A Project

On

A study on consumer behaviour with reference to pharmaceutical retail industry.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Business Administration

in

Marketing

By

Sagar Gupta

Enrollment No. A60004618084

Under the guidance of

Dr. Malay Ghosh

Assistant Professor

Amity Business School

Amity University Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior
April 2021
 Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

With the pharmaceutical business growing and with some expertise

during a pharmaceutical operating environment, the author has chosen
to explore this field more through analysis. The pharmacy sector has its
attention-grabbing structure as drugs costs are constant all told
pharmacies, and thus they lack in price war as compared to stores of the
daily trade goods trade. these days there are more product choices as
more generic medicines take off on the market and challenge original
product with their lower price. Hence, the main target of the research is
on pharmacy customers and their client behaviour with regard to
pharmacies and similarly worthd over-the-counter (OTC) medicines,
therefore medicines that aren't on prescription. The analysis is restricted
to unlisted medicines as a result of they're product that are accessible to
all or {any|to any or all} shoppers which are publicised publicly. The
research helps to know current behaviour of pharmacy customers and
offers an insight to the 4P’s of marketing; product, place, price and
promotion. The results aid to understand the pharmaceutical market a
bit higher and to achieve data on pharmacy customers within the capital
region.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behaviour may be a topic of nice interest for marketers as a

result of a command of this field are often crucial in terms of selecting
the proper selling strategy, so create business prosperous . client
behaviour will be seen consistent with Solomon because the information
of a method that a personal or a gaggle undergo to satisfy a need, by
choosing and shopping for still as victimisation and disposing product.
This process in not solely relating to products because it can likewise be
concepts and experiences that satisfy the need. a similar plan is
additionally supported by Kotler . If a company is aware of however the
clients will react to totally different selling stimuli, then they'll adapt such
methods which will provide them the specified outcome in terms of
consumer response. information of consumer behaviour helps
corporations to work out their marketing mix, the four P’s of marketing;
product, price, place and promotion. consistent with Kotler these four
classes represent stimuli that customers are exposed to and which will
have an effect on their behaviour.

A elementary reason for a company to exist is to satisfy the

requirements of consumers. a corporation that succeeds to try and do
thus are often victorious and therefore, it's of nice importance to
understand what the necessitys and needs of the buyers are. A
information of consumer behaviour helps to explore and understand
these needs and wants. each consumer has biological needs that are
essential for survival, adore food, water and shelter.

These needs develop into wants once the consumer will make a choice
from totally different choices that each one satisfy the need however
otherwise have differences. the necessity for food will be happy by
totally different food product and also the consumer’s needs will
categorical with which kind of product the buyer prefers to satisfy that
need. to grasp the consumers’ needs and their behaviour a hierarchy of
needs was developed by man of science Abraham Maslow. even though
his theory is criticized for not being totally pliable to any or all cultures, it
still helps to show however consumers’ needs will vary counting on their
life situation. consistent with Maslow’s hierarchy pyramid the individual
includes a ought to fulfil specific needs at very cheap of the pyramid to
be able to climb up to the top. When the psychological desires are met
the individual will satisfy his or her needs of safety, then needs of
belongingness, then ego needs and last self actualization.

Elements of influence

Consumer behaviour and how they buy products and services are affected by a
variety of factors. When studying customer behaviour, companies must take
environmental, socioeconomic, personal, and also psychological considerations
into account.

Cultural influence

Culture has a great influence on consumer behavior, and culture is one of the
most influential factors. Culture is the foundation of a person's values, insights,
and behaviors. It is learned from other members of the community or school and
institutions that play an important role. These characteristics define what the
consumer appreciates or wants, and therefore affects his behavior. Culture is
also made up of various subcultures, which group people according to
nationality, race, geographic location, religious belief or religious belief.Their
shared values. By targeting specific cultures or subcultures, the company can
adapt its marketing mix to the needs and values of that market segment.
Consumers are more likely to accept products that conform to their values,
preferences, customs, and cultural norms. However, culture is constantly
evolving, and values, social structures, worldviews and other cultural
cornerstones will change over time.Society is divided into social classes that
make members of society have similar social status and behaviors. These
categories show social hierarchy and have many factors. And education, but this
is only a factor that affects a person’s classification in society. Determining the
exact social class is not always easy or obvious.As people climb the corporate
ladder or even move to lower occupations, social class will also change over
time. In addition, new family relationships can lead to rapid changes in a
person's status and social class (hence, consumers of the same social class often
communicate with each other), and lead a similar lifestyle. They may have the
same job, similar hobbies, and behave in the same way.Their social class can be
seen as an indicator of the purchasing power and availability of certain products
related to their income level, lifestyle and social norms related to their social
status. Therefore, social class is used as a form of subdivision and decision-
making. Targeted market.

