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Specialization Project Report On
“Impact of Promotional Activity on the Sales of Furniture Project Products”
Submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management Studies (MMS)
Specialization: Marketing Management
(University of Mumbai)
[2013-2015]
By
PRAMOD KUMAR VISHWAKARMA (Roll No: 2013013)
Under the guidance of
Asst. Prof Shantanu Pawar
ROHIDAS PATIL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Mahavidyalaya Marg, Navghar, Bhayandar (East)
District Thane, Pin Code: 401105
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PREFACE The basic concept of the project titled “Impact of Promotional Activities on Sales
of Furniture Project Products” is based on sales promotion and in store selling.
Consumer retention is the key success factor for any competitive market. An
effort was made to ascertain and analyze customer views and preferences for the
product through process of brand recall. Also, a detailed study was made to
understand the performance pattern of major competitors of Furniture Republic
company. In doing so, it was possible to assess the competition in the market,
hence enabling the organization to position itself more effectively and strategize
and schedule the sales planning on a long term basis. During the course of this
project, the promotional campaigns carried out by the company have been
studied.
This report contains the findings arrived at after a detailed analysis of the data
received through the questionnaires. The study was also carried out to find out
how to increase sell of brands. Many promotional activities such as ATL, BTL or
TTL activity and visits to various societies, corporate offices and major metro
stations for creating brand awareness were initiated.
The promotional activities like canopy shows and broachers distribution were
carried out at Thane. In this activity live demonstrations of household furniture in
the company demo flat at Vasundhra Olive County to the end user i.e. the
customers have been organized in the Indirapuram.
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COMPANY INFORMATION
Name of the company – THE FURNITURE REPUBLIC
Address of the company – SHOP NO.11 OM SHANTI TOWER OPP
DCB, SHANTI PARK MIRA ROAD (EAST)
Phone no of company – (+91) 64174332
Date of commencement – 22th day of March 2013
Date of completion – 21th day of June 2013
Name of industry guide – Mr Aditya Gupta, Founder & CEO
Student’s name - Pramod Kumar Vishwakarma
Student’s roll no. – 2013013
Student’s e-mail id – [email protected]
Student’s GSM – 9967221394
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A specialization project is a golden opportunity for learning and self-
development. I consider myself very lucky and honored to have so many
wonderful people lead me through in the completion of this project.
I would like to thank my Director Dr.(Dr.) Chandrashekhar V. Joshi, Ph.D., DLitt,
for providing me with this opportunity of having such a wonderful company for
my specialization project.
My thanks are due to Mr. Ramji, CEO “THE FURNITURE REPUBLIC” who in
spite of being extraordinarily busy with his duties, took time out to hear, guide
and keep me on the correct path. I do not know where I would have been without
Mr. Ramji’s guidance.
A humble ‘thank you’ to Asst. Prof. Mr. Shantanu Pawar whose patience I have
probably tested to the limit. He was always involved in the entire process, shared
his knowledge, and encouraged me to think. Last but not the least there were so
many friends’ of mine who shared valuable information that helped in the
successful completion of this project.
Bhayander,March 07, 2015 Pramod Kumar Vishwakarma
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INDEX
Chapter 1 – Introduction .............................................................................................. 6
Chapter 2 – Review of Related Literature .................................................................. 10
Chapter 3 – Furniture Republic Profile ....................................................................... 38
Chapter 4 – Design of Research ................................................................................. 42
Chapter 5 – Analysis and Interpretation of Data ........................................................ 86
Chapter 6 – Findings and Conclusions ........................................................................ 93
Chapter 7 – Limitations .............................................................................................. 94
References .................................................................................................................. 95
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Chapter 1 –Introduction
1.1 Background
The Furniture Project is run by a team of committed staff and volunteers, who
are motivated by the need to provide good quality re-usable household items
to people and families in necessitous circumstances. In meeting this need the
project encourages that the actions also help in the reduction of items going to
landfill.The Furniture Project is a voluntary organisation that accepts
donations of unwanted furniture & good quality re-usable, household items,
from the general public and passes them on to families & individuals in times
of need.The Furniture Project is also open to the general public for the sale of
excess stock of used good quality furniture, beds, TV's, small electrical
appliances and household items at affordable prices.
There are numerous opportunities in India for business of furniture as the
household has increased its income while the economy is reaching to new
horizons of developments. There are opportunities like start upof a business or
work as an interior decorator of furniture, or the supplier of the furniture to the
local market from the national market. Minimum qualification is required for
any candidate to start up the job in this industry.
Now-a-days, even if we are at home, or on the street or in the cinema, we can
notice how many companies are speaking to us all the time. Information is
coming from numerous different sources, and it can reach us in our bed,
and which is so personal, even in the toilet. Tailored information always
reaches its target, and then everything will depend on the individual’s
decision. The goal is to make customers loyal once they have decided to
purchase one brand of the product. We can also observe ourselves as well
as others feeling some kind of satisfaction during shopping, which is
because of the ‘good decision’ we made about the purchased products.
What does this ‘good decision’ mean actually? Nobody can tell us what a
good decision exactly is. There are too many differentviewpoints, as
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everybody is different in the world. That is the same situation when
companies try to persuade people that they are the best possible choice in a
particular market. They use numerous ways of marketing communication,
by the help of Below the line (BTL) and Above the Line (ATL) tools, but
then they also have to decide which form of communication to choose,
which will be the most suitable for their target group.However, it is for
sure that in many cases BTL communication can establish personal
relationship between products and customers, so it can be more efficient.
The study objective is to find out what are the current advertising tendencies;
whether there are more companies using BTL today or there will be more
using in the future. The study is conducted for a BTL activity with the help
from The Furniture Republic project is based on the collected personal
experiences. The concept of BTL is analyzed andits effect on consumers is
examined with the help of some case studies experienced during the course
of study to understand the question: ‘What will be the future of BTL
marketing?’
1.2 What is BTL?
The expression Below-The-Line (BTL) is coming from practice. The world’s
biggest cosmetic, domesticchemicalproductsproducing company, Procter
and Gamble classified its costs in two different groups: for its traditional
mass media and for the non-traditional elements. In traditional mass media
agencies are receiving commission. Procter andGamble wanted to know how
much this commission was, so they wrote those costs for non-traditional
mediumsin a different column of the company’s bookkeeping and thus the
agencies’ commission started to be counted separately.
Therefore, every advertising and commercial tool, which does not
contain agency commission, is in the category of BTL. It has to be
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clarified what goes under the agency commission concept since it would not
be concrete.
The aim of BTL communication is to develop private relationship with the
customer, and to inspire them to speak to us. We can introduce novelties in a
very pleasant way, so we are able to present specific information to our
clients.
There are many definitions of BTL. Basically, these definitions can be
divided into two groups. According to the first one, every kind of non-classical
advertising tool, that is not press release, TV, cinema, radio-spot or public
advertisement, can be mentioned among BTL tools. The second one puts
the emphasis on agency commission, and declares that every kind of
marketing activity that does not contain commission is part of marketingbelow
the line. It is important to note that each explanation highlights those
marketing tools that are not part of the BTL group. However, the
characteristics of these definitions can easily picture the variety and great
number of possibilities of BTL marketing In this case, we can differentiate
three groups: ATL media, the applied media duringthe communication is
private property, meaning TV commercial, radio spots, press release,
billboards, and other public place tools, provisional media: the
advertising tool is publicproperty, meaning direct marketing (DM) and
below-the-line media: medium is the property ofthe advertiser, meaning point-
of-sales/point-of-purchase (POS/POP) tools, coupons, etc.
There are some cases, where the BTL tools are more effective than
thetraditional advertisements. Reasons for this can be: Easier selection, more
accurate reaching of the target group, more controllable hence cost effective,
creates opportunity to meet directly with the product/service (sampling, event
marketing), interactive, meaning that it makes customers act. Determining the
exact target group makes communication more personal. Effectiveness can be
measured easier by BTL, gives unique opportunities in making differences
from competitors’ brand-supporting in case of certain products (for e.g.,
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tobacco), the target market cannot be reached – or just partly – through
traditional media because of the law forbidding it. Then the importance of
tools below the line increases.
1.3 Position of BTL in Marketing Communication
Nowadays more advertisers are choosing mass media tools for their
products or services. They do not use below the line activities. However, it is
not always beneficial to use intense television, radio, newspapers or
billboards advertising in case of purpose of selling or introducing
products. Applying other marketing tools is only possible if the ATL
campaign has not used up all the available financial resources for advertising.
At the same time, many companies consider ATL tools a better option,
because they cannot reach the necessary advertising frequency required
for the desired effect. Lots of people think that another ‘advantage’ of ATL
communication is that more customers can be reached during a campaign
therefore the cost of one contact is absolutely less than that of a BTL
campaign. This can be true in general, but an important difference is that
ATL communication has bigger number of standard deviation while in the
case of BTL media the target is substantially more accurately reached. Also
at below-the-line the customer encounters the tools where the purchasing
decision is actually made. People can easily look through those advertisings
on TV, radio,press or in public area billboards, so tools appearing in
shops with reminding effects can highly contribute to making a positive
purchasing decision. At the same time, it is worth to mention that
patronizing a BTL campaign with traditional ones can make it even more
effective. Now-a-days in Hungary, companies spend only 3 per cent of their
marketing budget on BTL activities; this ratio in the US is more than 50 per
cent. The reason of this considerable difference is that the significance of
BTL marketing is not recognized yet, and the experienced experts are
missing as well.
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Chapter 2–Review of Related Literature
2.1 Brief Historyof IndianFurniture Industry
As of 2011, the Indian furniture market is estimated to be worth US$ 307,922
million. Of this, wooden furniture accounts for US$ 109,358 million. About
13.5 per cent (US$ 41569 million) of this (wooden furniture) is imported and
imports are growing at 60 to 70 per cent every year. India was the largest
furniture importer in the world in 2010-11, with a 27 percent share in the
furniture imports worldwide. A total of 1,15,476 importers shipped furniture to
India during this period, mainly from Italy, Germany, Spain, China, Korea,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan.
The furniture sector in India makes a marginal contribution to the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), representing about 0.8 per cent of the total GDP. The
major part of this industry, approximately 85 per cent is in the unorganized
sector. The remaining 15 per cent comprises of large manufacturers, such as
Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., BP Ergo, Featherlite, Haworth, Style
Spa, Yantra, Renaissance, Millennium Lifestyles, Durian, Kian, Tangent,
Furniture Concepts, Furniturewala, Zuari, Truzo, N R Jasani& Company, V3
Engineers, PSL Modular Furniture etc.
The range of indigenous furniture available in India includes both residential
and contract system furniture. Manufacturers in India usually use a three-tier
selling and distribution structure, comprising of the distributor, wholesaler and
retailer. The market is mainly concentrated in tier A, B and C category cities
(the top 589 cities).Tier A and B type cities together constitute 43 per cent of
the total market.
2.2 Furniture
As with the global market, household furniture is the
Indian furniture market, accounting for about 65 percent of furniture sales.
This is followed by, the office furniture segment with a 20 percent share and
the contract segment, ac
Household Furniture
Household furniture in India is available in a wide range, to cater to different
customer needs. A typical middle class urban Indian home has five rooms
(including kitchen and bathroom). About 25 percent of the urban populations
live in homes with five roo
three rooms or less
homes. The rich and upper middle class is typically very attentive to design
and quality, so price is rarely a determining factor. In
furniture is only found in homes of the urban upper class. Demand for
Household furniture
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urniture Industry Composition
As with the global market, household furniture is the largest segment
Indian furniture market, accounting for about 65 percent of furniture sales.
This is followed by, the office furniture segment with a 20 percent share and
the contract segment, accounting for the remaining15percent.
Source: KPMG Analysis of IBEF
Household Furniture
Household furniture in India is available in a wide range, to cater to different
customer needs. A typical middle class urban Indian home has five rooms
(including kitchen and bathroom). About 25 percent of the urban populations
live in homes with five rooms or more, while 45 percent live in houses with
three rooms or less. About 16 percent is estimated to live in single
homes. The rich and upper middle class is typically very attentive to design
and quality, so price is rarely a determining factor. In general, European style
furniture is only found in homes of the urban upper class. Demand for
65%
20%
15%
Market Share
Household furniture Office furniture Contract Segment
largest segment in the
Indian furniture market, accounting for about 65 percent of furniture sales.
This is followed by, the office furniture segment with a 20 percent share and
Household furniture in India is available in a wide range, to cater to different
customer needs. A typical middle class urban Indian home has five rooms
(including kitchen and bathroom). About 25 percent of the urban populations
ms or more, while 45 percent live in houses with
About 16 percent is estimated to live in single-room
homes. The rich and upper middle class is typically very attentive to design
general, European style
furniture is only found in homes of the urban upper class. Demand for
15%
Contract Segment
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furniture of international standards is limited to the larger cities. It is also
estimated that the wealthier classes do not change furniture very frequently.
The average life of a piece of furniture is about 20 years and some craftsmen’s
pieces are used for as long as 50-70 years. Colonial furniture is still very
common in India.
The contract segment caters primarily to hotels and its growth is consequently
linked to growth in tourism and development of new hotels. There are around
1,400 hotels in India in the organized sector. More than 12 per cent of these
are in the 5-star and above categories.
