I Mid-Term Examination - BBA IV Semester Session 2011-2012 (Even Semester) Subject: Consumer Behavior (BBA -213) Time: 1 Hr.

30 Mins.

Max.Marks: 20

Section - A (16*0.5 = 08 Marks)

Q.1 Choose the right option.
(i) Consumer Behavior may be defined as: a) The interplay of forces that takes place during a consumption process b) Decision process and physical activity during consumption process. c) A study that analyzes the stages of evaluating, acquiring, and disposing of goods and services d) All of the above (ii) Consumer behavior focuses specifically on the: a) Initiator b) User c) Buyer d) Decider (iii) Which is the most influential group on the consumption pattern of an individual? a) Religious group b) Social group c) Peer group d) Family (iv) Qualitative research is exploratory research used to uncover consumer attitudes, motivations and behavior. What techniques can be applied to obtain qualitative research? (a) Interview b) Focus Group c) A & B d) None of these (v) Which of the following is NOT a market research tool? a) Focus Group b) Questionnaires c) Introspective reflection d) All

Fill in the Blanks

(vi) The study includes within its purview, the interplay between cognition, _________and behavior (vii) The actual purchase activity is the result of interplay of many individual and ____________________determinants (viii) The study of Consumer Behavior is both a science and an ______________

State True or False

(ix) In the "Research Process" primary research is the easiest type of research to conduct (x) Morals are rules people develop as a result of cultural values and norms (xi) If consumer behavior is not well understood, a marketer will have difficulty creating an appropriate marketing mix (xii) The environmental factors affect the decision process indirectly. (xiii) Consumer Behavior includes within its ambit, only the actual purchasing of products and services. (xiv) The consumer includes both personal consumers and business/industrial /organizational consumers (xv) The discipline studies consumption patterns at micro levels only (xvi) Extensive decision making is the most common form of consumer choice behavior.

Section B- Short Answer Questions

Note:-Attempt any two each question carries equal marks (2*2=04)

Q.1- Differentiate between organizational buying and individual buying. Explain the difference by taking an example of purchase of laptop in both the cases. Q.2-What do you mean by Consumer Behavior explain its Nature and Scope. Q.3-Indian Consumers are differing from others why? Discuss about changing trends of Indian consumers.

Section C-Long Answer Questions

Note:-Attempt any two each question carries equal marks (2*4=08)
Q.1-what do understand by Reference group influence? Explain the degree of Reference Group Influence with regard to the purchase of following product and their respective brand choice: a) Clothes b) Toothpaste Q.2-What do you mean by consumer Research Process? Explain about Qualitative & Quantitative Data Collection Instruments Q.3-Discuss in detail about Marketing Strategies and Consumer analysis Model?

===Good

Luck---

I Mid-Term Examination - BBA IV Semester Session 2011-2012 (Even Semester) Subject: Consumer Behavior (BBA -213) Time: 1 Hr. 30 Mins.

Max.Marks: 20

(SOLUTION) Section - A (16*0.5 = 08 Marks)

Q.1 Choose the right option.
(i) Consumer Behavior may be defined as: a) The interplay of forces that takes place during a consumption process b) Decision process and physical activity during consumption process. c) A study that analyzes the stages of evaluating, acquiring, and disposing of goods and services d) All of the above (ii) Consumer behavior focuses specifically on the: a) Initiator b) User c) Buyer d) Decider (iii) Which is the most influential group on the consumption pattern of an individual? a) Religious group b) Social group c) Peer group d) Family (iv) Qualitative research is exploratory research used to uncover consumer attitudes, motivations and behavior. What techniques can be applied to obtain qualitative research? (a) Interview b) Focus Group c) A & B d) None of these (v) Which of the following is NOT a market research tool? a) Focus Group b) Questionnaires c) Introspective reflection d) All

Fill in the Blanks:(vi) The study includes within its purview, the interplay between cognition, Affect and behavior (vii) The actual purchase activity is the result of interplay of many individual and Environmental determinants (viii) The study of Consumer Behavior is both a science and an Art

State True or False

(ix) In the "Research Process" primary research is the easiest type of research to conduct (False) (x) Morals are rules people develop as a result of cultural values and norms. (True) (xi) If consumer behavior is not well understood, a marketer will have difficulty creating an appropriate marketing mix. (True) (xii) The environmental factors affect the decision process indirectly. (True) (xiii) Consumer Behavior includes within its ambit, only the actual purchasing of products and services. (False) (xiv) The consumer includes both personal consumers and business/industrial /organizational consumers. (True) (xv) The discipline studies consumption patterns at micro levels only. (False) (xvi) Extensive decision making is the most common form of consumer choice behavior. (True)

Section B- Short Answer Questions

Note:-Attempt any two each question carries equal marks (2*2=04)

Q.1- Differentiate between organizational buying and individual buying. Explain the difference by taking an example of purchase of laptop in both the cases.

