Lakme Cosmetics Essay

Lakme is one of the cosmetic brands of the Unilever Bangladesh Ltd offers to the target market. The survey has been conducted to know cognitive components, affective components and behavioral components of the consumers in Dhaka city. Our sample size is 50. These respondents are from different professional such as Student, Housewife, Private Service holder, Public service holder and other professions. Among 50 respondents, 31 or 62% respondents are from the age of 16 years to 25years, 16 respondents from 26 to 35 and 3 respondents from 36 to 45 years and 31 respondents from 16 to 25 years use lipstick, 16 respondents from 26 to 35 years use lipstick and lastly 3 respondents from 36 to 45 respondents use lipstick. Maximum respondents are from lower higher class. According to our research 50% of the total respondents go to beauty parlor once a month, about 12% of the respondents go twice a month, 18% of the respondents go twice a week, 6% of the respondents go once a week, 7% of the re spondents go not in fix time interval. 36% of the total respondents watch TV or movies. In case of buying habit 54% of the respondents buy lipstick once a month, about 18% of the respondents buy lipstick twice an month, around 12% of the respondents buy lipstick twice a week and 16% of the respondents buy lipstick in different occasions. The respondents are a bit colorful, Organized, Moderate stylish, changing oriented, a bit youthful, somewhat rational, a bit formal, like to dominate, little bit calm. The schematic memory of the lakme is quite positive. Respondents perceive the lakme lipstick as Hygienic, Modern Outlook, Long Lasting, Fascinating, Bright, Color, Elegance, Distinct, High Price, High Class, Prestigious, Assured Quality, Fantastic, Satisfaction, and Best Quality. According to perceptual mapping Lakme has a strong brand image than Revlon and Loreal. Since weighted mean of lakme is 0.326 and the weighed mean of Revlon is 0.562 Lakme is closer to Ideal brand than Revlon and thus attitudes toward Lakme lipstick very favorable than attitudes toward Revlon lipsticks. Lakme has favorable emotion towards its lipstick. As per our research about 54% of the target market use Lakme and most of them will buy it next time. So it reveals the positive behavioral components of attitude in the mind of the consumers. Finally Lakme can change the cognitive attitudes by changing belief, adding belief, shifting importance  and changing ideal and through classical conditioning, mere exposure lakme can change the affective components of customers. And operant conditioning needs to alter behavioral components of the consumers. Background of the Report: Our course instructor Mr, Farhan Faruqui has recommended us to prepare a report on Lakme which will be regarded as the term paper for the Spring 2008 semester on the 7th April 2008. The report was supposed to find linkage among real-life advertisements by Lakme lipstick and the theories taught in the classes of the course of Consumer Behavior. Statement of the problem: the report will try to answer the following questions: †¢ Is Bangladesh Unilever Ltd, applying the theories of Consumer Behavior in their Marketing activities? †¢ Are the methods effective? †¢ Do the consumers like their marketing activities? †¢ What is Lakme lipstick’s position compared to other brands? †¢ What else Unilever Bangladesh Ltd could do to ensure future success? Statement of Purpose: the report will serve the following purposes †¢ Defining the practical application of theories of consumer behavior evident in Lakme lipstick’s marketing activities. †¢ Explaining the effectiveness of Lakme lipstick’s marketing activities. †¢ Presenting a total picture regarding consumer feedback and responses. †¢ Describing lakme lipstick’s position in the market. †¢ Proposing few suggestions for lakme lipsticks that will ensure long-term success for Lakme. Scope of the report: this report has been prepared with in the following parameters †¢ The Report covers the marketing activities for Lipstick offered by Lakme by Unilever Bangladesh. †¢ Throughout the survey, emphasis was given to female members of the market. †¢ The Report is primarily based on customer feedback derived from the survey which might not represent the actual information due to sampling error. †¢ The survey is  conducted in the Dhaka city as well as other developed cities. Methodology: this marketing report has been prepared based on primary data. This is basically a qualitative analysis. We have chosen non-comparative scaling technique because we wanted to measure the influence of each and every factor. Only by Non-comparative scaling technique we can do that. And among two types non-comparative technique we used itemize technique and between three itemize techniques we took Likert scaling for Affective components and semantic scale for cognitive components which range from 1 to 5 point scaling. Then after screening we have finally set sets of questions in our questionnaire. Our target population has been the female of Dhaka city and other developed cities in Bangladesh. We have chosen probability sampling. We are four members in our group. As we have been assigned to collect data, we have gone to the target market and got the questionnaires filled up by the females. And to analyze to data we use SPSS application. We analyze data by frequency distribution, different