2.3 Market Capitalization
The Indian wooden furniture industry is able to generate approximately a
turnover of Rs 3,500 crore annually. The market of wooden furniture solely
Office Furniture The office furniture segment caters to the commercial and office space. This
segment has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, in line with the growth in
the Indian economy and subsequent demand for office space. The thrust on
real estate and office construction is expected to sustain in the near future,
indicating continued growth for the furniture industry.
Contract Segment
Household furniture comprises of
• Living Room Furniture
• Bedroom Furniture
• Kitchen Furniture
• Drawing Room Furniture
• Dining Room Furniture
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owns the share of nearly Rs 60 crore. And as per one of the survey done
recently, the industry is expected to grow by 20 percent in coming times.
2.4 Top leading Companies
Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
It is a part of the Godrej Group and was incorporated in 1932. The Godrej
Group recorded revenues of around US$ 813 million in the year 2011. It
mainly manufactures consumer products, office equipment, consumer
appliances, chemicals, agro products, security equipment, industrial products
and offer office automation and storage solutions. The company’s
manufacturing facility is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company has
exclusive showrooms and dealer outlets across India.
Featherlite
Featherlite is one of India’s largest furniture manufacturingcompanies and was
started in 1965. Featherlite has been retailing furniture for the past 20 years
and the first outlet was opened in Bangalore in 1987. The company has a state-
of-the-art manufacturing plant and is engaged in continuous R&D. The
company’s manufacturing plants are located in Bangalore and Hosur. It has
presence in 22 locations across India. It has around 25 exclusive showrooms in
Mumbai, Chennai,Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad. It
manufacturesaround 20,000 chairs and 3,400 workstations per month.35 per
cent of the total production is sold through retail outlets. The company has an
employee strength of 500 which includes architects, interior designers and
others.
Style Spa
Style Spa Furniture Limited is promoted by the Zuari-Chambal Group was
established in India in 1997, to manufacture and retail furniture, the company
is headquartered in Chennai. The US$ 15 million manufacturing facility at
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Kakkalur, nearChennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, is a sophisticated and fully
automated plant, which is one of Asia’s most modern and largest
manufacturing facilities. The ISO-certified plant produces around 0.2 million
furniture pieces annually. The company manufactures home and office
furniture that is retailed through about 92 exclusive retail outlets, spread across
the country. The company also provides after sales services throughits
showrooms.
Millennium Lifestyle
Millennium Lifestyle is a family owned enterprise incorporated in 1999. The
family had nearly 75 years of experience in retailing Indian art and antiques.
Millennium Lifestyle offers a one-stop solution to cater to the customers’
complete furniture requirements, as it offers a wide range of furniture from
around the world under one roof. A number of brands across various product
categories are sold from the company’s retail stores - ArteM, Divani,
Loddenkemper, RioArt, Sauder, Sherwood and Softplus. Millennium Lifestyle
has its showrooms spread across thetwo southern Indian cities of Bangalore
and Hyderabad. The company also provides the ‘designing your own interior
sitting at home’ service with the help of an online interactive room designer.
Durian
Durian is a major player in imported furniture, offering living, bedroom,
dining room and office furniture. The company has been set up by the
DokaniaGroup, which has been involved in plywood manufacturing for about
25 years. Durian has over 40 imported furniture showrooms in the country.
The company also offers free interior design consultancy and free delivery and
furniture installation.
Nilkamal
Nilkamal Group of Companies has a turnover of over US$ 125 million. It is
the leader in plastic moulded furniture. The company has diversified into the
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lifestyle furniture business by launching @home, which is complete home
solution store offering contemporary readymade wooden furniture. The
company has eight manufacturing locationsin India. It also has joint ventures
in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It provides services like design solutions,
professional guidance and interest free loans, besides furniture and
accessories. The main strengths of the NilkamalGroup are a 350-member wide
direct sales network, a 350-plus strong dealer network, 33 regional offices in
all major Indian industrial cities and 24 warehouses all over India and a
warehousing facility along with a marketing office in the UAE
2.5 Career Opportunities
There are numerous opportunities in India for business of Furniture as the
household has increased its income while the economy is reaching to new
horizons of developments.There are opportunities like start up a business or
work as an interior decorator of furniture, or the supplier of the furniture to the
local market from the national market. Minimum qualification is required for
any candidate to start up the job in this industry.
Parts of BTL
Classifying the areas and tools of below-the-line reflects its complexity and
variability and includes parts like public relation, direct marketing, sales
promotion, advertising in-store (POS, POP), fairs and exhibitions, event
marketing, sponsoring and personal selling.
Public Relation (PR)
PR is a planned and continuous set of activities, of which the target are
the customers of the company, its public opinion, the understanding between
its tighter and broader environment and building of trust. We can also talk
about company image and internal PR meaning the company’s internal
communication. In both cases, there is considerably much more than
marketing communication. In case of many companies PR concentrates on
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press-relations, is an important but not the only element. Good press
relationship can improve the situation of the company; can help change its
image. According to the direction of PRwe cantalk about internal and external
PR. The previous one means the information flows between leaders –
employees, organizations, while the latter one is about the
communicational relationship built with the outside business environment.
Characteristics of PR
• PR is prganizational, mostly corporate point of view, success is based on
good relationship with employees and the public.
• It is the tool of forming public opinion, indirect influence, nurtures trust.
• It endeavours mutual understanding, from acoordinating point of view,it
considers environmental problems.
• It is an overall group of activities,
• In PR employees of the company are the executives of PR activities.
• Informing of the public and feedback are done during the communication
process.
• It has an effect on various fields through the employees, like on lives,
ways of thinking, relations, market performance of the economy, demand
and supply and sometimes even on price policies.
• It enriching human resources and builds personal and human relations.
Direct Marketing (DM) according to the Broadest Expression
Direct marketing means all the possible tools of marketing and
communication are employed in setting up direct consumer relationship.
According to thetighter expression, direct marketing consists of tools of
marketing communication. According to the American Direct Marketing
Association, direct marketing is a kind of interactive method in the field of
marketing that can be used anywhere and which – by using one or more
advertising media – can have an effect which can be measured by replies
and number of purchases made.
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Characteristics of DM
• Puts human being in the centre.
• Can be measured by concrete enquiries and purchases.
• Fosters dialogue.
• Communication with the buyer can be more accurate and personalized.
• Addresses character, message is customized to the customer's needs and
wants: segments specific content, tailors to size according to the consumer's
profile.
• Feedback can be registered, directs measuring.
• Necessitates computerized database.
Advantage of DM
It enables:
• Handling a number of consumer groups and the segmentation of the market
• Identification of target markets, unlike segmentation and grouping of “niche-
product” of bidders on the mass market
• Improving relations with partners and with the supplier background,
• Regular and up-to-date information about needs, requirements and
about changes of demand,
• Elimination and dampening of the so called noises, the loss of
information by eliminating mediation
• Reducing ‘standard deviation’ of the applied communicational tools,
• Building brand loyalty,
• Reducing costs,
• Accelerates cash-flow,
• Comparison of expenditures and outputs, the concrete measurement of
effectiveness.
Sales Promotion (SP)
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Sales promotion refers to all the tools of whose objective is the immediate
increase of sales by providing price-incentives through a given period of time
to customers and retailers. According to the definition of the American
Marketing Association: ‘Sales Promotion refers to all the marketing activities
that stimulate customer purchase and the effectiveness of merchandising
activity, but does not relate to the concept of personal selling,
advertising nor to public relation, like for example: visits, exhibitions and
fairs, demonstrations and the various, not traditional activities and not
standardized sales efforts.’
The System of Sales Promotion
PUSH – instructions and its effects: producers stimulate wholesalers and
retailers to order.
PULL – instructions and its effects: demand of consumers is created by the
stimulation of producers, merchandisers and different advertisements.
Objectives of customer sales promotion are to:
• raise interest about products and services
• form direct relation between the customer and the product
• emphasize product characteristics
• exercise auxiliary inspiration.
Objectives of merchandise sales promotion are to:
• take business into focus
• lure the customer into the shop
• pass storing costs on to the customer
• increase turnover
• increase turnover speed
• clean-out the shelves.
Methods of stimulating customers are:
• presenting the product by assembling, sampling and try-out,
• rice reduction,
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• continuous sales discounts (POS)
• services during selling secure appropriate usage. Its tools are manuals, try-
out, delivery service, installation and tutorial
• gifts, free bags, prizes.
Gifts and prizes are subject to the purchase of a particular product or to a
particular sum of money spent. The easiest form of these is when customers
get some complimentary items besides the purchased product. A little more
difficult but also more stimulating is when customers have to send the receipt
of the purchase to the rewarding company so then they willget the gift by post.
• Purchasing voucher, coupon
Purchasing vouchers are mainly given by manufacturing companies to the
customers. Thesecan be used instead of cash when buying. As a rule it is used
when a new product is launched.
• Consumer competitions, prize-winning games, draw • Refund, redeeming discount, guarantee conditions • Sample try-out, sampling. Point of Sales advertisement (POS, POP)
There are many factors justifying the increasing importance of point of sales
advertisements.
Most of them are confirmed by scientific researches as well:
• Mass communicational campaigns flood customers with immense amounts
of information that cannot be stored in their memory in the long run. Therefore
reminding advertisements in the sales location can mean a significant
competitive edge
• During the mass communicational advertisements the product is presented
by the help of a photo or illustration, so the customer can neither see nor
experience the characteristics of the product that could influence him/her
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in the purchasing decision (package, surface,flavour). She/he would only
have this possibility in the shop
• By the spreading of self-service businesses with decreased staff numbers,
purchasing isbecoming more impersonal. Then the buyer will make his/her
decision of which productto buy and how many of it with lack of information
• The aim of shops and of network of shops is to let people living
close to them becomeloyal customers in a greater number. Hence, it
isindispensable to let potential buyersknow their assortment and range of
services
• Besides the appearance of new products, the variety of substitute and
supplementarygoods is increasing. Their advantages can be presented mainly
in the shop itself, since thecustomer can get into direct touch with the product
there
• It was recognized and acknowledged that an environment in which
purchasing is joy andpleasure for the customer has to be established at the
sales locations. This could be doneby inner and outer tools of the
merchandiser and by the tools of advertisement of theproducer. It is
necessary to provide opportunities for continuous sales promotions and
othersales-stimulating activities (sampling, price discount). However, in order
to work out allthese efficiently, there is an absolute need for a
continuous, mutually trust-basedcooperation of the producer and of the
merchandise.
Psychological characteristics of sales location advertisements
Psychology differentiates active and passive memory. It means the following
under active memory: if a human being sees an advertisement could he recall
actual events by himself orby answering a question? Usually this memory is
inaccurate and cloudy. Passive memory getsinto work automatically according
to the stored information of a seen advertisement. Noticinga familiar face in
the crowd will calm and make the man happy in case the relation betweenthe
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two is good. Therefore, when the mass – communication advertisement
has alreadyestablished a positive (at least not negative) attitude to the
product, a new meeting with it atthe spot of sales can generate an even
stronger effect of the customer. That is whyadvertisements at the spot of
sales play an important role in activating passive memory.
There are some examples for tools building on Psychologicaleffects:
- Configuring and placing display (it is important that the display matches the
message of mass-communication)
- Placing daily consuming goods at not too busy spots, goods generating
impulse haveto be in the front of the store or near the cashier.
- Showing the product on more types of visual and audio-visual aids.
- Daily products should be placed on the lower shelves of the stand
while products generating impulse have to be on eye-level-shelves.
Organizing Guidelines
The carrier of sales spot advertisement is practically the whole store and those
inner and outer tools, methods that result the increase of turnover of the
store. The design of the on-spot-sales-advertisement is affected by the
shop's location, type, system of sales.
Configuring Sales Spot
When configuring the inner space of the store there are important
aspects that have to be considered: the customer should purchase in a
civilised environment, let her feel comfortable, and let her go home with the
feeling and experience that make the return of that customer sure.
When configuring the inside of the store, it is basic to provide enough space
for comfortable purchasing and for using the services. Also, have to pay
attention to provide sufficient space for executing sampling, placing displays
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and prize winning games. Wide and clear passageways let customers look
around properly in the store. Nurseries, shops in the store (shop in the
shop) make purchasing even easier and more comfortable.
Placing the Products
Purchasing has two types: planned in advance and impulse purchasing.
Taking these into consideration goods should be placed in a way that daily
products are in the inner side of the store, preferably at a constant place, while
those products generating impulse purchasing are near to cashiers.
Since some points of the store are not equal customer-traffic-wise when
configuring the dual-base sales activities the traffic of certain spots must be
taken into consideration.
The first spot is the constant, regular place of the product. The second
sales spot is the surrounding of the cashiers, entrance, exit and the
displays, baskets, pallets placed at the end of the stands. Generally, easy-to-
sell products with eye-catching price labelling occupy these places. Also
important to consider the frequency of purchasing and the weight of the
product (products with more weight should be placed near to the exit). More
surveys confirmed that placing products in a symmetrical way or in different
geometrical shapes restrain purchasing activity, because customers do not like
to break down those for ms.Considering these, placing products in soldier-like
order is not practical.
