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CHAPTER 8

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

8.1 Summary of the study

The Indian FMCG sector has a market size of $13.1 billion. Well-established

distribution networks, as well as intense competition between the organised and

unorganised segments are the characteristics of this sector. FMCG in India has a

strong and competitive MNC presence across the entire value chain. It has been

predicted that the FMCG market will reach $33.4 billion in 2015 from $11.6 billion

in 2003. The middle class and the rural segments of the Indian population are the

most promising market for FMCG, and give brand makers the opportunity to

convert them to branded products. The Indian economy is surging ahead rapidly,

keeping pace with rapid urbanisation, increased literacy levels, and rising per capita

income.

The FMCG sector consists of consumer non-durable products, which

broadly include personal care, household care and food and beverages. It is largely

classified into organised and unorganised segments. The sector is buoyed by

intense competition between these two segments. Besides competition, a robust

distribution network coupled with increasing influx of MNC’s across the entire

value chain marks it. The sector continues to remain highly fragmented.

India’s FMCG sector creates employment for more than three million people

in downstream activities. The total FMCG market is in excess of Rs 850 billion. It

is currently growing at double-digit rate and is expected to maintain a high growth

rate.

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The process of market segmentation can be defined as “the identification of

sub-sets of buyers within a market who share similar needs and who have similar

buying processes1”. In an ideal world, each individual buyer would be considered

to have a unique set of needs, which, they seek to satisfy, and firms would tailor

their product offering to each of their customers. In the case of some expensive

items of capital equipment bought by firms, this indeed does happen (for example,

there are very few buyers of large power stations , so firms can justifiably treat each

customer as a segment of one). But in the case of products which are relatively low

in value and high in sales volumes (FMCGs), it would be impossible for firms to

cater to each individual’s needs, although there is evidence that new developments

in technology are allowing for a much greater degree of customisation than has

previously been the case.

Market segmentation should be regarded as the product of critical thinking

rather than some pre-determined set of procedures. There is no underlying theory to

the process of market segmentation. It follows that what is an appropriate basis for

segmenting one market may not be appropriate to other markets. The company

needs to be aware of the criteria by which the effectiveness of any segmentation

basis can be assessed. They generally consider four important criteria:

Is the bases of market segmentation useful to the company? Essentially,

segmentation is only worthwhile if it allows a company to profitably

penetrate a greater proportion of its market than would have been the case

without undertaking the exercise.

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Are the segments of an economic size? Any basis for segmentation should

yield segments, which are of a size that a company can profitably exploit.

Can the market segments be measured? Ideally, companies should be able

to know the precise size of all market segments that it has identified. This is

important in order that segments can be compared and their profit potentials

assessed.

Are the segments accessible to the company? There is little point in going to

a lot of effort in defining segments of a market when those segments are not

accessible to the company, nor never likely to be.

Defining market segments is a relatively passive task of analysis. While sound

analysis is always important, the vital next stages involve evaluating each of the

identified market segments and selecting one or more for targeting. A company

should ask in deciding whether a segment is worth going after. In fact, a company

may avoid a dichotomous classification of "develop / ignore" and prefer instead a

ranking of segments ranging from "very attractive opportunity" to "let us ignore

this one".

Size of segment - What is an economic size varies between companies. A small

company with lower overhead costs may be able to justify serving much smaller

segments that have distinctive needs than large mass production company.

Growth prospects - Markets are seldom static in nature and what is an attractive

segment today may not be so in the future.

Profitability - Just because a market segment is large does not necessarily imply

that segment can be profitably served. Many markets are characterised by a large

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segment which seeks low prices and in which companies can only make good

profits by stringent control of their costs, while a smaller segment is prepared to

pay a premium for a product for which the cost of differentiation is less than the

price premium charged.

Competition for the segment - When a company is identifying potentially profitable

segments to develop, the chances are that its competitors are doing exactly the same

thing. The result is that an attractive segment soon becomes unattractive when large

numbers of new entrants, all following the same logic, create intense competitive

pressure

Fit with company objectives - Many segments may appear large and profitable, but

then rejected because they would not sit easily within a company’s broader

marketing objectives and strategies.

8.2 Findings of the study

1. Out of 500 respondents, 75.2 % respondents were male and 24.8 % were

female. That has shown that the male members of the families are doing most of

the buying.

