CB Report

Study Of Consumer Behavior: Mens Wedding Collection at Manyavar
1 Group-8 Brand Baaja Baraat- Section A

Consumer Behavior Project Report
Phase III & IV on
Study of Consumer Behavior:
Mens Wedding Collection at

Submitted to
Prof: Neena
Sondhi
By Group 8:
Brand Baaja
Baraat
*



Acknowledgement

We take great privilege to avail this opportunity to express our deep gratitude to all those
who helped us and guided us throughout the project.The experience that we have gained during
the project will help us in our future professional life.

We extend our thanks to Prof. NeenaSondhi, our mentor for inspiration, constructive
suggestions and affectionate guidance in our work without which it would have been very
difficult for us to complete the project.

We also want to thank the store personnel at Manyavar for their hearty cooperation.



Table of Contents:
PHASE III
1. Internal factors / influences on product purchase5
a. Perception..
b. Learning & Memory..
c. Personality..
d. Attitudes & Influences Attitudes...
e. Self-Concept & Lifestyle...

2. Consumer decision making process..11
a. Problem Recognition.
b. Information Search
c. Evaluation of Alternatives.
d. Outlet Selection & Purchase..
e. Post Purchase Dissonance..

3. Marketing implications.15
PHASE IV
4. Marketing Strategy20
5. Retail Strategy...23
6. Advertising & Promotion Strategies for store...24
7. Needs to be targeted..25
8. External Influences26
9. Internal Influences.26
10. Principles & Perception & Learning.27
11. Appendix...
a. Appendix A.
b. Appendix B.
c. Appendix C.
d. Appendix D.



Assumptions:
1. In phase 2, as it was difficult to identify the respondents exactly falling in the target
segment i.e. grooms, we took interviews from those respondents who got married
very recently (As they remember the entire purchase process of wedding apparel
since it was recent)
2. However in phase 3, with reference to faculty mentors advice, we have excluded
those respondents who got married more than a year before and included potential
customers to wedding apparel (i.e. those who are probably getting married within a
period of 6 months to 8 months)
3. Questions about Brand Perception are framed with the assumption; respondents do
have perception about Manyavar, if they are aware of the Brand.
Limitations:
1. We have mailed the questionnaire to respondents as most of them stay in other cities.
Though most of the questions are objective, we interviewed them over telephone and
asked subjective questions to understand the context behind their each objective response.



INTERNAL FACTORS / INFLUENCES ON PRODUCT
PURCHASE
Perception:
Free time activities:
In their free time, most of the respondents are found browsing internet followed by watching
Television and spending time with family and friends. Reading Magazines and shopping are
least considered among the list of activities they do in their free time.
Lifestyle of the respondents:
Most of the respondents are found to have a very busy schedule i.e. on an average they are
working for about 60 hrs a week. An interesting observation found in this context is that
those respondents who have comparatively less hectic lifestyle and busy schedule do
remember watching ads in television and internet more than those who have hectic lifestyle.
Perception about Latest trends in Apparel:
Most common Consumer perception about latest trend in the apparel is when popular
celebrity endorses the brand or when product placement is done in the movies where the star
cast shown wearing the brand or when most of the friends or reference group wears that style
of apparel. Apparel showcased in fashion shows are not considered as the recent trend to be
followed in the apparel either because they dont watch end the fashion shows or they dont
consider the ones showcased in fashion shows as the trend they could follow in their day to
day life. But, when asked specifically about wedding apparel, they believe that new designs
are showcased and aspire to buy that kind of apparel.
Perception about wedding dress:
For most of the respondents, perception about wedding dress is its a life time memory and
the importance to tradition in the selection dress is to be given. Though they believe,
wedding dress they purchase should match their social status; personally they dont believe it
as a showcasing tool of their status.
Impact of situational factors in the purchase of wedding apparel:
To understand the impact of situational factors in the decisions like purchase of wedding
dress which couldnt be postponed, we tried to understand the gap between the way
consumers planned to buy wedding dress and how they actually bought it (This is for the
respondents who made their wedding dress purchases).



Inferences from the responses (Those who made wedding dress purchase) are:
1. Though respondent planned to buy a wedding dress that is custom made for his fit and
fascination, he ended up buying a wedding dress in the store suggested by his friends who
got recently married.
2. The other respondent planned to evaluate all the options and choose the best for his
wedding, yet he had directly been to the popular store in his store and bought the dress.
3. One respondent who have very hectic schedule felt that he could go to a mall as he could
complete wedding purchase for the entire family but finally purchased wedding dress in
the exclusive store as he couldnt find many designs in the mall.
4. Though respondents are having severe time crunch, busy schedules in most cases no
compromise is made in the purchase of wedding dress. They either invested much time in
the store looking for more designs or moved to many stores.
Insights from the respondents regarding the way they plan to buy the wedding dress provide an
opportunity to draft innovative ways in the Marketing mix:
Inferences from the responses of the potential customers:
1. Some of the respondents who are in the social class of upper middle class or above aspire
to visit a designer or boutique or take experts advice in choosing the wedding dress as
wedding is a life time moment.
2. Some respondents felt that the first preference for the store would be the one to which
they had been earlier. The life time value of the customers who purchases for the first
time with the store would generally be very high. Hence retaining them is very important.
Context behind the color of the wedding dress:
Most of the respondents believe that there are some colors like white or cream which are to be
preferred according to the tradition. Other respondents believe that it should match with the dress
color of the bride. Some even felt though dress should match with brides dress color it should
look good in the photographs.

