THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER BUYER BEHAVIOUR AND APPLICATION OF MARKETING MIX FOR A CONSUMER DURABLE BRANDPrepared ByJ.A.I.
U. Jayakody34518SLIM Business School – ColomboSeptemberPreliminary Certificate in MarketingSRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF MARKETINGCONTENTTITLE PAGE NUMBERExecutive summery 04Introduction 05Selected organization and their product categories. 06 – 07Selected Product category & detailed analysis of theMarketing Mix elements 08 – 18Consumer buying decision process 19 – 20Importance of Relationship Marketing with Benefits 21 – 23Conclusion 24Recommendations 25Annexure 26List of References 27 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY when I choosing a Consumer durable brand producing company I choose Softlogic because of the expenditure in all island areas. As the reason I considered is, if any organization wont able to maintain a good Consumer behavior understanding they will never grow their business. If any organization has a Well reputed name, pride, good customer base the main reason for that is Good understanding of consumer behavior .i have visited softlogic head office many times and as i have added my vision and opinions to this report as I saw at there. When I creating this report I could find many internal details from one of my friend who works at Softlogic as a marketing executive.
so I have added those information too. Apart from that im a customer too.so when I go to buy some consumer durable product I also have so many concerns.it doesn’t matter that product is high expensive or not. all are money.
so that product should be worth for it .so based on that demand we need to find a good service providing organization know. because we don’t like to feel uncomfortable with the people who selling that product. I have already experienced it. so as a consumer both seller and us should be knowledgeable about this business world. unfortunately our sri Lankan people have less knowledge about that and there aren’t enough references and people don’t refer them.
that’s why I selected Softlogic. .because their business vision and good customer base, they treat customers highly. and sharing knowledge without any delay.so I may offer my report to you for your reference.
Introduction Because of the growing demand and huge advancement of the Technology in the Industry, a strong competition building among the different consumer durable brands available in the country . Today’s successful world leading consumer durable manufactures such as Sony, Samsung, Apple, Panasonic, Toshiba etc.158808527915300323851016000 3820795139700014211966036472192622330390030712402236338001384935198458900-513270181231500 So as result of this competition there are so many companies inventing many products to fulfill customer needs and wants in Srilanka too such as Softlogic, Damro,Singer,Sisil World etc. these organizations share a passion for understanding customer needs; develop products that provide superior customer value; and prices, delivery and promote them effectively in target markets. also they building and motivating Internal relationships with customers based on creating customer value.
252240923603000Selected organization and their product categories.Softlogic Holdings Softlogic Holdings PLC, rated as one of Sri Lanka’s most dynamic and reputed conglomerates, commenced operations in 1991 as a software developer with just 12 employees; now has expanded its footprint holding leading positions in domestic growth oriented sectors such as ICT, Healthcare, Retail, Financial Services, Automobiles and Leisure. The Group now provides employment to over 8,000 individuals generating a turnover of more than USD300 mn. The Group’s representations and strategic alliances with reputed global institutions and large multinational corporations confirm its unparalleled local stature. Softlogic organization reaches to the consumer by so many ways and there are so many categories and few mention below with popular brand names.84264528384500PC Laptops 336909670477 16585041143000 Softlogic Computers traces a history of nearly two decades providing a wide gamut of solutions tailor-made and designed to meet specific industry leading features. We currently dominate a very profitable niche of retail, hospitality, banking, and finance markets in the overall ICT industry.The Company provides a comprehensive range of point-of-sale products such as receipts, slips and journal printers, customer displays, cash drawers, barcode scanners, LCD displays, and much more.
The company also provides a range of banking products such as passbook printers, currency counters, cheque scanners and much more. The company operates a dealer network that consists of around 70 solution providers, software developers, and wholesale IT resellers. Its core strength surrounds the extensive all time service centers across the island.4724829166832003359348200602217184819041800-29761730239200Mobiles10545701079500 Softlogic Mobile Distribution is Softlogic’s most recently incorporated subsidiary in its telco sub-sector. It holds the distributorship rights for SAMSUNG and HTC in Sri Lanka. The distributorship was obtained with Samsung’s captive market position in the smart phone and tab market in Sri Lanka in mind. This company operates through 13 regional distributors.397446523876000Furniture 235559413095006734801333500 The furniture sub-sector is engaged in providing ready-to-assemble bedrooms, household furniture and office furniture from world-leading furniture brands such as SB Furniture, Koncept, Able and Silent Night.
