Consumer Behaviour
St. Joseph’s College of Commerce B.Com. 2015 V Sem Consumer Behaviour Question Paper PDF Download
| ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF COMMERCE (AUTONOMOUS) | ||
| END SEMESTER EXAMINATION – SEPT/OCT.2015 | ||
| B.B.M.– V SEMESTER | ||
| MKT 506: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR | ||
| Duration: 3 Hours Max. Marks: 100 | ||
| SECTION – A | ||
| I) | Answer ALL the questions. Each carries 2 marks. (10×2=20) | |
| 1. | Differentiate between the terms “Customer” and “Consumer”. | |
| 2. | Name the different roles that could be played by a consumer in the act of purchaseing of a product. | |
| 3. | Highlight the features of an ‘other oriented’ and ‘self-oriented’ cultural characteristic | |
| 4. | Name four types of sub-cultures that could exist in a society, which would affect buying behaviour. | |
| 5. | Name at least four factors which determine the social class of a person | |
| 6. | ‘Consumers do not just buy products or services. Instead they buy motive satisfaction or solutions to problems’. Mention the names of at least four motivational theories to explain this. | |
| 7. | Which theory on personality gives a lot of importance to the ego and super ego concept? Which theory talks about cultural ‘archetypes’? | |
| 8. | What are ‘cues’? How are they used by advertisers to affect consumer behaviour? | |
| 9. | What is meant by the diffusion process? | |
| 10. | Name four product factors and four human factors which could influence customer satisfaction. | |
| SECTION – B | ||
| II) | Answer any FOUR questions. Each carries 5 marks. (4×5=20) | |
| 11. | The type of products purchased and the consumption pattern of a young person with disposal income as compared to a retired person is quite different. Explain with examples | |
| 12. | The principles of classical conditioning and cognitive learning is used in advertising. Explain with examples how this is used in the context of
a) Positive re-enforcement and b) Negative re-enforcement |
|
| 13. | Enumerate the different types of reference groups that could have an influence on a customer who is in her/his early twenties | |
| 14. | How is VALS psychographic segmentation used as a marketing tool to explain consumer behaviour? | |
| 15. | Young people tend to be early adopters of technology driven products. Explain the reason and highlight the features of the five categories of adopters in the diffusion process.
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| 16. | “Marketers need to understand the perception, influence the learning and change the attitude of consumers”. Explain with examples.
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| SECTION – C | ||
| III) | Answer any THREE questions. Each carries 15 marks. (3×15=45) | |
| 17. | “Growth of consumerism has both positive and negative effects”. Explain, outline the steps taken by the Government of India to protect consumers. | |
| 18. | “Demographic, technological, political and ethical issues have made sweeping changes in last century”. In this context explain emerging trends in consumer behaviour. | |
| 19. | Describe the stages in the consumer decision making process. Elaborate the factors that affect the amount of effort that goes into decision making. Give examples of the different types of decision making | |
| 20. | Explain some of the reasons why consumers may feel dissatisfied. When a consumer is dissatisfied what could be his possible responses? How does this influence marketers? | |
| 21. | The type of products that a customer will buy is influenced by the background of his cultural and social class. His demographic and psychological characteristics also influence his buying behaviour. In this context describe the impact of these factors on consumer buying behaviour. | |
|
SECTION – D |
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| IV) | Case Study (1×15=15) | |
| 22. | FMCG Ongoing War
The major players involved in the ongoing war of the detergent industry are Hindustan Lever Ltd., Proctor and Gamble and Nirma. Over the years, there has been a continuous tussle between HLL and P&G for the top slot and the top position has frequently changed hands with Nirma staying on the top of consumer rankings for lower end of the market segment. Of late, there has been a full-fledged action by Nirma to jump into the premium section.
Today, Nirma is a professionally managed entity with substantially decentralized management with the sole aim of providing the best value for the consumers’ money Nirma is fast changing its image, among the customers as a synonym for quality by developing a phosphate free, environment friendly detergent.
