A Study on Comparative Analysis of Marketing Strategies of Local and Foreign Ice-Cream Companies and Consumers' Buying Behavior

Dukjo Park

Dept. of Commercial Education

Graduate School of Education

Sookmyung Women's University

As our per capita GNP exceeds 10 thousand dollars various socio economic sectors are subject to changes. Along with such changes, local ice-cream market is also changing.

Imported ice-creams with high milky fat contents attack our consumers' tastes using unique marketing strategies. Currently, 30 - 40 foreign ice-creams have landed on our market, growing much.

Nevertheless, local ice-cream businesses are not countering such attacks properly despite they are aware of the crisis.

The marketing strategies seem to be different between local and foreign ice-creams; Local ice-cream businesses present 'bars' or 'cones' as their primary commodities, which have lower quality due to lower milky fat contents. while they are staging 'low price' strategics. In short, local ice-cream businesses are using 'low price and quality' marketing strategies.

In contrast, foreign ice-cream businesses present the products of higher milky fat contents or 'premium ice-cream' at higher prices. In short, they use 'high price and quality' marketing strategies.

Although local ice-cream businesses feel necessary for such 'high price and quality' marketing strategies, they connot afford to use them. For they have not been successful in similar 'high price and quality ice-creams' strategics due to consumers' perception that 'local ice-creams are cheap'.

Under such circumstance, this study was aimed at examining our consumers' buying behavior and perceptions through an experimental survey and thereby, suggesting the guidelines for our ice-cream businesses.

It was found through the survey that most consumers would prefer buy local quality ice-creams which taste good if they are as much expensive as foreign ones.

On the other hand, consumers highly appreciate such elements of foreign ice-creams as taste, quality, color, diversity and packaging design except for their price and availability. In particular, consumers appreciate taste and quality of foreign ice-creams most highly.

There are some correlations among brand reputation, preference and buying intention. In other words, the higher a brand reputation is, consumers' intention of buying it is higher.

Based on the above results, the following guidelines are suggested for our local ice-cream businesses;

First, a marketing strategy is needed to enhance the reputation among consumers.

Second, the conventional 'low quality and price' policy should be replaced drastically by a new marketing strategy centered about quality and taste, which will be bold enough to present consumers with 'premium ice-creams' not behind foreigh ones to meet consumers' demands for quality and tasteful local ice-creams.