indus pencils

CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF DEER FINER TIP PENS

FOR:

Ms. Salma Mirza

BY:

Adil Majid

Anam Manzar

Azma Humayun

Jehangir Faisal Usmani

BBA VI-2

June 3, 2010

METHODS OF BUSINESS RESEARCH

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to acknowledge the participation of a few individuals who provided us with the necessary skills, interest and information to create this report.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms.Salma Mirza & Ms. Nida Aslam Khan, instructors of this course who provided us an opportunity to learn. We made conscious efforts to incorporate our learning from class discussions and reading material into this report.

The acknowledgement of cooperation by Mr. Raza Naeem Yousuf, Director, Indus Industries deserves highlighted space. His willingness to support our academic purpose is appreciated. He not only provided us time out of his busy schedule, but he also answered our every question with clarification.

In the end, the efforts of every group member in this report and coordination among group members were exemplary team-efforts.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Ms. Salma Mirza

Lecturer, Methods in Business Research

Institute of Business Administration

3rd June 2010

Dear Ms. Salma Mirza,

The following is the end of term report you requested for the Spring Semester 2010 for the course of Methods of Business Research. This report has been compiled with a lot of research work. All topics that we thought were relevant to the topic have been covered in this report in as much detail as possible.

The objective of this study was to determine the perceptions of consumers related to Deer Finer-Tip pens. The study includes qualitative and quantitative research. Our study showed that majority of ball pen users are not aware of the presence of Deer Finer-Tip pens in the market and have not used them. Of those who have used these pens it was seen that the majority had favourable opinions about them. It was also observed that the market would be willing to pay more than Rs. 5 for a newer model of Finer-Tip pens.

If you have any queries or doubts about the compilation of this report you may feel free to contact us at the e-mail listed below.

Sincerely,

Adil Majid [[email protected]]

Anam Manzar [[email protected]]

Azma Humayun [[email protected]]

Jehangir Faisal Usmani [[email protected]]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

1.1 Background 2

1.2 Objectives 3

2. Methodology 5

3. Literature Review 10

4. Qualitative Research Results 16

4.1 Analysis of Focus Groups 16

4.2 Analysis of Short Interviews 23

5. Quantitative Research Results 25

6. Limitations 70

7. Conclusions 71

8. Recommendations 72

Appendix 73

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Indus Pencil Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. is a leading home and office stationery manufacturer, of Pakistan. Considering a recent boost in demand for Deer Finer Tip pens the company believes that the market for ballpoint pens with finer tips has much potential and room to grow. This is why they want to introduce a better quality and a higher priced model even though they are already producing three such types of pens namely Deer Ultra Fine, Deer Easy & Deer Stick. But, since they were unsure of the information regarding the consumer perceptions about the current pens in the market, their plans for introducing the newer version of Finer Tips was not finalized. Therefore, the company wanted to study the consumer perceptions, likings and disliking of its Finer-tipped models: Deer Easy, Deer Ultra Fine and Deer Stick.; to be able to have a clearer idea of either to introduce a newer model into the market or to increase current production of their existing models.

The study included both qualitative and quantitative research. The quantitative study was a questionnaire survey conducted on a sample of 200 individuals, selected by convenience sampling. Data analysis was done using hypothesis testing and graphical descriptions.

The research showed that a majority of users of ball point pens were not aware of the presence of Deer Finer-Tip pens in the market. Out of those who were aware a majority possessed positive opinions about Deer Finer-Tip pens, liking the smoothness of writing, the clarity, and the grip of the pens among other things. It was also concluded that users would be willing to pay more than Rs. 5 for a Finer-tip pen that contained their preferred attributes. In fact a majority of the people said that they were willing to pay Rs. 10 for a better model.

Based n this study we suggest Indus Pencils to invest in more promotional activities to make the market aware of its product. We also suggest that Indus Pencils should go ahead with their plan of launching a higher priced model provided that that model is of good quality, enough to satisfy the customers. We recommend that a further study should be done to find out the required preferences of consumers over and above the basic study that we have provided here.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND Indus Pencil Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. is a leading home and office stationery manufacturer, of Pakistan. This Karachi-based company has been in operation since 1954 and has formed a name for itself in the domestic market, as well as the export markets of Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, England, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, Cyprus, Greece, Australia and South America.

The main philosophy of its operations is providing ‘Quality’ to its customers, and the company boasts the use of State-of-the-Art Technology ands satisfied employees in providing it.

The main product ranges in which the company operates are: Black lead pencil, Black lead pencilwith Rubber Tip, Artograph Super Pencil, Superior Quality Black Lead Pencils Set, Drawing ColourPencil Sets, Colouring Material, Mathematical Instrument, Ball Point Pens, Markers, Glue Stick, fountain Pen & Ink, Fine Liner Pen, Needle Point Pen (Fine-tipped Pen) and Special Lead Pencil.

The company’s main competitors in the ball pen market are Dollar and Shahsons (with its Picasso brand). In the past four to five months, Indus’s ball pen sales have received a huge boost (mainly due to inadequate production levels in Shahsons). The highest sales increase has been for Indus’s Finer-Tipped ball-point pens; Deer Easy, Deer Ultra Fine and Deer Stick 2000. These pens are different from the usual ball-points only in the thickness of their tips (1.7 mm compared to the usual 1.8 mm). The price and all other attributes are the same. What the company wants to know now is the reason for this huge rise in demand for the Finer-Tipped models (compared to the normal ball-points) in the past few months, when the pens have been in the market since 2008. The company also wants to find out whether the market is ready for a new higher-priced Finer-Tipped model. In order to make the latter decision, Indus wants to judge the consumers’ perception about its Finer-Tipped brands.

In short, the company wants to gather two kinds of information: 1) The reasons for the abnormal rise in demand of Finer-Tipped pens compared to the usual ball-points; 2) The consumer perception about its Finer-Tipped models, which information will be used to decide the feasibility of launching a higher priced model.

We decided to confine ourselves to the second research only, as time constraints would not have allowed us to complete two researches in four months.

1.2 OBJECTIVES PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

- Management Decision Problem

Should Indus Pencils develop and introduce a newer and a higher priced model of their existing finer tip pen or should the company simply increase production of their existing models- Deer Easy and Deer Ultra Fine?

APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM

- Research Problem

How do consumers within the target market perceive the Finer-Tip Pen modeled ballpoints in general and Indus Pencil’s Finer Tip Models- Deer Easy & Deer Ultra Fine in particular?

- Research Questions

1) Is the target market aware of the presence of Deer Easy, Deer Ultra Fine & Deer Stick in the market?

2) How many people have used Deer Easy, Deer Ultra Fine & Deer Stick in the market?3) How many users of Deer Easy, Deer Ultra Fine & Deer Stick liked the products?4) Which segment of the target market is the largest purchaser of Deer Finer tip pens?5) What product attributes of Deer Easy, Deer Ultra Fine & Deer Stick do buyers like?6) Is there a need for a newer type of Felt tipped pens felt by consumers within the target

market? What attributes would they like a newer model to possess?

- Research Objective

To determine how the target market perceives the Finer-Tip models of Deer Easy, Deer Ultra Fine and Deer Stick, and whether they would be willing to pay a higher price for a better quality model.

- Hypotheses

1) Users of ball point pens will be willing to purchase a ball point for Rs. 10 given certain conditions.

2) The awareness about Deer Ball point pens is less than 50%.3) The awareness about Deer Finer-Tip pens is less than 50%.4) Less than 50% of the users liked Deer Finer-Tip pens5) Less than 60% people who user Deer Finer-Tip pens liked them.6) Less than 75% of the users like the smoothness of writing offered by Deer Finer-Tip pens.7) Less than 40% of the users liked the shape of the body of the Deer Finer-Tips.8) Less than 50% of the users liked the grip of Deer Finer-Tip pens.9) Less than 50% of the people who used Deer Finer-Tip pens liked its price.

