Difference in Perceptions of Consumers in Different Regions

Institute of business management| DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTION OF CUSTOMERS BELONGING TO DIFFERENT LOCALITIES REGARDING CONSUMPTION OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS, SPECIFIALLY PEDIASURE. | Methods in Business Research| | Muhammad Bilal Arif SaharAnum IqbalAhetezaz HaloFaiz Mehmood| 12/10/2012| | Contents Acknowledgment3 Abstract4 Introduction5 Statement of Problem6 Significance of Problem/ Purpose6 Statement of Hypothesis6 Limitations6 Literature Review7In order to write this literature review we had to take out journals and articles from a lot of areas the reason being that there are almost no similar researches done considering this topic. Even if researches are done they tend to cater to the perceptions of westerners or people which are not belonging to the Pakistani society. In order to conduct and use whatever information we could get there were 3 pieces of materials used to conduct this review. The researches that we have found are concerning similar products that is why we have used these.Each of these researches has been combined with our research and then we have written down the Literature review. If we go along well see what is the motive of our research and what do we want. 7 Design of study10 I. Problem Definition and Hypothesis Formulation10 II. Gathering Data11 III. Sources of Data16 IV. Research Instrument17 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS18 RESTATEMENT OF PROBLEM18 DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURES18 MAJOR FINDINGS19 RECOMMENDATIONS19 BIBLIOGRAPHY21 APPENDIX22 Abbott Nutrition22 Questionnaire22Product Comparison1 Acknowledgment We would first like to thank the Almighty Allah for giving us the strength and endowing us with the privilege of completing term report on the â€Å"DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTION OF CUSTOMERS BELONGING TO DIFFERENT LOCALITIES REGARDING CONSUMPTION OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS, SPECIFIALLY PEDIASURE. † We are also extremely thankful to our mentor and guide Ms. Kausar Saeed for her constant support, encouragement and guidance, without which we could not have successfully completed the task.Secondly, we would like to thank our respondents for their precious time and energy spent in completing our Questionnaires. Abstract Abbott being a very large pharmaceutical company is not only trustworthy but excels in the pharmaceutical industry. Its aim is to provide quality and high class products in the market so that people can benefit from it. The report that we are planning to write is about the perceptions of customers regarding consumption of Nutritional Supplements and factors that the customer considers while buying different medicines/nutritional products in different localities.Our main aim was to figure out the basic reasons in sluggish growth in sales of Abbott. The issue is actually significant at the moment because the Sales data of different territories over the past few years indicate a negative trend in a few areas but approximately constant in others. One reason for this difference could have been different percept ions that people are likely to hold in these different areas, therefore we decided to find out whether perceptional differences are the reason behind the negative trend and what are the possible solutions to the problem.We did manage to collect sufficient data through questionnaires from the mothers of children who were the eligible consumers of the product, and then we analyzed the data using SPSS. We were able to reach a seemingly valid analysis. Introduction Abbott a global, broad-based health care company devoted to discovering new medicines, new technologies and new ways to manage health. Their products span the continuum of care, from nutritional products and laboratory diagnostics through medical devices and pharmaceutical therapies.Their comprehensive line of products encircles life itself – addressing important health needs from infancy to the golden years. With over 70,000 employees worldwide and a global presence in more than 130 countries, Abbott is committed to i mproving people's lives by providing cost effective health care products and services that consistently meet the needs of customers. Abbott Pakistan is part of the global healthcare corporation of Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, USA. Abbott started operations in Pakistan as a marketing affiliate in 1948; the company has steadily expanded to comprise a work force of over 1500 employees.Currently two manufacturing facilities located at Landhi and Korangi in Karachi continue to use innovative technology to produce top quality pharmaceutical products. Abbott Pakistan has leadership in the field of Pain Management, Anesthesia, Medical Nutrition and Anti-Infective. On June 29, 2005 Abbott Pakistan Achieved Class ‘A' accreditation against the Oliver Wight ABCD Check list. This was an outstanding achievement, which puts Abbott Pakistan amongst some of the best global companies in terms of operational excellence.A continuous process of innovation, research and