YSP524-IMC Plan-Kishalinee Ramesh

YSP524- INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION
CAPSTONE PROFESSIONAL PROJECT
Semester 2, Academic Session 2021/2022

IMC Plan (50%)
Title:

Understanding Consumer’s Perspectives on Omni-channel
Commerce for Gardening Products: A Case Study of SHS

Kebun

Prepared By:
KISHALINEE A/P RAMESH (P-KOM0165/21)

Supervised By:
DR NURZALI ISMAIL

Executive Summary
In today's marketing environment, understanding consumer purchasing behaviour is critical.
All business activities are geared toward customers and their satisfaction. The main
disadvantage of online business is that marketers do not have the ability to engage with
consumers face to face, so websites may fail to analyse the factors that affect customers'
online shopping. A gardening one stop centre. SHS Kebun, based in Kedah started as an e-
commerce business planning to develop its business from online to offline. This research is
conducted in order to understand consumer perspective towards Omni-channel commerce
for gardening products by SHS Kebun, to develop their business not only focusing on online
but also offline. To achieve the main objective above a semi-structured interview was
conducted to understand consumers' experience purchasing gardening products online and
to explore consumers' channel preference for buying gardening products from SHS Kebun.
The result of the interview coded to understand consumer’s perspective on Omnichannel
Commerce for gardening products. Findings identifies that consumers prefer both online and
offline shopping for gardening products. An integrated marketing communication plan was
strategized to enhance the consumer purchase experience with SHS Kebun. Several
strategies plan to educate the customer using social media and gardening shows, to enhance
online purchase experience via official website of SHS Kebun and to enhance offline
purchase experience with retail shop together with plant clinic. In order to target the suitable
audience, whether they are online or offline, at the ideal time, and with a fair investment, it
is proposed that SHS Kebun adopt the strategies in the stated strategy.

Background
Today’s modern shopping channels and options, such as retail stores, home delivery,

collection points, and virtual goods, provide consumers with a diverse shopping experience.
Multiple channels work together to improve the unique selling proposition and reach a wider
and broader range of customers, (Zhang et al., 2010a). Omni-channel retailing seeks to tackle
this issue by trying to coordinate practices and technologies across all channels to provide
customers with more smooth, constant, and efficient operations, (Verhoef et al., 2015).

According to the multi-channel literature (Balasubramanian et al.,2005), individual
channels of a multi-channel system continue to try to explore new things to optimize their own
outcomes, while shoppers choose their desired channel(s) related to technological, financial, or
psychosocial characteristics. To reach the Omni-channel era, the retail and supply chain
industries have travelled a long road of developing the concepts of marketing channels and
multi-channel supply chains.

For many years, the Omni-channel trend has been recognized in the literature (e.g.,
Bartels, 1965). Over the last 20 years, scholars have constructed a significant knowledge base
wanting to explore various aspects of multi-channel retail through the progress and growth of
e-commerce and IT-enabled marketing and supply chain management (Van den Poel and
Leunis, 1999; Agatz et al., 2008; Lee and Park, 2014).

Retailers have attempted to make company's product details consistent throughout all
channels in order to improve the multi-channel consumer experience (Müller-Lankenau et al.,
2006). These are known as cross-channel systems, and they aim to make collected data and
informed decisions easier for the consumer by delivering consistent information through
multiple channels. It also allows brands and retailers to be more flexible and cross-sell
(Schoenbachler and Gordon, 2002).

Even though cross-channel systems have made significant progress, they nevertheless

depend on the costumers to act as an information integrator. Furthermore, in cross-channel
systems, the supply chain lacks a centralized product knowledge base to synchronize all
channels. To reach that level of competence, the concept of omni-channel has been introduced,
which provides consumers and supply chain members with a comprehensive view of all
channels (Cunnane, 2012). In such a system, consumers can easily switch from one channel to
another during their four-step purchasing process, where they may find a good or service in
one channel (e.g., the manufacturer's website), place orders through another channel (e.g., an
online retailer), and have the product delivered through a third channel (e.g. home delivery).

As a result, the omni-channel system ensures that information is available, visible, and
consistent throughout multiple channels (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson, 2014). This has a
number of advantages, including increased total sales, cost savings, increased trust, synergy,
and differentiation through value-added services (Stringer, 2004; Kumar and Venkatesan,
2005; Tate et al., 2007).

Ann Lee, T. (2019) state that as technology develops, so must our view, and in the age
of the consumer, this is becoming extremely relevant for those who want to make strides in
digitalisation within their sector, as well as those who are not embracing this change... They
risk losing 'loyal' customers to competitors who provide a more satisfying experience. Those
who have already adopted this approach retain 89 percent of their consumers on average,
compared to 33 % for those who have not!

Customers think it would be possible to make actual purchase decisions, verify stock,
make same-day collections, and have access to unlimited delivery and returns as a standard,
and far too many retailers are failing to provide enough of these basic services to keep
customers satisfied and ahead of the competition.

The article also mentioned how Augmented Reality (AR) is becoming a consistent
pattern across the household, garden, and manufacturing sectors when it tends to come to Omni

channel retailing because it provides users with a visual representation of the product they're
looking at, making the need for it all the more tangible and increasing the desire to purchase.
However, AR tools are only valuable if they can connect online with purchase behaviours,
because while it may be entertaining to use, brands must still be able to calculate whether or
not the consumer ends up buying online in order for it to be part of a good marketing scheme.

