Impact of Social Media Marketing On Consumer Buying Behavior

An Internship Report on
Impact of Social Media Marketing

On
Consumer Buying Behavior: A Case on Paint Products of
Bangladesh
Prepared for
Department of Marketing, University of Dhaka
Supervised By
Dr. Abureza Mohammad Muzareba
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka.
Prepared By
A. Mubdiul Alam Hriday
BBA 21th Batch
ID: 63, Sec: A
University of Dhaka
Date of Submission: 3rd April, 2018

Letter of Transmittal
3rd April, 2018

Dr. Abureza Mohammad Muzareba
Assistant Professor
University of Dhaka
Subject: Submission of the internship report on “Impact of Social Media Marketing On

Consumer Buying Behavior: A Case on Paint Products of Bangladesh”.
Dear Sir,
It is a great honor and pleasure for me to submit my internship paper on “Impact of Social Media
Marketing on Consumer Buying Behavior: A case on paint products of Bangladesh” which is
prepared as partial fulfillment of BBA program of Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business
Studies, University of Dhaka.
This report has given me a good opportunity to learn and apply the theoretical knowledge, sharpen
my ideas, and communication skills. Moreover, it has made me aware about the problems and
immense possibilities of the overall paint industry. I have tried my best to follow your instruction
to collect possible information about this topic and make it correct, flawless and authentic.
I would like to convey my special gratitude to you for patronizing my effort and for giving me
proper guidance and valuable advice. Thanking you and looking forward to receiving cordial
approval of my submission.
Sincerely yours,
………………………….
A. Mubdiul Alam Hriday
ID: 63, Sec: A, Batch: 21st
University of Dhaka
Acknowledgment
Firstly, I would like to convey my gratefulness to Almighty Allah who has enabled me to complete
my report precisely.
I express my gratitude to my honorable Supervisor Dr. Abureza Mohammad Muzareba, Assistant
Professor, Department of Marketing, University of Dhaka for his guidance and co-operation which
has helped me greatly to compile this report. I will remember his contribution with lots of respect
throughout my entire life. From time to time he helped me a lot with his authentic knowledge and
research resources. He guided me on how to make a research paper flawlessly and his instructions
supported me so much.
Then I convey my thanks to Mohammad Aman Ullah Aman, Product Group Manager at ACI
Formulations Limited for his kindness who actually gave me the opportunity to work in such a
reputed company at the reverential department. Here I have learned many things about research
and planning through my internship experience. He also shared market insight which helped me
in preparing this report.
Finally, I would like to thank all the honorable teachers of Department of Marketing, University
of Dhaka. I think it is the outcome of their teaching, which helped me to think about market
research to study, and want to thank my fellow interns for their assistance.
Executive Summary
The Paint Industry of Bangladesh is expanding at a tremendous pace, with a growth rate of close
to 12% each year, the industry is growing more than any other. Although the current size of the
industry does not come close to any of the neighboring countries, the growth opportunity is
immense.
The market is primarily dominated by 2 multinational companies (Berger and Asian Paints) and a
national company (Roxy Paints), with a combined market share of almost 80%, with Berger alone
having 58% of the market share. The huge success of the multinational companies is drawing more
and more foreign companies to enter the Bangladesh Paint Market.
The following report will help the company to assess the effectiveness of social media marketing,
which not only would enable the company to explore new ways to attract more consumers, but
also would be a sound investment opportunity.
Through this research, it has been explored that people are not intended to buy paint products by
using social media. But the influencers have a kind of interest to follow up social media
commercials. Through these advertisements, a particular consumer can have a short insight about
the product and overall engagement of other customers. However, in these days, people are
observing social media advertisements and other tools to know better about a paint product and its
market share.
During the study, it was tried to measure how customers see social media workings and how they
choose to buy a paint brand. Although there are some limitations, still people of all ages are
engaging in social media contents. So, there is an opportunity to attract customers through social
media tools.
Contents
Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Statement of Problem ........................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Background of the report: ................................................................................................. 1
1.3 Objective of the Study ...................................................................................................... 2
1.4 Scope of the Report ........................................................................................................... 2
1.5 Future Areas of Study ....................................................................................................... 2
Chapter 2 ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Literature Review........................................................................................................................ 3
2.1 A Brief on Consumer Behavior ........................................................................................ 3
2.2 Paint Buying Process ........................................................................................................ 4
2.3 Effectiveness of Social Media: ......................................................................................... 5
2.4 Use of Social Media Contents........................................................................................... 6
2.5 Critical View of Social Media: ......................................................................................... 7
Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................... 8
3.1 Consumer Buying Behavior:............................................................................................. 8
3.2 SMM: ................................................................................................................................ 8
3.3 Facebook: .......................................................................................................................... 9
3.4 Instagram......................................................................................................................... 10
3.5 Twitter ............................................................................................................................. 10
3.6 LinkedIn .......................................................................................................................... 11
3.7 Google+ .......................................................................................................................... 11
3.8 Research Model .............................................................................................................. 11

Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................... 14
Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 14
4.1 Respondent Profile .......................................................................................................... 14
4.2 Sampling Design & Size ................................................................................................. 14
4.3 Methods of Collecting Data ............................................................................................ 14
4.4 Sources of Data ............................................................................................................... 15
4.5 Limitations of the study .................................................................................................. 15
Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Profile of ACI Limited .............................................................................................................. 16
5.1 Historical Background of ACI Limited .......................................................................... 16
5.2 Mission............................................................................................................................ 16
5.3 Vision .............................................................................................................................. 16
5.4 Values ............................................................................................................................. 17
5.5 Organizational Structure ................................................................................................. 18
5.6 Business Units ................................................................................................................. 19
5.7 Subsidiaries ..................................................................................................................... 19
5.8 Joint Ventures ................................................................................................................. 20
5.9 Support Functions ........................................................................................................... 20
5.10 A brief on AkzoNobel ................................................................................................... 21
5.11 ACI Consumer Brands – Paint Division ....................................................................... 22
Chapter 6 ....................................................................................................................................... 23
Industry Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 23
6.1 Definition of Paint........................................................................................................... 23
6.2 Contents of Paint ............................................................................................................. 23
6.3 Types of Paints ................................................................................................................ 24

6.4 Parameters to Categorize Paint ....................................................................................... 24
6.5 Bangladesh Decorative Paint Market Snapshot .............................................................. 25
6.6 Category Wise Market Share of the Industry ................................................................. 26
6.7 Major Players in the Industry.......................................................................................... 27
6.8 Brand Recognition .......................................................................................................... 28
6.9 Influence Groups ............................................................................................................. 28
6.10 Buying Pattern .............................................................................................................. 29
6.11 ACI Paint Division Product Portfolio ........................................................................... 30
• Exterior Emulsion: ......................................................................................................... 30
• Interior Emulsion: .......................................................................................................... 30
• Duwel Acrylic Distemper............................................................................................... 30
• Sealer: ............................................................................................................................. 30
• Duwel Wall Putty ........................................................................................................... 30
• Enamel............................................................................................................................ 30
Chapter-7....................................................................................................................................... 31
Analysis of findings .................................................................................................................. 31
7.1 Sample description: individual consumers ..................................................................... 31
7.2 Paint consumption and consumer buying behavior ........................................................ 33
Chapter 8 ....................................................................................................................................... 41
Conclusion & Recommendation ............................................................................................... 41
8.1 Conclusion: ..................................................................................................................... 41
8.2 Recommendations: .......................................................................................................... 41
Chapter 9 ....................................................................................................................................... 42
Appendix ................................................................................................................................... 42
9.1 Questionnaire .................................................................................................................. 42

9.2 List of Dealers ................................................................................................................. 45
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 47
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Statement of Problem

We are standing on the 21st century which is an era of 4th generation industrial revolution highly
grounded on artificial intelligence and social media, a part of digital media. In today’s world, after
waking up from sleep, people point their eyes toward Facebook.
Marketers of today’s business world tend to attract customers mostly through social media. And
Facebook is the most widely used social media. 1.52 billion people are daily actively using
Facebook. 2.32 billion monthly active users on Facebook and this rate are increasing day by day.
In Bangladesh, over 93.34 million people are using Facebook and more than 2.17 million people
are using YouTube. Along with this statistic, user and using rate are also rising up. So, Bangladesh
as long as other Asian countries are becoming suitable for foreign companies to extend their
business activities. That’s why marketers are trying to raise awareness about their products through
social media marketing platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
This report has been taken on hand to study the buyer behavior in the paints industry, particularly
on the Dulux paint. Although the main objective of paint products is to provide protection, these
are also used by the customers for decorative reasons as well. So, “Understanding the pattern of
the buyers’ purchase decision in this regard is essential for the companies to develop their
products as well as how social media marketing activities influence their purchase decisions
and thus provide better value to the customers.”
1.2 Background of the report:

As a part of graduation, to earn the practical knowledge of the work field as well as to understand
the organization’s culture, norms, behaviors, and working practices, BBA students have to do an
‘Internship’. The internship is a period of work experience offered by an employer to give the
students and graduates exposure to the working environment, often within a specific industry,
which relates to their field of study.
As a BBA student, to complete all the degree requirements I got an opportunity to work with
Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) as an intern. I was assigned to the ACI Formulations
Limited, Paint division, where I assisted the product group manager. As a part of my assigned
works, I got the opportunity to work with Dulux, paint brand of ACI Formulations Limited. I
prepared this report on the topic of Assessing the impact of social media marketing on consumer
buying behavior. This report has been prepared under the supervision of Dr. Abureza Mohammad
Muzareba, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, University of Dhaka.
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1.3 Objective of the Study
Broad Objective:
To explore how social media marketing activities, impact on consumer buying behavior.
Specific Objectives:
✓ To understand the primary factors considered by the end users in buying paint products.
✓ To explore the role of social media marketing tools in buying paints.
✓ To find out end-users’ perception about paint brand, paint category and their preference in the
selection process.
✓ To measure the performance of social media marketing functions of houseowners’ paint
buying decision.
1.4 Scope of the Report

This report focuses on the current market dynamism, competitive intensity of the sector, identifies
opportunities and challenges and tries to evaluate the growth of this promising sector. Based on
the collected data, a task was assigned to understand the impact of social media marketing and dig
up new ways to attract more and new customers.
1.5 Future Areas of Study

The issues faced while preparing this report have included in future areas of study:
• Sufficient records and publications and updated information sometimes were not readily
available.
• Several dealers and their personnel were not eager to openly talk about their business
methods.
• People do not know much about this brand as there is no online presence.
• Product quality is good but local painters do not have the proper knowledge about mixing
contents and standards.
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
2.1 A Brief on Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior has been an important research topic in this era. A review of existing
theoretical background indicates shift from rational to psychological and social decision factors.
However, even the recent models have not managed to embrace all the knowledge in the field of
consumer behavior: sub conscious processes, the role of needs, goals and emotions (Bargh, 2002).
Apart from leaving out these important findings, the existing literature also lacks studies of
decision that consumers are most concerned about, termed "big" or " Strategic decisions" (Bazed
- man , 2001 , Gronhaug, Kleppe and Aukedal, 1987) Perner (2008) stated that "Consumer
behavior involves the study of the processes which individuals, groups, or organizations perform
to acquire products, services, experiences or ideas to satisfy their needs and wants and how these
processes have impacted the consumer and society". “The buying behavior is considered a very
complex phenomenon because it composes of a wide range of prior and after purchase activities"
(Hansen, 2004). The buying process consists of five stages. Starting from recognizing a problem
or in other words, recognizing need and wants that must be satisfied, the consumer then starts to
search for information related to that problem or need. After evaluating alternatives, the consumer
makes the decision to purchase the most suitable alternative and in the final stage consumer goes
for after purchasing, when the consumer evaluates the choice being made.
There four distinctive classes of consumer buying behavior identified by literature. These classes
can be observed through the frequency of occurrence, emotional involvement, decision making
complexity and risk. These types are known to be: programmed behavior, limited decision-making
buying behaviors, extensive decision- making buying behavior and impulsive buying (Arnould,
2002).
Limited decision-making buying behavior: This involves reasonable level decision — making
and relatively low amount of information search in order to generate a purchase. An example of
this type can be the purchase of clothes. When someone can easily get information about the
product and its quality and spend short time in selecting the desired product. (East, 1997)
The extensive decision-making buying behavior: This is identified as being the opposing type to
the limit decision - making buying behavior (Fornel, 1996). In this process, the consumer would
spend a relatively longer share of time in searching information and would take longer time to
make a decision regarding this purchase because this process is usually adopted when purchasing
infrequent expensive product that takes a large share of the consumer's income and involves higher
psychological risk (Peter and Olson, 2007).
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Impulsive buying: Here the decision made unconsciously and induced by some external stimulus
that would make a specific product to appear attractive and irresistible to the consumer (Wells and
Prensky, 1997). It can be seen in the four listed behavior above, that the fundamental driving force
behind these behaviors is the consumers’ emotion. It is the primary determinant of buying behavior
that is highly influenced by some external and internal factors (Chaudhuri, 2006). Although
emotion is a subjective issue that differs according to individual attributes and situational contexts,
it is still regarded as the most elemental determinant of planned and unplanned buying behavior
(Havlena and Holbrook, 1986). The unplanned behavior matches greatly the impulsive buying
which is driven by emotional forces. (Laras and Steenkamo, 2005).
Lawan and Zanna (2013) mentioned two types of factors like internal factors and external factors
that affect consumer choice. Internal factors are consumer’s own judgment, test, preference,
beliefs, lifestyle, personality, buying capacity etc. Whereas external factors are society’s culture
such as norms, convention, customs religion, festivity, class, lifestyle and another subculture
influence etc.
As a behavioral phenomenon, consumers follow different buying steps for buying different types
products. They do not pass same steps all the time for buying all types of products when they need.
Because of types and natures, usage of products, buying frequency, information source, financial
involvement and other factors of consideration like demographical factors, economic factors,
marketing mix factors and Situational factors. Consumer behavior varies for product while taking
the ultimate buying decision (Maria-Cristiana MUNTHIU, 2009). Kotler & Armstrong (2008)
mentioned four types of buying behavior such as Complex buying behavior, Dissonance-reducing
buying behavior, Habitual buying behavior and Variety-seeking buying behavior. While buying
paint, consumer shows a complex buying behavior while going for purchase.
2.2 Paint Buying Process

The customers for decorative paints exhibit dissonance buying behavior (Kochukalam, C.A.,
Mathews, S., 2016) since the product (paint) is a semi-technical and infrequently purchased nature,
consumer can keep very limited knowledge about paints. So, when they want to have their house
painted, they go to experts who keep knowledge about paint and painting technology for taking
advice from them. Architects, engineers, paint dealers, painters and company representative are
the experts in this industry. It was explored by Kochukalam, C.A., Mathews, S., (2016) consumers
depend on painters and dealers as they are technically incompetent to understand the technicalities
related to paints and painting. According to Kochukalam, C.A., Joseph, J., (2016), the influencers
play their part at different levels in differing quantum where the customers are drifted through their
perception towards a brand influencing a shift from their actual requirements to a modified
requirement which ultimately drags down the choice tunnel for the customer. Kochukalam, C.A.,
Joseph, J., (2016) have given an excellent buying model as follows:
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Figure 2.2.1: Paint buying model (Kochukalam, C.A., Joseph, J., 2016)
Kochukalam, C.A., Mathews, S. (2016) explored information related to the perception of the
dealers on the painter’s influence on the consumer decision making for the purchase of decorative
paints. They revealed that the painters are consulted by paint customers before making a purchase
and the dealers perceive that painters are not the ultimate influencer on the decision to purchase
paints. Unlike other products paints does not extend its brand identity after its useful application
hence the disconnect experience is more once the paint is applied (Kochukalam, C.A., Joseph, J.,
2016) which leads to the customers willingness to associate with the brand until the next
requirement arises which will generally be after five or more years. While the quality is of less
concern for painters, an average quality at an average price will be recommended but which
provides high incentives and commission to the painters. According to Kanji Gopal K., (2007),
after application, no one can judge about the Brand of paint used. Due to this reason, consumers
don’t insist too much for specific Brand. This situation gives opportunity to dealers/ Painters to
recommend a particular brand where they get maximum profit. In this consequence, this study has
tried to explore the influence of social media marketing, especially to know whether the consumers
or the influencers observe social media marketing commercials to buy paint products.
2.3 Effectiveness of Social Media:

With the advances in the internet and the emergence of Web 2.0, the interconnectivity between
individuals has expanded on the internet. This development enables customers and businesses to
collaborate on the internet (Füller et al. 2009). This has emerged through social media, which
enable consumers to generate content and have social interactions online via social platforms.
There are a number of social platforms that have facilitated information sharing. For instance,
Facebook, an online medium, is one of the most popular platforms and has the facility for users to
collaborate on information sharing (Chen et al. 2011a). Other platforms with the ability to generate
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reviews and ratings, such as Instagram, enable customers to review and rate products. In addition
to that, members of these platforms are cooperatively interdependent (Chris et al. 2008). By using
social media, marketers can create content and offer valuable advice to others (Füller et al. 2009).
This new development has seen online communities and an electronic network of individuals
emerge on social platforms where members share information globally and quickly (Molly
McLure & Samer 2005). With the rise in social networks, a new era of content creation has
emerged, where individuals can easily share experiences and information with other users (Chen
et al. 2011a). The next generation of online businesses will be based on social media contents – a
good tool for new customer attraction (Bagozzi & Dholakia 2002; Ridings & Gefen 2004). Online
communities offer an opportunity to organizations to have a better customer relationship
management system (Ridings & Gefen 2004), for instance, giving rise to a new development where
businesses can improve performance. Moreover, on those platforms where consumers have social
interaction, members can become familiar with one another, providing a possible source of trust
(Lu et al. 2010). This can greatly influence users’ intention to buy (Gefen 2002). Consequently, it
is important for companies to have a business model adapted to social commerce (Lorenzo et al.
2007; Liang & Turban 2011). Social commerce is a new stream in e-commerce, which encourages
the social interaction of consumers through social media (Hajli 2013). Social media provide
opportunities for businesses to become more attractive universally (Chen et al. 2011b). Although
social commerce and social media are key phenomena in e-commerce and the marketing literature,
few studies, if any, have examined the concepts of trust and users’ intentional behavior.
2.4 Use of Social Media Contents

