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Marketing Management Important Questions and Answers.
Typology: Study notes
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Unit – II
**6. Durability of the product:
**3. Credit facilities offered:
— Learning: It refers to changes in individual behaviour that are caused by information and experience. For example, when a customer buys a new brand of perfume, and is satisfied by its use, then he/she is more likely to buy the same brand the next time. Through learning, people acquire beliefs and attitudes, which in turn influence the buying behaviour. — Attitude: It is a tendency to respond in a given manner to a particular situation or object or idea. Consumers may develop a positive, or negative or neutral attitude towards certain product or brands, which in turn would affect his/her buying behaviour. — Motives: A motive is the inner drive that motivates a person to act or behave in a certain manner. The marketer must identify the buying motives of the target customers and influence them to act positively towards the marketed products. Some of the buying motives include:
a). Situational Influences , b), Social Factors c) Cultural Factor a) Buyer Behaviour The study of consumer behaviour indicates how individuals, groups, and organisations select, buy, use of dispose goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and desires. Situational Influences : Major situational influences include the physical surroundings, social surroundings, time, the nature of the task, and monetary moods and conditions. — Physical Surroundings: The physical surroundings at the place of purchase affects buying behaviour. For instance, when a customer is shopping in a store, the features that affects buying behaviour would include the location of the store, the decor, the layout of the store, the noise level, the way merchandise is displayed, and so on. — Social Surroundings: The social surroundings of a situation involve the other people with the customer that can influence buying decision at the point of purchase. For instance, a bargain hunter shopping with an impatient friend may do quick purchases, and may not haggle over the price, so as to please the impatient friend. — Time Factor: Customers may make different decisions based on when they purchase – the hour of the day, the day of the week, or the season of the year. For instance, a consumer who has received a pay cheque on a particular day may shop more items, than at the end of the month when he is short of funds. — Task: A customer may make a different buying decision depending upon the task to be performed by the product. For instance, if the product is meant as a gift rather than for personal use, then the customer may buy a different brand/product depending upon to whom the gift is purchased.
— Culture: It influences consumer behaviour to a great extent. Cultural values and elements are passed from one generation to another through family, educational institutions, religious bodies, social environment, etc. Cultural diversity influences food habits, clothing, customs and traditions, etc. For instance, consuming alcohol and meat in certain religious communities is not restricted, but in certain communities, consumption of alcohol and meat is prohibited. — Sub-Culture: Each culture consists of smaller sub-cultures that provide specific identity to its members. Subcultures include sub-caste, religious sects (Roman Catholics, Syrian Catholics, Protestant Christians, etc), geographic regions (South Indians, North Indians), language (Marathi, Malyali, Gujarathi) etc. The behaviour of people belong to various sub-cultures is different. Therefore, marketers may adopt multicultural marketing approach, i.e., designing and marketing goods and services that cater to the tastes and preferences of consumers belonging to different sub-cultures.
competing with competitors on a similar product attributes in the same market and "Differentiation positioning" involves seeking less competitive, smaller market niche in which to locate a brand. The most important component that communicates the differences between one product and another is the brand, besides that, three other important bases are product descriptors, customer support services and image. Strategies of Positioning o Product or service attribute o Technology positioning o Benefit positioning o User category o Competitor positioning o Integrator positioning To summarize, Differentiation and positioning are vital for company's productivity. If organization does not distinguish its offerings and position them clearly in consumer's mind, then it must compete only on a price basis. The Differentiation strategy is where a company decides to select a certain characteristic of the product to focus on. Positioning plays significant role when reaching the desired place in the mind-sets of potential and active consumers 10.Discuss the functions of Channel Distribution Functions of Distribution Channels: Following are the main functions performed by the distribution channels:
1. Sorting: Middlemen obtain the supplies of goods from various suppliers and sort them out into similar groups on the basis of size, quality etc.
2. Accumulation: In order to ensure a continuous supply of goods, middlemen maintain a large volume of stock. 3. Allocation: It involves packing of the sorted goods into small marketable lots like 1Kg, 500 gms, 250 gms etc. 4. Assorting: Middlemen obtain a variety of goods from different manufacturers and provide them to the customers in the combination desired by them. For example, rice from Dehradun & Punjab. 5. Product Promotion: Sales promotional activities are mostly performed by the producer but sometimes middlemen also participate in these activities like special displays, discounts etc. 6. Negotiation: Middlemen negotiate the price, quality, guarantee and other related matters about a product with the producer as well as customer. 7. Risk Taking: Middlemen have to bear the risk of distribution like risk from damage or spoilage of goods etc. when the goods are transported from one place to another or when they are stored in the god-owns.
Product Buying Motives: Product buying motives refer to those influences and reasons, which prompt (i.e. induce) a buyer to choose a particular product in preference to other products. They include the physical attraction of the product (i.e. the design, shape, dimension, size, colour, package, performance, price etc. of the product) or the psychological attraction of the product (i.e. the enhancement of the social prestige or status of the purchaser through its possession), desire to remove or reduce the danger or damage to life or body of the possessor, etc. In short, they refer to all those characteristics of a product, which induce a buyer to buy it in preference to other products. Product buying motives may be sub-divided into two groups, viz., (1) emotional product buying motives and (2) rational product buying motives. A. Promotional Product Buying Motives: When a buyer decides to purchase a product without thinking over the matter logically and carefully (i.e., without much reasoning), she is said to have been influenced by emotional product buying motives. Emotional product buying motives include the following:
1. Pride or Prestige: Pride is the most common and strongest emotional buying motive. Many buyers are proud of possessing some product (i.e., they feel that the possession of the product increases their social prestige or status). In fact, many products are sold by the sellers by appealing to the pride prestige of the buyers. For instance, diamond merchants
sell their products by suggesting to the buyers that the possession of diamonds increases their prestige or social status.