10) Opinion About Importance Of Smooth Writing In A Ball Point Pen Is Independent Of Opinion About The Importance Of Clarity Of Writing

11) The importance given to the shape of body in a ball pen is the same as that given to the grip in a ball pen.

12) The importance given to the presence of click in ball pens is equal to the importance given to the presence of caps.

2. METHODOLOGYTYPE OF STUDY

This research is a descriptive study about whether people like the new models and what they like about them. We have used qualitative as well as quantitative research methods. Our qualitative research consisted of focus groups of consumers, to find out their opinions about Finer-tip pens; and in-depth interviews with large retailers, to find out who is buying these pens. Our quantitative research consisted of questionnaire surveys to take the opinions of a large number of consumers about the Finer-Tip models.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Our basic research design is based on three instruments: Personal interviews, Questionnaire and Focus Groups.

- Focus Groups

We conducted 2 focus groups consisting of 8 and 7 participants each. One focus group was conducted with students while the second focus group was conducted with office users. These helped us in collecting qualitative data about consumer’s preferences for the Deer Finer tip pens. This helped us in building a proper and better informed Quantitative research.

- Personal Interviews

A total of 2 personal interviews were conducted with retailers of pens. This helped us in judging the overall market structure of the Deer Finer tip pens. These personal interviews were of around 20 minutes each. Since we wanted to find out what is the consumer’s preference when it comes to Finer tip pens, therefore we used this research to find out which types of pens are in higher demand. This helped us in making decisions regarding consumer preferences.

- Questionnaire

This method was used on a larger scale to obtain detailed information regarding consumer preferences for finer tip pens. Our sample size was 200. Sample for questionnaire included office users and students from grade 12 to grade 16. The questionnaire contained mostly close ended questions.

TARGET POPULATION

Broadly speaking the target population of the research consists of the following:

1. Office Users who uses ball point2. College / University students who uses ball point ( Grade 12- Grade 16)

Even though there are other users of ball point including house wives and children etc, we did not include them under our sampling frame on the request of our client.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Due to time constraints, the sampling technique used for this research was purely convenience based. However, we tried to maintain the randomness of the sample by choosing a wide variety of questionnaire respondents including:

Office users from all localities and many different organizations Students from a wide variety of educational institutions.

We did not distribute the sample into stratas to exclude any possible biases resulting from our unqualified judgement.

SAMPLE SIZE

As per the requirement of the company we entertained a sample size of 200 individuals for the questionnaires.

FIELD WORK

Our field work consisted of two main things:

Visits to retailers Questionnaire distribution among office users and students

DATA ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY

Qualitative Data

Since it was not easy to quantify results obtained from the focus groups and the short interviews we used the THEMATIC ANALYSIS approach for this purpose. We divided our information about consumer perception on the basis of students’ opinion and office users’ opinion. Afterwards we further divided the data into themes based on features of ball point pens. These included features like shape, ink colour, clarity of writing etc.

This helped us to put information in separate areas and when later on we designed our questionnaire and carried out quantitative research this analytical technique helped us in knowing how to interpret the students’ responses and how to interpret the office users’ responses.

Quantitative Data

In order to analyze the data three basic methods were used:-

- Attitude Measurement Techniques

Since we were mainly concerned with the consumers and their perceptions regarding the finer tip pens therefore we used Attitude Measurement techniques to analyze and evaluate the results. This we did by using Attitude Rating Scales.

The major scale used is explained in detail:

Summated Ratings Method- The Likert Scale And The Semantic Differential:

This method as developed by Mr. Renis Likert is extremely popular for measuring attitudes because of its simplicity. This scale helped us judge how strongly the consumers perceive a certain attribute of a finer tip pen. It also helped us in applying numerical values to their perception. In this technique individuals generally choose from five options ranging from strongly agree, agree, uncertain, disagree and strongly disagree but the number of options can vary.

For our analysis we used this technique while we were designing our questionnaire. Since we had written in our proposal that we wanted to find out the intensity with which consumers perceived the attributes in a general ballpoint as well in the Deer Finer tip pens so we made two separate scales just like the Likert scale but they did not have the agree disagree option.

Therefore these scales were like SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALES which are in essence just like the LIKERT scale but use other descriptions than agree and disagree.

For analysing consumer perception of general ballpoints we designed one of the questions as:-

Q How important is the following attribute in a ball pen?

Very Important Important

Neither Important

nor Unimportant

Not Important

Not important

at all

Smooth Writing 1 2 3 4 5

The same question was used for other factors like clarity of writing, shape etc. When the respondents answered the question they indicated their preference by choosing one of these five options. Then by making cross tabs we were able to find out how many said smooth writing was very important, how many said important and so on. The cross tabs automatically gave us the frequency of each factor’s response and an overall picture was created.

For analysing consumer perception of Deer Finer Tip pens in particular we changed the above question to this format:

Q. What do you think about the following features in Deer Finer-Tip Pens?

I Like it very

muchI Like it

I neither Like it nor Dislike

itI Do not

like itI Do not

like it at all

Smooth Writing 1 2 3 4 5

The same analytical technique was adopted by us in this question. An occupational analysis showed us how students and employed people perceive these attributes, with what intensity and degree of conviction. A simple cross tab gave us the frequency with which each option was chosen by the respondents within our sample. After that it was easy to infer the results.

- Cross Tabs

Other than the cross tabs mentioned above we also used other cross tabs to find out relationship between two or more variables or responses. These were carried out using SPSS.

One of our cross tabs was based on how many students and employees are actually aware about deer finer tip pens and their existence in the market.

Another of our cross tabs analysed the relationship between occupation (student or employed) and usage behaviour of Deer Finer tip pens.

Since one of our hypothesis was to test an introductory price for Deer so we ran another cross tab between income level of chief earner and the proposed price of the new pen. The results were easy to interpret and analyse based on different income segments in the society.

We also analysed whether the occupation of the respondent has any effect on the purchasing frequency of the ball points in general as well as the amount spent on each of their purchase.

- Hypothesis Testing

In order to test hypothesis we used both Excel as well as SPSS. Since the objective of our research was to find out consumer perception of finer tip pens in the market we focused on awareness and liking attributes of these pens and analysed them in particular.

Several techniques such as Chi square, t-test, proportion mean test, z-test, paired sample test were used as suited to the information.

All the tests were conducted at 0.05 level of significance and we assumed that the data followed normal distribution.

For judging the mean introductory price we used the t-test for hypothesis testing. For judging the awareness level of Deer ballpoints in general we used the proportion mean test. For judging the awareness level of Deer Finer Tip pens in particular we again used the

proportion mean test. To find out the interdependence between features of smooth writing and clarity of writing we

used the Chi square test. To judge the liking of a certain feature of deer ballpoint we again used the proportion mean test

with normal distribution.

TIME SCHEDULE

From 3rd week of March to 1st week of April – Qualitative Research From 2nd week of April to 3rd week of April – Questionnaire Development From 4th week of April to 2nd week of May – Data Gathering From 3rd week of May to 4th week of May – Data Analysis and Compilation of Report

3. LITERATURE REVIEWIn order to analyze the consumer perception regarding Deer pens we will use the model framed by Michael Busler of Drexel University (2002)1. We will use the graphical approach to understand the model as it is simple and effective.

This model was developed for “experience goods” (M. Busler, page 26). These are those types of goods which cannot be examined on first impression and need to be used for sometime before we can judge their quality. Since ball point pens also fall under this category we can use this model for our research.

Fig 1: Consumer Perception Model2

1 Busler, M. (2002). Product Differentiation, Celebrity Endorsements and the Consumer's Perception of Quality, A

Thesis. Drexel University. Ph.D. Thesis.

2 Source: Busler, M. (2002). Product Differentiation, Celebrity Endorsements and the Consumer's Perception of Quality, A Thesis. Drexel University. Ph.D. Thesis. p34.

