“Consumer Buying Behavior’
(A study with reference to consumer buying behavior of ……… brand in the UAE &
recommendations for changes in the marketing strategyof …………..)
SYNOPSIS FOR DISSERTATION TO BE SUBMITTED BY SPRING 2014
TO
………………………………………………………………
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the MBA Degree in ………………..
from ……………………. University, India
SUBMITTED BY:
………………………………
……………………………..
Under the Guidance of
…………………………….
MBA, Marketing, Post Box No:……
Dubai
SUBMITTED TO
……………………..
……………………………….
………………………………..
INTRODUCTION
(Limit the general introduction to two pages)
One thing we all have in common is that we all are consumers. In fact everybody in this world is
a consumer. Almost every day, we buy variety of goods & services. However, we all have
different tastes, likes & dislikes, motives and adopt different behavior patterns. While making
purchase decisions you may prefer to use Lux, Close up toothpaste and Sunsilk shampoo &
another person may prefer Hamam Soap, Colgate toothpaste &Garnier shampoo. Similarly we all
have a certain set of preferences while buying different articles, which may be different not only
from your other family members but also from friends, neighbors etc. The study on buying
behavior provides us with reasons why consumers differ from one another in buying & using
product or services.
The purchase made by a consumer is a decision process wherein various types of decisions such
as Limited Problem Solving (LPS) or Routine Problems Solving (RPS) or Extensive Problems
Solving (EPS) are involved. Hence buying is a decision process, it is influenced by various
factors and elements. The buyer decision process is affected in general by various elements as
given below:
DECIDER
INFLUENCER
BUYING DECISION
INITIATOR
BUYER
This study is targeting to find out the buying behavior of the consumers of …………..brand
marketed in the UAE by ……………….. for the last 12 years and the brand has become
reasonably popular here due to the marketing efforts and activities of the company.
This study helps to review the myths of global marketing, & explores the concepts & models of
buying behavior. It provides empirical evidence of convergence and divergence in consumer
behavior and covers various psychological & sociological aspects of human behavior that
contribute in buying decision-making process.
The study of consumers helps firms and organizations to improve their marketing strategies with
better understanding of the consumer’s mind and needs. The study is conducted by exploring the
following issue:

The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason and select between different
alternatives as compared to the brand under study (e.g. brands, products)

The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment in
this part of the world, especially in the Arab world.(e.g. culture, family, signs,
media)

The behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions
in the UAE

Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities that
influence decisions & marketing outcome

How consumer motivation & decision strategies differ between products that
differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for consume
COMPANY PROFILE (Limit the content to 2 pages)
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Industry Profile (Limit the profile to 1 - 1½ Pages.
Explain in detail about the industry status and trend)
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Problem Identification & Development (Limit to
1Page)
The brand under study has been marketed by …………… (organization) during the last 12 years
consistently with an impeccable track record of sales as compared to the similar brands in the
market. The brand has got a up-brand reputation due to the marketing strategy adopted by the
company in developing a blueprint for customer service and capturing the customer expectation
as per changes happening from time to time. But of late, it is found that the brand has been losing
its brand loyalty and brand attractiveness due to various factors which is unknown to the
company so far. So the issue under study is to capture the real reasons for losing the brand equity
by the company in this market and understand the intricancies of changes that has been taking
place in the expectations of the customer.
The problem development area is focused on consumer behavior which is the study of
individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, and dispose of
products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes
have on the consumer and society. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social
anthropology, marketing and economics. It attempts to understand the decision-making processes
of buyers, both individually and in groups such as how emotions affect buying behavior. It also
studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variables in
an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from
groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general………… behavior
involves the psychological processes that consumers go through in recognizing needs, finding
ways to solve these needs, making purchase decisions (e.g., whether or not to purchase a product
and, if so, which brand and where), interpret information, make plans, and implement these plans
(e.g., by engaging in comparison shopping or actually purchasing a product). The development
of problem reiterate the fact that consumer behavior is a psychological variable that has got
intricate relationship with various aspects of life of an individual and it has got far reaching
effect on the purchase of products or service in the market. In short , we may say that the
consumer mind is a black box whether it is in Arab World, US, Europe, Asia or Africa and the
study is an effort to elicit information about this black box by systematically approaching the
problem under study.
Objective and Scope of Study (Limit to one page)
Objectives of the study:

To undertake a dedicated study on the buying behavior pattern of customer for
….. product in the UAE
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To analyze the factors affecting customers buying decision towards……….
Product marketed by ……………
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Evaluate customer acceptance of………. products in comparison to the major
competitors in the UAE market.
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Make a critical analysis of customers attitude towards the organization & its
products.
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Make recommendation (if any) for customer relation so that a concrete CRM can
be implanted in the marketing system of the company.
Importance & Scope of the study:
The study is conducted for the consumers of………… brand who are dispersed in different areas
of UAE with special focus on Dubai which is an international hub of various brands. As
…………….. has wide range of products available for large segment of customers, the behavior
of consumers and different features of the brand relating to consumers’ purchase has to be
evaluated my making an objective study. As the…………… has been taking consistent and
involved effort to measure customer behavior regularly, my study has high level of relevance as
it will help the organization to capture a more detailed information about the behavior of the
consumer currently as the brand loyalty level has depreciated now as compared to various new
brands in the market. Hence the study is of top priority to the company to find our the relevant
reason for the loss of brand loyalty and to find out a viable solution to solve the problem.
Scope of the study is vast in the sense that the topic is of utmost importance to every companies
in the market now as all the marketing strategies of the companies are ultimately based on the
consumers’ behavior. But my present study is restricted to ……………….brand marketed by
……………….primarily with a time focus of the performance of the brand for the last four years
based on the secondary data recorded in the system coupled with the primary data collected from
various sources about the current issue. Since the study is limited to the current issues mainly,
the cost factor is negligible as compared to the benefit that we expect from the study.
Hypothesis Formulation (Half Page)
In exploring the relationship between consumers’ buying behavior and …….. products, the study
addressed the following hypotheses as Nulll Hypothesis (Ho) and Alternative Hypothesis (Ha)

