WEST BENGAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

SUMMER PROJECT REPORT

CONSUMER PERCEPTION ABOUT RETAIL MEDICINE PROVIDED BY
APOLLO PHARMACY
AT

BY
SANTU DEY
WBUT REGI NO: 092320710082 OF 2009-2010
WBUT ROLL NO: 09232009049
INDUSTRIAL GUIDE: Mr. MANAS SINHA

FUTURE BUSINESS SCHOOL

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project work would not have been great experience to

explore my potential and knowledge without encouragement of
the persons who teach and guide me through the project
duration. That’s why I am acknowledging towards these respected
persons with my inner feeling of heart.

With immense pleasure I pay my gratitude to the faculties of

our college FUTURE BUSINESS SCHOOL for their co-operation
and guidance.

I pay my immense gratitude to Mr. Anirban Majumdar,

Faculty of FUTURE BUSINESS SCHOOL for giving me his
valuable time for guidance.

I would like to special thank Mr. R. S. Senthil Kumar,

Manager of Apollo Pharmacy, A unit of Apollo Hospitals
Enterprise Limited, for his continuous guide through out the
project work.

I also want to thank Mr. Koushik Kumar Maity, Sr.

Executive of Apollo Pharmacy, A unit of Apollo Hospitals
Enterprise Limited, for giving me a healthy work environment
to complete my project.
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 I pay my gratitude to the all Marketing staff &
Colleagues of Apollo Pharmacy, A unit of Apollo Hospitals
Enterprise Limited, for their co-operation and guidance.

And thanks to them who inspired me at Apollo Pharmacy

& FUTURE BUSINESS SCHOOL.

INDEX

Project Overview Page

No.

 Introduction ……………………………………….. 2
 Aims and Objectives……………………….……. 6
Overview of the Organization
 Introduction………………………………………… 8
 History of the Organization………………….….... 9
 Special features………...………………………….. 10
 Departmental study………………………………. 14
 Detailed study of department
Related to my specialization………..…………....
15
 Competitor’s details……………...……………….. 16
 Methodology…………………………………….... 19
 Analysis………………………………………….…. 36

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 Conclusions ……………………………………….. 51

 Recommendations……………………...…….... 53
➢ Appendix……………………………………..…...… 55
➢ References………………………………………….. 59

INTRODUCTION

The retail revolution has brought in changes to the way

average urban Indians shop for a host of products and services —
from routine groceries to attractive apparels, & from petrol &
lubricants to books & magazines. But a majority of Indians still
visit the crowded neighborhood pharmaceutical store to buy a
vitamin pill or a painkiller, and in some of the smaller cities have
to double-check to ensure that the medicines are according to the
doctor's prescription, cosmetics like shampoos and creams are
genuine, and the chocolates are not past the 'best before' date.
The $5-billion pharmaceutical retail market in India is, however,
priming itself for major changes. Nine out of 10 blockbuster drugs
in the future will be biotech based, requiring special storage
facilities and transportation. Most of the existing pharmacies in
India would be unable to meet the stringent requirements.
Apollo Pharmacy believes that over the next five years,
"there will be a very strong boom in organized pharmacy
retailing, where the pharmacy models will start following the
western world." Apollo Hospitals has established a formidable
network of 900+ stores under the Apollo Pharmacy brand, India.
Consumers today are far more discerning. Along with quality
products they are also looking for ambience and convenience in
shopping. Our outlets have been designed keeping this in mind.

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 Consumers today are far more discerning. Along with quality
products they are also looking for ambience and convenience in
shopping. Our outlets have been designed keeping this in mind.
Apollo Pharmacy, a unit of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise
Limited acquire specialized products from the manufacturer,
transport them to its warehouse in temperature-controlled
conditions, and store them at the pharmacies in refrigerators.
Importantly, they also ensure free home deliveries to registered
patients anywhere in Kolkata and suburban areas.
Indian economy is the third largest economy in the world,
in terms of purchasing power, is going to touch new heights
in coming years. As predict by Goldman Sachs, the Global
Investment Bank, by 2035 India would be the third largest
economy of the world just after US & China. The India
Industry Sector and agricultural sector now comprises of
more than half of India's GDP which amounted to 51.16 per
cent in 1998-99. The number of Industries in India has
multiplied by a large amount in the last few years. The
various Sectors in Indian Industry are gaining more and more
importance. As India is a developing country the Retail
sector in India, IT Industry in India, Pharmaceutical sector in
India, Food and Beverage Industry in India and various other
types of industries are coming to the forefront and taking
the center stage.

The Indian economy had grown by 5.4 per cent in 2001-

02, which included a growth rate of 3.3 percent in the India
Industry Sector. While the Indian Industry Sector grew by 3.3
per cent, the various segments in the industry like
construction showed a lower growth in 2000-01, whereas,
there was a marked improvement in the growth rates of
manufacturing (from 4.2 per cent in 1999-2000 to 6.7 per
cent in 2000-01) and mining and quarrying (from 2 per cent
to 3.3 per cent during the same period). The growth rate of
electricity, gas and water supply remained almost
unchanged at around 6.2 per cent for both 1999-2000 and
2000-01.