EI

NI

Self Image

and Lifestyle (C0)

Search

Process INF

OCB CP

Rel

Cr

EI= Exogenous Influences Rel= Relevance

NI= Endogenous Influences Cr= Credibility

C0= Initial Condition CB= Consumer

Belief

It is not easy to judge a ball point immediately after using it for the first time because in the long run the pen may not work in the same manner. Therefore we can classify it as an experience good. Since this model was developed for analyzing the effectiveness of product endorsers therefore we will make some amendments to suit to our needs. The two factors of “relevance” (M. Busler, page 33) of the endorser and “credibility” (M. Busler, page 33) are not related to our analysis therefore we can eliminate them and use a modified version of the same model. This means that for our analysis we will concentrate on the self image and lifestyle aspect which will eventually determine the final perception of the consumers regarding Deer ball point pens.

Fig 2: Modified Version Of The Model

In the figure C0 represents “Initial Condition” (M. Busler, page 35). M. Busler points out that this is the point where consumer forms a mental sketch of his or her lifestyle based on two factors. As noted by M. Busler, Hawkins et al. (1998) says that these two factors are endogenous and exogenous factors.

Exogenous influences are defined as indirect influence on consumers due to his or her upbringing, cultural context and other demographic indicators. (Busler, 2002)

As noted by M. Busler, Zanpourt et al. (1994) has explained the impact of culture on consumer taste. He notes that it is quite common for customers to try and fit the product into their own cultural context and products which do fit into their cultural context are much more successful than others. Another impact on lifestyle is the demographics. Income level, age, gender, education etc. are also quite influential on consumer perception. This means that if we try to apply this model on ball points then we will have to find out which income level finds which attribute more important than others. Another important indicator as mentioned by M. Busler is the desire of individuals to belong to a certain group which is

EI

NI

Self Image

and Lifestyle (C0)

Search

Process INF

OCB CP

perceived to have a desirable status in the society. The term “reference group” (M. Busler, page 36) means that such consumers who want to identify themselves with these higher status groups treat them as reference points and then whatever they do they benchmark their activities as the basis for forming their own perceptions regarding products. (Busler, 2002)

Another set of factors that affect the consumer perception are the factors directly related to the product attributes and the perception of the consumers regarding these attributes. According to Michael Busler factors such as perception, attitude, learning, and memory all come under the umbrella of endogenous factors.

The level of learning represents the entire process of assimilation of information and knowledge obtained by the user throughout his or her life. This plays an important role in forming the individuals’ personality. As mentioned by M. Busler, Catell et al. presented a theory of multi-traits personality which basically showcases how individuals develop certain characteristics early in life. This means personality is also one significant factor in transforming the consumer perception because different individuals with different traits will perceive the same product in a different manner. (Busler, 2002)

Helson (1964) (as cited by Barbeau & Qualls, 1984) also provides a set of similar factors that determine the consumer’s perception. He termed these factors 1) the perceived discrepancy: the qualities of the product; 2) contextual variables: the environment in which the product is perceived; and 3) the individual characteristics: the physiological, psychological, and background traits of the perceiver. (Barbeau, J. B., & Qualls, W. J. (1984), p143-147.)

The combination of endogenous and exogenous factors produces the “Initial Condition, C0” (M. Busler, page 39). This condition expresses that need which the consumer wants the product to satisfy. After conducting some basic research regarding the product through advertisements, experience, information sharing etc the consumer will move onto the next stage.

(Busler, 2002)

In order for the consumer to reach the belief stage, it is imperative that a strong conviction is formed in his or her mind. This conviction will result in the consumer believing that the product will perform at least its basic function. On further usage of the product this belief will either be strengthened or discarded and thus consumer will form a certain perception in his mind.

(Busler, 2002)

FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION

The overall perception of consumers is built from a wide range of opinions regarding the product’s attributes like price, design, quality, etc. The perception of consumers of product quality is based upon a

number of factors of which brand name is one (Gardner, 1971; Valenzi, 1971; as cited by Wheatley, Chiu, & Allen (1982)). The choice behavior of consumers about whether to choose a particular brand depends on 1) the perceived differences among brands (Leavitt, 1954; as cited by Wheatley, Chiu, & Allen (1982)), and 2) prior product experiences (Jacoby et al, 1971; as cited by Wheatley, Chiu, & Allen (1982)). Therefore, if a brand is too different from the other brands in its category, and if that difference is negative, it will surely contribute to the perception of the consumer about the product quality. A study by Wheatley, Chiu, & Allen (1982) highlighted one major difference that affects buying decision between brands (especially those products which are low-priced) is that of price (Andrews & Valenzie, 1971). The study showed that people were willing to switch to a lower-priced brand introduced in the market if the average price of the brands in that category is low. On the other hand, if the products are usually higher priced, switching to a lower priced brand is not so common. This is because price is used as an implied quality cue; higher the price, higher the perceived quality (Leavitt, 1954; as cited by Wheatley, Chiu, & Allen (1982)). However, prices very high compared to the product category average can also curtail choice behavior for that product (Wheatley, Chiu, & Allen (1982)). This study is important for our current research as we aim to identify whether it is feasible for the company to introduce a higher-priced model if ball point pens. As ball pens are a low price product any changes in price might majorly affect its popularity. However, if the pen is perceived as having very high quality compared to other pens, then it might win some users in its favour. Wheatley, Chiu, & Allen’s study confirmed this conclusion when they saw that people with a higher quality perception for a certain product did not switch to lower-priced products which were introduced.

According to a study conducted by Barbeau & Qualls, 1984, the consumer’s perceptions about a product are based on: 1) the past experiences with the products; 2) attributes of other brands in the same category; 3) information provided by the seller. The perception when compared with the actual experience of using the product provides either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The figure below shows how these factors contribute to the overall perception and behavioural intention of the individual. It also includes the factors quoted by Helson (1964) as described above.

Considering all these studies we have listed down the attributes of ball point pens that are significant enough to help make buyers the purchasing decision. Our exploratory and quantitative studies will then help us identify which attributes are considered most important by consumers and which attributes are present in Deer finer-tip pens (if any).

Brand name Price Smoothness Clarity Neatness Colour Shape Presence of rubber cushion Click or Cap head Colour of the Ink

Fig 3: FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION

Source: Barbeau, J. B., & Qualls, W. J. (1984). Consumers' Perceptions of Attributes and

Behavioral Intentions: An Extended Comparison-Level Model. Advances in Consumer Research;

1984, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p143-147, p 145

Consistency in quality

4. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ANALYSISOur qualitative research consisted of Focus Groups and Short Interviews.

4.1 Analysis Of Focus GroupsIn order to analyze the results for the focus groups we have used the thematic analysis approach and we will identify certain themes that were prevalent. We have analyzed the results under two main segments: Views of Office Users and Views of Students.

Furthermore in the first part of analysis we will look at general quality associations with ball points by the consumers and in the second part we will look at the consumer perception regarding Deer Finer tip ball point pens in particular.

OPINIONS OF OFFICE USERS

General Quality

- Brand Association With Ball Point PensOn average it was found that the normal consumer is brand conscious even when it comes to something as small as buying a ball point pen. Strong inclination is showed towards the brand “Picasso” while there is some inclination for “Piano” also present. On average we can easily conclude that before choosing any pen the consumer will think about its brand name.

- Quality Association With Ball Point Pens:-When asked about the most important quality that consumers want from a ball point pen we found that most of them feel that the most important attribute that a pen must possess is the writing quality. The participants in focus group said it is very imperative that the pen writes smoothly and does not smudge while writing. Furthermore long term reliability was also perceived as an important factor. It was explained that there are many pens which work perfectly in the beginning but deteriorate as time passes. On average we can say that the writing quality is very important for a ball point pen.