types of diagram and multiple variables comparison. Limitation: Like every research it has also some limitation. Among them time is the most significant constraint that affected our research very much. Within this short time it s was quite impossible to make this sort of research. We had only around 15 days to prepare a research which is quite impossible. Among the other constraints next significant was target market who was reluctant to fill the questionnaires. The product has been a low-involvement one so target market has been reluctant to answer them. There has been a lack of co-ordination among the group member. May be data does not represent the actual population. Organizational Background: This segment will provide a short description concerning the Unilever Bangladesh ltd. The segment will include the following topics- company background, mission statement, company objectives, company location. Company Background: The origin dates back to 1964, when the first Manufacturing Operations were set up as a part of Lever Brothers Pakistan operations. After independence, it was incorporated as a separate Company under the laws of Bangladesh. Later on the Company diversified into different categories. Unilever is a multinational company but for our term paper we are interested in Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. Over the last four decades, Unilever Bangladesh has been constantly bringing new and world-class products for the Bangladeshi people to remove the daily drudgery of life. Over 90% of the country’s households use one or more of Unilever’s products. Unilever Bangladesh conducts their operations with honesty, integrity and openness, and with respect for the human rights and interests of their employees. They will similarly respect the legitimate interests of those with whom they have relationships. Unilever companies and their employees are required to comply with the laws and regulations of the countries in which they operate. Employees: Unilever is committed to diversity in a working environment where there is mutual trust and respect and where everyone feels responsible for the performance and reputation of their company. They will recruit, employ and promote employees on the sole basis of the qualifications and abilities needed for the work to be performed. They are committed to safe and healthy working conditions for all employees. They will not use any form of forced, compulsory or child labor. They are committed to working with employees to develop and enhance each individual’s skills and capabilities. They respect the dignity of the individual and the right of employees to freedom of association. They will maintain good communications with employees through company based information and consultation procedures. Unilever Operations in Bangladesh provide employment to over 10,000 people directly and through its dedicated suppliers, distributors and service providers. 99.5% of UBL employees are locals and they have equal number of Bangladeshis working abroad in other Unilever companies as expatriates Consumers: Unilever is committed to providing branded products and services which  consistently offer value in terms of price and quality, and which are safe for their intended use. Products and services will be accurately and properly labeled, advertised and communicated. Shareholders: Unilever will conduct its operations in accordance with internationally accepted principles of good corporate governance. They will provide timely, regular and reliable information on their activities, structure, financial situation and performance to all shareholders. Business partners: Unilever is committed to establishing mutually beneficial relations with their suppliers, customers and business partners. In their business dealings they expect their partners to adhere to business principles consistent with their own. Community involvement: Unilever strives to be a trusted corporate citizen and, as an integral part of society, to fulfill their responsibilities to the societies and communities in which they operate. Public activities: Unilever companies are encouraged to promote and defend their legitimate business interests. Unilever will co-operate with governments and other organizations, both directly and through bodies such as trade associations, in the development of proposed legislation and other regulations which may affect legitimate business interests. Unilever neither supports political parties nor contributes to the funds of groups whose activities are calculated to promote party interests. The environment: Unilever is committed to making continuous improvements in the management of their environmental impact and to the longer-term goal of developing a sustainable business. Unilever will work in partnership with others to promote environmental care, increase understanding of environmental issues and disseminate good practice. Competition: Unilever believes in vigorous yet fair competition and supports the development of appropriate competition laws. Unilever companies and employees will conduct their operations in accordance with the principles of fair competition and all applicable regulations. Business integrity: Unilever does not give or receive, whether directly or indirectly, bribes or other improper advantages for business or financial gain. No employee may offer, give or receive any gift or payment which is, or may be construed as being, a bribe. Any demand for, or offer of, a bribe must be rejected immediately and reported to management. Unilever accounting records and supporting documents must accurately describe and reflect the nature of the underlying transactions. No undisclosed or unrecorded account, fund or asset will be established or maintained. Mission Statement: â€Å"Our mission is to add Vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people look good, feel good and get more out of life.