Ans.:-Consumer has different mindset while he or she is purchasing because role and status of
an individual play major role in making purchasing decisions while he is purchasing for his family or for his company. Let take an example that if an individual purchasing a laptop for his own work or he is purchasing for his company or organization in both the cases purchasing decision will be different because there are many factor affect the purchasing decision in both the cases like if he is purchasing for his family he will go with different benefits like price ,durability,availability,and others because he have to pay by own and ultimately he is the user of that but if he is purchasing for organization than situation will be different and these above factors may not influence because you only have to make decision and not ultimately user of product and company have to pay so in conclusion we can say that as per role and status and condition the purchasing decisions of an individual may differ from consumer to consumer. Q.2-What do you mean by Consumer Behavior explain its Nature and Scope.

Ans.:What is Consumer Behavior? Consumer Behavior may be defined as the interplay of forces that takes place during a consumption process, within a consumers self and his environment. Nature of Consumer Behavior The subject can be studied at micro or macro levels depending upon whether it is analyzed at the individual level or at the group level. The subject is interdisciplinary. It has borrowed heavily from psychology (the study of the individual: individual determinants in buying behavior) Consumer behavior is dynamic and interacting in nature. The three components of cognition, affect and behavior of individuals alone or in groups keeps on changing. Consumer behavior involves the process of exchange between the buyer and the seller, mutually beneficial for both. As a field of study it is Descriptive and also analytical/ interpretive . Why descriptive Because it explains consumer decision making and behavior in the context of individual determinants and environmental influences.

Why Analytical/ interpretive Because it makes use of qualitative and quantitative tools and techniques for research and analysis, with the objective is to understand and predict consumption behavior. It is a science as well as an art. Because It uses both, theories borrowed from social sciences to understand consumption behavior, and quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques to predict consumer behavior. The subject deals with issues related to cognition, affect and behavior in consumption behaviors, against the backdrop of individual and environmental determinants.

Scope of Consumer Behavior

The study of consumer behavior deals with understanding consumption patterns and behavior. It includes within its ambit the answers to the following: What the consumers buy: goods and services Why they buy it: need and want When do they buy it: time: day, week, month, year, occasions etc. Where they buy it: place How often they buy it: time interval How often they use it: frequency of use

Q.3-Indian Consumers are differing from others why? Discuss about changing trends of Indian consumers.

Ans.:Indian Consumers are differing from others because they are associated with following different features like: They are more Discerning consumers in the world. High degree of family orientation. They also associated with value of care, Traditions and Affection.

Changing Trends in Indian Consumer Behavior Bulk Purchasing:Bulk purchases from hyper stores seems to be the trend these days with purchasing becoming more of a once-a-week affair, rather than frequent visits to the neighborhood market/store/vendor.

Trendy Lifestyles
The current urban middle and upper class Indian consumer buying behavior to a large extent has western influence. There is an increase in positive attitude towards western trends. Some examples are like: Beauty parlors in cities, Eateries, Designer wear, Watches, Hi-tech products are a few instances which reflect these changes.

Buyers Market in the Making

The sellers market is slowly moving towards becoming the buyers market. Indian consumers have always preferred foreign goods and with the liberalization, they now have a choice of foreign products vis--vis the local products.

Section C-Long Answer Questions

Note:-Attempt any two each question carries equal marks (2*4=08)

Q.1-what do understand by Reference group influence? Explain the degree of Reference Group Influence with regard to the purchase of following product and their respective brand choice: a) Clothes b) Toothpaste Ans.:-Reference groups are defined as groups that a person refers to, and identifies with, to the extent that the group becomes a norm, standard or point of reference. A reference group is, in other words, a group to which a person will compare himself or herself, to determine his or her own relative standing. Consumers also look to reference groups for guidance and advice. Lets take an example of clothes that how reference groups influence the purchasing of clothes that like if a blue collar employee purchasing clothes than what will the decision and if a white collar employee purchasing the clothes than what will be the decision so decision in both the conditions will be different because blue collar employee will prefer low category cloths and white caller employee will prefer executive suites because they influences from different- different reference groups. Second if purchasing toothpaste than how reference group influence the purchasing of an individual so a person who belong to rural area have different type of purchasing compare to urban consumer because urban consumer are more brand and other factor centric but rural consumer are not as much as brand concern they are price concern because in rural area they are influence from that society that why it reflect in the purchasing decision also.

