Creative Commons

Nowadays, due to the economic crisis, it has been very difficult for companies, and especially for small ones to financially survive (Runyan, 2006). Fierce competition has led many companies to failure. Consumers have started to pay great attention to the quality of the products they consume, as well as to their prices. To be specific, consumers are setting strict criteria for the choice of a purchase, and it is becoming more and more difficult for the companies to persuade them to buy their products. It is very important for people to grow healthy companies in order to strengthen this weak economy. This dissertation investigates consumer behaviour on new products in order to create a successful marketing plan. This study takes place in a period where economic crisis has hit every sector in people’s lives and preferences as well as priorities are being reestablished. The research takes place in Greece, and specifically in the entertaining and touristic sector, that is bars. According to reports, Greece, and mostly Athens and Thessaloniki, have large number of bars and cafeterias proportionally with their population, and a great amount of money is invested on this sector every year. As a result, that money composes a great source of income. The dissertation is developed in two parts: the first part that will be analysed is the reasons of success of an entertainment product that exists in Thessaloniki (floating bar), based on consumer behaviour and habits. The second thing that will be analysed is the development of a marketing strategy of the same product introduced as new to another city, Chalkida, which has very similar geographic location as Thessaloniki, based on consumer behaviour. The aim and the contribution of this dissertation is to analyse and decode consumer behaviour on new products in a period of a deep economic crisis, compare them with the results of consumer behaviour on existing ones, and examine whether these results come along with the literature, and if not, give reasonable answers for that. Also, this study aims to identify ways in times of economic recession for companies to develop, through the eyes and needs of the consumers. Moreover, in this dissertation, a marketing strategy will be developed, based on consumer behaviour for new products. The overall contribution is to understand consumer behaviour and implement a successful marketing strategy for new products, according to 4 consumer’s needs that can easily change in this weak economy, and is of vital importance for companies to adjust to that. For this dissertation, a qualitative research is followed, with the form of fourteen semi-structured interviews. The primary data are collected through in depth and face to face interviews from two samples, one from Chalkida and another from Thessaloniki, while secondary data are used through scientific articles mostly, but also bibliography of the existing literature, empirical studies and the internet. The contribution comes along with the findings that show how much the economic crisis has affected consumer behaviour. Their priorities in these times are to satisfy their first needs (food, health and home). They have become price sensitive, and they pay more attention to quality nowadays. They also tend to do extensive market research before every purchase in order to find the fair price to pay. They have become cautious against advertising and they seek for simplicity.