Roles of temperature, colours and light. Temperature experienced in the
store can also be decisive: nobody likes purchasing in a cold shop. The
ideal temperature is about 20°C. According to some observations, fairs
organized in wintertime can have a bigger number of visitors than those in
august; probably temperature also played an important role in it. The colour of
the store’s inside is not defined. By all means, it is a fact that products
wrapped in white or in pastel colours are the most adequate. We must
not forget that positive associations by the help of colours relate to the
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packaging mainly. The lighting of the inside isbasically made by accidental
lighting. However it is important that these lights should be adequate to
natural light, be pleasant, eye-friendly and not to be disturbing. The well-
designed lighting highlights order,tidiness and also assist to shape a positive
image of the store.
Advertisement with sound Experiences obtained in the industry (surveys of
Taylor) confirm that music can decrease the feeling of tiredness for a while
and increase productivity. Applying it in commerce, not only the sales staff
but customers can also enjoy the refreshing effect of music. The well-chosen
music that fits into the place of sales creates a pleasant atmosphere. The
read-out program placed in the musical environment gives information about
discounts, services and products.
The sales spot advertisement needs to put emphasis on the following
factors in order to succeed:
• Proportion of text and music
• Creativeness of the text
• Quality of technological equipment that transmit the program
• Safe operation of equipment.
• Fairs, exhibitions.
Fair is a periodical event held from time to time at the same location, which
objectives are to establish and to improve relations between producer, retailer
and the costumer, to foster sales and the dissemination of information.
Exhibitions showcase the achievements of a particular field.
Types of Fairs
1. The range and types of displayable products at an ordinary fair do not fall
under any restrictions.
2. Professional fair is most commonly multi-profession-fairs. It can
differentiate producing-goods and consumer goods fairs.
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3. Vertical professional fair only introduces one or two groups of products. Its
visitors are professionals and concerned traders. Primarily serves marketing
objectives, sales stay in the background.
4. The characteristic of the horizontal or representational professional fair
is the high-level specialization. Users and end-consumers can also visit,
depending on their interests. It is suitable for executing professional
objectives as well as satisfying the needs of consumers for information.
Event Marketing Fairs
An event is an organized meeting for a community or sometimes it has an
entertaining function.
The process of organizing events can be divided into four parts:
• Planning
• Preparing
• Execution
• Follow-ups and evaluation.
The difference between fairs and event marketing is: while the primary
objective of a fair is informing, the main aspect at event marketing is let
the visitors enjoy themselves. The objective of event marketing is to give
the brand/company a pleasant, entertaining experience. In its centre, we can
see the vivid transmission of the message and direct informing, exchange of
information. Its aim is to create a positive image in the customer's
mind; several times direct sale is not the primary aspect. There is a possibility
for consumers as well as for partners at these eventsto see and try the
products. It is a key element at event marketing that certain events give
special and unique experience since catching the interest of the target group
can only be made sure this way. The effect of outdoor programs cannot be
measured accurately; only the numberof visitors can be quoted. Besides this,
thevalue of one or two events can be weighted through press releases.
The importance of events is given by those people who take part in those and
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who are important from the companies' or from trade locations' point of view.
So if we can achieve
something memorable during the event it can be a bigger success than
trying to reach potential customers by the conventional media. Earlier brands
or products were more in the centre of the popularity increasing
programmes while nowadays banks, broadcasting and technical companies,
so service providers are using event marketing as well.
Sponsoring
Sponsoring is a kind of contribution by money or by any form, by which the
investor gains trade potential in connection with the activity.
Characteristics of sponsoring:
• It is a bilateral business, where both parties – from the beginning –
has to be aware of what they expect from the co-operation, what
compromises they are to make in order to mutually gain advantages.
• Sponsors are classified by the degree of financial contribution.
• Reaches customers in non-commercial surroundings.
• Makes skirting of advert restriction possible.
• Neither falls into the field of advertisement, nor into of Public Relation. It
is a complex tool of marketing communication that highly beneficial on the
long run.
• Sponsoring is usually financial, and its effectiveness can be measured
by the change in market share and in image judgement.
• It is important when choosing sponsorship that the target market should be
the same for the sponsor as well as for the sponsored person, that it shapes
the company’s reputation and image and that the sponsor would have
favourable communicational tools by the sponsored person.
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• The success and reputation of the sponsored person are to be adapted to
the company’scommunication.
6.6. Personal selling
Personal communication means substantially more than the sheer sale of the
product. There isan opportunity for maintaining and improving customer
relations and managing customercomplaints, which help keeping customers
and also motivate them for further purchase.
Personal selling is a kind of marketing tool where there is direct and
interactivecommunication between the seller and the buyer. Its
characteristic is direct connection, thepossibility of immediate response. At
the same time, it is important to mention that the contactcost/customer is high
and it is possible to reach only a narrow target group.
Fields of personal selling are as follows:
• customer based
• business based (business to business)
In the market of consumers, personal selling comes in existence when
the buyer needs tomake a difficult decision, purchasing is of high-value,
if the object of the purchase is anexclusive product and if the product is of
service-nature.
The presence of trade representatives is crucial in the relationship of retailer
and wholesalerand of producer and commerce. The advantage of keeping
good relationship with therepresentative is that the information does not
get distorted and is personalized. Since thevolume of purchasing is quite
big on the market of producing/investing assets and generallythe decision-
making process is quite difficult, it is important for the representative to
haveenough information about both the market and the customer.
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Below the line (BTL) / Above the line(ATL) / Through the line (TTL)
Advertising
In organisational business and marketing communications, below the line
(BTL) is an advertising technique. It uses less conventional methods than the
usual specific channels of advertising to promote products, services, etc. than
above the line (ATL) strategies. These may include activities such as direct
mail, public relations and sales promotions for which a fee is agreed upon and
charged up front.
Above the line(ATL)is a type of advertising through media such as TV,
cinema,radio, print, banners and search engines. Below the line advertising
typically focuses on direct means of communication, most commonly direct
mail and e-mail, often using highly targeted lists of names to maximize
response rates.
In addition, Above the line is much more effective, when the target group is
very large and difficult to define. But, if the target group is limited and
specific, it is always advisable to use Below the line promotions for efficiency
and cost-effectiveness.
Say, for example, if a manufacturer of pen is going to promote its product, it
may take the ATL route, but if a company manufactures computer UPS, it will
certainly take the BTL route, as the target group is very limited and specific.
More recently, agencies and clients have switched to an 'Integrated
Communication Approach. BTL is a common technique used for "touch and
feel" products (consumer items where the customer will rely on immediate
information rather than previously researched items). BTL techniques ensure
recall of the brand while at the same time highlighting the features of the
product.
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Through the line (TTL)refers to an advertising strategy involving both above
and below the line communications in which one form of advertising points
the target to another form of advertising thereby crossing the 'line'. An
example would be a TV commercial that says 'come into the store to sample
XYZ product'. In this example, the TV commercial is a form of 'above the line'
advertising and once in the store, the target customer is presented with 'below
the line' promotional material such as store banners, competition entry forms
etc.
Promotion can be loosely classified as "above the line" and "below the line"
promotion. The promotional activities carried out through mass media like
television, radio, newspaper etc. is above the line promotion.
The terms 'below-the-line' promotion or communications refers to forms of
non-media communication, even non-media advertising. Below-the-line
promotions are becoming increasingly important within the communications
mix of many companies, not only those involved in FMCG products, but also
for industrial goods.
Some of the ways by which companies do BTL (below the line) promotions
are by exhibitions, sponsorship activities, public relations and sales
promotions like giving freebies with goods, trade discounts given to dealers
and customers, reduced price offers on products, giving coupons which can be
redeemed later etc.
Below the line (BTL) sales promotions are short-term incentives, largely
aimed at consumers. With the increasing pressure on the marketing team to
achieve communication objectives more efficiently in a limited budget, there
has been a need to find out more effective and cost efficient ways to
communicate with the target markets. This has led to a shift from the regular
media based advertising.
Methods of below the line sales promotion
1. Price promotions
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Price promotions are also commonly known as" price discounting". These can
be done in two ways: a discount to the normal selling price of a product, or
more of the product at the normal price.
Alt Price promotions however can also have a negative effect by spoiling the
brand reputation or just a temporary sales boost (during the discounts)
followed by a lull when the discount would be called off.
Other methods of price promotions are: coupons, gift with purchase.
Competitions and prizes is an important tool to increase brand awareness
amongst the target consumer. It can be used to boost up sales for temporary
period and ensure usage amongst first time users. In money refunds, a
customer receives a money refund after submitting a proof of purchase to the
manufacturer. Customers often view these schemes with some suspicion,
particularly if the method of obtaining a refund looks unusual or
onerous.Frequent user or loyalty incentives and point-of-sale displays can also
be used as price promotions methods.
Shopping habits are changing for the people living in metropolitan cities.
People prefer big retail outlets like Big Bazaar to local kirana stores. Most of
the decisions of buying are taken by the virtue of point-of-sale displays in
these retail outlets.
Examples of BTL promotion
Most of the big brands are following the suit of BTL promotion because of
rising prices of media based promotion, advertising clutter and increased
impulse purchasing.Most of the educational institutes like career launcher,
time and PT are holding informative workshops and free tests for students
which give a direct interaction of these institutes with the target customer and
hence a suitable platform to sell themselves.Ring tones and music videos on
cell phones are helping the entertainment industry to promote for a music
video or a movie for dirt-cheap rate as compared to media promotion.
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Various companies sponsor sport events to promote their brand, but nowadays
media companies like Hindustan Times are holding weekly events throughout
the country in which companies can put up their stalls, display banners and
posters and arrange for some fun activities. These events give the companies a
platform at very low price to promote their brand and increase visibility
among target consumer. These companies also give discount coupons to
winners in the games, which in turn boost the sales of the products and ensure
that first time users try these products as well.
Pepsi organized an inter school cricket event for 425 schools across 14 cities
which did wonders for the company by promoting the brand amongst the right
target customer for almost no cost.
Most of the pharmacy companies do BTL promotion by getting shelf space
through doctors to display their products or by giving away free calcium
tablets again through doctors, knowing that for a patient a personal advise
from a doctor would hold more value as compared to a commercial
advertisement.
Another interesting BTL promotion was by NIKE. An athlete dressed up in
Nike sportswear could be seen jogging on an elevated treadmill for the whole
day on National Highway 8, Delhi.
Tata Shaktee is a strong rural brand from Tata Steel, for roofing products, has
BTL activity in the form of Hat participation. By having a stall at Hat, Tata
Shaktee engages potential consumers in interactive games around
differentiating attributes of the product. Also, discount coupons are given for
interested buyers, with details of nearby retailers.
BTL promotions are gaining popularity among all big companies nowadays
considering their effectiveness because of the "individual customer
promotion" at a price, which is much lesser than the normal media
promotions.
Sales promotion
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Sales promotion is the process of persuading a potential customer to buy the
product. Sales promotion is designed to be used as a short-term tactic to boost
sales – it is not really designed to build long-term customer loyalty.Some sales
promotions are aimed at consumers. Others are targeted at intermediaries
(such as agents and wholesalers) or at the firm’s sales force.
When undertaking a sales promotion, there are several factors that a business
must take into account:
• What does the promotion cost?
Will the resulting sales boost justify the investment?
• Is the sales promotion consistent with the brand image?
A promotion that heavily discounts a product with a premium price might do
some long-term damage to a brand
•Will the sales promotion attract customers who will continue to buy
theproduct?
Once the promotion ends, or will it simply attract those customers who are
always on the look-out for a bargain?
There are many methods of sales promotion, including:
• Money off coupons –customers receive coupons, or cut coupons out of
newspapers or a products packaging that enables them to buy the product next
time at a reduced price
• Competitions– buying the product will allow the customer to take part in a
chance to win a prize
•Discount vouchers– a voucher (like money off coupons)
•Free gifts– a free product when buy another product
•Point of sale materials– e.g. Posters, display stands – ways of presenting the
product in its best way or show the customer that the product is there.
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• Loyalty cards– e.g. Nectar and Air Miles; where customers earn points for
buying certain goods or shopping at certain retailers – that can later be
exchanged for money, goods or other offers
Loyalty cards have recently become an important form of sales promotion.
They encourage the customer to return to the retailer by giving them discounts
based on the spending from a previous visit. Loyalty cards can offset the
discounts they offer by making more sales and persuading the customer to
come back. They also provide information about the shopping habits of
customers – where do they shop, when and what do they buy? This is very
valuable marketing research and can be used in the planning process for new
and existing products.
Advantages of sales promotion
Effective at achieving a quick boost to sales Encourages customers to trial a
product or switch brands
Disadvantages of sales promotion
Sales effect may only be short-term Customers may come to expect or
anticipate further promotions May damage brand image
IKEA Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Porter’s Five Forces model is a generic framework that deconstructs industry
structure into five underlying competitive forces or variables These five
underlying forces are competitive rivalry among existing firms, bargaining
power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, the threat of new entrants
into the industry, and the threat of substitute products and services
Porter’s Five Forces analysis can be facilitated in the following manner:
Rivalry among existing firms
furniture and the major players in the industry include Euromarket Designs
Inc, Galiformplc, Wal
IKEA is the undisputed market leader in the industry of disc
the global scale.
