Consumer Behaviour On Decline Of Sales Marketing Essay

Consumer Behaviour On Dec beginning Of gross sales food grocery store turn outIntroductionThis make k nowadaysn is prep bed to analyse how consumer doings deviates has direct to the dec in gross r stock-stillue volume of Xclusive odorize crisscrosss across the UK grocery. For the ratiocination devil long time sales has dec rootaged consistently across the scratch foodstuff of speed word form consumers in UK.Xclusive is an bonus odourise brand from grant Products Ltd, a comp both smalld out of UK. keep company launched this bountifulness brand for workforce and wo hands in UK market in 2006. By 2007, they had a 1.2% market sh atomic number 18, report a total sales turn all over of 7.96 million GBP (Esprit Magazine, 2007)In 2008 and 2009, the sales declined by 5% and 6.2% respectively. Preliminary reports show a decline in popularity of this brand and lesser movement in stores among the velocity stratum guests.This report is intended to analyse the r easons which led to the sales decline over the last two years. Report bequeath test the hypothesis that consumer demeanor variations led to the decline in sales. Other key objective of this report is to muster up with suggestions to reverse this declining sales trend and perplextle a despotic change in consumer demeanor to increase the sales.Current Product and Marketing StrategyXclusive brand of premium pith for men and women was launched by agiotage Product Ltd in 2006.There were four lines deep down this Xclusive brand herbal, musky, tree-living and spicy. Musky was the popular well-nigh brands followed by Herbal. They were packaged in scoopful golden bottles, which gave exquisiteness to the whole product package. Health consciousness was on the establish among the UK consumers in 2006.That do the company launch this exclusive herbal perfume to the hurrying separate consumers. This was launched as part of their market oppositeiation schema compargond to new(pr enominal) premium brands. Main lead was speeding class men and women in UK with neighborly grade A and B. (Businessballs, 2008). This market size established 25% of the total UK population.Premium Products Ltd drilld a premium set for all products including this Xclusive product line, with herbal being the most expensive as it was do from healthy ingredients.The company adopted a selective diffusion strategy targeting only luxuriousness zones and concentrated on boutiques and big malls bid Wesfield and Metrocenter. Distri b atomic number 18lyion strategy was centred near premium malls and online shops similar Perfume shop.(Suite101, 2007)Company did the promotion mainly through laurels ads in mass media deal TV and focal ratio class magazines standardized Glamour and Cosmopolitan. Promotion was around healthy sports men and women using this exclusive perfume. (National Readership Survey, 2007) fuss AnalysisProblem In the last two years at that place has been a fo rceful decrease in the sales of bouquet products (perfumes).Study was conducted on market and consumer buying serve to understand the reasons behind this decline in sales. In the market study, objective was to test whether outside market conditions were favourable to perfume business. Market study was done using the PEST method. While doing sales analysis, it was found that decline in sales actually came from women discussion section. Hence market and consumer demeanour study was mostly attri saveed to the neighborly class A and B women instalments. bargainer responsesChoices ofproductbranddealertimingpriceBuy much(prenominal)(prenominal) than, less, stay loyal etcbuyers black boxNeeds wants, stimuliProduct, price, place, promotion etcenvironmental (PEST) factorsBuying Process AnalysisWe sideed at the typical buying act of premium perfumes by women in UK. Looking at the major philanderers baffling in a typical leverage finality.InitiatorInfluencerDeciderBuyer userU sually, women themselves are the inciters to buy perfumes for following reasonsLong lasting scentMakes shade attractiveOne that others comment onMakes feel sexyChanges or enhances moodInitiators discharge be men as well who buy gifts for women.It fundamentally depends on the age throng of women. But generally speaking, the influencers poop bePeer groupCelebritiesReferred by magazine (foil pouch samples choosered)Advertisements in mediaWomen themselves and men also.Both men (as gifts) and women.Women, her friends, relatives etc.Since women play the major role of initiator and decider in this buying process, we affect to understand internal and external factors which can impact the consumer behaviour of women belonging to social class A and B.Consumer behaviour characteristicsConsumer behaviour refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants.(Ezinearticles, 2007)There are multiple factors which can influence the consum ers behaviour over a flow rate of time, which take ons both internal and external. Broadly the internal factors could be personal traits deal age, income, occupation, personality, lifestyle etc and psychological factors standardized motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes.External factors can be social ones uniform lengthiness groups, social status and influence of family. It could be heathenish factors in standardized manner same(p) conclusion and sub-culture and social class.This is truly much pertinent to the premium perfume product segment too.External Factors affecting consumer behaviourAmong the external factors, the key ones which directly impact consumer behaviour are demographics and social class. Next comes the influence of reference groups like celebrities, friends and family. But since the target segment is mainly stop number class and amphetamine heart, culture/sub-culture externalizems to be the least important variable.DemographicsIt is much an internal factor, which is of course shaped by external influence.Teenagers They are more(prenominal) interested in citrus scents. Usually they prefer a sugariness that makes them attractive to others. They dont drive home any affinity towards a brand, hardly they like to try out different fragrances and brands.Adults They are most apt(predicate) to buy fragrances for most likely to wear a perfume to feel sexy. Older women are more likely to switch fragrances within their collection once a week or more. As they are more health conscious, they are more likely to consider folk corsages, Eau de Perfume, and Essential Oils as part of the aroma category. They are much more branding savvy. They prefer fruity and flowery fragrances and follow celebrities to a extensive extent.(Fragrancefoundation, 2007)In the UK, every woman between the ages 25 and 34, on an modal(a) carry 71 worth of cosmetics in their handbag. (China cosmetic packing, 2010)Three out of five women were more likely to buy a fragrance samples in a magazine (foil pouch samples preferred). Now women prefer having a military press or collection of fragrances too. (Fragrancefoundation, 2007) They still follow celebrity endorsements term choosing the fragrance. This is unvarnished from the popularity of M brand introduced under the brand of Mariah Carey (Entrepreneur, 2007)). Consumers view as revisited classic fragrances as the shift in buying behaviour moves towards quality, authenticity or value. (Academic Mintell, 2007) social Class besides, differences in social class can create client groups. In fact, the official six social classes in the UK are wide used to profile and predict different customer behaviour. In the UKs socioeconomic classification scheme, social class is non just determined by income. It is measured as a combination of occupation, income, education, wealth and other variables. (Tutor2U, 2007) pertinent social class segments for our premium perfume segment upper upper old, established, socially prominent familiesLower upper rising richUpper mall professional peopleLower halfway white collar, remunerative workers (Emailcommerce, 2007)Now the characteristics of each of these social classes vary as they are stick out by different cultural and sub cultural elements. In the topical trade strategy the product was positioned just for upper class women and we didnt put up a differentiated placement for each sub cultural or social class groups within this broad definition of upper class women. Needs and buying process of upper kernel class woman is completely different to a upper upper class woman. For mannikin upper and lower middle can get influenced by friends and co-workers more and women tend to be mostly decision makers and purchasers. However in the upper upper and Lower upper, influence of family whitethorn be higher. Reference groups like social clubs, charity organisations, and social get together could be more relevant to influence the upper class women. Hence a segmented marketing approach is needed.However the 2009 downturn has frequency the purchase of perfumes among women. Women on average buy 4 fragrances a year. (Fragrencefoundation), due to the downturn there this has decreased to 2-3 fragrance a year. Still women spend enough on cosmetics.Among the higher social classes, penetration of social media has increased. Online purchases using cards has twist common. Internet as an outlet has increased its penetration by 4% in the UK market. (Fragrancefoundation, 2007)Reference GroupsReference groups could also potentially influence the buying of premium perfume product.Reference groups can be aspirational or associative. Celebrities and socially respected ladies form aspirational reference groups for high class UK women. Associative reference groups could be members of a social club or co-workers or even members of church and some organisation. Friend circle is a nonher major potent reference gr oup as they could be sharing same interests and preferences. Family could be another reference group, this is however dealt separately. (Consumerpsychologist, 2007)In the target segment of Xclusive premium perfume product, reference groups are quite a relevant. For example, eminence brandsare capricious market growth among younger fragrance users. Over 30 new celebrity fragrances were launched in 2007. One in five 16-24 year olds cite to own at least one, compared with one in twenty over-45s. Celebrity fragrances provide the entry point for young people into the whole luxury sector.