Several home and garden retailers have been showing signs of an omni-channel
approach, and while some still have a long way to go, I've included some brands in this sector
that are already moving ahead in omni-channel retailing below. In this research a growing one
stop centre for gardening product brand, SHS Kebun, is selected to understand consumer
perspective on omni-channel commerce.

SHS KEBUN is one of the brands under Grand SHS Resources (M) Sdn. Bhd. started
in the year 2016 as an e-commerce business for gardening products like fertilizers, pesticides,
soil/medium, tools and more. In light of recent events & possibly in the future, everything will
be digitized or going online, so is SHS Kebun. SHS Kebun is already active on major online
platforms in Malaysia such as Shopee/Lazada/Facebook, we hope to become the most popular
online home-gardening brand, which in time, to launch our own products through OEM. After
being fully online based brand for few years SHS Kebun planning to establish retail stores in
hopes to become the largest O2O home-gardening brand. Ultimately, our goal is to become the
representative in the market as the one-stop home gardening brand.

SHS Kebun aims to become the largest O2O (Online to Offline) home gardening brand
where gardening lovers can find all the gardening products they desire. To achieve their goals,
building trust is our primary motto. SHS Kebun aims to achieve this by maintaining excellent
reviews by many customers throughout our years in the market. SHS Kebun have these reviews
because their team are enthusiastic gardeners that understand safe gardening products and can
answer every gardening related question, which then earns trust and establishes a reputation as

an enthusiastic customer service. Due to demand of customers, SHS Kebun planning to open a
retail store for offline customers.

Problem Definition
In recent times, online shopping has grown at a rapid pace. The internet has captured

the retail market's attention these days. Millions upon millions of citizens shop online. COVID-
19 has had a major impact on global e-commerce, and in some situations a negative effect, but
overall, e-commerce is growing quickly as a result of the virus. Customers were compelled to
use the internet and make it a part of their daily routine as a result of the Coronavirus (Abiad,
Arao, & Dagli, 2020). Furthermore, many challenges confronting retailers in e-commerce, such
as extended delivery time, difficulty with movement control, social distance, and lockdown
(Hasanat et al., 2020). In Malaysia, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed on 25 January
2020, and slowly spread among Malaysian population. Malaysia is was aware of this pandemic
disease, and the government has imposed a Movement Control Order (MCO) to prevent its
spread. Coronavirus has had an impact on the entire world's e-commerce; it has changed the
nature of business. According to research, 52 percent of consumers avoid going to offline stores
and congested areas. Furthermore, 36% are avoiding physical stores until they receive the
coronavirus vaccine.

SHS Kebun was doing well with e-commerce during MCO since consumers was so
much into online shopping, even though, there were some drawbacks like extended delivery
time, lack of manpower. Malaysian government started vaccination program since February
2021, consumers started to get their vaccination and slowly go back to offline shopping after
completion of vaccination. This made a leap in SHS Kebun’s e-commerce business. Many
consumers prefer to buy offline so that they can inspect the product and take possession of it

immediately after paying for it. Customer loyalty in today's world is based on a consistent
ability to deliver quality, worth, and fulfilment. Some people prefer to shop in person, while
others prefer to shop online, and many people do both. SHS Kebun started to figure the
strategies to get loyal customer in their e-commerce store. How was the experience of
consumers on buying online during this pandemic?

On the other hand, traditional market purchases have been ongoing for years.
Consumers started to look for a physical store to purchase some products from SHS Kebun.
After few years of e-commerce business of gardening products, SHS Kebun planned to expand
their brand from online to offline business. SHS Kebun seeking some opportunity to attract
online and offline loyal customers. Rather than focusing solely on the prediction of online
shopping, this study seeks to understand why consumers choose to shop online or offline. This
study attempts to improve our understanding of how consumers evaluate online and offline
channels for purchasing by elucidating the underlying choice criteria. To explain consumers'
purchase intentions, comparisons between the two channels require a broad concept.

Other than that, online shopping follows the same five steps as traditional shopping
behaviour. According to (Chiang and Dholskia, 2003; Lynch, Kent, and Srinivasan 2001),
when a customer requires a product or service, they go to the internet and browse or search for
what they need and their three information. However, rather than actively searching, many
potential customers are drawn in by information about the product they want. They look at a
variety of products online and select the best one for him/her. Then they buy the product, and
the transaction is completed, as well as the post-sale service provided by the online sites. The
consumer's actions and behaviour are related to online shopping.

When channels are considered in the decision to purchase a specific product from a

specific retailer, the decision becomes more complex than just a product or store choice (Black
et al. 2002). Consumers consider channel factors in addition to retailer and product factors. As
a result, product factors (uniqueness, diversity, product category risk), consumer factors (e.g.
demographic data, motivation, purchasing directions, expertise), retailer factors (reputation,
merchandise, service, price level), channel factors (e.g. channel accessibility, efficiency,
channel risk), and contextual variables (e.g. weather, time of day, time pressure) all have an
impact on choice (Black et al. 2002; Gehrt and Yan 2004; Nicholson et al. For a developing
brand like SHS Kebun, it is important to understand the factors that needs to be considered to
make a decision on channel choice by consumer.

Many researchers have focussed on the high touch products that consumers feel when
they need to touch, smell, or try the product. It necessitates offline shopping during the
purchasing stage because it cannot be done through online shopping. Even with the rise of
online shopping and the recognition that online purchases is more likely to put a strain on
offline or traditional shopping. This study attempts to understand SHS Kebun consumers’
perspective shopping with SHS Kebun all these years. As an initiative of the business
development and considering the demand from some consumers, SHS Kebun is planning to
have both online and offline platforms for their customers to reach out for them.

