[CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

FINAL REPORT]
Product: Horlicks
Section - B
PGDM (2015-17)

In order to study the attitudes and perceptions of Horlicks consumers, a survey was conducted.
For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed and a total of 42 responses were received, out of
these 5 of them are not taken into consideration because these respondents does not consume
Horlicks. The results of the survey have been interpreted and represented in this report.(Fig. 1)
CONSUMER ATTITUDE
According to the survey conducted, the attitude of a Horlicks consumer can be explained on the
basis of the following models:
The Tri-Component Attitude Model
The three components of this model are:
The cognitive component
The affective component
The conative component
THE COGNITIVE COMPONENT -Cognition refers to the thoughts and beliefs one has about
an attitude object. This component signifies the knowledge and perceptions commonly referred
to as the beliefs about the features of an attitude object the person acquires from direct
experience as well as various source. While asking the respondents about the reasons to buy
Horlicks, many consumers chose multiple attributes of which taste, flavor and nutrients have an
equal amount of impact on the attitude formation towards their purchase. As per our survey, we
analyzed that 64.9% of the consumers (24 out of 42 responses) are of the opinion that all the
three attributes mentioned above are the primary reason for the consumption of Horlicks. (Fig.2)
In addition to this, when asked to the respondents to rate their satisfaction level of various
attributes (on a scale of 1 to 5), we found that 45.9% of the consumers are highly satisfied with
the taste, 43.2% are satisfied with the nutrients and also 52.78% are highly satisfied with the
flavors offered by Horlicks.(Fig.3, 5 and 4)
THE AFFECTIVE COMPONENT This component represents the customers emotions and
feelings regarding the attitude object. As per the survey, 13.5% of the consumers strongly agree
and 40.5% of the consumers agree that they personally connect themselves to the advertisements
of Horlicks whereas around 10.8% of the consumers do not think they are connected to the
advertisement. (Fig.10)
THE CONATIVE COMPONENT This component emphasizes with the likelihood or
tendency that a specific action will be undertaken by an individual regarding attitude object. It is
treated as an expression of consumer's intention to buy. Consumers generally make purchases for
positively evaluated goods and services.
The survey stated that 54.1% respondents are likely to buy Horlicks in every two months. In
addition to this, it has been observed that the Television advertisement affects and attracts
consumers the most towards the buying decision of Horlicks. Around 54.1% of respondents are
attracted by the television advertisement. It has also been observed that in case of nonInstitute of Management Technology, Hyderabad

