Perceptual Mapping of Beverages: Coffee and Tea

Perceptual Mapping of Beverages: Coffee and Tea

Perceptual Mapping of Beverages: Coffee and Tea Asim Ayaz, Karthikeyan B., Vignesh S., Sunny Teotia, Sunwinder Pal Singh

To survive the onslaught of cut throat competition of the market it has become imperative for the organizations to understand and acknowledge the preferences and perceptions of the consumer and adapt accordingly. Hot beverages form an integral part in daily consumption of Indian consumers which has been a critical element in the flourishing tea and coffee industry. This paper attempts to comprehend the consumption pattern as well as how certain varieties of tea and coffee are perceived by the consumers. The premise for the research was to reveal the difference in perceptions regarding specific varieties of tea and coffee as perceived by the consumers vis-a-vis as projected by the marketers. Basic statistical tools were used to derive the result for the empirical study and results were formulated based on that.

Keywords: Multidimensional Scaling, Perceptual Mapping, Tea and Coffee Perceptual Mapping

INTRODUCTION A marketing concept that encompasses

typically

customer impression, awareness and/or

by advertising, reviews, public

consciousness about a company or its

relations, social

offerings.

personal experiences and other channels.

Customer

perception

is

affected

media,

A. Ayaz, Karthikeyan B., Vignesh S., S. Teotia, S. P. Singh Consumer perception applies the concept

importantly the relative positioning of the

of sensory perception to marketing and

product relative to the ones present in the

advertising. Just as sensory perception

market. The empirical study attempts to

relates to how humans perceive and

provide an insight on the consumer

process sensory stimuli through their five

perception regarding selective varieties of

senses, consumer perception pertains to

tea and coffee. The study aims to quantify

how individuals form opinions about

the sensory perceptions of the consumers

companies and the merchandise they offer

by virtue of the survey conducted for the

through

specific

the

purchases

they

make.

purpose

and

then

provide

Merchants apply consumer perception

conclusions and inferences basis the

theory to determine how their customers

same.

perceive them. They also use consumer

Though, it is to be understood that the

perception theory to develop marketing

marketing messages only work out be the

and advertising strategies intended to

initiating point and any variation in the

retain current customers -- and attract new

actual experience of the product to that of

ones.

as was perceived by the consumers would

Perceptual

mapping is

a diagrammatic technique

used

lead to the non acceptance of the product.

by

asset marketers that attempts to visually display the perceptions of customers or potential

customers.

Typically

the

COFFEE AND TEA IN INDIA India

has

a

huge which

tea

and

coffee

provides

ample

position of a product, product line, brand,

consumption

or company is displayed relative to their

opportunity for the marketers to encash on

competition. Perceptual maps can have

the opportunity but the core issue with

any number of dimensions but the most

devising marketing strategy on these

common is two dimensions. Perceptual

products is that it solely is driven on

mapping has been used extensively in

sensory stimulation of the consumers.

marketing. This powerful technique is

Despite the fast growth of bottled juices

used in new product design, advertising,

and aerated drinks, consumption of tea

retail location, and many other marketing

and coffee is going up in India. Coffee

applications where the manager wants to

consumption is up by 6% in the last few

know the basic cognitive dimensions of

years while tea consumption has been

the product being evaluated and more

showing a 3% annual growth.

Perceptual Mapping of Beverages: Coffee and Tea Widespread popularity of carbonated

The

beverages

consumers find the product the more

supported

by

intense

promotional campaigns has not made a

more

appealing

or

attractive

likely that they are going to consume it.

dent in the consumption of tea and coffee. Mushrooming coffee bars and cafes have made coffee drinking fashionable in

METHODOLOGY

cities. Coffee consumption has been aided

The primary objective of the research

by increasing urbanization and greater

work is to analyze the perceptual mapping

disposable income. Admittedly, south

of various varieties of tea and coffee in

India as a region has the largest number of

India. The comparison procedure we use

coffee drinkers.

is practical and is based on usage of

Despite the availability of umpteen numbers of beverages, coffee continues to occupy an important place among all. Traditionally coffee is known as a south Indian drink, but growing demand for coffee in non-southern states over the past few years has started pushing up overall coffee consumption in the country. In India, tea is one of the most popular hot beverages. It is consumed daily in almost

multidimensional

scaling

which

represents the preferences of respondents spatially by means of the visual display. The process began with the defining the scope the research and zeroing on the target respondents, which was taken to be urban

and

metro

population.

