INTRODUCTION

A customer gets an idea about buying a product actually buys it after relevant
considerations and uses of it. And based on the experience derived out of the
consumption process he begins the cycle again. The marketer must understand the
process since knowledge of the process will enable him to plan his marketing effort.
In this chapter the researcher made an attempt to study the theoretical concept of
Brand, Brand name, Brand Preference, Consumer Preference, Consumer Buying
Behavior and the Process of Buying Decision.

BRAND

A Brand is a name, term, symbol or design or a combination of them, which is

intended to identify the goods and services of a seller or a group of sellers and to
differentiate them from those of competitors.

Classification of Brands

 Family Brand
A single brand name for all the products of a company and which are being similar
in quality.

 Individual Brand
Brand name is given for each variety of products and each product of same
producer will carry its own brand used for dissimilarity.

 National Brand
The same brand used on the national level manufacturers brands are
commonly termed as national level.

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  Private Brand
Large wholesalers and retailers operation over regional or national market and
placing their own brand on the products that they market. These brands offered by
wholesaler and retailer are usually called private Brand.

 Umbrella Brand
All products having the name of the company or manufacturer is called the
umbrella brand.

Brand Mark

“A brand mark is that part of brand which appears in the form of a symbol or
design or distinctive coloring or lettering. It is recognized by sight but is not
expressed when a person pronounces the brand name.

Brand Preference

Based on the previous experience with the product consumer will choose it
rather than competitors of its availability. Companies with products at the brand
preference stage are in favourable position in competition their industry since the
brand preference results in brand loyalty companies more market share.

Types of Preferences

The target audience might like the product but not prefer it to others. The
following are the types of preference.

1. Homogeneous Preferences

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 A market where the entire customer have roughly the same preference. The
market shows no natural segments. We would predict that existing brands would be
similar and cluster around the middle of the scale in both sweetness and creaminess.

2. Diffused Preferences
At the other extreme, customer preferences may be scattered throughout the
space, indicating that customer vary greatly in their preferences. The first brand to
enter the market is likely to position in the center to appeal to the most people. A
brand in the center minimizes the sum of total customer dissatisfaction. A second
competitor could locate next to the first brand and fight for market share or it could
locate in a corner to attract a customer group that was not satisfied with the center
brand. If several brands are in the market, they are likely to position throughout the
space and show real difference to match customer preference differences.

3. Clustered Preferences
The market might reveal distinct preference clusters called natural Market
Segments. The first firm in this market has three options. It might position in the
center hoping to appeal to all groups. It might position in the largest market segment.
It might develop several brands, each positioned in a different segment if the first firm
developed only one brand and competitors would enter and introduce brands in the
other segments.

4. Heterogeneous Preferences
Customer preference heterogeneity perhaps the most important reason for
segmenting in customer preference. Taste and preferences differ among people. Some
people are highly concerned about the appearance of a product, whereas others are
more concerned about functionality. As preference heterogeneity increase the case for
segmentation increases in strength moreover; the greater the variability the large the
number of profitable segments present in a market.

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 NEED FOR THE STUDY

Consumer preference study programs help in marketing the product.

Marketers can be satisfied with the maximum consumers for the product if they
study the preference of consumers. Here my survey deals with the consumer’s
preference in the utilization of milk via highway in Visakhapatnam dist.

In early days consumers went to milk centers. They stood in a line or queued to
buy the product. But the scenario has changed drastically with the market being
fledged by a wide variety of brands and the volumes and prices, desired and
affordable by the consumers under such circumstances it is that company which
distinguishes its product from that of competitors is bound to succeed. The company
has to mould its product to suit the consumer, his needs, wants, place of purchase,
personality and so on.

Milk is obtained from different chilling centers, collected and pasteurized, excess
amount of fat is removed in the processing and maintaining required amount of fat.

Milk contains fat, vitamins and mineral. Milk is consumed regularly in each
and every house. Milk is complete food for infants and is partially taken by adults
also either directly taken as milk or indirectly taken as tea or coffee. However the
importance of milk may be briefly mentioned here and the preference attached to its
study as a subject for the project work may be self – explanatory.

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 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study is to find out the Consumer Preference in

Visakha Limited. The study mainly focuses on the various aspects influencing the
marketing strategies of the company. This topic has studied in DAIRY sector in world
and Indian industry. Leading companies of Visakha Diary Limited have been selected
on the basis of their market share for the research study and their comparative study
has been carried out .The scope of the study as per the topic is sufficient enough to
meet the requirement of research study. There is a big demand for the manufacturing
and supply of dairy products at the global level.

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 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To find out the various strategies to be adapted by Visakha to counter milk

sales of Heritage in Visakhapatnam.
 To find various ways to increase Visakha milk sales in Visakhapatnam.
 To discover the various factors which hurdles people to take Visakha milk.
 To identify various factors motivates people to use Visakha milk.
 To discover the main reason beyond shifting of customers from
Visakha milk to other milk.
 The other objective is to know about the customer satisfaction level associated
with the product and the customer preference level.
 To increase customer satisfaction and recapture the market share by fulfilling
the customer needs.
 To study the factors affecting the consumption pattern.

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 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

Methodology is a systematic procedure of collecting information in

order to analyze and verity a phenomenon. The collection of information has been
done by

1. Primary Data

2. Secondary Data

1. Primary Data

The primary data are those which are collected and for the first time and thus
happen to be original in character. A simple random sampling method was adopted to
conduct the study. The sample consists of 100 in number.

2. Secondary Data

It is the information collected from already published sources. The

sources that have been used for this data collection are Magazines Text books on
marketing and dairy industry.

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 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 Due to time and budgetary constraint, the sample size was restricted.

 The salesmen at the outlets showed their discontent with the tight schedule.

 People of the region were not conscious about the survey, so they
were not much supportive.

 Nearly about 30% population of the city takes the service of servants to bring
their milk from market and reason for their brand selection was not known.

 Many people do not know themselves why they use any

p a r t i c u l a r b r a n d a s t h e i r answer was “we use ……brand because
we like it” so the actual reason behind their l i k i n g w a s n o t
confirmed.

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 INDUSTRY PROFILE

Milk producing animals have been domesticated for thousands of years. Initially,
they were part of the subsistence farming that nomads engaged in. As the community
moved about the country, their animals accompanied them. Protecting and feeding the
animals were a big part of the symbiotic relationship between the animals and the
humans.

Slowly people in agricultural societies owned dairy animals that they milked for
domestic and local (village) consumption, a typical example of a cottage industry. The
animals might serve multiple purposes (for example, as a draught animal for pulling a
plough as a youngster, and at the end of its useful life as meat). In this case the
animals were normally milked by hand and the herd size was quite small. This small
cottage industry took the shape of Dairy farming. Dairy farming is a class of
agricultural or an animal husbandry enterprise, for long-term production of milk,
usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either
processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail
sale. Dairy farming has been part of agriculture for thousands of years. Until the late
19th century, the milking of the cow was done by hand. The first milking machines
were an extension of the traditional milking pail. With the availability of electric
power and suction milking machines, the production levels increased tremendously.
With industrialisation and urbanisation, the supply of milk became a commercial
industry, with manufacture of many by products like Cream and butter, Skimmed
milk, Casein, Cheese, Whey, Yogurt, Milk powders etc.

A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or

both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or goats, but also
from buffaloes, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is
typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or in a section of a multi-purpose farm
(mixed farm) that is concerned with the harvesting of milk.

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Terminology differs between countries. For example, in the United States, an entire
dairy farm is commonly called a "dairy". The building or farm area where milk is
harvested from the cow is often called a "milking parlor" or "parlor". The farm area
where milk is stored in bulk tanks is known as the farm's "milk house". Milk is then
hauled (usually by truck) to a "dairy plant" = also referred to as a "dairy" - where raw
milk is further processed and prepared for commercial sale of dairy products. In New
Zealand, farm areas for milk harvesting are also called "milking parlours", and are
historically known as "milking sheds". As in the United States, sometimes milking
sheds are referred to by their type, such as "herring bone shed" or "pit parlour".
Parlour design has evolved from simple barns or sheds to large rotary structures in
which the workflow (throughput of cows) is very efficiently handled. In some
countries, especially those with small numbers of animals being milked, the farm may
perform the functions of a dairy plant, processing their own milk into salable dairy
products, such as butter, cheese, or yogurt. This on-site processing is a traditional
method of producing specialist milk products, common in Europe.