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In the India Industry Sector the most striking force has been
the IT Industry sector. The Indian software industry has
grown at a massive rate from a mere US $ 150 million in
1991-92 to a staggering US $ 5.7 billion (including over $4
billion worth of software exports) in 1999-2000. No other
Industry in India has performed this well against the global
competition. The IT sector has helped the India Industry
Sector to move ahead in leaps and bounds. The BPO industry
has also been a pillar of success for the India Industry
Sector. As more and more industries come up the future
holds good prospects for the India Industry Sector.
Indian Economy grew by 5.4 per cent in 2001-02, which is
considered to be one of the highest growth rates in the world
for the year. This growth is supported by a growth rate of 5.7
per cent in agriculture and allied sectors, 3.3 percent in
industry and 6.5 per cent in services.
Overall agricultural output is estimated to increase by
nearly 7 per cent in 2001- 02. Food grains production is
expected to rise to 209 million tons compared with 196
million tons in 2000-01. Prospects of agricultural production
in 2001-02 are considered to be bright as a result of normal
monsoon and relatively favorable distribution of rainfall over
time and regions.

While the Indian industry sector grew by 3.3 per cent,

with in industry sector segments like construction showed a
lower growth in 2000-01, there was marked improvement in
the growth rates of manufacturing (from 4.2 per cent in
1999-00 to 6.7 per cent in 2000-01) and mining and
quarrying (from 2 per cent to 3.3 per cent during the same
period). The growth rate of electricity, gas and water supply
remained almost invariant at around 6.2 per cent for both
1999-2000 and 2000-01.

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 During 1993-94 to 1999-2000 the service sector had
achieved consistently high growth rates in the range of 7.1
per cent to 10.5 per cent. But for the first time in 2000-01,
the growth rate of the service sector declined to 4.8 per cent
due to poor performance by financial sector, trade hotels
and restaurants, and community and social services.

In India there are so many pharmaceutical company those

who are providing better service but APOLLO PHARMACY
provides the best.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

This project is based on “Consumer’s Perception about

Retail Medicine Services provided by Apollo Pharmacy”.

In every retail field so many consumers or customers are

procuring their needs every day and every moment. Their needs
are different and the processes by which they fulfill their needs
are also different. So every retail body is trying to update
themselves by which they can fulfill their customers’ needs and
wants.

For updating themselves these companies are recruiting some

surveyors for continuous process of market survey. By this survey
they easily come to know the exact position of their buyers,
competitors’ position, consumers’ demands and as well as the
drawback of the concern company. These information help the
company for re- organized their schemes and policies for
executing the consumers’ desires.

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Apollo Pharmacy, a unit of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, is
one of largest medicine chain of Asia as well as the World. Every
day and every moment 1000 of consumers or patients are
enjoying the services provided by the Apollo Pharmacy only. But
among them a few percentage of consumers are also here who
are not so satisfy due to unavailability of medicines, misbehavior
by the staffs or some other reasons.

This very project is trying to find out the exact frame of mind of
the regular or irregular consumers of the Apollo Pharmacy.
“Consumers’ perception” is the key word of the recent trend
of Retail World and this project makes a clear storyline of the
perception of Apollo’s consumers.

An overview of the organization

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 Introduction

Chairman’s Voice

In 1979, An Indian who could not go to US for a heart

surgery, devoid of required medical attention here, died on the
Deepavali day. This was the turning point in the life of an
entrepreneur, who carved the corporate healthcare niche in India
- Dr. Prathap C Reddy

Dr. Pratap C. Reddy is a doctor and businessman who

founded the first corporate chain of hospitals in India, the Apollo
Hospitals Group. He is the Executive Chairman of the company.

Dr. Reddy graduated from the prestigious Madras Christian

College. He is a trained cardiologist with international experience;
Dr. Reddy worked at the Missouri State Chest Hospital, where he
headed several research programs. The absence of world-class
medical facilities in India spurred him to set up the first Apollo
Hospital in Chennai in 1983, at a time when private healthcare
institutions were virtually unknown in India. Over the years, Dr.
Reddy has been able to attract the best medical talent to India
including doctors from hospitals in the US and UK. For his
contributions, Dr. Reddy was awarded the Padma Bhushan in
1991.

Vision

To develop a community of care and concern that caters to

our customers with the most innovative retail management
programs, services and technology.

Mission

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 To be a responsive round-the-clock pharmacy retailer to our
prospective customers

Quality Policy

“Apollo Pharmacy” with the largest retail pharmacy network,

is committed to servicing its customers, ensuring:-
Reliability : High quality drugs, Cold Chain
Informed Customer Care : Trained Manpower
Convenience : Home Delivery, ATM, Call Center

History of the Organization

Recent Credentials

Apollo Pharmacy is awarded

‘Star Retailer for the year 2007 in the Health &

Beauty’ instituted by Franchise & Retail Holding India.

Ms. Shobana Kamineni is awarded ‘Women

Entrepreneur of the year 2007’

Awarded the ‘Modern Medicare Excellence Award

2006-07’, by ICICI Group.

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 Awarded Sir Neel Ratan Sarkar award for Medical

Excellence in 1998

Awarded Padma Bhushan in 1991

First to introduce corporate chain of hospitals in India

Awarded Padma Vibhusan to Dr. Prathap C Reddy in

2010

Pharmacy Evolution…..

Started operations in 1983 as a Hospital Based Pharmacy

providing pharmacy services to the patients coming to the
corporate Apollo Hospital, Chennai

An Integrated Healthcare Apollo Group

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 Telemedicine
Apollo
AHERF
Spectra Health
Clinical
Research
Education
Street Ltd
&
Centre (SCRC)
Research

Nation wide Apollo Pharmacy presence

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Special

features

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Unique Selling Proposition

• Genuine Medicine
• Refilling of Prescription
• 24 Hours Customers Services
• Well Stocked Pharmacy
• Manned by Competent Staff
• Computerized System
• Cold Chain Maintenance
• Protocols
• Internal Quality Certification

Merchandising @ Apollo

• Moving from Curative to Wellness

• Customer Engagement
• Enhanced Product Mix
• In-store Experience

Pharmacy assistance through Any Time Medicine (ATM)

Apollo Pharmacy provides round the clock pharmacy assistance to
doctors, who are keen to enhance medicine delivery to their
patients.