Learning and Memory:
Media Habits of the Respondents:
Considering the media habits of the respondents, most of them watch Movies followed by Sports
and News channels. Some of the respondents do watch regional/ vernacular lifestyle shows but
soaps and sitcoms are least viewed by the respondents.
Majority of respondents didnt remember that they watched commercials on the wedding apparel,
before they planned for wedding.


Exposure to stimulus and Retrieval:
Most of the respondents recollect ads on Apparel on Billboards. Ads in Newspapers,
Television, and Ads in Movie Theaters are also remembered by respondents but only next to
bill boards or other out of home advertisements. Pamphlets on which advertisements on
apparel are printed are least remembered by the respondents. We understood that most of the
times respondents dont even bother to see the ads on pamphlets, they just ignore them.
Influencing factors on Influencers of Purchase decision:
From our observation of customers in the Manyavar store and from the inferences in phase 2,
we understood that the major influencers in the selection of wedding dress are women
(Grooms mother / sister/ bride). Hence to understand their perception about good wedding
dress, we asked the respondents about the possible influencing factors on their mother/ sister
/ bride (Whoever accompanied or expected to accompany the groom for the purchase of
wedding dress). Most of the respondents told that the major influence is the reference group
as they observe and discuss the weddings of the friends and relatives. The interesting
observation here is influence of reference group is high if the woman accompanied is mother
or married sister. The second influencing factor found to be Soaps like Balika Vadhu as
they watch them more often. If the woman accompanied is younger sister or bride, then the
suggestion is given to the groom is based on the very own rationality of the woman.
Preferred Criteria for Selective Exposure to stimuli:
To understand the perception of customers regarding the Mens wedding collection
commercial, we asked the respondents how they expect an ad for Mens wedding collection
to be. Most of the respondents are of the opinion it should be lifestyle based followed by
portrayal of celebration of joy with friends, family and relatives. Few respondents felt that
the commercial should portray a picture of fantasy. When asked about celebrity endorsement,
respondents are not willing to just follow the celebrity as wedding apparel is high
involvement purchase. When we suggested what is their opinion on the commercial in which
presence of celebrity is shown in the lifestyle based theme majority of respondents showed
interest in it.
Opinion of Respondents on Innovative ways of wedding dress selection:
Regarding the way consumers wished to buy or select their wedding dress - they wish stores
would provide customization of color or design as per their wish but all this under the budget
they planned for. Very few respondents showed in interest in the virtual platform to specify
the design and color specifications and order the dress. Respondents are of the opinion that
wedding dress could be chosen only when they wear it, feel it and select it. And most of the
customers are not of the opinion that expert opinion would work in the selection of wedding
dress. They feel that wedding dress is very personal and it should match their personality
and only they know if that particular dress is meant for them or not.


Influence of past experience Impact of Episodic/ Flashbulb Memory:
Most of the respondents had been to wedding dress purchase of their elder siblings, cousins
or friends. Hence they feel they are not nave to purchase of the wedding dress.
Personality
Most of the respondents consider watch to be an indulgence, which is worn as a fashion
accessory and an indicator of status symbol. Only two respondents attached a functional
value to the watch and even they think that smart-phones have replaced the function of
watches. The motive behind wearing a watch is the need of expression of ones identity to
others. Purchase of products like watch allow consumers to express an identity to others,
because these have a symbolic meaning. Watches are worn to satisfy active, external
motives.
Cars are socially visible products. Most of the respondents prefer to stick to well known
brands to avoid any chance of making a socially incorrect purchase. It shows that the motive
behind purchase of a car stems from the desire of satisfying passive, internal motive.
Coffee is associated with social drinking and it is considered as a means to spend time with
friends. Spending time with loved ones is generally considered to be a stress buster. This
helps you to reduce tension thus it satisfies the affective preservation motives. For some of
them the product is synonymous with the brand (Nescafe-Coffee).
Most of the people associate cricket with sport. People follow cricket religiously and it
becomes difficult to change the perception of the people who associate a brand with the
product.

Most of the respondents are more conscious about their appearance in front of their relatives as
compared to their friends. Wedding is a social function so people would pay even more attention
to their appearance.