Today a large number of social media platforms have been developed that smooth the progress of
sharing information and generation of content in an online context (Chen et al. 2011a). There are
a number of social mediums that facilitate these activities, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter,
Instagram, LinkedIn, Messenger etc. Individuals apply different social media tools, such as online
forums and communities, recommendations, ratings and reviews, to interact with other users
online. In fact, individuals are attracted online to exchange information and receive social support
(Ridings & Gefen 2004). Reviews are one of the key areas that have emerged from social media.
Customer reviews are widely available for products and services, generating great value for both
consumers and companies (Nambisan 2002). In fact, consumers are actively encouraged by firms
to rate and review products and services online (Bronner & de Hoog 2010). These activities
produce electronic word of mouth. This word of mouth, produced through social media, helps
consumers in their purchasing decisions (Pan & Chiou 2011). Research shows that customer
reviews have grown quickly on the internet (Chris et al. 2008). Facebook business pages and
related groups, blogs are some good examples of using customer reviews, with almost 10 million
available (Do-Hyung et al. 2007). Online communities and forums are other examples of social
media. Online communities are now a place to share information and gain knowledge about
products and services (Chen et al. 2011a). Recommendations are another tool widely used by
potential customers. Research has shown that potential consumers are more interested in other
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users’ recommendations rather than merely vendor-generated product information (Ridings &
Gefen 2004). Hence, such interactions, provided through social media, help to increase the level
of trust and reduce perceived risk.
2.5 Critical View of Social Media:

Virtual worlds as electronic environments are another important development of Web 2.0, a new
way of generating and sharing information on the internet (Mueller et al. 2011). They facilitate
human interactions for social and commercial purposes. One of the main characteristics of virtual
worlds is learning by doing, which enables users to learn and practice in the virtual space (Mueller
et al. 2011). However, with the widespread use of social media where individuals can easily post
information and accounts of their experiences, the quality of content posted by anonymous users
has become a challenge (Chen et al. 2011a). The anonymity of some users is a concern in deciding
on the quality of information provided and the content shared by consumers (Chen et al. 2011a).
Towards these ends, when individuals join online communities and participate in a group, they
seek social support and friendship in the community (Ridings & Gefen 2004). The perceived care,
love and support of members of a group is defined as social support (Cobb 1976). Research shows
that online communities and SNSs generate both informational and emotional support (Ballantine
& Stephenson 2011). Emotional and informational support are two dimensions of social support
in an online context (Liang et al. 2011). Twitter is a good example, where individuals provide
social support for other users (Gruzd et al. 2011). It may also attract many individuals to come
online to search for information through these social media.
Moreover, the study of social media is useful to see how individuals form their social interactions
on the internet (Gruzd et al. 2011). These social interactions have been facilitated by social media
such as online forums, communities, ratings, reviews and recommendations, all of which produce
online social support. These are likely to increase the trust in e-commerce for vendors and buyers
alike.
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Chapter 3
Theoretical Framework
There are many formal definitions of marketing and consumer buying behavior. It is highlighted
that marketing is mainly based on concentration of customer as the most important chain in the
link to an organization. (Kotler, 1999.) Marketing is a social and managerial process by which
individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products
and value with others. (Kotler, 2003.)
An organization and a consumer can be defined as a system, where both elements have a significant
influence on each other. Therefore, the company has to create an effective communication between
it and a customer. Digital marketing is included to the marketing communication mix. It thus is
relevant to look at the marketing communication mix and integrated marketing communication
more closely.
3.1 Consumer Buying Behavior:

The concept of consumer buying behavior is very wide and it is unpredictable and unexpected
within different types of each and every individual mindset and also connected with social media
marketing tools. Consumer behavior means the study of individuals, groups or organizations about
their process of selecting, securing, using and disposing the products, services, experiences or ideas
to satisfy needs and wants and the impact of these processes on the consumer and the society.
It is well accepted by the marketers that attitudes, preferences, intentions, and decisions which are
shown by the consumer while purchasing a product or service is called consumer buying behavior.
Dawson et al (2006) defined consumer buying behavior as a set of attitudes that characterized the
patterns of consumer’s choice.
3.2 SMM:
Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the most influencing driver in marketing and formation of brand
image nowadays. A form of Internet marketing utilizing social networking sites as marketing tools,
thereby gaining traffic, brand exposure, and interaction with customers through social media.
(Dodson, 2016.)
Social media is becoming more and more popular, attracting wider audience to connect and stay
in touch with friends or interact with brands and businesses. Social media is the umbrella term for
web-based software and services that allow users to come together online and exchange, discuss,
communicate and participate in any form of social interaction. Customers are already talking to
each other online; they are talking about industry, competition, company, brand and other topics
that are relevant to what marketers do. (Ryan, 2014.) Therefore, most of the companies today
involve SMM in their marketing strategy as it is an effective way of developing a brand image as
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a progressive organization. In fact, a 2013 CMI/Marketing Profs Study found that 93% of B2B
marketers now use social media for content marketing. (Kaufman, 2015.)
SMM comes in three media types which help companies to determine in which way they want to
promote its business and find the channels for posting content.
➢ Earned Media
This type of media implies free publicity which is generated by the recognition from the customers
as a response to the content (for example, comments, likes and shares for the posts on social media
channels as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.).
➢ Owned Media
Owned media is content created by a brand on its own platform. It includes such online examples
as company’s website or blog and company-owned pages or accounts in online social networks.
➢ Paid Media
In this media activity, a company has to pay for an advertisement, in order to reach wider audience,
increase brand’s awareness, drive traffic to company’s website and generate new prospects via
display/banner advertising, search advertising (e.g. Google AdWords) or social network
advertising (e.g. Facebook or Instagram ads).
Social media comes in all shapes, however, there are the most popular online platforms like
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, which every company should consider for
usage. Social network sites are popular because they offer users the ability to find and connect
with people they already know in novel, convenient ways; to rekindle old acquaintances, and
reinforce new ones. (Ryan, 2014.)
3.3 Facebook:
Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is an online social network service where users
can create profiles, upload photos, and video, send messages and keep in touch with family,
friends, and colleagues. (Sponder, 2018.) Facebook is one of the most effective platforms to
interact with people, and it became of the strongest tools of digital marketing since Facebook has
created a function of creating a business page for the companies. Facebook is currently the second
most popular site on the Internet, behind only Google, according to its Alexa Traffic Rank. (Ryan,
2014.)
There are couple of features which allow Facebook to stay on the good position of effective online
platforms for marketing or selling purposes. Firstly, it is optimized for search engines if a company
uses Business Account (SEO is also a digital marketing tool, which will be described more
precisely in the next subchapter), so it puts the page in the public realm.
Secondly, Facebook Business Account provides an information of analytics which include
genders, ages, location of the audience and how often it interacts with certain posts, which is a
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useful data from business perspective. A company can better understand its target market, its
preferences and find out which content better suits the customers for free.
Facebook Page Promotion is a paid media type which allows companies to simply advertise its
Facebook Page to increase awareness. It also provides an opportunity to optionally choose
company’s target audience, highlight specific interests, location and gender, in order to promote
post with the company’s desired preferences of reached audience. After the promotion has ended,
Facebook Tools allow to see how often their interactions with the post and track page’s
performance have been.
3.4 Instagram
Instagram is a mobile photo-sharing app and social network created in 2010. It provides easy
upload service, which allows instant feedback from the community of users. (Sponder, 2018.)
Instagram today is not just a popular online platform for average user to showcase the life pictures,
but it is one of the most effective and attractive ways for businesses to display products for these
users online or in-store purchases. Instagram is getting its popularity fast and more and more
people are using the platform on a daily basis.
The features like use of multiple hashtags allows users to find relevant products or services in an
easy way and for businesses it is an effective way for being searched a lot, so it is a smart tool to
raise company’s brand awareness and build customer loyalty.
3.5 Twitter
Twitter is an online microblogging service that allows users to post and read short messages called
“tweets”. Microblogging is a miniature version of blogging that allows users to exchange and
publish brief messages, including text, images, or links to other websites. (Sponder, 2018.) Twitter
is not as popular as Facebook or Instagram for conducting any marketing campaigns, however, it
is an efficient way to be in touch with customers and users as it creates a strong customer loyalty.
It is an easy platform to create a channel between a company and a customer to inform about any
updates or provide some news and facts about the business as it increases an interest of customers
towards business as a brand.
Twitter is continuing to get its popularity. It has over 280 million active users around the world –
80% of whom are logging on via their smartphones. (Dodson, 2016.) Twitter can offer an
immediate and surprisingly accurate barometer of public opinion on the web. (Ryan, 2014.)
Twitter is an effective platform for short announcements for business accounts (tweets are limited
to 140 characters) where a tweet can be connected to a link, and in Twitter News Feed followers
can easily access company’s website by catching description. Twitter also allows to use images
and hashtags which increases company’s chances to be noticed by wider audience and attract new
followers.
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3.6 LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals to network with each other and is also used
as a recruiting tool for many large companies. (Sponder, 2018.) LinkedIn is a completely different
online platform than those that were listed before. This is an online platform, created for
establishing professional network. It is usually not used in direct marketing, but it is an effective
channel to create important connections for the company, post its news and run out an
advertisement.
LinkedIn humanizes your brand, and by showing off the individual skilled workers involved in its
day-to-day running, it helps people to get to know you better. (Dodson, 2016.) Therefore, LinkedIn
can provide company’s team information, acquaint users with it inside operations and help to
create a better understanding of the brand. LinkedIn is usually used by users to find a job and for
brands it is important to present sufficient information, in order to attract a wider audience to apply
for company’s job vacancies.
3.7 Google+
A network for sharing photos, interests, videos and news with circles of friends, family, classmates,
colleagues, or acquaintances. Google+ can be linked with other Google accounts and services
(AdWords, Statistics, YouTube, Blogger). The network was launched in 2011 by Google and
currently has over 400 million users, approximately 343 million of which are active. This means
that it is now challenging Twitter as the second most engaged social network. (Google 2013;
Watkins 2013)
3.8 Research Model