In the United States a dairy can also be a place that processes, distributes and
sells dairy products, or a room, building or establishment where milk is stored and
processed into milk products, such as butter or cheese. In New Zealand English the
singular use of the word dairy almost exclusively refers to a corner shop, or superette.
This usage is historical as such shops were a common place for the public to buy milk
products.

As an attributive, the word dairy refers to milk-based products, derivatives and

processes, and the animals and workers involved in their production: for
example dairy cattle, dairy goat. A dairy farm produces milk and a
dairy factory processes it into a variety of dairy products. These establishments
constitute the global dairy industry, a component of the food industry.

HISTORY:

Milk producing animals have been domesticated for thousands of years. Initially, they
were part of the subsistence farming that nomads engaged in. As the community
moved about the country, their animals accompanied them. Protecting and feeding the

10
animals were a big part of the symbiotic relationship between the animals and
the herders.

In the more recent past, people in agricultural societies owned dairy animals that they
milked for domestic and local (village) consumption, a typical example of a cottage
industry. The animals might serve multiple purposes (for example, as a draught
animal for pulling a plough as a youngster, and at the end of its useful life as meat). In
this case the animals were normally milked by hand and the herd size was quite small,
so that all of the animals could be milked in less than an hour—about 10 per milker.
These tasks were performed by a dairymaid (dairywoman) or dairyman. The
word dairy harkens back to Middle English dayerie, deyerie, from deye (female
servant or dairymaid) and further back to Old English dæge (kneader of bread).

With industrialisation and urbanisation, the supply of milk became a commercial

industry, with specialised breeds of cattle being developed for dairy, as distinct
from beef or draught animals. Initially, more people were employed as milkers, but it
soon turned to mechanisation with machines designed to do the milking.

Historically, the milking and the processing took place close together in space and
time: on a dairy farm. People milked the animals by hand; on farms where only small
numbers are kept, hand-milking may still be practiced. Hand-milking is accomplished
by grasping the teats (often pronounced tit or tits) in the hand and expressing milk
either by squeezing the fingers progressively, from the udder end to the tip, or by
squeezing the teat between thumb and index finger, then moving the hand downward
from udder towards the end of the teat. The action of the hand or fingers is designed
to close off the milk duct at the udder (upper) end and, by the movement of the
fingers, close the duct progressively to the tip to express the trapped milk. Each half
or quarter of the udder is emptied one milk-duct capacity at a time.

The stripping action is repeated, using both hands for speed. Both methods result in
the milk that was trapped in the milk duct being squirted out the end into a bucket that
is supported between the knees (or rests on the ground) of the milker, who usually sits
on a low stool.

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Traditionally the cow, or cows, would stand in the field or paddock while being
milked. Young stock, heifers, would have to be trained to remain still to be milked. In
many countries, the cows were tethered to a post and milked.

STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRY

While most countries produce their own milk products, the structure of the dairy
industry varies in different parts of the world. In major milk-producing countries most
milk is distributed through whole sale markets. In Ireland and Australia, for example,
farmers' co-operatives own many of the large-scale processors, while in the United
States many farmers and processors do business through individual contracts. In the
United States, the country's 196 farmers' cooperatives sold 86% of milk in the U.S. in
2002, with five cooperatives accounting for half that. This was down from 2,300
cooperatives in the 1940s.[1] In developing countries, the past practice of farmers
marketing milk in their own neighborhoods is changing rapidly. Notable
developments include considerable foreign investment in the dairy industry and a
growing role for dairy cooperatives. Output of milk is growing rapidly in such
countries and presents a major source of income growth for many farmers.[2]

As in many other branches of the food industry, dairy processing in the major dairy
producing countries has become increasingly concentrated, with fewer but larger and
more efficient plants operated by fewer workers. This is notably the case in the United
States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In 2009, charges of anti-trust violations
have been made against major dairy industry players in the United States, which
critics call Big MilkAnother round of price fixing charges was settled in 2016.

Government intervention in milk markets was common in the 20th century. A limited
anti-trust exemption was created for U.S. dairy cooperatives by the Capper-Volstead
Act of 1922. In the 1930s, some U.S. states adopted price controls, and Federal Milk
Marketing Orders started under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937
and continue in the 2000s. The Federal Milk Price Support Program began in 1949.
The Northeast Dairy Compact regulated wholesale milk prices in New England from
1997 to 2001.[5]

Plants producing liquid milk and products with short shelf life, such as yogurts,
creams and soft cheeses, tend to be located on the outskirts of urban centres close to

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consumer markets. Plants manufacturing items with longer shelf life, such as butter,
milk powders, cheese and whey powders, tend to be situated in rural areas closer to
the milk supply. Most large processing plants tend to specialise in a limited range of
products. Exceptionally, however, large plants producing a wide range of products are
still common in Eastern Europe, a holdover from the former centralized, supply-
driven concept of the market under Communist governments.

As processing plants grow fewer and larger, they tend to acquire bigger, more
automated and more efficient equipment. While this technological tendency keeps
manufacturing costs lower, the need for long-distance transportation often increases
the environmental impact.[7]

Milk production is irregular, depending on cow biology. Producers must adjust the
mix of milk which is sold in liquid form vs. processed foods (such as butter and
cheese) depending on changing supply and demand

INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING

Dairy plants process the raw milk they receive from farmers so as to extend its
marketable life. Two main types of processes are employed: heat treatment to ensure
the safety of milk for human consumption and to lengthen its shelf-life, and
dehydrating dairy products such as butter, hard cheese and milk powders so that they
can be stored.

Cream and butter

Today, milk is separated by huge machines in bulk into cream and skim milk. The
cream is processed to produce various consumer products, depending on its thickness,
its suitability for culinary uses and consumer demand, which differs from place to
place and country to country.

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Some cream is dried and powdered, some is condensed (by evaporation) mixed with
varying amounts of sugar and canned. Most cream from New Zealand and Australian
factories is made into butter. This is done by churning the cream until the fat globules
coagulate and form a monolithic mass. This butter mass is washed and, sometimes,
salted to improve keeping qualities. The residual buttermilk goes on to further
processing. The butter is packaged (25 to 50 kg boxes) and chilled for storage and
sale. At a later stage these packages are broken down into home-consumption sized
packs.

Skimmed milk

The product left after the cream is removed is called skim, or skimmed, milk. To
make a consumable liquid a portion of cream is returned to the skim milk to make low
fat milk(semi-skimmed) for human consumption. By varying the amount of cream
returned, producers can make a variety of low-fat milks to suit their local market.
Other products, such as calcium, vitamin D, and flavouring, are also added to appeal
to consumers.

Casein

Casein is the predominant phosphoprotein found in fresh milk. It has a very wide
range of uses from being a filler for human foods, such as in ice cream, to the
manufacture of products such as fabric, adhesives, and plastics.

Cheese

Cheese is another product made from milk. Whole milk is reacted to form curds that
can be compressed, processed and stored to form cheese. In countries where milk is
legally allowed to be processed without pasteurization, a wide range of cheeses can be
made using the bacteria naturally in the milk. In most other countries, the range of
cheeses is smaller and the use of artificial cheese curing is greater. Whey is also the
byproduct of this process. Some people with lactose intolerance are surprisingly able
to eat certain types of cheese. This is because some traditionally made hard cheeses,
and soft ripened cheeses may create less reaction than the equivalent amount of milk
because of the processes involved. Fermentation and higher fat content contribute to
lesser amounts of lactose. Traditionally made Emmental or Cheddar might contain
10% of the lactose found in whole milk. In addition, the aging methods of traditional
cheeses (sometimes over two years) reduce their lactose content to practically

14
nothing.[9] Commercial cheeses, however, are often manufactured by processes that
do not have the same lactose-reducing properties. Ageing of some cheeses is
governed by regulations;[10] in other cases there is no quantitative indication of degree
of ageing and concomitant lactose reduction, and lactose content is not usually
indicated on labels.

