A SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON

“STUDY OF CONSUMER PERCEPTION REGARDING PANASONICREFRIGERATORS”

For the partial fulfillment for the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Dr. SANGEETA GUPTA VIJIT KUMAR

Professor, School of Business Administration 06720803912

BhagwanParshuram Institute of Technology

(Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University)

PSP-4, Rohini Sector-17 New Delhi-110089

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe great thanks to many people who helped and supported me during this project.

My deepest thanks to my project guide, Dr. Sangeeta Gupta professor, School Of Business Administration, Bhagwan Parshuram Institute of Technology for guiding and correcting various documents of mine with attention and care.

My deep sense of gratitude to Mr. Naresh Kumar,Head of Technical Department, Panasonic Refrigerators for his support and guidance. I amalso Thanks and appreciation to the people at Panasonic Pvt. ltd. Gurgaon for providing the good infrastructure and environment

I would also thank my institution and my faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality.

(VIJIT KUMAR)

Signature………………………

Date ……………………

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I_____________________________________ Roll No __________________, a full

time bonafide student of III Semester of Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Programme of BhagwanParshuram Institute of Technology, Delhi. I hereby certify

that this project work carried out by me at

_________________________________________________ the report submitted in

partial fulfillment of the requirements of the programme is an original work of mine

under the guidance of the industry mentor

____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________and facultymentor_______________________________________________________and is not based or reproduced from any existing work of any other person or on any earlier work undertaken at any other time or for any other purpose, and has not been submitted anywhere else at any time.

(Student's Signature)

Date:

(Faculty Mentor's Signature)

Date

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the projects titled ‘Study Of ConsumerPerception’ are an original piece of research work carried out under the guidance and supervision ofMr. Naresh Kumar Panasonic Pvt. Ltd. The information has been located from the genuine & authentic sources. The work has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the Masters in Business Administration for the session 2012-2014.

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CERTIFICATE

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides details of the study undertaken to identify the perception of consumers regarding Panasonic refrigerators. Panasonic is a Japanese company founded by Konosuke Matsushita in march13, 1918 (Osaka, Japan). Panasonic deals in many areas like AC, Beauty & Health Products, Home Appliances etc.

The problem defined in this study is that Panasonic is well known brand in the world. Is refrigerators also influence the people towards the Panasonic Company. Panasonic Refrigerators or home appliances sector is how much popular in the people.

The objectives of the study are that factors influence buying behavior of consumers. Effect of advertisement and sale of the company in comparison with other competitors

The research methodology in research random sampling and purposive sampling techniques and sample area is Delhi, NCR region and sample size 80 used and exploratory design, descriptive design and casual design and source of data are primary and secondary.

The findings of the report are maximum no. of customers is looking for quality in a product. This is followed by durability variety and price. 69% of the consumers acquiesced to the fact that advertisement effects their buying decisions. This shows that the company should focus on advertisement in all forms of media like TV, Radio, Internet, Print Media etc.

The Conclusion of this report is that company is repeatedly trying to push the sale up of these brands by adopting new marketing strategies. They roped in media celebrities to endorse their products. It will help the marketers in promotion of the product and leave an impact on the final consumer and elevate the demand of the product.

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CONTENT

SERIAL NO. PARTICULARS PAGE.NO

1. Acknowledgement i

2. Certificate of originality ii

3. Certificate of company mentor iii

4. Certificate of faculty mentor iv

5. Executive summary v

6. Chapter.1 (Introduction)

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Buying Process

1.3 Types of Buying Behavior

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7. Chapter.2 (Overview Of Company)

2.1 Industry Profile.

2.2 Company Overview

2.3 SWOT Analysis

8. Chapter.3 (Research methodology)

3.1 Objectives of the study.

3.2 Research Methodology of the study.

3.3 Types of research.

3.4 Data collection technique.

3.5 Population.

3.6 Source of data.

9. Chapter.4 (Data Analysis and Interpretation)

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10. Chapter.5 (Findings and Conclusion)

5.1 Findings.

5.2 Recommendation

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Limitation of the study.