Benefits of ATM

Our ATM service benefits both doctors and patients enabling

them improve doctor-patient relationships and foster feelings of
trust and dependence. There are no extra charges for this service
to either doctor or patient.

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Marketing Activities

• Free Health Check Camps

• Door to Door campaigns in the Neighborhood of all the
Pharmacies
• TV scrolling in the Local channels
• News paper advertisements, Pharmacy / ATM Fliers inserts
• Screening the slides in City Theaters
• ATM banners at Prominent city locations
• Flute boards display within 1 KM radius of next pharmacy.

Call Centre

➢ Call center manned by qualified Pharmacist

➢ Running at Chennai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkat and
Hyderabad. Service Regular and ATM customers for
prescription reminders.

Corporate Tie Ups

Private Ltd Co. - TI Group, TVS Group

Banks - RBI, ICICI, SBI, NABARD
Defence - Military, Air force, Navy, ICF
IT - Infosys, Satyam, HCL
Govt. Org. - Indian Airlines, NMDC, Railways
Hospitals - SRM, St. Anthony Hospitals

• Godrej Aadhaar tie-up in Maharashtra & Punjab

• IRDA-(Indian Rural Development Authority) tie-up in AP
• IOCL-(Indian Oil Corporation) for petrol pumps countrywide
• ITC E- choupal tie- up in MP
• Tie-ups with Birla Super mart, Spencers Daily, Kendriya
Bhandar and Bharat Petroleum are in progress.

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 Departmental study

Classification of Pharmacies

l Hospital Based Pharmacy (HBP)

2 Clinic Based Pharmacy (CBP)

3 Stand Alone Pharmacy (SAP)

Pharmacy Evolution Contd.…..

• 1983 First HBP in Apollo Hospital, Chennai

• 1988 First SAP started in Mandaveli, Chennai, April 04

• 1990 Computerized Networking in all Retail pharmacies

• 1991 First CBP inaugurated in T-nagar, Chennai,

December 05

Pharmacy evolution …Till Date

• 1992 First SAP in Hyderabad in RTC X roads, April 03

• 1998 First Expansion phase

• 2005 Introduced Doctor’s ATM

• 2007

1. Introduced ATM (Customer Loyalty Program), Hyderabad

2. New format store introduced in Hyderabad, Banjara Hills,
January 24

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 3. Second Expansion phase

Detailed study of department related to my

specialization

Types of SAP

There are three types of Stand Alone Pharmacy

• High street pharmacy (in commercial and business places

with av. Area of 300 - 400 sq. ft)

• Convenience pharmacy (in residential places with av. Area

of 300 sq. ft)

• Flagship pharmacy (one stop shop for pharmacy &

wellness with av. Area of 1000 sq. ft)

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 COMPETITORS

Apollo hospital is the largest healthcare group in Asia. It has 41

hospitals in & around India. Today Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd.
Is the leading private sector healthcare provider in India and owns
and manages a network of speciality hospitals and clinics.

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Group Companies of Apollo Hospitals

Apollo Health Street Limited: It is a global healthcare services

company that offers business process outsourcing and IT
solutions and services to a global clientele.

Apollo Pharmacies: It is the largest retail pharmacy chain in

India with over 70 round-the-clock retail outlets in India. Apollo
Pharmacies is moving towards offering e-prescription based
services to the end user and the doctor.

Apollo Health & Lifestyle Limited: Apollo Health & Lifestyle

Limited (AHLL) is engaged in establishing a network of clinics in
India and neighbouring countries. It intends to address the day-to-
day health needs of common people by providing a range of
superior quality healthcare services at affordable prices.

MedVarsity Online Limited (MOL): MedVarsity Online Limited

is promoted by Apollo Hospitals and NIIT Ltd. MedVarsity has
developed over 1500 hours of medical content that is accessible
to the medical community anytime and anywhere.

Apollo Telemedicine Enterprises Limited (ATEL): Apollo

Telemedicine Enterprises Limited has developed the 'Apollo
Telemedicine Network' that allows the participant sites to
collaborate with institutions in the country and abroad and
provides their clientele access to better healthcare in areas not
adequately served by the medical community.

Family Health Plan Limited (FHP): The company deals in the

healthcare insurance sector and is the largest Third Party
Administrator (TPA) in Asia.

Equipment World: Equipment World sources and selects high-

end medical equipment, catalogues and provides expert advice

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and services on technology, techno-commercial issues.

Keimed.com Limited: Keimed.com Limited is a unified national

pharmaceutical procurement and supply chain management
company for a wide range of medical goods, consumables, drugs,
surgical, health and personal care products.

Major Achievements of Apollo Hospitals

• Apollo Hospital, Chennai is the first Indian hospital to be
awarded the 1S0 9002 and ISO 14001 Certifications.

• Apollo Hospital, Chennai is the first Indian hospital to

introduce newer techniques in coronary angioplasty,
stereotactic radiotherapy and radio-surgery (for CNS
tumors).

• Apollo Hospital, Chennai is the first to perform liver, multi-

organ and cord blood transplants in India.

• Apollo Hospital, Delhi is first Indian hospital to receive the

Joint Commission International (JCI) USA accreditation-the
gold-standard in hospital certifications worldwide.

• Apollo Hospital, Delhi performed the first successful liver-

kidney transplant in the Indian sub-continent.