It offers the broadest selection of both household and office furniture manufactured with the latest technology and artisanal craftsmanship to deliver a fine finish with world-class quality standards. The Lifestyles Home Store offers the broadest selection of home furniture, custom-made walk-in closets, comfortable mattresses, a wide range of accessories as well as office furniture to fit your varied lifestyle and home/office requirements. We also undertake total turnkey solutions for home and office interiors.
.TV & Electronics46876281701720033218002656780029666292421240029373321780500 Softlogic is the authorized distributor in Sri Lanka for world’s leading consumer electronic brands such as Panasonic, Samsung, Whirlpool, Candy, Dell, Acer, Apple and a host of other international brands. Selected Product category ; detailed analysis of the marketing Mix elements3.1.ProductName -Softlogic Maxmo Notebook Laptop1379863107505 The Softlogic Holding Srilanka introduced it range of Laptops for Srilankan citizens usages, the Softlogic Maxmo Laptops are best performance and value for money. The Softlogic Maxmo Laptops arise with Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2012 and Microsoft Essentials. Softlogic recently unveiled its own range of laptop computers branded “Softlogic Maxmo” which comes fully equipped with Intel processors and Microsoft Windows software and is priced very attractively, to make it more affordable to the general public.Models – Available in three different models-Softlogic Maxmo 1595 (Dual Core), Softlogic Maxmo 1423 (Core i3) and Softlogic Maxmo 1524 (Core i5), each comes with its own unique specifications while all models come equipped with a 500 GB SATA hard disk drive, Intel HD Graphics and built in Bluetooth and wireless combo along with Microsoft Windows 7 and MS Office 2010 Starters and MS Security Essentials.
Softlogic Maxmo 1524 Notebook LaptopSoftlogic Maxmo 1423 Notebook LaptopSoftlogic Maxmo 1595 Notebook LaptopSoftlogic MAXMO – W551 Ultra-Light BookFeatures –Softlogic Maxmo 1524 Notebook ComputerIntel Core I5, 2450m Processor4GB DDR3 Expandable upto 8GB500 GB SATA Hard disk drive15.6″ HDBluetooth & Wireless ComboFREE Carry CaseSoftlogic Maxmo 1423 Notebook ComputerIntel Core i3, 2350m Processor2GB DDR3 Expandable upto 8GB500 GB SATA Hard disk drive14″ HDBluetooth ; Wireless ComboFREE Carry CaseSoftlogic Maxmo 1595 Notebook ComputerIntel Pentium Processor4GB DDR3 Expandable upto 8GB500 GB SATA Hard disk drive15.6″ HDBluetooth & Wireless ComboFREE Carry CaseSoftlogic MAXMO – W551 Ultra-Light BookIntel Core i3 3rd Generation Processor – 3110M4GB DDR3500GB HDD156″HD LED DisplaySecurity EssentialsFREE Maxmo Carry CaseWarranty – As a leading organization in Sri lanka , customers can buy All these laptops with 3 Years extended warranty from Softlogic, 80454576975 3 Years warranty 00 3 Years warranty Price ; Pricing Strategies The Softlogic Maxmo Laptops are best performance and value for money.so softlogic always understands the value of customer needs.so they reaching to the customer with easy options to the customer. such as price reducing for Special offers, Monthly payments and Seasonal offers etc.31395912375200Softlogic Maxmo 1524 Notebook ComputerPrice: Rs.
89,990.00Monthly Installment: Rs. 5,512.
00Softlogic Maxmo 1423 Notebook ComputerPrice: Rs. 74,990.00Monthly Installment: Rs.
4,593.00Softlogic Maxmo 1595 Notebook ComputerPrice: Rs. 64,990.00Monthly Installment: Rs. 3,981.0center74156500Softlogic MAXMO – W551 Ultra-Light Book price of Rs. 77,900/- or go on Monthly Installment scheme of Rs. 1,532/- + Free Offers worth of Rs.