As Solomon pointed out, social classificationism is not only a measure of

wealth, but also an indicator of how that wealth is used and how it is used to
determine status.

Social influence

A consumer’s shopping for behaviour is additionally stricken by the

individuals around. Family may be a sturdy entity that has an influence
on buying behaviour. This includes each the fogeys, further because the
mate kids} with whom the patron may more often pay time with.
Through the upbringing, parents teach their children regarding love, self-
esteem, economics, politics then forth. With this steering the influence
of the parents doesn't stop to have an effect on the kid even when the
child not lives with the parents, and thus will have an influence on the
consumer’s behaviour throughout life.

The opinion of a mate and children will directly have an effect on and
guide the buying decision. in keeping with Kotler there's however, a giant
distinction of influence by a spouse looking on the merchandise
category, and there are many buying roles that someone can take on. the
customer isn't continually the user, and so the acquisition could also be
created for somebody else keeping that person’s opinions in mind. The
instigator is that the one who comes up with the concept of shopping for
a particular product or service, whereas the influencer is the one who’s
opinion matter and is taken into thought once creating a buying call. the
ultimate decision regarding whether or not or to not buy, and how, once
and what to shop for is created by the decider. .

There also are different reference teams additionally to family that have
an effect on a consumer’s behaviour and opinions. Like family, these
groups will be primary groups with whom there's oftentimes interaction
on a non-formal level. Hence, to primary reference groups can be
counted as an instance friends, colleagues and also people who free
time is usually spent with. Secondary reference groups even have an
influence on the behaviour and may be diagrammatic by groups akin to
religious teams and business associations, with whom there's less
frequent and a lot of formal interaction. as a result of the role and
standing that a shopper holds in society or inside a reference cluster due
to social class, occupation or group role, there are expectations from
different group members that the person is anticipated to measure up
to. as a result of the will to show the given role properly in accordance
with the society’s and other people’s expectations, people tend to adapt
themselves and their behaviour consequently to suit in with this role or
image.

This role will modification looking on things or environment. a private

will attack totally different roles once outlay time with different people,
akin to a task of a child, boss or parent. All of those factors have an
influence on the consumer’s behaviour and therefore the buying choices
that are made.

Personal influence

In addition, consumers can be segmented according to their personal

characteristics and personality types that affect their consumer behavior.
Research can discover the personality characteristics shared by users of certain
products, and then use specific characteristics to describe and group consumers.
Group them according to their sociality, stubbornness, aggressiveness or
adaptability, because these characteristics enable them to reflect similarities in
behavior. Consumer behavior is not only affected by personality and personal
qualities, but also by consumer self-esteem. How the consumer sees himself and
how he values his own characteristics. Self-concept is related to shopping
behavior, because a person’s things often show his appearance or appearance.
Self-concept to consider when writing or understanding marketing strategies.
The true self-concept shows how a person sees himself. In addition, a person
has an ideal sense of self-worth, which reflects their desire to see their ideal
state.

Coupled with the self-esteem of others, this shows how a person views
others.Therefore, consumer behavior will be affected by any of these three self-
assessments. Consumers can take actions based on their own views, the people
they want to be, or the views of others. The true self-esteem of consumers is
better than their self-esteem. When consumers compare themselves with what
they see in advertisements, advertisements can have a huge impact and affect
consumer self-esteem and self-esteem. People displayed in products and
advertisements, thus forming their personal brand image of the product.

