain ?
 Do you match your position?
 Positioning Strategy
Positioning by Product benefit:
e.g. Maggi Noodles :2 min Positioning “Fast
to Cook ,Good to Eat “

Positioning by User category :

e.g. “Beauty soap of Film Stars “Campaign
of LUX soap
 Positioning by Product class :
e.g.Dove ,Dettol

Positioning by Culture Symbol/Names:

e.g. Ganga river (Ganga soap) , American
Cowboy (Marlboro Cigarettes )

Positioning by Competitor:
Avis (rent-a-Car )“We ‘re only No.2.We try
harder “ against it competitor Hertz (No.1)
Positioning By Price & Quality
The advertiser may Position the product as
quality product that is worth money (Good
Quality Cost a Little More )…Others may
Position as Quality product but still at
reasonable /affordable price
e.g. Newport jeans “Good jeans for less”
 New Product Development

 Idea Generation
 Idea Screening
 Concept Development & Testing
 Marketing Strategy
 Business Analysis
 Product Development
 Market Testing
 Commercialization
 ) Idea Generation :
Source of New Product Ideas:-
Customers , Employees, Competitor’s
Products and services ,
sales team
Idea Generating Techniques :
Brain Storming , Need/Problem Identification
Problem /Need Identification.
 2) Idea Screening:

Drop Error
Go Error
 3) Concept Development & Testing:
A product concept is an elaborated version of
the idea expressed in meaningful consumer
terms.
 4) Marketing Strategy Development :
Describes the size , structure of the target
market, Positioning, sales, Market share in
the first few years.
Product, Price, Place, Distribution strategy.
Long run sales and profit goals.
 5) Business Analysis:
Actual costs to R&D, MFG. ,Marketing cost
and Profit Projection
 6) Product Development:
Develop Prototype
Functional & Consumer Tests

 7) Market Testing :
Testing in select outlets with actual
brand name and
packaging

 8) Commercialization :
When to enter the market
How to enter the market
 Marketing models
 BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP’S –
GROWTH SHARE MATRIX.(BCG Matrix)

 ANSOFF’S PRODUCT/MARKET
EXPANSION GRID

 PORTERS 5 FORCE THEORY

 BCG matrix- Growth/share matrix
HIGH LOW

HIGH

STARS Question
Market Marks
Growth
Rate (%)
Dogs
Cash
cow
LOW x x
x
Relative Market share
 QUESTION MARKS
These are products or businesses, that
compete in high growth markets but where
the market share is relatively low. A new
product launched into a high growth
market and with an existing market leader
would normally be considered as a
question mark.
 STAR
Successful question marks become stars. i.e.
market leaders inhigh growth industries.
However, investment is normally stillrequired to
maintain growth and to defend the leadership
position.Stars are frequently only marginally
profitable but as they reach amore mature status
in their life cycle and growth slows,
returnsbecome more attractive. The stars
provide the basis for long termgrowth and
profitability
 Cash cows
These are characterised by high relative market
share in low growth industries. As the market
matures the need for investment reduces. Cash
Cows are the most profitable products in the
portfolio. The situation is frequently boosted by
economies of scale that may be present with
market leaders. Cash Cows may be used
to fund the businesses in the other three
quadrants
 Dogs
These describe businesses that have low market shares in slow
growth markets. They may well have been Cash Cows. Often they
enjoy misguided loyalty from management although some Dogs
can be revitalised. Profitability is, at best, marginal.
Strategic options would include..

 Retrenchment (if it is believed that it could be revitalised)

 Liquidation
 Divestment (if you can find someone to buy!)

Successful products may well move from question mark though

star to Cash Cow and finally to Dog. Less successful products that
never gain market position will move straight from question mark to
Dog.
 IGOR ANSOFF’S PRODUCT/MARKET
EXPANSION GRID
Current Product New Product

Current
Market Product
Market
Penetration Development

New Market Diversification

Market Development
 Market Penetration (Current Market –Current
Product):
Encourage current customers to buy more.
Attract competitors customers to switch to
its brand
Convince non users who resemble current
users to start using the company’s product
E.g - Pepsodent, Colgate
 Market Development:
Geographical expansion
Channel expansion : If only present in
consumer market, then look at institutional
sales also. Geographical expansion: Opening
retail outlets in other areas.
e.g --- Mc-Donalds, Shoppers’ Stop
 Product development Strategy :
Introduce products with new features
Introduce different quality versions
Alternative product forms Introduce
products with new features
e.g – LG in colour TVs– Flat TVs, Plasma TVs,
LCD TVs, Projection TVs.
Diversification Strategy

