CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION 1.1 PRODUCT

A product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want or need. Products that are marketed include physical goods, services, experiences, events, persons, places, properties, information and ideas. Many people think that a product is a tangible offering, but a product is more than that. In marketing, the term product is often used as a catch-all word to identify solutions a marketer provides to its target market. We will follow this approach and permit the term product to cover offerings that fall into one of the following categories: Goods Something is considered a good if it is a tangible item. That is, it is something that is felt, tasted, heard, smelled or seen. For example, bicycles, cell phones. Services Something is considered a service if it is an offering a customer obtains through the work or labour of someone else. Ideas Something falls into the category of an idea if the marketer attempts to convince the customer to alter their behaviour or their perception in some way.

1.2 HERBS AND HERBAL PRODUCTS

An herb is a plant or part of a plant that has medicinal properties. Herbal skin care is probably the best way to take good care of your skin. The moment someone says herbal treatment for the skin, people immediately think of the age old method of preparing face masks by grinding herbs and all that. However, it is not the case. There are very good instant herbal products available in the market these days and they are as convenient to use as any other artificial cosmetic stuff you might have used before.

So what are these herbs or herbal skin care mechanisms? 1

Aloe Vera, which is an extract from Aloe plant, is one of the best examples of herbal skin care product. Freshly extracted aloe Vera is a natural hydrant that helps in soothing skin. It also helps in healing cuts and treating sun burns. A number of herbs are known to possess cleansing properties. Specific and Harmless Contents: Exclusive herbal ingredients are found in many natural herbal skin care products that work only for a particular purpose without affecting other aspects of the skin, unlike the commercial skin care products on the market today. For example, having exposure to the skin for a maximum period of six hour with a commercial moisturizer would usually cause the chemicals inside to do some other activities on the skin, without the individuals knowledge. The herbs in natural herbal skin care products are very much specific so they are able to perform on the maximum level.

HERBAL SKIN CARE

Sensitive skin has its own set of problems. There are many ingredients, like alcohol, that should never be used on sensitive skin. But, herbs are generally much milder. A herb is a plant or part of a plant that has medicinal properties. The world turns to more environmentally friendly products and services, some progressive skin care companies are turning to herbal skin care products containing medicinal herbs for skin care. The demand for natural products is at an all time high. However, just because a product is natural, does not mean that it will work well. Medicinal herbs for skin care products need to be thoroughly tested to make sure they do what they say they will do. Therefore, buying your herbal skin care products from a company that does its own research and development is a sure fire way to ensure you are getting the real products. Most of the skin care products you find on the shelves of your local are not made from all natural ingredients. Herbal skin care products have been around for a long time. Our ancestors have used plants and herbs for treating their skin for hundreds of years.

CHAPTER 2
2

Literature Review 2.1 Advertising

When a marketer or a firm has developed a product to satisfy market demand after thoroughly analyzing the market, there is a need for establishing for the target market to sell the product .More over this has to be a mass contact which means that the marketer is interested in reaching a large number of people, So that his product may receive optimum exposure. Naturally, the best way to reach this mass market is through mass communication is one of the means of such mass communication. Advertising as a means of mass communication has therefore made mass communication possible. It is perhaps the best-known mass communication channel. Marketers and firms engaged in selling their products & services throughout the country & or in other nations are fully aware of the importance of the advertising. But one thing may be well understood that advertising by itself cannot sell the product. It cannot sell Products of pure quality, product which are too costly, or items which do not come to the expectations of consuming public advertising only helps in selling. The simplest definition of advertisement is that it is a public announcement. There are various means of advertising such as radio, television, the cinema newspapers & magazines. The fundamental relationship of sales to advertising plays a central role in any mathematical theory of advertising. The effect that advertising produces on sales in any market is the sum of the effects that advertising has on various individuals in the market.

