Impact of Branding on Social Class

advert of printing on Social phratryBRANDING AND ITS IMPACT ON MIDDLE CLASSIntroduction1.1 BRANDWhat is a commemorate? The Oxford Ameri arouse Dictionary (1980) contains the following definitionBrand (noun) a slyness mark, undecomposeds of a particular make a mark of identification make with a hot iron, the iron used for this a piece of burning or charred wood, (verb) to mark with a hot iron, or to label with a trade mark.A short history of commemorateThe word filth fill ins from the r atomic number 18 Norse shuffler, meaning to burn. In pre-historic times when the initial phases of trade was glide slope to existence, it was by burning that early man stamped ownership on his commodity, and with the breeding of advanced trade of goods buyers would use such marks (brands) as a heart of distinguishing between the goods being transacted. For example a farmer with a particularly good reputation for the quality of his animals would dress his brand overmuch sought after, whi le the brands of farmers with a lesser reputation were to be avoided or treated with caution. Thus the utility of brands as a guide to cream was established, a role that has remained unchanged to the award day.With rapid and gradual procession in the acknowledgement of brand for particular goods and commodity, commonwealth started vying for goods with a good reputation i.e. brand. With the elapse of time goods and brands stir changed plainly the radical nonion remains unchanged and it is ultimately brand that persuades a buyer to go for that product. And with the advanced and developed food grocery situation, brand has become an identity not lonesome(prenominal) for the company it even ups but also of its customers. Brand itself has developed into a time out and great deal vie for that segregated population associated to that brand. Brand straighta expressive style holds a very specific position and diadem brands have right away become a sense of caste amongst the top notch plenty. pack associated to a brand dont go for the product but rather to the brand itself. And brand has put up a platform to the flock specially the elite sectionalization flock as a way of differentiating themselves from others.But today with the pecuniary strength of the overall population brand has become a favorite among the shopping mall shape population as well. Middle furcate population that focused on reliable and unchangeable products in the past have started becoming brand conscious and the orbit factor for this dope be the realization in part of the companies in better go steadying of the mart scenario of the midway grade population and diversifying itself in catering to that segment of stack. And in parts of the customers they have started realizing in the conceit of quality over quantity. Brand established companies nowadays have started manufacturing goods and operate as per the demand of these heart and soul crystalize people with qua lity goods on reasonable bells. And this has played a major role in attracting to a greater extent than and to a greater extent people into its circle.But a major hindrance for these products and function has become b atomic number 18faced imitation and delicacy. From the time of establishment of brand, imitation has been anchor along time, so it fuck be justified that the practice of vicious imitation lurked close behind, a practice that remains common process this day, even in the presence of highly developed legal systems.1.2 social CLASSSocial partition refers to a root of people with convertible levels of wealth, square off, and status. Sociologists typically use three methods to determine social class. Humans have evolved living in a closed community and have olibanum been categorized according to their surrounding and their social identity and circle. Social class is that segmentation which varies the people according to this social status and financial strongh old. hence they can be differentiated as followsUpper class peopleUpper- optic class peopleMiddle-class people subvert-middle course of instruction PeopleLower Class PeopleThis segmentation according to their financial situation has been the magnetised core of attraction for marketers around the globe. Marketers focus on individual segment of people according to the product and services they serve. Some serve the niche market while many serve other general segments. But with financial increment of other class especially of the middle class, more companies answer the top class have started putting their focus on middle class people.1.3 ObjectivesGeneral ObjectivesTo find the importance of brand amongst general public.To key out the market scenario of brand products.Specific ObjectivesTo analyze the trend of brand influence among the middle class population.To study the stronghold of middle class people in the space of mark goods.1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYBrand has come a long w ay with the advancement of market and the people associated to the market. Brand nowadays cannot sustain itself only by serving the elite class so the focus has been made relying on the trend and demand of the market, and wherefore their focus has been more directed towards middle class people and their demands. another(prenominal) aspect of analyzing the situation can be the possibility of threat to the companies itself in trying to circularise such a volatile segment that are still expense conscious in some regards. And identifying the challenges for the brands itself and the consumers is also an in-chief(postnominal) part of this study.1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONSHas brand become so strong that it can easily influence the price sensitive population or is it the cheap imitation that has taken over their market?1.6 RESEARCH STATEMENTThe present middle class population feels more connected to the brand they are attached to than the traditional people/ family. With more and more brands being made available at reasonable price, this segment of population has become the magnetic pull for companies that carry its significant brand. So have the companies really succeeded in luring this class of people towards itself or is it just an unsung tale of what they are yet to achieve.1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDYAlthough this study has tried uncovering the areas related to brand and its impact on middle class population, total evaluation may be lagging, and the limitation for this has been mentioned belowAs the cause of lack of fitted time and required information, some aspect of this study may do injustice to the overall scenario of the market.Limited number of people of this segment allow be interviewed and the questionnaires filled accordingly.Some of the filled questionnaires may have enigmatical results so proper information may be absent.2. Literature inspectionBrand itself is not a product nor an identity put forward-moving by an individual or a company, rather it is an instinctive intuitive feeling that individual carries or so for a product or services. Trust and bowel feeling on any product is a brand. And this trust comes from merging and beating customers expectation, which comes from brand values as hurt premiumCustomer optencesReplacement costStock Price and futurity EarningsAnd the main purpose of branding is to get more people to buy more stuff for more years at a higher price. (Brand Gap A VISUAL PRESENTATION BY MARTY NEUMEIER)And brands that catered to the top class people has successfully lured in more and more middle class population into its circle through this trust it has created