The threat of new entrants
emergence of new competition for
current market is saturated and significant amount of financial invest
expertise are required to become a discounted furniture retailer in a global
scale.
The bargaining power
competition is intense and the customers have a wide choice of alternative
options offered by global furniture retailers, as well as, local furniture
producers.
However, the threat of substitute products and services
no too many products and services available that can substitute the demand for
furniture, home appliances and a range of other products offered by
Republic.
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Rivalry among existing firms is intense in the global market of discount
furniture and the major players in the industry include Euromarket Designs
Inc, Galiformplc, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Argos and others. However, currently
IKEA is the undisputed market leader in the industry of discounted furniture in
threat of new entrants into the industry is low, and the chances of
emergence of new competition for Furniture Republic is insubstantial as the
current market is saturated and significant amount of financial invest
expertise are required to become a discounted furniture retailer in a global
The bargaining power of Furniture Republic’s customers is strong, as the
competition is intense and the customers have a wide choice of alternative
options offered by global furniture retailers, as well as, local furniture
the threat of substitute products and services is low as there are
no too many products and services available that can substitute the demand for
furniture, home appliances and a range of other products offered by
is intense in the global market of discount
furniture and the major players in the industry include Euromarket Designs
Mart Stores Inc, Argos and others. However, currently
ounted furniture in
into the industry is low, and the chances of
is insubstantial as the
current market is saturated and significant amount of financial investments and
expertise are required to become a discounted furniture retailer in a global
is strong, as the
competition is intense and the customers have a wide choice of alternative
options offered by global furniture retailers, as well as, local furniture
is low as there are
no too many products and services available that can substitute the demand for
furniture, home appliances and a range of other products offered by Furniture
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Furniture Republic’s suppliers do not possess substantial bargaining power as
there are numerous factories around the globe with the capabilities and
resources to form partnership with Furniture Republic. At the same time,
pursues the strategy of forming strategic long-term relationships with its
suppliers.
This portal also contains Value-Chain analysis, IKEA PEST Analysis, and
SWOT analysis for IKEA.
“Each step in the manufacture of a product or the delivery of a service can be
thought of as a link in a chain that adds value to the product or service. This
concept of a how business fulfils its mission and objectives is known as the
value chain”.
IKEA is a global furniture retailer that has generated total revenues of EURO
2,856 million, accounting for 7.4% increase compared to the previous year.
IKEA vision is to “to create a better everyday life for the many people”
IKEA’s competitive advantage includes its creative design achieved in low
costs. IKEA products are based on the concept of democratic design that
attempts to achieve an effective integration of form, quality, function and
sustainability for a low price. Moreover, the company pursues international
market expansion strategy in an aggressive manner.
The concept of value-chain analysis is introduced by Michael Porter (1985),
who divides activities of the firm into two categories: primary activities and
support activities. Primary activities are necessary elements for producing the
products and offering services, and support activities assist businesses to
become successful in the marketplace.
The following tables represent an analysis of IKEA operations on the basis of
value-chain analytical framework:
Activity
Firm Infrastructure
Human Resource Management
Technology development
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The following tables represent an analysis of IKEA operations on the basis of
analytical framework:
Implementation by IKEA
Hierarchical tall organisational structure The IKEA Group is controlled by INGKA Holding B.V. that belongs to Stichting INGKA FoundationStores are large in size IKEA employs more than 135,000 people (Annual Report, 2013) High level of commitment to HR practices Effective staff training and development programs47% of 17,000 leaders are females The launch of IWON (Women Open Network) initiative has playeinstrumental role in reaching gender balance in leadership positions. (Annual Report, 2013) There are more than 400 mentorship participants at IKEAEmployees are motivated via One IKEA bonus to reach their goals Code of Conduct Training were organisedemployees during the year of 2013 alone in order to strengthen organisational culture Research and development activities are initiated in Sweden Extensive use of information technology in various business processes Around 550,000 solar panels installed in IKEA buildings to cut costs and reduce negative environmental implications of operations
The following tables represent an analysis of IKEA operations on the basis of
The IKEA Group is controlled by INGKA Holding B.V. that belongs to Stichting INGKA Foundation
IKEA employs more than 135,000 people (Annual Report,
Effective staff training and development programs 47% of 17,000 leaders are females The launch of IWON (Women Open Network) initiative has played in instrumental role in reaching gender balance in leadership
There are more than 400 mentorship participants at IKEA Employees are motivated via One IKEA bonus to reach
Code of Conduct Training were organised for 120,000 employees during the year of 2013 alone in order to
Research and development activities are initiated in
Extensive use of information technology in various
und 550,000 solar panels installed in IKEA buildings to cut costs and reduce negative environmental implications of
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Activity Implementation by IKEA
Procurement No need for raw materials as IKEA does not produce own brand products Long-term strategic relationships with suppliers
The PEST analysis for Furniture Republic is conducted on the following
table:
Factor Affecting
Description
Political The level of political stability within markets The level of corporate and consumer taxation Relevant tariffs and trade restrictions within individual markets International and European trade regulation Consumer protection legislations
Economic Overall and industry-specific economic growth in markets Currency exchange rates in local markets Labour costs in each individual markets Inflation rate Market trends
Social Changes in demographic variables Lifestyle changes Fashion trends in local markets Local cultural factors in markets Buying patterns of consumers
Technological The emergence of new industry-specific technologies The level of funding in industry researches The level of potential for technological innovations Innovations in information technology The use of energy and associated costs
SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated
with a business and it is one of the most effective strategic analytical tools in
terms of business analysis. Strengths and weaknesses are considered to be
internal factors affecting the business, whereas opportunities and threats are
external factors.
Furniture Republic’s strengths include leadership position in the global
marketplace and strong brand recognition, effective marketing strategy of the
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company, as well as its financial maturity. Moreover, the company offers its
products for highly competitive prices and this strategy provides strong
competitive advantage for the company.
The main weaknesses associated with IKEA mostly relate to its global size
which makes it difficult to implement its business strategy to vastly
differentiated local market conditions. Also, the financial performance of
IKEA is greatly vulnerable to the changes of prices of raw materials due to the
company strategy of low profit margin for each individual product.
Furniture Republic has opportunities for increasing revenues and achieving
long-term growth. Such opportunities include increasing the focus on using
recycled materials, engaging in further market expansion and entering Indian,
Central Asian and Eastern European markets and increasing the company
product ranges to include more variety of technology products.
At the same time, Furniture Republic’s management have to address a range
of threats the business is faced with. For instance, due to the changes in social
trends consumers may prefer buying pieces of furniture associated with high
class in society. Moreover, the brand image might suffer some damages as a
result of poor working conditions in Furniture Republic’s contractor
companies in developing countries revealed by the media. Also, the fears of
some economists regarding another economic crisis in US in the near future
may prove to be right and this may result in financial losses forFurniture
Republic.
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Chapter 3 – Furniture Republic Profile
3.1 The Furniture Republic
A brand for furniture that gives every customer a right to good furniture, the
right to make an informed decision, the right to the best value, quality and
service.TFR is one of the leading manufacturers of superior quality laminates
range that can only be limited by the imagination. With the stringent quality
check, high manufacturing standards and modern infrastructure, it offers top
quality decorative laminates, door skins, metal foil, dry wipe marker board,
chalk board, post forming, compact, digital and screen printed laminates with
Borer, Fungus and Termite (BFT) guard on all its laminates. Realistic natural
textures paired with veneer prints and creative abstract textures, metallic foils
and fancy prints enables you use Durian Laminates to express one’s
individuality in a myriad of ways. From being the pioneers in plywood and
veneer business to being the leading lifestyle brand in India, our journey has
been a memorable one. It is a journey that has been event fully marked by
numerous pioneering achievements in the Interiors Infrastructure Industry.
Today we touch the lives of so many of Indians everyday with our range of
innovative laminates, sturdy doors and world class home and Office & Home
furniture. And this has been possible because of our passion for excellence in
everything that is done. In fact at Durian, excellence is an attitude, attitude
that has been taken to heart by the strong and committed customer-centric
team of professionals across pan India. Store is among the select few in India
to be awarded with the internationally acclaimed Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) certification apart from the prestigious ISO 9001 and
14001certifications.
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3.1.1 MD’s Message
Mr.Aditya Gupta
As you might have read, LIVE SMART, BUY RIGHTis our simple but strong message to the customer. It is also our credo. Unless we buy smart and right from our factories, we won’t be able to deliver delight to our customers .Our customer are design conscious, value seeking and have several demands on their time. We totally support their desire to buy smart things, with good quality and genuine value. It is time to declare freedom from boring interiors, it’s your republic.
3.1.2 Mission
This mission statement reflects our proud past and our desire for the future. This is the mantrathat drives us in everything that we do. From design through fulfilment, we continuously striveto provide the best product at the best prices accompanied by the best service in the industry. Being the best and bringing the best to you is our relentless pursuit
3.1.3 Vision
"Through positive energy, faith and passion, providing the best possible product and service inthe market and therefore creating dynamic growth and prosperity.”
3.2 P’s of Furniture Industry
3.2.1 Products
Under this heading a marketer needs to consider the thing that is being sold. This is not just the physical product itself, but also anything related to how it is made, packaged and named. Under this heading the marketer also needs to consider product/service options, the after-sales service, warranties, and servicing. For example, look at all the options available on a major car manufacturer's website. You might also consider all the choices you might have to make for a simple flight:
Household Furniture
Sofa, Lounger, Dining, Bed Room, Home office, Side &Center Table, Storage, Miscellaneous, Computer Table etc.
Office Furniture
Desks, Conference Table, Chair, Miscellaneous and etc.
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Contract Segment
In this segment we include all the furniture which is used to build hotels.
3.2.2 Price
This heading refers to decisions about how much to charge for goods and services. It may be easy for you as a manager to neglect this aspect of the mix in favors of the more 'glamorous' promotion and product areas, but ultimately decisions over price affect the viability of a brand and the profitability of an organization. Pricing is also much more complex than you might think.
3.2.3 Place
This heading refers to distribution. This means all aspects related to how goods and services are 'moved from the producers to the end user. This means the coordination of retailers and/or wholesales and in the case of products the logistics involved in moving from factory/warehouse/head office, to the end user. Most goods are sold through intermediaries, (for example, retailers). Marketers must therefore consider the type, size and location of retailers and possibly also the training of retail staff
3.2.4 Promotions
This heading refers to all types of communication that relate to a specific marketing campaign. This includes communication with retailers and distributors, communication with purchasers and end users and also internal communication with the sales force and other employees. Promotion is an area with considerable innovation. Marketers put great efforts into finding new ways to communicate with consumers. When people think, or talk about marketing they are often only considering promotions. This is because t is the most visible part of the marketing process after the product itself. But it would be a mistake to focus only on promotions. Promotions work best when they are considered alongside decisions about products, pricing and place and using the strategies such as: Direct Marketing, Sponsorship, Public Relations, Personal Selling, Advertising and Sales Promotions.
3.3 Key Success Factor of the Company
While the Indian furniture market is growing rapidly and can yield sustained advantages, an assessment of the sector and the key trends driving it throw up a few key take-always for potential investors.
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Build the Brand
India being a price and value-conscious market, consumers typically look for cues that indicate assurance of value. A strong brand is important for furniture manufacturers in this respect, to increase customer awareness and trust. Participation in furniture trade shows, organizing seminars, etc., could therefore prove to be useful means to build a brand.
Understand the Market
Potential investors would also need to concentrate on specific regions customer segments initially, to establish themselves and test the market before investing in a national distribution network. Establishing a liaison Office & Home to study the market extensively and identifying investment opportunities will also prove to be steps that will enable investors to firm up their India operations
3.4 Milestones of company
Aditya Gupta, Chairman, Aditya is co-founder and Chairman of Shardaexports,GlocalEdge and The furniture republic. He is company's strategic advisor and a visionary entrepreneur who has created corporations worth $150M.Aditya and his brother Ashish started Sharda Exports and ihdp Business Park and the Furniture republic. Under their leadership, Sharda Exports became the fastest growing floor covering manufacturer and exporter in India. Due to its creative designs and quality-driven approach, Sharda Exports has become a leading floor covering exporter in India and has won consecutive national awards since 1997. It exports products to 350 world-renowned brands, retail stores, and design houses in 57 countries. They pioneered ihdp, a first of its kind business park in Asia. This business park brings together home fashion exporters, provides temporary display opportunities for global buyers, and is a first class corporate park with offices of several multinational corporations. Aditya's extensive global travels and relationships bring tremendous value to the company's wealth of network and knowledge. Mr.Aditya holds an MBA from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) and a
BE in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
(IITR). Aditya is an avid photographer, squash player, and adventure sports
enthusiast.