development at Abbott's wor ldwide facilities enables Abbott Pakistan to offer effective solutions for various healthcare challenges, with products and services that are well focused, within the customer's reach and contribute to improved health care of the people of Pakistan. Abbott believes that Corporate Social Responsibility is fundamental to earning and deepening the trust of the people it serves, an integral part of its commitment to improve lives has contributed to a number of humanitarian causes and supported various institutions in various fields including health and education.The promise of this company is in the promise that their work holds for health and for life. PediaSure Complete is a complete and balanced nutrition for children who are pricky eaters and who have to catch up for growth. Some of its salient feature includes: * Good nutrition leads to healthy growth * To grow properly, kids need to eat the right amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals. * For times, when you believe that your child is not getting adequate nutrition from regular food then PediaSure is the thing to give.No matter which ever flavor you choose, each can of PediaSure contains 25 essential vitamins and mineral, along with adequate amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats. With PediaSure you can be sure that your child is receiving the perfect amount of nutrition’s needed to grow. It is available in 400gram tins and 180 gram packs in chocolate and vanilla flavors at reasonable prices. It is available in most leading pharmacies and superstores of Pakistan. PediaSure is even an international product of Abbott. Statement of ProblemThis research is conducted to find out that whether the decline in sales of PediaSure is because of some different perceptions held by the potential consumers, factors which are most and which are least preferred by the consumers while making the purchase. This will cater to two areas specifically Defence and F. B area. Significance of Problem/ Purpose The problem is highly significantfor not only the company but forindividuals/ customers too. With the help of this study we will be able to find out the different type of ideas and perceptions customers carry when going to buy medicines/nutritional products.We will also find out some of the rare spending patterns of customers based in different areas or localities and what factors do they consider in buying such products. The main purpose of this study lies with the fact that Abbott will realize which particular point they need to cater to stop the sales from falling. It could be a marketing problem which they missed to address or a quality problem, which is very unlikely since Abbott is very strict about its standards and most importantly it could be the perceptions of the people.Summing it all up, through our research we will investigate the spending patterns of different localities, their preferences and why the sales of PediaSurehas declined in some areas since the past few years. Statement of Hypothesis 1. There is no difference between Perceptions of customers of Defence and Federal-B area. 2. Knowing the available competitor’s, consumer will prefer Pediasure over competitors as a Nutritional Supplement. 3. Consumers will purchase the product if they are told about the benefits. 4. Creating Awareness will impact the sales of Pediasure. . Whether high nutrients are preferred over other variables like Price and Recommendations. 6. Whether being a Medicinal product is good for the image of Pediasure. Limitations 1. One of the biggest limitations is that our study is restricted to only two areas namely defence and F. B area. It is due to time constraints and a large number of medical stores throughout the city. 2. Defence itself has about approximately 50 medicines stores while F. B area 92. Finding and going to all these stores would be very costly and time-consuming so we decided to take a small no.Of stores and interviewing around 2 respon dents from every store. 3. The time and cost associated with the study was a not very encouraging. 4. We cannot expect that each of the stores in the city have kept PediaSure which made our study very difficult to generalize. 5. It was hard to find mothers having children below the age of 12 shopping during the days. 6. Customers and Storekeepers were being very receptive. Literature Review In order to write this literature review we had to take out journals and articles from a lot of areas the reason being that there are almost no similar researches done considering this topic.Even if researches are done they tend to cater to the perceptions of westerners or people which are not belonging to the Pakistani society. In order to conduct and use whatever information we could get there were 3 pieces of materials used to conduct this review. The researches that we have found are concerning similar products that is why we have used these. Each of these researches has been combined with ou r research and then we have written down the Literature review. If we go along well see what is the motive of our research and what do we want.The first article included in this literature survey talks