Whey

In earlier times, whey or milk serum was considered to be a waste product and it was,
mostly, fed to pigs as a convenient means of disposal. Beginning about 1950, and
mostly since about 1980, lactose and many other products, mainly food additives, are
made from both casein and cheese whey.

Yogurt

Yogurt (or yoghurt) making is a process similar to cheese making, only the process is
arrested before the curd becomes very hard.

Milk powders

Milk is also processed by various drying processes into powders. Whole milk, skim
milk, buttermilk, and whey products are dried into a powder form and used for human
and animal consumption. The main difference between production of powders for
human or for animal consumption is in the protection of the process and the product
from contamination. Some people drink milk reconstituted from powdered milk,
because milk is about 88% water and it is much cheaper to transport the dried product.

Other milk products

Kumis is produced commercially in Central Asia. Although it is traditionally made

from mare's milk, modern industrial variants may use cow's milk instead.

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 DAIRY INDUSTRY IN INDIA

Indian dairy Industry - a profile

The Dairy Industry in India made rapid progress, particularly during the last two
decades. Today, INDIA occupies first position in milk production in the world,
surpassing the U.S. Today, India is 'The Oyster' of the global dairy industry. It offers
opportunities galore to entrepreneurs worldwide, who wish to capitalize on one of the
world's largest and fastest growing markets for milk and milk products. A bagful of
'pearls' awaits the international dairy processor in India. The Indian dairy industry is
rapidly growing, trying to keep pace with the galloping progress around the world.
The liberalization of the Indian economy beckons to MNC's and foreign investors
alike. The credit definitely goes to operation flood, which has played a key role in the
development of dairying.

The employment potential of Indian Dairy sector is substantial. This sector

provides additional income and generates job opportunities for 180 million farmer
families. More than 70% of marginal farmers and labourers maintain dairy animals to
supplement their incomes.

In India, there are 10.1 million farmers who are members of 77,000 village Dairy
Co-operative Societies, each of which is affiliated to one of 170 district and regional
Co-operative Unions, which in turn are a part of state Co-operative unions, which in
turn are apart of a state Co-operative Marketing Federation. The Co-operative sector
has contributed significantly for the success of White Revolution in India. There are
more than 97,000 milk Co-operative Societies in 264 districts.

This sector is growing at the rate of 6.5% per annum. The first large scale and
systematic breakthrough in Dairy operation milk producers union was at ANAND
(ANAND MILK UNION LIMITED) , Gujarat abbreviated to “AMUL” which in
vernacular means HIGHLY VALUABLE or “BEYOND ALL PRICES”.

INDIAN DAIRY CORPORATION (IDC):

The INDIAN DAIRY CORPORATION (IDC) was set up under companies Act
on 13th Feb 1970. It is a government of India under taking. The immediate need to set

16
up IDC was to handle the “OPERATION FLOOD”. It became mainly a financing –
cum promotional agency of central government.

OBJECTIVES:

 To promote dairy industry in the country.

 To assist the state government and other organization including co-operative

societies interested in the promotion of dairy industry to meet the
requirement of milk & milk products.

 To provide a package of technical inputs for enhancement of milk

production.

 Resettlement of city based cattle in the rural areas.

 To assist in expanding the capacity and operation of existing dairies in big

cities and rural areas.

 To assist development of allied industry required to meet the needs of dairy

development.

DAIRY INDUSTRY IN ANDHRA PRADESH:

The milk producers have faced a lot of problems in the process of production and
marketing of milk namely improper transport facilities, poor technology and absence
organized system of processing, marketing and pricing. It was at this context, that the
Govt. of A.P. has viewed to continue a ‘DAIRY DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION’ to safeguard the interests of milk producers and ensuring adequate
supply of flush milk at a reasonable price to the urban consumers. As a result the
‘APDDCF’’ came into the existence on 2nd April, 1974. A.P. has an excellent potential
for milk production with the progressive farmers who are responsive to the new
technology and scientific practices.

DAIRY DEVELOPMENT PARTICULARS

The dairy development in A.P. according to 2008 figures has been presented in the
following table.
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 Milk products factories 07

District dairies 10

Milk chilling centers 48

Milk collection centers 1400

Village milk producers co-operative societies 5200

Milk collection routes 267

Milk producers 57200

Villages covered for collection of milk 10000

Milk consumers 650000

Cattle feed plants 6

Women Members in Unions 5000

Cash paid to milk producers 62 Crores

A.P. DAIRY DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATIVE FEDERATION (APDDFC)

APDDFC was constituted on 2nd April in 1974 with an aim to implement

OPERATION FLOOD – 2 programme through active involvement of producers in
organizing milk production, procurement, processing and marketing a three – tier co-
operation structure as per the national policy of government of India. The “Three –
Tier” system consists of primary unions at district milk shed level and federation at
state level. Indian Dairy Development Corporation owns the responsibility of
implementation of operation flood programmes, which provides money assistance of up
to 70% towards loans and 30% as subsidy.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Development of infra – structure for procurement of milk in rural areas of A.P.

and ensure assured market for milk products throughout the year as well as the
best remunerative prices.

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 2. Fulfill the growing needs for milk & milk products of the consuming public in
A.P and outside.

3. Organize the co – operative structure of milk producers at the village and

district levels.

4. Supplement the programme extension and inputs with particular references to

feed and fodder production and implement intensive cross – breeding
programme for milk cows to increase milk production.

5. Carry out human resource development programme to provide effective

leadership and management skills in the service of the rural producers.

THE CO-OPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS UNION IN A.P.:

 Sri Vijaya Visakha Co-operative Milk Producers Union,Vizag.

 The Godavari Co-operative Milk Producers Union, RAJAHMUNDRY.

 The Krishna District Co-operative Union, VIJAYAWADA.

 The Guntur District Co-operative union, VADLAMUDI.

 The Prakasam District Co-operative union, ONGOLE.

 The Nellore District Co-operative union, NELLORE.

 The Chittoor District Co-operative union, CHITOOR.

 The Cuddapah District Co-operative union, PRODDUTUR.

 The Kurnool District Co-Operative union, KURNOOL.

 The Nalgonda District and Co-operative Union, HYDERABAD.

 Medak District and Co-operation Union, MEDAK.

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 COMPANY PROFILE

Sri Vijaya Visakha Milk Producers Company Ltd

Sri Vijaya Visakha Milk Producers Company Ltd (Visakha Dairy) was established in
the year 1973 under Co-operative Societies Act and commissioned dairy plant at
Akkireddipalem, Visakhapatnam with 50,000 LPD handling capacity in the year
1977.

With the introduction of MACS Act in 1995 by A.P State Government, Visakha Dairy
was converted in to the said Act in the year 1999 and registered as "Sri Vijaya
Visakha District Milk Producers Mutually Aided Cooperative Union Ltd". To fulfil
the growth aspirations while retaining cooperative ideology as core principles of
governance, Visakha Dairy got converted into Producer Company with effect from 06
Jan 2006 under the name and style of "Sri Vijaya Visakha Milk Producers Company
Limited". This could be possible with the initiative taken by Government of India to
enable co-operatives grow & operate on competitive platform, introduced Companies
(Amendment) Act 2002, cooperative form of enterprises known as Producer
Companies that can be registered under Part IXA of the Companies Act 1956.

Visakha Dairy is one of the fastest growing Milk & Milk Products Manufacturing
Company having plants at Visakhapatnam and Rangampeta (EG) in Andhra Pradesh.
Both the plants are equipped with the State of the Art Technology and are ISO
22000:2005 certified. Presently both the plants have capacity to handle upto 9 Lakh
litres per day.