Attitudes & I nfluencing Attitudes
Cognitive Component
Cognitive component included customer beliefs on pricing, brand recognition, convenience,
ambiance, quality, customer service, fashion trends, product offering and variety. Most
respondents believe Manyavar is in the high end price bracket. Product quality and Variety
offered is intermediate. Also Manyavar is rated intermediate on Latest Fashion Trends.
Manyavar stores are highly rated in store ambiance, customer service and convenience.
Behavioural Component


Respondents have favourable response to recommending Manyavar to friends and families
for wedding purchase.
Affective Component
Affective components include feelings/emotions towards Manyavar. Respondents feel that
being a men only store Manyavar fails to offer the desired variety of Sherwanis to choose
from. The limited product variety though is of higher quality at the same time respondents
feel that the offerings are value for money for the once in a life time occasion. Also
respondents feel that while store location and customer service is good however the store
ambience is not very pleasing

Self Concept & Lifestyle
Self concept is composed of the attitudes you hold towards yourself. Some products play a very
important part in an individuals life and acquire substantial meaning that indicates important
moments of that persons self to others. This is the concept of Extended Self.
The questionnaire responses give some interesting insights on the Self concept and Lifestyle of a
Groom on the basis of the wedding day Sherwani that he is going to wear. These are:
1. The Sherwani caters to both the Ideal self-concept as well as Social self-concept of the
groom. It can be seen from the analysis that majority of respondents consider their
Sherwani to represent their identity that they want to have. Moreover almost everyone
agrees that it distinguishes them from others and thus it also provides a very good feeling
inside them.
Dimension of Self
Concept
Actual Self Concept Ideal Self Concept
Private Self How I actually see myself How I would like to see myself
Social Self How others actually see me How I would like others to see me

2. The majority of our responses pointed that the respondent were high on Interdependent
Self-concept as the they believe the Sherwani to be a symbol of family, cultural and
social ties they have. It is also an important part of their family tradition.
3. Almost everyone agreed that Sherwani that they will wear is irreplaceable. Thus they
believe this is an integral part of them and forms their self-identity. So a Sherwani is a
representation of memories and feelings. It is a product that has been acquired when the
respondent is going through a major life transition. It is this peak experience with the
product that it becomes a part of their Extended Self.


4. Many respondents agree to the fact that they dont buy Sherwani because it is practical
i.e. high on comfort or value for money but it is to please themselves and to show off in
front of others.

From the Measurement scale for Self Concept, following are the attributes for a typical person
that will form Manyavars target audience:
o A simple, modest and pleasant man who perceives himself rugged and dominating in nature.
o He is formal in his conduct and organized in his behaviour.
o He deems his actions as rational and thinking as liberal. He has matured and likes to indulge for
his own happiness.
If Manyavar thinks for a brand ambassador it has to think on these lines whose self concept
matches with the above description.



CONSUMER DECISION PROCESS
Problem Recognition
Most of the respondents had suits as another option for their wedding dress. However,
they still remained with their choice of sherwani. The reasons for selecting a sherwani
might be the factor of tradition and views of reference groups.
From the data gathered after the survey, it was found that 9 out of 14 respondents did an
extensive search for their final wedding dress. These respondents looked at more than 6
sherwanis to select the final one after evaluation. This states that buying a sherwani is a
high involvement product for most of the people and they want to have the best product
for themselves.
The respondents did a lot of information search and evaluation before selecting the final
one.
The top three factors that the respondents selected as the reason for buying a sherwani in
order were that the Sherwani was in trend (Thus the respondent wants to be up to date
with all the latest trends and wants to wear have the one in trend), Wearing a sherwani
for marriage was in the tradition of the house (Thus the respondent is collectivistic and
follows family traditions), It was suggested by friends and/or relatives (thus the
respondents wants to follow the views suggested by his reference groups).

The mean value obtained from the data is lowest for Style while it is the highest for Price.
This suggests that the respondents pay more attention and give more importance to style
and trends rather than the other 3 factors. This suggests that as it is a purchase that is
High involvement and its more related to the happiness and life time memory of the


respondent, so they want to have the best feeling during that moment. It also reflects the
point that it has more to do with the self concept and self feeling of the respondent.

I nformation Search & Evaluation of Alternatives:
The maximum number of people searched for information online on internet followed by
television and billboards (marketing sources). This implies that the information was
majorly external information and it was actively acquired. This is done since the
respondents have a bounded rationality in the initial stage; they do further research to
have a better understanding and knowledge. Also some of them responded that they
consult their friends and relatives for information, i.e., personal contacts
It was found that most of the respondents made a decision depending upon their memory
of the products of which they remembered the attributes, followed by their past purchases
when they came across a decision problem. Therefore the decision was based upon the
internal information which was actively acquired.
The most important attribute which the respondents considered while buying the wedding
apparel was attributes/ features followed by advice from friends and relatives. Least
importance was given to the time required for the purchase. Some of the respondents also
mentioned that color and designs also played a major role in their decision making
process
When asked about their feeling/perception about marriage the respondents responded in a
very emotional way, like lifetime, happiness, eternity, memories,
celebration
The highest influence for the respondents in buying the wedding apparel is their
reference groups/ friends (personal sources) followed by their own choice. Very few
respondents would take advice for selection from their family
The respondents searched for information online majorly assuming that it provides more
information that any other medium (conventional mediums), its convenient to search
for information being at a single place, although they didnt really believe in the
credibility of the online reviews
It was observed that most of the respondents visited the brand websites when they
wanted to search information online regarding the wedding apparel, followed by forums
& facebook
Respondents did a lot of information search before buying the wedding apparel, since its
a high involvement purchase, they did extensive search before finalizing on a particular
brand/store/ apparel. They searched information about a number of stores, considered a
good number of alternatives.
Apart from the information search online, from peers or friends; the respondents visited
the stores themselves before a decision. They took advice from their reference groups,


