Yes, I agree with the product manager and assistant manager that efforts were

made in
the right direction, but many factors affecting consumer behaviour were
ignored. The reasons being
the following:
1)
The company was using the product concept of marketing which is out dated
in today`s era
as now producers manufacture products that match consumer`s demand,
tastes and
preferences. Therefore, Mr Ash should have focused on the Marketing concept
to produce
and market products accordingly.
2)
The target audience was limited to the existing customers of the company.
Various new
markets must be explored to increase sales. Effective target marketing is
essential to
promote and position the product effectively in the market. For example:

Grooming products for men
Safe and chemical free cosmetics for babies

Organic and herbal cosmetics for women
3)
The market for cosmetics was not effectively segmented by Mr Ash. Cosmetics
market can
be segmented effectively by dividing the market into groups which are
homogenous within
and heterogeneous among themselves on the basis of their age, gender,
occupation etc. For
e.g. Market can be segmented into:

Working women, Housewife, Teenage girls

Daily consumers, Beauty Parlours, Film Industry
Rich people, Middle class people, Low income group
4)
While attention was paid to income and social factors many personal factors
such as Age,
Occupation, Lifestyle, personality of a consumer were neglected. For e.g.

Age: Working women, elderly women, Teenage girls all have different needs.

Income: The rich pay more attention to how they look than people with less
income.

Occupation: A Housewife has simple beauty needs as she stays at home most
of the time
while a working lady has more intensive beauty needs as she goes out of the
home every
day and has to look presentable in the office.

Personality: Traditional women and Modern women both have different needs.
Some prefer
expensive perfumes while some use natural fragrances like 'itra'.

Attitude: People have different attitude towards chemicals in beauty products
Some prefer it while some dislike it and prefer herbal and organic products.

Lifestyle: While urban people make use of deodorants and perfumes to smell
good, rural
population prefers use of soaps, sandalwood and itr to smell good.
5)
Keeping the income factors in mind no changes were made in product
quantities i.e. small
units of previous products. Keeping in mind the social factors no efforts were
made to use
opinion leaders like celebrities or doctors which would have been more
effective in
influencing sales than change in product packaging.
6)
Existing products were modernised while no attention was paid to new
product
development for new potential markets in cosmetics industries. For e.g.
Grooming products
for men
7)
No efforts were made to advertise the products to targeted audience or
reposition the
brand according to the changing customer taste and preferences. No offers,
discounts or
sales promotion activities were carried out by Mr Ash to boost sales.
Answer 2)
Other Factors that should have been considered are:
1)
Age - Babies, Teenagers, Middle aged people and elderly all have different
needs and
requirements related to cosmetics and beauty products. Therefore the target
audience could
have been segmented on the basis of age of consumers.
2)
Occupation - Working ladies v/s Housewife, Clerical staff v/s Top management,
Daily
consumer v/s consumers from Fashion Industry While a housewife, a normal
clerk and daily
consumer may have nominal needs and demand basic products, working
ladies, Directors
and CEO`s of a company, make-up artists, beauticians, film stars may have
specific needs and
high demand for beauty products. Products could have been designed and
developed for
one or few segments on the basis of their occupation.
3)
Standard of Living - Rural v/s Urban People, Low income group v/s High
income Group
While rural people and low income groups may make use of soaps and
traditional products,
urban people and the high income group are more inclined towards expensive
beauty
products. Different products could have been developed for both the
segments and different
pricing strategies could have been followed.
4)
Perception & Attitude - Chemicals v/s Organic/Herbal products While some
people perceive
beauty products negatively due to chemical ingredients in them some people
recommend
them. Market share for both chemicals and organic products could have been
analysed and
the more profitable market could have been targeted.
5)
Involvement - Normal consumers v/s Film Industry Consumer segments like
make-up artists,
beauticians, film starts will have a high involvement in buying beauty products
than normal
consumers. Therefore depending upon the target market packaging and
labelling strategies
should have been made.
6)
Culture - Due to different cultural norms regarding appearances laid down by
different
religions, men and women of a particular religion dress up and make use of
specific cosmetic
products. For e.g. Hindu, Jain and Bengali women use 'sindoor' and 'Bindi'
while Muslim
women do not, Sikh men don't use shaving products as they are not allowed
to cut hair,
Many Jain men and women use white tikka.
7)
Opinion Leaders - Celebrities and Doctors act as effective opinion leaders for
cosmetics and
beauty products which could have been used and their impact on the sales,
brand value and
price could have been analysed.
8)
Personality and Self-concept - Alpha Males v/s Passive males, Feminine v/s
Tomboyish girls
While alpha males and feminine girls may use and encourage use of beauty
products while
passive males and tomboyish girls may like to stay raw and refrain from using
beauty
products.