† This is the mission statement of the Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. Brands: Unilever Bangladesh has several brands in the market. Those are Wheel, Lux, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Close Up, Sunsilk, Lipton Taaza, Pepsodent, Clear, Vim, Surf Excel, Rexona, Dove, Vaseline & Lakme. Type of business: Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with local manufacturing facilities, reporting to regional business groups for innovation and business results. Constitution: Authority of the conducting the company is still in hand of Unilever. Unilever owns 60.75% of the total share and Bangladesh government owns 39.25% of the total share Objective: Their purpose in Unilever is to meet the everyday needs of people everywhere – to anticipate the aspirations their consumers and customers and to respond creatively and competitively with branded products and services which raise the quality of life. Their deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world are their unparalleled inheritance and the foundation for their future growth. They will bring their wealth of knowledge and international expertise to the service of local consumers – a truly multi-local multinational company. Their long-term success requires a total commitment to exceptional standards of performance and productivity, to working together effectively and to a willingness to embrace new ideas and learn continuously. They believe that to succeed requires the highest standards of corporate behavior towards their employees, consumers and the societies and world in which they live. This is Unilever’s road to sustainable, profitable growth for their business and long-term value creation for their shareholders and employees.. Company Location: The company has a Soap Manufacturing factory and a Personal Products Factory located in Chittagong. Besides these, there is a tea packaging operation in Chittagong and three manufacturing units in Dhaka, which are owned and run by third parties exclusively dedicated to Unilever Bangladesh Target Market Parameters: 1. Demographic Factors: Demography is the scientific study of characteristics and dynamics pertaining  to the human population. The characteristics encompassed by this study include size, growth rate, density, vital statistics, and distribution of a specified population. Demography is widely used for various purposes and can encompass small, targeted populations or mass populations. The target market can be divided based on demographic variables. Demographic variables encompasses various aspect of an human such as Age, Gender, Family size, Family lifecycle, baby-boomers, Income, Occupation, Education, Ethnicity, Nationality, Religion, Social class etc. To be successful as marketer one must understand the demographic factors of the population. 1.1: Age and Sex: Normally consumers’ needs and wants change with age. There are certain types of products which attract different types of aged people as well as different sex. There some product which attract male people and there are some products which get the attention of female people. In the same one there are some products which get attracted by the mature people and there are other types of product which attract the child. Therefore products like Lipstick attract the female people or segment. In case of Lakme lipstick the target market is urban female and other developed cities like Dhaka, Shylet, Chittagong e.t.c. although the targeted age is somewhere between 16 years and 45 years. It may be seen that male are buying the lipstick but the ultimate users are female. As a result our majority of targeted respondents are female. The proportion of the male and female respondents in the survey is like this. Figure1.1: Gender analysis According to Figure 1.1 the majority of the respondents are Female. Among 50 respondent female is 43 in case of percentage about 86% of the total sample. So from this Figure 1.1 it can be understood that the survey has been got answered by right people. Figure 1.2: Age analysis Figure1.2 is showing the age structure which has been used for our survey. Among 50 respondents, 31 or 62% respondents are from the age of 16 years to  25years, 16 respondents from26 to 35 and 3 respondents from 36 to 45 years. These respondents will give us the information about Lakme lipstick. They will inform us about Cognitive component, affective component as well as behavioral component of the Lakme lipstick. They will differentiate the lakme among the various lipsticks. Form their responses we will be able to understand the various aspect our research topic. Figure 1.3: Frequency of Brand According figure 1.2 among 50 respondents, 31 respondents from 16 to 25 years use lipstick, 16 respondents from 26 to 35 years use lipstick and lastly 3 respondents from 36 to 45 respondents use lipstick. So here we see the prime customer of lipstick is the people who fall in the range from 16 to 25. so Unilever Bangladesh Ltd should pay more attention on this segment as well as the segment range from 26 to 35. 