but they also visited a number of shops before finalizing on particular wedding apparel.
This is primarily an affective choice.
The time spent for buying the wedding apparel was found to be quite high for most of the
respondents, which was more than four hours. The purchase of wedding apparel is more
of an attitude based purchase versus an attribute based purchase since its a one-time
purchase and people look for the best looking, unique and differentiated wedding apparel
While buying wedding apparel, almost all of the respondents perceived social risk as the
highest expected risk which was followed by physical risk and effort risk.
Instrumental motives are of more importance to the respondents than consummatory
motives since the social risk is the highest perceived risk by them. India is more of a
collectivistic culture and hence this rationale is justified.
The most influential factor for buying a sherwani was emotional characteristics and
cultural norms followed by rational thinking by applying rational choice theory
Though the shopping for wedding apparel required lot of information search, time and
effort, most of the respondents felt that there was a special feeling while they were
shopping for wedding apparel, while few of them did say that it required a lot of effort
Of the respondents interviewed, half of them had manyavar as top of the mind brand
when asked for the brand they associate with wedding apparel, it implies that manyavar
was not only in their consideration set but also in their evoked set

Outlet Selection and Purchase:
Opinion on Store selection:
Most of the respondents preferred visiting exclusive wedding stores for men followed by
visiting malls for purchasing the wedding dress. Very few expressed their interest to visit
boutiques or a whole mens apparel showroom (which is not exclusive for wedding apparel).
As there would be more variety in colors and designs they preferred exclusive store for
Mens wedding apparel. Though mall is preferred to have comfortable shopping environment
for them and for their family or friends who accompany them they purchase only if they
could get the one which they intend.
In-store Factors that influence the wedding dress purchase:
Most of the respondents told that place of purchase (i.e. brand of the store) is important for
them while making a wedding dress purchase along with the wedding dress itself (i.e. the
design and color of the dress). In store display is also inferred as major influence in the
purchase of wedding dress. Most of the respondents felt that though service level of the staff
doesnt influence the selection of store, it has influence on the purchase. Friendly and
enthusiastic staff is considered to even influence or even convince the customers in


purchasing their wedding dress. Discounts / sale are not even considered as they feel
wedding dress has no compromise and the opinion about sale is that the stock is obsolete-
buying of which is not even considered as an option
In store Behavior of a consumer:
To understand the behavior of consumers in the store when buying a wedding dress, we
asked the respondents what they first do once they enter the store of their choice. Majority of
the respondents said they looked / will look at displays in the store. And definitely they are
attracted towards mannequins but as the price points of the sherwanis are very high they
dont consider buying the designs on mannequins. Some of the respondents are not willing to
ask the sales men which design is the latest trend instead they tried to be knowledgeable or
they felt they dont wish to follow the crowd buying the popular one. This implies consumers
aspired to wear unique apparel for their wedding.
Opinion on wedding accessories purchase (Complements to wedding dress):
Majority of respondents felt that the perfect match between the apparel and accessories
should be there; hence they prefer buying all the accessories in the same store where they buy
their wedding dress though variety would be less or price would be bit high.

Post Purchase Dissonance
If we take the midpoint as 5 on a scale of 0-11, 7 respondents were satisfied with the
performance of the sherwani. The satisfaction of these customers could be more linked to
the happiness that they felt during the occasion. The satisfied customers could turn into
committed as well as loyal customers. They may even suggest the product or brand
to their close ones.
However, 4 of the 12 respondents were not satisfied with the performance of the
sherwani. This may be because the value that they obtained from the product was short of
their expectations. As it is a high involvement product, the expectations of the customer
are high and chances of post purchase dissonance are also on the higher side.
The most common response obtained from the respondents is that they need more variety
from the manufacturers. As it is a high involvement product, people would surely like to
have a look at many samples before selecting the final one. As difficulty of choosing
among the alternatives is related to post purchase dissonance, which in turn is related
to the number of alternatives considered, this might even be the reason for Post Purchase
Dissonance



MARKETING IMPLICATIONS
From wedding dress purchase as they buy it from where their friends suggest WOM
or Buzz marketing would work well. Also advertising heavily on social media and
showing presence through some forums and events promoting interactive or user
involvement would work.
Popularity of the store is also one of the major influencing factors. Hence promote the
store locally instead of promoting it centrally as a brand. Though promoting brand wholly
work in long term as short term strategy, we have to promote it locally to be recognized
as one among the popular stores in the city.
Perception among many customers about the exclusive stores is they could get wide
variety in them so this could be the USP for promotion.
Creating flashbulb memory or episodic memories is important as the future consumers
of our product do visit the store to help their elder brothers/cousins purchase the wedding
dress.
Media habits Advertisements on Television can be to influence both the customer and
the women who accompany him. And these ads if placed between soaps could promote
the factor of Proximity. Also product placement in such ads would create subtle,
unobtrusive memory in the minds of women who do influence the purchase.
From the lifestyle study of the respondents, we observed that they are very busy with
hectic schedules and severe time crunch. Such respondents often involve in Ad
avoidance either through Zapping or muting.
As most of the respondents do search online for latest designs technology like virtual
mirrors in the sites would help them choose which suits them better before directly
visiting the store. Though customers dont buy this way, this helps them in getting better
idea about the designs that suit them before directly visiting the store.
Introduction of new product category for women and putting these stores next to each
other would work as most of the customers shop men and women wedding apparel
together and prefer malls for that reason. But having both men and womens wedding
collection in the same store may not work as exclusivity and attention is expected by the
customers. This may even drag the attention of women who came to help the purchase of
sherwani towards looking for womens apparel.
Cognitive motives focus on persons need for being adaptively oriented towards the
environment and achieving a sense of meaning. Affective motive deals with the need to
reach satisfying feeling states and to achieve personal goals. Most of the purchases made
by the respondents are made to satisfy the preservation oriented motives that emphasize
the individual as striving to maintain equilibrium. Marketing of apparels must also be
done to satisfy the preservation oriented motives. Hence the advertisement for wedding
apparels must be done in such a way that after wearing the products from Manyavar
you get social approval. In the advertisements we must try to create perception of