about the guide to consumer’s pharmaceutical purchasing behavior. The pharmaceutical purchasing behavior of consumers is the subject of unending market research for the nation's pharmaceutical companies and managed care organizations. Despite the industry's best efforts to predict future trends based on past experiences, consumers continue to confound the prognosticators. Several issues particularly pertinent to MCOs were explored in a recent consumer survey conducted by Emron, Inc.In this article, explore consumers' behaviors are explored relative to medication purchases in these areas: * Sources of advice about prescription and non-prescription medications * Communications with prescribers about cost and impact on quality of life * Opinions about price equity of medications * Importance of the pharmacy benefit in health plans * Role of advertising in purchasing decisions for non-prescription medications The study first starts with talking about the advice the customer takes in order to buy any type of pharmaceutical products.The results are divided in among the physicians, nurses, pharmacists, family e. t. c. the highest rank is of course given to physicians followed by pharmacists. So we get to know that one thing that is the sources of advice for customer’s affects customer’s perceptions of buying a medicine. So it may be possible that a doctor living in each of these localities may give different type of preference if one may prescribe pediasure other may prescribe ensure. The second factor that affects is prescriber’s communication about cost and quality of life.From the study we see that people are mainly concerned for their life rather than the cost of medicine, we all know that pediasure is a very high quality product and in order to keep your nutrition value very high you will make sure that you use pedia sure, but never the les this is one of the important factors taken in to consideration when investing in to medicines. Whatever the cost of the product is you tend to spend on it if it’ll increase the quality of your life. Consumers also look for fair consumer prices.When they figure out if one of the products is not giving a fair consumer price then they will surely not buy it even in case of medicines as now even in this market you’re faced with immense competition. If the price of Pediasure is not fair according to some then the customers will move their target towards ensure as these two are the biggest competitors available. According to this study some of the customers were even asked to talk about the main factors which result in going to a pharmacy and buying a medicine.The highest price as usual was given to the price and prescription of the doctors which shows that these two fa ctors are the main ones which affect the benefit and the buying plan of customers. A very high rank was also given to non-prescription medicine buying pattern, that is that many customers by medicine without any prescriptions, they use the help of either billboards or any other means of advertisement. This is somewhat the case with pediasure as well because I have prescribed many people to give pediasure to their children as regular diet and they have actually followed and abided to it.Summing it all up this study basically talks about the buying patterns of individuals while buying nutritional products or medicines. We get a clear view on what factor do the consumers keep in mind when making an effort to go and buy this product. The second research here talks about the consumer’s choice process when purchasing the staple food, it was chosen as for some pediasure is a medicine hence a necessity. After 1989, there were significant changes in food consumption, both in volumes a nd structure.These changes happened due to various factors. The most important factors with influence on demand and food consumption were: development of income levels of Czech inhabitants, development of consumer prices of food and non-food products and services, offer and availability of products on the market, advertising and promotion, health education, joining the EU. Besides these above, an impact on consumption also has such factors as quality development, extent of self-provision with food products, or the degree to which the needs are satisfied.The fundamental influence on consumption has the development of consumer prices of food and capital goods and services in relations to development of incomes, thus buying power. In the last few years, there was a visible tendency to decreasing influence of prices on food consumption. The paper focuses on the development of consumption and changes in consumption patterns, motivation and attitudes. Presented data are based on the marke ting research conducted by the Department of Marketing and Trade, Mendel University in Brno, in fall 2004.However, results of the recent research have proved that, when buying foodstuffs and beverages, consumers are influenced also by habits, current moods, situations, emotions and that the behavior of individual consumer segments is quite different. This could be the case with PediaSure as well. Factors, which influence purchase decision, affect individual groups of consumers