Laddering Assignment:

Rohan Srivastava,
1501096
Consumer Profile:
Mr. Sanjay Kumar Gupta is a 28 years old Mechanical Engineer from Gorakhpur,
Uttar Pradesh who works for Bharat Heavy Elelctricals Limited at Tiruchirapalli. He
has been living in Trichy since last 5 years. Sanjay describes himself as a person
who is really out going and loves interacting with people. He believes that his
peoples skills are his biggest asset. He is very tech savvy person who is aware of
current ongoings in technology and takes a keen interest in knowing about it. Sanjay
lives with his mother in Trichys BHEL Township. He plays Cricket and Badminton in
his free time. He has a deep faith in Yoga and Ayurveda. He practices Yoga daily to
keep himself fit and is a dedicated follower of Baba Ramdev.
He has recently purchased a new pair of Nike Shoes and Patanjalis Apricot Scrub.
Product Details (1 of 2)
Brand: Nike
Product Name: Nike Dual Fusion X2 Black Running Shoes
Price: Rupees 3777

Means-end chains: it is well-established fact that creating value for customer is

very important source of competitive advantage.

Laddering Assignment:
1501096

Rohan Srivastava,

Instrumental values
Tough
Stylish
Comfortable

Terminal values
Long Lasting
Sophistication
Confidence

Product Details (2 of 2)
Brand: Patanjali
Product Name: Patanjali Apricot Face Scrub, 60g.
Price: Rupees 60.
Means End Chain for Apricot Scrub
Patanjalis Apricot
face Scrub

Apricot

Removes
blackheads
Clearer &
smoother
skin

Ayurvedic

60g SKU

Decent quality
assured

Lasts
reasonably
longer

Harmless and easy

to use

Confidence It enhances my
confidence as I look good and
my skin looks more radiant

Time Saving With very less effort

and time needed, I can use it.
Small and economical pack can be
carried easily.

Terminal
Value
Instrumental values
Radiant face
Well-groomed
Easy to use

Economical as it
costs less compared
to other SKUs costs

Terminal values
Confidence
Sophistication
Time saving

Laddering Assignment:
1501096
Attributes
Apricot

Functional
Consequences
removes blackheads

Reasonably
Priced

decent quality
assured

60g SKU

Lasts reasonably
longer

Rohan Srivastava,

Psychosocial
Consequences
feel clearer & smoother
skin
Its very easy to use
product.
feels economical as it
costs less compared to
other SKUs

Values
look well-groomed
no need to buy a face
wash as it serves the
purpose
Saves the trouble of
building an inventory
of scrubs

Problems faced during the exercise:

The number of questions which laddering generates were

large, and the
process of repeatedly asking someone why was childish and boring. My
respondent felt irritated after a point of time.

I also realized that answering the later questions was difficult. And attempting to
force an answer can be counterproductive.

Recording responses was complicated, so I had to take much care in preparing

for and conducting the questioning.

Learning from this exercise: Laddering is a well-established technique from

psychology and is typically used to encourage self-analysis of behavior and
motivations. Applying this process to market research will helps us to gather a more
complete list of consequences and climb towards the hard-to-reach values.
These values are the most useful tools for predicting behavior and identifying
potential new opportunities. The two products chosen were from diametrically opposite sides in
terms of price and the effort needed in terms of research to purchase, Nike Shoes are more
modern, western kind of product while Patanjali Apricot Scrub is more Traditional
Ayurvedic Indian product. While interviewing I noticed that buying behavior for Nike
Shoes of respondent was influenced by factors like social status, feelings, comfort,
confidence etc. While for Scrub it was recommendations and belief (in Ayurveda).
The major takeaway from this entire exercise for me was that consumers might let
their individual values dominate their purchase. In my case, respondent was able to
almost relate to terminal value easily in the case of Nike Shoes as one of the prime
factors involved in the purchase itself was the terminal value. But the same was not
true for the Scrub. I have to give a push to reach for the terminal value of the

Laddering Assignment:
Rohan Srivastava,
1501096
product. I feel the problems mainly arose when the product under consideration was
of cheap value.
Are you convinced with the responses you got? Are they making sense? Do you
think this is a worthwhile exercise?
If I was unexposed to the laddering technique and my requirement was to
identify the terminal value, I am certain I would have gone for other market research
techniques like in-depth interviews. I also dont think I could have connected the
purchase with the value the consumer possesses. Laddering technique gives a
Zoom-in perspective to an interview which can only be achieved by
repeatedly asking Why. Thus I firmly believe this entire exercise opened a new
dimension to understand how to link the product with the consumer. Once the
terminal value was reached, the entire exercise can be effectively used for
designing the communication strategy based on the target market the company is
seeking to penetrate into.
I noticed it was easier for the respondent to answer questions about Nike Shoes than for
Patanjali Apricot Scrub. He was more confident about his decision for the Shoes. I think here
the price factor comes in. The things which are cheap, consumer can buy it on the go. He
was more confidant about his decision for Shoes because it was a conscious decision.

Some of the responses do not make sense at a high level and seem disconnected from the objective we
had at hand. Like in Patanjali Apricot Scrub interview respondent told that he believes
that Ayurvedic Scrub is less harmful than the chemical ones, then he mentioned
that he is the first time user of Scrubs, how can he be judgmental about other
products without even knowing about them? Every other thing made sense to me
except the above argument which is completely based on respondent personal bias
towards Ayurveda.