There is no previous studies that attempts to understand or investigate the channel
preference to buy gardening products. Omni channel commerce is not new, but for gardening
related store it is important to analyse consumer purchase experience from SHS Kebun. What
are the reasons’ on channel preferences to buy gardening products from SHS Kebun.

Research Objectives

According to Hanson B. P. (2006), the study objectives identify particular goal of the
research and must be clearly indicated in the introduction to the research process. Research
objective is the most important to do research which helps to reach the aim of a study in the
end. This research “Understanding Consumer’s Preferences on Omni-channel Commerce for
Gardening Products of SHS Kebun” has 2 objectives to achieve at the end of this research.

1. To understand consumers' experience purchasing gardening products online;
2. To explore consumers' channel preference for buying gardening products from SHS Kebun.

Research Design
To achieve the objectives of this research, phenomenological method will be used to

understand the experience, preferences and perspective of consumers. Phenomenological
studies look into people's experiences based on the descriptions they provide. These are
referred to as "lived experiences." The purpose of phenomenological research is to characterise
the meaning that each subject derives from their experiences. This form of research is utilised
to investigate subjects about which little is known (Donalek, 2004). Respondents are invited to
explain their experiences as they see them in phenomenological research. They may write about
their experiences, but the majority of information is gathered through interviews. The
researcher must consider her or his own views and feelings in order to comprehend the lived
experience from the subject's perspective.

Research Method
Individual perceptions on one or a few tightly defined themes are learned through the

research approach of semi structured interviewing. The interview questions are frequently
semi-structured, meaning that the researcher has created a series of questions that will be asked

to all respondents. Then, based on the interviewee's responses, each interview will take distinct
twists and turns and follow its own winding course – with the opportunity to follow up on
related issues suggested by the respondents themselves being a crucial element. Following such
new avenues, the researcher returns to the predetermined set of core questions, before the
interview can resume twisting out in a different direction.

The majority of questions in an interview are open-ended, letting respondents to choose
whether to offer a brief or long response. The researcher is an active listener, encouraging
interviewees to speak up by adopting active listening skills, follow-up questions, and probes,
as well as reflecting on when it is appropriate and when it is not to ask further questions and
when it is time to end the interview. The individualized interview allows the respondent to
delve extensively into social and personal issues, whereas the group interview allows
interviewers to gain a broader range of experience but hinders them from going as deeply into
the individual due to the public nature of the procedure.

Sampling
In qualitative research methods, the sample size is frequently less than in quantitative

research methods. It's because qualitative techniques are frequently concerned with gaining a
thorough understanding of a phenomenon or are centred on the how and why of a certain issue,
process, scenario, subculture, scene, or range of social connections. According to Mears
(2017), an interview sample is adequate when enough data has been collected to adequately
represent the experience under investigation and saturation (or the point at which no new data
is evident) has been reached, but the type of sampling considered appropriate will be
determined by the philosophical perspective that underpins the research.

Interviewing is less concerned with making generalisations to a larger sample of people
and relies less on hypothesis testing, instead favouring an inductive and emergent approach.

As a result, the goal of grounded theory and interviews is to "construct categories from the data
and then examine linkages between categories" while paying attention to how study
participants' "lived experience" might be interpreted (Charmaz, 1990, p. 1162).

There are various discussions over what sample size is appropriate for such projects.
When considering sample size considerations in qualitative research, most researchers say that
the concept of saturation is the most crucial issue to consider (Mason, 2010). Many people
define saturation as the point at which the data collection process stops producing fresh or
relevant data.

According to the study on interviews from past researches, researcher will be
conducting semi-structured interview among followers of SHS Kebun who being a loyal to the
brand for more than a year. The followers will be involving themselves in a semi-structured
interview to share their experience and preferences on buying gardening products. A sample
size of 10 respondents have been decided to be involved in the data collection to reach the
objective of this study.

Data Collection
As discussed above, qualitative methods will be conducted, namely interview. All data

collections are going to be handled by the researcher alone, with a certain control mechanism
to ensure the data quality and reliability. Due to the pandemic and social distancing practice,
the interview with consumer or followers of SHS Kebun will be using the online video call
method, phone call interview or Face to Face method with safety measures. For easier transcript
and data analysis, the session will be recorded.

Video technologies are rapidly being used for live interaction and for work (as well as
personal) purposes (Miller and Sinanan, 2014). The Covid-19 epidemic has accelerated this
development significantly (Parker, 2021). As a result, it's likely that more video-based research,

including video interviews, will be undertaken in the future. We refer to video interviews as
qualitative research interviews (i.e. semi-structured and unstructured interviews) conducted
using online video communication technologies, such as hardware (such as computers and
smart phones) and software (such as Skype, Zoom, and WhatsApp), that allow the interviewer
and interviewee to see (video) and talk (audio) to each other in real-time, i.e. live.

Telephones have also been utilised for more traditional methodological purposes, such
as data collection for academic research (Dinham, 1994; Gibson, 1994; Taylor, 2002).
Telephone interviews have been used to acquire qualitative data to supplement or explain the
findings of more standard surveys (Cooper & Kurland, 2002; Malhotra, Gosain, & El Sawy,
2005; Martins, 2005). Telephones can also be used to gather a wide range of information.
Although the vast majority of telephone research has consisted of highly structured interviews
done on deliberate or random samples of the general public (e.g., Blumberg, Cynamon, Osborn,
& Olson, 2003), more recent research has employed this medium to obtain more open-ended
data. A second significant benefit of telephone interviews is their efficiency in terms of time.
Telephone interviews, according to some researchers, are a convenient technique to acquire
context information for quantitative studies because they take less time than face-to-face
interviews (Sobo et al., 2003).