in a different way. For a consumer research concerning individual staple food categories, the following demographic characteristics were used: sex, age, affiliation with a social group and domicile.Demographic characteristics, which are easily available, measurable, and helping to localize the target market, were used. Analysis and results of the survey (via questionnaire) about customer behavior then allow predicting the behaviour of customers and to learn what, why, when, where, how and how often they buy. T he survey via questionnaires aiming to analyze the consumer decision process when buying staple foods and beverages was conducted using a sample of 1 750 respondents.The sample was selected in such a way that it should represent the structure of the Czech population according to 4 identification characteristics – age, sex, social group, and size of the settlement where the respondents have their permanent place of residence. The answers provided information about reasons and the decision-making process when buying four staple food categories, meat and meat products, milk, dairy products and eggs, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and bakery and confectionery products.Frequencies of respondents, whose motives for purchases of basic foodstuff were influenced by routine, newcomers, healthy lifestyle or other unidentified factors . As PediaSure is also a dairy product that is the reason why we use this result which says Milk and dairy products illustrate that routine purchase s predominated also when buying milk, butter and eggs. Purchases of cheese and yogurts were influenced by the assortment and by the healthy lifestyle. Frequencies of respondents classified into individual ocial groups did not show any significant differences It follows from these results that changes in consumption patterns of milk and dairy products were influenced by the factors of health protection andhealthy lifestyle. Extended offer of products was another important factor. Financial reasons were mentioned in the last place. We can differentiate in the behavior of retired people; their decision-making process is influenced by financial reasons. The healthy lifestyle is the most important factor in the age group of â€Å"productive age† (25–60 years).The place of residence did not show any significant effect on differences in the behavior of people from towns and villages. It is of interest that that there were differences in factors influencing purchasing decision s of men and women. Men tended to appreciate a wider assortment than women. As a reason for changes in consumption of these products, women mentioned more often the healthy lifestyle, while men appreciated a wider assortment. For Beverages, the reasons for changes in consumption patterns were different than those mentioned for foodstuffs.Financial reasons were as important as the healthy lifestyle and a wider assortment. This could be influenced by the fact that the question concerned all beverages so that this was a very variable category of products and for that reason the answers were too general. For producers, important information represents the fact that consumers are influenced by newcomers, innovations and advertising when buying staples. Consumers, who were strongly interested in their health, purchasedcereal bakery products, fish, poultry, yogurts, cheese and mineral water.When analysing the reasons of changes in consumption patterns, it was demonstrated that the reasons differed in dependence on the affiliation with the individual groups of customers. There were different reasons for individual social groups, individual age categories, and different localities. If we omit these identification groups, the most frequent reason for changes in consumption patterns in all categories of foods was the healthy lifestyle followed by a wider assortment. Financial reasons were mentioned on the last place.The reason for using this study was to show that although not for everyone but for those who consume pediasure is similar to a staple food. The reason being is that you have to include it either in your milk or your beverage. So when we talk about the buying and selling of dairy products overhear we can always link it to PediaSure as it is a dairy product for most. When we look at the buying patterns of consumers we can always similarize it with the buying patterns of pediasure . Starting from the price to marketing to health safety all of these affect the bu ying of pediasure.It might be one of these factors that would have resulted the sales to go down at the end of the study it said that prices didn’t matter most so it may be a possibility that there may be another factor other than price. Reference for literature review: Guide to consumers pharmaceutical purchasing behavior (MARSHA FAHEY , writer and editor, Emron, Ine. , Warren, New Jersey) Consumer choice process when purchasing the staple food (J. STAVKOVA, J. TURCINKOVA Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic) Design of study I. Problem Definition and Hypothesis FormulationThis research is conducted to find out the reasons behind the decrease in sales of Pediasure for the past few years in certain areas, and whether consumers of different localities; specifically Federal-B Area and Defence have different perceptions regarding the product and the following variables: * Brand Image * Usage Pattern * Preference * Satisfaction * Availability * Aware ness Following Hypothesis was tested during the study: 7. There is no difference between Perceptions of customers of Defence and Federal-B area. 8. Knowing the available competitor’s, consumer will prefer Pediasure over competitors as a Nutritional Supplement. . Consumers will purchase the product if they are told about the benefits. 