Black box model of consumer behavior has been chosen to construct this research paper. This
black box model shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics, decision process and
consumer responses. It can be distinguished between interpersonal stimuli (between people) or
intrapersonal stimuli (within people).
The black box model is related to the black box theory of behaviorism, where the focus is not set
on the processes inside a consumer, but the relation between the stimuli and the response of the
consumer.
The marketing stimuli are planned and processed by the companies, whereas the environmental
stimulus is given by social factors, based on the economic, political and cultural circumstances of
a society.
The buyers black box contains the Buyer Characteristics and the Decision Process, which
determines the buyers’ response.
The black box model considers the buyers response as a result of a conscious, rational decision
process, in which it is assumed that the buyer has recognized the problem. However, in reality
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many decisions are not made in awareness of a determined problem by the consumer. Once the
consumer has recognized a problem, they search for information on products and services that can
solve that problem
Figure 3.8.1: Black Box model of consumer behavior
Here are some contentions that will justify the reasons for selecting this model. At first, in this
research, the impact of social media marketing activities is going to be analyzed. Then throughout
the research, it will be tried to figure out how controllable and uncontrollable stimuli effect
consumers’ perception about social media marketing tools to buy paint products. Here the
controllable stimuli is marketing stimuli which will be composed of how facebook ads attract
customers, how many people see commercials in Instagram, how many people click ad videos in
YouTube etc.
In addition to that, some environmental forces which is known as uncontrollable stimuli will
actively dominate the marketing stimuli. Like people of low income will be price sensitive,
uneducated people will be unknown about a particular brand identity, influencers will try to
dominate customers’ choice to select a paint brand etc.
In the buyers’ black box section, customers’ paint buying decisions is affected by two ingredients,
buyer characteristics and decision process. The factors of these two ingredients are shown by a
diagram
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BUYER'S BLACK
BOX
Buyer
Decision Process
Characteristics
Attitudes
Motivation Problem recognition
Perceptions Information search
Personality Alternative evaluation
Lifestyle Purchase decision
Knowledge Post-purchase behavior
Figure 3.8.2: Buyers’ Black Box factors
These buyer characteristics directly impact on market stimuli and environmental forces. But
marketers cannot control environmental forces. That is why they have to be cautious about the
forces and try to adapt with those. Otherwise they will lose the market appeal.
And lastly comes buyer responses which is also shown through a figure.
BUYER’S
RESPONSE
Product choice
Brand choice
Dealer choice
Purchase timing
Purchase amount
Figure 3.8.3: Buyer’s Response Factors
This response varies from buyer to buyer depending on attitudes, motivation, perceptions
personality, lifestyle and knowledge. Such as those who possess strong personality will go for
premium quality paint. But customers who have poor lifestyle will go for dealer choice and
purchase amount.
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Chapter 4
Methodology
4.1 Respondent Profile

To conduct my research, I will try to go for 100 respondents through a structured questionnaire.
These respondents will consist of internal people and external people. The external people will be
house owners, corporate buyers, paint contractors, and architects or interior designer. The internal
people will be industry experts, company’s employees.
4.2 Sampling Design & Size

It has not been possible to have contact with the customers of all regions of ACI Formulations
Limited due to lack of time and resources. For the conduction of the survey nonprobability
sampling method has been used. Convenience sampling method has been applied to obtain a
sample of convenient elements which is totally depended on the researcher. A sample size of the
data collection has been selected as of 75.
4.3 Methods of Collecting Data

The choice of method is influenced by the data collection strategy, the type of variable, the
accuracy required, the collection point and the skill of the enumerator. Links between a variable,
its source and practical system for its collection can help in choosing appropriate process. The
main data collection methods are:
o Questionnaire: To complete this study a questionnaire has been prepared and given it to
the sample population. The questionnaire has three parts. The first part is to obtain personal
information of respondents using a nominal scale. The second part of the questionnaire will
obtain the information of the respondents regarding the construction of the model. And
from the last part respondents’ satisfaction level can be measured.
o Interview: As a part of data collection method, several interviews have been conducted
with Director, Brand Manager, Assistant Brand Manager, Brand and Product Management
Specialist, and Corporate Sales Officers.
o Observation: Here observation method has also been used to collect data regarding
customer brand perception and brand awareness as the factors of customer satisfaction. So,
it has been tried to collect data over customer’s preference & loyalty at large regarding
Dulux paint products.
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4.4 Sources of Data
a) Primary Data: -
Interviews and conversations- with key officials of ACI Formulations limited.

Casual and straight conversation with the house and flat owners.
Observation of the market environment.
Questionnaire Survey on respondents to understand their consumption behavior.
b) Secondary Data: -
Data is collected from the internet and different websites.

Brochures and some financial data have been inspected.
4.5 Limitations of the study

For preparing this report, some difficulties have been faced. These difficulties can be considered
as limitations. The limitations are as following:
➢ Due to time limitations, many aspects may not be discussed properly in the report.
➢ Lack of proper customers’ cooperation while sharing their views.
➢ Sample area and size may not provide the macro view of customer satisfaction.
➢ Maintaining fulltime office as a stress factor is one of the crucial limitations
➢ Confidentiality of data is another important barrier that had been faced during preparing
the report.
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Chapter 5
Profile of ACI Limited
5.1 Historical Background of ACI Limited

ACI Limited was established as the subsidiary of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in the then
East Pakistan in 1968. After independence, the company was incorporated in Bangladesh in 1973
as ICI Bangladesh Manufacturers limited as a Public Limited Company. In 1992, the company
was divested to local management and the name of the company changed to Advanced Chemical
Industries (ACI) Limited. ACI inherited the rich ICI culture of product quality, customer service,
and social responsibility. Initially, in 1992, ACI started primarily with pharmaceutical business
with a turnover of BDT 80 million only but later the new management brought about fundamental
changes in the policies and in the year 2008 turnover grew to over BDT 7,365 million. The
Company has diversified its business interest in pharmaceuticals, agricultural including fishery &
livestock and consumer brands. At present, ACI has three strategic business units along with 11
subsidiaries, 3 joint ventures and 1 associate.
ACI is the first company in Bangladesh to achieve ISO S001 in 1995 for quality management and
also the first company to achieve ISO 14000 in 2000 for the environmental management system.
ACI is also the first company of Bangladesh to become the honorable member of United Nation
Global Compact. It is the only Bangladeshi company which was declared as a notable COP
(Communication on Progress) recognized by UNGC (United Nation Global Compact). ACI has
been accepted as a founding member of the community of Global Growth Companies by the World
Economic Forum which is the most prestigious business networking organization in the world.
5.2 Mission
ACI’s mission is to enrich the quality of life of people through the responsible application of
knowledge, skills, and technology. ACI is committed to the pursuit of excellence through world-
class products, innovative processes and empowered employees to provide the highest level of
satisfaction to its customers.
5.3 Vision
To realize the mission, ACI will:
• Endeavor to attain a position of leadership in each category of its businesses.

