SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

On
“A Study on Customer Satisfaction towards Organic
India Products in Lucknow City”

Towards partial fulfillment of

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

School of Management, Babu Banarasi Das University, Lucknow

Guided by Submitted by

Mr. Saiyid Saif Abbas Abidi Geetika Dhawan

MBA III Semester
Roll No.-1170672047

Session 2018-2019

School of Management

Babu Banarasi Das University

Sector I, Dr. Akhilesh Das Nagar , Faizabad Road , Lucknow (U.P.) India
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Acknowledgement
Preface
Sr. Topic Page no.
1. Introduction & Review of literature 1
2. Company profile 31
3. Research methodology 52
4. Problems and limitations 58
5. Data Analysis and Interpretation 60
6. Findings 72
7. Recommendations 74
8. Conclusion 76
Bibliography
Appendix
 CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

1
 Introduction

As a consumer we are all unique and this uniqueness is reflected in the consumption

pattern and process purchase. The study of consumer behavior provides us with reasons

why consumers differ from one another in buying using products and services. We

receive stimuli from the environment and the specifics of the marketing strategies of

different products and services, and responds to these stimuli in terms of either buying or

not buying product. In between the stage of receiving the stimuli and responding to it, the

consumer goes through the process of making his decision.

 Stages of the Consumer Buying Process:

Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). Actual

purchasing is only one stage of the process. Not all decision processes lead to a purchase.

All consumer decisions do not always include all 6 stages, determined by the degree of

complexity...discussed next.

The 6 stages are:

1. Problem Recognition--difference between the desired state and the actual

condition. Deficit in assortment of products. Hunger--Food. Hunger stimulates your

need to eat.

2
 Can be stimulated by the marketer through product information--did not know

you were deficient? I.E., see a commercial for a new pair of shoes, stimulates

your recognition that you need a new pair of shoes.

2. Information search--

o Internal search, memory.

o External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives (word

of mouth). Marketer dominated sources; comparison shopping; public

sources etc.

A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives, the

evoked set.

3. Evaluation of Alternatives--need to establish criteria for evaluation, features

the buyer wants or does not want. Rank/weight alternatives or resume search.

May decide that you want to eat something spicy, Indian gets highest rank etc. If

not satisfied with your choices then return to the search phase. Can you think of

another restaurant? Look in the yellow pages etc. Information from different

sources may be treated differently. Marketers try to influence by "framing"

alternatives.

4. Purchase decision--Choose buying alternative, includes product, package,

store, method of purchase etc.

5. Purchase--May differ from decision, tie lapse between 4 & 5, product

availability.

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 6. Post-Purchase Evaluation--outcome: Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction.

Cognitive Dissonance, have you made the right decision. This can be reduced by

warranties, after sales communication etc.

After eating an Indian meal, may think that really you wanted a Chinese meal

instead.

 Types of Consumer Buying Behavior:

Types of consumer buying behavior are determined by:

 Level of Involvement in purchase decision. Importance and intensity of interest in

a product in a particular situation.

 Buyers level of involvement determines why he/she is motivated to seek

information about a certain products and brands but virtually ignores others.

High involvement purchases--Honda Motorbike, high priced goods, products visible to

others, and the higher the risk the higher the involvement. Types of risk:

 Personal risk

 Social risk

 Economic risk

 The four type of consumer buying behavior are:

 Routine Response/Programmed Behavior--Buying low involvement

frequently purchased low cost items; need very little search and decision effort;

4
 purchased almost automatically. Examples include soft drinks, snack foods, milk

etc.

 Limited Decision Making--Buying product occasionally. When you need to

obtain information about unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category, perhaps.

Requires a moderate amount of time for information gathering. Examples include

Clothes--know product class but not the brand.

 Extensive Decision Making-Complex high involvement, unfamiliar,

expensive and/or infrequently bought products. High degree of

economic/performance/psychological risk. Examples include cars, homes,

computers, education. Spend a lot of time seeking information and deciding.

Information from the companies MM; friends and relatives, store personnel etc.

Go through all six stages of the buying process.

 Impulse buying, no conscious planning. The purchase of the same product

does not always elicit the same Buying Behavior. Product can shift from one

category to the next. For example: Going out for dinner for one person may be

extensive decision making (for someone that does not go out often at all), but

limited decision making for someone else. The reason for the dinner, whether it is

an anniversary celebration, or a meal with a couple of friends will also determine

the extent of the decision making.

5
Factors Effecting the Consumer Buying Decision Process

A consumer, making a purchase decision will be affected by the following three factors:

1. Cultural and sub culture Factor

2. Social Factor

3. Personal Factor

 Culture and Sub-culture--

Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are accepted by a

homogenous group of people and transmitted to the next generation.

Culture also determines what is acceptable with product advertising. Culture

determines what people wear, eat, reside and travel. Cultural values in the US are

good health, education, individualism and freedom. In American culture time

scarcity is a growing problem that is change in meals. Big impact on international

marketing.

Culture can be divided into subcultures:

o geographic regions

o Human characteristics such as age and ethnic background.

West Coast, teenage and Asian American.

Culture affects what people buy, how they buy and when they buy.

6
Understanding Consumer Buying Behavior offers consumers greater satisfaction

(Utility). We must assume that the company has adopted the Marketing Concept and are

consumer oriented.

Social Factors:

Consumer wants, learning, motives etc. are influenced by opinion leaders, person's

family, reference groups, social class and culture.

 Roles and Family Influences--

Role...things you should do based on the expectations of you from your position

within a group. People have many roles.

Husband, father, employer, employee. Individuals role are continuing to change

therefore marketers must continue to update information. Family is the most basic

group a person belongs to. Marketers must understand:

o that many family decisions are made by the family unit

o consumer behavior starts in the family unit

o family roles and preferences are the model for children's future family

(can reject/alter/etc)

o family buying decisions are a mixture of family interactions and individual

decision making

o Family acts an interpreter of social and cultural values for the individual.

7
 The Family life cycle: families go through stages; each stage creates different

consumer demands:

 Reference Groups--

Individual identifies with the group to the extent that he takes on many of the

values, attitudes or behaviors of the group members.

Families, friends, sororities, civic and professional organizations. Any group that

has a positive or negative influence on a persons attitude and behavior.

Membership groups (belong to) Affinity marketing is focused on the desires of

consumers that belong to reference groups. Marketers get the groups to approve

the product and communicate that approval to its members. Credit Cards etc.!!

 Social Class--

An open group of individuals who have similar social rank. US is not a classless

society. US criteria; occupation, education, income, wealth, race, ethnic groups

and possessions.

Social class influences many aspects of our lives. i.e; upper middle class

Americans prefer luxury cars Mercedes.

o Upper-upper class, .3%, inherited wealth, aristocratic names.

o Lower-upper class, 1.2%, newer social elite, from current professionals

and corporate elite

8
 o Upper-middle class, 12.5%, college graduates, managers and professionals

o Middle class, 32%, average pay white collar workers and blue collar

friends

o Working class, 38%, average pay blue collar workers

o Lower class, 9%, working, not on welfare

o Lower-lower class, 7%, on welfare

Social class determines to some extent, the types, quality, and quantity of

products that a person buys or uses.

Lower class people tend to stay close to home when shopping; do not engage in

much pre-purchase information gathering.

Stores project definite class images.

Family, reference groups and social classes are all social influences on consumer

behavior. All operate within a larger culture.

Personal Factor : Unique to a particular person. Demographic Factors, Sex, Race,

Age etc. Who in the family is responsible for the decision making? Young people

purchase things for different reasons than older people.

Psychological factors:

9
Psychological factors include:

 Motives--A motive is an internal energizing force that orients a person's

activities toward satisfying a need or achieving a goal. Actions are effected by a

set of motives, not just one. If marketers can identify motives then they can better

develop a marketing mix.

MASLOW hierarchy of needs!!

o Physiological

o Safety

o Love and Belonging

o Esteem

o Self Actualization

Need to determine what level of the hierarchy the consumers are at to determine

what motivates their purchases. The product was not selling well, and was almost

terminated. Upon extensive research it was determined that the product did sell

well in inner-city convenience stores. It was determined that the consumers for

the product were actually drug addicts who couldn't digest a regular meal. They

would purchase Nutriment as a substitute for a meal. Their motivation to purchase

was completely different to the motivation that B-MS had originally thought.

These consumers were at the Physiological level of the hierarchy. BM-S therefore

had to redesign its MM to better meet the needs of this target market.

Motives often operate at a subconscious level therefore are difficult to measure.

10
 Perception—

Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information

inputs to produce meaning. IE we chose what info we pay attention to, organize it

and interpret it.

Information inputs are the sensations received through sight, taste, hearing, smell

and touch.

 Selective Exposure- select inputs to be exposed to our awareness. More likely if

it is linked to an event, satisfies current needs, intensity of input changes (sharp

price drop).

 Selective Distortion-Changing/twisting current received information, inconsistent

with beliefs.