10. Creating Awareness will impact the sales of Pediasure. 11. Whether high nutrients are preferred over other variables like Price and Recommendations. 12. Whether being a Medicinal product is good for the image of Pediasure. Research Design: The study seeks to find the ultimate solution to solve the problem of declining sales of Abbot’s Pediasure find and to seek whether it is feasible for conducting additional promotional activities. Since we were seeking to explore the reasons for declining sales we used Exploratory Research Methods.Sampling Technique: Convenience sampling method based on a non-probability sampling technique was used t o gather data from the respondents. A questionnaire based survey was conducted to validate the findings. The questionnaire-based survey is designed as to measure both quantitative and qualitative variables. Its methodical profile includes multi-perspective, cross-sectional design and broad random samples. The questionnaire tests the following variables: * Brand Identity * Usage Pattern * Preference * Satisfaction * Availability II. Gathering DataWe questioned 50 mothers from different stores in Federal-B Area and 30 from stores in Defence. The main reason for having an unequal sample size for both areas is because number of medical stores in Federal-B Area is a lot more than that in Defence, so we thought it would me fair if we had more respondents from Federal-B area. Our target respondents were mothers of age in between 30-40, but it was not very easy to find them in the medical stores. We questioned as many as we could find and the rest was filled by fathers of around the same ag e group on behalf of their wives.It was our good fortune that the fathers were surprisingly well-informed about the products being used for the infants. 1. Analysis of Results The data was first entered in Microsoft Excel and then one of our group members double-checked and copied it to the SPSS software and then analysis were conducted using SPSS Statistical Software. Pearson Chi-square test was used to analyze the result and hypothesis with assumed significance greater than . 05 were rejected. HYPOTHESIS 1 HO Area of residence affects use of nutritional supplementsHa Area of residence does not affects use of nutritional supplements AREA OF RESPONDENT * CURRENTLY USING SUPPLEMENT Crosstabulation| | | | CURRENTLY USING SUPPLEMENT| Total| | | | YES| NO| | AREA OF RESPONDENT| FB| Count| 49| 1| 50| | | % within AREA OF RESPONDENT| 98. 0%| 2. 0%| 100. 0%| | | % within CURRENTLY USING SUPPLEMENT| 61. 3%| 16. 7%| 58. 1%| | DEFENCE| Count| 31| 5| 36| | | % within AREA OF RESPONDENT| 86. 1% | 13. 9%| 100. 0%| | | % within CURRENTLY USING SUPPLEMENT| 38. 8%| 83. 3%| 41. 9%| Total| Count| 80| 6| 86| | % within AREA OF RESPONDENT| 93. 0%| 7. 0%| 100. 0%| | % within CURRENTLY USING SUPPLEMENT| 100. %| 100. 0%| 100. 0%| Chi-Square Tests| | Value| Df| Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)| Exact Sig. (2-sided)| Exact Sig. (1-sided)| Pearson Chi-Square| 4. 558a| 1| . 033| | | Continuity Correctionb| 2. 911| 1| . 088| | | Likelihood Ratio| 4. 707| 1| . 030| | | Fisher's Exact Test| | | | . 078| . 044| Linear-by-Linear Association| 4. 505| 1| . 034| | | N of Valid Cases| 86| | | | | a. 2 cells (50. 0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2. 51. | b. Computed only for a 2Ãâ€"2 table| At 5%significance level do not reject H0 Area of residence does affect the use of nutritional supplement HYPOTHESIS 2HO: AREA OF RESIDENCE AFFECTS AWARENESS OF PEDIASURE H1 AREA OF RESIDECE DOES NOT AFFECT AWARENESS ABOUT PEDIASURE ARE YOU AWARE OF ABBOTS CHILD NUTRITION PRODUCT PEDIASUR E? * IF YES THAN HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT IT? Crosstabulation| | | | IF YES THAN HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT IT? | Total| | | | YES| NO| | ARE YOU AWARE OF ABBOTS CHILD NUTRITION PRODUCT PEDIASURE? | YES| Count| 19| 14| 33| | | % within ARE YOU AWARE OF ABBOTS CHILD NUTRITION PRODUCT PEDIASURE? | 57. 6%| 42. 4%| 100. 0%| | | % within IF YES THAN HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT IT? | 100. 0%| 100. 0%| 100. 0%| Total| Count| 19| 14| 33| % within ARE YOU AWARE OF ABBOTS CHILD NUTRITION PRODUCT PEDIASURE? | 57. 6%| 42. 4%| 100. 0%| | % within IF YES THAN HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT IT? | 100. 0%| 100. 0%| 100. 0%| Chi-Square Tests| | Value| Df| Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)| Exact Sig. (2-sided)| Exact Sig. (1-sided)| Pearson Chi-Square| 1. 075a| 1| . 300| | | Continuity Correctionb| . 632| 1| . 427| | | Likelihood Ratio| 1. 