1. Smooth WritingThe participants generally agreed that writing is important for a pen. Therefore the friction between the nib of the pen and the paper should not be so high that it makes it difficult to write. On average the participants rated this attribute as a rating of 9 which is very high.

Furthermore it was noted that the participants said if another brand of pen will provide more smooth writing then it is likely that they will switch to the new product

and when asked in general will other consumers switch they said that others will switch also. 3

2. Clarity Of WritingSimilarly the writing clarity that is how much does the ink of pen smudge or not was unanimously rated as very important. The participants gave it a 10 rating and said that smudges in writing are not at all acceptable to any consumer.

3. PriceWhen asked whether you feel that price is important factor in deciding about the ball point to purchase the participants had different opinions. Some said that price does matter because it reflects quality but on average all of them gave the price factor a low rating between 3-4 points.

Moreover when it was inquired which price was right for a simple ball point we again got diverse answers. Some said that if the pen is of low quality then the price should be less than 5 Rs. Others said that for an average pen a price of Rs. 10 is acceptable to them. While several others said that prices range of 5-8 Rs. is acceptable to them.

When the participants were asked if a company introduces a new product offering better quality of pen will it be acceptable to charge a higher price from them they all agreed that yes, the consumer will accept the increase in price but only if the product is consistently reliable.

4. ShapeThe participants all seemed to think that shape is important for a ball point pen but it is not of prime importance. They gave this factor a rating of about 7. This shows that while they do consider shape to be an important factor for a pen what is more important to them is the fact that the grip offered by the shape should be good. Otherwise the design of the pen itself is not that important.

Later when we discussed which shape is preferred by them they said that the cylindrical shape is best for a ball point pen. The reason that was given was that it is very easy to hold and can be used from all the sides whereas a pen which is rectangular or conical can only be used from specific pressure points. Moreover it was pointed out that round shaped pen does not poke the finger or hurt if kept for long period while other shapes are inconvenient for long term usage.

5. ThicknessWhen asked what they think is the optimal thickness for a ball point pen we got quite diverse answers. There wasn’t a consensus regarding the actual thickness measure but all participants did agree on the fact that the thickness of the pen

3 We have used this scale in our focus group. 1 for least important. 10 for most important

determines its grip. Some people said that they prefer very thin pens while others said a thicker pen is more preferable.

6. Click Or CapAlthough on average all the participants agreed that the cap is quite a hassle for a pen and they would all prefer a pen to have click they did say that the sound of the click is disturbing. For the cap it was pointed out that it is very easy to lose the cap or drop it and then the ink is smeared on the clothes. Therefore on average they all preferred a click pen. An important opinion that came out was that instead of using either click or cap the manufacturer should use a roller pen which will neither have the sound of the click nor the inconvenience of the cap.

7. Transparent/OpaquePeople pointed out that a transparent pen has many advantages as compared to an opaque one. It is easy to see the level of ink, it is easy to view the brand name and not get confused and also easy to distinguish one pen from the other. However it was also pointed that from the manufacturer’s point of view an opaque pen is better because then they can fill the ink as much or as less as they want because the user will not be able to view it. On average the participants preferred a transparent ball point pen.

8. Color Of The BodyThe color of the body of the ball point pen was not considered very important by the participants. The rated it on average as 2 and said that it does not matter whether the color of the body is attractive or not. However they did mention that the body color of the pen must correspond to the color of the ink inside the pen i.e. a blue ink ball point must have a body color that clearly shows that the pen writes blue ink. Even if the whole body is not blue but there is some indication on the body that the ink inside it is blue then its fine.

9. Color Of The InkThe office users unanimously agreed that color of the ink inside the pen is not that important. As long as it’s visible then even if the blue color is navy blue, or sky blue, or dark blue it’s not relevant. The color of the ink should be such that it’s consistent and does not smudge. The shade of the ink color itself is not that important.

10.Presence Of Rubber CushionThis was another factor where we got very diverse results. Some people rated the rubber cushion very highly giving it 8 points while others said that its not at all important giving it a 1 rating. Those who said its important explained it by saying that sometimes this rubber cushion actually makes the pen look more stylish and at other times it helps in improving the grip of the pen.

Those who said that the rubber cushion is not good said that we live in hot climate where it is very easy to perspire and the sweat makes the rubber cushion loose

which becomes inconvenient while writing. Some of the participants were indifferent regarding the rubber cushion.

Deer Pens

- Opinion Regarding Deer Tic TacThis is the brand of Deer which is of daily usage. It has a nib of1mm. When we asked the participants to test it they found the writing to be fine. Their main issue was with the shape of the pen and its thickness. Some said the pen is pretty thick which is good for grip while others said it’s too thick so its difficult to hold.

As far as shape is concerned people said that the pen is three sided in figure. This means that for short term the grip maybe good but if it will be used for longer time period then we will feel pain and the hand might even go numb due to the pressure points.

- Opinion Regarding Deer Stick 2000Next we passed the first Deer finer tip pen for testing. The participants in general liked the quality of its writing and its smoothness on paper. However one of the participants did not like the thickness and said that it was too thin. Another participant said that the nib seems to be too fine and there is danger that it might break after sometime.

Another main issue that came out was the fact that this pen had a cap instead of a click system. So on average although people liked the pen’s writing quality and smoothness but they had some concerns regarding its long term reliability.

- Opinion Regarding Deer Ultra FineThis pen was unanimously disliked by the participants. They said that the shape of the pen and the material used in its making is very cheap. It’s not something that they would like to carry in their pockets especially while going to work. Moreover many of them had issues with the writing quality and smoothness of the pen. Some said its writing quality is fine but it looks and feels like very cheap pen. Moreover people had issue with the thickness of the pen. They said that the pen is too thin which is very bad for the grip.

- Opinion Regarding Deer EasyIn this instance again we had some diverse opinions. Most of the participants agreed that the writing was of good quality and smooth but some felt that the rubber cushion was slippery and uncomfortable. Moreover some of the participants said that they want the color of the body to be changed because the color is not corresponding to the ink inside the pen. On the other hand some of the participants said that they like the colors as well the overall design of the pen.

- Overall Opinion

When we asked whether out of these four pen all of which are being sold for 5 Rs. In the market which pen will they buy the participants said that they prefer the Deer Stick 2000. It provides better quality and is also good looking and pleasing. The only change that is required is tom remove the cap.

Out of all the office users, only one said that he prefers Tic Tac while two others said that they prefer Deer Easy but even those two said that they also like Stick 2000.

- Opinion Regarding Introduction Of New Finer Tip ModelWhen we asked them that if we were to introduce a newer product of finer tip pen with 0.5mm nib and comprising of all the good qualities that were emphasized by them and then charge the consumer Rs. 10 for it then would it sell? They said that if the pen is providing long term performance and quality then the company can charge a higher price for it.

It was also pointed out that students would generally prefer a less costly pen and would like to buy two pens of 5 Rs. each instead of buying only one pen for 10 Rs.

They suggested that the best strategy would be to go for market segmentation and launch this new pen for the market of office users only because they can afford it and since it’ll be stylish so it’ll feel good to carry the pen in the pocket especially while going to work. For students they said a lower priced model is more preferable.

One of the participant also said that there is no need to make the tip more fine otherwise it’ll break or become lesser smooth.

OPINIONS OF STUDENTS

General Quality

- Brand Association With Ball Point Pens

When we asked the students about their views, 4 out of 8 people said that they think about the brand while buying a ballpoint. This shows that brand name will play an important role in consumer perception but students are less likely to feel its importance as compared to office users of ball points.

- Quality Association With Ball Point PensIn general the students said that the most important factors which they rely on while thinking about ball point pens is the quality of writing, smoothness and reliability of that pen in long term. This is very similar to the results from the office users.