Face-to-face research interviews (Parker, 2014) are preferred by traditionalists for three
reasons: it allows a researcher to create and manage rapport with respondents (Fontana and
Frey, 1998); visual cues allow for improved interactions (Fielding and Thomas, 2008); and the
researcher can visually assess the participant's work environment (D'Urso and Rains, 2008),
enabling for the collection of contextual information (Farooq andDe Villiers, 2017). There is
no major time delay among questionnaire and interview in Face to Face interviews; the
researcher and the participants can directly react to what the other says or does. The
interviewee's response is more spontaneous as a result of the real - time communication, as

opposed to a long period of thinking. However, because of the medium's synchronous nature,
the interviewer must focus far more on the questions to be asked and the responses offered.

The interview sessions will be recorded with the consent of respondent to transcribe
and decode the content given. One of the most significant advantages of recording an interview
(audio or visual) is that it allows the interviewer to focus on the conversation rather than writing
notes, which can be distracting to both the interviewee and the person(s) asking the questions.
This typically results in a disconnected interview in which important information is lost,
forgotten, or missed (CSR-Center for Strategy Research Boston, 2006).

Furthermore, taped interviews have been demonstrated to assist the interviewee and
interviewer to create and foster a better relationship and rapport during the proceedings,
resulting in the interviewee providing more extensive and in-depth information (Mary, 2008).
This finding is backed up by a 2003 study that found that during videotaped interviews, law
enforcement agents' body language, interview procedures, and behaviour improved and were
more professional and friendly (Sullivan, 2010). Researchers avoided intimidating and
antagonising behaviours and developed a better relationship with respondents, which resulted
in less confrontation and more productive interviews (Sullivan, 2010).

The study will also combine all data into a coherent whole rather than a collection of
separate pieces of information. The researcher will look for connections and patterns that can
be linked to other sources of information in this study. This data gathering strategy will be used
before conducting interview sessions in order to lay the groundwork for the study's foundation
and concept.

Data Analysis
To study the qualitative research, organising, analysis, and making sense of the material

are required to present the data acquired during the interview session. In this study, the
interview session would be transcribed into a script, and data that might be used in the research
would be selected and further described, after which the data would be fully conceptualised for
easy understanding. The researcher would assign the data into several categories throughout
the data display and data reduction step, as this is an effective manner for reporting qualitative
findings (Thomas, 2003).

Begin to acquaint with data throughout the first phase. It is frequently necessary to
perform some type of transcription on audio recordings in order to work with data. In this
phase, read over all of the data from the interview and start taking notes, as well as start
scribbling down basic ideas for codes to define the topic. This stage is all on learning about
data. When doing a broad and exploratory study, it is possible that you will need to transcribe
everything said and done throughout the interview.

Assign codes to the data in step 2. A code is a short description of what is mentioned
in an interview; therefore, whenever you see something intriguing in data, put down a code.
The term "code" refers to a description rather than an interpretation. It's a way to begin grouping
data into relevant categories.

In phase 3, identifying themes will take places. All the coding will be categorised into
several relevant themes accordingly. Some codes, if they are intriguing, can become themes
themselves, while others, if they are redundant, can be placed in a temporary mixed theme. In
phase 4, researcher will review the themes. It is an iterative procedure in which researchers go
back and forth between themes, codes, and extracts until all relevant data has been coded and
the appropriate number of coherent themes has been selected to accurately represent data.

During phase 5, each of the themes found in the preceding steps will be named and
described. The researcher will be able to give a coherent storey about the theme at this phase
in the analysis, possibly with some subthemes. It should be easy to clearly describe the themes.

Furthermore, if the themes are too diverse or complicated to convey a cohesive storey, you may

need to return to phase 4 and rewrite them.
To summarize, this analysis will be able to understand consumer’s perspective on

omnichannel commerce for gardening products. The factors in the consumer experiences and

the preferences of channel by consumer will be able to help SHS Kebun to widen its business

and grow bigger.

Findings

The transcripts were subjected to a thematic analysis method, which revealed important

concepts that were present in the data. These themes are thought to be crucial in determining
the participants' understandings. The categories have been labelled ‘Satisfaction’. ‘Loyalty’,
‘Knowledge’, ‘Convenient’, ‘Affordable’ and ‘Relationship’. Of course, there are elements of

the participants' interpretations that cross over into these categories. This, on the other hand,

should be seen as a good interpretation of generic understandings and attitudes, which are never

made up of separate concepts but rather are all relevant to one another. The table below shows

the findings of this study classified into emerging themes by encoding initial codes into sub-

themes and categorized to themes.

