Introduction
Consumer prefernce is the study of how people buy, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, sociopsychology, anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision-making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics, psychographics, and behavioral variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.
The study and knowledge of consumer behavior helps firms and organizations to improve their marketing strategies and product offerings. Following are the important issues that have significant influence on consumer's psyche and their ability to take decisions:
• The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products);
• The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media);
• The behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions;
• Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome;
• How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer; and
• How marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.
• Their Age, Religion, Culture, Income, informal group and Referent Group.
Factors affecting consumer decision making
There are several factors that affect consumer's decision to purchase a brand and a product. These factors though at time are not very much visible but they make an impact and affects sales of a product or brand up to a great extent. The table below shows some of these factors.
Impact of a Brand on consumer purchase decision
Research studies have proven that known products and names are sold more than unknown ones. Therefore, a known brand or an optimally exposed brand will find more recognition and buyers in the market in comparison to completely unknown or unexposed brand. Recognition of brand and its significance along with the traditional factors plays a very significant role in consumer decision-making process.
More or less every consumer has a brand preference and given the affordability and societal norms, each buyer would like to buy and consume one of the highly acceptable, recognizable, and reputed brands.
The above given model explains the important role that a brand plays in three different stages of consumer's purchase decision making. A consumer start collecting data or information about his favourite brand than he keeps his favourite as one of the alternatives and he evaluate his selected brand against all available options and on finding it suitable or best among all options based upon a qualitative and quantitative evaluation he will ultimately purchase the selected or favourite brand.
The diagram above explains how various traditional factors along with brand preference interact during purchase decision process and finally results into a consumer's final product choice or ultimate purchase.
Objective of the Study
The objective of the study is to find out the consumer buying preference for the paints which they use for painting their houses, and what are the factors that influence the buyers or the consumers to buy the product .
The study also gives the required idea for the various factors which influence the buyers to prefer the specific brand , the decision process in selecting the product.
Profile
Asian Paints is India's largest and Asia's third largest paint company today, with a turnover of Rs 44.04 billion (around USD 1.1 billion). The company has an enviable reputation in the corporate world for professionalism, fast track growth and building shareholder equity. Asian Paints operates in 20 countries and has 28 paint manufacturing facilities in the world servicing consumers in over 65 countries. Besides Asian Paints, the group operates around the world through its subsidiaries, Berger International Limited, Apco Coatings, SCIB Paints and Taubmans. Asian Paints becomes the 10th largest decorative paint company in the world. Asian Paints is more than twice the size of its nearest competitor It is one of the most admired companies in India Present in 22 countries with 27 manufacturing locations, over 2500 SKU's, Integrated SAP - ERP & i2 - SCM solution Rated Best Employer by BT-Hewitt survey, 2000 Bluest of the blue chips by Hindu Business Line; Most admired company to work for by ET-BT survey, 2000 On the recommendations of Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Asian Paints restructured itself into Growth, Decorative and International business units and adopted SCM and ERP technology .Asian Paints aims to become the 5th largest decorative paint company in the world
Company Profile ASIAN PAINTS
Kansai Nerolac Paints started their journey in 1920 as Gahagan
Paints and Varnish Co having the market share of (20% ). The Group's
principal activities are to manufacture and market industrial paints and offer
a comprehensive product range from pretreatment chemicals to surface
finish coating. The Group produces oils, Inorganic pigments, organic
pigments and synthetic resins. The Group's products include decorative and
industrial paints used for walls, wood, metals and industrial coatings. plants
are located at Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Haryana. market
share .The incessant journey of successes will go on backed by the
present human asset of over 2000 professionals and a sales turnover
of Rs. 1226 crores. The organisation is esteemed to be a subsidiary of Kansai Paint Company Limited, which is the largest paint
manufacturing company in Japan and among the top ten coating
companies of the world. Nerolac Paints second largest coating
company in India .Nerolac Paints is the market leader in industrial /
automotive segment supplying over 90% of the OEM requirements.