METHODOLOGY

Basically there are two types of project.

These are:
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 1. Door to door Project.

2. Market research and Survey Based Project.

 Door to door Project:

Door to door project is that kind of project where it is basically
based on Sales Promotion.

Sales promotion considers some important factors before

launching the promotional scheme. Before introducing a sales
promotion scheme, markets must have to consider the
following points –

➢ Size of the sales promotion: Survey says either 10% decrease

in price of medicine and other p/L product only can attract the
customers. So this point should be considered carefully.

➢ Duration: Sales promotions are to be introduced for a short

period only so that it can not dilute the brand image of the
product.

➢ Choose the proper distribution vehicle: Decide how many

channel members and who are they involved in the promotion.

➢ Timing: when the promotion will be offered, such as a

promotional offer of medicine and other product during the
diabetic camp or any special day.

Sales promotion process: There are different stages of

sales promotion, these are –

Identify the target customer

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 Determine the communication objectives

Design the message

Select the communication channel

Deciding on the marketing communications

mix

Stage 1: Identify target customer: The process must start

with a clear target customer. In case of medicine it is now
become a daily usage of household. But there are some
audience those who are the potential buyers of the company’s
product. Basically they are maintaining the brand name
APOLLO PHARMACY. We have to target those audiences. On
the other hand we have to target the current users, individuals,
groups, general public.

In my project work I have targeted the above mentioned

customers and the feedback was excellent.

Stage 2: Determine the communication objectives: The

representative of the company can be seeking a cognitive,
affective and behavioral response. That is the person might

22
want to put something in to the customer’s mind to change the
mind.

Example: During my project work of sales promotion when I

communicate with a customer who is the user of other
pharmacy. But when I am talking about the 10 % discount on
medicine price and other product provided by APOLLO
PHARMACY then the customer have shown some extra
interest on it.

Stage 3: Design the message: Having defined the desired

response, the communicator moves to developing an effective
message.

Stage 4: Select the communication channels: The

communicator must select efficient channels to carry the
message. In the case of pharmaceutical company sales person
can rarely wrest more than 5 minutes’ time from a customer or
a busy physician. The presentation must be crisp, quick, and
convincing. These include placing medical journal or pamphlets
about the medicine or the specialty provided by Apollo
pharmacy.

Stage 5: Deciding on the marketing communications

mix: Company must allocate the promotion budget over the
give promotional tools – advertising, sales promotion, public
relation, and publicity.

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  Market research and Survey based project:
This type of project is totally based on marketing
research. It can be defined as is the systematic gathering,
recording, analyzing of information about organizations.

Here this project is a Research Project from “Apollo

Pharmacy, A unit of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited”.
This project is trying to find out consumer’s perception on Retail
Medicine Chain. For that reason a proper market research require.

Values of market research: A wide variety of information

used to support the marketing decisions can be obtained from
market research. The values are –

• Information about the market

• Information about product

• Information about pricing

• Information about promotion in the market

• Information about distribution in the market

Types of marketing research:

Ad Tracking: This is periodic market research to

monitor the brand image.

Brand Equity research: It unveils how favorably do

consumer view the brand?

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 Brand name testing: What do consumers feel about
the names of product?

Concept testing: To test the acceptance of a concept

by a target consumer.

Buyer decision processes research: To determine

what motivate buyers to buy the product.

Price elasticity testing: To determine how sensitive

customers are to price changes.

Marketing research process:

Marketing research briefly refers to all type of marketing

activities conducted in the field of marketing. It is a function
which links the consumer customer and public to the
marketer through information.

Marketer

Consumer Public

Customer

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 Some point regarding the marketing research design process
still need some more explanation and they are provided below-

1. Exploratory Research.

2. Qualitative Research

3. Descriptive Research.

4. Causal Research.

• Exploratory Research:
Exploratory research is used when one is seeking insights into
the general nature of a problem, the possible decision
alternatives, and relevant variables that need to be considered.
Typically there is little prior knowledge on which to build the
research methods which are highly flexible, unstructured and
qualitative. Exploratory research is also useful for establishing
priorities among research questions and for learning about
practical problems carrying out the research. Studies may
involve reviewing published data, interviewing people,
conducting focus groups, investigating literature. The output of
an exploratory research will not be answered but more specific
questions or statement of tentative relationship will be
addressed.
• Qualitative Research:
It is usually exploratory and diagnostic, and then the
research designed primarily for exploratory purposes, such as
getting oriented to the range and complexity of consumer
activity, clarifying the problem and identifying likely
methodological problems.

Group Interviews Case Studies Projective Techniques

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 • Descriptive Research:
Descriptive research refers to a set of methods and
procedures that describe marketing variables. Descriptive studies
portray these variables by answering who, what, why, and how
questions. This type of research studies may describe such things
as consumer’s attitudes, intentions, behaviors or the number of
competitors and their strategies. The great majority of descriptive
studies are cross sectional, although some use longitudinal
information. These types of studies generally employ a structured
questionnaire and the emphasis is on generating an accurate
picture of relationship between and among variables.

Consumer’s attitude Behaviors

Intentions

• Causal Research:
Causal research design is conducted by controlling various
factors to determine which factor is causing the problem. It
allows you to isolate causes and effects. By changing one
factor, say price you can monitor its effects on a key
consequence such as sales. Although casual research can give
you a high level of understanding of variable you are studying,
the design often require experiments that are complex and
expensive.

Data Collection:

There are two ways to do market research.

1. Primary Research.

27
 2. Secondary Research.

DATA
COLLECTIO

➢ Primary Research

• Primary Research involves collecting new information to

meet your specific needs.