Advertisers that use comparative advertisements (pitching one product against

another), have to be very careful that consumers do not distort the facts and

perceive that the advertisement was for the competitor. A current example...MCI

and AT&T...do you ever get confused?

 Selective Retention- Remember inputs that support beliefs, forgets those that

don't.

Average supermarket shopper is exposed to 17,000 products in a shopping visit

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 lasting 30 minutes-60% of purchases are unplanned. Exposed to 1,500

advertisement per day. Can't be expected to be aware of all these inputs, and

certainly will not retain many.

Interpreting information is based on what is already familiar, on knowledge that is

stored in the memory.

 Ability and Knowledge--

Need to understand individual’s capacity to learn. Learning, changes in a person's

behavior caused by information and experience. Therefore to change consumers'

behavior about your product, need to give them new information re: product...free

sample etc.

When making buying decisions, buyers must process information.

Knowledge is the familiarity with the product and expertise. Inexperience buyers

often use prices as an indicator of quality more than those who have knowledge of

aproduct.

Non-alcoholic Beer example: consumers chose the most expensive six-pack,

because they assume that the greater price indicates greater quality.

Learning is the process through which a relatively permanent change in behavior

results from the consequences of past behavior.

12
 Attitudes-- Knowledge and positive and negative feelings about an object or

activity-maybe tangible or intangible, living or non living.....Drive perceptions

Individual learns attitudes through experience and interaction with other people.

Consumer attitudes toward a firm and its products greatly influence the success or

failure of the firm's marketing strategy.

Honda "You meet the nicest people on a Honda", dispel the unsavory image of a

motorbike rider, late 1950s. Changing market of the 1990s, baby boomers aging,

Hondas market returning to hard core. To change this they have a new slogan

"Come ride with us".

Attitudes and attitude change are influenced by consumer’s personality and

lifestyle.

Consumers screen information that conflicts with their attitudes. Distort

information to make it consistent and selectively retain information that reinforces

our attitudes. IE brand loyalty.

There is a difference between attitude and intention to buy (ability to buy)

 Personality--

all the internal traits and behaviors that make a person unique, uniqueness arrives

from a person's heredity and personal experience. Examples include:

o Work holism

13
 o Compulsiveness

o Self confidence

o Friendliness

o Adaptability

o Ambitiousness

o Dogmatism

o Authoritarianism

o Introversion

o Extroversion

o Aggressiveness

o Competitiveness.

Traits affect the way people behave. Marketers try to match the store image to the

perceived image of their customers.

There is a weak association between personality and Buying Behavior; this may

be due to unreliable measures. Nike ads. Consumers buy products that are

consistent with their self concept.

 Lifestyles--

Recent US trends in lifestyles are a shift towards personal independence and

individualism and a preference for a healthy, natural lifestyle.

Lifestyles are the consistent patterns people follow in their lives.

14
The marketer must be aware of these factors in order to develop an appropriate MM for

its target market.

15
What is Marketing?
Marketing on the one hand is a business philosophy and on the other an action oriented

process. The philosophy - also termed as marketing concept - has its roots in market

economy. There are four critical ideas that form the foundation of such an economy:

Individuals pursue their self-interest to seek rewarding experience

Their choices determine as to what would constitute such experience, the choices

themselves being shaped by personal (taste) and external (cultural) influences.

Consumers enjoy the freedom to choose; they are sovereign.

This freedom ensures free and competitive exchange between “buyers and sellers”.

Marketing in turn is based on these four principles.

Thus Marketing can be defined as a

‘Process that aims at satisfying individual and organizational needs by creating,

offering and exchanging competitively made products that provide value to the

buyers’

Today our focus is on customer. Objectives liken revenue, profit, market share, etc. Re

important, but they will flow only by acquiring customer competence. In our country

particularly the customer, even as late as in 1980s, was bereft of alternatives; he would

uncomplainingly buy whatever the seller dished out. Not any more. Today’s choice

empowered customer, supported by a competitive environment, global quality, and new

economic realities, decides the fate of the marketer.

16
So let’s define Marketing once more: “It is a total business philosophy aimed at

identifying the needs of each customer group, then designing and producing product /

service package so as to serve the groups more effectively than the competitors”.

This definition reveals three key dimensions of marketing:

· It seeks to identify customer needs: Many manufacturers would know all there is to

know about relevant production technology, but nothing about their customers’ wants.

They may design products with fancy features without considering the perceived value of

such features to their

buyers. Then they wonder why their sales staff fails to push the product in the market.

Marketing attempts to select customer groups for which it can develop a competitive

edge: · Companies taking a shotgun approach - meaning all things to all people -

inevitably end up with sackful of unsold product inventories.

What is Consumer Buying Behavior?

Definition of Buying Behavior: Buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of

people involved in buying and using products.

Need to understand:

 Why consumers make the purchases that they make?

 What factors influence consumer purchases?

 Changing factors in our society.

17
Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying behavior of the ultimate consumer. A

firm needs to analyze buying behavior for:

 Buyer’s reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firm’s

success.

 The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM)

that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what,

where, when and how consumers buy.

Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies.

NEED OF THE STUDY –

There are different national & international products present in India. So to identify the

customer & their buying behavior have been the focus of a number of international and

national product. The result of these studies have been useful to the provide solution to

various marketing problem.

Understanding buying behavior pattern per se is not enough without understanding the

composition and origin of the customer. Today most of the Indian customers are attracted

by the imported goods because of their high quality. So that most of the Indian company

product looses their credibility and loyalty in domestic customers.

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 Literature Review:

(Grewal Rajdeep et al 2004) In an attempt to bring consumer psychology theories into

research on the timing of repurchase of consumer durables, the authors suggest that

attitude functions (knowledge, value expressive, social adjective, and utilitarian) can help

explain and predict inter purchase intervals. Adopting an interactions perspective, the

authors propose that the effect of the attitude functions is contingent on contextual

factors, which they theorize as the nature of the product (along public-private and luxury-

necessity dimensions) and the nature of the decision (forced or unforced purchase

decision). Hypothesis testing is facilitated by survey data on actual purchase decisions

and hazard models that incorporate individual heterogeneity. The results support the

suggested role of attitude functions in explaining and predicting inter purchase intervals

and suggest means by which managers can position their products to shorten inter

purchase intervals.

Fareena Sultan and Russell S. Winer, In this paper, consumers' time preferences for

technology-driven consumer durable innovations are examined. We calculate from

survey data rates of time preference for products and product attributes. Several

propositions related to these constructs are empirically tested. The results show that, over

subjects, the product rate is different from the economic discount rate which captures

time preferences for money that product rates of time preference vary by individual, by

product and over time, and that attribute level rates of time preference may vary by

attribute.

19
Dillon, et al.(1997). Investigated the factors affecting the consumer behaviour on

durable goods and foot items. The sample consisted 150 females 75 from rural and the

anther 75 urban areas from. The information about this study pointed the rural

respondents given the advertisement through radio primary importance and the other

media like posters and magazines were least affected, where as the urban respondents

were affected more by television and magazines. Various studies have been conducted

on the effects of television advertisement on the Marketing operations and consumer

behaviour.

Amanda Spry et al, (2011) This research examines the impact of celebrity credibility on

consumer-based equity of the endorsed brand. The mediating role of brand credibility and

the moderating role of the type of branding (parent versus sub-brand) employed by the

endorsed brand on the endorser credibility-brand equity relationship are also examined.

Zhou Dongsheng(2003) The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of short-

term advertising on long-term sales of consumer durables and nondurables in China by

using cross-sectional time-series television advertising and sales data. As China hastens

its transformation to a market economy, its advertising industry has witnessed one of the

fastest growth rates in the world, averaging 35% annually, far more than the country's

GDP growth rate and the global advertising growth rate (Hong Kong Trade Development

Council 1998; Zhou, Zhang, and Vertinsky 2002).

20
Vivica Kraak, David L. Pelletier (1998). Striving to achieve optimal nutritional well-

being among children is a high priority, given our knowledge relating nutrition to disease

risks and the importance of early childhood experiences in forming lifetime behavioral

patterns. The eating patterns of children and teenagers have changed significantly over

the past two decades. Children and teenage youth are eating more frequently, getting a

greater proportion of their nutrient intake from snacks, eating more meals away from

home, and consuming more fast food (4,16). Nationwide surveys show that food

consumption patterns of most American children do not meet the Dietary Guidelines. The

average diet of American children exceeds the recommendations for rat, saturated fat, and

sodium, and childhood obesity is a growing problem across all income strata (16). Thus,

it appears unlikely that the goals for children's diets for fat and saturated fat set forth in

the Healthy People Objectives 2000 will be reached by the year 2000.