079| 1| . 299| | | Fisher's Exact Test| | | | . 341| . 214| Linear-by-Linear Association| 1. 060| 1| . 303| | | N of Valid Cases| 70| | | | | a. 0 cells (. 0%) have expected count less than 5. The mini mum expected count is 14. 14. b. Computed only for a 2Ãâ€"2 table| At 5% significance level do not reject H0 Area of residence affects awareness of Abbots product Pediasure HYPOTHEIS 3H0 Knowing the available competitor’s, consumer will prefer Pediasure over competitors as a Nutritional Supplement. H1 Knowing the available competitor’s, consumer will not affect consumer preference of Pediasure over competitors as a Nutritional Supplement. Paired Samples Test| | | Paired Differences| | | | | | Mean| Std. Deviation| Std. Error Mean| Pair 1| ARE YOU AWARE OF ABBOTS CHILD NUTRITION PRODUCT PEDIASURE? – IF YES THAN HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT IT? -. 424| . 502| . 087| Paired Samples Test| | | Paired Differences| | | 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference| | | Lower| Upper| Pair 1| ARE YOU AWARE OF ABBOTS CHILD NUTRITION PRODUCT PEDIASURE? – IF YES THAN HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT IT? | -. 602| -. 246| | Paired Samples Test| | | | | | | | | t| df| Sig. (2-tailed)| Pair 1 | ARE YOU AWARE OF ABBOTS CHILD NUTRITION PRODUCT PEDIASURE? – IF YES THAN HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT IT? | -4. 856| 32| . 000| At 5% Significance level reject HO Awareness is not the only reason why consumers will prefer Pediasure over competitor’s product HYPOTHEIS 4HO: High nutrients are preferred over other variables like Price Ha: High nutrients are not preferred over other variables like Price Chi-Square Tests| | Value| Df| Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)| Pearson Chi-Square| 238. 264a| 24| . 000| Likelihood Ratio| 183. 809| 24| . 000| Linear-by-Linear Association| 62. 765| 1| . 000| N of Valid Cases| 93| | | a. 29 cells (82. 9%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is . 32. | AT 5% significance level reject H0 Nutrients are not preferred over variables such as price HYPOTHESIS 5 HO: High nutrients are preferred over other variables like RecommendationHa: High nutrients are not preferred over other variables like recommendation Chi-Square Tests| | Value| D f| Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)| Pearson Chi-Square| 217. 033a| 25| . 000| Likelihood Ratio| 206. 420| 25| . 000| Linear-by-Linear Association| 69. 663| 1| . 000| N of Valid Cases| 115| | | a. 30 cells (83. 3%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is . 24. | At 5% significance level reject H0 High nutrients are not preferred over other variables like recommendation HYPOTHESIS 6 H0: Being a Medicinal product is good for the image of Pediasure.Ha: Being a Medicinal product has no effect on the image of Pediasure. III. Sources of Data * Primary Sources: * Respondents Our main aim was to get fresh information from the parents directly, so we could better figure out the main reasons behind the sluggish growth of sales. There were some instances where the store managers were being receptive and the respondents showed disinterest in providing information. Due to our persistence we managed to get a great deal of good information. We mostly had to read out the questions to th e respondents, while they shopped and marked the answers according to their response.The questionnaires were all filled under supervision of either of the members of the group to avoid the chance of misunderstandings. * Secondary Sources: Secondary data was not as such required in our research it was mostly based on primary data. The literature review only required thorough reading of different articles. This helped us in getting a better idea about different aspects of the research work. We learned how to design the questionnaire in a way that would get the maximum possible information without offending the respondents in any way.It also helped us to figure out how the issue of differences in perception of people living in different type of areas in the same city has been dealt. Some important information regarding Pediasure and its competitors Contents was also gained using some secondary data. It was gathered from the websites of these companies and also from reading the packages of the respective products. This was basically done to compare different variables in different supplements. The comparisons were eventually used to analyze which variable is most important for the consumers. IV. Research InstrumentAs mentioned above, a questionnaire based survey was conducted, the questionnaire was designed collectively by the entire group members, keeping in mind all the dos and don’ts of Questionnaire designs taught by our mentor/teacher. It was also SPSS friendly, so it was really easy for us to statistically analyze it through the software. Before moving ahead with it, we also got it checked to reduce as much chances of errors as possible. It was scripted using simple and familiar language, few questions that were easy to answer and supervision was given throughout. The sampling technique was partially random.The stores in all the areas were