 Vertical Integration (V I) : When an organization starts

making new products that serve its own needs , vertical
integration takes place.
 V I are of two types---
Forward and Backward integration
 Backward integration : When a company starts making
some or all of its material requirements (Inputs ) it is
backward integration.
 Forward Integration : moves the company nearer to the
ultimate consumer.
 E.g If Tata Indica starts making tyres --- backward
integration
 If Sona Steering starts making cars--- its forward
integration
 Backward Integration: --
Benefits
1) It ensures smooth supply of materials
2) Better control on quantity and quantity.
3) Results in economies of scale
Disadvantages
1) The cost of making may be higher then the
cost of buying
2) Exiting the business in future may be more
difficult
 Forward Integration :
Benefits:
1) It creates a captive demand for the
product
2) It generates additional profits .
e.g Raymond’s getting into ready made
shirts –(Park Avenue, Parx)
Disadvantages :
1) The new business may not succeed
 Horizontal Integration : Integration at the
same level of business –
e.g HUL buying TOMCO
Or sister concerns of the same company
can be combined into one entity.
 Three types of diversification:--
1) Concentric Diversification Strategy :
company makes products that have
technological and / or marketing synergies
with existing product lines , even though
the product may appeal to a new class of
customers
e.g--- A audio cassette/CD company may
start making computer CD ---
A washing machine company starts
making dishwasher.
 Horizontal Diversification strategy :
Company searches for new products that
serve the same customer though
technologically unrelated to its current
product .
e.g – A cassette manufacturing company
starts making tray to hold the cassette.
A CD company starts making CD boxes
 Conglomerate Diversification : When an
organization seeks new businesses that have no
relationship to the company’s current
technology, products or markets its known as
Conglomerate diversification.

 e..g : ITC ( Cigarettes, Hotels, Paper )

TATA ( Steel, salt, cement, power, tea,
retail, hotels,coffee chain, software)
TTK ( Pressure cookers,
chemicals, contraceptives, pharmaceuticals)
Anchor (consumer electronics, Toothpaste, talcum
powder, electrical switches)
Porter’s 5 Forces- Determining Segment
Structural Attractiveness

Potential Entrants

Suppliers
Buyers
(Supplier Power) Industry
(buyer Power)
Competitors
Substitutes
(Threat of
substitutes)
 Threat of Entry
 Barriers To Entry :

 )Economies of scale

 )Product Differentiation of existing firms

 )Huge capital requirements

 )Switching costs

 )Access to distribution channels

 )Govt. Policy
 Bargaining Power of Buyers
 Buyers compete with the industry by forcing down prices ,
bargaining for higher quality or more services and playing
competition against each other

 Buyer group is powerful under the following conditions

 )It is concentrated or purchases large volumes relative to
seller sales
 )The product it purchases from the industry represent a
significant fraction of the buyer’s costs
 )The product it purchases from the industry are standard or
undifferentiated: Buyers, sure that they can find alternate
suppliers , may play one company against other to extract
maximum mileage.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
 Faces few switching costs: switching costs, lock
the buyer to particular sellers. Lower the cost
better for buyer to bargain
 )Buyers pose a credible threat of backward
integration---- if buyers are partially integrated or
pose a credible threat of backward integration,
they are in a position to demand bargaining
concessions.
 )The industry’s product is unimportant to the
quality of the buyer’s product
 The buyer has full information
 Bargaining power of suppliers

 A supplier group is powerful if the following apply

 )The supplier’s product is an important input to the buyer’s

business
 )The supplier’s products are differentiated or it has built in
switching costs
 )Supplier poses a serious threat of forward integration
 )The industry is not an important customer of the supplier
group.:== When a supplier sells to a number of industries
and a particular industry doesn't represent a significant
fraction of sales , suppliers are much more prone to exert
power.
 MARKET
SEGMENTATION
Market segmentation
It is the division of a market into different groups
of customers with distinctly similar needs and
product/service requirements. Market
segmentation is the division of a mass market
into identifiable and distinct groups or segments,
each of which have common characteristics and
needs and display similar responses to
marketing actions.
Its defined as “a condition of growth when
core markets have already been
developed on a generalised basis to the
point where additional promotional
expenditures are yielding diminishing
returns”.
 Segmentation Base