Nirma has chosen to use its product portfolio to enhance the company’s image. Accordingly, in January 1996, it introduced mid-priced version of its flagship economy detergent brand Nirma, called Super Nirma detergent powder (Rs.38.30 per kg), besides scaling the portfolio upwards, Nirma is also widening it. The image revamp started one and half years ago when Nirma commissioned its advertising agency, FCB-ULKA to gauge, how the consumers perceived the company. Much to their consternation research revealed that Nirma was perceived merely as a manufacturer of low cost products. The company had humbled the likes of HLL which was selling detergent at Rs.13 per kg., Nirma challenged it with an economy detergent priced at Rs.3.50 per kg. Unfortunately for the company, consumer perceptions were still found to be heavily influenced by the coup Nirma pulled off in the detergent market more than a decade ago.
Although research indicated that consumers were ready to use any product offered under the Nirma brand name, they were unaware of the fact that Nirma was the No. 1 detergent brand in India. Clearly the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of low price began to after the corporate image of the company. “Nirma’s strong presence in the lower end of the market went against the company’s image, to reach out to the higher end of the market.”
Due to the low price of its product, the common perception of the company was highly distorted. Most people are still unaware that the company has a sales turnover of Rs.1,000 crore. Ironically enough, despite graduation to the premium segment, price continues to be the primary weapon in the company’s arsenal.
Advertising has been an important ingredient of the Operation Face Lift at Nirma. Just before it started rolling out products in the premium segment in late 1996, Nirma ran a corporate campaign beginning September to ease the perception bottleneck. The campaign comprised of a three ad series in print and a 40 second TVC. The ad objective was encapsulated in a tagline- Better products, Better value, Better limit. The company spent Rs.27 crore in 1997 on promoting the new products and its new image.
Nirma, which has taken the multinational consumer product giant HLL headlong in the detergent market by its unique value for money proposition, became the undisputed leader in the detergent market with a share of over 43 percent in the early nineties. But lately Nirma seems to be trapped in its own brand image.
Unlike most of the other FMCG companies, Nirma has not created any new brand. Rather it has launched new products like soaps, shampoos and toothpaste under the same umbrella brand. Though Nirma has saved the cost of new brand launch and promotion, this has resulted in a wrong consumer perception. To an average consumer, Nirma still means a cheap detergent and they don’t associate it to any premium product. But Nirma is trying to change the perception.
The brand ward has gained momentum of late with most of the companies furiously introducing new brands, most of them adopt new technology, spending steeply for advertising each brand.
Long after the Nirma phenomenon had finished being envied in marketing circles, few could foresee the technology wave that was headed towards Indian shores. That year, the market was place at 1.3 million tonnes, growing at 5 per cent a year. Rural penetration was the main game, and all action was at the lower end. At the top end, Hindustan Lever’s Surf and Rin ruled unchallenged, though Godrej was a key player in the West.
The early stages of liberalization brought a player that shook Lever like none other could P & G. It was more than a mere ripple in the pond. In 1992, P&G launched Ariel, a compact detergent that forced Lever-flushed with technology inputs from its Anglo-Dutch parent to respond with Surf Ultra. The two brands fought for the urbane housewife’s attention, even as Henkel, a German company, came in with Henko and other brands.
Since then the action has been riveting with both the main players pressing their R&D to develop economy. The challenger moved swiftly, entering segments that had been Lever’s playing field for years. Perhaps P&G’s biggest move came in 1994 when it launched Ariel Super Soaker, a high tech product developed to upgrade Nirma users at the low end. Today, this product’s success is unparalleled. Lever’s innovations have been no less, and Nirma is rushing to move upscale too. Henkel has not got very far.
The market’s value has steeply gone up, the excise duties are down. Urban opportunity may have expanding distribution too, still very much on the agenda of all detergent players. Lever is issuing VSAT communications to keep its complex logistical operations in order. Efficiency levels are higher than ever before.
India is the world’s second largest market for detergents, the USA being the largest, consuming some 3 million tonnes. But the breadth of products available here is far more impressive. Demographic and psychographic heterogeneity makes it all the more challenging to listen to consumers. And that, in today’s market, is a strategic necessity.