shortlisted through systematic random sampling technique. There were a total of 92 stores in F. B area and 56 sto res in Defence, and we randomly selected 25 and 15 stores from the respective areas. Then from each store 2 respondents were surveyed upon. The questionnaire contained 14 questions measuring different variables that are mentioned above. The variables tested through our research are usage pattern, preference to competitors, frequency of purchase, brand identity and purchase intention. Some questions were even included to get a little idea about the demographics of the target population.We faced some trouble during data collection, since the respondents seemed totally disinterested in giving their valuable knowledge to us. The staffs of the stores were also being receptive due to the agitation of the customers. In cases where store managers were not allowing us to interview in the store, we had to wait outside to get our target respondents. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS RESTATEMENT OF PROBLEM The research problem was to identify the reasons behind the decline in sales of Abbot's flagship pr oduct Pediasure. This was done by dividing selected areas in the city, mainly Defense and F.B Area, into class A and class B and finding out the perceptions of the users about the product. DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURES Research Design The study seeks to find the ultimate solution to solve the problem of declining sales of Abbot’s Pediasure and to seek whether it is feasible for conducting additional promotional activities. Since we were seeking to explore the reasons for declining sales we used Exploratory Research Methods. Sampling Technique Convenience sampling method based on a non-probability sampling technique was used to gather data from the respondents. A questionnaire base survey was conducted to validate the findings.The questionnaire-based survey is designed as quantitative and qualitative both. Its methodical profile includes multi-perspective, cross-sectional design and broad random samples. The questionnaire tests the following variables: * Brand Image * Usage Patter n * Preference * Satisfaction * Availability * Awareness Following Hypothesis was tested during the study: 1. Area of residence affects use of nutritional supplements. 2. Area of residence affects awareness of Pediasure. 3. Knowing the available competitor’s, consumer will prefer Pediasure over competitors as a Nutritional Supplement. . High nutrients are preferred over other variables like Price. 5. High nutrients are preferred over other variables like Recommendation. The data was entered in Statistical Software SPSS v. 17 and Pearson Chi-Square Test was used to conclude findings. If the value of assumed significance was greater than . 05, the hypothesis was rejected. MAJOR FINDINGS 1. Area of residence affects use of nutritional supplements We do not reject our hypothesis which means that there is a difference in perceptions of people living in different areas. 2. Area of residence affects awareness of Pediasure.We do not reject our hypothesis showing that again area of re sidence is a factor which contributes to the differences in attributes of people. 3. Knowing the available competitor’s, consumer will prefer Pediasure over competitors as a Nutritional Supplement. We reject our hypothesis because awareness is not the only reason why consumers will prefer Pediasure over competitor’s product. 4. High nutrients are preferred over other variables like Price. We reject our hypothesis with the conclusion that price is the principle variable considered in buying nutritional supplements. 5.High nutrients are preferred over other variables like Recommendation. We reject our hypothesis because considering the nutritional aspect is not a preference over other factors such as recommendation. RECOMMENDATIONS * The image of Pediasure should be improved for the consumers to identify it as a medicinal product. * Increase in the number of flavors of Pediasure would boost the sales. * There is a requirement from the marketing department to be more acti ve and engage in activities such as personal selling. * If there is a possibility then the price of the product should be reduced keeping in mind the costs. If not then the company should emphasize the benefits of the product as in Nutritional value should be highlighted in the campaigns like â€Å"37 vital nutrients† to motivate the customers into buying the product. * Different promotional campaigns according to different mediums should be designed highlighting the strong points of the product. Choosing brand ambassadors with high percentage of popularity among the children is a good idea. BIBLIOGRAPHY Guide to consumers pharmaceutical purchasing behavior (MARSHA FAHEY , writer and editor, Emron, Ine. , Warren, New Jersey) Consumer choice process when purchasing the staple food (J.STAVKOVA, J. TURCINKOVA Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic) http://www. abbott. com. pk/ APPENDIX Abbott Nutrition Questionnaire Name: Age: Profession: Area of res idence: Husband’s profession: Currently using (Any supplement): 1. _________(AGE:___) 2. _________(AGE:___) 3. _________(AGE:___) Questionnaire for Mothers 1. How many children do you have? * 0-2 * 2-4 * More than 4 2. What are the ages of your children? * * 1 ____________ * 2 ____________ * 3 ____________ * 4 __________ * 5 ___________ 6 ___________ 3. Are you satisfied with your child’s (children) growth (height and weight) that are under the age of 10? * Yes * No 4. Does your child (ren) fall sick often? * Yes * No If your answer to any of the above question(s) 3 ; 4 is YES, then proceed to Q5 5. In which school(s) does your child (ren) study that are under the age of 10? 