Manyavar as being synonymous to wedding collection for men. If we are able to
achieve that then it will be beneficial for the brand in the long run.
The typical respondent is highly involved in family and family traditions. Also, he is the
prime decision maker in his family. He also looks at Sherwani as an expression of status
symbol and exclusivity. Also the respondents believe that Manyavar is a strong brand
with premium quality products so to further reinforce the belief and elicit positive
emotional response towards the brand, Manyavar a high involvement purchase needs to
develop ads with high emotional appeal.
Also, a Celebrity can be used to attract attention to the advertisement, for meeting the
aspiration of respondents, and depicting brand personality by linking it up with
appropriate celebrity personality.
The communication that is sent out should focus on rational and liberal nature of their
target segments.
The target audience must have the same self concept as that of the brand ambassador.
Indulgence is a common theme that should be focussed upon.
Since most of the respondents had that traditional factor while purchasing a wedding
dress, the company should focus their promotion and advertisement strategy on this point.
The product promotion should be build around the point that it is a high involvement
product and people would have a lot of memories attached to it.
The company should be least focused on the point of price as its the least important
attribute that a groom pays attention on and rather build the strategy upon the latest styles
and trends which would reflect self-happiness, life time memory.
Variety is an important factor for the groom to be and he needs a large number of options
from which to choose from. Lesser the number of alternatives, greater the difficulty in
selecting a final wedding dress. This may have 2 consequences:
The person may leave the particular outlet to move to some other one
This may lead to Post Purchase dissonance as selecting a product from a smaller basket
of options may increase the chances of the customer being unhappy.
Since the world is moving towards digital media, internet is become an integral part of
every individuals life. For the segment we are catering to, the youth under the age
bracket of 25- 35 are generally tech savvy and use internet as one of the major sources
for search of any information. This was also deduced from the interviews taken from the
respondents. Although we inferred that the purchase is a high involvement purchase and
buyers would like to have a look & feel of the apparel before buying, they would search
for information regarding the apparel / brand /store online.
It was also found the respondents did an extensive research on the category of wedding
apparel before buying and the major sources of information search online were found to
be brand website, followed by facebook and forums. Therefore we should try to advertise
most of the advertisements on brand website. Social media like the facebook and forums


also play an important role and shouldnt be ignored. These modes of communication are
the most important ones to build a perception / attract the customer to the store
Since the look and feel of the wedding apparel is most important for a customer, the
brand should leverage on that and not much on the features advantages and benefits
(since its a onetime purchase). Affective component plays a major role and hence it
should be portrayed highlighting the look, feel and designs.
Another most important inference is that consumers rely a lot on advice from their friends
/reference groups (who might have recently purchased)/ Family or relatives. Therefore
word of mouth advertising by this group will have the maximum impact since its
wedding apparel which the most important apparel purchase in lifetime of a consumer
and no one would like to take a risk in such a purchase which involves extended decision
making and is a very high involvement purchase. WOM or buzz s very essential
The highest perceived risk by most of the respondents being social risk, followed by the
physical risk, the advertisements should be designed in such a way that it appeals to a
larger audience (should be highlighted in the communication). This should be done by
designing the advertisement/ communication such a way that people believe the brand to
be of high quality, having a great value & status. This will make consumers buy this
brand, which will solve their issue of social risk. If the consumers perceive the brand is a
strong & reputed brand in the society then the consumers will be willing to buy the brand



PHASE IV



Perception Maps:
Perception Map# 1: Exclusivity (of designs) versus Price
Price is mapped on X-axis, on a scale from left to right representing a range between low prices
to high prices. Similarly Y-axis represents the scale from non-exclusivity to exclusivity. Brands
like Manyavar; Van Heusen, South India Shopping mall is mapped on the perceptual map
depending upon the perception of users.

Perception Map# 2: Variety versus Awareness
Variety is mapped on X-axis for the brands Manyavar, Van Heusen, Raymond, from left to right.
The scale on X-axis ranges from low variety to high variety. Similarly, Y-axis is mapped from
top to bottom based on the level of awareness the consumers have regarding the brands.