Larry K. Brown, M.D., Kevin J. Lourie, Ph.D., Caron Zlotnick, Ph.D., and Jennifer

Cohn, B.S. (2000). This study compared the HIV-risk-related behaviors and attitudes of

adolescents with and without a history of sexual abuse who were in intensive psychiatric

treatment. Adolescent patients (N=208) completed measures of psychological functioning

and HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Among sexually active adolescents

in psychiatric treatment (N=116), those with a history of abuse reported significantly less

condom self-efficacy (emotional ability to use condoms), less knowledge of HIV, less

impulse control, less frequent use and purchase of condoms, and significantly higher rates

of sexually transmitted diseases than their peers. Multiple logistic regression indicated

that a history of sexual abuse was strongly associated with inconsistent condom use.

21
Sexual abuse was associated with HIV-risk-related attitudes and behaviors among

adolescents in psychiatric treatment. Clinicians should thus view a history of sexual abuse

as a marker for sexual behavior that puts adolescents at risk for HIV.

Sherry Emrey and Melanie A. Wakefield (2000). Recent state budget crises have

dramatically reduced funding for state-sponsored antitobacco media campaigns. If

campaigns are associated with reduced smoking, such cuts could result in long-term

increases in state health care costs. Commercial ratings data on mean audience exposure

to antitobacco advertising that appeared on network and cable television across the largest

75 media markets in the United States for 1999 through 2000 were combined with

nationally representative survey data from school-based samples of youth in the

contiguous 48 states. Multivariate regression models were used to analyze associations

between mean exposure to state antitobacco advertising and youth smoking-related

beliefs and behaviors, controlling for individual and environmental factors usually

associated with youth smoking and other televised tobacco-related advertising.

Mary Story and SIMONE FRENCH (2004). In recent years, the food and beverage

industry in the US has viewed children and adolescents as a major market force. As a

result, children and adolescents are now the target of intense and specialized food

marketing and advertising efforts. Food marketers are interested in youth as consumers

because of their spending power, their purchasing influence, and as future adult

consumers. Multiple techniques and channels are used to reach youth, beginning when

they are toddlers, to foster brand-building and influence food product purchase behavior.

These food marketing channels include television advertising, in-school marketing,

22
product placements, kids clubs, the Internet, toys and products with brand logos, and

youth-targeted promotions, such as cross-selling and tie-ins. Foods marketed to children

are predominantly high in sugar and fat, and as such are inconsistent with national dietary

recommendations. The purpose of this article is to examine the food advertising and

marketing channels used to target children and adolescents in the US, the impact of food

advertising on eating behavior, and current regulation and policies.

Janine Paynter and Richard Edwards (2009). Tobacco promotion increases the

likelihood that adolescents will start smoking. Much of the tobacco industry's

promotional budget is spent on point of sale (PoS) promotion in many jurisdictions.

Consequently, tobacco is an eye-catching feature at the PoS in many places.

We reviewed the evidence that PoS tobacco promotion influences key smoking-related

behaviors and beliefs, increases susceptibility to smoking in youth, undermines smokers’

quit attempts, and promotes relapse among ex-smokers.

We found 12 peer-reviewed studies, 10 of which were focused on children. Seven of 8

observational studies found statistically significant associations between exposure to

tobacco promotion at the PoS and smoking initiation or susceptibility to smoking. Two

experimental studies of children found statistically significant associations between

exposure to PoS tobacco promotions and beliefs about ease of getting tobacco and

smoking prevalence among their peers. An experimental study with adults found that a

picture of collected tobacco pack elicited cravings for cigarettes among smokers. A cross-

23
sectional study found that 25% of adult smokers reported impulse purchasing and a third

of recent ex-smokers reported urges to start smoking after seeing tobacco displayed.

Lesley A Smith and David R Foxcroft (2009).The effect of alcohol portrayals and

advertising on the drinking behaviour of young people is a matter of much debate. We

evaluated the relationship between exposure to alcohol advertising, marketing and

portrayal on subsequent drinking behaviour in young people by systematic review of

cohort (longitudinal) studies.

studies were identified in October 2006 by searches of electronic databases, with no date

restriction, supplemented with hand searches of reference lists of retrieved articles.

Cohort studies that evaluated exposure to advertising or marketing or alcohol portrayals

and drinking at baseline and assessed drinking behaviour at follow-up in young people

were selected and reviewed.

24
The term FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), although popular and frequently used

does not have a standard definition and is generally used in India to refer to products of

everyday use.

Conceptually, however, the term refers to relatively fast moving items that are used

directly by the consumer. The Indian FMCG sector has a market size of US$ 13.1 billion

and is the fourth largest sector in the Indian economy. A well-established distribution

network, mature logistics, intense competition between the organized and unorganized

segments, National brands and private labels/local brands characterize the sector. It has

been estimated that FMCG sector sales in India is likely to increase from Rs. 92,100

cores in 2011-12, to over Rs.1,30,000 cores in 2015. With the presence of 12.2% of the

world population in the villages of India, the Indian rural FMCG market is formidable

indeed. The Indian rural market has more than 700 Million Consumers (70% of the

Indian population) and accounts for 50% of the total FMCG market. The Personal care

category in India was valued at Rs. 54.6 billion. An average Indian spends 8% of his

income on personal care products. Personal care mainly consists of Hair Care Skin Care,

Oral Care, Personal Wash (Soaps), Cosmetic and Toiletries, Feminine Hygiene. The sales

of FMCG Personal care segment is growing by leaps and bounds in Kerala, with the most

literate and trans-culture embracing consumers in India. Kerala has been witnessing a

social transformation over the past decade to form a modern consumerist state with little

focus on farming sector, increased interest in I.T related parks, educational services,

medical facilities and tourism, higher income with huge remittances from the NRI’s and

increased living standards even in the rural areas providing better growth prospects and

demand for the FMCG sector. The per capita consumption of FMCG products is on the

25
rise, thanks to the consumer acculturation. The deeper market penetration and positioning

of FMCG brands catering to the rising living standards and modern values of the rural

consumer along with better infrastructure facilities by way of mobile and internet

communication, roads and rail connectivity fosters higher acceptance and sales of FMCG

products in the rural areas of Ernakulam. The outflow of families from rural to the urban

population of Kochi has been on the rise in search for better jobs/career, and the current

trend has been that most urban people are settling down in the rural areas for pure habitat

and peaceful living. Currently, urban India accounts for 66% of total FMCG

consumption, with rural India accounting for the remaining 34%. However, rural India

accounts for more than 40% consumption in major FMCG categories such as personal

care, fabric care, and hot beverages. Among the packaged food segment, it is estimated

that processed foods, bakery, and dairy have long-term growth potential in Kerala in both

rural and urban areas due to dependence on neighboring states. An average Indian spends

8% of his income on personal care products like Hair Care, Skin Care, Oral Care,

Personal Wash (Soaps), Cosmetic and Toiletries, Feminine Hygiene, Shampoo, Hair Dye

etc. Today the Personal care products, except those in oral care category, are seldom

regarded as luxury items. Both premium and popular segments in the FMCG products are

positioned catering the income class of the rural consumers as well. With the increase in

rural income and improvements in infrastructure-roads & bridges network product the

penetration levels have increased substantially. Since the consumption level in urban

areas is already high in most of the categories, the growth can come only from deeper

penetration and higher consumption in rural areas. The FMCG Products have specific

characteristic like small value, but forms a significant part of the consumer’s family

26
budget, limited inventory of these products is maintained by consumer and prefers to

purchase them frequently, as and when required, most products are perishable/limited

shelf life, the consumer spends little time on the purchase decisions being habitual with

high brand loyalty, Brand recommendations of reliable Customer/dealer drive purchase

decisions are accepted, Trial of a new product i.e. brand switching is often induced by

heavy advertisement, recommendation of the Customer or neighbors/friends, FMCG

products cater to necessities, comforts as well as luxuries, and caters to entire consumer

lot with Price and income elasticity of demand varying across products and consumers.

A plethora of studies in rural segment on FMCG exist, the most recent ones are cited

herein. Garga et al. observed that in Punjab, majority of rural respondent’s preferred

FMCG products in medium package sizes at medium price range and wanted more value

for money products. Selvaraj in his research regarding rural consumer behavior observed

that ‘nearness’ was the most significant factor influencing their purchase of the non-

durables. It was seen that high price was another important bottleneck for the rural

consumers. Anandan et al. observed that the quality was the major driver to prefer a

particular brand in washing soaps in the rural market, and when preferred brands were

not available, customers bought the available brands. Also high

price and non-availability were the key reasons for dissatisfaction among the rural

consumers. Madhavi et al. reported that most of the rural consumers were influenced by

quality of the product followed by price. Value for money products had a better

acceptance for rural market penetration. Generic products with intensive advertisement

campaigns were recommended to attract non-users of the product. Nagaraja investigated

the impact of socio-economic influences on rural consumer behavior in terms of their

27
buying practices, to the social status and level of income, and revealed that rural

consumer was more rational as a buyer and exhibited a higher level of rationality

compared to the urban consumer. Rural consumer tried for better value for money spent

in the purchase of FMCG products; easy availability, Price and Quality were the

influential factors cited.