11. Annexure

Bibliography Questionnaire

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Chapter 1INTRODUCTION

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

Consumer

A person who has indicated his or her willingness to obtain goods and/or services from a supplier with the intention of paying for them.

Someone who has purchased goods and/or services for personal consumption

Consumer interest

A type of interest that is charged for personal loans, including loans and credit card debt. This type of interest constitutes all forms of nondeductible interest that consumers must pay. It excludes deductible interest such as mortgage interest.

Consumer behavior

Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics 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.

Researching consumer behavior is a complex process, but understanding consumer behavior is critical to marketers-they can use it to:

Provide value and customer satisfaction. Effectively target customers. Enhance the value of the company. Improve products and services. Create a competitive advantage Understand how customers view their products versus their competitors' products. Expand the knowledge base in the field of marketing, Apply marketing strategies toward a positive affect on society (encourage people to

support charities, promote healthy habits, reduce drug use etc.)

Necessity of marketers needs to know?

The psychology of consumers,(what they feel about a product and their brand on the whole).

How consumers are influenced by their immediate surroundings, family members, friends, co-workers and so on.

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1.2 FIVE STAGE MODEL OF BUYING PROCESS:

A buying decision process (or cost/benefit analysis) describes the process a customer goes through when buying a product. This buying decision model has gone through lots of interpretation by scholars. Although the models vary, there is a common theme of five stages in the decision process.

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These stages were first introduced by John Dewey (1910).The stages are:

1. Problem/Need recognition2. Information search3. Evaluation of alternatives4. Purchase decision5. Post-purchase behavior

These five stages are a good framework to evaluate customers' buying decision process. However, it is not necessary that customers get through every stage, nor is it necessary that they proceed in any particular order. For example, if a customer feels the urge to buy chocolate, he or she might go straight to the purchase decision stage, skipping information search and evaluation.

Problem/need-recognitionProblem/Need-recognition is the first and most important step in the buying decision. Without the recognition of the need, a purchase cannot take place. The need can be triggered by internal stimuli (e.g. hunger, thirst) or external stimuli (e.g. advertising). Maslow held that needs are arranged in a hierarchy. According to Maslow's hierarchy, only when a person has fulfilled the needs at a certain stage, can he or she move to the next stage.

Information searchThe information search stage is the next step that the customers may take after they have recognized the problem or need in order to find out what they feel is the best solution. This is the buyers' effort at searching the internal and external business environments to identify and observe sources of information related to the focal buying decision. Consumers can rely on print, visual, and/or voice media for getting information.

Evaluation of alternativesAt this stage, consumers evaluate different products/brands on the basis of varying product attributes, and whether these can deliver the benefits that the customers are seeking. This stage is heavily influenced by one's attitude, as "attitude puts one in a frame of mind: liking or disliking an object, moving towards or away from it". Another factor that influences the evaluation process is the degree of involvement. For example, if the customer involvement is high, then he/she will evaluate a number of brands; whereas if it is low, only one brand will be evaluated.

Purchase decisionThis is the fourth stage, where the purchase takes place. According to Philip Kotler, Keller, Koshy and Jha (2009), the final purchase decision can be disrupted by two factors: negative

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feedback from other customers and the level of motivation to comply or accept the feedback. For example, after going through the above three stages, a customer chooses to buy a Nikon D80 DSLR camera. However, because his good friend, who is also a photographer, gives him negative feedback, he will then be bound to change his preference. Secondly, the decision may be disrupted due to unanticipated situations such as a sudden job loss or the closing of a retail store.

Post-purchase behaviorThese stages are critical to retain customers. In short, customers compare products with their expectations and are either satisfied or dissatisfied. This can then greatly affect the decision process for a similar purchase from the same company in the future, mainly at the information search stage and evaluation of alternatives stage. If customers are satisfied, these results in brand loyalty, and the information search and evaluation of alternative stages are often fast-tracked or skipped completely. As a result, brand loyalty is the ultimate aim of many companies.

On the basis of either being satisfied or dissatisfied, a customer will spread either positive or negative feedback about the product. At this stage, companies should carefully create positive post-purchase communication to engage the customers.

Consumer BuyingBehaviour

Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics 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.