(Fragrancefoundation, 2007)(As internet is becoming a key social media, reference groups like forums and fragrance review sites is also becoming key influencers in the decision fashioning process. Sites like http//www.bestperfumeforwomen.co.uk/ provide reviews and go on a ranking on best perfumes.You can no longer launch hundreds of fragrances, as the customer is more selective and wants something u nique. Its not only the downturn that has forced this change in consumer behaviour. Thanks in large part to the internet, shoppers are much more sleep togetherledgeable near fragrances-more than some brands think. A look at some of the fragrance blogs or websites, such as Sniffapalooza (once derided, scarce now courted by fragrance brands) shows that consumers are having educated discussion and debate about fragrance, comparing different products and asking why they are all alike. Fragrance expert Michael Edwards calls this consumer the connoisseur, and compares such behavior to the foodie trend that emerged several years ago.Influence of FamilyIn our target segment of upper and higher middle class women in UK, influence of family members is vital in making purchase decisions. Individual members of families often serve different roles in decision making process. Some individuals are schooling gatherers/holders, who seek out knowledge about products of relevance. These individu als often break a great deal of power because they may selectively pass on information that favours their chosen alternatives.Typically husbands play the role of influencers they let their wives know their wishes and suggestions. Husbands usually travel and get to know from social gatherings and even from online or internet means. In the case of premium perfume, the role of each individual in the family is critical be it that of gatherers who may be typically younger lot or social buffs, or that of influencers like husbands or decision makers or even purchasers. This makes marketing more tough as the messages need to make up a wider cross division of UK society. Point of sales marketing can help to convince purchasers, but broad marketing conveying the features of Xclusive premium perfume should reach others like older ladies, socially respected relatives, and husbands. (Consumerpsychologist, 2007)Three out of four women avow that when they find a fragrance they really like, t hey tell their friends about it. all(prenominal) 2 in three women give perfumes as gift to partners, friends and family. meet of culture/sub-culture elementsEach culture contains sub-cultures groups of people with share values. Sub-cultures can include nationalities, religions, racial groups, or groups of people sharing the same geographical location. sometimes a sub-culture will create a substantial and distinctive market segment of its own.OgAAAPeyJpurr1ryoFWlKXRdQZJVSyMAct7AfdHZmI-zSL4J5aoWNgxDAjv20AMfd_XlBjE5RI8O3Ge8wNG63V0VYoUA15jOjGI8ihdsXtJS1SOoJjWTF231BFIw(Source From the Module presentation)For example, the youth culture or club culture has quite distinct values and buying characteristics from the much older rusty generation.Similarly sub-cultural groups like immigrants from other countries and resident nationals belonging to other regions will show different characteristics to the UK culture. For example in the case of Asians, family relationships are much stronger and gifting is usually informal and ritual. However in UK, relationships are more loose, but gifting is done formally. Packaging is more relevant to the UK upper class when compared to other nationals. European communities give lot of importance to quality and elegance. Just like nationality as the above diagram shows, there are many more factors which shape up the cultural trait of an individual.Suggestions to influence consumer behaviour comely grained social class division Have more targeted segments by age, by social class and by age. This is important as messages may carry to be different and different fragrance products needs to be marketed to different social class and age groupsCelebrity references Continue to use references from celebrities, but widen your celebrity base to influence different segments. Musicians, film stars, entrepreneurs, sports personality and so on. For example younger lot get influenced with entrepreneurs as they look for confidence image to get associat ed with the perfumes they use. Older may prefer medical specialty stars and film personalities.Educational Promotions across wide cross section Sales staff needs to be trained to improve their selling conduct and skills in order to advise customers correctly. Fragrances sold in self-selection should carry information on the outer box to provide consumer with the key ingredients of the product. Leaflets in boxes could also contain information for the consumer on the fragrance, on how to wear and tips on fragrance layering, and its ingredients which is a standard for many prestige skincare brands. In supplement samples can be used to let off fragrance notes. Furthermore online take in has been successfully carried out by luxury brands. Promotional messages should be targeted at initiators, influencers and decision makers. POS marketing is critical for purchases like free samples.Increasing the reachTarget to increase the number of outlets to reach a wider segmented base of upper and higher middle class women. Use internet as a channel to target convenience shoppers. Online purchase and spending is increase in the upper class UK consumer segments. More over place reviews and customer testimonials especially of reference groups in social marketing sites to influence the prospective buyers.Differentiated products and channels for multiple segments Thus there is a need to regale the Teenage customers and Adult customers with different products according to their preferences. There are basically different types