20,000.00 By offering an offers’ array and payment options to the tech savvy consumer, Softlogic Maxmo laptops can be owned by any individual, be it a student, academic, business executive or simply for one’s home use. 3.3. Place12553956509100 Softlogic takes the pride in Cosumer durable brands islandwide.
based their main purpopse they need to distribute this unique quality product for all island wide areas specially for rural areas.as Softlogic have so many Outlets in Island wide they can achieve this challenge without any dought.below I mention few of the the places that you can buy this product without any delay.2465944-12071600-655905-1118430031198709900-6562194900 Also they also have Smart delivery services.
so if someone required a Delivery service ,they can visit or call for the customer care department. then they will responsible for the whole delivery process with full of safety.so I think that’s a good distribution strategy. 1373900-67573903.4.
Promotion As the reputed company in sri lanka,thousands of companies combined with this organization.as a result of this softlogic is able to give so many offers and promotions to their valued customers.so these purpose they are using both of Printed sourses and electrical sources. -2375068213000228219084137500 The Company provides a comprehensive range of promotion products such as Printers, Mouse, keyboards, softwares , USB drives, Virus guards, Micros SD cards etc.
Also they distributing their products by well talented marketing people and the way they reaching to the customer is wonderful. they don’t force to the customer to buy their products and they just highlighting the importance of buying it only from Softlogic.it means lot to the customers. even they couldn’t buy the product these selling people treats to the customer very well and respectively.so it helps to expand the organization’s Reputation.
1211283248854003.5. People Their business portfolio is constantly growing and evolving at a rapid pace.
Hence, the Softlogic family continues to grow and is always on the lookout for quality talents. Their Vision, Energy, Creativity, Dynamism ; Innovativeness and the fact that we encourage every employee to unveil his/her potential. A job at Softlogic is a career made by you, with development opportunities, benefits and a working culture that embraces diversity. That’s why they look for people who want to be the best at what they do and who are passionate about what they do.
People who enjoy doing their best, getting the best and being the best and who willing to look at challenges head on, inside out, or upside down to get the best possible results conforming to the highest ethical standards are our ideal picks. So whether you’re looking for an internship, graduate opportunities or a job opening to progress your professional career, at Softlogic you can shape your own path as you work with our global brands and the people who drive our sustainable business growth.288297099695844939199778300 They nurture people and they are our most important asset.so they have a fiduciary duty to our customers and business partners.so they care for the community and the environment, delivering the maximum benefits of responsible business practices and take responsibility to protect them.
As per Softlogic Vision To be the most preferred and trusted product and service provider, delivering high quality solutions to corporates and retail customers so as to set new industry standards and enhance shareholder value.so the people who works there always provide a good customer service and there are so many Motivating and rewarding programs to them.they provides Big product offers, local tours, International tours for staff members.so everyone can be smart and good service provider. As a result they can have a good Internal marketing background and good relationship with staff members too.3.
6. Process They are the value drivers. Reliability, trust, constructive conservatism, esprit de corp and integrity are clichés.
It is the clear unwavering guidance which defines the cultural context in which we work and interact with our business partners, our community and with each other. At Softlogic, this is a two-way process where employees are the backbone of Softlogic values and the community our corpus. Through our High Performance Culture, Innovation, Integrity, Human Capital, Success, Accountability, Corporate Responsibility and Simplicity; we have created a transparent organizational culture where ideas flourish, people thrive and success prosper.As we know efficient process can do a huge impact to the organization and customer too.a smooth, efficient, user friendly processers can reduce the queue in business.as every thing going to be smarter and faster, Softlogic also launched a Application for Mobile purchasing and payments.
Also they accept all kind of Debit or Credit card payment methods. left147139439444815405 As a result of this revolution they can reduce the queuing ; waiting time .so cusomers also can save their time.-299951320296003.7. Physical evidence Physical evidence gives the consumer something to refer to and show other people if necessary.since service products are usually intangible,the consumer of and insuarance policy will need some written evidence of its existence in order to feel confident in the product. As a example softlogic using very attaractive labels and other printed information,vouchers and purchase confirmations and logos and other visible evidence helps to improve brand identity.