Marketing Strategy: Depending on our understanding of above Perception maps, we developed
the below Marketing Mix.
Product
Offerings: Ethnic wear for Men, they design terrific collections to suit and enrich every
occasion.
Modification: The brand should focus on providing more variety in terms of design since
the groom looks for a large number of options to select from.
The latest trends should be kept for display and the varied range of colors of the Dupatta
as the grooms would like to match the color of their Dupatta with the wedding dress of
the Bride.
Price
Since price is not an important attribute and the purchase of wedding dress is depicted as
a symbol of replicating social status, price hardly makes a difference when it comes to
buying a sherwani. Though some customers do fix a slab for wedding dress price, in
most cases they dont make a compromise in dress due to budget constraints.
As the wedding apparel is a one-time purchase and preserved as a life time memory, price
of the sherwani does not matter a lot.
Discounts/ sale doesnt work in case of Wedding apparel as customers aspire to buy new
and exclusive designs. This is the scenario in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Considering the
socio economic conditions and raising aspirations of the customers in Tier 3 and Tier 4
cities, we suggest Manyavar could offer sale just before the beginning of wedding season


in those cities. This could increase the reach of Manyavar and may change the perception
as Expensive brand in the minds of those customers.
Place
Manyavar is not just a brand, it is the most visible mens wear brand present in the
country. They are focused on opening 500+ exclusive brand outlets by the end of the
next year.
As most of the respondents do search online for latest designs technology like
virtual mirrors in the sites would help them choose which suits them better before
directly visiting the store. Though customers dont buy this way, this helps them in
getting better idea about the designs that suit them before directly visiting the store.
Exclusivity Program: Provide personal selling to the customers in the likes of celebrities,
high-end customers. Interests and opinions of these celebrities can be taken and customized
sherwanis be provided if needed. Designs made for celebrities can even be co-branded and
sold in stores with the celebritys approval.
Place of sale for new category - Manyas Collection: Manyavar is launching womens
wedding collection under the brand name of Manya. From our study, we understood that men
wish to complete family shopping together but buy their wedding apparel in exclusive store.
Hence, we suggest Manyavar and Manyavar should not be together in the same store, but
they should be like twin stores next to each other or atleast in separate floors.
Promotion:
Celebrity Endorsement: Have a credible brand ambassador who has a simple, modest
and pleasant personality, one who wants to indulge in happiness Vijender Singh and
Ranbir Kapoor.
Product Placement: To overcome the challenge of ad avoidance, as the customers are
young, male and have busy and hectic lifestyle - create subtle unobtrusive exposure to
brand by promoting product placement within entertainment media by paying
consideration (example: In movies or daily soaps)
Print Media Promotion: The pictures should show the lifestyle and happiness and the
color of the print ads should reflect the regality considering the product category
according to Picture Superiority effect
Advertisements surrounding lifestyle concept:
1. According to Adaptation level theory, if promotion gets familiar to customers, it loses
the ability to attract customers. Hence number of interesting and unique commercials
around the theme of lifestyle based wedding would grab the attention of customers
not only the influencers. Here, lifestyle based theme is suggested portraying the joy
of celebration of the life time moment - wedding as we believe Operand
conditioning would work well for this high involvement product. This should position


brand as an exclusive offering with an emotional appeal. Also the elements of
tradition and status should be elicited subtly in such communication.
2. As Wedding dress is high involvement product and involvement of family (especially female
members) is high air ads with the theme of family relationships in between daily soaps like
Balika Vadhu (Hindi), Kalavari Kodallu (Telugu) etc.
3. Pulsing: Promotion of the brand on local Television channels repeatedly as
popularity of the store locally is the major criteria for store selection.

Partnership Marketing: Tie-ups with Wedding planners to increase customer base of those who
are busy and have high spending power. Here partnership is to promote the wedding planners
among those customers who come to store. This Tie-up can also help in identifying the high-end
customers target segments for personal selling.
Event Based Promotions: Bollywood Style Weddings is a new and emerging concept wherein a
Wedding Video type of film is prepared by professionals, becoming more and more elaborate,
recording new games and invented by modern wedding planners. Manayvar can sponsor entire
video recording for select customers through lucky draws. Sharing the recording compilation on
Manayvar Facebook Community exhibiting glamour and fun ingredients planned with
immaculate attention. This can help driving traffic to the facebook page and hence promoting
Manayvar on social portals.
WOM/ Buzz Marketing: As selection of store for wedding dress purchase is done majorly from
the suggestions given by the friends/ relatives who got recently married creating buzz through
advertising heavily on social media and organizing some online events over some forums
would increase brand familiarity.
Local Promotion: Popularity of the store is also one of the major influencing factors.
Hence promote the store locally instead of promoting it centrally as a brand. Though
promoting brand wholly work in long term as short term strategy, we have to promote it
locally to be recognized as one among the popular stores in the city. This can be done by
placing repeated commercials in local channels and performing events like Mall
Interventions if its store is in Mall in large cities.
Online promotion: To get the attention of online viewers we need to create quality content that
triggers a strong response from the emotional, cognitive or primal areas of the brain. The
company must create online viral advertisements which focus on making memories together and
marriage is one of the most cherished events which must be enjoyed with friends and family.
Also use Behavioral targeting strategy to display Smart Ads in matrimonial sites etc.
Off-season Promotion: Customers may shop 2-3 months prior to wedding. The brands should
realize this fact and start promoting their collections 3-4 months prior to the wedding season. This
way the prospective grooms would be aware of the latest trends in the market. Promotions for this
would include setting up billboards, new banners and posters of the new collection at various
touch points. Billboards, banners and posters of new collection at various touch points.