• Attain a high level of productivity in all its operations through effective and efficient
use of resources, adoption of appropriate technology and alignment with their core
competencies.
• Develop its employees by encouraging empowerment and rewarding innovation.
• Provide products and services of high and consistent quality, ensuring value for money
to its customers.
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• Encourage and assist in the qualitative improvement of the services of its suppliers and
distributors.
• Establish a harmonious relationship with the community and promote greater
environmental responsibility within its sphere of influence.
• Promote an environment for learning and personal growth of its employees.
5.4 Values
• Quality
• Customer Focus
• Fairness
• Transparency
• Continuous Improvement
• Innovation
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5.5 Organizational Structure
Figure 5.5.1: Organizational Structure of ACI Limited
Chairman
Managing Director
Executive Director Head of Creative

Communication
Pharmaceuticals
Executive Director Director Corporate

Affairs
Consumer Brands
Executive Director Director Business

Department
ACI Logistics
Executive Director Head of RMIA

Business Analyst
Executive Director Manager, MIS
Finance & Planning
General Manager Marketing
Operation Department
Source: Annual Report-2016
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5.6 Business Units
• Pharmaceuticals
• Consumer Brands & Commodity Products:
o Household Insecticides
o Antiseptic & Personal Care
o Home Care
o Female Hygiene
o Commodity Foods
o ACI Consumer Electronics
• Agribusiness:
o Crop Care Public Health
o Livestock & Fisheries
o Fertilizer
o Cropex
o Seeds
o Motors
• Logistics (Shwapno)
5.7 Subsidiaries
Company Name Activities
ACI Formulations Manufacturing and marketing of the number of agrochemical and

Limited consumer products.
Apex Leather Crafts Limited Letting out property to ACI Ltd.
ACI Salt Limited Manufacturing and marketing of edible packed Salt.
ACI Pure Flour Limited Processing, packing, and marketing of wheat flour products.
Manufacturing and marketing different types of spices and other

ACI Foods Limited
food products.
Managing media solutions and similar services for different

Creative Communications
clients including television commercials and other advertisement
Limited
and promotion related activities.
Manufacturing and marketing of plastic products, flexible

Premiaflex Plastics Limited printing and other ancillary business associated with plastic and
flexible printing.
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The business of buying, selling, Importing, and assembling of
ACI Motors Limited vehicles of both agricultural and nonagricultural use including
supplying spare parts and providing service facilities for vehicles.
ACI Logistics Limited Operating retail chain stores across the country.
Manufacturing, formulating and packaging of pesticides,

Agro Chemicals Limited fertilizers, plant nutrients, animal food, and other nutrients
products.
Table 5.7.1: Subsidiary companies of ACI
5.8 Joint Ventures

Company Name Activities
ACI Godrej
Manufacturing and marketing of quality poultry, aqua, cattle feed, and
Agrovet Private
day-old chicks
Limited
Tetley ACI
(Bangladesh) Processor, blender, and marketer of tea products.
Limited
Asian Consumer
Manufacturing and marketing of coconut oil, hair, oil shampoo, and other
Care (Private)
products under the brand name “Dabur”.
Limited
Table 5.8.1: Joint ventures of ACI
5.9 Support Functions

• Administration department
• Finance and planning
• Commercial department
• MIS department
• Distribution department
• Training department
• HR department
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5.10 A brief on AkzoNobel
AkzoNobel N.V., (“AkzoNobel”), is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative
paints, performance coatings, and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company
has activities in more than 88 countries and employs approximately 46,000 people. Following the
acquisition of ICI, the company has restructured on 2 January, 2008 and rebranded itself on 25
April of the same year.
In 2008, AkzoNobel N.V. became the owner of the entire equity share capital of Imperial Chemical
Industries ltd., by virtue of which, the company became a member of the AkzoNobel Group.
AkzoNobel manufactures and markets paints, coatings and specialty chemicals. In 2012, three
AkzoNobel Group companies, namely, AkzoNobel Car Refinishes Limited, AkzoNobel
Chemicals Limited, and AkzoNobel Coatings Limited got merged, thereby expanding the
company's presence in a wide range of coatings covering Decorative, Powder, Marine &
Protective, Automotive & Aerospace, and Coil & Specialty Plastics.
Dulux is the most popular brand of its decorative coatings business, while the Performance
Coatings business provides solutions to many industries and sectors including automotive,
consumer electronics, power, aviation, shipping & leisure craft, construction, oil & gas, water &
wastewater, food & beverages, etc. Its chemicals business in sells more than 30 products grouped
under organic peroxides, metal alkyls and Polymer additives to pharmaceutical companies,
polymer producers, and composite & rubber industry. Every year they try and introduce new
products to further strengthen their position as an innovative specialty chemicals company.
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5.11 ACI Consumer Brands – Paint Division
In 2013, ACI went into a Distributor Agreement with AkzoNobel, represented by AkzoNobel
India. Under the agreement, ACI was to distribute products of AkzoNobel under the brand of
Dulux and Duwel. Finding dealers, getting the products to the dealers, ensuring proper distribution,
were all under the roles and responsibilities of ACI. However, as the years passed, the agreement
between the two companies evolved from an agreement to a proper business relationship.
In 2014, the two companies went into a toll manufacturing agreement where some of the products
of AkzoNobel would be manufactured in Bangladesh, under the supervision of ACI. This
agreement was further enhanced when the two companies went into a manufacturing agreement in
2015, where ACI would manufacture all of the products in its own manufacturing facility. The
relation between the companies has since been evolving with talks of a more integrated agreement
to further solidify the presence of AkzoNobel’s brands in Bangladesh.
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Chapter 6
Industry Analysis
6.1 Definition of Paint

The general definition of paint is that paint is a mixture of chemicals which creates color, increases
the beauty and protects from fading away when it is implemented on a surface. The functional
definition of paint is that paint can be described as any fluid material that can be spread over a
solid surface and dried or harden to an adherent, coherent, colored skin or film.
6.2 Contents of Paint

Here are four basic chemicals that are found in all types of paints. These are:
• Pigments and Fillers – Pigment is the component of the paint which is responsible for creating
color and opacity or hiding power. On the other hand, fillers are used to fill up the gaps of
pigments. Fillers are necessary for Matt Finish paints as these reduce the gloss of the paint.
But these are not always necessary for the Gloss Finish paints. These are sometimes used in
the paints to reduce costs. As Fillers fill up the gaps of the pigments and extend the performance
of the pigments by reducing cost, fillers are also called extenders.
• Resin or Binder – Resins are the components which bind the various chemicals of paint
together. Resins also bind the paint with the surface and create a film on the surface. So, the
resin is responsible for the adhesive power of the paint. For Water-based paints, a multitude of
chemicals is used as binders.
• Solvent/Thinner – Solvent or thinner is the component of the paint which dissolves the resin
and makes the paint liquid. It is also used to control the viscosity of the paint. Waterworks as
the solvent or thinner for the water-based paints whereas various solvents or thinners do the
work for the solvent-based paints.
• Additives – These are basically various chemicals used in very small quantity for a specific
purpose. For example, Dryers (various oxidizing agents) are used to make the paint easy and
fast dry one, Preservatives (used only for water-based paints) are used to preserve the paint till
use and of the paint, Anti-Fungal Solution is used in the exterior paints to protect from fungal
attack, De-foamer is used in the water-based paints to protect the creation of foam in the paint
give the paint the desired shelf life, Dispersers are used to faster the dispersion process
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6.3 Types of Paints
Paint can be divided into various types by considering different aspects.
• Painting is mainly of three categories:

o Decorative (about 84% – 85%)
o Industrial
o Marine
• In Decorative sector, the two major classifications are:
o Exterior
o Interior
• From the application sequence, paints can be categorized as:
o Primer
o Undercoat
o Top coat
• Paints can be divided into two categories according to thinner/ solvent usage:
o Water-based
o Solvent-based
6.4 Parameters to Categorize Paint

There are seven parameters, using which we can categorize different paints into major categories.
These are:
• Whether the paint is Water-based or Solvent-based