Questions for Discussion:
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St. Joseph’s College of Commerce B.B.A. 2015 Consumer Behaviour Question Paper PDF Download
| ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF COMMERCE (AUTONOMOUS) | ||
| END SEMESTER EXAMINATION – SEPT/OCT.2015 | ||
| B.B.M.– V SEMESTER | ||
| MKT 506: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR | ||
| Duration: 3 Hours Max. Marks: 100 | ||
| SECTION – A | ||
| I) | Answer ALL the questions. Each carries 2 marks. (10×2=20) | |
| 1. | Differentiate between the terms “Customer” and “Consumer”. | |
| 2. | Name the different roles that could be played by a consumer in the act of purchaseing of a product. | |
| 3. | Highlight the features of an ‘other oriented’ and ‘self-oriented’ cultural characteristic | |
| 4. | Name four types of sub-cultures that could exist in a society, which would affect buying behaviour. | |
| 5. | Name at least four factors which determine the social class of a person | |
| 6. | ‘Consumers do not just buy products or services. Instead they buy motive satisfaction or solutions to problems’. Mention the names of at least four motivational theories to explain this. | |
| 7. | Which theory on personality gives a lot of importance to the ego and super ego concept? Which theory talks about cultural ‘archetypes’? | |
| 8. | What are ‘cues’? How are they used by advertisers to affect consumer behaviour? | |
| 9. | What is meant by the diffusion process? | |
| 10. | Name four product factors and four human factors which could influence customer satisfaction. | |
| SECTION – B | ||
| II) | Answer any FOUR questions. Each carries 5 marks. (4×5=20) | |
| 11. | The type of products purchased and the consumption pattern of a young person with disposal income as compared to a retired person is quite different. Explain with examples | |
| 12. | The principles of classical conditioning and cognitive learning is used in advertising. Explain with examples how this is used in the context of
a) Positive re-enforcement and b) Negative re-enforcement |
|
| 13. | Enumerate the different types of reference groups that could have an influence on a customer who is in her/his early twenties | |
| 14. | How is VALS psychographic segmentation used as a marketing tool to explain consumer behaviour? | |
| 15. | Young people tend to be early adopters of technology driven products. Explain the reason and highlight the features of the five categories of adopters in the diffusion process.
|
|
| 16. | “Marketers need to understand the perception, influence the learning and change the attitude of consumers”. Explain with examples.
|
|
| SECTION – C | ||
| III) | Answer any THREE questions. Each carries 15 marks. (3×15=45) | |
| 17. | “Growth of consumerism has both positive and negative effects”. Explain, outline the steps taken by the Government of India to protect consumers. | |
| 18. | “Demographic, technological, political and ethical issues have made sweeping changes in last century”. In this context explain emerging trends in consumer behaviour. | |
| 19. | Describe the stages in the consumer decision making process. Elaborate the factors that affect the amount of effort that goes into decision making. Give examples of the different types of decision making | |
| 20. | Explain some of the reasons why consumers may feel dissatisfied. When a consumer is dissatisfied what could be his possible responses? How does this influence marketers? | |
| 21. | The type of products that a customer will buy is influenced by the background of his cultural and social class. His demographic and psychological characteristics also influence his buying behaviour. In this context describe the impact of these factors on consumer buying behaviour. | |
|
SECTION – D |
||
| IV) | Case Study (1×15=15) | |
| 22. | FMCG Ongoing War
The major players involved in the ongoing war of the detergent industry are Hindustan Lever Ltd., Proctor and Gamble and Nirma. Over the years, there has been a continuous tussle between HLL and P&G for the top slot and the top position has frequently changed hands with Nirma staying on the top of consumer rankings for lower end of the market segment. Of late, there has been a full-fledged action by Nirma to jump into the premium section.
Today, Nirma is a professionally managed entity with substantially decentralized management with the sole aim of providing the best value for the consumers’ money Nirma is fast changing its image, among the customers as a synonym for quality by developing a phosphate free, environment friendly detergent.