Consumer attitude towards a product is learned, either directly through self - experience

with the consumption of a product or its service, or indirectly through receiving external

information about the product or its service. The second is that attitude is an antecedent to

behavior. Therefore, it becomes essential to know about the way information is received

and the manner in which it is processed, and the nature of the messages obtained.

Attitudes refer to what a person feels/believes about something. Attitudes may be

reflected in how an individual acts based on his/her beliefs. Once formed, attitudes are

very difficult to change. However, increased awareness/information through deliberate

advertising appeal/persuasion can change an attitude.

Consumers are living bundles of needs. All behavior takes place in a social setting which

is unique to that individual. Influential social group members establish role expectations.

Most attitudes a consumer possess are stored according to the various roles one performs.

A great portion of the attitudes consists of the role expectations that have been learned.

The consumer role behavior is enacted to satisfy wants/needs of the consumer. The

pattern of consumer’s behavior differ at different points in his/her life. Also the

consumer’s behavior at any point of time is influenced by any past behavior. Consumer’s

behavior patterns change with certain events in one’s life. The consumer role provides a

means by which a person may express himself/herself. The strength of the attitude

28
moderates the influence of attitudes on thoughts and behavior. Attitude is relatively

enduring evaluation of products/ideas. To the extent that a consumer evaluates a product

positively, that consumer is more likely to consume/use the product. Attitudes are

presumed to guide behavior. A strongly held attitude is the result of relatively effortful

cognitive elaboration. Elaboration occurs when consumer possess the motivation and

ability to scrutinize information to form/change an attitude based on the thoughts held in

response to information about a product Attitudes could be formed or affected by both the

tangible as well as intangible attributes of a product. The emotional element of attitude is

influenced by personal experience, personality and sensual perceptions. Emotional

reaction is a principal aspect for the attitude formation and change. The behavior of

consumers is defined by feelings that stipulate convictions forming attitude. Attitudes are

complex, and the set of beliefs & evaluations combination predicts the overall attitude of

the consumer. Attitudes formed by direct personal experience are stronger and more

predictive of behavior than those formed indirectly through persuasion/Ads. Depending

on the consumer’s level of involvement and the situations, attitudes can result from other

hierarchies of effects. Motivation through emotion alone results in an attitude change.

Real attitude change happens only through the central cognitive processing route (high

level of involvement) in contrast to the peripheral/affective processing route (low level of

involvement) based on cues/feelings. The route selection is as mentioned above, based on

the motivation and evaluation capability factors of the consumer. Attitudes formed in

high involvement are stronger, consistent/stable over a longer period, resistant to

persuasion and predictive of behavior. The consumer behavior is the transmission of

purchase intention to actual action. In contrast, the attitudes are made up of the beliefs

29
that a person accumulates over time. Beliefs are formed from direct experience, outside

information, from others and also self- generated. Only the salient product related beliefs

actually influence the attitude of the consumer; attitude is the sum of the products of

salient beliefs and evaluation thereof. (Attitude towards the object model of Fishbein).

However, in the Multi-attribute model, consumers with high involvement combine their

beliefs about product attributes to form attitude about the product. Attitudes predict

behavior owing to factors like higher involvement, motive, brands/products benefits and

attitude strength.

The decision making of the consumer is determined by the pre purchase behavior, which

is preceded by the intention to buy/consume and a host of other antecedent factors. Some

of these factors are intrinsic to the consumer like the personal aspects –beliefs/evaluation

based attitude towards the act(purchase),while the extrinsic variables like social aspects-

subjective norms and the perceived /actual behavioral control etc., conditioned within the

situational construct, influence the consumer’s behavioral intention. Attitude–behavior

consistency has been of great interest to researchers since the 1930s. In the early 1970s, a

number of researchers developed attitude–behavior models that focused on the causal

relationship between attitudes and behavior. According to Kashyap, behavior is a

function of behavioral intentions, which are themselves a function of attitudes and

subjective norms. The Theory of Reasoned Action stipulates that beliefs underlie a

person’s attitudes and subjective norms, which ultimately determine intentions and

behavior. Researchers have drawn on attitude-behavior relationship, namely the theory of

planned behavior, to explain consumer behavior. The extrinsic aspects also condition the

attitude dimension, and the attitude functions (consumption motive) thus influencing the

30
final purchase decision of the consumer. The purchasing decision of the consumer is an

individual one and the complexity of the decision depends on the consumer’s degree of

information search, the evaluation of alternatives and the choice of products. The

consumer decision-making process is a sequential and repetitive series of psychological

and physical activities ranging from problem recognition to post-purchase behavior.

Marketdominated variables (such as the environment and advertising) and consumer-

dominated variables (such as needs, motives, personality and perception) simultaneously

interact to influence the consumer’s purchasing decision.

31
 CHAPTER-2

COMPANY PROFILE

32
 Company Profile

Organic India is a multi-national company based in Lucknow, India that produces

organic herbal and ayurvedic health products. They are most known for their line of

organically grown tulsi teas that are sold in India, the US, Canada and the UK. They also

have created an organic, non-toxic, herbal version of the colorful dyes used in India's

annual Holi celebration. Organic India operates a retail store in Maharashtra, India. The

company also exports organically-grown flowers, particularly to Germany.

Organic India works directly with marginal farmers in tribal villages, providing seeds,

fertilizers, organic certification, and the assumption of risk in case of crop failure.

Originating from Uttar Pradesh, they had 50,000 acres (200 km2) of arable land in U.P.,

Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh by late 2008.

ORGANIC INDIA - About Us

 At the heart of ORGANIC INDIA is our commitment to be a living embodiment of love

and consciousness in action. We work with thousands of small family farmers in India to

cultivate tens of thousands of acres of sustainable organic farmland.

All ORGANIC INDIA products support health and True Wellness and are made with

loving care.Each product is one link in a chain of connectedness between Mother Nature,

our farmers and you. By choosing ORGANIC INDIA you are completing this chain,

actively participating in our mission to create a sustainable environment of True

Wellness, providing training and a life of dignity to our farmers, and bringing health,

happiness and True Wellness to you.

33
All of our farmers and tribal wildcrafters are educated in organic and biodynamic

agricultural practices. We pay all the fees associated with acquiring the necessary organic

certifications for them, and then we purchase the harvested crops and herbs at a premium

market price. The farmers also rotate between growing crops on their land for ORGANIC

INDIA with food crops for themselves. This means farming families are supported by a

sustainable income, while at the same time improving and preserving their own health

and natural environment.

ORGANIC INDIA is committed to being a trustworthy and innovative global leader by

providing genuine True Wellness products. Our advanced processing methods and

dehydration technologies ensure that our herbs retain their maximum level of potency for

the highest quality, most effective, pure and natural True Wellness products available in

the market today.Our success serves as living proof that shared abundance can be created

with an uncompromising commitment to environmental and social responsibility. In

living this vision, we are inspired to introduce a new standard for new paradigm

companies: EARTH SEER

ORGANIC INDIA is proud to announce its partnership with Fabindia - India’s largest

private retail platform for craft based products. Fabindia sources from rural artisans

across the country to bring a contemporary range of lifestyle products to customers

around the world. Besides a distinctive range of clothing and products for your home,

Fabindia offers you the choice of complete organic lifestyle with its wide range of

organic and natural foods.

Organic and Quality Certification

We are passionate about raising the standards within the organic industry by our own  

34
example, and are amongst the few herbal companies in India to receive HACCP, GMP,

ISO 9001-2008 and Kosher Certifications. We have Organic Certifications from Control

Union and SGS as per USDA, EU and NPOP Organic Standards.

From preservation of seed to sowing, from cultivation to harvesting, from processing to

production through sales and marketing, each step of the way is a testimony of our

commitment to integrity, accountability and responsibility for Holistic Quality

Assurance.

EARTH SEER
This new standard reflects a sustainable business

commitment which inspires, promotes and supports well-

being and respect for all beings and for Mother Nature.

Earth Seer stands for the following criteria:

 Ethical

 Accountable
 
 Reliable

 Trustworthy

 Holistic

 Socially, Environmentally and Economically

Responsible

GMP - Good Manufacturing Practices

  SGS GMP certification verifies that all required practices necessary for an

effective food safety program are being followed. It addresses hygiene In all

aspects of the SGS manufacturing process, including premises and equipment,

35
 primary production, packaging, warehousing, distribution, pest control and

waste management, as well as routine personal hygiene of personnel.

ORGANIC INDIA Pvt. Ltd. meets the requirements of Codex Allmentarius

Commission Guidelines, Recommended International Code of Practices,

General Principles of Food Hygiene. CAC/RCP 1-1969 Rev. 3 (1997).