Themes Sub-themes Initial Codes

Satisfaction - Happy  Like the tips or advice

- Satisfied  Impressive Price & Offers
- Impressed  Happy with product quality

Loyalty - Repeat purchase  Buying continuously

- First choice  Comfortable purchasing

 Responsible response

Knowledge - Advice  Sharing experience

- Tips

Convenient - Guideline  Helpful Tips
Affordable  Provide right instructions
Relationship - Limitless  No time limit
- Various choice  Many choice to choose
- Easy access  Accessible at own comfort
- Quality  Check on product quality
- Cost Saving  Offer Price
- Cheap with quality  Promotions
 No additional charges
- Understanding  Maintain good conversation
- Concern  Arranged better offer

Satisfaction
The satisfaction in shopping online for gardening was shared by the respondents when they
share their experience purchasing from SHS Kebun. All the participant informed that they are
satisfied shopping from SHS Kebun for many aspects which will be demonstrated from the
evidence from transcript.

Most of them stated that they are satisfied with advice or tips given by SHS Kebun is very
much useful.

“…Mr Goh got give advice ... like how to use the things …ahhh… baja , soil
correctly…”

 Anne Neoh -

“…my preference is to go SHS Kebun… because if I get a chance to talk with Mr
Goh I am happy mainly I can learn ya…”

 Nandakumar -
Other than that, SHS Kebun followers also mentioned they are satisfied to shop with SHS
Kebun for affordable price and bulk offers given.

“…ooo I buy for the community garden ... you know.. in bulk la so Mr Goh gave a
good price. Wahh we so happy la and we start buy things from SHS very very very
often I can say…”

 Anne Neoh -

Moreover, they also stated the quality of the products are giving an extra satisfaction for the
price they pay.

“… I really like the non-woven planter... I already use for more than 2 years but it’s
still ok… even I keep outside, rain or anything still ok la.. The quality very nice…”

 Poh Lin -
It is evident that they have become SHS Kebun followers due to the satisfaction they had during
the purchase experience which impressed them to stay connected with SHS Kebun.

Loyalty
The respondents are the loyal followers of SHS Kebun not only to get gardening essentials but
also to share their gardening experiences. They shared they purchase experience from SHS
Kebun which made them to become loyal customers.

“…once I bought a fertilizer from a store and apply to plant but wrong dosage… OMG,
my plants started to become weak, then then… I randomly choose SHS Kebun to chat

and help my plant… Really helpful you know, my plant ok already and as advised I
start use organic matters and buy from SHS Kebun since that time…”

 Bao Lee –
“…I like plants a lot la, but I say in apartment not really comfortable to grow so many
plants here … SHS Kebun recommend the Self Watering Pot, to be honest it was really
helpful and cheap also la haha(smirk)… I start buy things from SHS Kebun from that
day onwards…”

“…almost every month I buy things from SHS, I really the product and quality. Very
good quality and also affordable... haha(smirk)… now very hard to find good quality
product for cheap price…”

 Wong Sow Yin -

On the other hand, bad experience also made them become a loyal customer to SHS Kebun.

“… when I buy from SHS Kebun one time, the parcel took 2 weeks to reach me, I
was really frustrated because my plant got insects and infections so I buy the product
but I waited so long and the I contact SHS to ask why, they help me to find a way to
contact the Lazada people and parcel reach me… so the effort I see from them to help
customer, I really happy with that and now I mostly buy garden things from SHS Kebun
only…”

 Lim Guat Nee –
“… once I bought a few ceramic pots, when they reach me it was all broken even
they double bubble wrap it. I informed SHS Kebun about this and this happens because
courier mishandles but SHS Kebun really good they send us new pots instead...only

after that la I like their service so I keep buy things from SHS.

 Poh Lin –

In a nutshell, no matter the experience is good or bad, how SHS Kebun values the customer

feedback and enquiries make the values to gain loyal customer since SHS Kebun started.

Knowledge

Knowledge and interest is crucial in gardening because the usage of right product for
the right plants or tree is important. It’s not easy to do something without prior knowledge even
though learning doesn’t stop at one point it just come along the journey for any field. In the

case of gardening, knowledge plays a vital role in making the gardening journey and interest

on going.

The respondent share their experience how they gain knowledge from SHS Kebun, which help

them to save a lot of money purchasing the right product needed instead of buying all the

possible product without understanding the product and also the plants.

“… as a retired man I started gardening as a hobby and wanted to grow some vegetable
on my own. But I didn’t have the knowledge to do it right… at that time only when I
was looking for to share knowledge, I found SHS Kebun and Mr Goh was very helpful
in sharing knowledge and experience of him using the product at his garden…”

“…I always make appointment with Mr Goh before I come over to the warehouse and
will be excited to meet him because it will be good session. Also, yeah my interest in
gardening increases…”

 Nandakumar -

“… I used to do gardening with my grandma since I was a kid to say…but my grandma

use traditional. Now for me it was hard to follow her. When I found SHS Kebun, I was
happy because I… I… I learn then try that lo… I also teach my kids about gardening
haha (smirk) …”

 Poh Lin –
The knowledge gained from experience not only shared from one side. In SHS Kebun the
sharing is two sided where SHS Kebun do gain knowledges from its customers.

“… I shared my knowledge on farming since my family used to do farming
before… Now I don’t do farming but I have garden area where I grow fruit trees. I
and Mr Goh each other shared our experience growing fruit trees. I also share my
knowledge that Mr Goh didn’t know and he said learned something from me …”

 Tuan Haji Ahmad –
As stated earlier, knowledge in gardening important to do the right thing. Every day is a
learning in gardening world as mentioned by the respondent as they experience new situation
from time to time since each plant has its own characteristics.

Convenient
Nowadays everyone looks for a shortcut or convenience in everything they do. Shopping at
their convenient has become a trend in this fast growing online world. Shopping for gardening
products are done both online and offline according to convenience of an individual. When
some is given a choice to choose either online or offline, they choose the one which is
convenient for them.