2. 60.2% respondents were in the age group of 20 to 30 years, 22.2% were in the

age group of 30 to 40 years, 15 % were having age more than 40. Only 2.6%

respondents were having age less than 20 years.

3. Out of 500 respondents, 35% were having monthly income more than Rs 20000,

17% respondents were earning between Rs 10000 to Rs 20000, whereas 15%

respondents were earning less than Rs 10000 per month. 33% respondents were

having no income that was because most of them were students.

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4. More than half (60%) respondents were married and 40 % respondents were

unmarried.

5. Total sample has included respondents in which 62.4% were working whereas

37.6 were students

6. Out of total respondents, only 5% respondents were having no education. 14.6%

respondents have the basic school education, 39.8 % respondents have done

Graduation and 40.6% respondents have done Post Graduation

7. Out of 500 respondents, 44.6% respondents were from urban areas, 22.4%

respondents were from semi urban areas, and 30.6% respondents were from the

rural areas. Only 2.4% respondents were from metros.

8. More than half of the respondents (58.4%), were belonging to nuclear families.

39.2% respondents were belonging to joint families, whereas 2.4% were the

single persons

9. The study has shown that respondents like to purchase bathing soap 2.4% once

in a week, 12.8% respondents like to purchase once in fortnight, whereas large

part of the respondents (37.8%) like to purchase once in month. 47%

respondents were not fixed about their purchase.

2% Respondents like to purchase toothpaste once a week, more than half

(53%) respondents like to purchase once in a month, whereas 44.4% were not

fixed about their purchase.

More than half of the respondents (55.4%), like to purchase detergent only

once in a month, where as 37% are not fixed about their purchase. 5% like to

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purchase small packing for weekly basis and 2.6% like to purchase once in a

fortnight.

More than half of the respondents (53.2%) like to purchase tea only once

in a month, where as 41.6% are not fixed about their purchase. 2.6% like to

purchase small packing for weekly basis and 2.6% like to purchase once in a

fortnight.

10. Mostly males prefer purchasing once in month (50.3%), or they are not fixed

(32.7%) Mostly female are not fixed in their purchasing (90.3%) Chi-square

significance .001 shows that data is significantly related. So Buying routine of

males is significantly different from females

11. Most of the time people of all ages are not fixed about their purchase that is the

same case for all the age groups (47% in total).

12. Buying routine remains not fixed for the educated respondent regardless of level

(47%), where as uneducated people prefer to purchase once in month (52%) or

once in week (48%). Therefore, it varies for educated and non-educated people

but does not vary for different levels of education.

13. Respondents have not purchased a particular product because it was low priced.

(87.2 % in the case of bathing soap, 89.8% in the case of toothpaste, 84.8 % in

the case of detergent and 87.2% in the case of tea)

14. Respondent are not willing to change their product if another brands offers an

attractive scheme(62.4 % in case of bathing soap, 72.4 % in the case of

toothpaste, 49.2 % in case of detergent, 67 % in the case of tea)

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15. Respondents are willing to try for another shop if they do not get the required

brand at first step ( 82.4% in case of Bathing Soap, 89.8 % in the case of

Toothpaste, 74.2% in the case of Detergent and 84.6% in the case of Tea)

16. Respondents are significantly aware about the advertisement of the products

that they are purchasing (87.2 % in the case of Bathing Soap, 87.2 % in the case

of Toothpaste, 87.2 % in the case of Detergent and 84. 8 % in the case of Tea)

17. Respondents are mostly aware about the competitors of the purchased products.

(79.8 % in the case of Bathing Soap, 77.2 % in the case of Toothpaste, 79.8 %

in the case of Detergent and 77.4 % in the case of Tea)

18. As the study was carried in non metro cities so only 2.4% respondents were

from metro, 44.6% respondents were belonging to Urban area, 22.4% were

belonging to semi urban area and 30.6 % were belonging to the rural area

19. It is very much clear from the fact that although in India super markets are in

the boom, but this study has shown that still on an average 13.05 % people go to

super markets for purchase (12.4 % in case bathing soap, 9.8% in case of

toothpaste, 17.6 % in case of detergent, 12.4 % in case of tea), most of the

people want to purchase the products from the traditional stores with an average

of 46.1% (45.6% in case of bathing soap, 48% in case of toothpaste, 42.8% in

case of detergent and 48 % in case of tea), on an average only 1.25% purchasing

is done on the internet (2.4% for bathing soap, 2.6% for toothpaste, 0% in case

of detergent and tea), whereas on an average 39.6% people are not fixed about

the location of the purchase (39.6% in case of bathing soap, toothpaste,

detergent and tea)

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20. Respondents prefer to purchase products from a particular place because of

convenience 47.6%, 30.2% of the respondents select a particular place because

of Quality, only 12.4% respondents select a particular place for Price , whereas

9.8% respondent have certain other reasons behind the selection of a particular

place for the buying a particular product.