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Visakha Dairy manufactures all variants of Dairy Products viz. Fresh Milk, UHT,
Extended Shelf Life Milk, Aseptic Flavoured Milk, Curd, Cream, Butter Milk, Lassi,
Dhood peda, Badam Burfi, Milk Cake, Mysore Pak, Kalakand, Mistidoi, Ghee, Low
Cholesterol Ghee , Panner, Butter, SMP, Yoghurt etc and sold in Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Orrissa and Chattisgarh markets. Company crossed turnover of Rs.1000
crore with CAGR of 14%.

Established Training Centre and imparting training to farmers in the areas of clean
milk programme, Nutritional aspects, Fodder requirements and Animal Health Care.
Attaching importance to animal health, established 633 Veterinary Health Centres
equipped with required infrastructure, staff and supplying the required veterinary
medicines at 50% subsidy. Necessary Infrastructure created to improve breed
development thru Artificial Insemination with successful cross breed semen imported
from National Dairy Development Board, Goushala. 7 Mobile Veterinary Service
Vehicles equipped with medicines accompanied by veterinary doctors extends
services covering more than 25 villages every day.

Cattle feed plants with more than 400 MT per day of feed capacity are organized and
supplying cattle feed to farmers at subsidized rates.

To improve quality and reduce risk of spoilage, logistics, constructed more than 100
Bulk Milk Cooling Centres covering every 10 kms radius. All the bulk coolers
together has a total capacity of 906,000 litres and are automated.

Milk Powder Plant with capacity of 13MTPD was constructed in the year 1998 to
convert surplus milk into Skimmed Milk Powder in the flush season.

Constructed Aseptic Packing Station in the year 2001 with a capacity of 30,000 litres
per day for UHT milk production and expanded to 3.0 lakh litres per day capacity in
2015. Visakha Dairy enjoys 10% market share in UHT Milk on pan india basis.
Visakha Dairy sells Milk, Cream, Flavoured Milk in UHT segment and planning Milk
Shakes shortly.

As a green field initiative and to overcome power crisis, commissioned 2 Solar power
plants in record time one with a capacity of 1.15 MW at Visakhapatnam and 1.65
MW capacity at Vizianagaram for captive usage.

21
Visakha Dairy is giving employment opportunity to more than 2000 employees
including contract labour.

Visakha Dairy thru its Milk Producers Educational Health and Medical Welfare Trust
are extending Medical services to farmers and their families at subsidised rates in the
400 bed Modern Hospital constructed with 70 crores investment apart from education
to the farmers children, preference to producers children in employment, irrigation
projects, culverts, kalyanamandapams, bridges, canals etc.

Visakha Dairy is growing consistently and paying remunerative procurement price to

milk producers. Visakha Dairy aims procurement of 10 Lakh litres per day and
turnover of Rs.2000 crores by the year 2020.

MISSION:

The following is the mission statement of Visakha Dairy.

“Visakha Dairy is committed to enhance the Milk Procurement through Technical

inputs by providing Quality services to our Member Producers by ensuring economic

viability to improve socioeconomic conditions of our Members. Visakha Dairy is also

committed to supply quality milk and milk products to consumers. Our Dairy shall

become top dairy in the country with its inspired team of employees. We, the inspired

Team of Employees are dedicated to

 Co-operation

 Honesty

 Discipline & Time

 Quality & Purity

 Hard Working

 Transparency

 Trust & Belief on Organization

 Mutual Respect

22
  Skill Development

 Education

QUALITY POLICY:

Visakha Dairy endeavours to be one of the largest processors of milk and

manufactures of milk products in India. We are committed to provide hygienic, safe

and nutritious products while meeting the statutory and legal requirements to achieve

customer satisfaction and in-turn to improve the economy of our member

producers. To this effect the management is committed to communicate, implement,

maintain and continually improve the Quality and Food Safety Management Systems

in the Dairy.

OBJECTIVE:

Our main object is to serve the farmers and to give help to their economic

development and provide Quality Milk & Milk products to the Consumers.

23
Board of Management

Shri ADARI TULASI RAO CHAIRMAN

ShriS.V.RAMANA MANAGING DIRECTOR

Shri S SURYANARAYANA BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri S G B SANKAR RAO BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri M V RAMANA BOARD DIRECTOR

Smt P. RAMAKUMARI BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri S SURYANARAYANA
BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri G SATYANARAYANA
BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri A RAMANA BABU

BOARD DIRECTOR
S
mt S AMMALU
BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri S E.P. GANGADHAR

BOARD DIRECTOR

Smt CH RAJAKUMARI
BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri R RAMA KRISHNA

BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri K KATAMAYYA
BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri S.V.V SANKARA RAO

BOARD DIRECTOR

Shri D GANGA RAJU

BOARD DIRECTOR

24
THE GROWTH OF VISAKHA DAIRY

Started Dairy with a handling capacity of 10000 LPD (Lts. Per Day) operations in
1966 -
Visakhapatnam.

1973 - Union registered under cooperatives Act.

Inauguration of 50000 LPD Visakha Cooperative Modern Dairy. By Sri.Jalagam Vengala

1977 -
Rao Chief Minister of AP.

1980 - Inauguration of 25000 LPD MCC (Milk Chilling Center) at Narasipatnam.

1981 - Joined as member of the AP Dairy Development Coop Federation Ltd. At AP level.

Operation area of the Union extended to Srikakulam and Vizainagaram districts and the name
1982 -
changed to Sri Vijaya Visakha District Cooperative Milk producers Limited.

MCC Srikakulam merged with Visakha Coop Dairy & capacity expanded from 12000 to
1985 -
20000 LPD.

1986 - Expansion 50000 to 100000 LPD.

1987 - NMG (National Milk Grid) milk sales started.

Expansion plant 100000 to 150000 litres per day. Establishment of milk producers &
1989 -
employees’ education, health and medical welfare trust.

1991 - Expansion of 150000 to 200000 LPD.

1996 - Inauguration of 30000 LPD chilling center at Vizianagaram.

1998 - Inauguration of 13 MT powder plant at Visakhapatnam.

Converted to Mutually Aided Cooperative Act’95. Name also changed as “Sri Vijaya
1999 -
Visakha District Milk Producers Mutually Aided Cooperative Union Limited”

Dairy expansion 200000 to 300000 LPD Commenced milk procurement in East Godavari
2002 -
District Commissioning of milk packing station at MCC Kakinada

Inauguration of Aseptic packing station (APS) Commissioning of milk packing station at

2004 -
Hyderabad & sales started at Rajahmundary & Hyderabad.

2006 - Dairy expansion 300000 to 500000 LPD Inauguration of milk pouch packaging station.

2009 - ISO 9001:2000 & HACCP certification.

2012 - Up gradation of HACCP to revised standard.

Converted to Company Act’56. Name also changed as “Sri Vijaya Visakha Milk Producers
2013 -
Company Limited”

2015 - Inauguration of Aseptic packing station (APS) with New Tetra Pack A1 Machine

25
CSR ACTIVITIES:

Visakha Dairy is not only concentrating on the farmer’s cattle welfare but is
equally giving priority for the welfare of farmer families in different dynamics like
….

► HEALTH

► EDUCATION

► SOCIO-ECONOMIC MEASURES

In this process Visakha Dairy Chairman, Sri Adari Tulasi Rao established a

Welfare Trust in 1989 named as Milk Producers and Employee's Education

Health and Medical Welfare Trust (MP & EEH & MW Trust).

The main aim of the Trust is to extend Medical Health and Educational facilities

particularly to farmers and their families. In this direction the trust has established a

modern hospital fully equipped with the latest technology and employed specialists

and super specialists. Further, it has established schools and colleges for rural poor

and farmer's children.

The Trust's activities are being carried out in 8.25 acres of land in the vicinity of

city of Visakhapatnam. Various social welfare activities have been undertaken since

its establishment which was applauded by various Government officials, Chief

Ministers, Parliamentarians, Ministers and other Public Figures.

