Development of survey instrument
The main objective was to analyze the various requirements and aspirations of consumer goods purchases. It is important that needs of the customers are met and FMCG product features are explained and simplified. This testimony describes the different needs of consumers to purchase bathing soap, a most regular personal care FMCG product (Deliya, 2012; Subrahmanyan, and Tomas Gomez-Arias, 2008).
The attributes of customer priorities are highlighted here. This investigation explains the demographical features of the consumer. The analysis was done on the alternative procurement methods, customer satisfaction after consumer behavior and satisfaction. Consumer products are finally about choice of the consumers, and whether they’re satisfied when buying them directly from the market for their families. They are the most important external stakeholders of the company and are also independent. Consumers can receive information from various media, television advertisements and from family members, friends and people who have used soap (Hollebeek, Glynn, and Brodie, 2014).
Consumers will feel pleased if they realize that their products are used to meet their expectations and they are repurchasing it, and may be recommending to others. Market competitors in toilet soap industry are extremely competitive and soap making technology keeps changing rapidly. Along with that, ethical consumerism with environment fortification have increased price of the soaps. The article reveals the importance of contrast creativity of the products for attracting customers, as brands of soaps are not at well differentiated by customers (Mohankumar, and Shivaraj, 2010)
02. Development of survey instrument
The data collection was administered in accordance with the purpose of the research. Primary data collection technique was applied for collecting direct feedback from customers. This way validity of the collected information helped in defining the original characteristics of the data. A self-structured questionnaire was prepared utilizing the Survey Monkey platform. Along with demographic information of age and gender, eight multiple choice questions (close ended) were included in the survey. Expected time to complete the survey for an individual was estimated as one minute by Survey Monkey.
03. Administration processes
The ethical consideration part was included in the initial part of the survey. The respondents were assured of privacy of their responses. The approval was taken from the ethical committee of the university. The complete survey questionnaire was circulated for collection of responses. The link of the survey was shared through social media platforms as Facebook, and WhatsApp. The link was also shared through emails and messages. The survey was open for 3 days and the convenience sampling yielded 40 responses. The collected data was investigated for missing values and after thorough cross checking analysis was performed using two data mining tools, Excel and STATA.
Administration processes
04. Data Analysis
The objective of the survey was to categorize the purchase pattern of the customers. Gender and age wise cross tabulation was performed to identify the primary brand of soap that respondents were using. Effects of social and economic achieve on the reasons of choice were also investigated.
04.1 Gender Classification
The responses were categorized on gender basis as well as on age group basis. 52.5% responses were from females, and the rest 42.5% were males. No missing information was seen in this field.
04.2 Age Distribution of the Respondents
The respondents were categorized in four age groups to observe the difference in soap usage pattern. The responses were mainly received from school and college students. Overall 66.67% respondents were under 40 years of age. The oldest age group was kind enough to provide a sheer 7.69% response.
Perception
Perception of the participants was scrutinized with the help of two responses, choice of fragrance, and package size for purchasing bathing soaps. Choice of fragrance was scattered throughout the provided options, with highest choice as normal soap fragrance (Bauer, Garbe, and Surburg, 2008). The comparative analysis with respect to gender yielded ( ) no significant gender difference in choice of fragrance. Relative to age group the cross tabulation ( ) reflected no noteworthy difference in choice of fragrance of soaps.
Perception about longevity of a soap cake was clear from the choice of the respondents. Soap cakes of 150 grams were the primary choice for customers. Almost 62% people were in favor of purchasing bigger soap bars for toilet use. Gender wise comparison reflected ( ) no significant difference in choice of size of soap bars. Age group comparison for purchase preference ( ) was also not significant for choice of size of soap bars.
Attitudes
Attitude of respondents about price of the soap products was investigated, and 75% responses were in favor of average feedback (Javornik, and Mandelli, 2012; Tariq et al, 2013). This reflected that consumer were less happy with the present quality of the soaps and were probably looking for alternate brands. Gender specific comparison of value for money was significant ( ). Females were evenly poised for the three choices, whereas men were much more dissatisfied with the price of the brands in the survey. But the four age groups of the study was found to be a non-significant
Motivation
Data Analysis
Consumer motivation was scrutinized through motives of purchase of the brands, and effect on social media on procurement decision. Fragrance was the most prominent attribute for section of the bathing product, followed by color of the bars. Gender comparison yielded no significant results ( ), indicating that choices of men and women were almost equally distributed. But, age comparison revealed that choice of attribute was significantly different among the four groups ( ).
Fragrance and then color were noticeable choices for respondents aged between 15 years and 25 years. Older people were more inclined towards price and packaging of the products.