of shoppers which areConvenience ShoppersValue Shoppers project Shoppers start out ShoppersLuxury perfumes for women come under Image Shoppers and Experience Shoppers were, Teenagers belong to Image Shoppers and Adults belong to Experience shoppers. Understanding customers, their preferences, their needs led to the conclusion that our business firm should go for two product lines, one addressing the teenagers and the other addressing the adults. The per fumes should have a variety of flavors i.e., a variety of citrus flavors for teenagers and flowers and fruity flavors for adults. Also advertizement and promotional activities should be based on this segmentation.Recommended Positioning Strategy for Xclusive Premium Perfume pitIntroductionThis report is prepared to suggest a positioning strategy for Xclusive brand of premium perfume for de fined market segments. The objective of this new positioning strategy will be to have a positive influence on various factors which impact consumer behaviour and purchase decision of this premium product.However this report is limited to the positioning of the products for one of the target segments, which is upper class and higher middle class women. We assume that positioning strategy for the segment of men is working fine as sales has shown positive upward trend so far. differentiate Gaps with the Current Positioning StrategyBroad and inappropriate target segmentation As per the current marke ting strategy the target segment was outlined as upper class men and women. Positioning message or current tagline Exclusive fragrance for just you was used to attract upper class men and women to feel that they own it and join a elite group group of premium perfume owners. The target segment of upper class women was broader as consumer behaviour characteristics tend to differ with in the target segment of upper class women by age and social class. Hence the marketing messages failed to impress all the prospective buyers among the target segment of upper class women.Earlier, the segmentation was based on just income and status as quite evident from the positioning message. But it failed to impress all the cross sections of the prospective buyers.Lack of differentiated products and positioning Tagline and positioning creates a perception map out in the promontorys of consumers. Exclusive fragrance just for you suggests following characteristics it is expensive, it is exclusively f or upper class only, it is unique from other products. However in real adept product was not differentiated from the competitor products. Hence there was a different between customer perception and experience which led to customer dissatisfaction and decline in repeat purchase.Teenagers Vs Adults with in the upper class target womenPure herbalAdultshow to gain their credibilityretain customerthe incumbrance segment to be targeted..Quality personalized body chemistryBrand imageTeenagersLow price(relatively)Stress more on ambience growth of celebritiesIncrease of social media usage especially in teenage networking sitesPersonal body chemistryBrand imageAs you can see above, teenagers are showing more affinity towards synthetic fragrance while adults are interested in herbal products. This itself calls for a rift in preferences and perception about the same fragrance product. Marketer need to address this with a differentiated product strategy. This kind of differences in perception office of the same product by two sections of the target segment was not considered while deciding the product and positioning strategy.Lack of proper celebrity references Celebrities used for promoting Xclusive brand were mostly contemporary stars from the field of sports and films. But this is once again not in line with the tagline, the company had. Ideally the company should have tried to bring in an image of a classic brand and they could have chosen somebody from old classic films like Lawrence of Arabia or actresses like Julie Andrews ( immaculate Movies, 2008)UK Consumers, especially the women in the age group of 30 to 60 were revisiting the classic brands and this could have been a better strategy.Couldnt reach all influencers In the case of upper class women, a typical purchase process is influenced by friends, family members like husband, social clubs, social marketing forums and then ofcourse the aspirational groups like successful businesswomen or celebrities. Xclusiv e as a brand didnt have any such associations with these influencers. They were mostly targeting the decision makers and purchases with ads being targeted in magazines like Glamour. delimit the target segments among the WomenXlusive brand has suffered a decline in sales over the last two years among the women target segment. From the market analysis and consumer behaviour study we can find that current marketing strategy was not good enough to attract all prospective consumers among the target segment of upper class women. Initial market strategy was just build around the income class, but it was not taking into account the consumer behaviour changes as per different factors like social class, age, cultural difference and so on. transfer in target segmentation from Upper class women to multiple target segments ofsegment 1 upper upper class and upper middle class (employed) womansegment 2 teenage women in upper middle class and upper class (with a high usable income)Differentiated Products and PositioningMe too products or generic product line with one positioning message will not work in this changed environment. UK consumers are more going towards value shopping and they are likely to make more informed decisions sort of than going by officious stimuli.SegmentProductPositioningUpper class and upper middle class womenXclusive Classic range of fragrance in herbal coalesceHealth and Class ExclusivelyTeenage upper class and upper middle classXclusive Style Synthetic perfumes with citrus flavoursStyle and cartelSuggesting following the Key Brand method to look at what factors would influence women in the above target segments choose a fragrance in the premium segment.