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1.3TYPES OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

High involvement Low involvement

Significant differences between brands

Complex buying behavior (motorcycle)

Variety seeking behavior (washing detergent)

Few differences between brands

Dissonance buying behavior (floor tiles)

Habitual buying behavior (toothpaste)

High involvement:- The term means when the consumer is highly involved while buying a product. Generally this situation happens in case of expensive or luxuries goods. Like while buying a diamond necklace a consumer is highly involved.

Low involvement:-This term means when the consumer is not highly involved while buying a product. It happens in case of low price goods. Like while buying toothpaste a consumer is not highly involved.

Significant differences between brands:-It means when there are significant differences between brands.

Few differences between brands:-It means when there are very little differences between brands.

1) Complex buying behavior: - When the consumer is highly involved in the buying and there is significant differences between brands then it is called complex buying behavior. So in this case the consumer must collect proper information about the product features and the marketer must provide detailed information regarding the product attributes. For eg. Consumer while buying a motor cycle is highly involved in the purchase and has the knowledge about significant differences between brands

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2) Variety seeking behavior:- in this case consumer involvement is low while buying the product but there are significant differences between brands. Consumers generally buy different products not due to dissatisfaction from the earlier product but due to seek variety. Like every time they buy different washing detergent just for variety. So it is the duty of the marketer to encourage the consumer to buy the product by offering them discounts, free samples and by advertising the product a lot.

3)Dissonance buying behavior:- Here consumer is highly involved in the purchase but there are few differences between brands. Like consumer while buying a floor tiles buy them quickly as there are few differences between brands.

4) Habitual buying behavior: - In this case there is low involvement of the consumer and there are few differences between brands. The consumer buys the product quickly. For e.g. Toothpaste.

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CHAPTER 2OVERVIEW OF

COMPANY

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2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE

Household Appliances in India industry profile provides top-line qualitative and quantitative summary information including: market size (value 2007-11, and forecast to 2016). The profile also contains descriptions of the leading players including key financial metrics and analysis of competitive pressures within the market. Essential resource for top-line data and analysis covering the India household appliances market.Includes market size and segmentation data, textual and graphical analysis of market growth trends, leading companies and macroeconomic information.

Highlights:

The household appliances market reflects the sale of: refrigeration appliances (including fridges, freezers and fridge freezers); cooking appliances (including cookers, microwaves, ovens, cooker hoods, food processors and toasters); washing appliances (including washing machines, clothes dryers and washer-dryers); room comfort and water heater appliances (which include air conditioning, circulating and ventilation fans, space heaters and water heaters); vacuum cleaners; and dishwashers.

The Indian household appliances market had total revenues of $3,373 million in 2011, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.2% between 2007 and 2011.

Electricals and electronics retailers account for the largest proportion of sales in the Indian household appliances market. Sales through this channel generate 88.6% of the market's total value.

The performance of the market is forecast to accelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 10.4% for the five-year period 2011 - 2016, which is expected to drive the market to a value of $5,530.6 million by the end of 2016.

Features

Save time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the size, growth, major segments, and leading players in the household appliances market in India

Use the Five Forces analysis to determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of the household appliances market in India

Leading company profiles reveal details of key household appliances market players' global operations and financial performance

Add weight to presentations and pitches by understanding the future growth prospects of the India household appliances market with five year forecasts

Macroeconomic indicators provide insight into general trends within the India economy

The household appliances market reflects the sale of: refrigeration appliances (including fridges, freezers and fridge freezers); cooking appliances (including cookers, microwaves, ovens, cooker hoods, food processors and toasters); washing appliances (including washing machines, clothes dryers and washer-dryers); room comfort and water heater appliances (which include air conditioning, circulating and

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ventilation fans, space heaters and water heaters); vacuum cleaners; and dishwashers. The market is valued at retail selling prices. Any currency conversions used in the creation of this profile have been calculated using constant 2010 annual average exchange rates.

