CASE STUDY 2

Group Members

Gorhan Karolin
Muaya Margareth
Nathalia Christy
Background

This project was done in Harihar and Davangere.  

OBJECTIVES
• which is the most commonly used detergent in the market.
• what influences people to buy a particular brand?
• what is the penetration level of Surf in the market?
• to identify customer needs.
 Methodology

• Information was collected from a sample size of 40 respondents, which included both
males and females. Demographic details are provided later in the report.
• Information obtained from the respondents was analysed and interpreted with the
help of the SPSS software.
• Simple tabulations (annexed in the report) were calculated for each question and cross-
tabs were provided as and where necessary.
• Findings revealed by the tabulations were listed in a summarised form as
Recommended Actions.
Sample Composition

• In all, our group members as a part of our survey visited 52 households. 12 of

them revealed that they were entirely dependent on local washermen or
launderettes. Therefore these respondents were not considered for
answering the questionnaire. The remaining 40 thereby formed the sample
size of our survey.
• The respondents were from Davangere district (Local residential areas of
Davangere and MKL Colony). The following charts and graphs depict the
distributions of the people interviewed.
 Experiences/Difficulties Encountered in the Field

• The survey conducted as a part of our curriculum provided loads of experiences to each
member of the group. However the fact that some difficulties were encountered while
performing this task cannot be overlooked. These are listed below:
• Difficulties:
• Our group consisted of four members. We were divided into two subgroups of two
each. Since we had only one Kannada speaking member in the group, one of the
subgroups had problems communicating with respondents in some areas of Harihar
and Davangere.
• Not much of importance was attached to this task by some of the households. We
were greeted with either reluctance or nonchalance. In some cases, we were given
contradictory answers, which seemed to show that they were trying to get over with
the interview as soon as possible.
Experiences

• We got an understanding of how the door-to-door salesmen might be

feeling when they are turned away from the gate itself while marketing their
products.
• The exercise provided us with first-hand knowledge of how real life surveys
were conducted by organisations involved in market research.
• It gave us a hands-on experience on understanding the mentality of
consumers varying from rural areas to urban ones. It also gave us an
understanding as to the effect of income and personal experiences while
indulging in a purchase.
• We also found that in many cases, brand loyalty exists irrespective of income if the
product satisfies the desired needs of the consumer. For example, Rin being used by
families of high income while Surf (which is comparatively costlier) was used by some
of the households falling under the lower income category.
• In many cases it was felt that when a consumer was confused as to a particular
response, he or she usually responded with the same answer that the surveyor
hinted at.
• Although it was thought that only women would be enthusiastic participants, due to
the product being a woman-oriented one, to the great surprise and pleasure of the
surveyors it was found that men were equally knowledgeable and willing to answer
the questionnaire.
Findings of our Survey
(Simple Tabulation)

1. People who wash clothes at home.

• As a part of our survey, we visited 52 houses. It was found that 12 households gave
all their clothes to launderettes, while 40 households washed their clothes at home.
Since the objective of our survey was to find out which detergent is popular in the
households, we did not take into consideration the 12 who depended entirely on
launderettes.
2. People using Surf.

Of the 40 people interviewed, we found that 21

households used Surf, while 19 of them washed their
clothes with other detergents. This is a clear indicator
of the popularity and the penetration of this particular
brand in the consumers mind and in the market.
3. Sub-brands of Surf used

Of the 21 consumers using Surf, it was

found that Surf Excel as a sub-brand was
the most commonly used, with 17
consumers stating it as their preference.
This was followed by Surf Ultra and Surf
Super Excel with 2 consumers each.
However, no users could be detected for
Surf Excel Matic.
4. Influential factors while buying Surf.

As indicated above, whiteness that the detergent provides, say 8 of

the consumers, is one of the most potent influences while buying
the detergent. The second most important influence is the fact that
it is easy on the fabric, say 5 of them. Other influential factors are its
gentleness on hands and its good stain removing capacity (Daag
dhoondte reh jaaoge).
5. Consumer awareness with respect to the
advertising campaign of Surf.
Of the consumers surveyed, awareness with
respect to advertising by Surf was cent per cent-
that is, all consumers using Surf were aware of
its promotional campaigns and all had seen Surf
ads at one point of time or the other. Of the
different types of ads aired by the media, the
Lalitaji ad held the greatest retention power and
linking, with 7 out of the 21 consumers liking it
the most, followed by the ad for Surf Excel and
Dhoondthe Reh Jaaoge, with a fan following of
5 consumers each.
Lalitaji Dhoondthe Reh Jaaoge
6. Persuasive powers of various schemes.

Schemes, which are launched by Surf to promote

sales, are generally not THE major criteria when the
consumer goes in for a purchase. This is also reflected
by the survey in which 13 out of 21 of the consumers
supported the fact. Only 8 were those who were
affected by the schemes propagated by Surf.
7. Suggestions provided by the consumers.

The following changes were suggested in the Any

other category:
Demands for a measuring scale so as to avoid
wastage of powder
Change in the colour of the detergent powder.
Fragrance of the detergent.
8. Reasons for not using Surf.