We are the leader in powder coatings.
Marketing Strategies
Customers - the very core of all business activities. From the beginning, Asian Paints has fostered a customer-centric approach to business. A simple but unbeatable concept of "going where the customer is" drives all our retail strategies. In the early 90s, for the first time in the paint industry Asian Paints offered the consumer over 150 shades. The concept was extended to the dealer shops through Colour World in the mid-90s, where Asian Paints began offering over 1000 shades. The introduction of Colour World provided a new direction for the paint industry into the age of retailing by providing the consumer - a service interface. With only a limited set of bases and colourants, manufactured and transported throughout the supply chain, Asian Paints provided a choice of innumerable shades to the customer through a technology of tinting at the last retail store.
With the introduction of Colour World, almost all wall-finishes from Asian Paints offer a wide range and choice in colours be it for interior or exterior application. It has been our endeavour to reach out to our customers not only with our products but also with value-added services and initiatives. The Asian Paints Helpline introduced few years ago is a toll free service where consumers call and ask queries related to painting. The company has now extended this service to “ASIAN PAINTS HOME SOLUTIONS”, which offers painting services in addition to the paint. This service is available in 10 cities viz - Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Coimbatore & Cochin.
The company entered into a new foray of prediction of colour trends in India. Intensive research is carried out with interior designers, architects and the fashion community to arrive at trend movements in colour each year. The study being done for the second year is termed ColourNEXT 2006, which is a collection of 15 shades predicted to be the trendiest and most happening colours in decor space in 2006. This study has helped consumers get an insight into the latest trends in colour. This exercise has also gone a long way in helping various industries decide their colour combinations for a range of products ranging from furnishings, floorings to home accessories.
Another important area was the offer of painting solutions for children with the launch of Kids World. A foray into Kids' World marks yet another milestone wherein the company offers painting designs for Kids Rooms as well as Kids Corners. For the first time, an attempt has been made to invite the customer to get into a Do-It-Yourself mode with these designs. Royale Play is another innovative concept introduced by the company. It is a collection of innovative and ready-to-use special effect finishes for interior walls, comprising a range of special effects. And each of these effects are available in a shade palette that is fitting for that effect in interesting colour combinations. The revolutionary product gives wall paint a whole new usage. Now, along with colour, you can give your walls dimension, texture and life.
Asian Paints efforts are continuously on to engage the consumer in the painting process and fulfill all the requirements related to the world of painting.
Marketing Strategies
Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably.’ – Philip KotlerAt Nerolac, the marketing function has been one of the pillars behind building a successful organization. Nerolac believes that the key strength lies in understanding the consumer and communicating with him in a language they understand and relate to best. Nerolac commercials have been well -loved over the years and its jingle - 'Jab ghar ki raunaq badhaani ho...' is now a familiar tune in every Indian household. Over the years, Nerolac has undertaken several initiatives, which have met with unprecedented success and really made people really sit up and take notice of the brand. Beginning with the introduction of the new Brush stroke logo, which stands for the ‘process of painting’. It depicts motion, dynamism and progress through change. The signal red color, which is the color of Nerolac, is symbolic of eternal joy and hope. It has now become an integral part of our brand identity and now appears as a sign-off on any kind of communication.Another one of the marketing initiative was the unveiling of the new corporate campaign with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan as our brand ambassador. In this campaign, Amitabh Bachchan embodied Nerolac and showed how it touches the lives and dreams of people...no matter who they are and where they come from. The essence of this thought was captured in the newbaseline ‘Yeh Rang hain jo har kisi ko chhoota hain’. Apart from the corporate campaign, we also released a new commercial for Nerolac Suraksha with Mr.Bachchan. Focusing on the fast growing exterior category, this commercial playfully demonstrates Suraksha's proposition of protection. Another one of the initiatives launched, during the festival season of Diwali was “Har Din Diwali “ a promotional campaign aimed at the customer. The unique feature of this campaign was the opportunity to win daily prizes through out the entire duration of 55 days of the campaign. In addition to the daily prizes there was also a grand bumper prize to be won. For sure this was one campaign that was a runaway success. Complimenting our core business of paints last year also saw the launch of “Nerolac Assured Paint Service”. Designed to bring the Nerolac experience right to the consumers' doorstep, it met with an excellent response. Currently available in Mumbai, consumers can now relax while the Nerolac team takes over the entire paint job right from sourcing to execution. In our effort to becoming consumer friendly, this year we also undertook the exercise of redesigning our shade cards. The new look shade cards are not only eye catching and consistent in appearance but also try to make the process of shade selection for the consumer lot more interesting and convenient.