• If the paint is Solvent-based, what is the solvent
• Whether the paint is Decorative or Industrial or Marine
• Whether the paint is used as Primer or Undercoat or Finish coat
• Whether the paint gives Matt finish or Gloss Finish
• On what type of surface, the paint can be used
• Whether the paint is used in exterior or interior surface
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6.5 Bangladesh Decorative Paint Market Snapshot
Number of the housing society 40 (150+ Acre) around the country
Number of developers 1,500
Paint Market Size BDT 25 Billion
Per Capita Paint Used 600 gm.
No. of Paint Manufacturers Upwards of 50
Table 6.5.1: Bangladesh Decorative Paint Market
With rapid urbanization of the cities and an ever-increasing number of housing societies and
therefore the number of real estate developers, the demand for decorative paint is on a steep upward
trend.
According to the Bangladesh Paint Manufacturers’ Association, the Bangladesh market provides
high potential for growth as well as good opportunities for paint manufacturers to upgrade and
expand their hold on the market. Currently, the paint industry is growing at an exponential rate of
around 12% every year.
Although the per capita paint consumption of Bangladesh is very low (only about 600gm per
person), compared to the 8kg per capita paint consumption globally, and upwards of 15-20kg per
capita paint consumption or even the 3-4kg per capita paint consumption of the neighboring
country India, the amount of growth expected from the industry will soon increase this number to
many folds.
One of the outcomes of such growth in the paint industry market, according to the Real Estate and
Housing Association of Bangladesh, has been the entry of local and foreign investments in the
country's paint industry. The paint market in Bangladesh is highly competitive with more than 200
companies operating in the industry. However, only fifty of them are national players with the rest
operating only on a regional basis. International players include Berger, Asian Paints, Nippon,
Jotun, and the recently entered AkzoNobel.
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6.6 Category Wise Market Share of the Industry
Economy Enamel Thinner & Others Interior Emulsion
15% 3% 18%
Premium Enamel
16%
Exterior Emulsion
15%
Cement
5% Putty Sealer Distemper
4% 11% 13%
Figure 6.6.1: Market share of paint category
Table 6.6.1: Frequency of market share of paint category
The decorative paint market can be segmented into 7 categories:
• Emulsion
• Distemper
• Sealer
• Putty
• Cement Paint
• Enamel
• Others (Including Thinners, etc.)
These categories can be further separated into Top Tier products and Low Tier products. Emulsion
and Enamel categories are usually treated as Top Tier products because of the fact that they sell in
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value rather than volume. Distemper, Sealer, Putty, and Cement Paint, on the other hand, sell more
in terms of volume, but very little in terms of value, hence they are considered as the Low Tier
products.
The market size of the Emulsion category and the Enamel category are very close to each other,
with both growing in different segments (Emulsion for decorative, Enamel for Industrial).
Although the value of the low tier products is not too high, they sell in huge volumes compared to
the Top Tier products.
The best example of this is the Putty and Cement Paint categories. Selling at over 16,500kL and
10,000kL each year respectively, yet not making nearly as many sales in terms of value when
compared to the Emulsion or Enamel category. This is why the market share of the industry is not
the proper indicator of the industry situation when analyzing.
6.7 Major Players in the Industry
Ujala Moonstar Others

Pailac 2% 5%
3% 2%
Nippon
3%
RAK
3%
Elite
4%
Roxy
6.2%
Berger
58%
Asian
15%
Figure 6.7.1: Percentage of market share of major players
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6.8 Brand Recognition
Berger Elite Asian Aqua Roxy Romana RAK Nippon Dulux
Brand Name
Paints Paints Paints Paints Paints Paints Paints Paints Paint
Percentage
60% 15% 9% 8% 6% 5% 3% <1% <1%
(%)
Table 6.8.1: Percentage of Brand recognition
The major players in this industry include both national and international players. The undoubted
market leader is Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited, a subsidiary of Berger Paints India, holding
over 58% of the market share. Following far behind, but in the market challenger position is Asian
Paints, a subsidiary of the global Asian Paints Group. Amongst the local players, the one with the
highest market share is Roxy Paints, followed by Elite Paints.
However, when analyzing the Brand Recognition of consumers, the results are not similar to the
market shares of the companies. Although Berger holds a similar position, Elite paints have a much
higher recognition than the far more successful Asian paints. This is due to the fact that Elite paints
are one of the oldest paint manufacturers in the country.
6.9 Influence Groups
10% Painters/Contractors
15% Dealers
Architect & Engineers

55%
Family Members & Other
20% Reference Group
Level of Influence (%)
Figure 6.9.1: Percentage of dominance of influencers
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Unlike the FMCG industry, the paint industry relies heavily on the influence of reference groups
on the purchase behavior of customers. The process of buying paints is a high involvement process,
one where a lot of analysis and decision making goes behind a purchase, rather than buying on a
whim. As a result, the role of the influencers makes all the difference between what paint the
customer will buy. One of the largest influencers (55%) of which are the painters or contractors
who are hired for work. An average Bangladeshi consumer does not buy the paint that they want
to be painted in their homes. They choose the color that they want and the painter/contractor
suggest what company they should buy. However, there are some consumers who accompany the
painter/contractor to the store, in which case, the shop dealer becomes the influencer.
For projects and corporate customers, the influencers are usually the architects and engineers who
worked on the buildings. The influence of family members, relatives, and close people do exist,
but their level of influence is not as high.
Due to the level of influence of the painters, contractors, and dealers being so high, most of the
paint companies choose to focus much more heavily on below the line marketing activities and
trade promotions rather than going for above the line activities. A dealer, painters or contractors
who receive the most incentives from a specific paint company will always promote them to their
customers, regardless of the quality or brand name of said company.
6.10 Buying Pattern
Sales Depot Dealer Painter + End User
Sales Depot Dealer Painter/Contractors
Sales Depot Dealer End User
Purchase Manager
Sales Depot Dealer
(Project)
Sales Depot Purchase Manager (Project)
Figure 6.10.1: Percentage of following buying pattern
There are buying patterns that pertain in this industry. It always starts from the sales dept of a paint
company, after which the most common pattern of purchase is the painter/contractor buying the
paint from the dealer and then going to the site (55%). On occasions, an end user will accompany
the painter/contractor to ensure the proper paints are bought and that there are no ill-business made
(10%). Rarely does an end user go to buy the paints themselves, directly from the dealers (5%)
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For projects, the preferred pattern of purchase is to buy directly from the company and enjoy a
discounted price (18%), however, some do buy through a dealer (2%).
6.11 ACI Paint Division Product Portfolio

• Exterior Emulsion:
o Dulux WeatherShield Max

o Dulux WeatherShield Protect
o Dulux Promise Exterior
• Interior Emulsion:
o Dulux SuperClean 3in1

o Dulux Super Cover
o Dulux Promise Interior
• Duwel Acrylic Distemper
• Sealer:
o Duwel Exterior Sealer

o Duwel Interior Sealer
• Duwel Wall Putty
• Enamel
o Dulux Gloss Premium Enamel
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Chapter-7
Analysis of findings
To enter into the depth of the study, the following is a little description of the respondents and their
profile as per gender, age, education, etc.
7.1 Sample description: individual consumers