2.2 COMPANY OVERVIEW

Panasonic

Industry:Electronics, Semiconductor Home appliances

Founded:March 13, 1918 (Osaka, Japan)

Founder:Konosuke Matsushita

Headquarter:Kadoma,Osaka, Japan

Area served:Worldwide

Key people:Kunio Nakamura(Chairman)

Masayuki Matsushita (Vice chairman)

Kazuhiro Tsuga(President)

Panasonic Corporationformerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., is a Japanese multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka,Japan.

The company was founded in 1918, and has grown to become one of the largest Japanese electronics producers alongside Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba,Sharp Corporation, and Canon. In addition to electronics, it offers non-electronic products and services such as home renovation services. Panasonicis the world's fourth-largest television manufacturer by 2012 market share

Panasonic has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices. It has a secondary listing on the Nagoya Stock Exchange.

Formal Names:-From 1935 to October 1, 2008 the company name was "Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd."

On January 10, 2008, the company announced that it would change its name to "Panasonic Corporation", with effect from October 1, 2008 to conform to its global brand name

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"Panasonic". The name change was approved at a shareholders' meeting on June 26, 2008 after consultation with the Matsushita family.

HISTORY:-Panasonic was founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita as a vendor of duplex lamp sockets. In 1927, it began producing bicycle lamps, the first product which it marketed under the brand name National. During World War II the company operated factories in Japan and other parts of Asia which produced electrical components and appliances such as light fixtures, motors, and electric irons.

After World War II, Panasonic regrouped and began to supply the post war boom in Japan with radios and appliances, as well as bicycles. Matsushita's brother-in-law, Toshio Iue, founded Sanyo as a subcontractor for components after World War II. Sanyo grew to become a competitor to Panasonic, but was later acquired by Panasonic in December 2009.

In 1961, Konosuke Matsushita traveled to the United States and met with American dealers. The company began producing television sets for the U.S. market under the Panasonic brand name, and expanded the use of the brand to Europe in 1979.

The company used the National brand outside of North America from the 1950s to the 1970s (the trademark could not be used in the United States because it was already in use by the National Radio Company in a closely related product area). It sold televisions, VHS VCRs, hi-fidelity stereo receivers, multi-band shortwave radios, and marine radio direction finders, often exported to North America under various U.S. brand names. The company also developed a line of home appliances such as rice cookers for the Japanese and Asian markets. Rapid growth resulted in the company opening manufacturing plants around the world.

In November 1999, the Japan Times reported that Panasonic planned to develop a "next generation first aid kit" called the Electronic Health Checker. At the time, the target market was said to be elderly people, especially those living in rural areas where medical help might not be immediately available, so it was planned that the kit would include support for telemedicine. The kits were then in the testing stage, with plans for eventual overseas distribution, to include the United States.

In January 2012, Panasonic announced that it had struck a deal with Myspace on its new venture, MySpace TV. MySpace TV will allow users to watch live television while chatting with other users on a laptop, tablet or the television itself. With the partnership, Myspace TV will be integrated into Panasonic Viera televisions.

On May 11, 2012, Panasonic announced plans to acquire a 76.2% stake in Firepro Systems, an India-based company in infrastructure protection and security solutions such as fire alarm, fire suppression, video surveillance and building management.

On 18 May 2013, Panasonic announced that it will invest $40 million in building a factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam which is expected to be completed in 2014.

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In July 2013, Panasonic agreed to acquire a 13% stake in the Slovenian household appliance manufacturer Gorenje for around €10 million.

Vision:-

It is our Endeavour to enhance customer satisfaction by providing best in class service to our customer to make our brand as the no.1 service provider amongst consumer durable companies by 2013.

   Mission:-

Let us accomplish abundant customer access points, excellent service centre Ambience, right tools and equipments skillful engineers and prompt supply of parts to.

   Timeline:-Panasonic was born from a firm commitment to provide superior products to people all over the world.