 

HACCP - Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points

HACCP based Food Safety Management System registration and certification

verifies that World Health Organization standards are met in the management of

food safety and hygiene. The HACCP based FoodSafety Management System

Registration is based on the ”Criteria for assessment of an operational HACCP

system.” It is an accredited registration scheme for assessing the operational

  status and performance of a HACCP based Food Safety Management System to

ensure the safety of foodstuffs. Organizations that successfully complete the

assessment earn both a highly regarded HACCP certificate and registration,

communicating to consumers, Customers, governmental authorities and other

interested parties that they can have justified confidence in the way that

organization controls food safety and food hygiene.

 

ISO 9001 : 2008

  ISO Certification has become a most essential pre-requisite, world over. There is

no better guarantee than ISO Certification in earning the buyer’s confidence and

recognition for a product. internationally. ISO standards ensure vital features

such as quality, ecology, safety, economy, reliability, compatibility, inter-

operability, efficiency and effectiveness. They facilitate trade, spread

knowledge, and share technological advances and good management practices.

36
 ISO standards provide practical solutions and achieve benefits for almost every

sector of business, industry and technology, and for all three dimensions of

sustainable development - economic, environmental and social.

 

NPOP India Organic

Indian National Programme for Organic Production & India Organic Logo is

governed by APEDA, which provides national standards for organic products

through a National Accreditation Policy and Programme. The aims of the

National Programme for organic production include: (1) To provide the means

  of evaluation of certification programmes for organic agriculture & products as

per internationally approved criteria. (2) To accredit certification programmes.

(3) To facilitate certification of organic products in conformity to the National

Standards for Organic Products. (4) To encourage the development of organic

farming and organic processing.

 

USDA - United States Department of Agriculture

The USDA organic certification verifies that all United States Department of

Agriculture regulations, requirement and specifications are adhered to. It covers

a wide range of detailed monitoring and control measures. It is one of the most
 
comprehensive and demanding certification systems to ensure absolute

commitment to Organic Certification qualifications as established by the United

States Department of Agriculture.

 

37
Control Union Certifications

Control Union Certifications World Group is an internationally recognized

certification organization and carries out inspections and issues certification for

sustainable agricultural, processing and production methods. It certifies that raw

materials originate from organic cultivation and are processed using organic

  methods. Control Union verifies that products have been cultivated according to

sustainable production methods by means of supervising, testing, inspecting,

assessing and certifying them as per the regulations EEC 2092/91, NOP of

USDA (National Organic Programme of United States Department of

Agriculture), JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standard).

 

EU Organic Certification

The EU organic logo guarantees that the product in question complies with the

common European organic food standards. Consumers buying products bearing

this logo can be confident that at least 95% of the product’s ingredients have

been organically produced, the product complies with the rules of the official

  inspection scheme, the product has come directly from the producer or preparer

in a sealed package and that the product bears the name of the producer, the

preparer or vendor and the name or code of the inspection body. The hope is that

in the long term the EU logo will be able to solve the trade problems that the

organic food sector faces today.

 

OU Kosher

  The OU logo indicates that a product may be consumed by all those who

observe kosher dietary laws, as well as by many others who have special dietary

requirements. Today, manufacturers and consumers alike view the logo as an

38
 independent verification of quality, integrity and purity. They know, too, that the

reputation of the Orthodox Union is unmatched for reliability and for meeting

the highest kosher standards. By far the largest of the kosher certification

agencies - and by far the most extensive in its global reach - the Orthodox Union

is renowned for its ability to serve its clients’ needs promptly and efficiently.

The conferral of OU Kosher certification on our brand raises its profile in the

market place and helps to expand our market share. When a product is certified

Kosher, the consumer can be assured that every ingredient going into that

product is identified and sourced with the highest integrity.

 

Soil Association

Established since 1973, the Soil Association certifies over 4,500 farms and

businesses all over the world. Experience, knowledge and expertise in all

aspects of the organic sector, means the Soil Association symbol is the most
 
recognised organic mark in the UK today. The Soil Association standards not

only meet the UK government's minimum requirements but exceed them –

especially in areas concerning the environment and animal welfare.

 

GMO FREE

Supporting sustainable agriculture is at the very core of ORGANIC INDIA’s

mission. Awareness of the devastating impact GMO crops have on farmers in

 
India and worldwide stands behind our uncompromising support of “Right to

Know” GMO labeling efforts.

 

Halal Certification

  Halal Committee - Jamiat Ulama - E - Maharashtra (JUM) looks after all matters

39
 pertaining to the general application of the term Halal with specific reference to

Islamic dietary laws. Jamiat’s membership comprises of leading theological

bodies (Sharia Committee) & professional individuals of the country (Technical

Committee) . Jamiat enjoys worldwide recognition as the only National Body

from India authorized to do Halal Certification of Indian Products.

 Non GMO Project Verification

A numerous amount of ORGANIC INDIA’s Tulsi teas and herbal

supplements (expect Ghee and Chyawanprash which are outside the

scope of verification) have been verified as Non-GMO. This verification

authenticates the integrity of ORGANIC INDIA seeds, herbs and

  products as natural, heritage strains. Non-GMO Project is a non-profit

organization raising awareness about the dangers and unknowns of

genetically modified foods and encouraging government to allow

consumers to make informed decisions about purchasing GMO products.

WHY ORGANIC?

As part of our mission to create a sustainable global environment, ORGANIC INDIA

engages in farming practices that regenerate the soil and protect the biodiversity of the

earth.

What is organic farming?

Organic farming is the practice of growing crops without the use of chemical pesticides,

herbicides and fertilizers. It relies mainly on crop rotation, organic fertilizers and plant-

based pesticides and herbicides to maintain soil productivity and tilth.

Why is organic farming important?

40
There is more and more evidence that chemical-based fertilizers, herbicides and

pesticides are extremely harmful to our health. However, the strongest argument in favor

of organic farming remains the environmental benefit. In a world facing a global climate

crisis, it has become imperative that we do as much as possible to reduce the negative

effects of global warming. Harmful emissions are released into our atmosphere during the

manufacturing of these chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides that have been

linked to global warming. Conventional agriculture relies heavily on these chemicals

which further harm our eco-system when they enter our soil and seep into water supplies.

41
What is Biodynamic agriculture?

Biodynamic agriculture is a step beyond organic. It is a holistic program that utilizes crop

rotation, a planting calendar using the cycles of the moon, the sun and the seasons to

determine the best time to plant each crop, and specially prepared homeopathic

compounds which are added to water and soil to increase the vitality of the land, the

water and the crops themselves.

Why is Biodynamic agriculture important?

Using Biodynamic agriculture restores balance and increases the health of the eco

systems where the method is used. While it also prohibits the use of chemical fertilizers,

pesticides and herbicides, it adds elements which help to heal damage to the eco-system

which has been caused by any prior use of these toxic substances.

What is ethical wildcrafting?

Ethical wildcrafting is the practice of harvesting plants from the wild in a sustainable

manner, without depleting the population or damaging the habitat of the plants that are

being harvested.

42
Why is ethical wild crafting important?

The population of many plants that grow in the wild is declining due to over-harvesting

and loss of habitat. It is important to harvest plants in a way that ensures that they will

continue to grow back each year, thus maintaining the delicate balance of their eco-

system and ensuring the continued supply of these natural resources.

What is sustainable agriculture?

Farming that provides a secure living for farm families, maintains the natural

environment and resources, supports the rural community and offers respect and fair

treatment to all involved.

ORGANIC INDIA Foundation

ORGANIC INDIA Foundation 

The ORGANIC INDIA Foundation was formed to serve ORGANIC INDIA’s farming

communities, providing much needed medical care and health education for farmers,

workers and their families. Two clinics are currently operating in the State of Uttar

Pradesh, at Azamgarh and Rath.

The Foundation organises health camps in surrounding villages and arranges in-home

visits for women who are unable to travel to the clinics. In addition to health care, the

ORGANIC INDIA Foundation is committed to raising awareness about the importance

of education and emphasizing gender equity. Vocational training to assist villagers to

develop new skills and becoming self-reliant also an integral function of the Foundation.

Key services of the ORGANIC INDIA FOUNDATION:

43
 Medical clinics provide primary health care services to the farming communities: up to

50,000 villagers every month.

 Qualified medical professionals manage the clinics and offer holistic care with herbal

supplements, as well as allopathic medicines where required.

 Health Education Camps & Awareness Programs are held regularly, sharing vital

information about general hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, womens health, AIDS

awareness, and overcoming tobacco & alcohol addictions. 

 In- home visits are provided for education in women's health issues, as well as pre and

post natal awareness and infant care.

 Regular Blood Donation Camps are sponsored, with ORGANIC INDIA employees in the

lead to give for those in need.

 Blanket donations during winters to farmers with little or no heating in their homes.

 Interaction with life term prisoners in Lucknow prison serving Tulsi Tea and free check

ups

 Vocational training to assist young women and elder villagers in becoming self-reliant.

 Scholarships are awarded to meritorius students from the farming villages every year.

 Permanent jobs are offered first to qualified children of farmers in ORGANIC INDIA.

