Brand Positioning Using Multidimensional Scaling Technique: An Application to Herbal Healthcare Brands in Indian Market

The purpose of this article is to identify significant differences in the positioning of brands in the segment of herbal healthcare in Indian market by multidimensional scaling (MDS) method. The herbal healthcare market is an ever-growing segment of the healthcare market, due to the increasing trend towards self-medication and inclination to the use of natural products. The research presents insights into the importance of marketing attributes which influence the consumer perception of this segment. The study was conducted in North India using a structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. A derived approach to MDS was used in which consumer perception ratings of selected brands on various marketing attributes were done. These nine attributes were identified and itemized from the review of literature and pre-tests as per their importance to consumer. Factor analysis deduced important marketing dimensions from these nine attributes namely product quality (PQ), brand effect (BE) and price affordability (PA). MDS was used to map the perception of selected brands, drawing two-dimensional maps. The brands selected were on the basis of a pre-test which identified the most commonly used brands in the segment as Dabur, Himalaya, Zandu, Patanjali and Hamdard. The results indicate that Dabur and Himalaya are positioned higher than Zandu, Patanjali and Hamdard in the minds of the consumers on quality and BE, with both occupying a strong positive quality and brand image perception. Hamdard had a high BE, but low-quality perception, and Zandu reported a near neutral perception on all the marketing dimensions. Patanjali has a higher PA perception in comparison to the other brands, however, the segment of herbal healthcare was found to be price tolerant. Finally, the article presents conclusions and important managerial implications with the scope of further research and directions.