The sample was selected in a way to represent different gender, age, education, the occupation of
the young generation.
Gender:
Among 75 individuals surveyed, 89% happened to be males and 11% females which refers that
most of the decision makers are male and through the data collection process it was found that
females are mostly influencer.
Figure 7.1.1: Percentage of male and female
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Age:
Out of the total number of respondents, 36 percent belonged to the 20 to 30 years age group; 4
percent to the 30-40 years age group; 32 percent to the 40-50 years age group and 28 percent to
the 50 above year age group.
Figure 7.1.2: Percentage of various age group
Education:
Among 75 respondents, most respondents were educated. Only 43 percent were not graduates
where 7 percent was below S.S.C level, 15 percent done S.S.C and 21 percent passed H.S.C level.
As many as 57 percent were graduates.
Figure 7.1.3: Percentage of various education group
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7.2 Paint consumption and consumer buying behavior
Painting interval:
From the collected data it can be seen that most of the respondents paint their house 2-4 years back
which is 49 percent. And this 49 percent mostly comes from H.S.C, Graduates did respondents.
Some flat owners paint their house 5-6 years before and this range composed of 24 percent. Only
12 percent of respondents paint their house 7-8 years back. This 12 percent mostly comes from
household owns which is 51 percent.
Figure 7.2.1: Percentage of painting interval
Frequency Percentage
This year 5 7%
2-4 years back 37 49%
other_________ 6 8%
Table 7.2.1: Frequency of painting interval
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Type of painting:
Most of the flat owners paint their house for the first time and this represents 35%. But most of the
household owners paint their house for the first-time showing 65% as per questionnaire survey. One thing
needs to be mentioned here that those respondents who are highly educated composed of 56% and know
the benefits of painting, only they go for repainting. Side by side, respondents who are less educated
which is consisted of 43% they are not interested to paint their house again. But in these days some home
or flat owners go for repainting as they want to make their living room more beautiful.
Figure 7.2.2: Percentage of painting type
First time painting 26 35%
Repainting 49 65%
Table 7.2.2: Frequency of painting type
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Brand selection:
Choosing a paint brand solely depends on buyers’ knowledge about a particular brand and income
level. Our findings show that the Bangladesh households are very conservative while making an
investment on either exterior or interior paints at their residence. From the collected data, it is
found that 63 percent of respondents use Berger for painting their houses or flats. Around 20% of
respondents, who belong to 150000-200000 income range, have used Asian paints. The brand I
represent ‘Dulux’ (AkzoNobel paints) constitutes only 4% market share, mainly due to its high-
end premium pricing. Some respondents also select RAK paints which are 5%. There are also
some respondents who do not know what to select. They mostly go for low-cost inputs and very
less aware of material contents about the paint and this composed of only 8%
Figure 7.2.3: Percentage of selecting a brand
Berger 47 63%
Asian 15 20%
Dulux 3 4%
RAK 4 5%
Other_________ 6 8%
Table 7.2.3: Frequency of choosing a brand
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Category of paint:
The respondents, mostly represent a medium category of paint which is constituted of 67%
because of their quality consciousness as well as price sensitivity. The rest is distributed almost
evenly between premium category which is 15% and economic category which is 19%,
segmented based on respondents’ income level.
Figure 7.2.4: Percentage of category of paint
Economy Category (below 160 takas per liter) 14 19%
Medium Category (160-250 taka per liter) 50 66%
Premium Category (above 250 takas per liter) 11 15%
Table 7.2.4: Frequency of category of paint
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Purchase decision influencers:
As per from the findings, the majority of the consumption is dependent on either advertisement
which is composed of 35% or the paint contractors brand selection which is 32%. This 35% comes
from the age group of 20-30 and 30-40 along with high educated respondents are also involved
here. Friends and peers also play a vital role during paint buying decision making. A good
testimonial of a low-grade brand may induce the purchase of large quantity only based on word-
of-mouth communication which constitutes 21%. Dealers and company customer care center only
have a little impact on paint consumption which is 9% of the dealer and 3% of company customer
care center people.
Figure 7.2.5: Percentage of the impact of influencers
Painters 24 32%
Dealers 7 9%
Friends and Peers 16 21%
Advertisement 26 35%
Company sales People 0 0%
Company customer care center 2 3%
Table 7.2.5: Frequency of the impact of influencers
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Usage of advertisement medium:
Use of advertisement medium mostly comes from the 20-30 age range. But the use of print media
is 13% and electronic media is 29%. This is clear that respondents tend to follow electronic media
advertisement. This electronic media advertisement constitutes mostly on television and radio.
Presence of television advertisements greatly impacts sales income in Bangladesh paint industry.
For instances, multiple television commercials have induced huge sales revenues for Berger Paints.
Figure 7.2.6: Percentage of advertisement users
Print media (Newspapers, magazines, periodicals, product 10 1%
brochures)
Electronic media (television, radio) 22 3%
Digital media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn) 4 1%
Table 7.2.6: Frequency of advertisement users
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Engagement in digital media:
From the collected data, only 3% of respondents use social media to choose a paint brand. This
3% of respondents almost comes from the 20-30 age range. In addition to that, the use of website
and e-word of mouth is only 1% from which it can be understood that respondents do not prefer
to look into websites or depend on one-word of mouth so much.
Figure 7.2.7: Percentage of using digital media
Website 1 1%
Social media 2 3%
E-Word of mouth 1 1%
YouTube 0 0%
Table 7.2.7: Frequency of using digital media
39 | P a g e
Satisfaction analysis with existing brands:
Most of the respondents, who get the advantage after using Berger or Asian paints are quite happy
and they will keep loyalty on those brands. Sometimes it was perceived that few respondents want
to switch to a new brand to see whether they can avail more benefits than the existing one. 24%
of users of Berger are glad after using the paint brand. Side by side 20% users of Asian paints and
3% users of Dulux paint are also delighted after using the product. But a few respondents show a
negative impact on some other local brands like Nippon or Roxy paints. They would like to switch
the brand in the future.
Findings from company personnel:
By talking with company key employees, some insights have been gathered about Dulux paint.
They have their own website but it is on a developing process, not yet established like other brands.
Basically, they are doing B2B and B2C promotions personally. Although Dulux is a new brand in
Bangladesh, it has a good opportunity to increase its market share. That is why they are trying to
make plans for digital marketing and throughout the research, I tried to them the effectiveness of
social media marketing. It has been explored that if paint of Dulux brand can be applied in a
standard way, a customer can get more advantages than other paint brands. There is a connection
between the light and the paint. If paint can be applied in a good way maintaining its proper mixture
of shades than electric bill will be low by using low wattage bulb and the customer can have the
same results of using high wattage bulb or light. And their packaging quality and style are also
good than others as they maintain the global standard. Though they produce their products locally,
they maintain the global standard. Their production process is like 40% tool manufacturing and
60% own manufacturing. But gradually they are trying to increase their market share by
convincing the customers about the makings of Dulux paint.
40 | P a g e
Chapter 8
Conclusion & Recommendation
8.1 Conclusion:
Business is not just about buying and selling products nowadays. Its area has now broadened up
due to the importance of customer satisfaction based on market trend, market mechanics,
customers knowledge, brand perception, quality awareness, etc. So, in the 21st-century companies
need to think about how to satisfy customers at maximum. From the analysis and findings of the
study, it can be said that ACI Formulation Limited, Dulux paint is being able to satisfy its
customers on an average. But the expectation from the users of Dulux paint is that the company
will give training to painters and make a strong brand preference in social media contents. Here
point to be noted that some educated customers have the understanding about the benefits of using
Dulux paint but to increase market share they need to make commercials to let the customers
know that Dulux can give the best quality. Products are available but promotional activities do
not put much impact over consumer buying behavior. After all, considering four Ps (Product,
Price, Place, and Promotion) of marketing, Dulux paint is standing in a good position comparing
other paint brands. But still, there are significant areas of improvement to have more customer
satisfaction.
8.2 Recommendations:
Based on the findings from the questionnaire analysis and survey, the following recommendations
have been formed:
• Have to make an online presence

• There may have extra facilities for loyal customers.
• Need to train painters and give them incentives.
• A good customer relationship needs to be established and maintain to retain the existing
customer and gain new customers’ preferences.
• There may have full forth effort to build and maintain a strong business relationship with
dealers and painters.
• Overall there may have more focus over Sales Promotion Officers of ACI Formulations
Limited as they represent the company and maintain direct contact with the end user of
the products.
• Pay more attention to after sale service.
41 | P a g e
Chapter 9
Appendix
9.1 Questionnaire
1. Gender:
(a) Male (b) Female
2. Age:
(a) 20-30 (b) 30-40 (c) 40-50 (d) 50 and above
3. Average monthly income:

(a) Below 50000 taka
(b) 50000-150000 Taka
(c) 150000-200000 Taka
(d) 200000-250000 Taka
(e) Above 250000
(f) Other_____________
4. Education:
(a)Below S.S.C
(b) S.S.C
(c) H.S.C
(d) Graduate and Above
5. Profession:
(a) Businessman
(b) Service holder
(c) Other________________
6. Type of users
(a) Industrial buyer (b) Household buyer (c) flat owner
7. When did you paint last to your house?
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a) This year
b) 2-4 years back
c) 5-6 years back
d) 7-8 years back
e) other_________
8. What type of painting works was it?

a) First time painting b) Repainting
9. Which brand did you use for painting the house?

a) Berger b) Asian c) Dulux d) RAK e) Other local brands
10. Which category of paint did you use?

a) Economy Category (below 160 takas per liter) b) Medium Category (160-250 taka per liter)
c) Premium Category (above 250 takas per liter)
11. What was the channel by which you have come to know this brand name?
a) Painters b) Dealers c) Friends and Peers d) Advertisement
e) Company sales People f) Company customer care center
12. If the answer to question 9 is an Advertisement, then what type of advertisement media was
there?
a) Print media (Newspapers, magazines, periodicals, product brochures)
b) Electronic media (television, radio)
c) Digital media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn)
13. If the answer to question 10 is Digital media, then which digital media there?
a) Website
b) Social media
c) E-Word of mouth
d) YouTube
43 | P a g e
14. If the answer of 11 is Social media then which social media was there?
a) Facebook
b) Twitter
c) Instagram
d) Messenger
e) LinkedIn
15. How much you are happy with this brand?

a) Very happy
b) Happy
c) Moderate
d) Unhappy
e) Very unhappy
16. Will you switch the brand in the future?

