Assessment of Consumer Influencing Factor in Decision Making for Selecting Cement Brands

Abstract

Cement is the major construction material used in the civil engineering works due to which its demand is very significant, while it becomes a tough task to select a proper cement brand. The study is focused to assess factors influencing selection of cement brand. The study is conducted at Madhyapur Thimi Municipality among different level of consumer i.e house owner, supplier, contractor/mason and consultant/engineer. Out of 871 permitted under construction building of fiscal year 2016/17, 89 end consumers and 30 suppliers were selected for quesionniare survey. Key informat interview was conducted for in depth information while focus group discusiion were done to assess the determinance of consumer behaviour and brand. Hypothesis test were done to find the significance of advertisement, consultant/engineer, mason/contractor, friends/relatives and supplier/retailer. The study reveals that 70%, 26.67% and 3.33% of total consumers considered quality, brand image and years of establishment respectively as the main factor while selecting cement brands. Hetauda, Udayapur, Shivam, Maruti and Argakhanchi cement was found to be consumed by 50%, 23.34%, 20%, 3.33% and 3.33% respectively. Based on Hypothesis test, consultant and friend/relatives have a significant role in the purchasing decision of cement.