When choosing between available products, this brand image influences the
consumer's decision. Consumers of the same age or the same age group often
have a lot in common in terms of tastes, opinions and activities. They go
through similar life experiences and life stages, which shape their attitudes and
tastes. As a result, the behaviors of the same age group may have similarities
and may not be suitable for consumers of different age groups. Differences in
behavior between age groups can take many forms, such as inequality in the
purchasing power of the amount of currency used. Brand loyalty and other
aspects in certain product categories. Age groups may react differently to
advertisements. Knowing these differences, the company can decide which
products to advertise on and how to adjust its language to the target
audience.Consumers' consumption patterns, currency distribution and product
choices are based on lifestyle.

The lifestyle is completely unique and characterized by the vital interests of

consumers. Due to different lifestyles. Even if consumers have many similar
factors, such as social class, leisure and cultural interests, there will be
behavioral differences in life. These contrasts represent unique lifestyles that
influence the way consumers consume. Lifestyle consumers may prefer certain
types of food and choose foods according to the lifestyle represented by the
product itself. From a consumer's point of view, this is because an
understanding of consumer behavior can explain which type of food is
associated with consumers of a particular lifestyle and which food suits their
tastes. Lifestyle is capricious and will change over time. This change will also
change the way of consumption.

Psychological influence

Motivation is accustomed describe one’s behaviour and it can be seen

because the reason behind one’s actions. Motivation is what drives
people to realize an exact goal. once the buyer feels a need, there's
tension that the consumer needs to eliminate by satisfying that specific
need. If the drive to achieve that goal is robust enough the consumer can
possess a motivation that drives and pushes him towards its realization.
.In accordance to a theory made public by Sigmund Freud, shoppers
don't seem to be totally alert to their true motivations and are not
continuously able to make a case for them.

Freud’s theory points out that unconscious motives that have their roots
within the individual’s childhood have an effect on the buyer’s selections.
the idea additionally acclaims that customers might base their product
choice on a product’s symbolic meaning, so as to be able to satisfy a
need that's not acceptable however which the consumer will notice
symbolised in an appropriate product. . Abraham Maslow on the
opposite hand, explains motivation through his graded pyramid wherever
consumers are intended by wants that have a unique classification
which are a part of a hierarchy . With the help of the five senses; taste,
smell, sight, touch and hearing, consumers interpret their surroundings.
With the process of choosing, organizing and interpreting stimuli
consumers create their own perception. Because the perception of a
person differs to one another, the buying behaviour does as well.
Consumers are drawn to products not only by their practical function but
also by the hedonic features of the product. The added value that a
competitor’s product has can simply be the emotional value that it has
for the customer. Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour
and customers learn through experiencing things on their own or by
gaining experience through observation. It is a constantly ongoing
process and learning occurs even if it is not deliberately intended.
Through the process of learning the buying behaviour of the consumer
evolves and is subject to change.

purchasing process

Before consumers choose a product, they evaluate the various options available.
In this process, the various product attributes assigned by consumers to each
product variant can be evaluated and their importance can be determined. The
evaluation of alternatives can be very extensive, because consumers can create
different rules to help them make decisions, promote their adoption and reduce
the amount of information processed.

Consumers use their own personal heuristics to limit other options. These rules
can be of different types and reflect different assumptions or ideas. They can be
related to their personal views on the product and the company, whether it is to
correlate product familiarity with product quality, or how to interpret product
quality based on indicators obtained from appearance. product. Some
consumers tend to judge a book based on the cover of the book, usually linking
high prices with high quality, or forming beliefs about product attributes based
on its country of origin. Companies sometimes use advertisements to associate
their products with feelings of nostalgia, and sometimes even with sadness and
nostalgia for the past, because these emerging feelings cause consumers to
choose one product over another. In some cases, shopping behavior will become
a habit, without the need for consumers to make a decision.

This buying habit may be caused by brand loyalty. In this case, consumers have
a firm and positive feeling about a particular brand and therefore make a
conscious decision to purchase products from that particular brand. The
personal connection with the brand will develop over time, enhancing habitual
buying behavior and reducing the possibility of customers switching to another
brand. For other consumers, the usual buying behavior is usually caused by their
unwillingness to participate in the decision-making process. Out of habit when
buying products. In the absence of a strong personal connection with a product
or brand, consumers tend to switch to another brand. The reason for changing
the product may be the ability to easily purchase another product due to better
availability or better price.