a) Yes b) No
17. After usage rate your satisfaction out of 10.
/
44 | P a g e
9.2 List of Dealers
Dealer Name Address
Asif Hardware & Paint Plot # 20, Sec # 14, Road # 13, Uttara Dhaka
Dolly Paint Traders Dhak-Mymen Road, Abdullahpur, Uttara Dhaka
Rangdhanu Paint Supply 6 No Mosjid Road, Tongi Bazar, Gazipur
Rongmela Hardware Paint Plot # 38, Sonargaon Janapath Road, Uttara Dhaka
Rongmela Paint Supply & Electric. Houg-24, Sonargaon Janapath Road, Sector-12 Uttara
Shariotpur Hardware & Paint Syed Grand Centre, Plot # 89, Sec # 7, Road # 35, Uttara
Agency Dhaka
Shahjalal Hardware & Paint Store 11 No Bus Stand, P-8, R-10, Sec-7, Mirpur Dhaka
Sagor Enterprise 94, Senpara Parbata, Mirpur-10 Dhaka
Sohel Paint & Hardware Supplier 868, Shewpara, Rokeya Soroni, Mirpur Dhaka
New Posonisali Paint & Hardware 116/1, South Bisil, Mirpur Dhaka
Masud Hardware & Paint 96, North Manda, Manda. Dhaka
Muntahardware Electric & Paint 85/1 Purana Palton Line.Dhaka Dhaka
M/S.Rahman Hardware 107/2, North Mugda Para, Dhaka
M/S.Shamim Paint House 27 No Kaptan Bazar, City Corporation Market, Dhaka
Orient Paint & Chemical 134, Chawk Moghultuli. Dhaka
Star Paint Agency 8, Mitford Road, Imamgonj, Dhaka
Tuli Paint Gurin 1/1 Dhaka
Uzala Paint Supply 108/1/A, B C Road, Thatari Bazar, Dhaka-1100
Sajjad Paint Supply 120 Nawabpur Road, Dhaka
Sardar Paint & Hardware 21/1, Distalari Road, Gendaria Dhopkhula Bazar, Dhaka
Web International 108, R. M. Das Road, Loharpool, Sutrapur Dhaka
Yakub Paint Hardware & Electric
Abdul Latif Mansion, East Suvaddha, Chumkutia, Dhaka
Sanitary
Al-Amin Paint 122, Shahid Syed Nazrul Islam Sarani Dhaka
Ashraf Paint Agency 53 Chalk Mogholtoli. Dhaka
Fahad Paint 6/7-B Chompatoli Lane, Shoari Ghat Dhaka
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Haji Washed & Sons 75, Mitford Road, Mitford Dhaka
Khaled Paint & Hardware Hazi Md. Nannu Bepari Mension, Dhaka-1310
Baligoan Bazar, Murgipotti, Tongi Bari, Munshigong
M/S Awal Store
Dhaka
Munshi Market, Main Road Tongi Bari Bazar,
M/S Ayshi Hardware & Electric
Munshigonj-1520
M/S Mim Enterprise 75, Mitford Road, Imamgonj, Dhaka
M/S Rihan Rong Ghar 1 No Mohiuddin Lane, Imamgong Dhaka
M Delower And Brothers 112, Bir Uttam K M Shafiullah Road, Green Road Dhaka
General Electric & Hardware 164/B, Central Bsaboo Dhaka
Gofran Hardware & Paint Ka-24/2, Bashundhara Road, Dhaka-1229
Bashundhara Paint & Hardware 88, Ibrahimpur( Pulpar) Dhaka
Emon Hardware Paint Store 18/63, Under Ground, Hazi Hossain Plaza Dhaka
Ga-9/1, Bir Uttam Rafiqul Islam Soroni Avenue,
Super Sign Laker & Hardware
Shahjadpur, Gulshan, Dhaka
Sonargaon Enterprise B-66, Mir Showkat Road, Gulshan-1 Dhaka
Rahman Enterprise 318, East Rampura D.I.T.Road, Rampura Dhaka
M/S. Mokbul Paint & H/W Electric 76, Green Road, Farmgate, Dhaka
M/S.Al-Amin Hardware Paint &
53/9, Progoti Soroni, Baridhara, Nadda Bus stand, Dhaka
Electric Supply
Mahbub Paint 472/474, Malibagh Bazar Road, Dhaka
46 | P a g e
REFERENCES
ACI Limited. (2016, March 22). Company Profile. Retrieved from ACI Limited: http://aci-
bd.com
Alam, A. (20th March 2019). (A.M.A Hriday, Interviewer)
Aman, M.A. (10th March 2019). (A.M.A Hriday, Interviewer)
BİLGİN, Y. (2018). THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ACTIVITIES ON BRAND
AWARENESS, BRAND IMAGE, AND BRAND LOYALTY. Business & Management Studies: An
International Journal, [online] 6(1). Available at:
http://file:///F:/Internship%20Research/Internship%20research%20elements/PDF/Net/THE%20E
FFECT%20OF%20SOCIAL%20MEDIA%20MARKETING%20ACTIVITIES%20ON%20BRA
ND%20AWARENESS,%20BRAND%20IMAGE%20AND%20BRAND%20LOYALTY.pdf
[Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
CA Kochukalam, S Mathews (2016), Influence of Painters on Decorative Paint Purchase
Decision: A Study among the Paint Dealers about Their Perception of Painter’s Influence,
International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, Volume – 6, No. 1, pp - 349-357
Hajli, M. (2014). A study of the impact of social media on consumers. [online] SAGE Journals.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.2501%2FIJMR-2014-025 [Accessed 3 Jan. 2019].
Hasan, MD. P. (11th March 2019). (A.M.A Hriday, Interviewer)
Johanna Narkiniemi, J. (2013). Using Digital Marketing to Develop a Modern Marketing
Strategy for a Startup. Case study: Design with Benefits. [ebook] Helsinki Metropolia University
of Applied Sciences, p.63 pages. Available at:
http://file:///G:/Articles/Using%20Digital%20Marketing%20to%20Develop%20a%20Modern.pd
f [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
Karim, N. (25th March 2019). (A.M.A Hriday, Interviewer)
Kochukalam, C.A., Joseph, J., (2016), Information Asymmetry: Catalyzing Paint Customer
Dependence on Influencers for Purchase Decision, Research Journal of Commerce and
Behavioural Science, Volume 5, No. 3
Rahman, A.N. (11th March 2019). (A.M.A Hriday, Interviewer)
Rocketlawyer.com. (2019). Free Online Legal Forms & Legal Documents | Rocket Lawyer.
[online] Available at: https://www.rocketlawyer.com/legal-documents-forms.rl [Accessed 29
Jan. 2019].
Shamsuzzaman, M. (1st March 2019). (A.M.A Hriday, Interviewer)
Ubayachandra, E.G., and Mendis, A.S.M.G. CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR OF
DECORATIVE PAINTS INDUSTRY IN SRILANKA. (n.d.). [online] Available at:
http://file:///F:/Internship%20Research/Internship%20research%20elements/PDF/Aman%20vai/
CONSUMER%20BUYING%20BEHAVIOR%20OF%20DECORATIVE%20PAINTS%20IND
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Impact of Social Media Marketing On Consumer Buying Behavior

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An Internship Report on

Impact of Social Media Marketing

Date of Submission: 3rd April, 2018

3rd April, 2018

Subject: Submission of the internship report on “Impact of Social Media Marketing On

1.1 Statement of Problem ........................................................................................................ 1

1.2 Background of the report: ................................................................................................. 1

1.3 Objective of the Study ...................................................................................................... 2

1.4 Scope of the Report ........................................................................................................... 2

1.5 Future Areas of Study ....................................................................................................... 2

2.1 A Brief on Consumer Behavior ........................................................................................ 3

2.2 Paint Buying Process ........................................................................................................ 4

2.3 Effectiveness of Social Media: ......................................................................................... 5

2.4 Use of Social Media Contents........................................................................................... 6

2.5 Critical View of Social Media: ......................................................................................... 7

Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................... 8

3.1 Consumer Buying Behavior:............................................................................................. 8

3.2 SMM: ................................................................................................................................ 8

3.3 Facebook: .......................................................................................................................... 9

3.5 Twitter ............................................................................................................................. 10

3.6 LinkedIn .......................................................................................................................... 11

3.7 Google+ .......................................................................................................................... 11

3.8 Research Model .............................................................................................................. 11

4.1 Respondent Profile .......................................................................................................... 14

4.2 Sampling Design & Size ................................................................................................. 14

4.3 Methods of Collecting Data ............................................................................................ 14

4.4 Sources of Data ............................................................................................................... 15

4.5 Limitations of the study .................................................................................................. 15

Profile of ACI Limited .............................................................................................................. 16

5.1 Historical Background of ACI Limited .......................................................................... 16

5.3 Vision .............................................................................................................................. 16

5.4 Values ............................................................................................................................. 17

5.5 Organizational Structure ................................................................................................. 18

5.6 Business Units ................................................................................................................. 19

5.7 Subsidiaries ..................................................................................................................... 19

5.8 Joint Ventures ................................................................................................................. 20

5.9 Support Functions ........................................................................................................... 20

5.10 A brief on AkzoNobel ................................................................................................... 21

5.11 ACI Consumer Brands – Paint Division ....................................................................... 22

Industry Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 23

6.1 Definition of Paint........................................................................................................... 23

6.2 Contents of Paint ............................................................................................................. 23

6.3 Types of Paints ................................................................................................................ 24

6.5 Bangladesh Decorative Paint Market Snapshot .............................................................. 25

6.6 Category Wise Market Share of the Industry ................................................................. 26

6.7 Major Players in the Industry.......................................................................................... 27

6.8 Brand Recognition .......................................................................................................... 28

6.9 Influence Groups ............................................................................................................. 28

6.10 Buying Pattern .............................................................................................................. 29

6.11 ACI Paint Division Product Portfolio ........................................................................... 30

• Exterior Emulsion: ......................................................................................................... 30

• Interior Emulsion: .......................................................................................................... 30

• Duwel Acrylic Distemper............................................................................................... 30

• Duwel Wall Putty ........................................................................................................... 30

Analysis of findings .................................................................................................................. 31

7.1 Sample description: individual consumers ..................................................................... 31

7.2 Paint consumption and consumer buying behavior ........................................................ 33

Conclusion & Recommendation ............................................................................................... 41

8.1 Conclusion: ..................................................................................................................... 41