CONSUMER PERCEPTION ON BRAND PREFERENCE OF SELECTED FOOD PRODUCTS – WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KERALA

The aspirations and the attitudes of the consumers are changing at a dismaying speed which needs to be caught and catered to. The markets, competitors and consumers are no longer passive. In a passive market, a marketer is likely to be successful despite his inertia, where as in an active market, inertia on the part of marketer will lead to the extinction either slow or quick. To be successful marketers have to become more responsive and adaptive to market situation. As regards target market, marketers should analyze the three core aspects viz, consumer perception, motivation and attitudes towards a given need. These three are interrelated and interdependent. It is of vital importance to understand the current perceptions held by the consumers towards the product and brands. Consumer motivation is a central theme in the theory of marketing. It is strategic to explore why a consumer is buying a brand. The perceptions and motivational mechanisms result in attitude. Attitude is an emotionalized predisposition towards a product or brand. A consumer may have positive or negative attitude. Therefore a marketer must know the attitudes of consumers towards the product and different brands.