Some respondents feel convenient to shop online to get their gardening products. They could
shop anytime, anywhere without any limitations.

“… I like online shopping because I can shop anytime. I will be busy with works and
at the time I reach home after work most of the retail shop are closed and I had to choose
online shopping…”
“…the product description in online store explain the product so I just buy after reading
the details no need to walk in to retail store…”

 Amy Chong –
“…I will choose online shopping hehehe (smirk)… Actually I just scroll scroll then buy
the one I need. Before I buy from SHS Kebun, I simply buy from some other shops but
had problems like parcel missing, wrong item… then ya I found SHS from my friend
Penny, I start buying here and so far no problem.

 Anne Neoh -
“…I would say I will choose online because easy access because some plants only sold
in particular place which is in 4-5hours distance. Don’t want lah to travel all over there
to get the plants. But I choose the right nursery lah, don’t want to get cheated
hahaha(laugh)…”

 Anna -
Some respondents prefers offline shopping and felt it’s convenient for them to choose the
product and also get it right away.

“…as I said I am not very pandai in gardening lah… I still learn so I also don’t know
what to buy for what use. I buy wrong things online. So I like to walk in the store read
or ask the details of the product then get the product so I don’t waste money kan …”

 Bao Lee -
“…actually I am a retired man who doesn’t like using smartphones or online shopping,
some more I am still learning. I am very particular in spending money so I want always
to avoid wasting money. If I have appointment to come SHS Kebun warehouse which

only in 20 minutes distance I can get the things easily you know…save time and also
money…”

 Nanda Kumar -
Shopping at their convenience becomes the priority to all respondents. A hassle-free shopping
is preferred by the consumers no matter its online or offline.

Affordable
Price becomes a concern when purchasing a product either online or offline. A customer always
choose a product which is affordable compared to a pricy things.

Some customers choose online shopping to be more affordable, cost saving and time saving.

“…Online shopping more affordable and comfortable because there will promotions,
free delivery, cheap delivery fee, voucher also got kan, so easy can get cheap price most
of the time and also if Lazada no offer can go Shopee to get offer. So can choose any
of these two marketplace to get it with affordable price…”

 Wong Sow Yin -
“…I usually do like this lah I will put the things in wishlist, mostly every month there
is will be some campaign or promotion then I will but at that time. Much more
affordable and can save more or I also sometimes add few items with the discounted
amount so I buy more product than usual haha( smirk)…”

 Ooi Shin –

Some customer feels offline shopping to be more affordable compared to online shopping.

“…Sometimes I choose offline because its affordable and for soil and fertilizers which
is a bit heavy the delivery fee sometimes higher than the product price so for those
things I will go for offline probably…

 Tuan Haji Ahmad-
“…usually I survey the product price in online and offline shops, for sometimes offline
price is much more affordable so I will go offline. For pots and planters, the delivery
fee is very much higher in online platforms. I feel it’s better for me personally to go
offline shops to buy cheaper products…”

 Lim Guat Nee –

Price also plays a major role in choosing platform for shopping gardening products. Everyone
looking for something in a good quality and affordable.

Relationship
The relationship between seller and consumer has a major impact in branding and brand
growth. It is important for a brand to focus on relationship to keep improving and growing
bigger. The bonding between consumer and seller improve in recommendation about the brand
to other which could be big business opportunity.

The customer chat feature in online shopping platform plays big role in customer-seller
relationship. Maintaining a good conversation improves the relationship even in a bad situation.

“…as I said earlier I had experience receiving broken items in the parcel. The
response I received from SHS Kebun calmed down myself, I was really disappointed
because I wanted to gift it to my daughter but the explanation given and actions taken

by SHS Kebun, made me understand the real situation and was a starting point to have
a repo with Mr Goh I would say…”

 Poh Lin –
“…I got connected to Mr Goh through Shopee as I wanted to purchase 100 over
pots and the shipping fee was really higher and got his concern to purchase offline with
a better offer price. Since when we used to talk regarding gardening tips and needs for
better learning. I really like the way he explain from beginning…”

 Anna -

“…I had zero knowledge on fungicide, pesticides and microbes. After talking
to Mr Goh get a better understanding on that. He is very much interested sharing his
knowledge and the own experience he share gives a confidence to use the products in
my garden…”

 Tuan Haji Ahmad -

The existing customers recommends the brand to their closed circle or friends by having a
good relationship with the seller. This indirectly improves the business growth.

The themes has been analysed with the data analysed and will be discussed further in the next
section.

Discussion of findings
This section will discuss the findings and data collected from interview to address the

research objectives.
Consumers' experience purchasing gardening products online.

According to the findings, it is visible that consumers’ had a great experience
purchasing gardening products online due to the risk of covid pandemic. There were some
positive comments like convenient and affordable purchase experience. Due to the movement
control order, consumers’ left with only choice of online shopping for gardening.

On the other hand, consumers had some challenges during the online purchasing like
high delivery fees, late delivery and missing items. As the cases of Covid-19 drops, restrictions
have been loosen to public to move around with much rules. SHS Kebun one of the online
shopping brand which help some customers to get their gardening essentials. They was really
satisfied with the purchase experience from SHS Kebun e-commerce stores.

SHS Kebun tend to have more loyal customer who purchase in between RM50 to
RM250 for each purchase and keeps coming back to get advice and quality products. The most
sellable items are the pesticide, fertilizer, soil which are organic attracts customer’s attention
to keep coming back. The knowledge shared by SHS Kebun is also being shared by its
followers to other which indirectly giving brand awareness.

