CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Consumer Behavior

Task 1

A. Hong Kong Market

Hong Kong market has been attractive to various industries due to a favorable business environment. The Gross Domestic Product has grown consistently and there appeared to be an increase in the standard of living explaining the social stability in the country. However, the high operating costs in the country has prompted industries specifically in the cosmetic to operate in other Asian countries.

B. Market for Shaving Tools and Related Products

Current Situation

Shaving tools and depilatory products are under the cosmetics and toiletries sector. The market for these products is comprised of domestic and commercial. Most of the products are foreign brands that are sold in the region particularly in the mainland China.

Segments of Demand

The increase in affluences and consciousness in appearance of Chinese consumers has made the market in the Chinese mainland huge. In fact, there is a growing trend of Hong Kong companies exploring the Chinese mainland market. This is especially true of branded medium and high end products.

Market Drivers

International brands play a major role in the upper end market of the country and the region while local producers are forced to put their focus on the middle and low price market segments. But with the arrival of mainland tourists, there has been a surge in local sales which drives businessmen to penetrate the untapped local market.

C. Customer Characteristics

            Shaving tools remain popular for man while other depilatory products are appealing to women. However, there appears to be a growing interest among men to use various skin care products. Particularly, men are becoming more conscious of their appearance and frequent purchases of men grooming products such as shaving lotions has become the trend.  The emphasis on personal grooming led to the increased usage of shaving and other related products. Shaving and the basics remain to dominate the market for male grooming but new offers are getting more sophisticated.  The growing trend towards body hair reduction and removal are attributed to fashion consciousness and the need to improve appearance and body image. The shift in the economic affluence also produced an increased equality between the personal grooming of men and women.

Task 3

Consumer Motives

There are various factors that influence the consumer behavior towards shaving and depilatory markets. Generally, body image issues are considered to be the key factors for body hair reduction and removal. For women, body hair removal has been part of their beauty practices. They are more likely to spend time, money and effort to improve their appearance. Thus, they tend to explore different depilatory products and treatments.

As for men, shaving tools and products remain to be the most popular depilatory method. This can be explained by the custom of shaving which has been part of men’s grooming over the years.  The emerging trend of the so called metro sexual has contributed greatly with the use of depilatory products. They spend a great deal of time and money improving their appearance and lifestyle.

Other possibility for the adoption of depilatory products includes the sales strategies of companies. The increasing affluence especially of Chinese people also led to more disposable income that can be spend in beauty care both by men and women. Lastly, fashion increases pressure on men to look more attractive.

Task 4

A. Consumer Research Plan

The consumer research plan will focused primarily on the male market. As compared to the female and gays, males are reluctant to use depilation methods other than shaving. Thus, a research on their perceptions will provide insights on the potential of introducing a male depilatory.

Objectives

The consumer research plan will be designed to meet the following objectives:

• Discover the consumers’ perception towards shaving and depilatory markets  focusing primarily on the male market


• Identify the various depilatory products/ treatments used by the male


• Determine the factors influencing the purchase of depilatory products

Research Method

             A qualitative research approach can be used to acquire an in depth understanding of consumer behaviors towards depilation and depilatory products. This will enable the market researcher to deal with concepts such as the psychological, emotional and cultural relationship between the consumer and the product. Further, it will discover the behavior of people towards the products and why they feel a certain way towards the product.

B. Sampling

A focus group will involve seven to ten people discussing the topic. A purposive sampling technique will be used to select the participants of the research study. Basically, participants should have engaged in any body depilation treatment or have used a depilatory product. They will be limited to male with younger than the average age. Male participants will be selected for the study because of the perceived inconvenience of incorporating women or even gays in the discussion. The socio economic status will also be considered since men with greater disposable incomes are keen to buy grooming products.  A secondary sampling technique called snowball sampling will be used. By this technique, selected participants could refer other samples who suit the criteria.

Focus Group

The researcher will interact directly to the sample through a focus group discussion. With this method, a moderator will explore the ideas expressed by the participants and probe their views on the product further. There is increased flexibility unlike in surveys since the moderator can add or modify questions during the interaction itself.

The members of the focus group will be given the opportunity to interact with each other and share their views on depilation. The accumulated information from the participants will be used to understand the buying behavior of the consumers to be able to develop products that will fit the specific needs of the male market.

Questionnaire

The discussion will revolve around an open ended questionnaire.

1) When did you start removing your body hair?

2) What influence you to begin this behavior?

3) Why is it important to shave or trim your body hair?

4) How do you remove your body hair?

5) What products do you use to remove your body hair? Does the use of this product give you satisfactory results?

6) Would you consider using depilatory methods other than what you are using? Why or why not?

7) Have you tried the use of depilatory cream? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

Task 5 

A. Market Positioning and Advertising

New products can compete to other existing products through differentiation. This means creating an added value to the products which may be difficult to copy. Some factors that need to be considered are as follows:

• Product must respond to the needs and unique characteristics of the male market


• Effectiveness and convenience of the product usage


• Increase the value of the product to the target market


• Competitive Price

Advertising

            Advertising activities will be designed to create awareness of the product. The media is an effective tool to introduce the product to the consumer and its benefits. Conventional media tools (e.g. print media, television, radio, outdoor advertising) can be incorporated to technology (e.g. internet websites). The message must be able to illustrate the value of the product so that consumers are persuaded to purchase it.

B. Market Segmentation

Target Market

            The purpose of market segmentation is to allow the marketing activities to focus on specific prospects that will purchase the offering. It also enables the marketer to penetrate untapped markets by focusing on the needs of that specific market. The male market is a potential target group for depilatory products. The increasing interest in male personal grooming signifies a trend towards the use of depilatory products. Today, some male depilatory products exist in the market and this is a positive indication of the acceptability of the product.

Cultural, Social and Economic Variables

            The introduction of depilatory products in the male market can be impeded by the gender construction associated with shaving. The ritual of shaving has grown universally and this practice has been embedded into men’s culture. Changing the loyalty of the male consumers towards these shaving products is the major challenge for marketers introducing male depilatory products.  Also, socio economic differences play a critical role. Those who have greater income are expected to spend more on personal care thus the greater the propensity of using depilatory products. On the other hand, those will less incomes are more likely to stick to the use of shaving products. Indeed, the price that comes with the sophisticated product is a major consideration.

C. Influencing Consumer Behavior

            Advertising activities must be designed to influence the purchasing decisions of the consumer. The following are some of the steps advertisers can do to effect attitude change.

• Use an effective advertising message that will convince the consumers of the product’s value


• The use of celebrity endorsers will be helpful to help the advertisement stand out among others


• Advertisements must appear frequently to the consumers. The frequency of these reminders is sometimes sufficient to let the consumers buy certain products


• Sales promotion can be conducted to persuade the customer to purchase the product initially

 

 

 

Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com