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Chapter 4 – Design of Research
Concept of Marketing Research Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The term is commonly interchanged with market research; however, expert practitioners may wish to draw a distinction, in that market research is concerned specifically with markets, while marketing research is concerned specifically about marketing processes. Role of Marketing Research The task of marketing research is to provide management with relevant, accurate, reliable, valid, and current information. Competitive marketing environment and the ever-increasing costs attributed to poor decision making require that marketing research provide sound information. Sound decisions are not based on gut feeling, intuition, or even pure judgment. Marketing managers make numerous strategic and tactical decisions in the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs. They make decisions about potential opportunities, target market selection, market segmentation, planning and implementing marketing programs, marketing performance, and control. These decisions are complicated by interactions between the controllable marketing variables of product, pricing, promotion, and distribution. Further complications are added by uncontrollable environmental factors such as general economic conditions, technology, public policies and laws, political environment, competition, and social and cultural changes. Another factor in this mix is the complexity of consumers. Marketing research helps the marketing manager link the marketing variables with the environment and the consumers. It helps remove some of the uncertainty by providing relevant information about the marketing variables, environment, and consumers. In the absence of relevant information, consumers' response to marketing programs cannot be predicted reliably or accurately. Ongoing marketing research programs provide information on controllable and non-controllable factors and consumers; this information enhances the effectiveness of decisions made by marketing managers. The role of marketing research in managerial decision making is explained further using the framework of the "DECIDE" model:
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D Define the marketing problem E Enumerate the controllable and uncontrollable decision factors C Collect relevant information I Identify the best alternative D Develop and implement a marketing plan E Evaluate the decision and the decision process
The Study
� Need of study
Furniture Republic not big brand name but the emergence of other market players (LG, Samsung and the like) in the appliance industry, has set a big benchmark and has also affected market position adversely. The company has not been able to make a huge success in this segment despite its extensive promotional campaigns and vast experience in the field. Customers are the lifeblood of every business and its success largely depends on how it satisfies its customers. Customer purchase preferences are affected by a number of reasons. In addition to this, Location convenience and Dealer relationship is one of the most consideration followed by the After Sales Services and Variety, in building a good brand image. Both these concepts have been taken into consideration to study the factors affecting the customer purchase preference and also the dealers’ perspective to deal with a particular appliance brand. Thus this study is aimed to provide the management with some knowledge about its status in market both in terms of sales and customer awareness. The research also aims to provide some ideas to improve the company’s present condition. Research Design A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. In fact, the research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. One may split the overall research design into following parts:
a) the sampling design which deals with the method of selecting items to be observed for the given study;
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b) the observational design which relates to the condition under which the observations are to be made;
c) the statistical design which concerns with the question of how many items are to be observes and how the information and the data gathered are to be analyzed
d) The operational design which deals with the techniques by which the procedure specified in the sampling, statistical and observational design can be carried out.
The research design for this project is descriptive.
Research Instrument
The primary data was obtained during the course of doing research in a systematic manner with the help of SCHEDULES.
This method of data collection is very much like the collection of data through questionnaire, withlittle difference which lies in the fact that schedules (proforma containing a set of questions) arebeing filled in by the enumerator. These enumeratorsalong with schedules go to respondents, put to them the questions from the proforma in the order thequestions are listed and record the replies in the space meant for the same in the proforma. In certainsituations, schedules may be handed over to respondents and enumerators may help them in recordingtheir answers to various questions in the said schedules. Enumerators explain the aims and objects ofthe investigation and also remove the difficulties which any respondent may feel in understanding theimplications of a particular question or the definition or concept of difficult terms.This method of data collection is very useful in extensive enquiries and can lead to fairly reliableresults. It is, however, very expensive.
In this study, each Electronic Appliance Dealer and Consumer was asked the questions written in the schedule. Everything was explained to them if in case they didn’t understand something and thus their responses were noted down.
Sampling Design
A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to the technique or procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the sample.
Sample design may as well lay down the items to be included in the sample i.e., the size of the sample. Sample design is designed before data are
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collected. There are many sample designs from which a researcher can choose. Some design is relatively more precise and easier to apply than others.
Population
Population refers to part of universe from which the sample for conducting the research is selected. Universe and population can be same in some researches. It may be finite or infinite. In finite universe the number of items is certain, but in case of infinite the number of item is infinite i.e., we cannot have an idea about the total number of items.
The population for this study is finite i.e. all electronic appliance dealers and consumers in Mumbai.
Sampling Unit
Sampling unit refers to smallest possible individual eligible respondent. In this study the sampling unit is:
(a) Any furniture appliance dealer, and
(b) Any furniture appliance user in Mumbai.
Sampling Size
This refers to the total number of respondents selected from the universe to constitute a sample. The size of the sample should neither be excessively large, nor too small. It should be optimum. An optimum sample is one which fulfils the requirement of efficiency, representative ness, reliability and flexibility. The sample size for this research is 125 in case of dealers and 250 in case of customers.
Sampling Frame
Frame is the list of respondents i.e., list of all appliance dealers and customers in Mumbai.
Sampling Techniques
In this research study, non-probability convenience sampling is opted for. Convenience sampling is done purely on the basis of convenience or accessibility. This sampling method has been mainly chosen because of time, lack of dealers’ knowledge and lack of expertise.
The aims of the Furniture Project are:
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• To provide low cost good quality furniture and other household items to
help people in times of need.
• To prevent waste by recycling furniture and other household items.
• To offer a service to the public by recycling their unwanted
furniture & household items and putting them to good use within the
community.
• To provide volunteers with training to help them get back into paid
employment, or add a new dimension to the lives of those who are retired
or in part time employment.
• To provide 'community payback' opportunities for R. R. Interior
Probation Service placements. Offenders work on a range of re-use and
recycling tasks, as well as administrative duties.
The study will highlight the effectiveness and applicability factors of sales
promotion and advertisement techniques such as below-the-line (BTL)
activity. The study is of empirical in nature. It has the following objectives:
• To investigate the effectiveness of sales promotion technique on purchase
decision.
• To study the effectiveness of advertising BTL activity on purchase
decision.
• To understand and evaluate the scope of BTL activity and its significance
in driving the sales and the comparative study between the sales generated
from the BTL and ATL activity.
• To compare betweenthe number of footfalls in the store due to above the
line (ATL) and BTL activity and toanalyse the same.
• To understand the needs of customers for new furniture and to facilitate
The Furniture Republic to plan their future strategies accordingly.
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Research project components Exploratory research Conclusive research
Research purpose General: to generate insights about a situation
Specific: to verify insights and aid in selecting a course of action
Data needs Vague Clear
Data sources Ill defined Well defined
Data collection form Open-ended, rough Usually structured
Sample Relatively small; subjectively selected to maximise generalisation of insights
Relatively large; objectively selected to permit generalisation of findings
Data collection Flexible; no set procedure
Rigid; well-laid-out procedure
Data analysis Informal; typically non- Formal; typically
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quantitative quantitative
Inferences/recommendations More tentative than final More final than tentative
There are a wide range of options available for the selection of a research
process. The following are the most suitable options for studies that involve
primary data collection.
Research Process Option 1 • Confirming research aims and objectives with the supervisor and
introducing modifications if necessary.
• Conducting a thorough literature review through utilising a wide range of
relevant sources.
• Addressing methodology aspect of the work through identifying research
philosophy, research approach, design of study, and devising
questionnaires.
• Conducting a pilot study and revising the questionnaire according to
results of the pilot study
• Collecting primary data with questionnaires
• Discussing and interpreting the questionnaire results, comparing them to
literature review findings
• Completing the first draft of the research
• Getting feedback from supervisor for analysis and discussions and overall
progress of the work, improving relevant chapters according to the
feedback
• Wring conclusions chapter on the basis of overall research experience
• Finalizing and submitting the work before the deadline
Research Process
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Research Process Option 2
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Research Process Option 3
Stage 1. Formulating and clarifying the research area, research topic, research
question and objectives.
Stage 2. Critically evaluating the existing literature and pointing to the gap in
the literature this research is going to fill.
Stage 3.Choosing appropriate methodology for the research, taking into
account the characteristics of the current research and critically analysing
advantages and disadvantages of all available qualitative and quantitative data
collection methods.
Stage 4. Undertaking primary data collection according to chosen
methodology
Stage 5. Explaining, discussing and analysing the primary data and thus
turning raw data into meaningful analysis that is going to form the findings
chapter of the research
Stage 6. Presenting primary and secondary findings and other parts of the
research in an effective manner using graphs and tables wherever necessary
Stage 7. Writing the first draft of the dissertation and revising it according to
feedbacks from the supervisor.
Stage 8. Writing the final draft of the dissertation
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Research Process Option 4
The scientific process associated with adopting qualitative and quantitative
approaches are explained by Lodico et al (2010) in the following manner:
The scientific process Qualitative project Quantitative project
Step 1: Ask a general question
Observation, reflection, and review of project leads to a question
Review of project and theory leads to a question
Step 2: Generate more scientific questions or a project hypothesis
Inductive reasoning leads to more specific yet flexible project questions
Deductive reasoning leads to a project hypothesis
Step 3: Collect data to answer question or hypothesis
Data in narrative or image form, collected through methods such as interviews or observations
Numerical data collected, such as tests, checklists, surveys
Step 4: Data analysis Identify patterns or themes Conduct statistical analysis
Step 5: interpret finding Make conclusions based upon themes and patterns
Hypothesis rejected or accepted based upon statistical results
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Research Process Option 5
Research objectives are can be achieved through adhering to the following research process.
1. Getting this proposal approved, introducing modifications to research questions and/or objectives or any other aspect of this proposal if necessary.
2. Conducting literature review from a wide range of secondary data sources including books, newspapers, journals, magazines, online publications etc.
3. Dealing with methodology associated with the research by selecting appropriate primary data collection methods.
4. Facilitating primary data collection in an appropriate manner by taking into account validity and accountability issues.
5. Presenting and discussing findings by critically analysing primary data and comparing primary and secondary data.
6. Improving the research according to supervisor feedbacks. Bringing different chapters of the work to the required format and completing the work
Research Process Option 6
Research Process Main Actions Involved
Selection of the research area and topic
Analysing the sphere of professional and personal interestsPrioritising these areas of interest taking into account future career aims and objectives
Formulation of research questions and research objectives
Scanning for a gap in studies conducted within chosen research area Re-formulation of research questions and objectives many times in order to achieve high level of clarity and avoid ambiguity
Reviewing relevant literature
Referring to a wide range of secondary data sources Selecting a part of reviewed literature to be included in the paper according to a range of criteria that include authority of the author, date of publication, critical acclaim the article has attracted etc.
Choosing appropriate methodology
Studying materials about methodology from various sourcesIdentifying research philosophy, approach and design of the study
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Selecting suitable primary data collection method
Critically analysing advantages and disadvantages of the most popular primary data collection methods Analysing timeframe and other resources available for the author in order to conduct the study
Sampling Critically analysing popular sampling methods including non-probability, convenience, judgement, quota and stratified sampling methods Electing the sampling frame and conducting sampling procedure
Primary data collection
Preparing the questionnaires Conducting the survey
Primary data analysis Discussing primary data findings by offering explanations and applying logical reasoning Using pie charts in order to enhance the level of presentation of the work
Writing the dissertation
Completing the first draft and obtaining detailed and valuable feedback from the tutor numbers of times Writing the final version of the study
Research Process Option 7
Project phase Explanation Actions involved
Conceptual The standard elements in this phase are aims and objectives of the project
Formulation of the project problem
Selecting appropriate methodology
Empirical Also referred to as ‘doing phase’. The standard element in this phase is the project design
Preparations for the interviews
Conducting interviews
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Interpretive The phase where the researcher engages with the meaning of the study
Analysing in interview findings
Comparing primary and secondary project findings
Communication phase
The phase of writing the project report.
Writing the first draft
Preparing the final work after addressing feedbacks
Source: Brink et al. (2006)
Action Research
Action research can be defined as “an approach in which the action researcher
and a client collaborate in the diagnosis of the problem and in the development
of a solution based on the diagnosis” (Bryman and Bell, 2011, p.414). In other
words, one of the main characteristic traits of this type of research relates to
collaboration between researcher and member of organisation in order to solve
organizational problems.
According to Collis and Hussey (2003, p.67) action study assumes social
world to be constantly changing, both, researcher and research being one part
of that change.
Generally, action researches can be divided into three categories: positivist,
interpretive and critical.
Positivist approach to action research, also known as ‘classical action
research’ perceives research as a social experiment, and accordingly action
research as accepted as a method to test hypotheses in a real world
environment.
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Interpretive action research, also known as ‘contemporary action research’
perceives business reality as socially constructed and focuses on specifications
of local and organizational factors when conducting the action research.
Critical action research is a specific type of action research that adopts critical
approach towards business processes and aims for improvements.
The following features of action research need to be taken into account when
considering its suitability for any given study:
• It is applied in order to improve specific practices. Action research is
based on action, evaluation and critical analysis of practices based on
collected data in order to introduce improvements in relevant practices.
• This type of research is facilitated by participation and collaboration of
number of individuals with a common purpose
• Such a research focuses on specific situations and their context
Basic Model of Action Research
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Action research offers the following advantages:
• High level of practical relevance of the business research
• Can be used with quantitative, as well as, qualitative data
• Possibility to gain in-depth knowledge about the problem
Disadvantages may include the following:
• Difficulties in distinguishing between action and research and ensure the
application of both
• Delays in completion of action research due to a wide range of reasons are
not rare occurrences
• Lack of repeatability and rigour
It is important to make a clear distinction between action research and
consulting. Specifically, action research is greater than consulting in a way
that action research includes both action and research, whereas business
activities of consulting are limited action without the research.
