M DIVYA DEEPTHI

2012PGP188

Qualitative Market Research

12/10/2013

ORGANIC PRODUCT MARKET

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT - Himalaya sees growth potential in organic products segment

Table of ContentsConceptualising Research Problem.......................................................................................................2

Interest of big players........................................................................................................................2

Consumer perception.........................................................................................................................2

Regulatory environment....................................................................................................................2

Reach.................................................................................................................................................2

Competitive products.........................................................................................................................3

R&D..................................................................................................................................................3

Appropriate Qualitative Techniques for obtaining data.........................................................................3

Survey...............................................................................................................................................3

Focused Group Discussions...............................................................................................................4

In-depth Interview.............................................................................................................................4

Profiling of the respondents...................................................................................................................4

Relevant questions to facilitate data collection......................................................................................5

For survey..........................................................................................................................................5

For FGD............................................................................................................................................6

For In-depth interview.......................................................................................................................6

Data Analysis........................................................................................................................................6

Phenomenological Analysis...............................................................................................................6

Narrative analysis..............................................................................................................................6

Hermeneutic / Interpretive Analysis..................................................................................................7

Expectations from the study..................................................................................................................7

1

Conceptualising Research Problem

The article talks about potential growth in organic products segment as perceived by Himalaya Company.

There are a lot of factors that would influence this.

Interest of big playersFor organic products market to gain momentum in India, there is a lot of advertising, product development, awareness building etc that is required. These activities at the required scale need a lot of investment. Hence the level of interest that players with deep pockets like pharma giants, FMCG majors etc is crucial to determine the fate of this sector.

Consumer perceptionCurrently the organic products market is a niche segment and has a cult following. In order to increase the market size of this segment, it is necessary to know what the current consumer perception about the products is and what factors influence the consumer perception.

Regulatory environmentThe organic products are on a fine line between medical products and FMCG products. So, the regulatory requirements for these products might be more stringent as compared to the competing cosmetic products. This might constrain the potential market size of organic products. Also there is lack of clarity in terms of regulation of these products, at least at the source (producer) level. Lot needs to be done on that front.

ReachLike any other product, the reach or penetration of the organic products has an obvious impact on the market size the organic products can grow to. But the reach can have a flipside of decreasing the charisma of these products if they are made available ubiquitously. Hence a

2

delicate balance has to be struck in terms of the reach of the product. What is the reach or size of market in India?

Competitive products The extent to which the competing cosmetic products are able to successfully stand their ground in the presence of new found competition from organic products can influence the extent to which the organic products market can grow

R&DThe success of organic products and hence an increased market size will have better prospects if there are India specific products made through rigorous R&D

Out of all these factors, consumer perception is one factor that can be aptly studied through Qualitative Market Research

Hence the following is the research problem:

What factors influence consumer perceptions about organic products among consumers who are upper middle class and above in India?

Appropriate Qualitative Techniques for obtaining data

The following are the possible qualitative techniques that can be used to carry out the qualitative research:

Survey Focused Group Discussions In-depth interview

SurveyIn order to determine the factors that influence the consumer perceptions, it is necessary to first determine what the consumer perception is. Based on this, the factors influencing each of the consumer perceptions can be found through in-depth interviews and focused group discussions.

The consumer perceptions are fairly surface level details and don’t need much probing. Hence it would be a waste of resources to employ researcher’s time in individually questioning each respondent in person. A well-designed questionnaire with open ended questions would suffice.

In case the researcher comes across some pre-defined categories into which consumer perceptions can be grouped, then there can be a few questions included in the questionnaire asking pointed questions about each of these categories. A survey questionnaire would give the respondent the time to read through the categories, comprehend what each of them means and then respond.

Hence a survey containing open ended questions would be a good starting point for the research.

3

Focused Group DiscussionsOnce the current consumer perceptions about organic products are captured, the most significant perceptions should be listed out. Out of the sample population who were targeted for the survey, groups should be formed in order to undertake focused group discussions. These groups can be formed based such that the group has people having the same perception about organic products.

Eg: Suppose one of the significant perceptions coming out of the survey is that some people think organic products are healthy.