26
Health

Krishi Trust Hospital is one of the most

well equipped and best Medical Trust
Hospitals in the Green City of
Visakhapatnam. The Hospital is a 100
bedded modern multi – speciality cum
critical care referral hospital. To give
the patient best care round the clock,
The hospital is fully infrastructured
with Hi-Tech equipment of world class
quality to provide best medical care.
Krishi Trust Hospital is situated in a
quiet and serene place in Sheelanagar
away from the noise and pollution of
the city.

Hospital Equipment Nursing College

27
Education

Trust provides the residential

educational facility with subsidised
rates for visakha dairy milk producers
and employees childrens & general
public also. It provides free education
to orphans recommended by the local
village heads as well as to children who
are below poverty level.

Providing Education from Primary

Level to Junior College & Nursing
College. Computer education is
provided from 3rd class onwards. The
trust has Residential facility for 300
Students.

School

28
The trust believes in value based
education. The teacher student
ratio is 1:25 in true spirit.
Students are disciplined and hard
working, so every year the school
gets good results in the general
public exams. The aim is to
impart qualitative education.

There is a well equipped

Laboratory, Library, Multi Media
Computer Lab. We have a
playground with sports facilities.
Our Students are selected for
national sports, and sports
academy in Andhra Pradesh

College & Hostel

29
Socio-Economic Measures

Various social welfare activities

have been taken up by the Trust.
Among the other activities, the
Trust has provided drinking water
to rural poor by digging Bore
Wells in villages and arranging
water channels for farmers by
digging old and new reservoirs,
and also constructed bridges on
rivers, where crossing rivers were
impossible for rural people in
rainy season.
Major task of the Trust is
identifying, training, providing
employment to weaker sections
who are not having any support
from the society. Hither the Trust
has provided employment directly
and indirectly to 300 people.

Providing Employment to Physically Handicapped, every Year by

Conducting interviews with cooperation of visakha dairy. Providing
employment to women, who are physically abused by their family and
who have no other source of living. roviding hearing aids to deserving
deaf people after a thorough check-up by the concerned physicians,
providing wheel chairs to the physically handicapped people

30
VISAKHA MILK

31
MILK PRODUCTS

32
Marketing Department

33
 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF BRAND PREFERENCE

AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

INTRODUCTION

For every purchase there is a cyclical process. A customer gets an idea about
buying a product actually buys it after relevant considerations and uses of it. And
based on the experience derived out of the consumption process he begins the cycle
again. The marketer must understand the process since knowledge of the process will
enable him to plan his marketing effort. In this chapter the researcher made an attempt
to study the theoretical concept of Brand, Brand name, Brand Preference, Consumer
Preference, Consumer Buying Behavior and the Process of Buying Decision.

CONSUMER GOODS

Consumer goods are goods that are bought from retail stores for personal,
family, or household use. They are grouped into three subcategories on the basis of
consumer buying habits: convenience goods, shopping goods, and specialty goods.

Consumer goods can also be differentiated on the basis of durability. Durable

goods are products that have a long life, such as furniture and garden tools.
Nondurable goods are those that are quickly used up, or worn out, or that become
outdated, such as food, school supplies, and disposable cameras.

Convenience Goods: Convenience goods are items that buyers want to buy with the
least amount of effort, that is, as conveniently as possible. Most are nondurable goods
of low value that are frequently purchased in small quantities. These goods can be
further divided into two subcategories: staple and impulse items.

34
Staple Convenience Goods: Staple convenience goods are basic items that buyers
plan to buy before they enter a store, and include milk, bread, and toilet paper.
Impulse items are other convenience goods that are purchased without prior planning,
such as candy bars, soft drinks, and tabloid newspapers.

Since convenience goods are not actually sought out by consumers, producers
attempt to get as wide a distribution as possible through wholesalers. To extend the
distribution, these items are also frequently made available through vending machines
in offices, factories, schools, and other settings. Within stores, they are placed at
checkout stands and other high-traffic areas.

Shopping Goods: Shopping goods are purchased only after the buyer compares the
products of more than one store or looks at more than one assortment of goods before
making a deliberate buying decision. These goods are usually of higher value than
convenience goods, bought infrequently, and are durable. Price, quality, style, and
color are typically factors in the buying decision. Televisions, computers,
lawnmowers, bedding, and camping equipment are all examples of shopping goods.

While customers are going to shop for these goods, a fundamental strategy in
establishing stores that specialize in them is to locate stores in active shopping areas.
Ongoing strategies for marketing shopping goods include the heavy use of advertising
in local media, including newspapers, radio, and television. Advertising for shopping
goods is often done cooperatively with the manufacturers of the goods.

Specialty Goods: Specialty goods are items that are unique or unusual—at least in
the mind of the buyer. Buyers know exactly what they want and are willing to exert
considerable effort to obtain it. These goods are usually, but not necessarily, of high
value, and they may or may not be durable goods. They differ from shopping goods
primarily because price is not the chief consideration. Often the attributes that make
them unique are brand preference (e.g., a certain make of automobile) or personal

35
preference (e.g., a food dish prepared in a specific way). Other items that fall into this
category are wedding dresses, antiques, fine jewelry, and golf clubs.

Producers and distributors of specialty goods prefer to place their goods only
in selected retail outlets. These outlets are chosen on the basis of their willingness and
ability to provide a high level of advertising and personal selling for the product.
Consistency of image between the product and the store is also a factor in selecting
outlets.

The distinction among convenience, shopping, and specialty goods is not

always clear. As noted earlier, these classifications are based on consumers' buying
habits.

Consequently, a given item may be a convenience good for one person, a

shopping good for another and a specialty good for a third. For example, for a person
who does not want to spend time on shopping, buying a pair of shoes might be a
convenience purchase. In contrast, another person might buy shoes only after
considerable thought and comparison: in this instance, the shoes are a shopping good.
Still another individual who perhaps prefers a certain brand or has an unusual size will
buy individual shoes only from a specific retail location; for this buyer, the shoes are a
specialty good.

BRAND

A Brand is a name, term, symbol or design or a combination of them, which is

intended to identify the goods and services of a seller or a group of sellers and to
differentiate them from those of competitors.

36
Hence brand is,

 an instrument for sales promotion on the market, where stiff competition

exists,
 facilitates easy advertisements and publicity,
 creates special consumer preference over the product,
 Sales can be increased through brands,
 arrest the immediate attention of buyers,
 differentiates the goods of the producer from the goods of competitors,
 ensures standard quality and satisfaction to buyer,

Features of a good brand

 Brand should suggest something about the product – purpose, quality, benefit,
use, action etc.
 It should be simple, short and easy to pronounce and remember.
 It should be easy to advertise and identify.
 It should be of a permanent nature.
 It should be clear and attractive.
 It should be capable of being registered and protected legally.
 It should be distinctive.
 It should have a pleasing sound to the ear, when pronounced.
 It should be economical.
 It should be original.
 It should not be pronounced in several ways.
 It should not be offensive.
 It should create a good image.
 It should not be outdated.

Why branding individual products is required?

37
Branding individual products is made because,

 Memory recall is facilitated. This could lead to more rapid initial buying
action or greater frequency of buying and hence deeper loyalty.
 Advertising can be directed more effectively and linked with other
communication programmes.
 Branding leads to a more ready acceptance of a product by wholesalers and
retailers.
 Self selection is facilitated very important consideration is self-service stores.
Display space is more easily obtained and special promotions are more
practicable.
 The importance of price differentials may be diminished.

 Brand loyalty may give a manufacturer greater control over marketing strategy
and channels of distribution.
 Other products may be introduced more readily. (the failure of a brand may, of
course, lead to undue resistance to other products)
 The amount of personal persuasive selling effort may be reduced.
 Branding makes market segmentation easier. Different brands of similar
products may be developed may be developed to meet specific categories of
users.
 The demand for the general products class should be large and strong enough
to support a profitable marketing plan, involving additional promotion cost.
 The product should be easily identifiable by a brand and lend itself easily to
conspicuous marketing.
 The brand must be economies of large scale production, whenever additional
production is undertaken as a result of expanding sales volume.
 The brand must carry through to the ultimate consumer.
 The quality of the product should be best and it should be easily maintained.
 There must be consistent and widespread supply of the product.
 The ideal brand is the one which becomes universally well known but at the
same time retains a clear and independent identity.