Action Research Spiral
According to Kemmis and McTaggart (2000) action study is a participatory
study consisting of spiral of following self-reflective cycles:
• Planning in order to initiate change
• Implementing the change (acting) and observing the process of
implementation and consequences
• Reflecting on processes of change and re-planning
• Acting and observing
• Reflecting
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Experiments
The terms experiment may seem to be associated with the image of a chemist
surrounded by bubbling tubes and other related items. Traditionally,
experiments have been used by physical and behavioral researchers to a
greater extent compared to business scientists, nevertheless, experimental
research can be effectively used in businesses in order to analyze cause and
effect relationships. Deductive approach is mainly used for experimental
researches in order to test hypotheses.
Experiments are usually used in causal studies. Specifically experimental
studies involve manipulation with an independent variable in order to assess
its impacts on dependent variables. Changes in price levels on volume of sales
can be mentioned a basic example for experiment. In this specific example,
price can be specified as independent variable, whereas sales would be
dependent variable.
The nature of relationships between two variables in causal experimental
studies may be divided into three categories: symmetrical, reciprocal and
asymmetrical.
Symmetrical relationship can be observed when two variables fluctuate at
the same time. However, in symmetrical relationship change in one variable is
not caused by change in another variable. In other words, symmetrical
relationships of two individual variables usually would be the cause of another
factor.
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For example, decrease in the levels of consumption of luxury products and
decrease on the levels of consumer trust on financial institutions may occur at
the same time as a result of a third factor – increasing level of uncertainty of
perspectives of national economy.
Reciprocal relationship between two variables occurs when there is a mutual
influence and reinforcement between two variables. For example, impacted by
a marketing message a consumer purchases a car from a particular brand for
the first time. Consequently, the consumer becomes loyal to the brand
considering more purchases from the same brand in the future. Hence, the
mutual influence between the consumer and company.
Asymmetrical relationship relates to change in one variable (independent
variable) causing changes in another variable (dependent variable). There are
four major forms of asymmetric relationships:
a) Stimulus response relationship marks occurrence of an event as a
response to certain changes. For example, effective re-branding initiatives may
have positive implications on the volume of sales.
b) Property-disposition relationship. Property is associated with enduring
nature of a subject, whereas disposition can be explained as tendency to
respond in certain ways in certain circumstances. For example, personal
properties include gender, religion, heritage etc, while personal disposition
opinions, values, attitudes etc.
c) Disposition-behavior relationship relates to a specific type of
relationship where human behavior is impacted in certain ways. For example,
impact of management style on the levels of employee motivation, consumer
perception about the brand after the purchase relate to disposition-behavior
relationship.
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d) Property-behavior relationship. This type of relationship relates to the
impact of property to human behavior. For example, effects of cultural
background on consumer behavior, implications of family life-cycle on human
tendency to shop online etc.
In their review of experimental research method Saunders et al, (2007, p.136),
claim that aimed to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions, experiments tend to be
used in exploratory and explanatory research.
Experiments can be divided into two categories: field and laboratory. The
following table illustrates the main differences between these alternative types
of experiments:
Laboratory experiments Field experiments
Artificial – low realism Natural – high realism
Few extraneous variables Many extraneous variables
High control Low control
Low cost High cost
Short duration Long duration
Subjects aware of participation Subjects unaware of participation
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There are two categories of research methods: qualitative and quantitative.
Quantitative data collection usually involves numbers, graphs and charts,
whereas, qualitative data collection methods deals with feelings and other non-
quantifiable elements.
The most popular qualitative methods of data collection and analysis in
business studies are interviews, focus groups, observation, case studies, games
and role playing etc.
Popular quantitative methods of data collection and analysis, on the other
hand, include correlation analysis, regression analysis, mean, mode and
median and others.
Questionnaires can be used as qualitative, as well as, quantitative method.
Specifically, if open-ended questions are used qualitative methods will be used
for data analysis. Alternatively, if questionnaire consists of closed-ended
questions, then quantitative approach is adopted for data analysis.
Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
The main differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods
can be summarized in the following points:
Firstly, the concepts in quantitative research methods are usually expressed in
the forms of variables, while the concepts in qualitative research methods are
expressed in motives and generalizations.
Secondly, quantitative research methods and measures are usually universal,
like formulas for finding mean, median and mode for a set of data, whereas, in
qualitative research each research is approached individually and individual
measures are developed to interpret the primary data taking into account the
unique characteristics of the research.
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Thirdly, data in quantitative research appears in the forms of numbers and
specific measurements and in qualitative research data can be in forms of
words, images, transcripts, etc.
Fourthly, research findings in quantitative research can be illustrated in the
forms of tables, graphs and pie-charts, whereas, research findings in
qualitative studies is usually presented in analysis by only using words.
Commenting on the differences of the qualitative methods from the
quantitative methods Monette et al (2005, p.428) point to the advantage of the
former method which recognizes the abstraction and generalization as a
matters of degree, acknowledging that they may be less important in some
studies.
Similarities of both qualitative and quantitative forms of data are drawn by
Neuman (2003, p.439) as a use of inference and the involvement of a public
method of process for both types of data in both styles.
The following table presents the main differences between qualitative and
quantitative research methods as suggested by VanderStroep et al (2010):
Characteristic Quantitative research Qualitative research
Type of data Phenomena are described numerically
Phenomena are described in a narrative fashion
Analysis Descriptive and inferential statistics
Identification of major schemes
Scope of inquiry Specific questions or Broad, thematic concerns
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hypotheses
Primary advantage Large sample, statistical validity, accurately reflects the population
Rich, in-depth, narrative description of sample
Primary disadvantage Superficial understanding of participants’ thoughts and feelings
Small sample, not generalizable to the population at large
Source: VanderStroep et al (2010)
Alternatively, the main differences between qualitative and quantitative
research tools are provided by Ledgerwood and White (2006) as taken from
Brand (2003) in the following table.
Method matrix Qualitative research Quantitative research
Objective To gain in-depth
understanding of consumers’
attitudes and behaviour
To measure the degree and
extent of the attitudes
Confidence level Explorative, anecdotal Conclusive, with a specified
degree of certainty
Techniques Unstructured or semi-
structured
Structured
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Tools Focus groups, in-depth
interviews, mystery
shoppers
Simple and complex
surveys, database analysis
(cross tabulation)
Participants Small and homogeneous
groups
Samples with a statistical
representation of the
population
Results Words and descriptions Codified results, compiled as
statistics
Training and preparation Understanding objectives of
the study
Consistency and precision of
questions usedComputer
analysis
Strengths In-depth exploration of
questionsBetter
understanding of underlying
behavioursUsually can
implement with staff
Conclusive; its results can be
inferred to the rest of the
populationBetter for costly
investment because it
measures degree and
frequency of behaviours
Weaknesses Subjective; bias can be
introduced in the execution
and analysis of resultsNot
conclusive; research cannot
Bias on the form and the
questionnaireCan be costly
and time consumingUsually
implemented by outside
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be inferred to the population marketing research firms
Cohen et al (2007), and Denscombe (2010) illustrate the main differences
between qualitative and quantitative research methods:
Quantitative methods Qualitative methods
Main elements Numbers, formulas,
calculations
Words, feelings, emotions,
sounds, vision
Approach Mainly deductive Tend to be inductive
Measures Standard measures exist Individual measures are
created taking into account
unique aspects of the study
Procedures Research procedures tend to
be standard and can be
replicated for other studies
Research procedures are
unique for each study and
usually cannot be replicated
Presentation Tables, graphs, charts, and
statistics are often used
Presentations tend to be in
the form of texts
Relevant data collection Survey Interviews, focus groups
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methods
Size of the sample Usually large samples Tend to be small
Futures Research
Futures research can be defined as a systematic study of possible future events
and circumstances. Remeyni and Money (2004, p.76) differentiate futures
research from forecasting in a way that the former has a forward orientation
and looks ahead, rather that backwards, and is not as mathematical as
forecasting.
Disadvantages of futures research are straightforward – no event or situation
can be forecasted in an accurate and complete manner. Nevertheless, futures
studies may offer a substantial advantage. Specifically, although futures
studies are not able to produce totally accurate and complete information
about the future, some researched information about the future is better than
no information at all when engaging in decision making for long-term
perspective.
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There is wide range of techniques available that can be used to conduct futures
studies. The following table illustrates types and techniques of the most
popular futures techniques.
Method Quantitative Qualitative Normative Exploratory
Agent Modeling ü ü
Complexity based models
ü ü
Cross Impact Analysis ü ü
Decision Models ü ü
Delphi ü ü ü
Econometrics ü ü
Environmental Scanning
ü ü
Futures Wheel ü ü ü
Genius Forecasting ü ü ü
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Morphological Analysis ü ü
Participatory Methods ü ü
Regression ü ü
Relevance Trees ü ü
Scenarios ü ü ü ü
Science Road Maps ü ü
System Dynamics ü ü
Tech Sequence Analysis
ü ü ü
Time Series Forecasts ü ü
Trend Impact Analysis ü ü
Source: Millenium Project
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The nature of decision-making using the results of futures studies can be
approached from four alternative perspectives:
• Values perspectivecategorizes forecasted outcome of events and
occurrences as good or bad. Accordingly, value perspective tends to be
highly subjective due to value differences of amongst individuals.
• Rational perspective relates to selection of an alternative amongst
decision options guided by the extent to which each alternative meets
certain criteria.
• Judgment heuristics is associated with tendency towards risk taking and
relying on intuition when engaging in decision making.
• Cognitive science perspective to decision making relies on inductive
process of thought and taking decisions as a result of inductive analysis by
individuals, as well as, related computer programs.
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research methods are interpretative and aim to provide a depth of
understanding. Qualitative methods are based on words, perceptions, feelings
etc. rather than numbers and they include experiments, interviews, focus
groups, and questionnaires with open-ended questions.
Monette et al (2005, p.428) credit qualitative methods with the
acknowledgement of abstraction and generalization, and Polonsky and Waller
(2005, p.126) categorize vision, images, forms and structures in various
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media, as well as spoken and printed word and recorded sound into qualitative
data collection methods.
According to William (2005, p.85) qualitative data collection methods
emerged after it has become known that traditional quantitative data collection
methods were unable to express human feelings and emotions.
It is noted that “qualitative methods are often regarded as providing rich data
about real life people and situations and being more able to make sense of
behavior and to understand behavior within its wider context. However,
qualitative research is often criticized for lacking generalizability, being too
reliant on the subjective interpretations of researchers and being incapable of
replication by subsequent researchers” (Vaus, 2002, p.5)
The most popular qualitative research methods include interviews, case
studies, observation, focus groups and questionnaires with open ended-
questions.
The main sources and procedures associated with the most popular qualitative
methods are presented on the following table as proposed by Yamagata-Lynch
(2010)
Methodology Sources Procedure
Document analysis Reports, newsletters,
publications
Read all materials and
documented and
descriptive statistics related
to the research issue
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Interviews Primary
participantsSecondary
participants
Tape recorded semi-
structured interviews, then
transcribed the interviews
for the participants to
review
Observations Observed participants’
interactions
Took notes and videotaped
the observations
Exit interviews
Primary
participantsSecondary
participants
Presented findings to
participants during
individual or group
interview sessions
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research methods describe and measure the level of occurrences
on the basis of numbers and calculations. Moreover, the questions of “how
many?” and “how often?” are often asked in quantitative studies.
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Quantitative research is defined by Bryman and Bell (2005, p. 154) that
‘entailing the collection of numerical data and exhibiting the view of
relationship between theory and research as deductive, a predilection for
natural science approach, and as having an objectivist conception of social
reality’. So this specific form of research uses the quantitative data to analysis.
The most popular research methods from this category are closed-ended
questionnaires, experiments, correlation and regression analysis methods and
others.
Survey Method
The essence of survey method can be explained as “questioning individuals on
a topic or topics and then describing their responses” (Jackson, 2011, p.17).
In business studies survey method of primary data collection is used in order
to test concepts, reflect attitude of people, establish the level of customer
satisfaction, and conduct segmentation research and a set of other purposes.
Survey method pursues two main purposes:
• Describing certain aspects or characteristics of population and/or
• Testing hypotheses about nature of relationships within a population.
Survey method can be broadly divided into three categories: mail survey,
telephone survey and personal interview. The descriptions of each of these
methods are briefly explained on the following table as proposed by Jackson
(2011).
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Survey method Description
Mail survey A written survey that is self-administered
Telephone survey A survey conducted by telephone in which the questions are
read to the respondents
Personal interview A face-to-face interview of the respondent
Source: Jackson (2011)
Alternatively, According to Neuman (2005) from the viewpoint of practicality
the most popular variations of surveys include questionnaires, interviews and
documentation review. The main advantages and disadvantages associated
with these primary data collection methods are explained by Denscombe
(2004) in the following manner:
Method Purpose Advantages Disadvantages
Questionnaires Conducted
in order to
gather large
size of
information
in a short
period of
Members of the sample
group can remain
anonymousConsiderably
cheaper than most of the
other primary data
collection methods
Possibility of generating
Difficulties of ensuring
greater depth for the
researchThe problem of
the ‘first choice selection’
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time large amount of data
Interviews Conducted
in order to
reflect
emotions
and
experiences,
and explore
issues with a
greater
focus
The possibility to direct
the process of data
collectionThe possibility
to collect the specific
type of information
required
Great amount of time
required in order to
arrange and conduct
interviews and primary
data collection.Additional
costs might be incurred
associated with arranging
and conducting
interviews, travelling etc.