PANASONIC PRODUCTS

• LCD-TV

• PLASMA-TV

• AIR CONDITIONER-RAC & CAC

• REFRIGERATOR-DIRECT COOL & FROST FREE

• BEAUTY & PERSONAL CARE- SHAVER & TRIMMER

• SMALL APPLIANCES-KITCHEN ITEM

• HEALTH CARE-WATER PURIFIER

• DVD-HT

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COMPANY FINANCIAL STATUS:-

Balance Sheet of Panasonic Appliances India Company ------------------- in Rs. Cr. -------------------

Mar'12 Mar '11 Mar '10 Mar '09 Mar '08

12mths 12mths 12mths 12mths 12mths

Sources Of FundsTotal Share Capital 8.57 8.57 8.57 8.57 8.57Equity Share Capital 8.57 8.57 8.57 8.57 8.57Share Application Money 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00Preference Share Capital 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00Reserves -1.77 11.00 10.20 9.27 9.05Revaluation Reserves 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00Networth 6.80 19.57 18.77 17.84 17.62Secured Loans 31.56 17.30 5.56 1.69 2.34Unsecured Loans 0.67 1.00 1.00 0.11 0.30Total Debt 32.23 18.30 6.56 1.80 2.64Total Liabilities 39.03 37.87 25.33 19.64 20.26

Mar '12 Mar '11 Mar '10 Mar '09 Mar '08

12mths 12mths 12mths 12mths 12mths

Application Of FundsGross Block 58.55 51.02 38.08 29.84 28.66Less: Accum. Depreciation 25.92 22.82 20.49 18.89 17.34Net Block 32.63 28.20 17.59 10.95 11.32Capital Work in Progress 0.13 0.21 0.95 2.49 0.00Investments 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.19Inventories 15.85 18.62 14.48 13.33 11.03Sundry Debtors 29.65 21.43 15.48 7.11 6.52Cash and Bank Balance 0.17 0.85 0.39 0.21 0.25Total Current Assets 45.67 40.90 30.35 20.65 17.80Loans and Advances 7.13 9.97 8.32 7.08 5.55Fixed Deposits 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.85 5.11Total CA, Loans & Advances 52.80 50.87 38.67 29.58 28.46Deferred Credit 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00Current Liabilities 45.18 34.02 25.49 17.25 13.99

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Provisions 1.38 7.39 6.40 6.14 5.71Total CL & Provisions 46.56 41.41 31.89 23.39 19.70Net Current Assets 6.24 9.46 6.78 6.19 8.76Miscellaneous Expenses 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00Total Assets 39.00 37.87 25.32 19.63 20.27

Contingent Liabilities 2.26 0.66 0.28 0.64 0.31Book Value (Rs) 7.93 22.83 21.91 20.81 20.57

RESEARCH ABOUT THE COMPANY

Market share of companies (%)

LG SAMSUNG HAIER PANASONIC WHIRLPOOL GODREJ0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2.3 SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE COMPANY:

STRENGTHS:

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Innovation. Strong brand equity. Pricing. International Presence.

WEAKNESSES:

Advertising. Low new customer acquisition rates. No unique relationships with complementors. High quality to price ratio.

OPPORTUNITIES:

New and Better Means of Advertising. Improving Features and Technology. Improve Process Development. Supply Materials In-House.

THREATS:

Competition. Cheaper technology. Economic slowdown. External changes (government, politics, taxes, etc). Exchange rate fluctuations. Lower cost competitors or imports. Maturing categories, products, or services. Price wars.

COMPETITATIVE ANALYSIS

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COMPANY SIZE DESIGN RELIABILITY PRICE

SAMSUNG GOOD GOOD HIGH MEDIUM

GODREJ ACCEPTABLE NOT GOOD

MEDIUM LOW

PANASONIC EXCELLENT GOOD HIGH HIGH

LG VERY GOOD GOOD LOW MEDIUM

HAIER GOOD GOOD HIGH HIGH

SIZE: -

The first base or feature about which we did comparison is size in refrigerators of Panasonic and other brands like Samsung, Godrej, LG and Haier. Size matters a lot so company focuses on the size of refrigerators there are different types of consumer with different expectation and requirements some family want big size and some want small according to their family size and other reasons. So, Panasonic make good size and give more options to the customers than other brands.

DESIGN: -

The second base or feature is design. Panasonic made first bottom mount refrigerator and also first time introduced ECONAVI technique in refrigerator so it is good for the consumers who don’t use freezer more and don’t use more frozen products.