amongst the total population. The cent pinching population that thrives on price subsidized products has started minimizing their quantitative expenses to focus more on brands they get attracted to.Different types of companies have different concepts of exactly what it means to be middle class. Using income level as the defining bill for differe ntiation of class is reasonable. But simply judging a group by income is far from sufficient for marketers of consumer goods. Such marketers trying to reach the middle class have to know more than their salaries. They must know what makes middle class consumers tick.Income plays a powerful role in virtually purchase decisions for any consumer segment, but other elements play a role that is sometimes greater than income. When products are relatively inexpensive, income has little influence on a consumers decision making process. Deciding to buy chocolate, for example, depends significantly more on consumers emotion and shopping experiencea stores ambience, for examplethan it does on how much money they make. /Using income as the only indicator of spending habits allows much information to slip through the cracks. In addition, income is a difficult variable to act upon, in part because the selective information on income can be either unavailable or undependable in most cases. Thus , companies must find meaningful alternatives to predict what consumers can afford and what they are willing to pay for certain goods and services.Zeithaml (1982, 1988) suggests in most purchasing decision customers objective is to Get the best for the money. This represents the combination of price and value orientation which is the most important castation for most of the consumers. town crier and Ross (1997) maintains that the greater the perceived value, the greater that the customers will be interested in purchasing. They (Crier Ross) explained the term value orientation saying Consumer trends to select the lowest price alternatives when the options in the choice set are perceived to have the identical level of benefit. Consumers are becoming more price conscious does not mean that they unendingly go for the lowest price, rather they will render for affordable price range among their acceptable quality range.Maccilil, (1987), in his study told about the total business and household consumer market that both classes consider price, quality, convenient location as the most powerful influential factors in selecting or get consumer goods. In the same time Winklin and Duery (1987) conducted a confusable study focusing on the two groups of consumers having high income and low income in USA proved the influential forces earlier described by Maccilil.In the theory of marketing and buyer look, the concept of social class is considered the grassroots determinant of consumption behavior. In fact, among behavioral scientists, there was a consensus that market behavior of individuals is closely related to their social class. In this context, social class was often considered more important than income in affecting buying behavior (Slocum and Mathews, 1970).Though these mentioned research pave a road map as to how brand influence the market of middle class people and how brand has come a long way from being a niche to being available for all in the developed n ation the basic format or the fundamentals remains the same even for create nation like ours. And it can be concluded that of the all class of people, middle class population has become the center target for the companies to penetrate and establish itself.2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKThe dependent and independent variables are as followsDependent variablesSales VolumeCustomer LoyaltyIndependent Variablesavailableness of products at affordable pricesFinancial StrongholdEnvironmentSocial Up gradation3. Research Methodology3.1 Research DesignThis research can be categorized as descriptive and observational study. This can be explained on the fact that it is based on what the trend persists on the market place and also includes facts and findings based on survey being carried out.3.2 universe of discourse/ SamplingProvided the fact of more brand conscious population is on the rise, this report is based only on exceptional sampling presumptuousness the limited time period and resources. Not much study has been conducted on this topic hence it is limited to certain aspect and does not represent the total scenario of the market.3.3 Nature of dataThe source of data is categorized on two frontsPrimary SourceInterviewQuestionnaireSecondary SourceE-Books and magazines3.4 data collection techniqueInterviewInterview is the best and the most powerful method of collecting data, because you get a firsthand knowledge about the present market scenario and the impact of what youre searching for your study. This helps the interviewers gets to observe the think market and its population and extract the immediate knowledge of the market.QuestionnaireQuestionnaire helps the researcher to find exactly what is to be found and analyzed. A perfectly shaped set of questions gives the intended findings. It also helps to get quick results on a limited time frame.3.5 Expected FindingsThrough this research I expect to understand the real market scenario of the branded products and its imp act on the middle class population their reaction towards branded goods and services and their responsiveness towards the strategies played by the companies.Referenceshttp//www.chinabusinessreview.com/understanding-chinas-middle-class/http//www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2921577/Middle-class-travellers-demanding-300MILLION- lifts-holiday-homes-luxury-self-catering-trend-takes-hold.htmlThe Oxford American Dictionary (1980)Zeithaml (1982, 1988)Crier and Ross (1997)Maccilil (1987)Winklin and Duery (1987)Slocum and Mathew (1970)Gantt chart / Work objectBudgetS.NParticularsBudget HeadAmount1.Travelling expensesTravelling and expenses7002.letter paperMiscellaneous5003. markering of questionnaires, proposal and final reportPrint and publishing200Total1400QuestionnaireDescribe what brand means to you?..In which social class do you put yourself in?Upper ClassUpper Middle ClassMiddle ClassLower ClassDefine your annual income in the scale (in thousand)If others specifyWhat do you converge in a product?PriceQualityBrand solely of the aboveScale your reliance on brand?1086420Do you always purchase branded products?YesNoWhy do you prefer branded products?To maintain social statusBrand consciousnessPeer wardrobeQualityWhat do you think influences people to buy a branded product?QualityProduct AvailabilityCompetitive Price not bad(predicate) value and servicesDo you think branded products marketed for upper class people is as same as the products for the middle class people?YesNoDo you think brand has really attracted the middle class people of our market scenario?Strongly AgreeAgreeNeutral take issueStrongly dissentWhen it comes to consumable goods do you think brand for a product has a significance?YesNoDo you consider yourself a price sensitive costumer?YesNoDo you bargain when buying a branded product or do you settle at the set premium price?YesNoDo you actually prefer brand or does cheap imitation satisfy you?Brand showy imitation is preferableBrand helps middle class people to upgrade their social status?Strongly AgreeAgreeNeutral take issueStrongly DisagreeIf you consider yourself a brand conscious person, has brand upgraded your status?YesNoDo you agree the price tag fit(p) is justifiable for the branded products?Strongly agreeAgreeNeutralDisagreeStrongly Disagree