Primary research can be:

• Qualitative:
Gathering descriptive information, usually represent verbal or
narrative data through open-ended interviews or focus groups.

○ Open-ended interviews are composed of questions that

can not be answered with a simple yes or no. This type
of interview gives you a lot of information, but is time
consuming for both you and the person you are
interviewing. The greatest benefit to you is that you will
learn a lot about the group you are studying including
common trends, emotional motivators, and general
likes and dislikes of your primary market.

28
 ○ Focus groups should be lead by professionals skilled in
leading small groups of 6 to 12 people through a series
of questions ranging from specific to general in nature.
Usually, focus group sessions last for at least an hour.
Since focus groups must be lead by trained
professionals to be most effective, they are the most
expensive form of market research.

• Quantitative:
Gathering numerical information these can be analyzed
statistically through surveys.

○ Surveys take longer to develop, but are generally

easier to administer than other types of market
research. Since they take less time to complete, people
are usually more willing to answer them. Also, surveys
provide excellent information if they are well-
constructed with thoughtful questions. The easiest and
most cost effective way to conduct surveys is either by
telephone or where the product is sold.

Primary data sources:

 Individual.
 Target Customer.
 Actual Customer.
 Potential Customer.
 Users.
 Employees.
 Competitors.
 Distributors.
 Suppliers.

29
 Method of Primary Data collections:
1. Interviews
2. Product Tests
3. Projective Techniques
4. Focus Groups

➢ Secondary Research:

In secondary market research you analyze information that has

been gathered for some other purpose. This saves you the cost of
gathering the data so it is more economical, given that you can
find data in the form that you need it.

The data used may be a study, a group of articles on a topic, or

demographic or statistical data gathered by someone else. For
example, the demographic data about car owners in your county
available from your Chamber of Commerce may be just the
information you need - and it is already available.

Secondary Research Activities:

1.Review and analyze the existing data on your target markets

available from magazines, books, published research studies,
and government publications

2.Evaluate the competition.

3. Assess social, economic, and political environmental factors.

30
 There are two types of secondary data, one is Internal
Secondary Data and another is External Secondary Data.
➢ Internal Secondary Data: Internal Secondary Data are
generated within the organization itself such as sales
persons call report, sales invoice and accounting.

➢ External Secondary Data: On the other, External

Secondary Data are generated from out side of the
organization. Such as Govt. report, trade union journal etc.

Sources of Secondary Data

 Newspaper.

 Internet.

 TV advertisement.

 Journal (In house).

 Printed books and brochures.

 Certificate issued by various Universities and

Health Institute

 Telephone Interview and Personal Interview.

 In house CDs.
There are four types of basic measurement technique used
in market research:
 Questionnaire Method.

 Attitude Scale.

 Observation.

31
  Depth Interview and Projective technique.

By the help of Questionnaire Method the project is prepared.

Questionnaire Method:
A Questionnaire Method consist of a set of question presented
to the responded for the answers because of its flexibility the
answer is by far the most common instrument used to collect the
primary data. Its need to carefully develop tested and debugged
before they are administered on a large scale.
Characteristics of good questionnaire:
1. It should be designed in such a manner that helps to collect
data without effecting the quality of information.
2. Does not insist any body to provide biased information.
3. Enable interviewer to understand the question.
4. Ensure that respondents can also understand the question.

There are various steps involved in process of questionnaire

design. These are –

♠ Determine specific data to be sought.

♠ Determine the interview process.
♠ Collection of information.
♠ Evaluate the question content.
♠ Determine the response format.
♠ Determine the wording of the question.
♠ Determine the question structure.
♠ Pretest.
♠ Interview.
♠ Analysis.

These steps are discussed below: -----

32
 Determine specific data to be sought:

This is the very first step in the questionnaire method. It is

the method of study that involves finding out the specific data
from the secondary data.

In this method it is also determine the respondent.

After completion of the above steps now analyze the data.

Now Retail Medicine Chain is one of the booming sectors in Indian

economy so, the subject “Consumer’s Perception on Retail
Medicine Chain provided by Apollo Pharmacy, A unit of
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited” is very suggestive.

 Determine the interview process:

After a proper sought of the data the main thing is the

determine the interview process. This is very vital steps to take
the interview. Researcher has to decide the communication
media.

 Collection of information:

The next step of the processing is Collection of information.

A lot of hard work has been done in this step. The information
about the history of the company, departmental study,
competitors details are collected from the senior employee of the
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd. and from----

 Business journals.
 Website.
 Newspaper.
 Brochures.

33
 Evaluate the question content:

The next step of the processing is evaluating the question

content. Questionnaire should consist of relevant question which
will provide meaningful data considering-

1. Respondent must understand the question.

2. Respondent must have information to provide.

 Determine the response format:

The next step is determining the response format.

Researcher has to decide the type of question he or she should
use. There are two types of questions-

1. Open ended question

• Free response
• Probing
• Projective techniques

1. Closed ended question

•Ranking
•Check list
•Multiple choice
•Scales

 Determine the wording of question:

Define the issue and each question should be checked against

six points, i.e. who, what, where, when, why and how.

34
 Researcher has to concentrate on specific rules of
questionnaire.

 Avoid lengthy question

 Avoid ambiguous question
 Avoid double meaning question
 Avoid biased question

 Determine the structure of the question:

The general principle of setting a questionnaire is as follows

1. Lead questions: Start the flow of responses and gain

rapport.
2. Qualifying questions: To find out whether the person is
right or wrong.
3. Warm up questions: To direct thinking and memory.
4. Specific questions: About the feeling of respondent.
5. Demographic questions: About age, sex, name of the
respondent

 Pretest:

In this stage researcher tests the questionnaire to determine

whether the questionnaire is full proof or not. He should look
after different aspect of the questionnaire i.e. sequence,
understandability, of word and phrases, size of the
questionnaire.