All product purchases are unplanned, and purchase terms and conditions may
cause the buyer to purchase products that the consumer did not purchase.
Sometimes, when consumers cannot resist buying a product they suddenly
desire to buy, they will buy spontaneously. If there is no planned purchase but
the purchaser is forced to purchase, he can also purchase spontaneously.
Souvenir products in the store, because consumers are eager to buy or for other
reasons to prompt consumers to buy. It is not easy to measure the impact of
advertising on consumer behavior and sales.You can compare advertising costs
and sales results with previous experience, or you can spend different amounts
of money on similar locations to place ads to measure the difference between
the sales results generated by each location. As we all know, many consumers
do not remember the advertisements they saw.

This really worries advertising companies because they have reason to believe
that at the time of purchase, consumers may not know the product being
advertised or the product being advertised. remind. However, the influence on
the buying behavior of consumers who can remember the advertisement is not
always positive. Consumers usually don’t just remember their favorite ads,
evoke strong emotions or convey messages they believe. And there are opposite
advertisements. These deleted advertisements may have adverse effects and
may cause consumers to avoid using this product.

Marketing of pharmaceuticals

There are variations in legislation concerning selling of prescribed drugs

to practitioners and to shoppers or end users. The law prohibits
marketing of medicative merchandise on prescription, to consumers.
Prescription medicines can solely be marketed to practitioners like
doctors and pharmacists who would like info concerning the products
they'll visit or recommendation to patients. solely prescription-free
medicines is directly marketed to finish users, the consumers. Some
general rules of pharmaceutical selling apply notwithstanding the
merchandise being prescription-free or a prescription medicine. before
any marketing the product must receive a licence and be licensed to be
marketed. The marketing cannot by any suggests that be misleading,
and also the communicated information must be in line with the data
expressed on the package leaflet. what is more the ad has to contain all
necessary information so as to use the product properly, and it's to
market and encourage a rational usage of the product similarly as
encourage to rigorously scan the package leaflet or instructions. All
advertisements should provides a clear message that it's question of
associate advertisement, which the publicized product may be a
medicative product.

Decision making process

Consumer decision-making has always been a topic of great interest

to researchers. About 300 years ago, Nicholas Bernoulli, John Van
Neumann and Oscar Morgenstern began to think about consumer
behavior. These economists only looked at purchasing behavior, the
resulting model. One theory is the "utility theory", which assumes that
consumers consider the expected results of their choices. Consumers
are regarded as rational decision makers who only care about their
own interests.

Although the current research involves many factors that affect

consumer decision-making, these factors can be seen as the need to
identify, search for information, find alternatives and evaluate
accordingly, purchase intention, purchase behavior, consumption and
final decision. The process includes five stages: problem
identification, information retrieval, evaluation, decision-making and
later decision-making process is a process that takes place every day;
however, it has a greater effect every day; however, if the purchase is
important to consumers, for example, the purchased goods are
expensive, or have a negative impact on health or self-esteem, and
they have The impact is even greater. However, products that are not
as important as chewing gum will not go through this complicated
process. When this happens, consumers will try to identify the
problem and make a decision without spending too much time
gathering information and evaluating other options.

Decision making process stages

Four stages of the decision making process-

 Problem recognition: there's a drag for customers once their state

differs from the state they might prefer to experience. meaning
that they need a necessity that's not satisfied.

 Information search: so as to unravel a drag the rummage around

for alternatives starts so these desires will be meet.

 Judgment and decision making: when the identification of the

matter and also the rummage around for alternatives completed,
the analysis of alternatives ought to currently take place,
supported the potential options. this implies that a choice
concerning whether or not a complete satisfies a necessity must
be made.

 Post- decision processes: once the choice is created and also the
product purchased, it's time for the last step, knowing if the buyer
is happy with a product or service. If someone is satisfied with a
product will have a positive reaction and advocate it to his/her
friends, or repeat the purchase. once a person is dissatisfied, can
have a negative reaction and build a grievance or perhaps come
the merchandise.