1.2: Occupation: the purchasing behavior depends on the occupation of the individual. For our research we are simply interested about public service, private service, student, Housewife and for making our questionnaire non force we have kept an option blank. Figure 1.4: Occupation analysis Among 50 respondents, 25 are students, 17 are private service holders, 5 are public service holders. 1 is housewife and 2 are others. In case of percentages about 50% of the total respondents are students, 2% are housewife, 34% are private service holders, 10% are public service holders and 4% are from other occupation. So we have targeted the right people who generally use or buy lipsticks. The Unilever Bangladesh Ltd needs to be  serious about customer like student because this is the big portion of the lipstick users. Students basically use or buy lipstick frequently. They are the main customer of the lipstick. The Unilever Bangladesh Ltd has other potential segment like Private Service professional and public service professional to pay the attention. Because this second and third highest portion of the target market. These segments would be a profitable one for Lakme. Figure 1.5: Brand according to occupation According to above table 25 students use lipstick , 1 housewife uses lipstick, 17 Private service holders use lipstick, 5 public service holder use lipstick and 1 respondent from other profession use lipstick. So Lakme should seriously consider the segment of student since it is the main target market, the private service professionals as it is a great potential segment for Lakme and public service professionals. 1.3: Social Gathering: the respondents of the target market are generally do not like to attend the social gathering very often. Figure 1.6: Social gathering According to our research about 44% of respondent are generally attend the social gather once a month, around 34% of the respondents attend social gathering twice a month, 10% of the respondents are attend different time, 2%, 2% and 8% of the respondents attend the social gathering once a week, more than 4 a month and less than once a month respectively. Since they do not attend the social gathering the Lakme can organize a informal chats or road show with its target market to get the feedback and to spread the positive attributes of Lakme lipstick to others. 1.4: Income: Purchasing ability depends on the individual income. People tend to buy more who has very high income. It is proven that higher class of the society buys more than another. In our survey there are 16% respondents have the income 40000 and above, 24% respondents have the income between 30000 to 40000, 30% respondents have the income between 20000 to 30000 and 14%, 14% and 2% of the total respondents have the income somewhere between 10000 to 20000, below 10000 and no income respectively. Figure 1.7: Distribution of the income According to figure 1.6 among 50 respondents, 8 respondents have the income of 40000 and above, 12 respondents have income between 30000 to 40000, 15 respondents have the income between 20000 to 30000, 7 respondents have the income between 10000 to 20000, 7 respondents have the income less than 10000 and 1 respondent does not have any income. Figure 1.8: Buying behavior according to income The individuals have the income 20000 to 30000 are very much eager to buy lipstick The target market who have income 30000 to 40000 and above 40000 are also interested to buy the lipstick. So Lakme should maintain the customer segment of who have income between 20000 and 30000 and also to influence the segment like who have income between 30000 and 40000 and above 40000. Leisure: Member of the target market does have variety in their leisure time. They just make them busy with numerous activities which they do often. Figure 1.9: Leisure activities According to figure 1.8 most of our target markets spend their time at home during the leisure time and some of them tend to go out in the leisure time. From above frequency distribution it has been found that about 36% of the total respondent watch TV or movies during the leisure time, about 16% of the respondents go to parties or concerts at leisure time, 2% play computer games, 10% of the respondents read story books at the leisure time, 6% of the respondents play outdoor games, 12% of the respondents hangout with their friends, 12% of the respondents read newspaper at the leisure time, 2% of the respondent travel at the leisure time and 2% of the total respondents do other thing during the leisure time. it is clear that most of the respondents enjoy their leisure time by watching TV or movies. So TV and electronic media has become main source of entertainment of the target markets. As Television has become the main source of entertainment at leisure time, Marketer can easily reach the target market. Newspaper can be an effective to reach the target markets. Unilever Bangladesh can publish or put their advertisement into those Television and Newspaper to efficiently manipulate the target markets. Going beauty parlor: Every one likes to be looked beautiful. In case of female this statement is the most appropriate one. The female segments like to go to Beauty parlor.