As a full picture of this company,they always maintain the cleanliness in outlets and showrooms.all products are shows in attarative manner.also the people who works there maintain a grooming and pleasant apperance .when a customer visit to a showroom they can feel the neat and tidy surrounding,calm Noice level and fresh smell with fully airconditioned culture. 01838960 Apart from that softlogic website design hepls to attract the customer for them.by using color schemes,pictures and lot of informations gives big idea to the customer.the layout,decors are likely to be an important part of the customers experience of receiving services which are otherwise intangible.
likewise the appearance,user friendliness and branding of a company website can give and interactive to the encounter. -334010508000 1792605415290004. Consumer buying decision process As a well reputed company Softlogic follows the Consumer buying decision process and based on that they can understand the customer decisions and how satisfied they are.as a result of this they can develop their products and services. As I noticed, when a customer visit their showroom or call them ,they don’t force to the customer.
they giving the freedom for them to have their own decision .but the thing these sales people do is describe the advantages of selecting Softlogic brand. on that point customer can compare against the other competitors and definitely they can have a good satisfaction level and good confidence .
also they describe why you should buy Softlogic brand.as a example quality products, fair price, after sale services can attract the customer soon. and all these features the buyer questions whether the right decision was made in purchasing those products. Also as I saw their best part is ,they support to the customer after sale too. they calling to the customer and asking how they feel and if any technical help required they corporate to the customer with pleasure. because they know customer satisfaction is the most important thing in this business.
apart from that when there is offer these sales people inform the customer by emails, telephone calls or text messages. In order to keep track of customer satisfaction, Softlogic Information Technologies, a subsidiary of Softlogic Holdings PLC, have collaborated with “Happy Or Not’, a customer and employee satisfaction measuring and reporting automated solution. Happy Or Not is essentially an intelligent cloud-based reporting service will allow you to understand the feedback of customers via feedback results. Offering a simple smiley to frownie rating system, the platform aims to measure your emotions and indicate the satisfaction level of the customers.
The customers can press the button of their choice which best relates to their current experience. The feedback received from these responses can be in turn used see how well Business perform to their service promise. The “Smiley Terminals” capture feedback, which is then analyzed by reporting services and reports based on these are then issued. Happy Or Not has been designed to focus on business segments such as retail, healthcare, transportation, services and human resources, as well as any other industry which pursues customer satisfaction ranks. There are numerous online survey sites that gather customer feedback but they lack the ability to provide instantaneous feedback. Happy Or Not acts in 3 ways: Measure, Follow and Improve.
The 4 Smileys that depict customer preference will listen to customers and employees in all environments, give a full overview of the company’s physical and digital service performance measuring the feedback instantly, on location and online. Finally, it shares the feedback results internally and discusses improvement initiatives which will have further positive impacts on the business success. The innovative way in which smileys are collected and analyzed instantly allows for a speedy result.
Also the consumer may try to seek additional information in trying to reduce the post – purchase dissonance .that’s why its very important for softlogic and also for any organization to understand consumer decision making. left1887700295357516963001222755308280005. Importance of Relationship Marketing with Benefits Relationship marketing refers to an arrangement where both the buyer and seller have an interest in providing a more satisfying exchange. This approach tries to transcend the post purchase-exchange process with a customer to make richer contact by providing a more personalized purchase, and uses the experience to create stronger ties. Relationship marketing is different from other marketing techniques as it mainly focuses on long term relationship with customers. So as reputed company Softlogic believes that building up customer relationship requires change of focus from the transactional based approach to the relationship approach.
with this point they have noticed customer loyalty making a big impact for their organization. Now, customer experience is on first place, to guarantee that they’ll be satisfied at each and every opportunity.Retention is great benefit of relationship marketing. When you work to build relations with clients, and are not just thinking about closing the deal, you start to encourage loyalty.