Potential for interviewee
bias
Documentation
review
Conducted
in order to
study issues
that have
developed
over a
specific
period of
time
Possibility to retrieve
comprehensive
information
Challenges associated
with access to
documentationInflexibility
of the research process
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Questionnaires
Questionnaires is one of the most popular primary data collection methods that
involve respondents giving answers to the set questions by choosing an option
from the set of possible answers or providing their own answers for each
questions. Questionnaires can also ask respondents to rate or rank any given
answers on the basis of provided measures.
According to Monette et al. (2005, p.164), the distinctive feature of
questionnaires from other data collection methods is that due to their design,
questionnaires can be answered without assistance. Referring to
questionnaires, Collis and Hussey (2003, p.173) state, that when using
quantitative approach closed-ended questions have to be used, and similarly,
open-ended questions have to be used for qualitative approach.
Questionnaires can be written in various formats and can be based upon
different circumstances as well. Questionnaire can be in two formats: self-
completion questionnaires and questionnaires questions of which are asked by
someone.
Brace (2008) defines questionnaire as a medium of communication between
researcher and respondent, i.e. interviewee. Questionnaire writing is
considered to be a vital part of the survey process, due to the fact that they
represent most of the time a part of the survey process. Questionnaires can be
in following types:
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Computer questionnaire. Respondents are asked to answer the questionnaire
which is sent by mail. The advantages of the computer questionnaires include
their inexpensive price, time can be saved, and respondents do not feel
pressured, therefore can answer when they have time, giving more accurate
answers. However, the main shortcoming of the mail questionnaires is that
sometimes respondents do not bother answering them and they can just ignore
the questionnaire.
Telephone questionnaire. Researcher may choose to call potential respondents
with the aim of getting them to answer the questionnaire. The advantage of the
telephone questionnaire is that, it can be completed during the short amount of
time. The main disadvantage of the phone questionnaire is that it is expensive
most of the time. Moreover, most people do not feel comfortable to answer
many questions asked through the phone and it is difficult to get sample group
to answer questionnaire over the phone.
In house survey. This type of questionnaire involves for the researcher visiting
respondents in their house or workplaces. The advantage of in house survey is
that more focus towards the questions can be gained from respondents.
However, in house surveys also have a range of disadvantages which include
its being time consuming, more expensive and respondents may not wish to
have the researcher in their houses or workplaces for various reasons.
Mail Questionnaire. This sort of questionnaires include for the researcher to
send the questionnaire list to respondents through post, often attaching pre-
paid envelope. Mail questionnaires have an advantage of providing more
accurate answer, because respondents can answer the questionnaire in their
spare time. The disadvantages associated with mail questionnaires include
them being expensive, time consuming and sometimes they end up in the bin
put by respondents.
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Computer questionnaire was used to gather the primary data for this paper,
where the questionnaire forms were sent to respondents via internet, and
completed questionnaires were received via the same medium.Questionnaires
can include the following types of questions:
Open question questionnaires. Open questions differ from other types of
questions used in questionnaires in a way that open questions may produce
unexpected results, which can make the research more original and valuable.
However, it is difficult to analyze the results of the findings when the data is
obtained through the questionnaire with open questions.
Multiple choice question- respondents are offered a set of answers they have to
choose from. The downsize of questionnaire with multiple choice questions is
that, if there are too many answers to choose from, it makes the questionnaire,
confusing and boring, and discourages the respondent to answer the
questionnaire.
Dichotomous Questions. This type of questions within questionnaire gives two
options to the respondent – yes or no, to choose from and is the easiest form of
questionnaire for the respondent in terms of responding it.
Scaling Questions. Also referred to as ranking questions, they present an
option for respondents to rank the available answers to the questions on the
scale of given range of values (for example from 1 to 10).
Cluster Sampling
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Cluster sampling is a technique in which clusters of participants that represent
the population are identified and included in the sample (Jackson,
2011). Cluster involves cluster of participants that represent the population are
identified and included in the sample. This is popular in conducting marketing
researches.
The main aim of cluster sampling can be specified as cost reduction and
increasing the levels of efficiency of sampling. This specific technique can
also be applied in integration with multi-stage sampling.
A major difference between cluster and stratified sampling relates to the fact
that in cluster sampling a cluster is perceived as a sampling unit, whereas in
stratified only specific elements of strata are accepted as sampling unit.
Area or geographical sampling can be specified as the most popular version of
cluster sampling. Specifically, a specific area can be divided into clusters and
primary data can be collected from each cluster to represent the viewpoint of
the whole area.
The nature of cluster analysis depends on comparative size of separate
clusters. If there are not major differences between sizes of clusters, then
analysis can be facilitated by combining clusters. Alternatively, if there are
vast differences in sizes of clusters probability proportionate to sample size
can be applied to conduct the analysis.
Advantages
• Is the most time-efficient and cost-efficient probability design for large
geographical areas
• This method is easy to be used from practicality viewpoint
• Larger sample size can be used due to increased level of accessibility of
perspective sample group members
Disadvantages
• Requires group
• Commonly has higher sampling
Convenience sampling
Convenience sampling, as the name implies is a specific type of non
probability sampling method that relies on data collection from population
members who are conveniently available to partic
Convenience sampling is a type of sampling where the first available primary
data source will be used for the research without additional requirements. In
other words, this sampling method involves getting participants wherever you
can find them and typically wherever is convenient. In convenience sampling
no inclusion criteria identified prior to selection of subjects.
invited to participate.
In its basic form, convenience sampling method can be applied by stopping
random people on the street and asking questionnaire questions. ‘Pepsi
Challenge’ marketing campaign can be referred to as another effecting
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Requires group-level information to be known
Commonly has higher sampling error than alternative sampling techniques
Convenience sampling
Convenience sampling, as the name implies is a specific type of non
probability sampling method that relies on data collection from population
members who are conveniently available to participate in study.
Convenience sampling is a type of sampling where the first available primary
data source will be used for the research without additional requirements. In
other words, this sampling method involves getting participants wherever you
them and typically wherever is convenient. In convenience sampling
no inclusion criteria identified prior to selection of subjects. All subjects are
invited to participate.
In its basic form, convenience sampling method can be applied by stopping
random people on the street and asking questionnaire questions. ‘Pepsi
Challenge’ marketing campaign can be referred to as another effecting
error than alternative sampling techniques
Convenience sampling, as the name implies is a specific type of non-
probability sampling method that relies on data collection from population
ipate in study.
Convenience sampling is a type of sampling where the first available primary
data source will be used for the research without additional requirements. In
other words, this sampling method involves getting participants wherever you
them and typically wherever is convenient. In convenience sampling
All subjects are
In its basic form, convenience sampling method can be applied by stopping
random people on the street and asking questionnaire questions. ‘Pepsi
Challenge’ marketing campaign can be referred to as another effecting
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example for this sampling method. ‘Pepsi Challenge’ is occasionally held in
large shopping centers and other crowded locations and all members of
population are invited to participate in the contest without any discrimination.
In business studies this method can be applied in order to gain initial primary
data regarding specific issues such as perception of image of a particular brand
or collecting opinions of perspective customers in relation to a new design of a
product.
However, the use of this sampling technique is discouraged by many
dissertation supervisors due to inability to generalize research findings, along
with other disadvantages mentioned further below.
This sampling technique may prove to be effective during exploration stage of
the research area, and when conducting pilot data collection in order to
identify and address shortcomings associated with questionnaire design.
Advantages of Convenience Sampling
• Simplicity of sampling and ease of research
• Helpful for pilot studies and for hypothesis generation
• Data collection can be facilitated in short duration of time
• Cost effectiveness
Disadvantages of Convenience Sampling
• Highly vulnerable to selection bias
• Generalizability unclear
• High level of sampling error
Judgment Sampling
In judgment sampling researcher relies on his or her own
choosing members of population to participate in the study.
Judgment sampling is a non
“elements selected for the sample are chosen by the
researcher. Researchers often believe that they can obtain a representative
sample by using a sound
money” (Black, 2010, p.225).
TV reporters stopping certain individuals on the street in order to ask th
opinions about certain political changes constitutes the most popular example
of this sampling method. However, it is important to specify that the TV
reporter has to apply certain
to ask questions; othe
technique.
Alternatively, judgment
only limited numbers of people can serve as primary data sources due to the
nature of research design and aims and objectives. For example, for a research
analyzingeffects of personal tragedy such as family b
performance of senior level managers the researcher may use his/her own
judgment in order to choose senior level managers who could particulate in in
depth interviews.
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Sampling
sampling researcher relies on his or her own judgment
choosing members of population to participate in the study.
sampling is a non-probability sampling method and it occurs when
“elements selected for the sample are chosen by the judgment
researcher. Researchers often believe that they can obtain a representative
sample by using a sound judgment, which will result in saving time and
money” (Black, 2010, p.225).
TV reporters stopping certain individuals on the street in order to ask th
opinions about certain political changes constitutes the most popular example
of this sampling method. However, it is important to specify that the TV
reporter has to apply certain judgment when deciding who to stop on the street
to ask questions; otherwise it would be the case of random sampling
judgment sampling method may prove to be effective when
only limited numbers of people can serve as primary data sources due to the
nature of research design and aims and objectives. For example, for a research
of personal tragedy such as family bereavement on
performance of senior level managers the researcher may use his/her own
in order to choose senior level managers who could particulate in in
judgment when
probability sampling method and it occurs when
judgment of the
researcher. Researchers often believe that they can obtain a representative
, which will result in saving time and
TV reporters stopping certain individuals on the street in order to ask their
opinions about certain political changes constitutes the most popular example
of this sampling method. However, it is important to specify that the TV
when deciding who to stop on the street
random sampling
sampling method may prove to be effective when
only limited numbers of people can serve as primary data sources due to the
nature of research design and aims and objectives. For example, for a research
ereavement on
performance of senior level managers the researcher may use his/her own
in order to choose senior level managers who could particulate in in-
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Advantages of judgment sampling include low costs and less time needed to
select perspective sampling group members compared to many other
alternative methods.
Disadvantages of judgment sampling include its low level of reliability and
high levels of bias. Because of these disadvantages this sampling method is
not very popular in business studies, and the majority of dissertation
supervisors usually do advice selecting alternative sampling methods with
higher levels of reliability and low bias such as quota, cluster, and systematic
sampling methods.
Multi-stage sampling
Multi-stage sampling is a complex form of cluster sampling which contains
two or more stages in sample selection. In simple terms, in multi-stage
sampling large clusters of population are divided into smaller clusters in
several stages in order to make primary data collection more manageable. It
has to be acknowledged that multi-stage sampling is not as effective as true
random sampling; however, it addresses certain disadvantages associated with
true random sampling such as being overly expensive and time-consuming.
Contrary to its name, multi-stage sampling can be easy to apply in business
studies.The following is an example of implementation of multi-stage
sampling method once a state has been chosen as cluster sampling:
• Random number of districts within the state needs to be selected as
primary clusters.
• Random number of villages within district needs to be selected as
secondary clusters.
• Ultimately a number of houses need to be selected as sampling unit to be
used in the study.
Multi-stage sampling offers the following advantages:
• Simplification of random sampling method
• Cost-effectiveness
• Time-effectiveness
• High level of flexibility
The following points represent disadvantages of this sampling method:
• High level of subjectivity
• Research findings can never be 100% representative of population
Purposive sampling
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stage sampling offers the following advantages:
Simplification of random sampling method
effectiveness
effectiveness
flexibility .
The following points represent disadvantages of this sampling method:
High level of subjectivity
Research findings can never be 100% representative of population
Purposive sampling
The following points represent disadvantages of this sampling method:
Research findings can never be 100% representative of population
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Purposive sampling, also referred to as judgment, selective or subjective
sampling is a non-probability sampling method that is characterized by a
deliberate effort to gain representative samples by including groups or typical
areas in a sample. The researcher relies on his/her own judgment to select
sample group members. Purposive sampling is mainly popular in qualitative
studies.
In purposive sampling researcher has sufficient knowledge of topic to select
sample of experts and subjects are chosen in this sampling method according
to the type of the topic. Therefore, skills and capabilities of the researcher to
find appropriate individuals to contribute to the achievement of research
objectives play important role on the outcome of studies using this sampling
technique.
Theoretical saturation plays an instrumental role in determining sample size in
purposive sampling. Theoretical saturation can be explained as a point where
no more new data can add additional insights into the research questions.
Patton (1990) specifies the following cases for purposive sampling:
a) Typical case - Explains cases that are average and normal
b) Extreme or deviant case - Deriving samples from cases that are perceived
as unusual or rare such as exploring the reasons for corporate failure by
interviewing executives that have been fired by shareholders.
c) Convenience- The choice of purposive sampling only due to its
convenience in terms of saving time, money and efforts. This specific case is
naturally associated with lower research validity and credibility.
This sampling technique can prove to be highly effective in following
circumstances:
• Data review and data analysis need to be done in a simultaneous manner
Page 85 of 95
• Primary data needs to be obtained from a very specific group of
respondents
• Only representatives of certain professions can contribute to the study.