2.1.1 Advertising Effectiveness

The degree to which the objectives of an advertisement or advertising campaign have been achieved; the effectiveness is commonly gauged by measuring the effect on sales, brand awareness, brand preference. Effective ads work at two levels. First, they should satisfy consumers urges by engaging them and delivering a relevant message, thereby achieving the goals set by advertisers. Three broad dimensions characterize effective advertising: strategy, creativity and execution. The inferential approach is illustrated by an analysis reported by SIM A.KOLLILER, JR. Director of research MC GRAW-HILL publications. Kolliner refers to an analysis of sales and advertising costs of 99 companies during 1954 made by the National Industrial Conference Board. The study indicated that the companies which put a larger share of their overall sales expenses into advertising had a relatively lower sales cost in proportion to total sales. A similar analysis and findings based on 124 companies for the year 1960 were reported by the American Supply and Machinery Manufacturers Association.

As a rule, market segmentation is performed on a basis not directly related to advertising response. Consumption or income is a frequently used segmentation criterion, advertising expenditure being higher for high income or consumption groups than those with low level of income and consumption. The best advertising strategy would be to develop separate policies for each of the different groups in the market.

2.2 The Buyer Purchase Decision Process

The buyer decision process consists of five steps: o Need Recognition: consumer recognizes a problem or need. o Information Search: search for information. o Evaluation of Alternatives: use information to evaluate alternative brands in the choice set. o Purchase Decision: consumer actually buys the product o Post purchase Behavior: consumers take further action after purchase based on their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. 2.2.1 Need Recognition The buying process starts with need recognitionthe buyer recognizes a problem or need. The buyer senses a difference between his or her actual state and some desired state. The need can be triggered by internal stimuli when one of the person's normal needshunger, thirst, sexrises to a level high enough to become a drive. A need can also be triggered by external stimuli. 2.2.2 Information Search An aroused consumer may or may not search for more information. If the consumer's drive is strong and a satisfying product is near at hand, the consumer is likely to buy it then. If not, the consumer may store the need in memory or undertake an information search related to the need.

2.2.3 Evaluation of Alternatives The marketer needs to know about alternative evaluationthat is, how the consumer processes information to arrive at brand choices. Unfortunately, consumers do not use a simple and single evaluation process in all buying situations. Instead, several evaluation processes are at work. The consumer arrives at attitudes toward different brands through some evaluation procedure. How consumers go about evaluating purchase alternatives depends on the individual consumer and the specific buying situation. In some cases, consumers use careful calculations and logical thinking. At other times, the same consumers do little or no evaluating; instead they buy on impulse and rely on intuition. Sometimes consumers make buying decisions on their own; sometimes they turn to friends, consumer guides, or salespeople for buying advice. 2.2.4 Purchase Decision In the evaluation stage, the consumer ranks brands and forms purchase intentions. Generally, the consumer's purchase decision will be to buy the most preferred brand, but two factors can come between the purchase intention and the purchase decision. The first factor is the attitudes of others. The second factor is unexpected situational factors. The consumer may form a purchase intention based on factors such as expected income, expected price, and expected product benefits. However, unexpected events may change the purchase intention.

2.3 Major players of herbal skin care products

2.3.1 AYUR Ayur is in Herbal Cosmetics business since 1985 and since its inception it has been a reflection of customer requirements. With an objective to become one roof solution for all beauty and cosmetic problems, Ayur provides a wide range of beauty cosmetics strictly prepared with herbal components so that you look great without bothering about any ill effects on your skin and hair.S.Raminder Singh Narang is the Chairman of M/s Three-NProducts Pvt. Ltd. His expertise and dexterity has made Ayur a leading brand, to a great 5

extent. The youngest brother, S.Manminder Singh, is the Managing Director of M/s ThreeN-Products Pvt. Ltd. The dynamic second brother, S.Dilvinder Singh, is the M.D. of R.D.M.Traders Pvt.Ltd. Ayur has a distribution network of about 1 Lac Dealers throughout the length and breadth of the country and the plan is increase this number to about 700 from the present strength of about 500. The Distributors are being serviced by a network of 23 C/Fs and 4 Super Stockiest. Ayur with its increasing network of esteemed distributors will soon cross the 100 crores turnover.