38
  The brand, once established, can command a premium price owing to the
valuable psychological intangibles associated with its name.

Classification of Brands

Family Brand

A single brand name for all the products of a company and which are being similar
in quality.

Individual Brand

Brand name is given for each variety of products and each product of same
producer will carry its own brand used for dissimilarity.

National Brand

The same brand used on the national level manufacturers brands are
commonly termed as national level.

Private Brand

Large wholesalers and retailers operation over regional or national market and
placing their own brand on the products that they market. These brands offered by
wholesaler and retailer are usually called private Brand.

Umbrella Brand

39
 All products having the name of the company or manufacturer is called the
umbrella brand.

BENEFITS OF BRANDING

Producers Benefit

 Brand enables a firm to build reputation.

 It is a device by which a good image and goodwill are established.
 It facilitates introduction of new products, in a simplified process.
 It distinguishes products from rival firms and thus ensures constant returns.
 It is essential for sales promotion and building a demand.
 It widens the market, through demand creation.
 It helps in reducing advertising cost.
 It brings repeated sales.
 It reduces the need for price comparison.
 Individuality of a product is established.

Wholesaler/ Retailers Benefit

 They require less time to get sold.

 Branded products pose less risk.
 There is an established demand.
 Branding aids in advertising and display programmes.
 Branding assists in increasing control over the market.
 Branding reduces the price comparisons and helps to stabilize price.

Consumers Benefit

 There must be widespread supply of the products.

 The quality and standard of the products must be maintained regularly.
 Enforcement of product identification and differentiation by brands must be
strictly adhered too.

40
  Brand must carry through product to the ultimate consumer, to be more
effective.
 Product must have distinctive and special approach. Brand distinguishes and
differentiates the products of different producers.
 Identification is possible through brands; consumers are at ease while
shopping.

Brand Name

“A brand name consists of words, letters and / or numbers which may be

vocalized and refers to products”.

Brand Mark

“A brand mark is that part of brand which appears in the form of a symbol or
design or distinctive coloring or lettering. It is recognized by sight but is not
expressed when a person pronounces the brand name.

Brand Preference

Based on the previous experience with the product consumer will choose it
rather than competitors of its availability. Companies with products at the brand
preference stage are in favourable position in competition their industry since the
brand preference results in brand loyalty companies more market share.

Types of Preferences

The target audience might like the product but not prefer it to others. In this
case, the communicator must try to build customer preference by promoting quality,
value,performance and other features. The communicator can check the campaign’s

41
success bymeasuring audience preference after the campaign. The following are the
types of preference.

5. Homogeneous Preferences
A market where the entire customer have roughly the same preference. The
market shows no natural segments. We would predict that existing brands would be
similar and cluster around the middle of the scale in both sweetness and creaminess.

6. Diffused Preferences
At the other extreme, customer preferences may be scattered throughout the
space, indicating that customer vary greatly in their preferences. The first brand to
enter the market is likely to position in the center to appeal to the most people. A
brand in the center minimizes the sum of total customer dissatisfaction. A second
competitor could locate next to the first brand and fight for market share or it could
locate in a corner to attract a customer group that was not satisfied with the center
brand. If several brands are in the market, they are likely to position throughout the
space and show real difference to match customer preference differences.

7. Clustered Preferences
The market might reveal distinct preference clusters called natural Market
Segments. The first firm in this market has three options. It might position in the
center hoping to appeal to all groups. It might position in the largest market segment.
It might develop several brands, each positioned in a different segment if the first firm
developed only one brand and competitors would enter and introduce brands in the
other segments.

8. Heterogeneous Preferences
Customer preference heterogeneity perhaps the most important reason for
segmenting in customer preference. Taste and preferences differ among people. Some
people are highly concerned about the appearance of a product, whereas others are
more concerned about functionality. As preference heterogeneity increase the case for

42
 segmentation increases in strength moreover; the greater the variability the large the
number of profitable segments present in a market.

FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER PREFERENCE

A consumer’s buying preference is influenced by cultural, social, personal

andpsychological factors.

Classified Factors Influencing Consumer Preference

Cultural Social Personal Psychological

Culture Reference groups Age, life cycle & Motivation

Sub culture Family Stage Perception

Social Class Roles and Statues Occupation Learning

Economic Beliefs &

Circumstance Attitudes

Life style

Personality

Self conception

CULTURAL FACTORS

43
 Culture represents an overall social heritage, a distinctive form of
environmental adaptation by a whole society of people. It includes a set of learned
beliefs, values, attitudes, morals, customs, habits and forms of preference that are
shared by a society and transmitted from generation to generation within that society.
Please not that culture is alive, moving and ever-changing. It reacts to internal and
external pressure causing intercultural conflicts.

Cultural influence is a force sapping both patterns of consumption and patterns

of decision-making from infancy. Mach of our behaviour is determined by culture.
Our cultural institutions (family, schools, temple, language, customs, tradition, etc.)
provide guidelines to marketers. Technological advances may influence cultural
changes. Education and travel can have considerable influence on culture.

Marketing strategies can be developed for each culture separately. Market

segmentation can be based on culture as one determinant. Subcultures exist with the
dominant culture with its own set values, beliefs, attitude, habits and preference
patterns. In Indian culture we have some important bases of subculture such as caste,
region, and religion. Thus, the patterns of preference would vary between north and
south India, Brahmins and Vaishyas, Muslims and Jains.

Culture, Sub – Culture and Social Class are particularly important in buying
behaviour.

(a) Culture

Culture is the distinctive way of life of people and it is the most fundamental

determinant of a person’s wants and behaviour.

(b) Sub – Culture

44
 Each culture consists of smaller sub – cultures that provide more specific
identification and socialization for their members. Sub – Cultures include
nationalities, religious, racial groups and geographic regimes.

(c) Social Class

Sociology points out the relationship between social class and consumption
patterns. As a predictor of consumption patterns, marketing management is familiar
with social classes. Consumers’ buying preference is determined by the social class to
which they belong or to which they aspire, rather than by their income alone, Broadly
speaking, we have three distinct social classes: upper, middle and lower classes.
Consumers belonging to middle classes usually stress rationality, exhibit greater sense
of choice-making, whereas consumers of lower classes have essentially non-rational
purchases and show limited sense of choice-making. The three social classes will
have differences in the stores they patronize, the magazines they read and clothing
and furniture they select. Social classes may act as one criterion for market
segmentation.

Psychographic or life style analysis combines behavioral reasons-both-person-

centered and situation centered – for purchasing and consuming goods. The idea of
social class is now elaborated further into a new concept called psychographics which
can indicate better evaluation of consumer preference.

Social Classes are relatively homogeneous and enduring divisions in a society

which are hierarchically ordered and whose members share similar values, interests
and behaviour.

Social Class is not determined by a single factor such as income but is

measured as a combination of occupation, income, education, wealth and other
variables.

45
SOCIAL FACTORS

A consumer’s Preference is also influenced by social factors such as the

consumer’s reference groups, family, and social roles and statues. Because these
socialfactors can strongly affect consumer responses.

 Reference Groups

The concept of reference group is borrowed from sociology and psychology.

Buyer preference is influenced by the small groups to which the buyer belongs.
Reference groups are the social, economic, or professional groups and a buyer uses to
evaluate his or her opinions and beliefs. Buyer can get advice or guidance in his or her
own thoughts and actions from such small groups. Reference group is useful for self-
evaluation and attitude formation.

A human being is considered as a social animal, spending much of his or her

life in group situations. Consumers accept information provided by their peer groups
on the quality of a product, on its performance, style, etc., which is hard to evaluate
objectively. Group norms or standards direct attention of its members to a new style
or a product. They provide a frame of reference which is the first stage in the
consumer decision-making process. Group influence is seen in brand preferences and
brand choices. A family, a circle of friends, a local club, an athletic team, and college
living groups are examples of small reference groups in which members have face-to-
face interactions.