44
It is worth noting that consumer buying behaviour is studied as a part of the marketing

and its main objective it to learn the way how the individuals, groups or organizations

choose, buy use and dispose the goods and the factors such as their previous experience,

taste, price and branding on which the consumers base their purchasing decisions (Kotler

and Keller, 2012).

One of such studies of consumer buying behaviour has been conducted by Acebron et al

(2000). The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of previous experience on buying

behaviour of fresh foods, particularly mussels. In their studies the authors used structural

equation model in order to identify the relationship between the habits and previous

experience on the consumer buying decision. Their findings show that personal habits

and previous experience on of the consumers have a direct impact on the consumers’

purchase decision in the example of purchasing fresh mussels. They also found that the

image of the product has a crucial impact on the purchasing decision of the consumer and

further recommended that the product image should continuously be improved in order to

encourage the consumers towards purchasing.

Another study conducted by Variawa (2010) analyzed the influence of packaging on

consumer decision making process for Fast Moving Consumer Goods. The aim of the

research was to analyze the impact of packaging for decision making processes of low-

income consumers in retail shopping. A survey method has been used in order to reach

the research objectives. In a survey conducted in Star Hyper in the town of Canterville

250 respondents participated. The findings of the research indicate that low-income

consumers have more preferences towards premium packaging as this can also be re-used

45
after the product has been consumed. Although the findings indicate that there is a weak

relationship between the product packaging and brand experience. However, it has been

proven by the findings of the research that low-income consumers have greater brand

experience from the purchase of ‘premium’ products when compared to their experience

from purchasing ‘cheap’ brand products.

Lee (2005) carried out study to learn the five stages of consumer decision making process

in the example of China. The researcher focuses on the facts that affect the consumer

decision making process on purchasing imported health food products, in particular

demographic effects such as gender, education, income and marital status. The author

employed questionnaire method in order to reach the objectives of the research. Analysis

of five stages of consumer decision making process indicate that impact of family

members on the consumer decision making process of purchasing imported health food

products was significant.

The author further explains this by the fact Chinese tradition of taking care of young and

old family members have long been developed and marriage is considered to be

extremely important in Chinese tradition. This reflects in the findings of the study that the

purchase of imported health food products made by a person for the people outside the

family is declined significantly by both male and female Chinese after they get married.

Five Stages Model of consumer decision making process has also been studied by a

number of other researchers. Although different researchers offer various tendencies

towards the definitions of five stages, all of them have common views as they describe

the stages in similar ways. One of the common models of consumer decision making

46
process has been offered by Blackwell et al (2006). According to him, the five stages of

consumer decision making process are followings: problem/need recognition,

information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision made and post-

purchase evaluation.

Each stage is then defined by a number of researchers varying slightly but leading to a

common view about what each stage involves. For example, according to Bruner (1993)

first stage, need recognition occurs when an individual recognizes the difference between

what they have and what they want/need to have. This view is also supported by Neal and

Questel (2006) stating that need recognition occurs due to several factors and

circumstances such as personal, professional and lifestyle which in turn lead to formation

of idea of purchasing.

In the next stage, consumer searches information related to desired product or service

(Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007). Information search process can be internal and external.

While internal search refers to the process where consumers rely on their personal

experiences and believes, external search involves wide search of information which

includes addressing the media and advertising or feedbacks from other people (Rose and

Samouel, 2009).

Once the relevant information about the product or service is obtained the next stage

involves analyzing the alternatives. Kotler and Keller (2005) consider this stage as one of

the important stages as the consumer considers all the types and alternatives taking into

account the factors such as size, quality and also price.

47
Backhaus et al (2007) suggested that purchase decision is one of the important stages as

this stage refers to occurrence of transaction. In other words, once the consumer

recognized the need, searched for relevant information and considered the alternatives

he/she makes decision whether or not to make the decision. Purchasing decision can

further be divided into planned purchase, partially purchase or impulse purchase as stated

by Kacen (2002) which will be discussed further in detail in the next chapters.

Finally, post-purchase decision involves experience of the consumer about their purchase.

Although the importance of this stage is not highlighted by many authors Neal et al

(2004) argues that this is perhaps one of the most important stages in the consumer

decision making process as it directly affects the consumers’ purchases of the same

product or service from the same supplier in the future.

The most noteworthy writers that serve as academic advocates of The Five Stage Model

of consumer decision making include Tyagi (2004), Kahle and Close (2006) Blackwell et

al. (2006), and others.

It is important to note that The Five Stage Model is not the only model related to

consumer decision-making, and there are also a range of competing models that include

Stimulus-Organism-Response Model of Decision Making developed by Hebb in 1950’s,

Prescriptive Cognitive Models, The Theory of Trying (Bagozzi and Warsaw, 1990),

Model of Goal Directed Behaviour (Perugini and Bagozzi, 2001) and others. All of these

models are analysed in great detail in Literature Review chapter of this work.

48
It has been established that the consumer buying behaviour is the outcome of the needs

and wants of the consumer and they purchase to satisfy these needs and wants. Although

it sounds simple and clear, these needs can be various depending on the personal factors

such as age, psychology and personality. Also there are some other external factors which

are broad and beyond the control of the consumer.

A number of researches have been carried out by academics and scholars on identifying

and analyzing those factors affecting the consumers’ buying behaviour and as a result,

various types of factors have been identified. These factors have been classified into

different types and categories in different ways by different authors. For instance,

Wiedermann et al (2007) classified them into internal and external factor. On the other

hand, Winer (2009) divided them into social, personal and psychological factors. Despite

the fact that they have been classified into different groups by different authors they are

similar in scope and purpose (Rao, 2007).

There is a wide range of factors that can affect consumer behaviour in different ways.

These factors are divided by Hoyer et al. (2012) into four broad categories: situational,

personal, social and cultural factors.

Situational factors impacting consumer behaviour may include location, environment,

timing and even weather conditions (Hoyer et al., 2012). In order to benefit from

situational factors major Customers attempt to construct environment and situations in

stores that motivate perspective customers to make purchase decision. Range of available

tools to achieve such an outcome include playing relaxing music in stores, producing

refreshing smells in stores and placing bread and milk products in supermarkets towards

49
the opposite end of stores to facilitate movement of customers throughout the store to

make additional purchases etc.

The temporary nature of situational factors is rightly stressed by Batra and Kazmi (2008).

Personal factors, on the other hand, include taste preferences, personal financial

circumstances and related factors. The impact of personal factors on consumer decision-

making is usually addressed by businesses during market segmentation, targeting and

positioning practices by grouping individuals on the basis of their personal circumstances

along with other criteria, and developing products and services that accommodate these

circumstances in the most effective manner.

According to Hoyer et al. (2012) social factors impacting consumer behaviour arise as a

result of interactions of perspective consumers with others in various levels and

circumstances. Targeting members of society perceived as opinion leaders usually proves

effective strategy when marketing products and services due to the potential of opinion

leaders to influence behaviour of other members of society as consumers.

Lastly, cultural factors affecting consumer behaviour are related to cross-cultural

differences amongst consumers on local and global scales. Culture can be defined as “the

ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society” (Oxford

Dictionaries, 2015) and the tendency of globalisation has made it compulsory for cross-

cultural differences amongst consumers to be taken into account when formulating and

communicating marketing messages.

50
Marketing mix or 4Ps of marketing is one of the major concepts in the field of marketing

and each individual element of marketing mix can be adopted as an instrument in order to

affect consumer behaviour.

Importance of the marketing mix can be explained in a way that “successful marketing

depends on customers being aware of the products or services on offer, finding them

available in favourably judging that practitioners of the offering in terms of both price

and performance” (Meldrum and McDonald, 2007, p.4).

Core elements of marketing mix consist of product, price, place and promotion.

Marketing mix has been expanded to comprise additional 3Ps as processes, people and

physical evidence.

Product element of marketing mix relates to products and services that are offered to

customers to be purchased. Products can have three levels: core, actual and supporting

products. For example, core product in relation to mobile phones can be explained as the

possibility to communicate with other people in distance.  Actual product, on the other

hand, relates to specific brand and model of a mobile phone, whereas augmented product

may relate to product insurance and one-year warranty associated with the purchase of a

mobile phone.

Price represents another critically important element of marketing and four major types of

pricing strategies consist of economy, penetration, skimming, and premium pricing

strategies (East et al., 2013).

51
Place element of marketing mix relates to point of distribution and sales of products and

services. Advent of online sales channel has changed the role of place element of

marketing mix to a considerable extent.

Promotion element of marketing mix refers to any combination of promotion mix

integrating various elements of advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales

promotions to varying extents (Kotler, 2012).

Processes, on the other hand, refer to business procedures and policies related to products

and services. For example, integration of a greater range of payment systems such as

PayPal, SAGE Pay and Visa in online sales procedures may have positive implications on

the volume of sales by creating payment convenience to customers.

People element of marketing mix is primarily related to skills and competencies of the

workforce responsible for customer service aspect of the business. Importance of people

element of marketing mix in general, and providing personalised customer services in

particular is greater today than ever before.