This means that the chances of keeping them as clients for longer are bigger676350765555Special discounts and deals are always a good way to retaining clients and attracting new ones. Even though there are tens of strategies of relationship marketing, mouth-to-mouth advertising is still very powerfulRetaining customer is cheaper than recruiting new ones.it has been estimated that the cost of attracting a new customer may be five times the cost of keeping and existing customer.Regular customers tend to be less expensive to service because they are familiar with the process and requires less education. loyal customers are less likely to switch to competitors, making it difficult for competitors to enter the market or gain market share.
also its leads to long term stability and growth and survival.Increased loyal customer makes the employees jobs easier and more satisfying.as a result happy employees provides a better customer service. For making happy employees organization needs to maintain a better internal marketing process. It requires Motivation, empowerment, Good attitudes & behavior and core information.so as I noticed they are following some tools as below.
169455970909700They evaluating the best performers once a month. So they circulate a mail and publishes on notice boards, and monthly magazine about that and promotions.Annually Softlogic organizes a Awarding ceremony night and based on the performances ,employees can get awarded by gifts, money, tours ,promotions.263588518415000Also they have meetings between staff and Top management to discuss issues and celebrate the success .Apart from these all activities HR team organizing many training programs and team building exercises.258164633376So I believe these all process and activities impact to the Softlogic Business and it helps to achieve the success day by day.6.Conclusion It is important for marketers to study consumer behavior.
It is important for them to know consumers as individual or groups opt for, purchase, consumer or dispose products and services and how they share their experience to satisfy their wants or needs . This helps marketers to investigate and understand the way in which consumers behave so that they can position their products to specific group of people or targeted individuals. In regard to the marketer’s view point, they assume that the basic purpose of marketing is to sell goods and services to more people so that more profit could be made. This principle of making profits is heavily applied by almost all marketers. Earlier, the marketers were successful in accomplishing their purpose.
However, today, as the consumers are more aware about the use of product and other information of the product, it is not easy to sell or attract customer to buy the product . Thus, in order to sell a product or service or to convince consumers to buy product, the marketers have to undergo through proper research to win them overSo as a summery I believe Softlogic already understood the consumer behavior and that’s the reason for big success of them.center195481007.Recommendations Naturally you want your business to be successful. After all you work hard to achieve it.
Understanding your customers’ buying behavior is one of the elements that helps to be successful. Without this understanding it makes gaining more customers difficult. especially in today’s competitive world. It also helps when you want your customers to buy more from your business. Customers base their buying decisions on both rational and emotional reasons. They will look at a category on a rationale basis. Getting your customers to have an emotional attachment to your brand is one of the keys to keeping them loyal.
As well it is one of the key factors in gaining referrals and recommendations. When you want more customers for your business it makes it easier to select the best marketing strategy when you understand. So I recommend The understanding of your customers’ buying behavior is the best way to grow and survive with your business which Softlogic already follows. That’s why they becoming a number one Consumer Durable brand organization in sri lanka. 8.
Annexure 2609850838200035242536957000 Consumer behavior analysis is the use of behavior principles, usually gainedexperimentally, to interpret human economic consumption. It stands academically at theintersection of economic psychology on one hand, and marketing science – the study ofthe behavior of consumers and marketers, especially as they interact – on the other.Whilst behavior principles are central to its theoretical and empirical researchprogram its quest to interpret naturally occurring consumer behaviors such aspurchasing, saving, brand choice, the adoption of innovations, and the consumption ofservices raises subtle issues.As a reputed consumer durable branded company, Softlogic has to maintain their pride in the first place.
so they are following some rules and regulations depends on their products.Guarantee : Customer Care can repair your faulty products (if is it possible) , if they changed any part’s to repair product they won’t charge you for the same or they can give you totally new product against your guarantee claim.Warranty : In these term you will only get limited support on your product.
It’s not benificial as “guarantee”. also there are lot of terms and conditions while claiming the warranty. They will repair your product but if any parts needs to be changed they will charge you for the same.
Offers only validate till mentioned period.Delivery damages are countable.9. List of References -2527302152650030251401587500Marketing Principles and Perspectives by Mc grow publicationsPrinciples and Practice of marketing by Blythe ,JimEssentials of marketing by BPP publicationsPrinciples of marketing by KotlerPrinciples of marketing by PalmerMarketing management by KotlerSoftlogic official website (http://www.softlogic.lk/Softlogic-1-4-5.html)SLIM PCM III Text Book——— THANK YOU ——–