Word-of-mouth communication is the process by which messages are passed

within a group from member to member. It is often a critical factor in determining
who buys what product and brand. Group members provide relevant and additional
information which cannot be provided by mass-media.

46
 A satisfied customer becomes the salesman of the product. Oral advertisement
by satisfied customers can influence the prospective buyers in the buying process. The
group leader acts also as an opinion leader regarding certain products. A person may
have several reference groups for various subjects. He may prefer a particular brand
because his reference group prefers that particular brand of the product. Opinion
leaders can act as effective agencies of communication on behalf of marketing
management. Marketing effort may be directed to provide such opinion leaders.

Reference Groups are classified into two groups.

Primary Groups: Such as family, friends, neighbors, and co – worker’s with whom
the person interacts fairly continuously and informally.

Secondary Groups: Such as religious, professional and trade union groups which
tend to be more formal and require less continuous interaction.

 Family
Most consumers belong to a family group. The family can exert considerable
influence in shaping the pattern of consumption and indicating the decision-making
roles. Personal values, attitudes and buying habits have been shaped by family
influences. The members of the family play different roles such as influencer, decider,
purchaser and user in the buying process. The housewife may act as a mediator
(gatekeeper) of products that satisfy wants and desires of the children. Marketer is
interested in four questions relating to family purchases:

1. Who influences ‘buying’?

2. Who in the family does ‘buying’?
3. Who takes the ‘buying’ decision?
4. Who uses the product?

47
 There may be four different people or only one member of the family doing all
four activities. For most products, the housewife (in all cities) is the main buying
agent for provisions and grocery articles. Marketing policies regarding product,
promotion and channels of distribution are influenced by the family members making
actual purchases. If teenagers and children are decision-makers, marketing
programmes will provide special attraction like premium with the products.
Advertising appeal will be determined by men, women or children acting as the real
decision-makers in family purchases. Family life cycle also influences consumer
expenditure patterns.

Family members constitute the most influential primary reference group.

Marketers are interested in the roles and relative influence of the husband, wife, and
children in the purchase of a large variety of products and services. These roles vary
widely in different countries and social classes.

Roles and Status

A person participates in many groups’ like family, clubs, and organizations.

Theperson’s position in each group can be defined in terms of role and status. A role
consists of the activities that a person is expected to perform. Each role carries a
status.

PERSONAL FACTORS

A consumer’s buying Preference is also influenced by personal characteristics.

These include the buyer’s age and stage in the life cycle, occupation, economic
circumstances, life style, and personality and self-concept.

 Age and Stage in the Life cycle

48
 Consumption is shaped by the family life cycle. Marketers often choose life –
cycle groups as their target market

 Economic Circumstances
Product choice is greatly affected by economic circumstances, like income,
savings and assets, debts borrowing power, and attitude toward spending and saving.

 Occupation
A person’s consumption pattern is also influenced by his or her occupation. A
blue– collar worker will buy work clothes, work shoes, lunch boxes, and bowling
recreation. A company president will buy expensive suits, air travel, country club
membership and a large sailboat. Marketers try to identify the occupational groups
that have above average interest in their products and services. A company can even
specialize its products for certain occupational groups. Computer software companies
design different products for brand managers, engineers, lawyers, and physicians.

 Life Style
Life style is the person’s pattern of living in the world expressed in activities,

interests, and opinions. Life style captures something more than the person’s social
class or personality. The technique of measuring life styles is known as
psychographics. It involves measuring the major dimensions. The life – style concept
when used carefully, can help the marketer gain an understanding of changing
consumer value and how they affect buying behaviour.

 Personality and Self – concept:

“Personality we mean distinguishing psychological characteristics that lead to

49
relatively consistent and enduring responses to environment. Personality can be useful
in analyzing consumer behaviour for some product or brand choices. Some marketers
think that buyer’s choices will result more from their actual self-concept and less from
the ideal self-concept. This self – concept theory has met with mixed success in
predicting consumer responses to brand images.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS:

A person’s buying choices are also influenced by four major psychological

factors – motivation, Perception, learning and beliefs and attitudes.

 Motivation
“A motive is a need that is sufficient pressing to direct the person to seek satisfy
the needs”.

 Perception
A motivated person is ready to act. How the person acts is influenced by his or
her perception of the situation. Two people with the same motivation and in the same
situation may act quite differently because they perceive the situation differently.

Perception is the process by which people select, organize and interpret

information to form a meaningful picture of the world. People can form different
perceptions of the same stimulus because of three perceptual processes - selective
exposure, selective distortion, and selective retention.

 Selective exposure means that marketers must work especially hard to attract
the consumers attend him.
 Selective distortion: describes the tendency of people to adopt information to
personal meanings.

50
  Selective retention: People will also forget much that they learn. They tend to
retain information that supports their attitudes and beliefs because of selective
retention.

 Learning
Learning describes changes in an individual’s behaviour arising from
experience.Learning theorists say that most human behaviour is learned. Learning
occurs through the interplay of drives, stimuli, cues responses and reinforcement.
“Changes are an individual behaviour arising from experience”.

 Beliefs and Attitudes

A belief is a descriptive thought that a person has about something.
Marketers are interested in the beliefs that people formulate about specific products
and services. These beliefs embrace products and brand images, and people do tend to
act on their beliefs. If some of the beliefs are coring and inhibit purchase, the
manufacturer will want to launch a campaign to correct them.

People have attitudes regarding religion, politics, clothes, music, food and
almost everything else.

An attitude describes a person’s relatively consistent evaluations, feelings, and

tendencies toward an object or idea. Attitudes put people into a frame of mind of
liking or disliking thing, moving toward or difficult to change.

CONSUMERS BUYING DECISION PROCESS

The Consumers buying decision process passes through five stages such as
problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternative, purchase decision
and post purchase behaviour.

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 A. Problem Recognition

The buying process starts when the buyer recognizes a problem or need. The
need can be triggered by internal or external stimuli. Marketers need to identify the
circumstances that trigger a particular need. By gathering information from a number
of consumers marketers can identify the most frequent stimuli that spark an interest in
a product brand. They can then develop marketing strategies that trigger consumer
interest.

B. Information Search
At this level a person simply becomes more receptive to information about a
product. At the next level, the person may enter active information search Consumer
information sources fall into four stages namely personal source, commercial source,
public source and experimental source.

 Personal Source: family, Friends, neighbours, acquaintances.

 Commercial Source: Advertising, sales persons, dealers, packaging,
displays.
 Public Source: Mass media, Consumer – rating organizations.
 Experiential Source: On handling, examining and using the product. These
information sources vary with product category and the buyer’s
characteristics. Through gathering information, a consumer learns about
competing products and their features.
Asfar as the consumer’s information source is concerned the markets
should identify them and evaluate their relative importance. Consumer’s should be
asked how they first heard about the brand, what information came in later and the
relative importance came in different information source. The answers will help
the company to prepare effective communication for the target market.

C. Evaluation of Alternative

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 How does the consumer process competitive brand information and make a
final value judgment? It turns out that there is no simple and single evaluation process
used by all consumers or even by one consumer in all buying situations. There are
several decision evaluation processes. Most current models of the consumer
evaluation process are cognitively acquainted that is they see the consumer as forming
product judgments largely on a conscious and rational basis.

The consumer is likely to develop a set of brand belief about where each brand
on each attribute. The brand belief makes up brand image. The consumer brand belief
will vary with his or her experience and the effect of selective perception, selective
distortion and selective retention. The consumer arrives at attitude (judgment
preferences) towards the brand alternative through evaluation process. Consumer has
been found to adopt different evaluation procedures to make a choice of multi
attribute objects.

D. Purchase Decision
In the devaluation stage the consumer forms preferences among the brands in
the choice set. The consumer may also form a purchase intention to buy the most
preferred brand. However, two factors can intervene between the purchase intention
and the purchase decision.

As far as the first factor is concerned the extent to which another person’s
attitude reduces one’s preferred alternative depends upon two things, the intensity of
the other person’s negative attitude towards the consumer preferred alternative and
the consumer’s motivation to comply with the other person’s wishes.