Model of Consumer Behaviour

Types of buying

The purchase decision varies from person to person. It all depends on

people's needs. Various factors affect the type of purchase. These authors
divide purchasing decisions into four categories: complex purchasing
behaviors; discordant, reducing purchasing behaviors; habitual
purchasing behaviors and purchasing behaviors related to finding
diversity. The categories are classified according to differences between
engagement and brands:
 Complex purchase behavior: purchase participation is high, and
there are significant differences between brands. As a consumer in
this situation, you will learn in the process of developing product
benefits, building relationships, and ultimately making smart
purchases. This situation will appear in products such as high
prices and low quality risks. A good example is buying a mobile
phone or laptop. Both products are expensive and there are many
brands that make buyers feel uncomfortable when choosing a
particular brand.Reduce

 detuned behavior: It occurs when consumers rely heavily on

expensive, rare, and risky products. However, you will see subtle
differences between the two brands. In the post-purchase stage,
consumers may feel discomfort and notice the disadvantages of the
purchase. The seller should pay attention to post-purchase
communication by providing obvious help. An example of this
type of purchase is a sofa. For kitchen cabinets, consumers will rate
the difference based on the price range.

 Habitual shopping behavior: There is very little customer loyalty,

and the differences between brands are small. Consumers tend to
have less contact with cheap products. The level of search for
information is very low, and consumers do not pay attention to
brand characteristics or make thoughtful decisions about which
brand to buy. On the other hand, if they keep receiving information
while watching TV or reading a magazine, they will choose the
brand because they are familiar. Since you have created some kind
of icon and visual image in their minds, buyers can also identify
the products they are connected to when buying. To promote
products, marketers often use prices and promotions.A good
example is a lighter, where consumers only search and buy without
brand loyalty. Seek

 diversified buying behavior: Although the brands are very

different, consumers' participation in this case is low. I really like
this brand. Brands appear because there are more varieties than
dissatisfaction. Consumers will change for a particular shower gel,
 and although they are satisfied with the current brand, they still
change.

CHAPTER- 3

RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY

The current thesis is focused on descriptive analysis methods, which means it is

based on secondary data obtained from various established sources.

The material available in the public domain on different websites such as

newspapers, magazines, journals, and various web-based outlets has been
gathered and analysed in order to draw any useful conclusions.
 CHAPTER-4
RESULT & DISCUSSIONS

Retail pharmacy is an especially regulated profession and thanks to the varied

restrictions placed on this profession comparable to Single Exit evaluation
(SEP) and restricted advertising of scheduled medication, retail pharmacies
realize it very difficult to grow revenue and profitability. within the drugss and
connected Substance management Act one zero one of 1965, Tsabalala-
Msimang (2010) states that no one shall advertise any drugs or scheduled
substance purchasable unless such promotion complies with prescribed
requirements. Medicine is outlined in the Act as “any substance or mixture of
gear used or purporting to be appropriate to be used or factory-made or sold
in use of the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation, modification or interference of
disease, abnormal physical or psychological state or the symptoms therefrom
in man; or restoring, correcting or modifying any bodily or psychic or organic
perform in man and includes veterinary medicine”, 2010).

In India, the advertising of medicines from schedule zero to schedule one is

allowable to the overall public however the advertising of medicines from
schedule 2 to schedule vi isn't allowed underneath the Medicines Act and
rules (Marketing Code Steering Committee, 2008). These regulations create
an environment in retail pharmacies where only fast-moving consumer goods
(FMCG) and schedule 0 and schedule 1 medication is permitted to be
advertised. Therefore, promotional material is limited to these items.

MARKETING PRICIPLES AND AUTHORITY IN

PHARMACY

The healthcare pharmaceutical industry has agreed to incorporate the Marketing

Code (MCA) into a highly regulated environment to ensure fair and consistent
application across the industry. According to Article 18C of the Pharmaceutical
Law No. 101 of 1965, the Minister, after consulting the pharmaceutical industry
and other relevant parties, has the power to formulate regulations on the sale of
drugs, procedural substances and medical devices, including mandatory codes
of conduct. Authority in 2014 The health care company has agreed to subscribe
to the Indian Medical Device Marketing Code in accordance with the principles
of self-regulation set out in this code. The application of this code is entrusted to
the Marketing Code Administration MCA. It is important to ensure that health
professionals and the public have access to the basic information they need so
that they can access the health products they need and use and prescribe health
products in a way that is beneficial to the patient’s health. Morally advanced
drugs, listed substances and medical equipment play an important role in this
process and must be controlled and ensured.