RELIABILITY: -

Thethird base or feature is reliability. Panasonic company is very reliable towards their consumer its status is high in reliability. There are other companies also have high reliability

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status. Reliability is the one of the most important factor which influence the buying behavior of consumers.

PRICE:-

The last base is according to which I have done competitive study. Price is also a very important factor. According to my research Panasonic refrigerators price are high than Godrej and Haier. But Panasonic is more reliable and have other features also. And most of the consumers want quality rather than low price.

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CHAPTER 3RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

3.1OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

To know the factors influencing the buying behavior of consumers.

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To know the effect of advertisement.

To study the sales of Panasonic refrigerators in comparison to competitors.

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

Research Design is a blueprint for any kind of research. It provides direction to the researcher for further carrying on the research in the population. It provides the glue that holds the research project together.

A design is used to structure the research, to show, how all of the major parts of the research project the samples, groups, measures, treatments or programs, and methods of assignment- work together to try to address the central research questions.

Research Design involves following components or tasks:-

Define the information needed. Design the exploratory, descriptive and casual phases of research. Specify the measurement and scaling procedure. Construct a questionnaire or an appropriate form for data collection. Specify the sampling process and sample size. Develop a plan for data analysis.

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN:

1. Exploratory Design.2. Descriptive Design.3. Causal Design.

Exploratory Design

Exploratory research of research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Given its fundamental nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not actually exist.

Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with consumers,

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employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot studies. The Internet allows for research methods that are more interactive in nature.

Descriptive DesignDescriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred. The characteristics used to describe the situation or populations are usually some kind of categorical scheme also known as descriptive categories.

Causal Design

Casual research design is the study that explores the effect that one things has on another thing. The research is done in a thorough way that shows the effect that each variable has on the each thing. An example of this research can begin with a clothing store that sells jeans and the store changing the color of the jeans to white. As the managers of the company are trying to make this decision, they may casually research how this decision can impact their sales and their business in the future. If they go through with it, their decision may help them make more money or less. This can impact sales, profits, and their future.

3.4RESEARCH TECHNIQUE

Random sampling

One of the best ways to achieve unbiased results in a study is through random sampling. Random sampling includes choosing subjects from a population through unpredictable means. In its simplest form, subjects all have an equal chance of being selected out of the population being researched.

Random sampling is a quick and easy way to obtain unbiased results about a population being surveyed. Because many other methods of surveying can come with a huge risk of bias, random sampling is often a top choice when designing surveys. Despite the margin of error that comes with any survey, random sampling is the best way to get the most accurate information.

Purposive sampling

Purposive sampling technique ia a type of non-probability sampling. Where the researcher consciously selects particular elements or subjects for addition in a study so as to make sure

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that the elements or subjects for addition in a study so as to make sure that the elements will have certain characteristics pertinent to the study. It normally targets a particular group of people.

3.5POPULATION

SAMPLE:Peoples who are using Panasonic refrigerators in Delhi, NCR Region

SAMPLE SIZE: 80

SOURCES OF DATA

Market research is often needed to ensure that we produce what customers really want and not what we think they want.

Primary vs. Secondary research methods: There are two main approaches to marketing.  Secondary research involves using information that others have already put together.  For example, if you are thinking about starting a business making clothes for tall people, you don’t need to question people about how tall they are to find out how many tall people exist—that information has already been published by the U.S. Government.  Primary research, in contrast, is research that you design and conduct yourself.  For example, you may need to find out whether consumers would prefer that your soft drinks be sweater or tarter.

Research will often help us reduce risks associated with a new product, but it cannot take the risk away entirely.  It is also important to ascertain whether the research has been complete.  For example, Coca Cola did a great deal of research prior to releasing the New Coke, and consumers seemed to prefer the taste.  However, consumers were not prepared to have this drink replace traditional Coke.

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DATA COLLECTION TOOLS

CHAPTER 427

RESULT ANDDATA INTERPRETATION

Ques1. Do consumers normally switch over brand?

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BRAND SWITCH OVER

YES

NO

More than half of the sample population doesn’t shift from the brand they use.

It is said that, “it is 5 times more difficult to make a new customer than to maintain an old customer”.