This sampling method offers the following advantages:
• Less time consuming compared to many other sampling methods because
only suitable candidates are targeted
• Results of purposive sampling are usually more representative of target
population compared to other sampling methods
• Purposive sampling can be the only way to recruit the members of rare or
much sought after groups.
Purposive sampling may be associated with the following disadvantages:
• Very high level of subjectivity by the researcher
• Limited representation of wider population
Chapter 5
• What is your perception about promotional schemes of (FR)?
Interpretation: The sample size is 100. Data collected by these people
indicate the perception about sales promotion in the real consumer mind and
finally it’s reflecting in its purchasing behavior. According to data, 53%
confirm the geniuses of sales promotion scheme. 3
15% are not sure about sales promotion scheme. The total percentage which is
around 47% of consumer are either not confirm or sure that this sales
promotion scheme actually fooling and misleading the consumer.
• Are you intereste
32%
15%
11
40
Page 86 of 95
5 – Analysis and Interpretation of Data
What is your perception about promotional schemes of Furniture Republic
The sample size is 100. Data collected by these people
indicate the perception about sales promotion in the real consumer mind and
finally it’s reflecting in its purchasing behavior. According to data, 53%
confirm the geniuses of sales promotion scheme. 32% goes other way and rest
15% are not sure about sales promotion scheme. The total percentage which is
around 47% of consumer are either not confirm or sure that this sales
promotion scheme actually fooling and misleading the consumer.
Are you interested in promotional schemes of FR?
53%
15%
perception
genuin
e
49
Interest
yes
no
Analysis and Interpretation of Data
Furniture Republic
The sample size is 100. Data collected by these people
indicate the perception about sales promotion in the real consumer mind and
finally it’s reflecting in its purchasing behavior. According to data, 53%
2% goes other way and rest
15% are not sure about sales promotion scheme. The total percentage which is
around 47% of consumer are either not confirm or sure that this sales
promotion scheme actually fooling and misleading the consumer.
Interpretation: Promotional scheme are made for creating interest in
consumer mind to attract attention of consumer and generate new consumer.
This data show that 49% are attracted and 40% are dependent on the nature of
scheme. This indicates that if you give fair deal to consumer they are ready to
increase their purchase. Only 11% are against to the scheme, which is very
less in number and does not effect to analysis.
• Which is beneficial for you?
Interpretation: According to most of the consumer cash discount is more
beneficial than free gift. 63% goes with cash discount and rest with gift. Cash
discount gives direct saving option to consumer, but whether gift is useful to
particular consumer or not it’s a big que
• Whether promotional schemes will be recommended?
37
Page 87 of 95
Promotional scheme are made for creating interest in
consumer mind to attract attention of consumer and generate new consumer.
This data show that 49% are attracted and 40% are dependent on the nature of
scheme. This indicates that if you give fair deal to consumer they are ready to
increase their purchase. Only 11% are against to the scheme, which is very
less in number and does not effect to analysis.
Which is beneficial for you?
According to most of the consumer cash discount is more
beneficial than free gift. 63% goes with cash discount and rest with gift. Cash
discount gives direct saving option to consumer, but whether gift is useful to
particular consumer or not it’s a big question?
Whether promotional schemes will be recommended?
63
beneficial
76
24
recommendation
Promotional scheme are made for creating interest in
consumer mind to attract attention of consumer and generate new consumer.
This data show that 49% are attracted and 40% are dependent on the nature of
scheme. This indicates that if you give fair deal to consumer they are ready to
increase their purchase. Only 11% are against to the scheme, which is very
According to most of the consumer cash discount is more
beneficial than free gift. 63% goes with cash discount and rest with gift. Cash
discount gives direct saving option to consumer, but whether gift is useful to
cash
discount
yes
no
Interpretation: The main purpose of promotional scheme is to generate
awareness and interest in consumer. And recommendation is the best tool for
this, and this is proved by this survey in which 76%
the promotional scheme.
• What is reason for not recommending FR?
Interpretation: Promotional scheme can go either way. So better, we find
main reason for not getting that amount of recommendation. According to
data, credibility of scheme and product quality is the highest factor which
force for recommendation. After sale service and d
of the factors which force the recommendation.
• Will you go to other brand with promotional schemes or your regular brand without scheme?
36
Page 88 of 95
The main purpose of promotional scheme is to generate
awareness and interest in consumer. And recommendation is the best tool for
this, and this is proved by this survey in which 76% are agree to recommend
the promotional scheme.
What is reason for not recommending FR?
Promotional scheme can go either way. So better, we find
main reason for not getting that amount of recommendation. According to
data, credibility of scheme and product quality is the highest factor which
force for recommendation. After sale service and durability of product are one
of the factors which force the recommendation.
Will you go to other brand with promotional schemes or your regular brand without scheme?
34
17
13
reasons for not recommending
36
43
21
switching
The main purpose of promotional scheme is to generate
awareness and interest in consumer. And recommendation is the best tool for
are agree to recommend
Promotional scheme can go either way. So better, we find
main reason for not getting that amount of recommendation. According to
data, credibility of scheme and product quality is the highest factor which
urability of product are one
Will you go to other brand with promotional schemes or your regular
reasons for not recommending
product quality
sfter sales service
genuineness
durability
regular brand
depend on scheme
other brand
Interpretation: This data indicate that switching to other brand is highly
depending on the nature of scheme. 43% and 21% are ready to change their
brand preference. Only 36% are brand loyal.
• Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing products and services for your household?
Interpretation: For household items as expected, almost half of population
i.e. 48% is donot wait for promotional scheme. 34% decision is depend on the
scheme and only 18% can wait.
• Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing luxunecessity products and services?
34
9
wait for promotional schemes for luxury iten
Page 89 of 95
This data indicate that switching to other brand is highly
depending on the nature of scheme. 43% and 21% are ready to change their
brand preference. Only 36% are brand loyal.
Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing products and your household?
For household items as expected, almost half of population
not wait for promotional scheme. 34% decision is depend on the
scheme and only 18% can wait.
Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing luxunecessity products and services?
18
48
wait for promotional scheme
65
26
wait for promotional schemes for luxury iten
This data indicate that switching to other brand is highly
depending on the nature of scheme. 43% and 21% are ready to change their
Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing products and
For household items as expected, almost half of population
not wait for promotional scheme. 34% decision is depend on the
Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing luxury and non-
wait for promotional scheme
yes
no
depend on scheme
wait for promotional schemes for luxury iten
yes
no
depend on scheme
Interpretation: Some data show exact opposite result, 65% are going to wait
for purchasing luxury item. Only 9% can’t wait rest 26% will depend on
scheme.
• Reasons for purchasing the products
Interpretation: the data show the actual reason for buying the products.
Promotion and product satisfaction are the main reasons for buying behavior.
Advertisement also plays a part in deciding consumer buying behavior.
• Considering your consumption of the product and the
product due to promotional scheme, which sentence best dyour purchase decision?
27
17
05
10152025303540
3934
Page 90 of 95
Some data show exact opposite result, 65% are going to wait
for purchasing luxury item. Only 9% can’t wait rest 26% will depend on
ons for purchasing the products
the data show the actual reason for buying the products.
Promotion and product satisfaction are the main reasons for buying behavior.
Advertisement also plays a part in deciding consumer buying behavior.
Considering your consumption of the product and the purchase of the product due to promotional scheme, which sentence best dyour purchase decision?
3
53
170
purchase decision
more than needed
somewhat more than needae
same smount
less than needed
much less than needed
34
50
13 11
0 0
29
reason for purchasing
Some data show exact opposite result, 65% are going to wait
for purchasing luxury item. Only 9% can’t wait rest 26% will depend on
the data show the actual reason for buying the products.
Promotion and product satisfaction are the main reasons for buying behavior.
Advertisement also plays a part in deciding consumer buying behavior.
purchase of the product due to promotional scheme, which sentence best describes
more than needed
somewhat more than needae
same smount
less than needed
much less than needed
reason for purchasing
reason for purchasing
Interpretation: according to this data, more than half agree with increase in the consumption. 27% say that their consumption is as same as before scheme.
17% their demand decreases with promotional schemes
• Given below are some common types of promotions that are used bmarketers to sell their products. Considering everything, can you please rank these in the order of your preference? Give a rank of 1 to the most preferred, 2 to next most preferred and so on.
Interpretation: according to the data, consumer prefer direct price discount then getting two product for the price of one and warrantee is third largest acc. to the sample.
• Considering the product that you have purchased, can you tell how do you come to know about the
0
5
10
15
20
25
25
05
101520253035
13
Page 91 of 95
according to this data, more than half agree with increase in the consumption. 27% say that their consumption is as same as before scheme.
17% their demand decreases with promotional schemes.
Given below are some common types of promotions that are used bmarketers to sell their products. Considering everything, can you please rank these in the order of your preference? Give a rank of 1 to the most preferred, 2 to next most preferred and so on.
according to the data, consumer prefer direct price discount then getting two product for the price of one and warrantee is third largest acc.
Considering the product that you have purchased, can you tell how do you come to know about the promotional scheme?
25
20
15
0 0
10
18
rank
13
34
1613
17
8
0
promotional medium
according to this data, more than half agree with increase in the consumption. 27% say that their consumption is as same as before scheme.
Given below are some common types of promotions that are used by marketers to sell their products. Considering everything, can you please rank these in the order of your preference? Give a rank of 1 to
according to the data, consumer prefer direct price discount then getting two product for the price of one and warrantee is third largest acc.
Considering the product that you have purchased, can you tell how do
75
rank
promotional medium
Interpretation: a television ad is the most effective medium for sales promotion. Other mediums accepted by consumer are newspaper, radio advertisement.
• Can you tell the reasons for purchasing the same brand again?
Interpretation: according to the data for repurchasing of any brand product is the most demanding aspect in any purchasing decision by consumers. Other aspects are promotion and advertisement.
01020304050607080
17
72
Page 92 of 95
a television ad is the most effective medium for sales promotion. Other mediums accepted by consumer are newspaper, radio
Can you tell the reasons for purchasing the same brand again?
according to the data for repurchasing of any brand product is the most demanding aspect in any purchasing decision by consumers. Other aspects are promotion and advertisement.
07
0 0 0 0 4
reasons for repurchasing
a television ad is the most effective medium for sales promotion. Other mediums accepted by consumer are newspaper, radio
Can you tell the reasons for purchasing the same brand again?
according to the data for repurchasing of any brand product is the most demanding aspect in any purchasing decision by consumers. Other
reasons for repurchasing
reasons for repurchasing
Page 93 of 95
Chapter 6 – Findings and Conclusions
• Most of the consumers give green signal to the sales promotional
activities. Majority of consumer believe the genuineness of sales promotional scheme.
• Consumer is interested in promotional scheme and if companies provide quality scheme which is suited for consumer, they will go for their product. Means type of promotional scheme is important for generating interest.
• Consumer prefers cash discount more rather than gift.
• Most of the consumers are ready for recommending the scheme. Product quality and genuineness of scheme is the main reason for recommending any promotional scheme.
• Promotional scheme if presented in beneficial form can change the brand preference of the consumer.
• For household items, consumers are not going to wait for promotional scheme but for luxury item they are ready to wait. Therefore companies have to focus more on luxury item promotional scheme.
• Promotional schemes are given on the cost of quality. Quality of the product must be maintained for gaining more customer confidence. And if it is maintained then the volume of the purchase will increase at very fast rate.
• Consumer purchasing decision is most influenced by promotional activities, product quality and advertisement for first time purchasing. For repurchasing of products, promotional activities go to the back seat. Only product quality and genuineness can result in repurchasing. So companies have to focus in the quality as well as genuinenesspromotional schemes increase the volume of purchase.
• Direct price discount, warranty and buy 1 get 1 offers are the most accepted sales promotion by consumers. In addition, contest and discount coupons are the least trusted sales promotion scheme.
• Television advertisement is the most effective medium of sales promotion along with radio and newspaper advertisement. Advertisement material displayed outside store is the last influential medium of sales promotion.
Page 94 of 95
Chapter 7 – Limitations
In every project work there is some kind of limitations which affect the
accuracy of work. Same in this project work has been carried out under the
following limitations:
TIME CONSTARINTS: time has been a major limitation while undergoing
the study.
AREA BOUND: since the study was conducted only in NCR so accurate
result was not obtained.
COST CONSTRAINTS: costs involved for the study was also a major
limitation for the project.
BIASED APPROACH: the result obtained might be based on the biased
approach of the respondents.
UNAWARENESS AMONG THE INVESTORS: unawareness among the
respondents about the contemporary investment options and their relative
benefits of different brands acted as a major limitation for the project.
Page 95 of 95
References
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Methodology for Health-care Professionals” Juta& Co
• Saunders, M, Lewis, P, Thornhill, A, 2007, Research Methods for
Business Students, 4th edition, Prentice Hall
• Kotler Philip, Marketing Management, 11th edition. Pearson Education
• Kothari C.R. Research Methodology, Edition 2005 New Age International
(p) ltd. New Delhi
• www.google.com
• www.marketresearce.com
• http://www.economywatch.com/business-and-economy/furniture-
industry.html
• http://www.furniture-republic.com
• http://www.ihdp-india.com