1. Smooth WritingParticipants were asked to rate smooth writing on a scale of one to ten. Out of 8 participants one was unable to allocate his preference. All others rated smooth

writing at 8-10. Furthermore it was asked that whether writing is so important that you would switch to another pen if one is unable to give the desired results. Most of the participants said that they would switch to other pen if their current one is not giving them smooth writing.

2. Clarity Of WritingPens that smudge while writing were unanimously given worst ratings as smudging of ink while writing would certainly force the students to change their pens. Clarity while writing was given high ratings in terms of desirability. All of the students present rated clarity in writing at 10 (Most important).

3. PriceAccording to them quality is reflected by price. Pen which give smoother writings are generally more expensive. Most students felt that price and their decision to purchase a pen at higher price would depend on the pen’s relative quality. If another pen can give them same quality at lower price then they would go for it. But for testing a pen they would buy a higher priced pen and see if it give’s them their money’s worth. Some of the students felt that for a country like Pakistan price does matter and if a pen wants to attract the masses it shouldn’t be expensive. Our general opinion is that students are price sensitive and are unwilling to give higher price for a better pen. As one student said “For quality he/she might compromise but not for price” which reflect the view that price of a pen is very important to students. One of our participants told us about Piano gel pen. According to him it was really good and had excellent quality. But they charged a higher price for it and eventually it failed because people didn’t buy it and now it is not even available in the market. Student felt that a pen which is launched for the masses must balance price and quality so that both segments would buy it otherwise the pen should be tailored to the needs of a specific income group. This shows that students are much more price-sensitive to ball point pens than office users.

4. Shape And ThicknessWhen asked about the shape of the pen we found that different people prefer different shapes. The only thing that was common was the fact that it should have a good grip. Mostly girls interpreted a slim pen to give a better grip while boys said a thicker pen would give them a good grip (except for 1 boy who said he could get a grip even in slim pens).

5. Click Or CapExcept for one participant all others preferred pen with click facility rather than a cap. According to them it’s more convenient. Only one student said that he preferred cap as it prevents the ink from leaking.

6. Transparent/OpaqueParticipants in this segment showed high preference for pens which are transparent. This was explained by the fact that it will be easy to judge ink limit of the pen if it is

transparent. It was also pointed out that in examinations students especially prefer transparent pen.

7. Color Of The BodyEven when pen is opaque they preferred that the color of the casing should reflect the color of the ink otherwise it leads to confusion. 50% of the students said that it’s very important while the rest said that it depends upon the circumstances. If someone is in a hurry it is better that the color corresponds to the ink. If not then they can always test the color on their hands. Even though 50% students said that color of casing is important but the majority said that they wouldn’t base their purchasing decisions on the color. Usually to students color of the ink is more important than the color of the pen. This result was similar to that of the office users.

8. Presence Of Rubber CushionStudents generally feel that rubber cushion is useless but it is important that the pen should give them a good grip with or without the rubber cushion. As Pakistan’s climate is usually hot, some people’s palms sweat a lot, which could result in a loose grip. Therefore for Pakistani market a pen should have a strong grip that should counter the problem of sweating. Sometimes a rubber cushion is effective in dealing with this problem but sometimes it is not. The point to note is that the overall design should give a good grip.

9. Ink ColorThis was rated very important by everyone. They said that the blue color of ink should be of the right shade. It should resemble the color of Picasso which is sky blue and not navy blue.

Deer Pens

- Opinion Regarding Deer Tic TacThis pen was disliked by the majority of participants. However two of them said that the writing is fine and the pen is thick which means it’s good for grip purpose. Moreover it was pointed out that a student will not buy this pen because Picasso has already fulfilled this pen’s purpose.

- Opinion Regarding Deer Stick 2000Students liked its clarity in writing and smoothness. Only 2 students liked the design of the pen. Others thought that there shouldn’t be a cap as it’s a nuisance and there could be issues with the grip as it’ll slip. When asked whether they will purchase the pen for Rs.10 nobody replied with an affirmative. Majority were of the opinion that people would buy it for Rs. 5 but not for Rs. 10. Another noteworthy point is that students felt that it wouldn’t work in the upper class segment because of design issues. It has a somewhat old fashioned look which reduces its appeal to the upper

class. One student felt that it should have a cap and something more to add to its appeal so that he would buy it. Then they were asked whether they would buy it for Rs. 5 in a market where there are other brands available like Picasso etc. The reply was somewhat mixed but generally students felt that they would at least try it while only 2 students thought that they would switch to it. Students felt that it should have additional features to attract them and still Picasso is smoother. One student felt that color of the ink isn’t good as it is navy blue and he prefers sky blue that is offered by Picasso.

- Opinion Regarding Deer Ultra FineStudents generally liked this pen as they had no issues with its writing, grip or design. Most students preferred it over Deer winner, stick and Easy. One particular advantage is that it did not stick at the beginning which was noted by 2 or 3 students. When asked whether they would purchase it in a shop then most students said yes. One said that he would place it equal to Picasso as he still prefers Picasso’s ink color.

This was in extreme contrast with the office users’ views.

- Opinion Regarding Deer EasyStudents had serious issues with the design as they didn’t like the variety of colors in which it is offered. Also its ink didn’t correspond to the color of the casing which is annoying for most students. Otherwise it writing was declared fine and clear and they also liked the smoothness. When we took a vote then nobody liked its design while 7 out of 8 liked the writing. 3 out of 8 people liked Deer Easy’s grip while one felt that it could be held in only three ways due to its triangular shape. Students said that they would buy it for examination use when nobody is looking at their pen and it is giving them smooth writing with a good grip. But they wouldn’t prefer it for daily use because of its design.

AN OVERALL PERSPECTIVE

Although it’s not easy at this point to come to any general conclusions however certain things can be inferred.

The most important features required by the sure whether it is an office user or a student from a ball point pen is good quality writing and smoothness.

The shape of the pen is important for grip purpose and also to help the overall look of the product appear more attractive.

Students are much more price-sensitive to ball point pens as compared to office users.

As a general view click option is considered better than a cap. Color of the casing or the body of the pen is important only to the extent of

not creating confusion. This means the color of the casing must correspond to the ink inside the pen.

4.2 Analysis Of Short InterviewsAccording to the two short interviews conducted at Urdu Bazaar, we found that increase in the ball points demand in the last 2 or more years have been because of the population increase or the growing number of students in primary, secondary or higher education students in Pakistan. When it was asked that did Deer Ball points demand increased, shopkeepers disagreed and said DEER ball points were their last choice. When the reason was asked some said they did not know and some said people mostly look at the brand name they rely on or buy whichever pen the shopkeeper is giving to them.

After this we asked about the nature of demand of finer tip pens of deer, to this shopkeepers replied that already finer tips such as Piano 0.8 or ORIA and others are being supplied into the market. But considering all the pens Finer Tip Deer Ball points is their last choice. Some of them were also not able to identify or name the different brands but said they prefer Picasso or Piano compared to DEER brand more (being it 1.0 mm or finer tip category).

Another question was to identify other brands of finer tip pens to which some knew about the finer tip category and some did not. The general reply was Piano 0.8 and ORIA (of Shahsons). And when there demand (other than finer tip deer ball points) was asked in comparison to deer ball points they said that right now the demand for 1.0 mm ball points is very high and this finer tip category be it any brand will take some time to capture a good proportion of ball point market share (above 25 %).

5. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ANALYSIS

Our quantitative research consisted of questionnaires distributed among a sample of 200 individuals. The questionnaire was aimed to find out about these aspects of Deer Finer-Tip pens from the users:

Awareness Liking of the pens Liking of particular attributes of the pens The behavior of the two different (possible) segments regarding the pens The willingness of users to purchase the pens at a higher price.

A copy of the questionnaire is included in the appendices.

The analysis of the questionnaire contained two aspects: 1) Hypothesis Testing, and 2) Cross Tabulation of Variables. These are discussed separately below.