The pharmaceutical industry planning its activities must comply with high
ethical standards and comply with applicable laws, regulations and professional
requirements. Compliance with the Guidelines ensures that ethical advertising
practices are followed when planning medical devices, pharmacists,
pharmacists, prescription drugs and promotional activities (Office of Marketing
Guidelines). The Department of Health (DOH) and the pharmaceutical industry
have the responsibility and responsibility to provide high-quality and affordable
patient care throughout India, while ensuring the provision of healthcare and
medical equipment information. Product associations merged and adopted the
MCA Rules to demonstrate the industry’s commitment to sell health care
products to the general public and health professionals.To this end, they also
strive to ensure that marketing is conducted in a responsible, professional and
ethical manner in accordance with the requirements of the MCA (Marketing
Regulation Authority).

Offer and acceptance

A valid bid and a valid acceptance are required for the conclusion of a valid
contract in India, according to common law. Advertisements, on the other hand,
are commonly known as invitations to do business rather than legally binding
deals. In India, the buyer makes the bid, and the deal is only established until
the buyer accepts the offer.

Advertisement of price and price tickets

In India case law, it is argued that a price ticket should be considered as a bid in
general, and that any issues with the particular price ticket should be resolved
by reading the relevant implicit words displayed on the price ticket .

When it comes to the self-service setting in India neighbourhood pharmacies,

the bid and approval occur when the customer tenders the price to the cashier
and when the customer removes the item from the counter, even though the
price is already marked on the shelf. Nonetheless, under the Consumer
Protection Act, intentional advertisement with a misleading price will be called
detrimental advertising.

Puffing, warranties and misrepresentation

A warranty is a statement made at or at the time of a contract's signing. Failure

to comply with the warranty is called a breach of contract, and the consumer is
entitled to restitution in this case. A puff is sales talk that no sensible person can
take serious and, as a rule, is not actionable. When a description becomes a
credible assertion, though, the statement is no longer a puff and must be a
statement of fact rather than belief.

PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES IN TERMS OF THE

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

Barnard defines promotional practises as actions taken by a retailer or

distributor to advertise a product, service, or brand. It also involves
advertisement or marketing via platforms such as television, radio, and blogs, as
well as personal sales via platforms such as door-to-door sales or merchandise,
service, and brand promotion via newspapers, media, or event sponsorship.
With this in mind, the ultimate aim of any advertising activity is to maximise
product and service revenue while also raising customer awareness of the brand.

PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY

When researching the subject, there are several different reasons for
promotional behaviour. Phillip Kotler, a marketing guru, describes marketing as
"the science and art of discovering, generating, and providing value to meet the
needs of a target group at a profit." Unmet expectations and preferences are
identified through marketing. It determines, calculates, and quantifies the size
and benefit opportunity of the defined sector. It determines the market markets
the business is ideally suited to serve and develops and promotes the required
goods and services”. As a result, all customers, including those in retail
pharmacies, need promotional activity.
TYPES OF PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY CURRENTLY IN USE

The retail setting needs promotional methods that are centered on the
particular shopper targeted Associate in Nursingd it's important that the
platform used is that the correct path to the specified consumer.

Digital promotions are giving the additional ancient retailers like pharmacies a
run their cash and these traditional businesses then have confidence
customers physically visiting their stores for services offered and that they
ought to make sure that their promotional activities are value-adding and have
the most effective likelihood of not solely attracting customers, however
rather keeping them as semipermanent shoppers. Chad (2017) wrote an
article concerning widespread promotions however with a particular
concentrate on current eminent ventures as utilized by numerous proved
leaders. Current promotional activities utilized by eminent firms and leaders
are in short delineated below-

Offer delivery specials

In India, the online presence of most corporate retail stores poses a significant
challenge to all pharmacy businesses, including corporate and independent retail
pharmacies. Existing pharmacies must improve their game in order to stay
successful. Delivery discounts are a fantastic offering to use because they can
ease any concerns a consumer may have about taking their orders home. This
service would bring value to the retailer's operation and reduce the chance of
consumers switching to an online retailer or a nearby rival that does provide
distribution.