Geographic
 Region : North South, East, West
 City Size : Major Metros, Sub –Metros, Town
 Climate :Hot, cold, humid

Psychographic
 Lifestyle: Conservative, Status Seekers

 Personality: Extrovert, Introvert, Aggressive

 Demographic
 Age -- 0-11,12-19,20-34 etc.
 Sex-Male Female
 Family Size-1-2,3-4,5+
 Education - school, Graduate, PG
 Occupation -Farmer, Professional,
Housewife, Retired
 Income-15k,16-25k,26-35k etc.
 Religion-Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs,

Christians
 Behavioral

 Usage Rate-Heavy, Medium , Light users

 Awareness Status-Unaware, aware
 Brand Loyalty- Strong, Medium , None
 TARGETING
The second important part of the STP process is to determine
segments uncovered should be targeted and made the focus of a
comprehensive marketing programme..
Kotler (1984) suggested that in order for market segmentation to be
effective, all segments must be:
• Distinct—is each segment clearly different from other segments? If
so,
different marketing mixes, to use the traditional approach to marketing,
will be necessary.

• Accessible—can buyers be reached through appropriate promotional

programmes and distribution channels?

• Measurable—is the segment easy to identify and measure?

• Profitable—is the segment sufficiently large to provide a stream of

constant future revenues and profits?
TARGETING APPROACHES
 Differentiated approach
 Hewlett Packard has developed its product range and
marketing
 strategy to target the following user segments of
computing equipment: home
 officer users; small and medium businesses; large
businesses; and health, education,
 and government departments. The clothing brand Levi’s
uses multiple
 marketing strategies to target the trendy/casual, the price
shopper, the traditionalist,
 the utilitarian, and the mainstream clothing shopper
Concentrated or niche-marketing
approach recognizes that there are segments
in the market, but implements a concentrated
strategy by focusing on just a few
market segments. This is often adopted by firms
that either have limited resources
by which to fund their marketing strategy, or are
adopting a very exclusive
Customized targeting approach in which a
marketing strategy is developed for each
customer as opposed to each market segment.
This approach is more predominant in B2B
markets (e.g. marketing research or advertising
services) or consumer markets with high-value
highly customized products.
(e.g. purchase of a custom-made car). For
example, a manufacturer of industrial
electronics for assembly lines might target and
customize its product differently from Nissan,
Unilever, and Levi’s, given the differing
requirements in assembly line processes for the
manufacture of automobiles, foodstuffs, and
clothing.
 Undifferentiated approach
the market is viewed as one mass market
with one marketing strategy for the entire
market. Although very expensive, this
targeting approach is often selected in
markets where there is limited segment
differentiation.
MARKET RESEARCH
 Introduction
In order to implement the marketing concept,
marketers require information about the
characteristic, needs, wants and desires
of their target markets. To undertake marketing
effectively ,businesses need information.
Information about customer wants, market
demand, competitors, distribution channels etc
 Objectives
 To understand the concept of Consumer
research.
 To learn the steps involved in the
marketing research process.
 To understand the functions and important
issues of each step in the process
Market research deals specifically with the
gathering of information about a market’s
size and trends.
Marketing research covers a wider range of
activities. While it may involve market research,
marketing research is a more general systematic
process that can be applied to a variety of
marketing problems.
Benefits of Research
 Will help you better communicate: Learn about
your potential clients — who they are and what
they want the most. Nothing improves
communication skills better than a little person
to person contact.
 Will help identify opportunities:

Check the competition. Are they missing

something you can capitalize on? What can you
do better than they can? Are you clients in need
of something nobody else is offering?
 Will minimize risk.
Just like any situation, if you come prepared you
will be less likely to loose and more likely to win.
 Will create benchmarks to help you measure
progress.
How well are you doing? By setting the standard
high from the start, you will be in a better
position for sustained growth
 Consumer Research process in eight steps:
1) Problem/opportunity identification, 1a.
Problem/ opportunity formulation
2) Create the research design
3) Choosing a basic method of research
4) Selecting the sampling procedure
5) Data collection
6) Data analysis
7) Preparing and writing the report
8) Follow-up
Step one a: problem/opportunity
identification
 The research process begins with the
recognition of a business problem or
opportunity.
 Problem/opportunity emerges when:
Environment change. Examples:
Technological breakthrough, new legal
policy, social change, high unemployment
rate.
 Literature review :Obtain secondary from
secondary literature, such as newspapers,
magazines, books and professional journals.
You have to know that their usage
and credibility will be different.
 Interview with the related parties.
 Focus group: Usually a moderator in an in-depth
discussion leads a small group on one particular
topic or concept.
Step One b: Problem/Opportunity Formulation

Information is needed to clarify your research question.