HYPOTHESIS 1:

Users of ball point pens will be willing to purchase a ball point for Rs. 10 given certain conditions.

Ho: Mean price of pen = Rs

10

H1: Mean price of pen ≠ Rs.

10

Level of Significance = 0.05

Test statistic: t= .640

Critical Region:

-.53 < t < 1.03

Conclusion:

Calculated t value lies within the acceptance region. At 5% level of significance the data dos not provide sufficient evidence against the null hypothesis and therefore we do not reject the null hypothesis that people would be willing to pay Rs. 10 for a newer model.

TABLE 1: One-Sample Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Price 178 10.25 5.269 .395

TABLE 2: One-Sample Test

Test Value = 10

t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference

95% Confidence Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Price .640 177 .523 .253 -.53 1.03

HYPOTHESIS 2:

The awareness about Deer Ball point pens is less than 50%.

H0: P< 50%

H1: P ≥ 50%

P is the proportion of

population that the person

is familiar with deer ball

point

Level of Significance: 0.05

Z statistic:

Z = (P*-P)/√PQ/N

Z= 3.65S

Critical region:

Z > 1.645

Conclusion:

Calculated t value lies in the critical region therefore we reject the null hypothesis at 5% level of significance. The data provide sufficient evidence to conclude that brand awareness is greater than 50%.

TABLE 3: Statistics

Are you familiar with Deer ball point pens?

N Valid 184

Missing 16

Mean 1.38

Std. Error of Mean .036

Std. Deviation .485

Variance .236

Skewness .521

Std. Error of Skewness .179

Range 1

TABLE 4: Are you familiar with Deer ball point pens?

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Yes 115 57.5 62.5 62.5

No 69 34.5 37.5 100.0

Total 184 92.0 100.0

Missing System 16 8.0

Total 200 100.0

HYPOTHESIS 3:

The awareness about Deer Finer-Tip pens is less than 50%.

H0: P< 50%

H1: P ≥ 50%

P is the proportion of population that the person

is familiar with deer ball point


Z statistic:

Z = (P*-P)/√PQ/N

Z= 0.019

Critical region:

Z > 1.645

Conclusion:

Since calculated z value is not greater than critical t value, therefore at 5% level of significance we do not reject the null hypothesis. The data give sufficient evidence to conclude that even though brand awareness is high but awareness about deer finer tipped pen is below 50%. Our recommendation is that the company should spend on promotion of deer ball point.

TABLE 5:Statistics

Are you aware of Deer Finer tip pens (Finer tip

pens are the pens in which the nib is thinner

than an ordinary ball point pen)?

N Valid 119

Missing 81

Mean 1.50

Std. Deviation .502

Variance .252

Skewness -.017

Std. Error of Skewness .222

TABLE 6: Are you aware of Deer Finer tip pens (Finer tip pens are the pens in

which the nib is thinner than an ordinary ball point pen)?


Cumulative

Percent

Valid Yes 59 29.5 49.6 49.6

No 60 30.0 50.4 100.0

Total 119 59.5 100.0


Total 200 100.0

HYPOTHESIS 4:

Less than 50% of the users liked Deer Finer-Tip pens

P is the proportion of people who used Deer Finer-Tips and liked them.

H0: P< 50%

H1: P ≥ 50%


Z statistic:

Z = (P*-P)/√PQ/N

Z= 3.1886

Critical region:

Z > 1.645

Conclusion:

Since calculated z value is greater than critical t value, therefore at 5% level of significance we reject the null hypothesis. The data give sufficient evidence to conclude that more then 50% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked them.

HYPOTHESIS 5:

Less than 60% people who user Deer Finer-Tip pens liked them.

P is the proportion of population which used deer finer tipped pen and liked it.

H0: P< 60%

H1: P ≥ 60%


Z statistic:

Z = (P*-P)/√PQ/N

Z= 1.562

Critical region:

Z > 1.645

Conclusion:

Since calculated z value is not greater than critical t value, therefore at 5% level of significance we do not reject the null hypothesis. The data give sufficient evidence to conclude that less then 60% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked them.

The two hypotheses makes it clear that even though the number of people who used deer finer tipped pen and liked it are greater then 50%, they are not in fact greater then 60%.

TABLE 7:Which of the following statements is applicable to you regarding the use of finer tip pens?

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid I have not used them all 5 2.5 8.2 8.2

I don't like them 3 1.5 4.9 13.1

I neither like or dislike them 14 7.0 23.0 36.1

I like them 35 17.5 57.4 93.4

I like them very much 4 2.0 6.6 100.0

Total 61 30.5 100.0


Total 200 100.0

HYPOTHESIS 6:

Less than 75% of the users like the smoothness of writing offered by Deer Finer-Tip pens.

P is the proportion of people who like the smooth writing of deer ball point pen.

H0: P< 75%

H1: P ≥ 75%


Z statistic:

Z = (P*-P)/√PQ/N

Z= 2.138

Critical region:

Z > 1.645

Conclusion:

Since calculated z value is greater than critical t value, therefore at 5% level of significance we reject the null hypothesis that less then 75% of people like the smooth writing offered by deer ball point pen. The data give sufficient evidence to conclude that more then 75% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked its smooth writing.

TABLE 8: What do you think about the following features in Deer Finer Tip ball points? - Smooth Writing


Cumulative

Percent

Valid I like it very much 35 17.5 50.0 50.0

I like it 24 12.0 34.3 84.3

I neither like it nor dislike it 10 5.0 14.3 98.6

I do not like it 1 .5 1.4 100.0

Total 70 35.0 100.0


Total 200 100.0

HYPOTHESIS 7:

Less than 40% of the users liked the shape of the body of the Deer Finer-Tips.

P is the proportion of population which used deer finer tipped pen and liked the shape if its body.

H0: P< 40%

H1: P ≥ 40%


Z statistic:

Z = (P*-P)/√PQ/N

Z= -0.29

Critical region:

Z > 1.645

Conclusion:

Since calculated z value is not greater than critical t value, therefore at 5% level of significance we do not reject the null hypothesis. The data give sufficient evidence to conclude that less then 40% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked the shape of its body.

TABLE 9: What do you think about the following features in Deer Finer Tip ball points? - Shape of Body

Frequency Percent Valid PercentCumulative

Percent


I like it 17 8.5 25.4 41.8


I do not like it 2 1.0 3.0 97.0

I do not like it all 2 1.0 3.0 100.0

Total 67 33.5 100.0


Total 200 100.0

HYPOTHESIS 8:

Less than 50% of the users liked the grip of Deer Finer-Tip pens.

P is the proportion of population which used deer finer tipped pen and liked the grip of the pen.

H0: P< 50%

H1: P ≥ 50%


Z statistic:

Z = (P*-P)/√PQ/N

Z= 2.147

Critical region:

Z > 1.645

Conclusion:

Since calculated z value is greater than critical t value, therefore at 5% level of significance we reject the null hypothesis. The data give sufficient evidence to conclude that more then 50% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked the grip of the pen.

TABLE 10: What do you think about the following features in Deer Finer Tip ball points? - Grip

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent


I like it 28 14.0 41.8 62.7


I do not like it 2 1.0 3.0 98.5

I do not like it all 1 .5 1.5 100.0

Total 67 33.5 100.0


Total 200 100.0

HYPOTHESIS 9:

Less than 50% of the people who used Deer Finer-Tip pens liked its price.

P is the proportion of population which used deer finer tipped pen and liked the price.

H0: P< 50%

H1: P ≥ 50%


Z statistic:

Z = (P*-P)/√PQ/N

Z= 2.147

Critical region:

Z > 2.65

Conclusion:

Since calculated z value is greater than critical t value, therefore at 5% level of significance we reject the null hypothesis that less then 50% people like the current price of deer ball point. The data give sufficient evidence to conclude that more then 50% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked its current price.