Optimize promotions online for local searches

Retail pharmacies who depend on foot traffic can't rely on word of mouth to
thrive, but they need to be sure that their clients can look for goods and services
in their neighbourhood even though they aren't in the shop. The shop will
appear at the top of internet searches with the aid of regional digital marketing.
It's critical to provide location information, photographs, directions, and
operating hours on a dedicated website and Facebook profile.
Promotional pricing for the consumers

There are a few common promotional pricing concepts that can be used in the
shop,

• Markdowns imply that premiums on a wide variety of goods are discounted

for all consumers. When accompanied by promotional campaigns, this is
usually successful.

• If you know that such items are in high demand, you should use loss leaders.
To entice shoppers into the market, these items are then sold at a deep discount.
It's also a perfect way to get more foot traffic when selling overstocked goods.

• Bundle pricing is a smart way to give customers the impression that they are
getting a good deal.

Offer the consumer free sampling

Wing (2015) believes that demo pieces are inexpensive to manufacture but are a
significant source of increased sales for both online and offline retailers.
Customers may like the offering and be impressed with the use of the product if
brands have a risk-free proposition, and further purchases may be produced as a
result.

ELEMENTS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX

Marketing strategies include several options, some of which include advertising,

public relations and promotions, personal sales and promotions, all of which are
market-specific. The combination of these elements is called a marketing
communication mix, designed to meet the needs of the target market. Marketing
can be broadly described as a series of steps that are used to deliver value that
customers can remember and build relationships with, provide business for
them, and create revenue for them.
 The marketing mix has a significant impact on the business. Bay’s research
confirms that having an organization that applies a marketing mix to its business
strategy will help increase the company’s sales and profits. Confusion-that is,
price, product, location, and advertising-is seen as a controllable tool that can
greatly meet customer needs.

Once all the elements are clearly understood, business providers can influence
potential and existing customers to continue their business, but most
importantly, become loyal customers. Marketing mix is considered to be the
most basic concept, which needs to be clearly understood before formulating
effective marketing strategies. Factors that affect the marketing mix include
product, location, price, and advertising, all of which can have a significant
impact on purchasing decisions.

Advertising

Advertising is a form of non-personal mass communication that gives those

responsible for creating and delivering advertising messages a great deal of
control, but the ability of advertising to persuade the target audience to think or
behave in certain ways is suspect. the impact on sales is extremely difficult to
measure. Advertisements are also not credible, as the public believes less in
messages delivered through advertising than they do in messages received
through other tools.

Sales Promotion

Sales promotion refers to a variety of marketing tactics that are often used
tactically to bring value to a product or service with the aim of and sales and
collecting marketing data. Sales marketing, like advertisements, is a
nonpersonal means of persuasion, but it has the advantage of being able to reach
smaller markets. It is manageable, because although it must be compensated for,
the resulting costs will be much smaller than ads.

Personal Selling

Personal sale is historically thought of as an interactive contact mechanism that

entails people, often representing an organisation, engaging in face-to-face
interactions in order to advise, encourage, or remind an entity or party to take
suitable action as directed by the sponsor's representative. A salesperson
communicates with each customer one-on-one, allowing for immediate
feedback. In most cases, the costs of human contact are very high.

Public Relations

The art and science of analysing patterns, forecasting their results, counselling
organisations' leadership, and initiating proposed programmes of action that can
benefit both the organization's and the public interest is known as public
relations. This description implies that public relations should be seen as part of
a larger business plan, which is explored in depth in The growing popularity of
public relations, especially advertising, illustrates the high level of trust that this
mode of communication commands. The distribution of messages by third-party
sources such as magazines, websites, or television programmes is referred to as
publicity.
Direct Marketing

In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the use of direct
marketing for businesses. It denotes a change of emphasis from mass to
individualised communication. Direct mail, telemarketing, and the rapidly
growing field of digital communications are examples of through-the-line
communications.

Types of product

 Brand medicines
 Generics medicines

Brand medicines

The word "brand name medicine" refers to medicines that can only be
manufactured and marketed by the corporation that owns the copyright.
Typically, brand-name drugs are granted a patent lasting about 20 years,
providing protection to the corporation that invested in the new product's
research, production, and marketing.

Generics medicines

Generic medications are brand-name prescription replicas with the same doses,
benefits and side effects, administration method, risks and protection, and
power as the initial medicine; this means that the pharmacological effects are
equivalent to those of brand-name products.