2.3.2 LOTUS LOTUS HERBALS, an innovative line of herbal & ayurvedic skin and hair care products, is presented by LOTUS HERBALS LTD, New Delhi, India. Herbal & Ayurvedic products of this company have been widely exported to U.S.A., UK, UAE, Japan and South Africa. The plant is located in lush green and pollution free environment of Noida. Lotus Herbals Ltd. is steered by a professional management team headed by its Chairmancum-Managing Director, Mr. Kamal Passi. The Company has been promoted by Mr. Kamal Passi, who has an in-depth experience of 35 years in cosmetics manufacturing and a flair for professional management.

2.3.3 DABUR

Dabur India Limited is one of the leading FMCG companies in India with a consolidated turnover exceeding Rs. 2396 crores. Founded by Dr. SK Burman in 1884, Dabur is India's most recognized herbal specialist company and a trusted name in the field of herbal skin care products 2.3.4 HIMALAYA

The Himalaya Company was founded in 1930 by Mr. M. Manal with a clear vision to bring Ayurveda to society in a contemporary form and to unravel the mystery behind the 5,000 year old system of medicine. This included referring to ancient ayurvedic texts, selecting indigenous herbs and subjecting the formulations to modern pharmacological, toxicological and safety tests to create new drugs and therapies. Starting off operations in Dehradun way back in the 1930s, the company later spread its wings to Mumbai and across the country. In 1975, the company set up an advanced manufacturing facility in Makali, Bangalore, India, which today houses the Corporate headquarters. In 1991, the

company relocated its R&D facility to Bangalore. The manufacturing facility at Makali has the largest tablet-coating unit in the country. Over one crore tablets are punched every day. 2.3.5 BIOTIQUE Biotique can best be described as a Science of Life company into the business of enhancing the health and beauty of a healthy person. The company was born a decade ago after a decade of research and product development. The research team, based in Switzerland and India, comprises of world's leading cosmetologists and Ayurvedic doctors. It provides a complete range of skin, hair and body care products based on authentic Ayurvedic formulations. It also manufactures and markets a range of food supplements and complete range of beauty care and make-up products. The latest addition to the 250-products-strong product range is premium bathing soaps. Biotique is synonymous with serious skin and hair care developed from Ancient Ayurveda. It embodies the collection of traditions of the ancient sages, which have been passed on generation after generation. It is the way of life of these Rishis that is the Biotique's essence.

CHAPTER 3
OBJECTIVES
7

1. To study the advertisement effectiveness on customers purchase decision of herbal skin care products. 2. To examine closely the efficiency of various advertising media used for herbal brands.

CHAPTER 4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
8

RESEARCH DESIGN ---Exploratory SAMPLE DESIGN ---Random sampling SAMPLE SIZE ---50 SAMPLE UNITS ---Direct consumers TOOLS USED FOR DATA COLLECTION --1. PRIMARY DATA --Questionnaire 2. SECONDRY DATAfrom various journals, magazines and websites. TOOLS USED FOR DATA ANALYSIS 1. z test 2. Factor analysis 3. Graphical analysis

CHAPTER 5

Limitations
I. II. III. IV. Research is time bound that made research limited in at scope. Financial sources are also constant to the research. The area of sampling is confined to Indore region. Sample size of research has been restricted to 50.

CHAPTER 6

10

Contribution
With the help of this research we can identify the advertisement effectiveness on customers purchase decisions of herbal skin care products. With the help of research we can identify the efficiency of various advertising media for herbal brands.

11

Bibliography/ Webliography
Bibliography
Kothari,C.R. Research Methodology, New Age International(P) Ltd., New Delhi/1995 Gupta Sunil impact of ads: herbal hair and skin care products journal of marketing & Communication /Jan-Apr 2007 Kotler Philip Marketing management Prentice Hall of India private limited. New Delhi.

Webliography
http://www.ayur.com/html/history.htm http://www.herbal brands.com http://www.lotus.com/html/HISTORY. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/herbal brands

12