Therefore, it is important to not lose the old customer in the process of making new ones.

Ques2. Are consumers satisfied with their particular brand?

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BRAND SATISFACTION

NOYES

95% of the consumers were satisfied with the brand they use.

This indicates that though the consumers who are using Panasonic Refrigerator are satisfied with the product but it also shows that it will be difficult for the company to change the mindset of the customers and lure the customers. Company will have to make extra efforts to increase its market share.

Ques3. What factors influence consumer to go for a particular brand?

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Quality Price Durability Variety0

1020304050607080

Maximum no. of customers is looking for quality in a product. This is followed by durability variety and price.

Quality is the main factor that persuades a customer to go for a brand. Therefore maintaining quality products is very important for any company.

Ques4. Does consumer buy preferred brand at low cost but negligible quality?

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preffered at low cost

yesno

Maximum no. of customers is looking for quality in a product.

Quality is the main factor that persuades a customer to go for a brand. The consumers don’t want to leave the quality of the product even if the product is of low price and of the same brand.

Ques5. Is weight a factor in choosing a product?

32

no yes0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

weight factor

weight factor

Only 25% of the consumers were not affected by the weight of the product.

This is shows that a customer is particular about weight of the product while making a purchase. So the company should manufacture light weighted refrigerators.

Ques6. Is consumer satisfied with the price range?

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yes

no

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

consumer satisfied

consumer satisfied

This survey concludes that as many people who are satisfied by the price range of the company, almost as many people are unsatisfied. 58% of people were in favor of the price range while 42% of customers were not.

Company should focus on is price policy.

Ques7. What kind of promotional tools does a consumer prefer?

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coupons Free Gifts Discount Other05

101520253035404550

The maximum no. of consumers was thought that offering discount is the most effective method to increase the sales of a product. Providing discounts or rebates is the most effective method of sales promotion followed by free gifts.

Ques8. Is there any effect of advertisement on selection of brands?

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advertisement effect

yesno

69% of the consumers acquiesced to the fact that advertisement effects their buying decisions.

This shows that the company should focus on advertisement in all forms of media like TV, Radio, Internet, Print Media etc.

Ques9. Is there anti impact of celebrities in your purchasing?

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yes no0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Column3

Column3

The survey reveals that nearly 64% of the consumes were affected by the presence of a celebrity or a known face In advertisement.

People are able to recognize a brand if there is a celebrity associated with that particular brand.

Therefore, roping in known names such as Katrina kaifetc to advertise for Panasonic refrigerators will help to rope in more customers and thus increasing the sales of the company.

Ques10. What kind of changes would you like to see in Panasonic?

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Changes in Panasonic Refrigerators

PromotionProduct RangeLow PriceMore DesignNo Change

28% of the consumers want to see changes in promotional activities, 27% consumers want to see changes in product range, 15% consumers are looking for low price, 23% consumers wants more designs and also 7% consumer don’t want any changes.This shows that people want new and better products with better designs and a wide variety of range.There is also a need to changes the kind of promotional activities adopted by the company like offering discounts.

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CHAPTER 5FINDING AND CONCLUSION

5.1 FINDINGS:

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More than half of the sample population doesn’t shift from the brand they use. It is said that, “it is 5 times more difficult to make a new customer than to maintain an old customer”. Therefore, it is important to not lose the old customer in the process of making new ones.

95% of the consumers were satisfied with the brand they use. This indicates that though the consumers who are using Panasonic Refrigerator are

satisfied with the product but it also shows that it will be difficult for the company to change the mindset of the customers and lure the customers. Company will have to make extra efforts to increase its market share.

Maximum no. of customers is looking for quality in a product. This is followed by durability variety and price.

Quality is the main factor that persuades a customer to go for a brand. Therefore maintaining quality products is very important for any company.

Only 17% of the consumers were not affected by the weight of the product. This is shows that a customer is particular about weight of the product while making a

purchase. So the company should manufacture light weighted refrigerators. The maximum no. of consumers was thought that offering discount is the most

effective method to increase the sales of a product. Providing discounts or rebates is the most effective method of sales promotion followed by free gifts.

69% of the consumers acquiesced to the fact that advertisement effects their buying decisions.