1 ________________ 2 ________________ 3 _______________ 4 ______________ 6. Were you recommended by someone to use the product or you use it on your own * Recommended by someone * Used on the own 7. If recommended, then who recommended you to use the supplement? Doctor * Friends * Neighbors * Rela tives * Other, Please specify: __________________________________________________________ 8. How many times in a day do you give the supplement to your child (ren)? * * Child 1 * Child 2 * Child 3 * Child 4 Once Twice Thrice 9. Are you aware of Abbott’s Child Nutrition Product’ Pediasure’? * Yes * No 10. If YES, then answer the following questions If no then jump to Q#12 : (a) Have you ever bought it? * Yes * No (b) When did you buy it and whose recommendation did you buy it? ____________________________________________ (c) Any why did you discontinue buying it? ___________________________________________________________________ 11. If your answer to Q#10(a) is NO, then what is the reason for not buying it? ————————————————- 12. Have you ever been to a pediatrician or child specialist? * Yes * No 13 If you are told that Pediasure is the Child Specialis t’s first choice for child nutrition and for children who are picky/fussy eaters and it not only enhances growth (Height& Weight) but it also builds immunity. It is also clinically proven to reduce number of sick days and the incidence of infections, would you start using it? * Yes * No 4 If NO, Why? ____________________________________________________________________ 15 Rank the considerations (in order of priority) on a scale of (1-9) 1 being the highest and 10 being the lowest, if you are to make a decision to buy a nutritional supplement? * * Price * Company * Nutritional value * TV Ads * Doctor’s recommendation * Packaging * Someone else’s recommendation, Please specify: * Other, Please specify: _____________________ 16 If I tell you that per month cost of Pediasure is Rs. 2100 (1 serving per day) and the cost of supplement that you are using is ____________, then would you prefer buying Pediasure? Yes * No Product Comparison Product Comparison | Approximat ely Analysis Powder Per 100gm| | Pediasure Comp. | Promise PE| Horlics Junior| Meiji Big| Enervit Junior| Energy PER 100G| 492| 451| 406| 467| 489| Calories Per Serving| 225| 200| 101|   | 185| Per Rs. Calories| 3| 3| 3. 5|   |   | Nutrints|   |   |   |   |   | Protien| 14. 8 gm| 16 gm| 17. 5 gm| 20| 15 gm| Fat| 24. 6 gm| 16 gm| 7. 1 gm| 19| 24 gm| Carbohydrate| 52. 8 gm| 61 gm | 67. 5 gm| 54| 53. 4 gm| FOS| 1. 75 gm| 1. 4 gm| NA|   | 2 gm| Taurine| 35. 4 mg| 21 mg| NA| 33| 30 mg| Carnitine| 8. 4 mg| 7. 7 mg| NA|   | 10 mg| Inositol| 39. 4 mg| 34 mg| NA|   | 40 mg|   |   |   |   |   | Minerals|   |   |   |   |   | Calcium| 483 mg| 563 mg| 800 mg| 700| 490 mg| Phosphorus| 300 mg| 383 mg| NA| 470| 360 mg| Zinc| 4. 9 mg| 5. 4 mg| 4. 5 mg| 4| 3. 2 mg| Copper | 0. 5 mg| 0. 39 mg| 0. 34 mg| 320ug| 0. 37 mg| Selenium| 14. 8 mcg| NA| 20 mcg |   | 14. 8 mcg| Iron| 6. 9 mg| 8. 4 mg| 14 mg| 8| 6. 9 mg| Iodine| 47. 3 mcg| 42 mcg| 90 mcg| 100ug| 62 mcg | Niacin| 8. 42 mg| 3. 1 mg| 6 mg| 6| NA| Magnesium| 98 mg| 50 mg| NA| 70| 47 mg| Sodium| 227 mg| 212 mg| NA| 270| 200 mg| Potassium| 640 mg | 856 mg| NA| 970| 570 mg | Choloride| 493 mg| 495 mg| NA| 630| 360 mg| Manganese| 1. 23 mg| 0. 5 mg| NA| 45ug| 25 mg|Chromium| 15 mcg| NA| NA|   | NA| Molybdenum| 24. 6 mcg| NA| NA|   | NA| Vitamins|   |   |   |   |   | Vitamin A| 1270 IU| 1500 IU| 300 mcg| 1300IU| 400 mcg| Vitamin C| 50 mg| 54 mg| 30 mg| 55MG| 50 mg| Vitamin D| 158 IU| 301 IU| 5 mcg| 300IU| 4 mcg| Vitamin E| 11. 4 IU| 7. 4 IU| 6 mg| 6MG| 8 mg| Vitamin B1| 1. 35 mg| 0. 58 mg| 0. 5 mg | 0. 4MG| 0. 9 mg| Vitamin B2| 1. 03 mg| 0. 7 mg| 1 mg| 1. 6MG| 1. 03 mg| Vitamin B6| 1. 3 mg| 0. 56 mg| 1 mg| 0. 3MG| 8 mg| Vitamin B12| 1. 5 mcg| 1. 1 mcg| 1. 8 mcg | 2UG| 1. 4 mcg| Vitamin K| 18. 8 mcg| 28 mcg| 30 mcg| 25UG| 20 mcg| Nicotinamide| 8. 4 mg| NA| NA|   | 8 mg| Pantothenic Acid| 3. 45 mg| 2. 5 mg| NA| 2MG| 3. 4 mg| Folic Acid| 108 mcg| 31 mcg| 300 mcg| 0. 1MG| 100 mc g| Biotin | 18. 2 mcg| 11 mcg| NA|   | 18 mcg| Choline| 148 mg | 135 mg| NA|   | 80 mg | Additional details about Promise PE Gold | Powder Per 100gm| Protein | Alfa lactulbumin 0. 81 gm| | Fat| Linoleic Acid 4054 mg| DHA 8. 1 mg| AA 12 mg| | Carbohydrates| Lactose 29 gm| Maltodextrine 11 gm| Corn Syrup Solid 11 gm| Sucrose 9. 5 gm| | Vitamin | Beta Carotine 68 mcg| | Nuclotides 12 mg| | Leutin 90 mcg| | Age 2-10 Years| | Dilution| 5 scoops (44 gm) powder in 175 ml water | Scoop Size 8. 8 gm| | Flavor Vanila | | Fat formulation contains Palm Olein Oil|