The more intense and the close the more other person is to the consumer, the
more the consumer will adjust his or her purchase intention. The converse is also true.
A buyer’s preference for a brand will increase if someone he or she likes favors the
same brands.

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 Purchase intention is also influenced by anticipated situational factors. The
consumer forms a purchase intention on the basis, of such factors as expected family
income, expected price and expected product benefits. When the consumer is about to
act unanticipated factors may creep in to change the purchaser’s intention.

E. Post Purchase Behaviour

After purchase of the product the consumer will experience some level of
satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The consumer will also engage in post purchase
actions.The marketer’s job does not end when the product is bought but continues in
to the postpurchase period.

The classification of goods—physical products— is essential to business

because it provides a basis for determining the strategies needed to move them
through the marketing system. The two main forms of classifications are consumer
goods and industrial goods.

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REASONED ACTION MODEL OF CONSUMER PREFERENCE

Conviction that the

choice leads to certain
desired functional
outcomes
Evaluation of the
Attitude toward the
outcomes
behavior

Conviction that the

choice leads to certain
desired emotive
outcomes

Intention Preference
Behavior

Conviction that the

choice is considered
correct by others
Subjective comparison
norm

Motivation to comply
with the opinion of
others

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 The important contribution of the reasoned action model is the realization that
consumers utilize the model in all purchase experiences to a lesser or greater extent.
Of equal importance is the realization that the components used to make a preference
decision are also the ones employed by a consumer to evaluate the performance
success of the product or service purchased and the company responsible for them.
Therefore, as the components of preference change, the elements influencing
satisfaction change accordingly.

The relationship is dynamic and fluid therefore static or predetermined satisfaction

analytic packages often miss the most important elements of preference and can create
a false sense of security on the part of companies who think that since their customer
satisfaction scores are high they must in turn have relatively loyal customers.

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 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

1. Which Brand of milk do you use?

OPINION NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

VISAKHA 47 47%

HERITAGE 33 33%

TIRUMALA 10 10%

OTHERS 10 10%

TOTAL 100 100%

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INTERPRETATION:

It was observed that 47% consumers prefer Visakha milk, while 33% consumers

prefer Heritage milk 10 % consumers preferring Tirumala Milk and Others 10%

consumers prefer other Milk brands including loose milk supplied by milkmen.

BRAND PREFERENCE
47%
50%
33%
40%

30%
10%
20%
10%
10%

0%
VISAKHA HERITAGE TIRUMALA OTHERS

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 2. How do you know about Visakha Milk?

OPINION NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

ADVERTISEMENTS 53 53%

SHOPKEEPER 32 32%

OTHERS 15 15%

TOTAL 100 100%

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 AWARENESS
60%

50%

40%
53%
30%

20%
32%
10% 15%

0%
Advertisements Shopkeeper Others

INTERPRETATION

It is observed that 53% of the customers opined that they came to know about
Visakha Milk through advertisement, 32% of Customers say through their local
shopkeepers and 15% of customers opined by other means.

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 3. What is the average Quantity of milk Consumed by you per day?

OPINION NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

1 ltr 12 12%

1+ ltrs 13 13%

2 ltrs 45 45%

2+ ltrs 30 30%

TOTAL 100 100%

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 QUANTITY OF MILK CONSUMED
45%
45%
40%
30%
35%
30%
25%
20% 12% 13%
15%
10%
5%
0%
1 ltr 1+ ltrs 2 ltrs 2+ ltrs

INTERPRETATION

It is identified that 12% of consumers consume 1 liter of milk per day, 13 %

consumers consume 1+ ltr per day 2+ ltrs milk per day, 45% consumers consume 2

ltrs milk per day and 30 % consumers consume 2+ ltr per day.

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 4. Why you prefer Visakha Milk Products?

OPINION NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

HOME DELIVERY 5 5%

EASY AVAILABILITY 28 28%

PRICE 16 16%

QUALITY 51 51%

TOTAL 100 100%

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 REASON FOR PREFERING VISAKHA MILK

5%

28%
HOME DELIVERY
51%
EASY AVAILABILITY
PRICE
16%
QUALITY

INTERPRETATION

When the customers using Visakha milk were asked why they use Visakha milk,
5% of customers replied with the answer because of Home Delivery of the
Milk, 28% of customers replied with the answer because of Easy Availability, while
16% of customers replied with the answer that because price is very good
and rest 51% replied that the quality of Visakha milk is very good. So maximum
number of customers prefers visakha milk because of its good quality.

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 5. How satisfied you are with the current features of Viskha Milk products in this
category?

OPINION NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

EXTREMELY SATISFIED 12 12%

SATISFIED 38 38%

MODERATELY 30 30%
SATISFIED

DISSATISFIED 20 20%

TOTAL 100 100%

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 SATISFACTION OF VISAKHA MILK
PRODUCTS
38%
40%
30%
30%
20%
20% 12%

10%

0%
EXTREMELY SATISFIED MODERATELY DISSATISFIED
SATISFIED SATISFIED

INTERPRETATION

It is identified that 12% of consumers are extremely satisfied with the current
features of Viskha Milk products, 38 % of consumers are satisfied, 30 % of
consumers are moderately satisfied & 20 % of the consumers are dissatisfied.

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 6. Can you please mention the factors that affect your buying decision for Viskha
Milk products?

OPINION NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

QUALITY 35 35%

DOOR DELIVERY 15 15%

BRAND IMAGE 30 30%

PROMOTIONS ON THE 20 20%

PRODUCTS

TOTAL 100 100%

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 7. What is your experience with home delivery with Visakha Milk Products?

OPINION NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT 35 35%

GOOD 20 20%

AVERAGE 35 35%

POOR 10 10%

TOTAL 100 100%

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 8. What is your overall experience with Visakha?

RESPONSE NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT 10% 10%

GOOD 61% 61%

FAIR 22% 22%

POOR 7% 7%

TOTAL 100 100%

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 OVER ALL RESPONSE WITH VISAKHA

7% 10%

22%
EXCELLENT
GOOD
FAIR
61% POOR

INTERPRETATION:

When customers were asked what their overall experience with

Visakha was then, 10% of customers replied with the answer excellent, 61%
customers replied good, 22% customers replied fair and 7% of the customers
responded with the answer poor.

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 9. Based on its present features and attributes, would you recommend Visakha Milk
Products to others?

RESPONSE NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

YES 83% 83%

NO 17% 17%

TOTAL 100 100%

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 FINDINGS

 It is identified that Visakha Diary Milk Products has good brand image.

 It is observed that most of the consumers prefer Visakha Milk products.

 It is found that Visakha Diary has fewer competitors in this region.

 It is observed that Visakha Diary Milk Products is following good promotional

strategies.

 It is noticed that Visakha Diary Products has good market potential.

 It is identified Visakha Diary Products has good customer satisfaction.

 It is observed that Visakha Diary Products has positive word of mouth

communication.

 It is found that Visakha Diary Products has average response regarding home

delivery.

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 SUGGESTIONS

 It is suggested to the company should concentrate more on home delivery

services to Increase sales.

 It is recommended to the Visakha Dairy should give emphasis on Punctuality

and regularity in the Supply of milk.

 It is suggested to the Visakha Dairy has to improve promotional activities.

 It is recommended to the Visakha Diary has to offer some extra benefit to the

customers.

 It is advised to the Visakha Diary has to improve its network to make

elaborate arrangements for availability of milk at the time of festivals etc.

 It is suggested to the Visakha Diary has to increase its home delivery facility

to their consumers.

 It is recommended to the company has to launch new products lines according

to customers’ needs.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 TEXT BOOK NAME OF THE AUTHOR PUBLISHER

MARKETING MANAGEMNT PHILIP KOTLER PEARSON,NEW DELHI

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR KAZMI EXCEL PUBLISHERS

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP H.PEER MOHAMMED VIKAS, ND

MANAGEMENT

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY C.R. KOTHARI NEW AGE

INTERNATIONAL

WEBSITE

www.visakhadairy.com

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