21. 42.8% respondents feel that quality is very important in the purchase location

selection, for 20 % it is just important, whereas for 27.4% respondents it

remains neither important nor not important, for 5% it is not important, for 2.4%

it is extremely not important and 2.4% feels that quality is irrelevant in the

purchase location selection

22. None of the respondents feel that promotion is very important in selecting a

particular place for buying a product, for 10 % it is just important, whereas for

17.4% respondents it remains neither important nor not important, for 43.2% it

is not important, for 27% it is extremely not important and 2.4% feels that

promotion is irrelevant in selecting a particular place for buying a product

23. Only 2.4% respondents feel that offers are very important in selecting a

particular place for buying a product. For 7.8% it is just important, whereas for

12.4% respondents it remains neither important nor not important, for 19.8% it

is not important, a large number of 55.2% respondents feels that it is extremely

not important and 2.4% feels that offers are irrelevant in selecting a particular

place for buying a product.

24. A large number of the respondents (32.4% respondents) feel that Convenience

is very important in selecting a particular place for buying a product, for 30 % it

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is just important, whereas for 10.2% respondents it remains neither important

nor not important, for 7.2% it is not important, for 15.4% its extremely not

important and 4.8% feels that convenience is irrelevant in selecting a particular

place for buying a product

25. 17.6% respondents feel that quality is very important in selecting a particular

place for buying a product, for 29.8 % it is just important, whereas for 25%

respondents it remains neither important nor not important, for 22.4% it is not

important, and 5.2% feels that price is irrelevant in selecting a particular place

for buying a product

26. 4.8% respondents feel that some other factors are important in selecting a

particular place for buying a product, for 2.4% it is just important, whereas for

7.6% respondents it remains neither important nor not important, for 2.4% it is

not important, and 82.8% feels that other factors are irrelevant in selecting a

particular place for buying a product

27. Most of the respondents (45%) are purchasing a product because of

advertisement, after the advertisement the most influential factoring the

purchase is the reference from friends and family members (38.25%), schemes

tend to attract very little respondents (8%), attractive packing is helpful in

attracting only 5.5% of the respondents and direct selling is the lowest attractive

factor as it is able to attract only 3.25% respondents

28. 87.2% respondents have noticed the advertisement but only half of them (45%)

have purchased the product because of advertisement. That has shown that

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advertisement is only able to attract 50% of the individuals who have seen the

advertisement

It is very much clear that 54.8% respondents have purchased this soap

because of its advertisement, 37.8% respondents have purchased because

friends or family members are referring them, whereas only 7.4% have

purchased because of its scheme. None of the respondent have purchased

because of some salesman or its packing

35.2% respondents always refer the same bathing soap to their friends and

family members, 25.2% sometimes refer it to them, 4.8% respondents

occasionally refer, and 15% respondents rarely refer the product to their friends

and family members. Only 19.8% respondents never refer it to their friends and

family member.

29. It is very much clear that 42% respondents have purchased this toothpaste

because of its advertisement, 37.6% respondents have purchased because

friends or family members are referring them, whereas only 10.2% have

purchased because of its scheme. 5.2% respondent have purchased because of

some salesman and 5% have purchased for its packing

27.4% respondents always refer the same toothpaste to their friends and

family members, 22.8% sometimes refer it to them, 12.6% respondents

occasionally refer, and 15% respondents rarely refer the product to their friends

and family members. 22.2% never refer it to their friends and family members.

30. It is very much clear that 49.8% respondents have purchased this detergent

because of its advertisement, 27.6% respondents have purchased because

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friends or family members are referring them, whereas only 10% have

purchased because of its scheme. 5.2% respondent have purchased because of

some salesman and 7.4% have purchased for its packing

24.6% respondents always refer the same toothpaste to their friends and

family members, 20.4% sometimes refer it to them, 10% respondents

occasionally refer, and 22.6% respondents rarely refer the product to their

friends and family members. 22.4% never refer it to their friends and family

members.