Effect of social media on the respondents was noticeable from the shape of the distribution of the answers. Purchase choice was affected by advertisements in TV, newspaper and other social media. Uncertainty in product choice was visible in the pattern of the responses. 57.5% respondents were found to buy products under social influence. The competitors in FMCG market for toilet soaps were found to influence consumer choice using social media. The gender wise comparison was assessed for the effect of mass media, and no significant result ( ) was found.
It signified that both the genders were equally influenced by advertisements of the products. The differentiating effect of advertisement on the age groups was not significant ( ). Respondents from all the age groups were found to be equally prompted by mass media towards different brands.
IV. Group and Individual Differences
An individual difference in product preference was highlighted by choice of brands of the soap cakes. The shape of the frequency distribution revealed that 65% responses were looking for alternate brands. The major reason might have been dissatisfaction with current brands and higher price of the products. Bathing soap is very much a personal choice and willingness to change the brand reveals the level of displeasure of the consumer. Gender wise difference in unhappiness was not ( ) a signification indicator. Age wise choices were also not significant ( ) enough to find any differences in opinions about preference for alternate brands.
Culture
The cultural backdrop of the survey respondents was evaluated through brand preference. 50% of the responses were using Fragonard MA Perfumed body soap, whereas almost 24% responses were collected in favor of Acca Kappa. Both the brands are multinational brands, where Acca Kappa manufactures unique collection of fragrant toiletries. The perfume collection of Acca Kappa is also admirable. Fragonard MA Perfumed creates collection of modern perfumery. This 19th century company is world renowned name in perfume making.
Gender Classification
Choice of fragrance of the consumers was evident from the option of the brands in the survey. Attraction towards perfumes is an old and well known attribute of human. Other than any other characteristic of toilet or cosmetic products, fragrance has the dominant effect on purchasing decisions. Both the genders were found to be equally attracted towards both of the products ( ). Age corresponding difference in choice was found to be significant ( ).Fragonard MA Perfumed soap was found to be preferred choice through all the age groups, especially for teenagers and young individuals.
Family and lifestyle
Involvement with family and lifestyle was assessed trough frequency of purchase of the soap cakes. Majority of the respondents were found to buy soaps on a bi-weekly basis. Purchase due to number of family members might have been the influencing factor for their purchase frequency. 55% of the responses were in favor by purchasing soaps every 15 days. Though, gender wise comparison revealed that ( ) there was no significant difference in purchase frequency. People of both the genders were purchasing soaps for their families on an equal distribution pattern.
Age was an important factor in purchasing frequency. Responses from all the four age groups were skewed towards bi-weekly purchase. A significant difference was observed ) between the 15 days purchasing schedule and other options. People were less habituated in buying soaps once in every month. But, 30.77% responses revealed that a noticeable number of consumers were buying soaps every two months. This was an important observation from the point of view of the soap brands.
05. Key Findings
From the responses it was discovered that paramount criteria for selection of a particular brand depends on fragrance and size of the soap cakes. Young populace was more attracted towards fragrance and color of the soaps (Gatti, Bordegoni, and Spence, 2014). Price and packaging were other two product criteria for rating the soaps, especially for old age group. People were favoring soaps with normal fragrances other than typical strong essence. The price consciousness was reflected from the analysis of the responses. Due to size effectiveness purchase tendency for small soap bars was observed (Deliya, and Parmar, 2012).
Smaller toilet soaps are always convenient for carrying and travelling purposes. Reservation towards a particular brand that was used by the customer was clearly apprehended, probable reason was fragrance of the soaps in the current survey. Probability in alteration in choice for brand was found to some extent, especially in absence of preferred brand. Here, customers were found be unable to differentiate among the brands (Dallmeier-Tiessen et al., 2010). Effect of advertisements was visible among all age groups and the two genders. Consumers were found to be frequent purchaser of bathing soaps; this was a positive indication for market players. The current study was useful from market competitors and manufacturer of different soap brands (Comiskey et al., 2017; Calder, Isaac, and Malthouse, 2015).
Age Distribution of the Respondents
The survey had its own limitations; especially due to convenience sampling the nature of the responses was impacted. Sample size of the study was not verified for its effectiveness. In case of random sampling with large sample size, the outputs of this research may have different inferences. The demographic details of participants, such as marital status, number of kids and location of staying could be included in future researches for detail analysis of the consumer (Katiyar, and Katiyar, 2014; Schwarzkopf, 2009). Variety in soap products with more choices in packaging weight, variety of fragrance, and more importantly shapes could be the impact factors in future market studies.
0.6 References
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