35
 Analyze:

The final step of the processing is analysis portion. In this

step, all the results of the market survey are graphically and
theoretically plotted.

I have been done my analysis in Naihati where a diabetic

camp was held and it was provided by APOLLO PHARMACY, A
UNIT OF APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTERPRISE LTD.

ANALYSIS

This is the main part of the project. After doing all the market
research and survey activities the result will be out. The all
technical part has been done here. This is the backbone of the
project.

In this stage I am going to plot all the data in graphically which I

have been collected from survey. The survey basically made in
urban and semi-urban area. The conclusion and the result will be
come out after this analysis.

The analysis is based on CONSUMER PERCEPTION ABOUT

REATAIL MEDICINE PROVIDED BY APOLLO PHARMACY, A
UNIT OF APOLLO HASPITAL ENTERPRISE LTD. The analysis is
based on questionnaire method. The data are collected from this
method. The questions are as follows:

36
 1. Awareness about Retail Medicine Chain.
2. Acceptance of Apollo Pharmacy.
3. Competitor’s position.
4. Acceptance of 24 Hours Services Provided by Apollo
Pharmacy.
5. Acceptance of Free Home Delivery Provided by Apollo
Pharmacy.
6. After marketing customer’s feedback.
7. Consumer inflow through.
8. Age group of respondents.
9. How often do they visit the Apollo Pharmacy Outlet?
10.Why they do visit Apollo Pharmacy?
11.Satisfaction level of consumer based on post purchase
behavior.

AWARENESS ABOUT RETAIL MEDICINE

After conduct my survey of 50 samples I have been found

that the Awareness about Retail Medicine of the consumer is
poor. 52% consumer said that they have no idea about it.

EXCELLENT VERY GOOD POOR AVERAGE

GOOD
6% 10% 18% 52% 14%

37
 ACCEPTANCE OF APOLLO PHARMACY

The acceptance of APOLLO PHARMACY on the consumer is very

good. The survey shows that 66% consumer accepts APOLLO
PHARMACY as very good.

EXCELLENT VERY GOOD GOOD

28% 66% 6%

COMPETITOR’S POSITION

38
 There are so many competitors of APOLLO PHARMACY. But during
the survey I have been found that consumer mostly like APOLLO
PHARMACY than our competitors. The competitors are as follows:

1. MEDICA SYNERGYE
2. MEDPLUS
3. FRANKROSE
4. DHANANTARI

EPTANCE OF 24 HOURS SERVICES PROVIDED BY APOLLO PHA

Apollo pharmacy has provided 24 HOURS SERVICES to the

customer. The consumers are very much satisfied for this facility.
75% consumer said it is excellent.

EXCELLENT VERY GOOD GOOD

75% 20% 5%

39
ACCEPTANCE OF FREE HOME DELIVERY PROVIDED BY APOLLO PHA

APOLLO PHARMACY has provided FREE HOME DELIVERY to the

customer. Survey shows that 70% consumer said it is excellent.

EXCELLENT VERY GOOD

70% 30%

AFTER MARKETING CUSTOMER’S FEEDBACK

40
The main thing is customers’ feedback about APOLLO PHARMACY.
After doing the survey the 95% feedback are positive.

CONSUMER INFLOW THROUGH

There are various steps regarding consumer inflow.

The steps are as follows:

1. Marketing team.
2. Door to door campaigning.
3. Advertisement through banner & poster.
4. Pamphlets paper inside.
5. Medical camp.
6. Others various sources.

The survey shows that the Door To Door Campaigning is the main
process of consumer inflow.

41
 AGE GROUP OF THE RESPONDENTS

There are several people I have been met during my survey. They
are from different age group also. I have been divided the age
group in following manner

1. 18 to 25 years
2. 26 to 40 years
3. 41 to 59 years
4. 60 years & above

The survey shows that 44% people belongs to 41 to 59 years.

SCHEDULE OF VISIT TO APOLLO PHARMACY

42
The schedule of visit to APOLLO PHARMACY is different for
different customers. The survey shows that 60% customer visit
Apollo Pharmacy as per requirement.

MONTHLY FORTNIGHTLY WEEKLY AS PER

REQUIREMEN
T
30% 4% 6% 60%

REASONS BEHIND VISIT APOLLO PHARMACY

There are several reasons behind why do they visited Apollo

Pharmacy. The reasons are as follows:

 Quality
 Variety
 All under one roof
 Brand name
 Service
 Outlet ambience
 Friendly behavior
 Privilege scheme
 Easy access

The survey shows that the service is the main reason behind it.

43
SATISFACTION LEVEL BASED ON POST PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

After doing all the hard work I have been found the satisfaction
level of customer after post purchase behavior is satisfied. The
survey shows that the 48% customers are satisfied and 34% are
highly satisfied.

SATISFIED HIGHLY UNSATISFIED AVERAGE

SATISFIED
48% 34% 6% 12%

SWOT ANALYSIS

44
During my survey I have been found some STRENGTH,
WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITY and THREAT. I am now going to
analysis this. This is called SWOT ANALYSIS.