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availability of Horlicks in a particular store, 51.4% consumers will move to another store in
search of it.(Fig. 15, 9 and 8)
Attitude towards object model -This model states that a consumers evaluation of a product is a
function of:
The extent to which the product has each of the given set of attributes
The importance of each of these attributes to the consumer.
According to the survey, taste, flavor and nutrients are the most important attributes of Horlicks.
On a scale of 1 to 5, 45.9% of the consumers are highly satisfied with the taste, 37.8% are highly
satisfied with the nutrients and also 52.78% are highly satisfied with the flavors offered by
Horlicks.(Fig.3, 4 and 5)
Attitude toward the ad model - The model states that the feelings consumers form when they
see and hear advertisements significantly impact their attitudes towards the brands advertised.
According to our survey, 40.3% of the respondents agree that they are attracted towards the
advertisements of Horlicks while making the purchase decisions, whereas, 16.2% respondents
strongly agree that the advertisements of Horlicks are attractive to them and also 32.4%
respondents are neutral towards these ads.(Fig. 11)
Also to focus on the personal connection with these advertisements, 40.5% of the respondents
have agreed that they personally connect themselves with the ads and on the contrary 10.8%
strongly disagree with the fact.(Fig. 10)
As far as the advertising medium is concerned 54.1% of the consumers are affected by the
Television, 37.8% by word-of-mouth, 5.4% by hoardings and 2.7% by newspaper.(Fig. 9)
CHANGING THE MOTIVATIONAL FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDES
THE UTILITARIAN FUNCTION - This function stems from the belief that consumers
attitudes reflect the utilities that brands provide. Sometimes, the product is demonstrated to the
consumers to make them aware of the utilitarian purpose which they might have ignored. This is
done to make them in favor of the product.
As per the survey conducted, 48.6% of the consumers think that Horlicks is much more effective
than any other health drinks, 16.2% of the consumers strongly agree to this fact and 27% are
neutral.(Fig. 13)
THE KNOWLEDGE FUNCTION - This function states that people form attitudes because
they have a strong need to understand the characters of the people, events, and objects they
encounter. Hence, many companies focus their advertisements on the consumers need to know
element.
The survey states that 41.7% of the respondents agree that the facts projected in the
advertisements motivate them to buy Horlicks and even 13.9% strongly agrees for the same.(Fig.
14)
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CONSUMER PERCEPTION
According to the survey conducted, the perception of a Horlicks consumer can be explained on
the basis of the following components:
Perceptual Selection
Perceptual Interpretation
1. Perceptual Selection
Expectations - Consumers generally see what they expect to see which is backed up by
familiarity, previous experience, or a set of expectations. In other words, customers tend
to perceive products and its attributes according to his/her own satisfaction.
According to the survey, 59.46% of the respondents agree to the fact that Horlicks is able to meet
their overall expectations, whereas, 35.14% strongly agrees for the same fact.(Fig. 13)
In another question asked to them that whether they would recommend Horlicks to other parents
or not, 94.6% of the respondents agreed that they would definitely recommend. (Fig. 17)
2. Perceptual Interpretation
First impressions As it is said that you will never get a second chance to make a first
impression as it tends to last long. Majority of the consumers of Horlicks have mostly had
a good impression of it on their mind. In our survey we asked respondents about their
first impression of Horlicks and we found that 33.3% of them consider it as healthy
which is followed by 25.0% of the respondents consider it as tasty. (Fig. 12)

Physical Appearance People tend to attribute the qualities they associate with certain
types of people to others who resemble them, whether or not they consciously recognize
the similarity. According to our survey we have found out that 54.0% of the respondents
agree that they personally connect themselves with the TV advertisements of Horlicks,
while 24.3% of the respondents were neutral about it. Therefore, majority of the
respondents associate themselves with the Horlicks advertisements. (Fig. 10)

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CONSUMER IMAGERY
Brand Image
The desired outcome of effective positioning is a distinct position (or image) that a brand
occupies in consumers mind. According to our survey we found out that 51.4% of the
respondents will move to some other store and look for Horlicks if they didnt find it in the
current store, while 32.4% of the respondents will postpone their decision to buy Horlicks if they
didnt find it in the current store. So majority of the respondents are brand loyal while purchasing
the health drink. Majority of the parents consider it as an integral part in their childs growth.
(Fig. 8)
Package Image
In addition to the products name, appearance, and features, packaging also conveys the brands
image. According to our survey, 51.3% respondents are satisfied with the packaging of the
Horlicks. Among this 21.6% of the respondents are very satisfied with the packaging, while
27.0% of the respondents are neutral towards the packaging of the product and believes that it
doesnt play a vital role in their purchase decision.Horlicks comes in an orange and blue bottle
with the image of barley, milk and 5 signs of growth which depicts health. So consumers can
associate Horlicks as a vital health drink for their children. (Fig. 7)
Perceived Price
It is a customers view of a value that he/she receives from the purchase. According to our survey
we found out that 43.2% are satisfied with the price of Horlicks. Among this 16.2% are very
satisfied with the price. On the contrary only 16.2% are dissatisfied, out of which only 2.75 are
very dissatisfied.(Fig. 6)
CONCLUSION
We can see that Horlicks is a strong pull brand and it has a very strong favorable consumer
attitude towards it. As a brand Horlicks try to leverage this positive attitude to increase their
market share and improve on their market positioning as the leader.

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ANNEXURE

Figure 1
Why do you buy
Horlicks?

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