Physical evidence relates to visual tangible aspects of a brand and its products. For

instance, for a large supermarket chain such as Sainsbury’s physical evidence is

associated with design and layout of a store, quality of baskets and trolleys, layout of

shelves within the store etc.

52
 CHAPTER-3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

53
 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

 To study the level of customer satisfaction towards Organic India Product.

 To understand the buying behaviour of the consumer towards Organic India

Product.

 To know the consumption pattern of Organic India products in Lucknow.

 To find out various factors that affects the buying behavior towards Organic India

Products in Lucknow

 To find out the consumer preference regarding the most effective media for

Advertisements.

54
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The process used to collect information and data for the purpose

of making business decisions.

The methodology may include publication research, interviews, surveys and other

research techniques, and could include both present and historical information. The

research is many types such as descriptive research ,Analytical research, Fundamental

research, Conceptual research , Empirical research.

This research is based on descriptive research to complete this study primary as well as

secondary source of information is used. To study the consumer attitude & brand

preferences of edible oils, primary data is collected by using a detailed structured

questionnaire which was administered to a sampling method. The study has been carried

out in Lucknow city. The secondary data is collected from published thesis, reputed

journals, magazines and related websites. The data so collected is scrutinized, tabulated,

analyzed and finally used for the study purpose.

Research Design:

Descriptive research design was adopted for this study because the study is

concerned with describing the characteristics, productivity and satisfaction of training

provided by the company to the workers.

Sampling Design: The following factors have been decided within the scope of

sample design:

55
  Universe : Universe of the study means all the persons who are the customers of

ORGANIC INDIA in Lucknow.

 Theoretical: It covered all the individuals who are the customers of

ORGANIC INDIA in Lucknow.

 Accessible: It covered all the individuals who are the customers of

ORGANIC INDIA in Lucknow who are within our reach. In this study

accessible population was customers ORGANIC INDIA in Lucknow.

 Sample size: A sample of minimum respondents will be selected from various

areas of Lucknow. An effort was made to select respondents evenly. The survey

was carried out on 50 respondents.

 Sample unit: In this project sampling unit consisted of the various individuals

who had purchaser product at ORGANIC INDIA in Lucknow.

 Sampling technique: For the purpose of research convenient sampling

technique will be used because of the ease of their volunteering or selecting units

because of their availability or easy access.

 Sampling frame: It consisted of various sources from where information about

the respondent is extracted. Mainly personal links and employees of ORGANIC

INDIA in Lucknow are used for getting information about the respondents.

Data collection sources: The sources of primary and secondary data are used for
the collection of information for the study.

56
Primary Source:

Source from where first hand information are gathered directly are called primary source

and information thus collected is called primary data. In case of the above study the

primary source was Questionnaire

Secondary Source:

When an investigator uses the data that has been already collected by others, is called

secondary data. The secondary data could be collected from Journals, Reports, libraries,

magazines, fair & conference and other publications. The advantages of the secondary

data can be –It is economical, both in terms of money and time spent.

 Tools of presentation: It means what all tools are used to present the data
in a meaningful way so that it becomes easily understandable. In this research

tables and graphs were used for presenting the data.

 Statistical tools to be used: A structured questionnaires is used to

collect the data and data will be analyzed with the help of percentage table,

respective graph, bar graph and pie charts.

57
 Data collection tools to be used: Basis of my research will be primary
data and secondary data.

 Primary data: it will be collected through questionnaires.

 Secondary Data: it is compiled through books, magazines, newspapers and

internet etc.

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 CHAPTER-4

PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS

59
 LIMITATIONS

1. This study is only limited to Organic India Customers.

2. This study is limited only in Lucknow city.

3. The study was limited to 50 respondents.

4. Information given by the respondents is assumed to be true and authentic.

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 CHAPTER-5

FINDING,ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION

61
 . DATA ANALYSIS

1. The Customers who think that the gifts/ schemes provided with the brand are
attractive.

10%

10%

80%

Unattrative Scheme Attractive Scheme Can't Say

Attractive 80%
Unattractive 10%

INTERPRETATION

About 80% of the Customers told that the effect of the present gifts in nil while 10%
respondents told that they are attractive and remaining 10% were neutral and prefer not to
answer. This indicates that ORGANIC INDIA as a brand do not have to concentrate more
on offer gifts as they already are market leader with 75% market share and has earned
trust as a result of quality and services.

62
2. The influence of the sales of ORGANIC INDIA Product.

Brand Name 53%

Quality 17%
purity 5%
Advertisement 5%
Promotion Scheme 2%
Can’t Say 9%

2% 5%

5%
9%

10%

53%

17%

Brand Name Quality Purity Advertisement Promotion Scheme Easy Availability Can't Say

INTERPRETATION

About 52% of the Customers told that sale of ORGANIC INDIA Product is mostly
influenced by its brand name, 17% told that it is influenced by quality, 10% told that
sales is influenced by product’s purity, 5% because of advertisement, 2% respondents
told that it is because of promotion schemes and 5% told that it is due to easy availability.
This is because the company is oldest in this field and hence trust is there, also the sales
in influenced due to quality of ORGANIC INDIA

63
3. The Customers who complained about crystallized ORGANIC INDIA Product.

Complaints 30%
No. Such Complaints 70%

30%

70%

Complaints No Such Complaints

INTERPRETATION

About 30% of the Customers’ have complained about the crystallized ORGANIC INDIA
Product while remaining were not having any complaint. It is due to the fact that people
who consume ORGANIC INDIA Product or who sells it does not themselves know much
about the plain ORGANIC INDIA Product and the crystallized ORGANIC INDIA
Product classification also the taste is almost same .

4. Customers are satisfied with the margin provided to them.

64
 Unsatisfied 61%
satisfied 39%

39%

61%

Unsatisfied with margin Satisfied with margin

INTERPRETATION

About 61% of the Customers were unsatisfied while remaining was satisfied with the
margin provided to them because due to the fact that ORGANIC INDIA enjoys a large
market share and Customers doesn’t have to promote it to consumers more to push the
sale of ORGANIC INDIA Product.

5. In which you like to consume ORGANIC INDIA Product.

As food items 33%

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 As snacks 34%
As medicine 7%
As both (food & snack) 26%

26% 33%

7%

34%
As food items
As Snacks
As Medicine

INTERPRETATION

About 33% of the customers consume ORGANIC INDIA Product as food items (At a
specific time ie. in morning or evening), 34% of them consume it as snacks (ie. at any
time of the day), and 26% of them consume it as both snacks and food items. Remaining
7% consume it as medicine, this difference arise mostly due to the difference in
education, culture and thinking pattern of parents / customers.

6. Free gift/ gifts would you like to have with ORGANIC INDIA Product.

chess 53%

66
 Sketch pen 24%
Snake & Ladders 23%

23%

53%

24%

Chess Sketch Pen

Snake & Ladders

INTERPRETATION

About 53% of the customers prefer chess as free gift while 24% of them prefer sketch
pens and remaining prefer snake & ladders as free gift. Now a day’s customers are
smarter so they prefer to play smart games which passes their time and also sharpen their
memory along with entertainment.

7. you remember the advertisement issued by ORGANIC INDIA to promote ORGANIC

INDIA Product.

Remember 90%

67
 Not remember 9%

1%
9%

90%

Seen and remember the Dabur advertisement Not Seen the advertisement
Other advertisement

INTERPRETATION:

About 90% of the customers have seen and remembered the ORGANIC INDIA
advertisement, while 9% have not seen the advertisement and 1% customers have seen
the advertisement of other brand’s also. This is because of the brand ambassador the
company hire for this job is always a big name like Hema Mallini , so much popular that
anyone can remember.

8. Level of satisfaction of the respondents who consume ORGANIC INDIA

Product regularly.
Very Good 44%

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 Good 39%
Satisfied 17%

17%

44%

39%

Very Good Good Satisfied

INTERPRETATION

About 17% of the respondents are satisfied with ORGANIC INDIA Product, the level of
satisfaction for 39% of the respondents was good and for 44% of the respondents was
very good. This shows those maximum respondents are satisfied with ORGANIC INDIA
Product because of the consistent quality service and taste.

69
9. The main reason of purchasing ORGANIC INDIA Product over other brands.

Quality 31%
Purity 24%
Easy Availability 24%
Brand Name 21%

21% 31%

24% 25%

Quality Purity
Easy Availability Brand Name

INTERPRETATION

About 34% of the respondents purchase ORGANIC INDIA Product because of quality,
another 27% respondents purchase it because of purity, 26% respondents go for it due to
easy availability, 23% prefer it due to brand name. Consumers generally prefer to buy
ORGANIC INDIA Product because of its quality & purity.

70
10 :- Parameters effect buying decision

Category No. of Respondent Percentage of Respondent

Quality 35 50%

Price 15 22%

Easy availability 19 27%

other 1 1%

GRAPH 7

Parameters buying decision

1%

27%
QUALITY
EASY AVAILABILITY
50%
PRICE
Other

21%

Interpretation:- In the market customer behavior on the bases of the buying product
mostly people prefer a quality as 51% and other 49% people buying on the bases of easy
availability and price.