  Price of the detergent and association with fewer schemes were the
two primary reasons for which consumers preferred other brands to
Surf. Price was a factor for users of cheaper washing powders such as
Nirma, Rin, and Wheel. Users of Henko, Tide and Ariel insisted that
the quality of their detergent was superior to that of Surf.
9. Detergents (other than Surf) frequently used by consumers.

Amongst many existing brands available (excluding Surf) in the market,

the most frequently used ones are Rin and Wheel followed by Ariel with
others (Local) constituting the rest of the market. In the chart indicated
above, 19 were nonusers of Surf, while 5 of them also preferred an
additional detergent besides Surf.
10. Major influencers while making a purchase.

While conducting the survey, personal experience of using the

product along with many others over a period was major influence
while indulging in the purchase. Apart from this, effective advertising
was a close runner–up and was largely responsible in influencing
people while buying their preferred brand.
Quantity Factors No.

  Friends 3

Neighbors 4

Advertisements 13

Self-experience 19

Others 1

Total 40
11. Quantity usually purchased.
As is predictable, due to the fact that the survey was done in an area
which was a middle class one, the housewives usually went in for
the 1 & 2 kg pack and the frequency of purchase was once in a
month, which is depicted in the chart above.
Quantity No.

Less than 1 kg. 10

1 – 2 kg. 20

2 – 3 kg. 6

3 – 4 kg. 3

More than 4 kg. 1

Total 40
12. Frequency of purchase.

Usually households preferred to buy their stock of detergent once

in a month, as is mostly the case with all stock being ordered along
with the ration that comes monthly. But still many households also
buy it fortnightly.
Frequency No.

Once a week 3

Once a fortnight 11

Once a month 23

Once in two months 3

Total 40
13. Packaging Preference.
Packets (500 gm., 1 kg., 2 kg.) are the outright winners in this section with
more than 50% consumers in this category preferring this particular style
of packaging. However, Jars were also preferred because of their multi-
utility purpose after using the primary product.
14. Alternative brand of detergent
There were 10 non-users of Surf who preferred it as their first choiceof
purchase in case of non- availability of their preferred brand. Users of
Surf voted for Ariel, Rin, and Wheel as their first choice, given the same
situation.
First choice   Second Choice   .
Brands No. Brands No.

Rin 9 Rin 11

Wheel 8 Wheel 12

Surf 10 Surf 5

Tide 1 Tide 6

Ariel 7 Ariel 3

Henko 4 Henko 1

Nirma 1 Nirma 2

Total 40 Total 40
15. Stock of detergents.

More than 50% of the

households did not keep a stock
of detergents at home and
resorted to purchase only when
the need arose
16. Preferred detergent amongst acquaintances of consumers.
The general impression that we get after conducting the survey is that Surf
rules the market because it was revealed that amongst the acquaintances
also Surf was the most popular brand followed by Ariel and Nirma.
 Summary of Findings
 
(Based on Simple & Cross-tabulations)
• In Q. No.7, eight respondents stated that they would like more schemes
to be associated with Surf. However, when they were asked that what
change would they suggest in their detergent (Q. No.8), only 5 of them
suggested more schemes.
• Surf Excel (17/21) is preferred by the consumers because of its
extraordinary whiteness (8/21) and the fact that it is easy on the fabric
(5/21).
• When it comes to housewives the verdict is almost equal with 12 saying
Yes and 11 saying that they do not use Surf but when it comes to
students, Surf is the clear winner with 6 out of 7 favoring the product.
• Of the 40 consumers surveyed, 21 used Surf and of those 21, 19 were
women as Surf is more a product that homemakers use. Of the 19 non-
users, 16 again were women with the rest being men who had genuine
knowledge about the product and who had used it at one moment of
time or another.
• Of the users of Surf, all of them were more or less equally distributed
when categorised according to the income group with the higher income
group categories preferring Surf a little more as Surf is costlier than most
of the other brands (13/21).
• An interesting fact is revealed, 4
users stated that some of their
clothes were washed either by
themselves or by their maids,
however the expensive clothes
were given to launderettes. We
also find that the trend of people
who are in the different
categories is almost the same
with almost an equal number in
each category.
• One interesting observation may be possible. It is seen that the less
than 25 age group of users are more inclined to use Surf and as the
age group increases the number of users decrease, this may be due
to the new positioning that Surf is using where it is targeting the
younger generation too, through its advertisements.
• Surf is popular with acquaintances of both the users and the non-
users. In the acquaintances of users section Ariel follows (5/21)
while in the alternative category Nirma (6/19) and Ariel (4/ 19) are
preferred widely.
 
Recommendations

• Of the sub-brands, Surf Excel was the most recognised one, so the company
ought to take some measures to make the consumer aware about other
sub-brands.
• If possible, pricing should be reviewed, with many consumers citing it as a
negative factor.
• Surf being viewed as a premium product could come up with a lower priced
sub-brand for more rural market penetration to compete with Wheel,
Nirma, and so on
• More schemes should be introduced to attract non-users.
Advertising standards should be maintained, if possible improved, as
advertisements have contributed immensely to the awareness level and
usage of the product.
Thank You