Nirma has chosen to use its product portfolio to enhance the company’s image. Accordingly, in January 1996, it introduced mid-priced version of its flagship economy detergent brand Nirma, called Super Nirma detergent powder (Rs.38.30 per kg), besides scaling the portfolio upwards, Nirma is also widening it. The image revamp started one and half years ago when Nirma commissioned its advertising agency, FCB-ULKA to gauge, how the consumers perceived the company. Much to their consternation research revealed that Nirma was perceived merely as a manufacturer of low cost products. The company had humbled the likes of HLL which was selling detergent at Rs.13 per kg., Nirma challenged it with an economy detergent priced at Rs.3.50 per kg. Unfortunately for the company, consumer perceptions were still found to be heavily influenced by the coup Nirma pulled off in the detergent market more than a decade ago.
Although research indicated that consumers were ready to use any product offered under the Nirma brand name, they were unaware of the fact that Nirma was the No. 1 detergent brand in India. Clearly the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of low price began to after the corporate image of the company. “Nirma’s strong presence in the lower end of the market went against the company’s image, to reach out to the higher end of the market.”
Due to the low price of its product, the common perception of the company was highly distorted. Most people are still unaware that the company has a sales turnover of Rs.1,000 crore. Ironically enough, despite graduation to the premium segment, price continues to be the primary weapon in the company’s arsenal.
Advertising has been an important ingredient of the Operation Face Lift at Nirma. Just before it started rolling out products in the premium segment in late 1996, Nirma ran a corporate campaign beginning September to ease the perception bottleneck. The campaign comprised of a three ad series in print and a 40 second TVC. The ad objective was encapsulated in a tagline- Better products, Better value, Better limit. The company spent Rs.27 crore in 1997 on promoting the new products and its new image.
Nirma, which has taken the multinational consumer product giant HLL headlong in the detergent market by its unique value for money proposition, became the undisputed leader in the detergent market with a share of over 43 percent in the early nineties. But lately Nirma seems to be trapped in its own brand image.
Unlike most of the other FMCG companies, Nirma has not created any new brand. Rather it has launched new products like soaps, shampoos and toothpaste under the same umbrella brand. Though Nirma has saved the cost of new brand launch and promotion, this has resulted in a wrong consumer perception. To an average consumer, Nirma still means a cheap detergent and they don’t associate it to any premium product. But Nirma is trying to change the perception.
The brand ward has gained momentum of late with most of the companies furiously introducing new brands, most of them adopt new technology, spending steeply for advertising each brand.
Long after the Nirma phenomenon had finished being envied in marketing circles, few could foresee the technology wave that was headed towards Indian shores. That year, the market was place at 1.3 million tonnes, growing at 5 per cent a year. Rural penetration was the main game, and all action was at the lower end. At the top end, Hindustan Lever’s Surf and Rin ruled unchallenged, though Godrej was a key player in the West.
The early stages of liberalization brought a player that shook Lever like none other could P & G. It was more than a mere ripple in the pond. In 1992, P&G launched Ariel, a compact detergent that forced Lever-flushed with technology inputs from its Anglo-Dutch parent to respond with Surf Ultra. The two brands fought for the urbane housewife’s attention, even as Henkel, a German company, came in with Henko and other brands.
Since then the action has been riveting with both the main players pressing their R&D to develop economy. The challenger moved swiftly, entering segments that had been Lever’s playing field for years. Perhaps P&G’s biggest move came in 1994 when it launched Ariel Super Soaker, a high tech product developed to upgrade Nirma users at the low end. Today, this product’s success is unparalleled. Lever’s innovations have been no less, and Nirma is rushing to move upscale too. Henkel has not got very far.
The market’s value has steeply gone up, the excise duties are down. Urban opportunity may have expanding distribution too, still very much on the agenda of all detergent players. Lever is issuing VSAT communications to keep its complex logistical operations in order. Efficiency levels are higher than ever before.
India is the world’s second largest market for detergents, the USA being the largest, consuming some 3 million tonnes. But the breadth of products available here is far more impressive. Demographic and psychographic heterogeneity makes it all the more challenging to listen to consumers. And that, in today’s market, is a strategic necessity.
Questions for Discussion:
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