Consumers' channel preference for buying gardening products from SHS Kebun.
According to the data analysed consumers of SHS Kebun prefers both online and offline

stores. Some of the customers prefers online store because it’s convenient, affordable and build
customer-seller relationship easily. Consumers feel that online stores are convenient in the
sense the purchasing can be done anytime, anywhere using gadgets. They also could build
customer-seller relationship via chats in the marketplace. The relationship mostly happens

because of the enquiries and doubts buyers have when they purchase new products and
confused on the methods of usage. They are customer who are far from SHS’s warehouse and
that become a factor of online channel preferences, so they are concern on some factors like
the late delivery and they wish to have a solution for it as they want to buy continuously from
SHS Kebun.

On the other end, some customers prefers offline store for the same reasons. They feel
that they will be able to walk into the stores to get the items and also feel and touch products.
They also prefer to get advice on the spot when they make the purchase and able to explain
their problem handling the plants at that time. Then, it is more convenient for them to get the
products directly from the store since they don’t have to for long time for the item to be
delivered.

As planned by SHS Kebun, it will be a good growth to expand from only online store
to both online and offline store. The target audience online and offline may differ according to
the location, price and convenient. For online store, SHS Kebun has a wider audience segment
compared to offline store which may have a specific target audience. Understanding
consumers’ preferences to buy products is essential in this competitive situation to identify the
business strategy to expand the brand from one period of time to another.

Thus, consumers are willing to make customer –seller relationship, it will be good
strategy if SHS Kebun able to connect them with customers. The social media platforms,
website and stores should be improved simultaneously to reach a wider range of audience not
only by selling good but also by educating customers through every channel possible.
Consumers do feel that purchasing direct from website will be more convenient and they will
be able to choose their preferred courier company. Currently, SHS Kebun has nationwide
customer online and only specific area audience for walk-in customers. The customer range

can be widen by sharing the knowledge SHS Kebun has to educate customers.

Strategies and Tactical Plan
Based on the findings, these are the summary of insights:

i. Customers choose SHS Kebun for their gardening purchase is because of the advice
given. Customers looking for platforms to get educated on gardening essentials.

ii. Some customers prefer online store for gardening product purchase for convenient,
affordable and able to build customer-seller relationship via customer chat. They are
looking for SHS Kebun to have a convenient website to purchase directly.

iii. Some customers prefer offline store for gardening product purchase also for
convenient, affordable and able to build customer-seller relationship by meeting face
to face. Customers are looking for SHS Kebun store to walk-in and make their
purchases.

iv. SHS Kebun has a strong customer-seller relationship by educating customers on
techniques or tactics of gardening essential to both online and offline customers. Social
media posting and enhancement could be better opportunity to sustain the customer by
educating and promoting on the products.

Therefore, three strategies that come along with tactics will be recommended to address the
research gaps. The customer preferences mostly start with gardening education, it is best for
SHS Kebun to focus on educating customers and enhance the purchase experience by using
own channels either online or offline and satisfy the customer needs.

To educate customers To create better online To create better offline
on gardening purchase experience purchase experience
techniques
• Revamp SHS Kebun • Open a retail store
• Online: Create Social Official Website together with a Plant
Media Posts - User Friendly Clinic
- Facebook - Feedback and - Direct Purchasing
- Instagram Queries - Immediate solution
- Tik Tok for gardening issues

• Offline: Quarterly
Gardening Shows

1. To educate customers on gardening techniques
According to analysis from the research done, customers are looking for advice or

knowledge on gardening products and techniques to use it. They are lack in gardening
knowledges which make them unsure on which product to use for particular. Customers look
for advice from gardening experts due to reasons like they are new to gardening and confused
on which product is suitable. By asking an expert for assistance, customers can gain insightful
knowledge from someone who has the necessary expertise while also receiving relevant,
accurate, and beneficial responses.

Expert guidance is especially crucial in the beginning of a gardening to start up without any
complications which make the whole process interesting. Home gardeners who are the main
target audience of SHS Kebun rely on the advices or tips given for their gardening purposes.
Educating customers on gardening techniques can be done through online and offline
platforms.

 Online Platform
In order to educate customers, SHS Kebun can use social media platforms like their existing
Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok page. Technology and social media are an essential part of
daily life, and since so many people are exposed to them, incorporating their use into educating

customer about gardening is more natural than ever.
Facebook can be used as a platform to share a detailed written post and also appealing

visual where people will stop to read the post to get the knowledge on gardening essentials.
The Facebook posts can be shared to groups where some particular community will be sharing
relatable contents. Gardening related groups have home gardeners and farmer who shares posts
or ideas related to gardening, it is essential for SHS Kebun to join those group to gain more
exposure.

Instagram is more to a visualized content sharing platform and audiences in this platform
are keen to see good and appealing visuals. The educational content shared via Instagram can
be in the form of image which make people to stop and look into it to learn about gardening. A
wider audience rage can be achieved in Instagram by using related or relevant hashtags where
people will be searching content in Instagram by hashtag. It is crucial to use suitable hashtags
in the content post to reach the right audience.

Other than that, Tik Tok is a social media platform to share video content with trending
music which may help in reaching wider audience without age barrier. A short video explaining
or giving tips and techniques will help educate people in a quick time. The trending audio in
Tik Tok plays a vital role in reaching the higher number of audiences.