STRENGTH WEAKNESS OPPORTUNIT THREAT

Y

Brand name Lack of stock Potential Continuous

in newly market monotonous
open outlets availability approach

Service to Not creative Widening the Low pricing

the customer in respective business strategy
fields

Quality of Lack of Brands for ads Toughest

product knowledge competition
about
doctors

Systematic Monotonous Tie up with

approach approach other medicine
company

Provide After sales Adapt different

general service strategy
awareness

FINDINGS

45
The market research has been done in the Urban and Semi-
Urban area of Kolkata and other district. The survey reveals some
points during my project days. Though my project based on
Consumer Perception about Retail Medicine Chain Provided by
Apollo Pharmacy, but I have been found some solution for
betterment of the Pharmacy. These are as follows:

1. The customers are relatively new in the pharmacy.

2. The stock of the medicine should be increased.

3. The awareness has to be growing in the consumer.

4. Use the brand name as for promotion.

5. 24 hours service is the great idea.

6. Discount on medicine as well as other product it is another

USP of pharmacy.

7. The survey reveals that the customers are satisfied and

highly satisfied to the pharmacy, it needs to carry.

When everybody is in sleep, Apollo Pharmacy works for the

society 24hrs and 365 days. They work for the consumer & work
for the society. So the only motto of the company is to evaluate
consumers’ wants and needs everyday and night by which they
can remain a deep impression on our society.

LIMITATIONS

46
The survey has been gave me some extra opportunity to gather
information about real market scenario which will give an extra
mileage in future. But there are some limitations also during the
project which I can’t overlook. The limitations are as follows:

1. Duration of the project by which I have been gathered some

data but it is not sufficient.
2. The project has been done in the urban and semi-urban area
for that the whole scenario of the consumer perception may
not effective.
3. The survey reveals that the consumer has no idea about
retail medicine chain so the answer of the questions may be
biased.
4. The respondents were in hurry to give the answer of the
questionnaire.
5. The customers were reluctant to give the answer.
6. Some respondents did not co-operate at all.

47
 CONCLUSION

After doing all the hard work I have been reached to the
conclusion part on consumer perception about retail medicine
chain provided by Apollo Pharmacy. After doing the market
survey I want to cite some point on thinking which helps the
company.

This project can’t change the entire scenario of the company but
definitely it helps to some extent of the company’s future policies.

The areas of this project are as follows:

• Awareness about retail medicine chain

• Acceptance of Apollo Pharmacy.
• Competitor’s position.
• Acceptance of 24 Hours Services Provided by Apollo
Pharmacy.
• Acceptance of Free Home Delivery Provided by Apollo
Pharmacy.
• After marketing customer’s feedback.
• Consumer inflow through.
• Age group of respondents.
• How often do they visit the Apollo Pharmacy Outlet?
• Why they do visit Apollo Pharmacy?
• Satisfaction level of consumer based on post purchase
behavior.

48
After doing all the hardcore market survey I have been found that
the customer accept the Apollo Pharmacy very good way in some
areas like 24 hour service, free home delivery, outlet ambience,
service from pharmacy, easy access of medical as well as p/L
product, honesty from the staff.

But except these the survey shows that there is no awareness

about the retail medicine chain among the customer. The survey
was conducted in the urban and semi-urban area. They don’t
have any idea about what is retail medicine chain. They don’t
have any idea about brand name. The survey shows that the
customer those who are visit Apollo Pharmacy because it is
nearest to their residency, 24 hour service, discount on the
medical as well as p/L, and another FMCG product.

The survey also shows that the Free Health Check Up Camp
provided by Apollo Pharmacy which is the great USP for the
Pharmacy. The idea of this kind of camp will give the great
mileage to the pharmacy in future also.

Another USP of the company is the p/L product. The consumers

are not able to get this kind of product from local medical shop or
any other medicine shop. To some extent it gives the company
some extra mileage.

Consumer Awareness, Availability and variety of the products are

two key working area of the company (Apollo Pharmacy). In future
these two fields required more and more concentration for
enhancing the business as well as the goodwill of the company.
Electronic Media and Print Media can help the awareness of the
consumers and regular monitoring required for the enhancement
of the stocks. In the other hand the general awareness or the
mass awareness need to be increase among the public. They
should know what retail medicine chain is.

49
 RECOMMENDATIONS

The project is based on Consumer Perception about Retail

Medicine Chain Provided by Apollo Pharmacy. It has been done in
the urban and semi-urban area. Though the reputation of the
pharmacy in urban area is good but in the semi urban area it is
very poor. The survey reveals that the customers visit Apollo
pharmacy as per their requirements only other wise they used to
go in the local medicine shop.

So first of all some serious steps have to be take for the growth of
the company. The steps are as follows:

 The general awareness and the mass awareness have to be

increased.

 The company should use print media and electronic media to

inform the customer about the pharmacy.

 The monotonous approach by the company should be

rectifying.

 The company must have adopted some creative and

innovative process for avoiding monotonous activity.

 During the survey I have been found that the customer want
the doctor should be there in the pharmacy. The company
should think on this issue.

 As per survey it reveals that our competitors have been take

some great idea on Free Health Check Up issue. They
50
 have been done it on their pharmacy in very regular basis.
Those who are coming to buy medicine they made the check
up on there. This is the spot check up which is may give
them some extra mileage. The company should adopt this
kind of process to increase their position in the market.

 The list of doctor those who are visited in the Apollo hospital,
it should be available in the pharmacy. The survey reveals
that the customers want to get the information about
doctors and their visiting hours and other issues also. So the
whole information should be available in the pharmacy.

 The customers don’t know about what is p/L product. They

don’t have any idea about these products. So attractive
advertisements of these kinds of products and general
awareness about these products should be increased. The
company should think on it.