31. It is very much clear that 32.6% respondents have purchased this tea because of

its advertisement, 50% respondents have purchased because friends or family

members are referring them, whereas only 4.8% have purchased because of its

scheme. 2.6% respondent has purchased because of some salesman and 10%

have purchased for its packing

19.8% respondents always refer the same tea to their friends and family

members, 12.6% sometimes refer it to them, 25.2% respondents occasionally

refer, and 22.8% respondents rarely refer the product to their friends and family

members. 19.6% never refer it to their friends and family members.

32. 70.2% respondents said advertisement is extremely important in the purchase

decision. 24.8% feels that it is important. 2.4% think it is neither important nor

not important, whereas only 2.6% feels that it is not important in their purchase

decision

33. 29.8% respondents said publicity is extremely important in the purchase

decision. 52.2% feels that it is important. 15.4% think it is neither important nor

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not important, whereas only 2.6% feels that it is extremely not important in their

purchase decision

34. 10% respondents said that direct selling is extremely important in the purchase

decision. 58.2% feels that it is important. 16.8% think it is neither important nor

not important, whereas, 9.8% feels that it is not important in their purchase

decision and 5.2% feels that its extremely not important

35. 17.4% respondents said public relations are extremely important in the purchase

decision. 50% feels that it is important. 17.4% think it is neither important nor

not important, whereas 10% feels that it is not important in their purchase

decision and 5.2% feels that its extremely not important

36. 32.8% respondents said offers and discounts are extremely important in the

purchase decision. 50% feels that it is important. 17.4% think it is neither

important nor not important, whereas 10% feels that it is not important in their

purchase decision and 5.2% feels that its extremely not important

37. 72.6% respondents have purchased the product because of its quality. 15% have

purchased product because of its brand, only 7.2% respondents have purchased

it for price and 5.2% have purchased because someone has referred it

38. 72% respondents have purchased this toothpaste because of its quality. 17.8%

have purchased product because of its brand, only 10.2% respondents have

purchased it for price

39. 54.6% respondents have purchased this detergent because of its quality. 27.6%

have purchased product because of its brand, 15.2% respondents have

purchased it for price and 2.6% have purchased it because of some offer

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40. 75% respondents have purchased this tea because of its quality. 17.6% have

purchased product because of its brand, 4.8% respondents have purchased it for

price and 2.6% have purchased it because of some offer

41. Future challenges in market segmentation for FMCG companies:

a. All for one or one for all: this is the first challenge to all the FMCG

companies that what to offer, they are always in a dilemma that whether

they should offer one product to all the customers in a segment or a same

product should be offered to all of the consumer segments

b. The price is not right: Every company wants to increase its sales

turnover, for the same they tend to decrease their price to attain more and

more sales. The main reason is that it is the easiest option and it requires

least thinking. In lieu of the companies forgets to focus on its key

strengths.

c. Need to open for disloyalty account: The problem is that the FMCG

companies do not know why people buy, so are still not ahead of the

game. This internally focused data can only lead to inadequate, inward-

looking segmentation techniques that fail to bring new customers to

products or fail to develop new products for existing (bored) customers.

They operate by saying things like ‘other people have bought this, so you

will like it too.’ Trying to predict customer behaviour like this is a fools’

errand. None of us behaves ‘like other consumers’ in the way that

companies want. Loyalty cards seem to increase purchases in the short

term, certainly. They lead to people spending more money when they

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think they are making savings. But that is not the same as segmenting the

market and discovering innovative ways of increasing customer

satisfaction by helping them to buy more and buy frequently

d. The hard end of marketing: Data-mining system does not mean your

segmentation is as competitive as it could be. Data can give you clues

about how people might behave, but it does not give you anything like

the whole picture. ‘Context marketing’ not used more broadly by the

FMCG companies; because, it is very difficult to do it well. This is where

it becomes the hard end of marketing. However, it is perfectly possible to

research, as Paul Fifield can testify. ‘Identifying the contexts is quite

straightforward. The big challenge is in helping the organisation to

market to a context rather than a defined person it does not matter which

people you contact when you ‘hit’ the context because they will all be in

the segment so will behave appropriately’. Done well, it can lead to a

subtle but effective change of offering. Offerings work when the context

is put first. The thing is get the offering right, segment to your market,

target your segments and the customer will select you. This works for all

FMCG companies. Most of the examples of poor segmentation so far are

from the FMCG companies; but this is only because these firms have

been experimenting with segmentation for longer.