Q.2-What do you mean by consumer Research Process? Explain about Qualitative & Quantitative Data Collection Instruments

Ans.:The consumer research process

The process for conducting the consumer research is to know and analyze about consumer that what they want and what we have to do for their need satisfaction called as Consumer Research Process.

Quantitative research data collection instruments

The data collection instruments are developed to as part of a studys total research design systematizing the collection of data and to ensure that all respondents are asked the same questions in the same order. Questionnaire For quantitative research the primary data collection instrument is questionnaire. Questionnaire can be: Open ended Close-ended

Open ended:Open format questions are those questions that give your audience an opportunity to express their opinions. In these types of questions, there are no predetermined set of responses and the person is free to answer however he/she chooses. Example:State your opinion about ABC com. Product .

Close-ended:Closed format questions are questions that include multiple choice answers, and respondent have to choose any from them. Ex:-which are the gadgets that you can not live without? a)..b)..c)..d).

Attitude scales
The instruments most frequently used to capture this evaluative data is called attitude scales the most frequently attitude scales are: Likert scales, Semantic differential scale, Behavior intension scale, and Rank order scale.

Likert scales:This question examines how strongly the respondent agrees with a statement and can help assess the feelings of customers towards issues.

Semantic differential scale

It is also just like Likert scales because in this a series of bipolar adjectives are there (like,good,bad,like,dislike,agree,disagree..) and at the end researcher check the point of best feeling.

Behavior intension scale

It measure the likelihood that a consumer will act in a certain way in future .This scale is easy and consumers are asked to make subjective judgments regarding their future behavior.

Rank order scale

Consumers are asked to rank items in order of preference in terms of some criteria's such as overall quality, value for money and others.

Qualitative research design and data collection methods

The important methods of data collection in this research design are: Depth interview, Focus group, Discussion guides, projective techniques and Metaphor analysis.

Depth interview
This is a lengthy non structured interview between a respondent and highly trained interviewer, who minimizes his own participation in the discussion after establishing the general subject to be discussed

Focus group
This consists of 8 to10 respondents who meet with a moderator analyst for a group discussion focused on a particular product or product category.

Projective techniques:
This is designed to tap the underlying motives of individuals despite their unconscious rationalizations or efforts at conscious concealment.

Metaphor analysis
In 1990, a stream of consumer research emerged suggesting the most communication is non verbal and that people do not think in words but in images. Q.3-Discuss in detail about Marketing Strategies and Consumer analysis Model? Ans.:Definition of Marketing Strategy: - A set of stimuli placed in consumers environments designed to influence their affect, cognition, and behavior. Marketing Strategies and Consumer analysis Model The process of analyzing changing consumer trends, current and potential competitors, company strengths and resources, and the technological, legal, and economic environments. 1. Market Analysis Components Consumers:-Accordingly find out our target customer for satisfying their needs and wants, offer best possible products, services and ideas to our target customer Competition:We also need to study our competitor strategy so that we would provide best to our customers among all of them. Company:Marketer also decide that what is our vision and mission and what we want to do and The conditions under which the firms are operating has also to be seriously considered. 2. Market Segmentation: Product-Related Need Sets Organizations approach market segmentation with a set of current and potential capabilities. Customers with Similar Need Sets The next step is to group consumers with similar need sets. These consumers can be grouped into one segment as far as product features and perhaps even product image are concerned despite sharply different demographics. Description of Each Group

Once consumers with similar need nets are identified, they should be described in terms of demographics, lifestyles, and media usage. Attractive Segment(s) to Serve Segment(s) of the larger market on which we will focus our market effort. 3. Marketing Mix Elements: Strategies are formulated to provide superior customer value. In formulating market strategies, the 4-Ps are directed at the target market. Product Anything that is offered to a market to meet a need or want. Price The value exchanged for the product.OR Price is the amount of money one must pay to obtain the right to use the product. Distribution (Place) The goods can be distributed by many channels. These could be retailers, wholesalers, agents or by direct selling. Distribution outlets play an important role in reaching the goods to the consumer. Promotion Promotion is the means of changing the attitudes of the consumer, so that it becomes favorable towards the company's products. Various means of promotion are advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity.

4. Consumer Buying Decision or Implemantation: Consumer buying decision process includes five stages. They are: Problem Recognition Information Search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase Decision Post-Purchase Evaluation 5. Outcomes Followings are outcomes of Marketing strategies use and consumer analysis: Customer satisfaction (Satisfied or Not) Sales (Increase or Decrease) Product/Brand image ( Good or Bad