 Awareness among the sub-urban areas people should be

increased. The company should use their brand image.
Increase the motivational factors among the customers
about the brand of Apollo Pharmacy, as well as Apollo
Hospital.

Last but not the least Apollo Pharmacy has been served here for
so long time in here, so they have some reputation among
customers. If anybody said that I am from Apollo Hospital so the
customer can’t neglect them for sure.

51
 APPENDIX

Questionnaire
Name:…………………………………………………………………………… Phone Number:………………… ………………

Address:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
1. Awareness about Retail Medicine Chain

Excellent Very Good Good Poor Average

2. Acceptance of Apollo Pharmacy

Excellent Very Good Good Poor Average

3. Awareness about the Brand Name of Retail Medicine Chain

Yes
No
a. Apollo Pharmacy

b. Medica Synergye

c. MedPlus

d. Frankrose

e. Dhanantari

f. Others
4. Acceptance of 24 Hours Services provided by Apollo Pharmacy

Excellent Very Good Good Poor Average

5. Acceptance of Free Home Delivery provided by Apollo Pharmacy

Excellent Very Good Good Poor Average

6. After Marketing Customer’s Feedback positive negative

7. Consumer inflow through

52
 a. Marketing Team

b. Door to Door Campaigning

c. Advertisement through Banner & Poster

d. Pamphlets Paper insert

e. Medical Camp

f. Others Various Sources

8. Age Group of the Respondents

18 to 25 Years 26 to 40 Years 41 to 59 Years 60 Years & above

9. Variety of the Product Movement

Medicine Surgical General Item (Misc.) others

10.Variety of the Medicine Movement

Diabetic Cardiac General (OTC Product) Neuro

11.How often do you visited the Apollo Pharmacy Outlet

Monthly Fortnightly Weekly As per requirement

12.Which Medicine Retail Outlet do you visited frequently
a. Apollo Pharmacy

b. Medica Synergye

c. MedPlus

d. Frankrose

e. Dhanantari

f. Others Local Shop

13.Why do you visited Apollo Pharmacy
a. Quality

b. Variety

c. All under one Roof

d. Brand Name

e. Service

f. Outlet Ambience

g. Friendly Behavior

h. Privilege Scheme

i. Easy Access

14.Indicate Your Satisfaction Level Based on Post Purchase Behavior

53
 Satisfied Highly Satisfied Unsatisfied Average

17. Reamrks …………………………………………………....………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………..

Date : ………………………………
Place : Survey made by

INTERVIEW DETAILS

SL NO. NAME INTERVIEW DATE

1. MR.SOMNATH PODDAR 25/07/10
2. MR.SANKAR SARKAR 25/07/10
3. MR.M.M.TUDO 25/07/10
4. MR.ARINDAM SAHA 25/07/10
5. MR.SUBHAS CH. BISWAS 25/07/10
6. MRS.ANU ROY 25/07/10
7. MR.SANTANU DASGUPTA 25/07/10
8. MRS.BAKUL SAHA 25/07/10
9. MR.T.K. NATH 25/07/10
10. MR.PRASANTA PAUL 25/07/10
11. MR.GOUTAM DEBNATH 25/07/10
12. MR.SANJOY DUTTA 25/07/10
13. MRS.LALTI DAS 25/07/10
14. MR.RATAN SAHA 25/07/10
15. MR.TAPAN SAHA 25/07/10
16. MR.SWAPAN DAS 25/07/10
17. MRS.RANU BALA GHOSH 25/07/10
18. MR.KAJAL BANDHOPADHAYAY 25/07/10

54
19. MR.NARAYAN CHANDRA 25/07/10
20. MR.ARINDAM NEOGI 25/07/10
21. MRS.RANU SAHA 25/07/10
22. MR.SOMNATH SAHA 25/07/10
23. MR.S.NAG 25/07/10
24. MR.J. NEOGI 25/07/10
25. MR.GOPINATH SAHA 25/07/10
26. MR.ANIL DAS 25/07/10
27. MRS.LAXMI GHOSH 25/07/10
28. MRS.ANU SAHA 25/07/10
29. MR.ASHOK SIKDAR 25/07/10
30. MR.BINOD RAJAK 25/07/10
31. MRS.KALPANA ROY 25/07/10
32. MR.SANTANU DAS 25/07/10
33. MRS.SHAMASHREE MAJUMDAR 25/07/10
34. MRS.MALATI KARMAKAR 25/07/10
35. MR.SANJOY MUKHERJEE 25/07/10
36. MR.S.K. MANI 25/07/10
37. MR.BISWAJIT CHAKRABORTY 25/07/10
38. MR.S. CHANDA 25/07/10
39. MRS.MADHABI BHOWMICK 25/07/10
40. MRS.JOTCHNA SARKAR 25/07/10
41. MR.BHUPEN BHOWMICK 25/07/10
42. MR.ASHIS BHOWMICK 25/07/10
43. MR.PANCHANAN 25/07/10
CHAKRABORTY
44. MRS.SHILA BHOWMICK 25/07/10
45. MR.ASHIM GHOSH 25/07/10
46. MR.NARESH.CH.CHAKRABORTY 25/07/10
47. MRS.PURNIMA GHOSH 25/07/10
48. MRS.RITA SIKDAR 25/07/10

55
49. MR.TAPAN KR. DAS 25/07/10
50. MRS.SADHANA BHOWMICK 25/07/10

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. http://www.apollopharmacy.in

2. http://www.apollohospitals.com

3. http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com

4. http://www.allbusiness.com

5. Kotler P., MARKETING MANAGEMENT, 13TH EDISION

6. ROBBINS S.P., ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

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