This shows that the company should focus on advertisement in all forms of media like TV, Radio, Internet, Print Media etc.

People are able to recognize a brand if there is a celebrity associated with that particular brand.

Therefore, roping in known names such as Katrina kaifetc to advertise for Panasonic refrigerators will help to rope in more customers and thus increasing the sales of the company.

28% of the consumers want to see changes in promotional activities, 27% consumers want to see changes in product range, 15% consumers are looking for low price, 23% consumers wants more designs.

This shows that people want new and better products with better designs and a wide variety of range.

There is also a need to changes the kind of promotional activities adopted by the company like offering discounts.

5.2RECOMMENDATIONS

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DESIGN: The Company should focus on new and attractive designs because nowadays consumer demands fashionable products with quality.

PRICE: Incessant rise in price of the product leads to decrease in the demand for the product. The price range of the product should be such that it serves the need of every customer.

RETAILER: Focus should also be laid on the retailers as they play an important part in influencing customers.

LEAD TIME should be reduced. More attention should be paid to customer complaints. Company’s executives should regularly visit the markets to know the current trend. Some planning and meeting of the company executives should be there so as to avoid

complications. Complaints of company’s staff should also be listened to.

5.3 CONCLUSION

Through the sale of Panasonic refrigerators is increasing and has doubled in last 2 years. The growth rate of others models of Panasonic refrigerators such as Eco-Navi model is very high. This is because the markets that these models serve are mainly low income markets and due to the instant increase in their prices and availability of cheap, local and similar products in the market, consumers shift their demand to other producer’s brands.

However, company is repeatedly trying to push the sale up of these brands by adopting new marketing strategies. They roped in superstars such as RanbirKapoor, Katrina Kaif to endorse their products. This will help definitely leave an impact on the final consumer and elevate the demand of the product.

5.4LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

Most of the consumers were not willing to communicate. Rude behavior of the consumers. Data for the other companies is not easily available. Certain companies are a part of unorganized sector. Therefore, it becomes difficult to

make an exact comparison. Extreme weather condition posed difficulty in research.

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Due to unavailability of time and resources the study could not be conducted on a large scale. The study was conducted in some parts of Delhi, thus it gives only an approximate picture of whole of the India.

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ANNEXURE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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BOOKS:

Kotler and Armstrong (2004), Principles of Marketing Management. Schiffman L.G. and Kanuk L.L., Consumer Behavior, 9th edition prentice hall of

India. Seth J.N. and Mittal (2nd edition 2003), Consumer Behavior- A Managerial

perspective.

SITES:

https://www.google.co.in http://www.panasonic.com/in/home/ http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.panasonic.com/in/consumer/home-appliances/refrigerators.html http://www.lg.com/in/refrigerators http://www.whirlpoolindia.com/refrigerator http://www.samsung.com/in/consumer/home-appliances/refrigerator http://www.godrejappliances.com/godrej/GodrejAppliances/product.aspx?

id=6&menuid=346&catid=91

http://www.haier.com/in/products/refrigerator/bottommountedrefrigeratorsbmr/

QUESTIONNAIRE

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I, Vijit Kumar, pursuing MBA in Marketing from BhagwanParshuram Institute of Technology and Management affiliated to GGSIP University. I did a survey on the behavior of consumers towards Panasonic refrigerators . Below is the list of question which would help me in my survey.

Q1. Do consumers normally switch over brands?

Yes No

Q2. Are consumers satisfied with their particular brand?

Yes No

Q3. What factors influence consumers to go for a particular brand?

Quality Price Durability Variety

Q4. Does consumer buy preferred brand at low cost but negligible quality?

Yes No

Q5. Is weight a factor in choosing a product?

Yes No

Q6. Is consumer satisfied with the price range?

Yes No

Q7. What kind of promotional tool does a consumer prefer?

Lucky coupon Free gift

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Discount Other

Q8. Is there any effect of advertisement on selection of brands?

Yes No

Q9. Is there any impact of celebrities on your purchasing?

Yes No

Q10. What kind of change would you like to see in Panasonic?

Promotional activities More product range Low price range More design No change

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