e. The big box experience: Some companies suffer because instead of

segmenting effectively, they adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. They

look at the largest segment and try to please everyone. The result is

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undifferentiated, unremarkable offerings that do not offend but do not

please anyone. Companies do not like the idea that if they target to

specific segments, then sizeable swathes of the marketplace will not

come to them. Therefore, they try to appeal to the majority of the

available audience. Paradoxically this leaves you with fewer customers

in the end because your products are not sufficiently distinguishable from

anyone else’s. Segmentation is inevitable because customers segment

themselves, and trying to avoid it only compounds the problem. There is

room for consumer companies to do better here as well. There is a huge

latent market that has not been effectively segmented, and this latent area

is ‘catered for’ by companies that compete on price. The FMCG

companies relentlessly pursue ever-increasing amounts of data about

customers’ buying habits, which merely cloud the issue. Torn between

data paralysis on the one hand and trying to please everyone on the other,

the result is woefully inadequate marketing ‘classification’ masquerading

as customer driven segmentation. Again, the answer is simple get the

offering right by differentiating the product to appeal to a specific

segment. Then, customers will segment themselves and buy from you.

f. The way forward: Will the FMCG companies continue to do the same

thing like competing on price or branching out into new growth areas as

their markets mature? Most customers really do not want the cheapest

product. They want what they perceive as value a subtle but enormously

important difference and they will pay for it. The art lies in finding out

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how much of a premium they will pay. It is time to turn the tide against

price-oriented competition and data obsessed marketing techniques.

Squeezed on one side by price and on the other by maturing markets,

market segmentation is the way forward.

8.3 Conclusion: Market segmentation is a subgroup of people sharing one or more

characteristics that cause them to have similar product needs. Market segmentation

is the process of dividing a market into distinct subsets (segments) that behave in

the same way or have similar needs. Because each segment is homogeneous in their

needs and attitudes, they are likely to respond similarly to a given marketing

strategy. That is, they are likely to have similar feelings and ideas about a

marketing mix comprised of a given product or service, sold at a given price,

distributed in a certain way and promoted in a certain way. Until now, most of the

FMCG companies are following the traditional basis of segmentation i.e.

demographical segmentation, geographical segmentation, behavioural segmentation

and occasion based segmentation.

In demographic segmentation, a given market is sub-divided on the basis of

demographic variables. This is the most widely used method by FMCG companies

for segmenting the market as it gives most widely coverage of the area with high

level of satisfaction for each segment. This is also an easy basis to understand and

use. However, its consistent implications are under question mark. As from this

study, it is concluded that gender variable in demographic still play role in the

market segmentation but other variables such as age, income and education does

not play nay role in the market segmentation.

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Price is no longer a basis for the segmentation as no company is sure that

every individual is ready to purchase a cheaper product.

People are not ready to change the product if they are not going to get it

from the first shop, they always prefer to try from another shops before going for

some another brand’s product. They are most of the time aware about the

advertisements and other promotional programs that being offered by the company,

they are also aware about the competitors of the product.

It is also concluded that in the era of super markets and shopping malls, still

the traditional Indian type store hold its importance while in the purchasing. This is

because these type of products are being purchased as per the convenience of the

people and the quality of the product other factors have hardly any impact on the

people.

The most of the products are being purchased based on the advertisement of

the product, after the advertisement most influential factor is the reference from the

friends and family members. However, this study also highlights that people are not

willing to refer the purchased product to their friends and family members; the

basic reason is that product that an individual feels is a good product may not prove

good for another as they may differ in their expectations related to the products. In

addition, this study showed that in the FMCGs advertisement and publicity has a

significant role whereas other tools of the promotional mix like direct selling and

public relation has almost no impact on the purchase related decisions of the

customers.

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Quality remains the most important factor in the purchase decision other

factors like brand, price, offers have very little impact on the purchase decision of

the customers.

In the current scenario, the FMCG companies are in a dilemma whether to

offer one product to all customers or different products to one segment or any

combination of it. The dependability on price is no longer there as no one these

days choose a product because of it is low in price as compared to all of the

competitors, it may hold for someone in a weaker segment of the economy but that

can not be generalized. There is a need to stress on the concepts like context

marketing.