You can use exploratory research, literature review,

personal interview, focus group and other techniques to
obtain information to formulate your research question.
Exploratory research: small-scale research undertaken
to define the exact nature of the problem and to gain a
better understanding of the environment within which the
problem has occurred.
Step Two: Creating the Research Design
1. A plan that researchers follow to answer the research
objectives
2. Whether the design will be Descriptive

3. Descriptive design: Answer the questions who, what,

when, and how.
Step three: Choosing a Basic Method of Research
1. Analysis of secondary data.
2. Survey. Obtain factual (e.g., age) and attitudinal (e.g.,
musical preference) data.
3. Observation. Obtain behavioural data, researchers and
subjects do not have direct interaction.
Step four: Selecting the Sampling
Procedure:
1. Sample is a subset of the whole
population.
2. Why sampling? May be…Population is
too big, population unknown, insufficient
resources to conduct a census.
3. Sample should be “representative” –
should help the researchers to make
inference about the population.
Step Five: Data Collection
1. Under a natural or controlled environment?
Especially important for experimental designs.
2. Survey: Mall intercept, telephone, mail,
Internet…each method has different advantages
and disadvantages. For example, response time,
response rate, structure ofquestions, costs, etc.
Step Six: Data Analysis
1. It’s a process that interprets the observed
data into meaningful information.
Step Seven: Preparing and Writing the
Report
1. Researcher should communicate their findings to the
managers, if possible, oral presentation and written report
should both be made.
2. Practical recommendations should be suggested to the
managers. For example: If our shop will target on younger
consumers, we should sell more pop music, and the
interior design should be more fashionable to fit their
lifestyles.
3. How you present the results may affect how the managers
use your information.
The format of the marketing research report varies with
the needs of the organization. You should make sure
that the report contains the following sections:
· Authorization letter for the research
· Table of Contents
· List of illustrations
· Executive summary
· Research objectives
· Methodology
· Results
· Limitations
· Conclusions and recommendations
Appendices containing copies of the questionnaires, etc
Step eight: Follow up
1. You have spent resources in conducting the
research; you
should make sure the managers would use your
findings.
2. Well organized and presented, be practical,
avoid managerial conflict, and remind the
managers to read your
report.
3. Sometimes, addition research should be
conducted to supplement your research findings.
 Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research is about investigating the features of a
market through in-depth research that explores the
background and context for decision-making.
In qualitative research there are 3 main methods of
collecting primary data:
i. Depth interviews
ii. Focus/discussion groups
iii. Projective techniques
Depth Interviewing:

Depth interviews are the main form of qualitative research in

most business markets. Here an interviewer spends time in a
one-on-one interview finding out about the customer’s
particular circumstances and their individual opinions.
The majority of business depth interviews take place in person,
which has the added benefit that the researcher visits the
respondent’s place of work and gains a sense of the culture of
the business. However, for multi-national studies, telephone
depth interviews, or even on-line depth interviews may be
more appropriate.
Feedback is through a presentation that draws together
findings across a number of depth interviews. In
some circumstances, such as segmentation studies,
identifying differences between respondents may be
as important as the views that customers share.
The main alternative to depth interviews - focus
group discussions - is typically too difficult or
expensive to arrange with busy executives.
Group Discussions
Focus groups are the mainstay of consumer research.
Here several customers are brought together to take part
in a discussion led by a researcher (or “moderator”).
These groups are a good way of exploring a topic in
some depth or to encourage creative ideas from
participants .Group discussions are rare in business
markets, unless the customers are small businesses. In
technology markets where the end user may be a
consumer, or part of a team evaluating technology,
group discussions can be an effective way of
understanding what customers are looking for,
particularly at more creative stages of research.
Projective Techniques:
Used in Consumer research to understand
consumer’s knowledge in association with a
particular product or brand. Used by clinical
psychologists to understand a consumer’s
hidden ‘attitudes’, ‘motivation’ and ‘feelings’.
These techniques could be:
i. Word association: Respondents are presented with a
series of words or phrases and asked to say the first
word, which comes to your mind. This method is helpful
to check whether the proposed product names have
undesirable associations.
ii. Sentence completion: The beginning of a sentence is
read out to the respondent and he/she is asked to
complete it with the first word that comes to the mind.
E.g., “people who don’t prefer to eat from fast food joints
are……………”
iii. Third party techniques: Respondents are asked to
describe a third person about whom they have little
information. Useful in determining ‘attitudes’ of the
respondents.
Thematic Apperception Test TAT: Respondents are
shown an ambiguous picture or drawing or fill in a blank
‘speech bubble’ associated with a particular character in
an ambitious situation and then asked to interpret the
same. Helps in understanding the perception of the
respondents towards the various aspects of the product
Repertory grid: Respondents are presented with a grid
and asked to title the columns with brand names or
various types of a particular product (tastes of soft
drinks).
Then they are asked to select any three of these
products and think of a phrase, which will describe the
way, in which any two are different from the third. This
description is used as the title of a row and each of the
other products are rated accordingly. By repeatedly
selecting and describing the items, the researcher will be
able to find the way in which the respondent perceives
the market.