RETAI L STRATEGY:
A shopping style that puts particular emphasis on certain activities can be said as shopping
orientation. To see whether Manyavars customers would pick other accessories while
purchasing a Sherwani we studied their orientation. To see whether spillover sales is possible for
our respondents we studied questions like how many samples generally a respondent look before
selecting the final one and what do they look for first when they visit a store. From our
questionnaire it is evident that a groom would search extensively for a Sherwani and generally
likes to get information through salesperson and displays at the stores. So it is important to focus
on affective components. These affective components include the store atmosphere, style and
physical facility (i.e. cleanliness, shopping ease and attractiveness).
A beautiful wedding store for groom shop can inspire and encourage a groom to fantasize about
his wedding. While a wedding store must carry a wide array of merchandise to suit many styles
and sizes, the dcor of the shop is what attracts attention from the street and makes customers
feel welcome while they look and try on dresses. Through incorporating gentle color, the latest
looks and making the atmosphere relaxing, groom and their guests will have no trouble spending
time and money in your shop. Customers will respond more favorably to your store when it has a
distinct personality and a unique style.
Manyavar is trying to create an upscale royal ambiance and have used furniture which projects
this type of image. But the staircase of the store looks like an aberration on the overall ambience
of the store. Some posters can be added along the walls.
The more time people spend in store greater are the chances of them making the purchase. Most
of the grooms are accompanied by the members of family or friends. While the groom is trying
different designs the people accompanying them must be kept engaged. One of the easiest
methods is to use music to engage them. During the store visit we observed that no music was
played in the store. The store can play soft, romantic or popular songs based on wedding. This
kind of music would blend with the theme of the store.
Many studies have found that the odors can have a positive impact on the shopping experience,
particularly if they are consistent with other aspects of the store. Manyavar can introduce air
fresheners on a trial basis and take the feedback of the customers. If they receive positive
feedback then they can continue to use them.



Store Layout:
Unlike the big entrances typically seen for SouthEx stores, the entrance of the store is very
narrow and the store is difficult to find in South Extension market. There should be a sign board
that displays where Manyavar is located. Moreover, entrance to the store should be given more
aesthetically pleasing and traditional look.
Also, most grooms have answered in the questionnaire that they are generally accompanied by
their extended family when buying the wedding sherwani, store doesnt have adequate seating
for all the members near the table where different Sherwanis are generally showcased to the
families. There are big Sofas in the middle, but it generally seems for waiting purposes to see
catalogues etc. Thus, it is suggested that the salesperson should have movable display hangers to
carry number of sherwanis so that it can be showcased to the customer right at their sofas.
Internet as part of Multi Channel Strategy
As evident from the response of most respondents, they are multi channel shoppers i.e.
consumers who browse and/or purchase in more than one channel. In our product category initial
information about the latest design and trends is collected from internet and the final purchase
was made from physical stores.
To make sure that shoppers who follow multi channel purchasing behavior do not migrate to
other brands Manyavar needs to revamp its website to improve the user experience:
The website has limited designs which are available for purchase. They must increase the
number of designs which are on display on the website. They must incorporate extensive
catalogue on the website even if all the designs cannot be purchased online to give customers
an idea about the varieties available in the stores.
They have recently added the feature Aaina which is a virtual trial-room. But using this
feature is tedious. They must make it more seamless and user friendly. The upload feature
is not very clear. Registering for such trivial feature should not be made compulsory.
Advertising & Promotion Strategies:
From the insights obtained from our respondents in our survey, we found that style & trend are
the most important factors when it comes to purchasing wedding apparel. The other important
attributes that must be considered by a marketer are the comfort of the fabric as well as the
tradition of the groom. As it is a once in a life-time purchase and there are a lot of memories
associated with the occasion, a brand like Manyavar should try to exploit the emotional quotient
of the target audience


Medium of Communication
1. Print Media:
a. Newspaper Ads: New collection at the store should be brought to the attention of
potential customers through newspapers. As our target segment is a representative
of tier 1 city and from our survey we found out that majority of respondents do
remember the ads shown in the newspapers. (Hindustan Times)
b. Brochures: Having brochures in store to display the latest trends and up-coming
trends so that the grooms get an idea regarding the kind of wedding apparel he is
interested in buying. From our respondents we found that variety as well as trend
are the most important factors which the grooms consider while making a
wedding apparel purchase
c. Magazines: As majority of our respondents remember the advertisements shown
in magazines, this is a good way to reach out to target customer.
2. Digital Media:
a. Promotion of Brand Website:
i. Behavioral targeting strategy: Depending upon the previous searches
done by the customer, if they are related to the wedding apparel, there
should be a pop-up which clicked would direct the customer to the brand
web-site. Since we found that the information search is done to a great
extent on brand websites
b. Matrimonial Websites: Linking with matrimonial websites. Whenever a person
would login to the matrimonial website they would be provided with options
where in they could visit the brand website
c. Online Forums: (Word of net) since online forums are biggest sources of
advertisements and brand promotion Manyavar should focus on leveraging this
advantage and reaching out to more customers. Intelligent designers should also
be available for consulting prospective grooms, since an advice from expert will
reduce the social risk.
3. Out of Home Advertising:
a. Billboards: According to the analysis of survey with our respondents, we found
that billboards grabbed the maximum attention of customer.
b. Outdoor: Theme based advertisement or promotion strategy, this should be
prominent during and before marriage season.
Tagline:
1. Every Shaadi is witness to a thousand memories, MAKE THEM SPECIAL
2. Manyavar: We make marriage More special
Needs To be targeted:


As the store is in tier 1 city and in a highly posh area, the customers who would be visiting the
store would be high net worth individual belonging to SEC-A1. Their needs for wedding apparel
are more focused on a symbol of status, lifestyle and exclusivity. As this is a high involvement
and once in a life-time purchase the emotional quotient is high and people are very strongly
bonded to the wedding apparel. The wedding day is perceived to be the most important day in a
persons life and thus having apparel that compliments that occasion is the most important
requirement for an individual.
Internal Influences:
Most of the respondents are more conscious about their appearance in front of their relatives as
compared to their friends. Wedding is a social function so people would pay even more attention
to their appearance.
From the analysis, most of the respondents want a sherwani that represent their identity. It is also
believed that they feel that the sherwani distinguishes them from others and provides them a
good feeling regarding them.
The respondents felt that the sherwani would reflect their culture, family, social ties and tradition.
Sherwani would be irreplaceable and representation of the memories and feelings according to
the respondents. This would be a once in life time purchase and a high involvement purchase
requiring extended decision making. India being a collectivist culture, the perceived social risk
would be highest; and this is the inference from the analysis of the interviews from the
respondents as well.

External Influences we considered:
1. Culture Indian culture which considers wedding as a celebration with friends and
relatives which is bound by tradition and values. Hence we are replicating the
traditionally / culturally accepted forms through lifestyle based theme in our
communication which portrays occasion of marriage with friends and relatives.
2. Social Class As the store is located in the posh area of New Delhi, we are targeting the
high end customers and the entire in store environment and locality are planned
accordingly.



Principles of perception and learning used:
From Perception, we used principles of Selective Exposure, Zapping, Muting, Ad avoidance,
Product Placement, Outdoor efforts, picture superiority effect, importance of color, Situational
characteristics like time pressure, proximity.
From Learning, we used principles of Operant conditioning, Message involvement, pulsing, dual
coding, product positioning.



APPENDICES
Appendix A: Personality Types
Respondent 1 The respondent is individualist in nature. He is brand conscious,
dominating in nature and rational. The conduct of the respondent is very formal and low
on emotional quotient. He wants to show his status through the things he uses and
weeding would have a stamp of displaying the social standing.

Respondent 2 He has a very pleasant and agreeable personality. He has excitable nature
and does not give much importance to brands. He doesnt give seek the opinion of the
reference groups much.

Respondent 3- The respondent is organized with calm personality. He is emotional and
submissive in nature. He is more concerned about opinion of friends as compared to
relatives. He is more traditional in nature. He seeks reliability in the products which buys.

Respondent 4 He is confident person who is well organized, rational and mature. The
respondent is more concerned about his appearance in front of his relatives as compared
to appearance in front of friends.

Respondent 5 He finds comfort in company of his friends. He is brand conscious and
seeks value in the purchase. He has a pleasant personality who is organized, rational
person. He is influenced by his friends.

Respondent 6- He is influenced by celebrity endorsements for some products. Not very
particular about brands, and seeks comfort over brand. More concerned about his
appearance in front of friends as compared to relatives. He seeks value in purchase and
emotional nature.

Respondent 7- is influenced by lifestyle based advertisements. He has a dominating yet
pleasant personality. He is a simple mature and organised person. He gives equal
importance to his appearance in front of friends and relatives.

Respondent 8- He is not very brand conscious and seeks functionality in the things which
he uses. Is more influenced by advertisements which portrays the lifestyle. More


concerned about appearance in front of relatives as compared to appearance in front of
friends. He has a simple, mature and calm personality.

Respondent 9 He would be influenced by the advertisements which focus on the
emotional aspects of using the product. He is indulgent in nature and very conscious
about his appearance in front friends as well as family. He has simple, liberal and
pleasant personality.

Respondent 10 He would be influenced by the portrayal of emotional connect in the
advertisement. More concerned about appearance in front of friends. He has a simple,
pleasant personality and is indulgent in nature yet seeks value in the products which he
purchases.

Respondent 11 he would be influenced by the grandeur or over the top advertising. He
is more concerned bout the appearance in front of relatives. He has a dominant and
excitable personality which suggests that he can influence decisions of people. He is
rational and formal.

Respondent 12 he would be more influenced by celebrity endorsements. He is
aspirational and strives for a lifestyle of a globetrotter. He is concerned about the
appearance in front of his relatives. He is a bit unorganized in nature and indulgent
therefore may succumb to impulse purchase.



APPENDIX B:

APPENDIX C:


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Study Of Consumer Behavior: Mens Wedding Collection at Manyavar

1 Group-8 Brand Baaja Baraat- Section A

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