(Brandkeys, 2010)Hence the differentiated products and positioning should be made around the following attributes selected from the above matrixProductImageScentIngredientsReactionsClassic range of fragrance in herbal mixClassic turned on(predicate)SociableTraditionalFloralSpicyNatural Ingredi entsFresh masterSensualPowerfulInspiredStrongHence positioning messages are created around these product attributes for the two product lines. Packaging is also made consistent with these attributes to create that whole product image.Classic product line needs to be packaged in premium glass bottles with a golden plating. Style product line for teenagers will be in colourful glass bottles which are cut on sides to give it a style and powerful cuvy shape.Creative Campaigns around Positioning MessagesOne of the problems with fragrance is that the penetration rates are not that high. However, a lot could be done to bring more consumers into the fragrance market. Critics say that marketers focus too much on youth, and that the scents and sometimes racy advertising shakes aimedat this group have turned off older consumers. Appealing to women in their 30s, 40s and 50s and those who have lost touch with fragrance with an appropriate offer and marketing campaign could bring in much additio nal revenue.So having nostalgic and retro campaigns would be a good way to target the segment of middle aged upper class and upper middle class women. Celebrities can be actresses like Elizabeth Taylor and Julia Andrews. They can promote the Xclusive Classic brand around creating images of classic and vintage stuff never ceases or use utter(a) films like Lawrence of Arabia. Moving international from contemprory stars to more stars from the classical age would be good to convince and influence changing UK consumers especially among the aged upper class segments.(The Freelibrary, 2007)Avertisement targeted at adult womenUse of gold plated bottle spawn and golden color typeface in a classic written styleXclusive*Julie Andres, an actress from yester years still a living legend to be a brand ambassador of the Classic product lineSimilarly for the teenage segment, celebrities from field like politics, business, sports could be chosen who can give an image of style and confidence.A s tudy conducted among young UK women chose a set of role models like Margaret Thatcher, Marilyn Monroe, Kylie Minogue, Jamie Ogata (Confident Japanese UN official). (Cranfield University, 2009)We can probably use them as celebrities to push our style and confidence image in the mind of teenagers. Unlike adults, teenagers are more image shoppers. They can be triggered for an nictitation purchase by a sudden stimuli. (Telegraph, 2008)Advertisement targeting teenagersBold confident young women, curvy bottle shape with bold red font usageXclusiveRe-inventing Shopping ExperienceShopping for fragrances needs to be made easier, and stores better adapted to how consumers browse and buy. Research by Paris-based JMG Research shows that the consumer is tone for new retail formats. She is looking for a new experience and is very reactive to new propositions. When something is out of the ordinary she will buy, says JMG Research managing handler Jrme Goldberg.New retail store formats have to be tried out like eliminating counters in department stores, merchandising by fragrance family or creating areas for replenishment for the consumer who is only looking for that service. In a recent survey, majority of those questioned did want to see fragrances organized by brand, but 40% also said that they would like to see fragrances organized by the way they smell. Many UK women middle aged consumers now go in for a fragrance collection. This basically tends them to be more brand loyal.Fragrance is emotional and the industry needs to pay more attention to this rather talking about technical information. There needs to be watcher assistants who are helpful and knowledgeable and not just push the up-to-the-minute launch, says John Ayres, director of UK-based fragrance consultancy Pandora. Sales people should be doing a lot more educational selling rather than aggressive as consumers have more options to choose from.(Articles base, 2007) Leaflets in boxes should also contain inform ation for the consumer on the fragrance, on how to wear and tips on fragrance layering and its ingredients. This is standard for many prestige skincare brands. Also samples can be used to explain fragrance notes. http//www.bglam.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/discount-3.JPG(Sample online perfume catalogue)Another trend is the moving away from class to mass channels for purchase. UK consumers now prefer Tesco to specialised classes like department stores.