Generics must prove that they are bioequivalent to the labelled original. The
term "bioequivalence" refers to the requirement that the generic release the
active ingredient at the same time and to the same degree as the brand-name
drug.

CHAPTER-5
Conclusion

 There are two main types of important products in the pharmaceutical

market: brand-name drugs and generic drugs. Compared with other
countries. The market is based on three main players: the country, doctors
and patients. Some of the main challenges in the industry are government
price controls, the cost of new product launches, and the increasing
number of people influencing product choices, which means they are no
longer important.

 Other sources of information are pharmacists, patient groups, and mainly

the Internet. Here, the consumer behavior of pharmacy customers was
examined to find out the factors that constitute the basis of consumer
behavior and decision-making, and influence their choice of pharmacies
and their choice of non-prescription and non-prescription drugs at similar
prices.

 Consumers in metropolitan areas and all age groups. , Bottom and no.
The research was almost exclusively conducted in selected pharmacies,
but it also targeted residents of single-story buildings and friends of the
author.
 The study can investigate how consumers contact pharmacists in
pharmacies, and how pharmacists are aware of their impact on customers
and how they use their knowledge to help them make decisions. The first
research objective provides excellent guidance for advertising strategies.

 Every pharmacy that wants to increase sales and gross margins should
develop its strategy based on the results of this research.

 Correlation shows you what to do. Each correlation can be applied to the
shopping situation in the store and used to manage the store. On how to
best work with your customers.

 An example of a strong association between promotional gifts and in-

store displays can be applied to stores. When companies use in-store
display services, in order to get the best results, they must provide
customers with some form of gift. .

 The fourth goal of the survey shows that respondents would rather shop
in company pharmacies than in private pharmacies. Therefore,
independent pharmacies must adopt more aggressive advertising
measures in order to provide their consumers with a more comfortable
shopping experience. The supplements should be reviewed based on the
results of this research.

 As sales resources, consumers prefer free products, coupons, and

incentives in pharmacies. For their respective advertising campaigns, all
pharmacies should consciously strategize in this direction.

 Given the clear positive associations between promotional behaviours

such as in-store demonstrations and promotional purchasing behaviour, as
well as in-store demonstrations and loyalty and incentives, there is
definitely room for stores to combine these strong correlating factors in
their approach.
 The analysis shows results that answer the research queries on pharmacy
customers’ choice of pharmacy and selection of unlisted medicines,
supported the choices printed within the form that's used.

 The research will suggests that pharmacy location is incredibly important

and shoppers are very probably to use a particular pharmacy several
times. It conjointly showed that the opinions and suggestions of the
pharmaceutical employees are important for the selection of unlisted
medicines.

Chapter 6
SUMMARY

 This chapter aims at presenting a summary and discussion of the main

conclusions that were reached through the research. This study analysed
the buyer behaviour in retail pharmacies within the numerous retail
pharmacy chains.

 The study disclosed various promotional activities that the shoppers in

retail pharmacies like on top of others. sturdy positive and negative
correlations were found between variety of known factors which is able
to guide managers and homeowners of those specific retail pharmacies in
their future promotional campaigns.

 Thus, the conclusion of this study is that each one pharmacies, each
severally in hand and corporate, got to first off accommodates all moral
and legal needs of promoting and promotions in pharmacy and second
align their promotional strategy with their consumer preferences. By
doing in order that they are probably to govern the buyer behaviour in
their stores to such a degree that their revenue will increase considerably
and sustainably.
 The research was found to be extremely useful in understanding
consumer behaviour in retail pharmacies in India, especially in terms of
promotional activity. Consumers continue to use discount cards at major
corporate pharmacies, which presents a significant opportunity for small
pharmacies in the future.

 The objective of all paid promotion should be to induce indications.

 each social media broadcast formed need to be connected to a landing
page and therefore, the landing page to embrace a choice to action.

 The link to the landing page that incorporates a option to work will
maximize the effectiveness of the campaign.

 Upsurge Your physical property Indorsing posts on Facebook may be the

right way of skyrocketing the perceptibility of your content.

 Your job can seem earlier to the peak, and also, it helps peoples News
Feeds to endorse like never before.

 Increase consciousness in client Loyalty – after you produce a Facebook

page for your commercial then put on the market through Facebook
advertising to gather additional "likes" thus serving full awareness.