There exists no relationship between ……… marketing mix and Consumers’ Buying
Behavior of……… Products in the UAE market
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There exists considerable relationship between ……marketing mix and Consumers’
Buying Bheavior of …….. Products in the UAE market
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Consumer Buying Behavior varies according as the development of new brands and
change in marketing strategy of companies.
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There exists no relationship between development of new brands and change in
marketing strategy upon consumers behavior in the UAE market.
Universe and Sampling Method (Half Page)
My study is based on a research design that consists of developing a questionnaire comprises of 25
questions to the selected consumers, 15 questions each to the retailers and wholesalers, members of the
supply chain system, families etc. The total universe is comprised of all the brand users, dealers, retailers,
transporters, warehousing providers etc in Dubai specifically and UAE in general.
In the sampling method, we select a representative sample of a few individuals and find out the
average. Sample size refers to the number of representatives to be taken as samples. Sample unit
refers to the place from which the samples are taken.
For this project the sampling method adopted is random sampling where stratified sampling is used for
categorizing the population for the country as a whole based on the brand users. The samples taken
from the whole population is around 300 from various groups that comprises of various nationalities.
Data Collection (2-3 Pages)
Collection of data is the 1st and the most important part of a statistical inquiry with intention of
finding out an organizational problem. The process of systematically recording the results
obtained after an investigation is called as collection of data which is the most important part of a
study as the entire study and its interpretation depends upon the data that we collect. My
objective is to study about the real problem that my department is confronting now and hence, I
intend to collect data from primary sources which will be supported by data from secondary
sources that is available from various sources. From these data, the statistical analysis will be
done after proper classisficiation, coding and tabulation.
Sources of Data
There are different sources of collection of data for my study in question. For deciding the
sources of data, I have considered the purpose for inquiry and found that the following are the
broad sources of data:
a. Primary Data
b. Secondary Data
a.Primary Data
Primary data are those data which are collected by me for my study for the 1st time for specified
purpose of studying about my brand, its reputation and its loyalty. These are also called as
original data hence these data is collected for the purpose of study under consideration and is
directly obtained from the respondents. I intend to collect the data from selected customers of the
brand, retalers , wholesalers as well as few selected general families in the market focusing on
Dubai specifically and other emirates generally.
Methods of Collecting Primary Data:
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Direct Personal Investigation i.e. Interview Method:
Under this method, I intend to collect data personally by directly interviewing certain key
customers, wholesalers, retailes as well as ………….. staff. Data will be collected by
asking questions relating to the inquiry.
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Indirect Oral Investigation
Under this method, the investigator does not collect the information directly, instead he
gets them indirectly, through those persons, who know the information and who are ready
to part away with the information theyposses. This method issued in those cases were
either direct contact is not possible or were the information to be collected are in the
nature of complex one.
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Information Through Mailed Questionnaire:
Under this method, the questionnaire drafted by me with the intention of collecting the
data will be mailed to the respondents wherever I am assured that the reply will be there
and in those cases, response cannot be expected, I intend to contact them directly with the
questionnaire.
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Investigation Through Local Reports:
In this method, data are not collected through specially appointed agents but local agents
are requested to collect the information
b.Secondary Data
Data collected by someone and used by someone else are known as secondary data. This data is
collected by somebody for their purpose but can be used for supporting my study as it provide
vast source of information about the brand and consumers under study. The major sources of
secondary data are:
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Sales data:
All organisations collect information in the course of their everyday operations. Orders
are received and delivered, costs are recorded, sales personnel submit visit reports,
invoices are sent out, returned goods are recorded and so on. Much of this information is
of potential use in marketing research but a surprising amount is not actually used by the
organizations s they frequently overlook this valuable resource by not beginning their
search of secondary sources with an internal audit of sales invoices, orders, inquiries
about products not stocked, returns from customers and sales force customer calling
sheets. But my study about the ………………and its customers starts from our data
warehoused by mining it for my purpose under study. The data which I intend to use
from our system is based on the last 12 years experience about the brand and its progress
in this market. In intend to use the following vital information:
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Sales by territory
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Sales by customer type
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Prices and Discounts
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Average size of order by customer, customer type, geographical area
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Average sales by sales person
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Sales by pack size and pack type
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Record of customer complaints and service recovery efforts
This type of data is useful for identifying an organisation's most profitable product and
customers. It can also serve to track trends within the enterprise's existing customer group.
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Financial data
An organisation has a great deal of data within its files on the cost of producing, storing,
transporting and marketing each of its products and product lines. Such data has many
uses in marketing research including allowing measurement of the efficiency of
marketing operations. It can also be used to estimate the costs attached to new products
under consideration, of particular utilisation (in production, storage and transportation) at
which an organisation's unit costs begin to fall. It also tell us the information regarding
variations in revenue based on the product portfolio as my organization has got an ERP
system which help us to elicit financial data pertaining to the performance of each
product separately based on the strata of customers.
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Procurement Data
This data enable us to track down the procurement of products by the purchase
department from time to time depending upon the exigency of situations and how far
those procurements are beneficial in satisfying the customers from time to time.
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Storage data:
The rate of stockturn, stockhandling costs, assessing the efficiency of certain marketing
operations and the efficiency of the marketing system as a whole. More sophisticated
accounting systems assign costs to the cubic space occupied by individual products and
the time period over which the product occupies the space. These systems can be further
refined so that the profitability per unit, and rate of sale, are added. In this way, the direct
product profitability can be calculated.
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After Sales Service
This data is vital to know about the tracking of customer complaints and resolving the
customer encounter issues which may be remote, face to face or over telephone. The after
sales service system integrated with the ERP enables to capture this information from
time to time which can be very vital for my study for the brand.
Data Analysis (2 -3 Pages)
Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data
with the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting
decision making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse
techniques under a variety of names, in different business, science, and social science
domains.
In my study, I will proceed with the following systematic ways to analyze the data that I
have collected through primary sources and recorded from secondary sources. The data
collected through primary source will be assessed by assimiliating the data with the
secondary soruces. The data analysis is done as per the following procedure:
a. Classification, Tabulation and Codification
The collected data will be coded, classified and tabulated to derive requisite information
about the brand and the consumer behavior under study. All the statistical techniques
will be applied to codify the data as per my requirements.
b. Summarization of data using Averages
Averages give a concise idea about the data under consideration as the raw data fails
to explain about the content of the information. Averages are used to derive
conclusion about the data under study , both for primary as well as secondary
c. Standard Deviation
This tool will be used to derive information about the variability of the phenomenon
under study. The variability is assessed through standard deviation as well as covariance.
d. Correlation and Regression
These tools are used to explain about the relationship that exists between different
phenomenon and to derive the value of one variable on the basis of other variables.
These tools are inevitable for a study pertaining to phenomenon influenced by various
factors.
e. Reliability test
Reliability test will be applied to confirm the reliability of the data that is collected
and used. Z test is used to compare the mean of the sample to the hypothesis mean
for the population as the sample is quite large.
Conclusion (Half Page to One Page)
The world market today is purely a consumer market where products and services are crafted &
tailor made to suit the needs & demands of the ultimate consumers. In a multinational and
multicultural space like UAE, we come across a variety of consumers and it’s necessary to know
exactly what are their needs and desire, like & dislikes etc which is varying according as various
factors such as different nationalities, moving population etc. In short the entire behavior pattern
may undergo while making purchase by consumers. A study of buyer behavior is essential to
capture the changing trend and requirement of people, otherwise brands and brand mangers will
be under marketing myopica. The study provides imperial evidence of convergence and
divergence in consumer behavior & covers various psychological & sociological aspects of
human behavior that contribute in buying decision making process.
With respect to my research subject……….., the topic chosen is to understand the buying
behavior of consumers regarding ……….. products. There are huge varieties of products to
choose from equally competitive providers in the market. Nowadays the consumers are in
confusion as to which company product will satisfy them better according to their needs and
wants. They will remain loyal to the product for a longer period only if the company is able to
fill the gap between perceived satisfaction of the company and the expected satisfaction of the
customers. The aim of………… is concerned with “to provide products, services & solutions of
the highest quality,” and in order to fulfill this vision, a study on buying behavior regarding the
product and companies’ ability to retain the customers is very much essential. This study helps
for further improvement and development of the product, attracting more customers and also
enables the companies, to find out the satisfaction level of the customers.
This study will help to understand………..’s competitive advantage and how it will able to gain
success in the industry. The company is known for its efficiency and its low cost. …….. has
adopted various successful strategies to be in the top leader positions. But due to high
competition, ……… has to adopt certain new strategies to gain success in coming years.
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