Ritesh Verma

1501095
LADDERING STUDY
Consumer ProfileInterviewed a 26yrs old male graduate currently working in a private firm
in Delhi. He is unmarried and buys all the products himself. He considers
himself an informed buyer and makes appropriate amount of research
before purchasing a shopping product.
Products ChoseniPhone 5s and Davidoff Coffee
Interview Excerpt/Questions

Why this product and not anything else?

Why was its price a factor?
So do you believe that price determines the quality of the product?
Is it important for you to have a better product than friends?
How much is the style and content important for you?
What other attribute/s were important for you?
Whose opinions do you seek before purchasing a product?

Means End ChainProduct 1- iPhone 5S

Attribut
es
Style

Functional
Consequences
Better looks & designs

Psychological
Consequences
Feels attractive
Feels like good value for
money

Terminal
Value
Happiness

Durability

Better experience

High
Price

Excellent performance

Feels respected by friends

Self esteem

Functional
Consequences

Psychological
Consequences

Better taste

Feels good

Better health

Feels attractive

Terminal
Value
Happy,
satisfied
Respected

Better quality

Feels respected by friends

Self esteem

Satisfied

Product 2- Davidoff Coffee

Attribut
es
Ingredien
ts
Low Fat
High
Price

Ritesh Verma
1501095

ExperienceThe experience vastly varied across both the product. While interviewing
for iPhone 5S, I got a better well informed answer. It was obvious that the
buyer was heavily involved and had put a huge amount of research while
purchasing the product and had a clear idea of what attributes he was
looking for and why. He was also enjoying the process of sharing his
experience while purchasing the phone. While talking about the second
product, i.e., the Davidoff coffee, he wasnt very sure about all the
attributes he looked for. He also mentioned that it was more of an intuitive
buy and he hadnt put a lot of effort.
It was easier to elicit response about the first product, i.e., iPhone 5S. I
believe that this was the case because he was highly involved while
purchasing it and looked at all the attributes and alternatives thoroughly.
He had put in much larger effort and lot more of time in buying it.
LearningsLaddering technique of interviewing is highly helpful in eliciting goals and
underlying values. It helped me in understanding how a customer
connects the different attributes to the various core/terminal values that
he seeks and in simpler terms it explains why people buy and use a
product or service. It also helps in understanding that the level of
involvement required while purchasing will lead to different approaches by
the customers.
Problems facedSome of the problems faced were:

It can be tedious for interviewee. Repeatedly asking Why can

sometime also irritate them.
A few times participant was unable to explain why that attribute
was important to him.
It is not very easy to reach to the core values of each attribute and
this makes this technique a bit difficult in my opinion.

Conclusion
Yeah, I was convinced by the responses that I got across both the
products. It was a bit expected considering that one was a high
involvement product and other a low involvement product. The amount of

Ritesh Verma
1501095
clarity he had while talking about the first product completely made
sense. It was definitely a worthwhile exercise as it helped me in
understanding the customer behaviour and uncover peoples root
consequences and values.