TABLE 11: What do you think about the following features in Deer Finer Tip ball points? - Price


Cumulative

Percent


I like it 26 13.0 37.7 65.2


I do not like it 4 2.0 5.8 98.6

I do not like it all 1 .5 1.4 100.0

Total 69 34.5 100.0


Total 200 100.0

Hypotheses 10, 11 and 12 have been included in the appendices

CROSS TABULATION 1:

Analysis Of Occupation With Awareness Level About Deer Finer Tip Pens

Q. Student or Employed * Are you aware of Deer Finer tip pens (Finer tip pens are the pens in which the nib is thinner than an ordinary ball point pen)?

TABLE 12: Count

Are you aware of Deer Finer

tip pens (Finer tip pens are

the pens in which the nib is

thinner than an ordinary ball

point pen)?

TotalYes No

Student or

Employed

3 1 4

- 1 1 2

Student 42 47 89

Employ

ed

13 11 24

Total 59 60 119

Fig 4

If we look at the above figures we can see that around equal percentage of students and employed people have said that they are aware of the existence of Deer Finer tip pens and an equal percentage has said that they are unaware about them.

Out of the 24 employed people almost half of them said that they are aware about Deer finer tip pens while in 89 students around half again said the same thing. The main reason why there exists such a large difference in the valid and the missing data is the fact that the questionnaire was designed in such a way that the answer to this question will only be considered if the respondent answered in a certain manner to the preceding questions.

This tells us that the overall awareness level of Deer Finer Tip pens is the same among respondents irrespective of the fact that they are students or employed people.

CROSS TABULATION 2:

Analysis Of Occupation With Usage Behavior About Deer Finer Tip Pens

Q. Student or Employed* Which of the following statements is applicable to you regarding

the use fo ball pens?

TABLE 13

If we look at the above figures we can see that there exists a vast difference between the valid and the missing data. This is because, as stated before, only the data f those questionnaires was tabulated for this question who said that they are aware of Deer finer tip pens.

If we look at the likeness of these pens half of the respondents in both students as well as the employed said that they like these pens but no employed people said that they like these pens very much. However, around 1 percent of students said that they like these pens a lot. These are almost the same figures.

Fig 5

On the other hand if we look at the disliking of these pens the difference emerges. Around a half percentage of the employed respondents said that they are indifferent about these pens as compared to normal pens, while among the students only about 10 percent said that they are indifferent. As far as the respondents saying that they do not like these pens or have not used them was a very small percentage in both the students as well as the employed people.

This tells us that the overall usage and likeness opinion of Deer Finer Tip pens is the same among respondents irrespective of the fact that they are students or employed people.

CROSS TABULATION 3:

Analysis Of Occupation With Frequency Of Ball Points Purchase

Q. Student or Employed* How often do you purchase ball point pens?

The figures show that there exists an almost similar relationship between occupation and frequency of purchase irrespective of the respondent being a student or an employed person. It turns out that an almost equal number of people have said that they buy in a week, in 2 weeks, in a month and in 2 months.

By this information we can conclude that occupation does not affect how much or in what quantity the user will buy ballpoint pens.

Fig 6

CROSS TABULATION 4:

Analysis Of Occupation With Amount Spent On Each Purchase Of Ball Point Pens

Q. Student or Eloyed* How much do you spend in each purchase?

Fig 7

In these figures we can see that the major support was given to a price level of Rs 5 to Rs 10. This means that whether the respondents were students or employed people they both ranged price in this section. Around 60% of the students said that they would prefer the price of the new pen to be between Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 while 60% of the employed people also said the same thing.

The same analysis is applicable to price level between Rs. 11 and Rs 20 where around 20% of both students as well as employed people said that they’ll be willing to pay within this price range for the new pen.

The difference arises when we come to the next price range. Here 16% of the students said that they’ll pay between Rs. 21 to Rs. 50 for a new pen while only 10% of the employed showed this willingness.

Therefore overall we ca say that up to a certain threshold (which in this case was Rs. 21) the price range is not affected by the occupation but after that certain threshold our research shows that students will pay more than the office users.

CROSS TABULATION 5:

Analysis Of Occupation With Importance Given To Different Features In A General Ballpoint Pen

This section shows the preferences of users in ball point pens. Respondants were asked to rate nine different characteristics of ball point pens according to importance. Our qualitative research showed that the preferences of Students and Professionals differ when it comes to the attributes of pens. That is why here we study each characteristic from both the Students’ and the Professionals’ perspectives.

Note: The graphs show four categories on the x-ais of which the first two categories are of missing or incomplkete data, which is irrelevant for our discussion.

Q. Student or Employed * How important are the following attributes in a ball pen?

1. SMOOTH WRITING

Fig 8

As seen above, smooth writing has been considered very important by both students and professionals. This means that most of the users look for smooth and easy writing in a ball point pen.

2. CLARITY OF WRITING

Fig 10

Like smoothness and grip, clarity has also been considered an important attribute for a ball point pen. Thus it is important for a pen not to leak or leave spots on the page after a few days of use.

3. PRICE

Fig 11

It can be seen that price is also considered an important factor by users. There is not much difference of opinion between students and professionals. However, the students graph is higher due to the higher number of responses by them.

4. GRIP

Fig 12

Grip has been considered as a very important attribute by users. Meaning a pen should be designed with a high priority given to the thickness or other charcterisitcs that help provide grip to it (e.g. a rubber cushion, etc.)

5. SHAPE OF BODY

Fig 13

A majority of the respondents have considered the shape of a pen’s body as important. Our qualitative research found that the reason for this was that the shape of the body heps provide grip. So if a pen is triangular it is harder to grip than a circular pen, etc.

6. BODY COLOUR

Fig 14

As seen from the graph, a difference of opinion can be observed between students and professionals. Most of the students do not consider body colour to be important, whereas professionals do consider it to be a significant characteristic in a ball pen, that affects their purchase decision. The reason to this was pointed out in our qualitative research, where professionals pointed out that it was important for them to know what colour ink the pen has - blue, black, red or green - and it is better for them to find that out if the body of the pen was of the same colour as the ink.

7. TRANSPARENT BODY

Fig 15

Here also a transparent body colour was considered mostly unimportant for students, while the responses were split among the professionals (with a preference towards it being unimportant). The reason for this might be the fact that a transparent body helps identify the colour of the ink easily.

From the above two questions it can be seen that students do not consider the colour of the body s important while office-goers do to the extent of being able to identify the ink.

8. CAP

Fig 16

Here, the students have considred the presence of a pen cap as not important, while there is a split among the office-users.

9. CLICK

Fig 17

Here, both types of users have shown a preference for a click pen. Compared to the results of the previous question it can be said that most of the users prfer click over cap. However, those who prefr cap are not insignificant in numner. So it is always a good idea for a manufacturer to keep both types of pens in its offering.

Overall it can be seen that students and office users consider these attributes as important presences in ball pens:

Smoothness Clarity of writing Grip Shape of Body Presence of Click

Students and office users differ a little in their opinions about the body colour and transparent body, where students are mostly indifferent and office users consider it an important attribute for the purchase decision due to the reason mentioned earlier.

CROSS TABULATION 6:

Analysis Of Income With Price Of New Deer Pen

This analysis compares the respondents’ monthly income with their willingness to purchase a ball point pen having all of their preferred attributes.

TABLE 14

Fig 18

As can be seen from the graph most of the respondents will be willing to purchase a pen for Rs. 5 or Rs. 10. A few have also indicated their willingness to purchase at Rs.15 or Rs. 20.

The graph shows that most of the users in the high income brackets would be willing to spend Rs. 10 on a pen while the low income level users would still prefer paying Rs. 5. This shows that if a pen is introduced for Rs. 10 it should mostly be targetted at the higher income groups. However, that pen should be of very good quality and have all the preferred attributes of the users to attract their attention.