Products Of Asian Paints and Nerolac Paints
Asian Paints Royale Play, Asian Paints Royale Play , MetallicsAsian Paints Royale Play Stucco,Asian Paints Interior Wall Finish , MattAsian Paints Super Deco
PlastAsian Paints , Interior Wall Finish – Lustre , Asian Paints Tractor Synthetic Distemper, Asian Paints Ustav Acrylic Distemper, Asian Paints Tractor Acrylic
Distemper , Asian Paints Utsav Synthetic Distemper, Asian Paints Premium Semi Gloss Enamel, Asian Paints Premium Gloss Enamel , Asian Paints Premium Satin
Enamel, Asian Paints Luxury Ultra Gloss EnamelAsian Paints Utsav Enamel
Brands : Apex Ultima, Royale, Royal Play, Duracast, Utsav
Nerolac Impressions Metallic , Nerolac Impressions 24 carat , Nerolac Impressions Disney
Nerolac Beauty Premium Acrylic emulsion,Nerolac Beauty Silky Smooth, Nerolac Beauty Smooth finish, Beauty Premium Acrylic Distemper,Beauty Acrylic Distemper, Beauty Oil Bound Distemper
Product Description
The study is based on the different products of Asian Paints and Nerolac paints, they are as follows:-
Distember
Oil Paint
Plastic Paint or Emulsions
Acrylic Paint
Research Methodology
Area : The area where the survey has been conducted in Kandivali ( West) Charkop, MHADA Colony, with the population of the colony of around 900 Row Houses. As the Area where the survey is been conducted is a residential colony where people mostly prefer painting their houses .
Paints : The paints which were been used as options to find out the consumer preference for painting their houses were Asian paints and Nerolac Paints, these two brands were used for doing the survey to which the people of the colony use to paint their houses.
Conclussion : It is found as 37 people prefer using Asian Paints for the wall painting, therefore if the price rises and 3 people which look for another alternative if the price of Asian Paints Rises
Conclussion : It is found that from the Survey of 40 Samples, 37 Persons prefer using Asian Paints, only 1 person uses Nerolac Paints and 2 persons use Other Products of different brands.
Findings.
• From the survey, it is founded that most of the people prefer Asian Paints for house painting.
• If the price of Asian Paints increases there would be no effect on the Brand preference of an individual.
• People prefer more quality products rather than the price
• The brand image is been reflected in the individual’s mind rather than the promotional strategies.
Limitations and Recommendations
As the study was taken in one are a only, and also the sample size of doing the survey was also very limited i.e. 40 samples the results need to be understood keeping in mind. In future, the study in more localities or a town may reveal differences if any in respondent preferences. Also for the study of Paints this study reveals that, the consumers the decider, have only the preference of Asian Paints even if the price of Asian Paints rises and if the same trend continues the other companies would be finding it very difficult to be stable. This study has made conjoint design but alternate ways to measure consumer preferences which can be used in future.
In the recommendations it can be said that there should be more development in finding out the different buying behaviour and preferences by the other paint industries in a promotion intensive environment and also the quality.