At last, this study has highlighted some of the new concepts in the market

segmentation namely;

Multidimensional Segmentation

Artificial Neural Networks

Latent Class Models

Fuzzy and Overlapping Clustering

Occasion‐based Segmentation

These may hold a very good importance in the future market segmentation

and that may help to serve the uncovered or unsatisfied customer of the society.

The whole study can be concluded based on the following points, which say

that future Market Segmentation will depend upon five golden rules:

1. There are “No Rules”: Getting it right is not simple at all. However,

never copy. Each successful segmentation process is different, unique, and

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unrepeatable. The "me too" attitude leads to failure. Originality could

possibly break a market open.

2. “Reducing” a market? Sometimes it is about expanding it. Some of the

most successful marketing plans have chosen a larger market by

“expanding” their segmentation, not only reducing it.

3. The “Value” of the segment: The best segments must have Potential,

Lifespan, Accessibility, and Profitability. The key is identifying which

segments provide value in terms of potential, lifespan, accessibility, and

profitability; because a sales strategy’s effectiveness increases according to

our capacity to size segments, identify them, and dissect them.

4. It must be “Different”: Each company requires a different Market

Segmentation. Being original and efficient with segmentation is the key to

the amount of success achieved. We create new and personalized ways of

segmenting, creating Hybrid models that are easy to interpret and explain

(causes, value, behavioural, psychographic, demographic, and attitudinal) in

order to obtain the most useful results from each sectorial situation and each

company.

5. Choosing “The Axes” properly: Can we have the following

combinations i.e. time segmentation and spending causes, demographic but

with attitudinal axes, and psychographic but with a behavioural aspect?

Surely, there is an answer, but to find it we must investigate, test, and

challenge the market

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8.4 Suggestions: It is being suggested to the FMCG companies while segmenting

the market they must consider following points:

1. As from the above study, it has been concluded that apart from gender no

other demographical variable have much impact on the buying routine

decision of the respondents. So while segmenting the market gender should

be given more weight age than other demographical variables such as age

and education level.

2. One of the easiest methods of segmenting the market is segmenting on the

basis of price. However, from the above study it is being revealed that price

is not the only the reason for the purchase of a particular product. So price

alone as a bases of market segmentation should not be encouraged

3. While segmenting the FMCG market it must be kept in mind that people

prefer a good quality product rather than a good scheme or offer. A good

scheme or an offer may fetch customer occasionally but the impact of the

good quality is long lasting.

4. Reference from friends and family members is the most influential factor in

the purchasing FMCGs. Doing advertisement only is not sufficient for

attracting the customers. New marketing techniques like viral marketing or

word of mouth marketing for FMCGs should be encouraged.

5. Lastly, it is being recommended that rather depending upon traditional

methods of market segmentation, companies should try to develop new and

creative market segmentation for FMCGs for catering the needs of the

customers more effectively in order to attain maximum profits.

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8.5 Contributions of the study

1. The present study has highlighted the various bases of market segmentation

that are being followed by the various FMCG companies from the

development of FMCG markets until now.

2. It has also highlighted the targeting strategies that are being followed by the

most of the FMCG companies

3. An analysis of the importance of current basis of segmentation (That the

most of the FMCG companies are following) will help in the process of

making future effective market segmentation, which will be able to cater the

need, wants, desire and demands of the various customers of the same

society.

4. This study will contribute to the future studies, which will tend to study the

role of past market segmentation and their role in making new basis for the

effective market segmentation.

8.6 Scope for further study

As it is not possible to cover all the possible dimensions of the problem in

one study, an effort has been made to identify further areas of research.

1. Various bases of market segmentation that are being used by FMCG

companies for segmenting the market are being discussed in very brief. Each

basis can be further analyzed in detail with special reference to FMCG

Companies

2. Secondly, survey can be conducted for some other parts of the country, as

people tend to differ in their taste and preferences, the basis which are not

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having importance in the market segmentation based on the present sample

may have importance for another sample.

3. Thirdly, further research can be carried out considering if the present bases

are not sufficient in targeting the need, wants, desire and demand of the

customers of a society, then which other basis should be used. A few new

bases are being highlighted in this research, their applicability and

importance can be further tested.

8.7 References:

1. Smith, W. R. (1956), “Product differentiation and market segmentation as

alternative marketing strategies”, Journal of Marketing, July, p 3–8