The

dimensions basis which the respondents response were evaluated was defined and the survey was conducted.

all homes, offered to guests, consumed in

The target group of the research was

high amounts in domestic and official

focused

surroundings, and is made with the

population residing in urban and metros

addition of milk with or without spices. It

and demographically it is focused on

is also served with biscuits dipped in the

respondents belonging to 18-60 years of

tea and eaten before consuming the tea.

age. The data was collected by conducting

geographically

with

the

an online and personalized survey. The semantic differential rating scale was

meaning. The scale controls the tendency

used to evaluate the response. The

of some respondents, particularly those

semantic differential scale is a seven-point

with very positive or very negative

rating scale with end points associated

attitudes, to mark the right- or left-hand

with bipolar labels that have semantic

sides without reading the labels.

A. Ayaz, Karthikeyan B., Vignesh S., S. Teotia, S. P. Singh To maintain the consistency and diversity

taste. These two attributes were chosen

of the respondents, the survey was

basis

personally shared with the respondents

amongst the target group on which

belonging to different geographies of the

attributes they perceive to most influential

country, viz., Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi,

while

Kolkata, Bangalore etc. The questionnaire

accordingly the mentioned attributes were

evaluated

freezed.

the

preferences

of

the

various

choosing

informal

the

discussions

beverage

and

respondents on tea and coffee catering to the sensory perceptions. The varieties of coffee which were under the purview of

RESULTS

the study were Mocha, Frappe, Espresso,

The

Black Coffee and Cappuccino while the

perceptual map of different varieties of

varieties of tea under consideration were

coffee and tea as perceived by the

Lemon Tea, Ice Tea, Black Tea, White

respondents. The expected and observed

Tea and Iranian Tea.

rankings of these beverages based on

The evaluation of the beverages was primarily done on two scales aroma and

mentioned

graphs

show

the

aroma and sweetness/bitterness is also highlighted.

Perceptual Mapping of Beverages: Coffee and Tea

Comparision of actual and perceived - Coffee Sweetness

Aroma

S.no

Coffee

Actual

Perceived

Actual

Perceived

1

Mocha

2

4

3

5

2

Frappe

1

2

6

6

3

Espresso

5

5

2

4

4

Black Coffee

6

6

1

3

5

Latte

4

3

3

2

6

Cappuccino

3

1

3

1

A. Ayaz, Karthikeyan B., Vignesh S., S. Teotia, S. P. Singh

Comparision of actual and perceived - Tea Sweetness

Aroma

S.no

Tea

Actual

Perceived

Actual

Perceived

1

Lemon Tea

3

1

3

3

2

Ice tea

2

2

5

5

3

Black tea

5

5

1

1

4

White tea

1

3

4

2

5

Iranian Tea

4

4

2

4

MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

beverages, they were able to identify the

The results show that most of the varieties

difference which provides scope for

of coffee are available in the first quadrant

companies to develop new varieties which

(served hot and sweet) and the remaining

will have good demand.

ones are in the second quadrant (served hot and bitter). Another insight which has been derived is that these hot varieties of

FURTHER

RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

coffee are perceived differently by the people though they are not able to completely

appreciate

the

minor

differences. The huge gap in the cold coffee region can be captured after doing further relevant research.

Research has to be done to identify whether people visit coffee bars as a rendezvous or to actually enjoy the beverage. This analysis will help us know whether people will be interested in different varieties of coffee or tea.

There were not many varieties of tea as compared to coffee highlighting the fact that Indian youth prefer coffee over tea. More promotion is required (in similar

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