Fig 19 Fig 20

Fig 21

Fig 22

CROSS TABULATION 7:

Analysis Of Occupation With Liking Of Different Features In Deer Finer Tip Pen

This analysis shows the perception about Deer pens among student and professional users. The respondents were asked to rate nine different attributes of Deer Finer-Tip pens according to liking. Our study has been segmented into Students and Office Users due to different preferences displayed by them during our qualitative reserach.

1. SMOOTH WRITING

Fig 23

Here we can see that most of the people who have used Deer Finer-Tips believe that they provide

smooth writing. This is a good indication for the company as Smootness is one of the most desired

attribute in a ball point (as seen from our previous analysis).

2. CLARITY OF WRITING

Fig 24

Most of the respondents have shown a liking toward sthe clarity of writing provided by Deer Finer-Tips.

3. PRICE

Fig 25

Most of the respondents are satisfied by the porice at which Deer Finer-Tips are available right now as

they can be purchased at the standard price of Rs. 5. Our earlier analysis showed that people would be

willing to spend a little higher on pens provided that these pens contain their prefered attributes.

4. GRIP

Fig 26

Majority of the respondents have a favourable view of the grip of Deer Finer-Tip pens. This is another good sign for the company.

5. SHAPE OF BODY

Fig 27

A majority of the respondents are indiffernet to the shape of the Deer- Finer-tips. Out of those who are not indiffernt most of them like it.

6. BODY COLOUR

Fig 28

This graph shows that most of the respondents either liked the colours of Deer Finer-Tips or were indiffernet to them. Our qualitatibe research showed a particular indifference or even dislike of the Deer Finer-Tip pen colours especially those of Deer Easy.

7. TRASPARENT BODY

Fig 29

Here we see that all types of users responded positively to the transparent body of Deer pens. However, our previous analysis showed that users do not give much imporatnce to the body colour, ehich explains the high number of Indiffernt reponses to the question.

8. CAP

Fig 30

A majority of the respondents are indifferent to the presence of caps in the pens. Some even do not like them. This might be due to more peolple preferring the presence of clicks in ball points in general, as was seen from our previous analysis.

9. CLICK

Fig 31

Here we can see that most of the respondents have liked the presence of clicks in Deer Finer-Tips. This might be due to more users preferring clicks in ball pens as stated earlier. Therefore, according to this study more varieties of pens should include click as opposed to caps.

Overall these conclusions can be drawn from this analysis:

There is no difference of opinion between students and professional users of ball point pens in their perceptions of Deer Finer-Tip pens.

Users of these pens have liked the pens’o Smoothnesso Clarity of writing o Gripo Presence of Click

Users have been indiffernt to the pens’o Priceo Shapeo Body Colours

This means that currently6 the Deer Finer-tip pens are succeeding in providing the required preferences of the users namely: smoothness, clarity and grip; which were rated the most important attributes in ball pens by the respondents. This is a good sign to the company.

6. LIMITATIONS

Since the research was conducted under certain constraints so it’s better that we list them.

The most major constraint was that the group faced time constraint. The research would have been much more thorough, complete and encompassing but combined with studies, examinations etc. we gave it our best shot.

Another limitation of this report was the fact that due to time constraint we were not able to use random sampling methodology for selecting the sample. Since resources and time were limited so we had to go with convenience based sampling and therefore we relied on our judgment. We tried to remove as much bias as possible but some inherent bias maybe present due to this sampling technique.

If more time would have been available our overall sample size would have been larger probably around 300. Since time deadline had to be met so we restricted ourselves to 200 people and computed the results on their answers.

Furthermore the exploratory research that we conducted consisted of 2 focus groups and some short interviews. Ideally we would have liked to include at least one other focus group and an in depth interview but again practical constraints had to be adhered to.

Lastly, we all are still research students and not experts so there maybe some interpretation or analytical issues that can only be rectified with experience in this field. Therefore please excuse us on such mistakes due to our inexperience.

7. CONCLUSIONS

This research showed some expected and some not so expected results. Firstly the hypotheses concluded that:

People would be willing to pay Rs. 10 for a newer model. Brand awareness of Deer ball point pens is greater than 50%. Awareness about Deer finer tipped pen is below 50%. Even though the number of people who used deer finer tipped pen and liked it are greater then

50%, they are not in fact greater then 60%. More then 75% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked its smooth writing. Less then 40% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked the shape of its body. More then 50% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked the grip of the pen. More then 50% of people who have used deer finer tipped pen liked its current price. The importance given by users of ball pens to smooth writing is dependent to the importance

given to clarity of writing. Importance given to shape of pen is equal to importance given to grip of a pen. Click options are preferred over pen with a cap.

The cross-tabulation showed that:

Overall awareness level of Deer Finer Tip pens is the same among respondents irrespective of the fact that they are students or employed people.

The overall usage and likeness opinion of Deer Finer Tip pens is the same among respondents irrespective of the fact that they are students or employed people.

Occupation does not affect how much or in what quantity the user will buy ballpoint pens. Price range is not affected by the occupation of the user. Overall it can be seen that students and office users consider these attributes as important

presences in ball pens: Smoothness, Clarity of writing, Grip, Shape of Body, Presence of Click. Most of the users in the high income brackets would be willing to spend Rs. 10 on a pen while

the low income level users would still prefer paying Rs. 5. Users of Deer Finer-Tip pens have liked the pens’ Smoothness, Clarity of writing , Grip, Presence

of Click.

8. RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the results of our study, we present the following suggestions to Indus Pencils:

Indus should invest in more promotional activities to educate people about their brand and the new product. This would be very beneficial as majority of the people are as yet unaware about the presence of finer-tipped pens in the market.

Indus should give more emphasis to the smoothness, clarity and grip of their pens instead of the colour or design.

Indus should continue to make more varieties of click pens as compared to pens with caps. Indus should make the body colour of the pen coincide with the colour of the ink in order to

satisfy the office users. The company should definitely consider launching a higher priced model into the market.

However, this pen should be of a better quality than the pens currently available and should be made after further research into what users are looking for in a pen.

Indus should also postpone the launch of their new product until better awareness has been created amongst the people regarding the presence of Deer Pens in the market especially Finer-Tip Pens.

REFERENCES

Busler, M. (2002). Product Differentiation, Celebrity Endorsements and the Consumer's Perception of Quality, A Thesis. Drexel University. Ph.D. Thesis.

Wheatley, J. J., Chiu, J.S. Y. & Allen, D. (1982). Generics: Their Impact On National And Private Brands. Advances in Consumer Research; 1982, Vol. 9 Issue 1, p195-200.

Barbeau, J. B., & Qualls, W. J. (1984). Consumers' Perceptions Of Attributes And Behavioral Intentions: An Extended Comparison-Level Model. Advances in Consumer Research; 1984, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p143-147.

Hawkins, D. I., Best, R. J., & Coney, K. A. (1998). Consumer Behavior: building marketing strategy. (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill

Cattell, R. B. (1970). Separating endogenous, exogenous, ecogenic, and epogenic component curves in developmental data. Developmental Psychology, 3(2), 151-162.

Helson, Harry (1964), Adaptation-level Theory, New York: Harper and Row.

Gardner, David M. (May 1971), "Is There a Generalized Price Quality Relationship," Journal of Marketing Research, 8, 241-243.

Andrews, I R. end Valenzi, E. R. (1971), "Combining Price, Brand and Store Cues to Form an Impression of Product Quality,: Proceedings, 79th Annual Convention, American Psychological Association, 649-650.

Leavitt, Harold J. (July 1954), "A Note on Some Experimental Findings about the Meaning of Price," Journal of Business, 27, 205-210.

Jacoby, Jacob, Olson, J. C. and Haddock, R. A. (1971), Price, Brand Name and Product Composition Characteristics as Determinants of Perceived Quality," Journal of Applied Psychology, 55:6, 570-579.

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