71
11) SATISFACTION OF CUSTOMER REGARDING BRAND AVAILABLE IN

THE MARKET.

Particulars No of responses Percentage

Yes 40 80

No 10 20

Table-4.11

Graph-4.11

Interpretation:- Out of 50 Sample size. 80% respondent responds that they are satisfied
with the brand and company available in the market.

72
 Findings
 80% of the Customers told that the effect of the present gifts in nil while 10%

respondents told that they are attractive and remaining 10% were neutral and

prefer not to answer. This indicates that Organic India as a brand do not have to

concentrate more on offer gifts as they already are market leader with 75% market

share and has earned trust as a result of quality and services

 52% of the Customers told that sale of Organic India Product is mostly

influenced by its brand name, 17% told that it is influenced by quality, 10% told

that sales is influenced by product’s purity, 5% because of advertisement, 2%

respondents told that it is because of promotion schemes and 5% told that it is due

to easy availability. This is because the company is oldest in this field and hence

trust is there, also the sales in influenced due to quality of Organic India

 30% of the Customers’ have complained about the crystallized Organic India

Product while remaining were not having any complaint. It is due to the fact that

people who consume Organic India Product or who sells it does not themselves

know much about the plain Organic India Product and the crystallized Organic

India Product classification also the taste is almost same

 61% of the Customers were unsatisfied while remaining was satisfied with the

margin provided to them because due to the fact that Organic India enjoys a large

market share and Customers doesn’t have to promote it to consumers more to

push the sale of Organic India Product.

 33% of the customers consume Organic India Product as food items (At a specific

time ie. in morning or evening), 34% of them consume it as snacks (ie. at any

73
 time of the day), and 26% of them consume it as both snacks and food items.

Remaining 7% consume it as medicine, this difference arise mostly due to the

difference in education, culture and thinking pattern of parents / customers

 53% of the customers prefer chess as free gift while 24% of them prefer sketch

pens and remaining prefer snake & ladders as free gift. Now a day’s customers

are smarter so they prefer to play smart games which passes their time and also

sharpen their memory along with entertainment

 90% of the customers have seen and remembered the Organic India

advertisement, while 9% have not seen the advertisement and 1% customers have

seen the advertisement of other brand’s also. This is because of the brand

ambassador the company hire for this job is always a big name like any

bollywood star , so much popular that anyone can remember

 17% of the respondents are satisfied with Organic India Product, the level of

satisfaction for 39% of the respondents was good and for 44% of the respondents

was very good. This shows those maximum respondents are satisfied with

Organic India Product because of the consistent quality service and taste

 34% of the respondents purchase Organic India Product because of quality,

another 27% respondents purchase it because of purity, 26% respondents go for it

due to easy availability, 23% prefer it due to brand name. Consumers generally

prefer to buy Organic India Product because of its quality & purity

 In the market customer behavior on the bases of the buying product mostly people

prefer a quality as 51% and other 49% people buying on the bases of easy

availability and price

74
 CHAPTER-6

RECOMMENDATIONS

75
 RECOMMENDATIONS

After the survey and the analysis, a lot of information was gathered this is being

presented in the form of suggestions.

 As the Organic India Product is targeted to the customers, they are consuming

Organic India Product in the same ways as suggested in the advertisement. So, if the

consumption of Organic India Product has to be increased the new uses can be

suggested. (e.g., it can be used for preparation of cakes, jelly, squash etc.)

 To increase its consumption, it can be written on the bottle of the Organic India

Product that for best results, use thrice a day for customers and twice a day for adults

(as the case may be)

 It is natural for Organic India Product to crystallize but consumers can be made aware

about this fact because it is affecting the sales.

 Margin can be increased because other competitors are giving more margins due to

which the Customers are least interested in pushing the brand .

 New packaging like ‘Sachet or plastic packaging’ can be introduced. Plastic

packaging for 1 kg. Organic India Product was demanded by the consumers.

 Sales promotion schemes like” Price off or extra Amount” can be given.Sales

promotion gifts like ball, Badminton Racket, Pocket chess, small toys, cars etc can

be given for customers , concentration should be given on smart games.

76
CHAPTER-7

CONCLUSION

77
 CONCLUSION

On the basis of the study following conclusions have been arrived at

 This survey has revealed that the Ayurvedic industry is very complex industries

with a manufacturing process, which is sensitive and requires expert supervision

as Organic India Product Enjoy good brand loyalty.

 Fluctuating demand of Ayurvedic medicines is a problem with which companies

have to contend. As in the case of Asav-arishtas which enjoy good demand during

season changes and warm months low demand in the other seasons , the demand

is not met well by companies which fail to accurately predict this pattern and

hence end up producing insufficient quantities when the demand is high and end

up with excess inventory as the demand wanes. The companies fail to review their

targets accurately to coincide with the decreasing levels of demand.

 The Organic India Product brand is a major player in the market. Though due to

inefficient distribution and sales network its true potential is yet to be realized. As

currently they hold the 75 % of the market share but with better supply chain

management they can improve more.

 While conducting the study it was analysed that people mainly buy the product

because trust factor and the company is lacking in fulfilling the demand due to

their poor supply chain management so the need to work on it.

 During the study it was found that the margin paid to the Customers were less as

compared to the competitors.

78
APPENDIX

79
 PERSONAL DETAILS :

Name:

Gender:

Address:

Age:

Occupation:

Q.1 What is the percentage of the Customers who think that the gifts/schemes provided with
the brand are attractive?

a) Attractive b) Unattractive

c)Can`t say

Q.2 What influence the sales of Organic India product?

a) Brand name b) Quality

c) purity d) advertisement ž

e) promotion scheme f) Easily availability

g) Can`t say

Q.3 How many Customers complained about Organic India product?

a) Complaints b) No such Complaints

80
Q.4 How many Customers are satisfied with the margin provided to them?

a) Unsatisfied with margin b) satisfied with margin

Q.6 In which you like to consume Organic India product?

a) As food items b) As snacks

c) As medicine d) As both (food and snacks)

Q.7 Which free gift would you like to have with Organic India product?

a) Chess b) Sketch pen

c) Snake and ladders

Q.9 What is the level of satisfaction of the respondent who consume Organic India
product regularly?

a) Very good b) Good

c) Satisfied

Q.10 According to you what is the main reason of purchasing Organic India product over
other brand?

a) Quality b) purity

c) Easy availability d) Brand name

11. Which parameter/s effect you’re buying decisions?

a) Quality b) Price c) easy availability d) other

81
Q12) Are you satisfied with the brand/company available in market?

(a) Yes (b) No

82
ž

CHAPTER-9
BIBLIOGRAPHY

83
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

1. Kotler. P: Consumer market and consumer buying behaviour; ‘Marketing

Management’ 12th Edition; Pearson Education; Page No-120.

2. Karunakaran. K: Product Life Cycle; ‘Marketing Management’ 1 st Edition; Himalaya

Publishing House; page no- 143.

3. Gupta S.L: Consumer Research & Marketing Research; ‘Marketing research’1 st

Edition; Execl Books; Page No- 345 & 425.

JOURNALS

1. Melanie Grimes: “ORGANIC INDIA Product Provides Antibiotic Benefits and a Low
Glycemic Sweetener”, Natural News Journal , January 2011 , Vol-11, Page No-40-59.

2. Narain S. “Branded ORGANIC INDIA Product Sold in India is Likely To Be

Contaminated With Harmful Antibiotics”, CSE Report, September 2010, Vol - 8, Page
No - 335-350.

84
3. Sanchez et-al; “Consumer Perception of Value”, Journal of Consumer Satisfaction,
Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behaviour, January 2006, Vol - 19, Page No - 40-58.

4. Bolton L., et al; “Consumer Perceptions of Price (Un) Fairness”, Journal of Consumer
Research, March 2003, Vol - 29, Issue - 4, Page No - 474-491.

5. Sanzo M.J.; "Attitude and Satisfaction in a Traditional Food Product", British Food
Journal, 2003, Vol - 105, Page No.771 – 790.

6. Mazis A. B,“Consumer Perceptions of Health Claims in Advertisements and on Food

Labels”, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Summer 1997, Vol - 31, Issue - 1, Page No - 10-
26.

7. Valarie A. Z., “Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Mean-End

Model and Synthesis of Evidence”, Journal of Marketing, July - 1988, Vol. - 52, Page
No. – 2 - 22.

8. Albert J. D. B; “Consumer Perceptions of Comparative Price Advertisements”, Journal

of Marketing Research, November 1981, Vol - 18, Issue - 4, Page No - 416-427.

85
 WEB - SOURCES

http://www.nongmoproject.org/find-non-gmo/search-participating-
products/search/?brandId=2047s

NEWSPAPERS

 Business Standard
 Economic Times
 Navbharat times

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