A list of the surveyed people who have expressed this perception should be made. Focused groups can be formed with exclusively these members. They can be asked to discuss on the possible reasons why they consider organic products to be healthy. It would help if a few people who perceive organic products to be unhealthy are also included.

This can be carried out for all significant perceptions.

This would give a very in-depth idea about why people hold each of the perceptions.

In-depth InterviewFrom the survey responses, pick out those people who seem to hold a very strong perception of organic products. Including these people in focused group discussions has the danger of the discussion becoming biased because this person holds a very strong opinion and might bulldoze others. Instead, it would help to conduct an in-depth interview with such people.

Another advantage of conducting an in-depth interview with these people is that it would give an insight into what it takes to form very strong (positive or negative) perceptions in the minds of the consumers about organic products.

An “interview guide approach” is to be followed. This is because the perceptions being probed through each of the interviewee might be different and hence a standardized set of questions may not be relevant to all the interviewees. Nevertheless, having an informal conversational interview can make data compilation very difficult.

Profiling of the respondents

The research will be limited to upper middle class and above consumers. For the purpose of this research, they are defined as: You may need to source data on regular consumers from stores which sell these products so as to accurate and then if the respondent fits in the criteria you may include her / him in the survey.

Both husband and wife have a minimum education level of Undergraduation Live in metros Income levels > Rs 10,00,000 pa

4

Out of these consumers, the following sample set of respondents is designed for the research:

Relevant questions to facilitate data collection

At different levels of the research, different types of questions need to be asked.

For surveyThe following is the data to be collected through the survey:

Does the respondent use organic products If yes:

o In what all categories does the respondent use organic productso Is there a medical reason for using the producto Which brand does the respondent useo Since how many years is the respondent using organic productso Who introduced organic products to the respondento What did the respondent think the first time he/she saw the producto How would the respondent describe the product if it were a persono What kind of impact does the product have on his/her personalityo What was the respondent’s opinion about organic products before he/she

started using the producto How did this opinion change after using ito Is there a particular category of people the respondent would recommend the

product too Is there a particular category of people the respondent specifically feels

shouldn’t be using the product If no:

o Why is the respondent not using organic productso What is the respondent’s opinion about organic productso How would the respondent describe the product if it were a persono Has the respondent ever tried any organic product. If yes, why did he/she

discontinue it

5

o Does the respondent use any cosmetic substitutes for each of the categories in which organic products are present (this question should be accompanied by a list of product categories where organic products are present)

For FGDFrom FGDs the following data needs to be collected for each consumer perception that has been distilled out of the survey response:

What could be the reasons for holding that particular perception of organic products What initiated that perception What reiterated that perception to the respondent Any situations where they saw evidence that contradicted their perception If yes, how did they react to that evidence What would it take for them to revert their perception (what would make them change

their perception) Did the perception impact their decision of whether or not to use organic products

For In-depth interview The following data needs to be collected from in-depth interview:

Why does the respondent hold such a strong perception about organic products What initiated that perception What reiterated that perception to the respondent Any situations where they saw evidence that contradicted their perception If yes, how did they react to that evidence What would it take for them to revert their perception (what would make them

change their perception) Did the perception impact their decision of whether or not to use organic products

Once you understand the perceptions of consumers it is better to conduct further enquiry based on marketing mix elements so that you can fine tune your marketing efforts accordingly.

Data Analysis

The data analysis techniques to be adopted are as follows:

Phenomenological AnalysisIn general the entire information provided by the respondent by and large needs Phenomenological Analysis. But there are certain questions that need to be looked at separately and analysed accordingly.

Narrative analysisThe experiences narrated by the respondents in the course of answering questions like the following need to be subjected to narrative analysis

6

Any situations where they saw evidence that contradicted their perception

What would it take for them to revert their perception (what would make them change their perception)

Hermeneutic / Interpretive AnalysisThere are a few questions in the questionnaire which merit interpretive analysis.

How would the respondent describe the product if it were a person

What kind of impact does the product have on his/her personality

Expectations from the study

The expectations from this study are as follows:

An understanding of existing consumer perceptions of organic products

Identifying the factors that impact consumer perceptions about organic products

This can be taken forward to analyse how organisations can impact each of these factors and hence would help in evolving a comprehensive marketing strategy that would help in increasing the market share of the particular company in particular and the market size of organic products in general

7