Role-playing: respondents are asked to visualize that they

are a product or a person and asked to enact or perform
their role describing their feelings, thoughts and actions
Problems associated with marketing research
Though marketing research is a good practice for all
firms to embark on and indeed many put in a lot of
effort, many times things go wrong in the process.
Below are some of the reasons why marketing
research can fail.
 Lack of cash
Financial constraints may limit the amount of research
activity, leading to erroneous conclusion. Some times
research activities are put on hold before they are
completed due to lack of funds.
 Inappropriate methodology
Research methods can be distorted by errors in
project design, sampling techniques, lack of
understanding by subject and interview bias.
 Inexperience in data analysis
Some mangers that are not experienced in analyzing
and interpreting research data may only look for the
information they want to see from the research data
and hence neglect a whole lot of important data.
 Wrong information
Some times, some people due to different reasons
can give wrong information to the interviewer which
will produce wrong results.
 Haste
Many companies and firms attempt to do too
much in such a little time, they end up taking
shortcuts and some times use out of date
secondary data which produces wrong
results.
 Seasonality
There are some products which are only
consumed by seasons, making a research
about such products in a different season will
produce wrong results
Consumer Behaviour Process
 Objectives of studying Consumer
Behaviour
 To Understand the development of the
marketing concept

 Define customer value, satisfaction and

retention.

 Explore the link between marketing and

Customer orientation
 CONT….
 Identify the major factors that influence a
consumer’s purchase decision and
behaviour.
 Define consumer’s behaviour.
 Marketing and Customer
Orientation

To introduce you to the concept of

consumer behaviour, let us……
 first understand about the discipline of
consumer behaviour in relation to
marketing.
 Emerging Imperatives
 Customer of today is the arbitrator of corporate destiny.
He is Unrelenting , demanding, and finicky. He wishes to
fulfil his needs in the most cost effective manner.
 Consumer spending are rising rapidly, while savings rate
in India is falling.
 Alyque Padamsee says: “This is the land of Karma,
where everything is worked out for you, your destiny
your kismet.
 The Generation feels ‘The hell with waiting for
reincarnation!’ They are breaking the Karma handcuffs.
They are deciding that what they want is a better life
now. If they have money they want to spend it now. But
they are spending, intelligently, not indiscriminately.
 What are the today’s
Realities?
 Today’s customer is exposed to
international quality due to the entry of
more players - from within India and abroad
- in the market in post liberalized India.
 So he dictates specifications, quality
standards and even chargeable price.
 He wants everything here and now.
 Both budget shoppers and high spenders
are demanding
 Better return for the money they spend
 This in turn has several
lessons for the
 marketers
A marketer has to act like:a long-term
investor.
 He has to be prepared to accept
wafer thin profit margins.
 Hence all the planning processes and
the people of the organization have to
be configured around the central
character, viz., and the customer.
 Cont…
 Marketing effort has to be directed at
meeting customer needs, and not
earning profits, or building markets.
 The latter will of course be a fall out of
the customer focus.
 In the competitive world, the marketer
has to strategize to deliver customer
value greater than that provided by
his competitors
QUESTIONS
THANK YOU...