2. Emulation or Imitation: Emulation, i.e., the desire to imitate others, is one of the important emotional buying motives. For instance, a housewife may like to have a silk saree for the simple reason that all the neighbouring housewives have silk sarees. 3. Affection: Affection or love for others is one of the stronger emotional buying motives influencing the purchasing decisions of the buyers. Many goods are purchased by the buyers because of their affection or love for others. For instance, a husband may buy a costly silk saree for his wife or a father buy a costly watch for his son or daughter out of his affection and love. 4. Comfort or desire for comfort: Desire for comfort (i.e., comfortable living) is one of the important emotional buying motives. In fact, many products are bought comfort. For instance, fans, refrigerators, washing machines, cushion beds, etc. are bought by people because of their desire for comfort. 5. Sex appeal or sexual attractions: Sex appeal is one of the important emotional buying motives of the buyers. Buyers buy and use certain things, as they want to be attractive to the members of the opposite sex. Men and women buy cosmetics, costly dresses, etc., because of this emotional motive, i.e., sex appeal. 6. Ambition: Ambition is one of the emotional buying motives. Ambition refers to the desire to achieve a definite goal. It is because of this buying motive that, sometimes, customers buy certain things. For instance, it is the ambition that makes many people, who do not have the facilities to pursue their college education through regular colleges, pursue their education through correspondence courses. 7. Desire for distinctiveness or individuality: Desire for distinctiveness, i.e., desire to be distinct from others, is one of the important emotional buying motives. Sometimes, customers buy certain things, because they want to be in possession of things, which are not possessed by others. Purchasing and wearing a particular type of dress by some people is because of their desire for distinctiveness or individuality. 8. Desire for recreation or pleasure:
Versatility or the utility of a product refers to that quality of the product, which makes it suitable for a variety of uses. Utility of the product is one of the important rational buying motives. People, often, purchase things that have utility, i.e. that can be put to varied uses.
6. Durability of the product: Durability of the product is one of the most important rational buying motives. Many products are bought by the people only on the basis of their durability. For instance, buyers of wooden furniture go in for teak or rosewood table, though they are costlier, as they are more durable than ordinary wooden furniture. 7. Convenience of the product: The convenience of the product (i.e. the convenience the product offers to the buyers) is one of the important rational product buying motives. Many products are bought by the people because they are more convenient to them. For instance, automatic watches, gas stoves, etc., are bought by the people because of the convenience provided by them. Patronage Buying Motives: Patronage buying motives refer to those considerations or reasons, which prompt a buyer to buy the product wanted by him from a particular shop in preference to other shops. In other words, they are those considerations or reasons, which make a buyer, patronise a particular shop in preference to other shops while buying a product. Patronage buying motives also may be sub-divided into two groups viz. a) Emotional patronage buying motives and b) Rational patronage buying motives. A. Emotional Patronage Buying Motives: When a buyer patronises a shop (i.e. purchases the things required by him from a particular shop) without applying his mind or without reasoning, he is said to have been influenced by emotional patronage buying motives. Emotional patronage buying motives include the following: 1. Appearance of the shop: Appearance of the shop is one of the important emotional patronage buying motives. Some people make their purchases from a particular shop because of good or attractive appearance of the shop, 2. Display of goods in the shop: Attractive display of goods in the shop also makes the buyers patronise a particular shop. 3. Recommendation of others:
Recommendation of others also constitutes one of the important emotional patronage buying motives. Some people purchase their requirements from a particular shop because that shop has been recommended to them by others, i.e., by their friends and relatives.
4. Imitation: Imitation also is one of the emotional patronage buying motives influencing the purchases of buyers. Some people make their purchases from a particular shop just because other people make their purchases from that shop. 5. Prestige: Prestige is one of the emotional patronage buying motives of the buyers. For instance, some people consider it a prestige to take coffee from a five-star hotel. 6. Habit: Habit is also one of the important emotional patronage buying motives. Some people make their purchases from a particular shop for the simple reason that they have been habitually making their purchases from that shop. B. Rational Patronage Buying Motives: When a buyer patronises a shop after careful consideration (i.e. after much logical reasoning and careful thinking) he is said to have been influenced by rational patronage buying motives. Rational patronage buying motives include the following: 1. Convenience: Convenient location proximity of a shop is one of the considerations influencing the purchases of many buyers from a particular shop. Many buyers, usually, buy their requirements from a near-by shop, as it is convenient to them to make their purchases. Similarly, convenient working hours of the shop also influence the purchases of good many buyers. For instance, if a shop works for a longer period of time every day and even on Sundays, it will be very convenient to the buyers. As such, many buyers may make their purchases from such a shop. 2. Low price charged by the shop: Price charged by the shop also influences the buyers to patronise a particular shop. If the price charged by a shop for a particular product is relatively cheaper, naturally, many people will make their purchases from that shop. 3. Credit facilities offered: The credit facilities offered by a store also influence the buying of some people from a particular shop. People who do not have enough money to make cash purchases every time prefer to make their purchases from a shop which offers credit facilities.