 Offline Platform
As per findings customers of SHS Kebun chooses offline platform as their preferred
channel. They feel that offline platform is more convenient and easy to grab what they want
quickly. It also the buyer and seller communication, help in understanding the needs of
customer. It will be easy to educate customer offline by having gardening shows which will be
an exhibition of plants and also can educate customers via seminar or workshops. A quarterly
gardening shows will enable SHS Kebun to educate the home gardeners and its customers

throughout the year. The topic of the workshop or seminar differs for every quarterly shows to
educate the participants in various topic of gardening essentials.

This initiative does not only helps to educate people but it will also become a traffic puller
to SHS Kebun in expanding their business. The event can be held in the northern states of
Malaysia since SHS Kebun origin is in Kedah. The main objective of this gardening show is to
educate customers. Meanwhile, it will be exposure to the attendees to learn about the uses of
gardening essentials like soil or medium, fertilizer, pesticides, microbes, gardening tools and
so on.

The target audience of this quarterly gardening shows is existing home gardener and those
who are interested in gardening but doesn’t have knowledge on it. The show may cover simple
topics like basic essentials of gardening, easy gardening tips and tricks, plants that are easy to
grow and easy to take care. This show will not educate customers, but also can create interest
among them on gardening, greenery and nature. As SHS Kebun sells organic gardening
essential, people who attend the show can learn gardening without using chemical. Organic
gardening is save for human, animals and also the nature.

Planning of Registration Gardening Post Event Planning of
the of Show Day Engagement the next
gardening
Gardening participants (Discount show
Show for the next

event)

The planning of each shows will start 3 months to provide the participants with the right
and important information. Participants will be able to register themselves a month prior to the
event date with a minimal pay which will be used to prepare materials for the participants.

There will be 2 sections of the gardening one is open to everyone to view without any fees or
pay the plants and know the plants. Another session will be the seminar which requires a
minimum pay where people will learn on the gardening essentials. People who join the seminar
will be given free seeds and soil to create an interest for them to start gardening after seminar.

Other than that, to sustain the customer-seller relationship, the participant of the first
seminar will be awarded with a discount to join the next quarterly seminar. SHS Kebun will
maintain a good relationship with them to educate them more on the gardening needs and
essentials.

2. Create a better online purchase experience
According to findings, some customers who follows SHS Kebun Shopee or Lazada store
prefers online channel to buy gardening products from SHS Kebun. It is because they feel that
online purchasing is more convenient for them since they can do it from where they are located,
there is no need for them to travel to certain place to get the products. Other than that, they feel
that they can communicate with SHS Kebun using marketplace chat and enquire or give
feedback about the products of SHS Kebun. In conjunction with Covid-19 pandemic, they are
very much use to online shopping and to prevent the spread of virus, they still prefer online
shopping despite the privileges given to vaccinated individuals.
Other than the positive reviews given by the customers, they are also some negative
feedbacks given which is out control of SHS Kebun. Firstly, the review on the delivery period.
Some customers receive their parcel much late than the estimated delivery date even the courier
picked up parcel from SHS Kebun’s warehouse on the right time. The parcel being stucked at
courier’s sortation centre for few days or weeks and not able to contact the courier company to
enquire about it. Customers end up waiting for weeks to receive their parcel eventhough they
need the item urgently.
Secondly, customers not being able to choose the preferred courier service. Lazada or

Shopee doesn’t allow customers to choose the courier service and the system automatically
assigned a courier service to the orders. Customers feel that some couriers service has issues
and they want to choose the preferred or courier without any issues in their area but unable to
do so. Thirdly, high delivery charges which sometimes higher than the price of product itself.
There are unable to compare the courier fee charges from various company and choose the
affordable one which they prefer. Since they are followers of SHS Kebun, they have left
without any choice than buying the products even though it’s expensive.

Customers do face challenges when they want to stop buying from SHS Kebun store in
Lazada or Shopee and directly purchase from SHS Kebun Website. SHS Kebun’s Website has
some issues like not user friendly for them to purchase from there. The website also not visually
pleasant due to the inconsistency on the product description, image and details. Customers
unable to find some products easily in the website since the website is not user friendly. Other
than that, customers do look for segments in website like giving tips or section to enquire SHS
Kebun about certain products or issues with gardening.

Due to the issues faced by customers, the official website need a revamp to make it more
user friendly, informative and increase the strength of buyer-seller relationship. The
informative segment of the website can help indirectly in search engine optimization by using
some keywords in the website. The theme colour of website will be remained same as now
with SHS Kebun brand colour: green, gold and white. It is recommended for the website to get
segmented like Homepage, Shopping, Gardening Blogs, About Us & Feedback or Queries
segment.

SHS KEBUN's • Homepage
WEBSITE • Shopping
• Gardening Blogs
Segmentation • About Us
• Feedback or Queries

In the homepage of the website, a video on brand story will appear on top of the page and
at the bottom of the page there will be link to SHS Kebun’s social media pages will appear
when the visitor click on it. Then, an online shopping page which consists of SHS Kebun’s
gardening essential products. When website visitor enter the shopping, they will be able to add
the desired product into the cart and able to choose their courier and proceed to pay. The
privilege of shopping from official website the price of product will be 10% cheaper than in
the Lazada or Shopee store.

The next page will be Gardening Blogs, SHS Kebun gardening expert will be adding blogs
on gardening related topic to educate customers and share experience of using a particular
product for certain plant and share the results. Website visitor can get some knowledge from
the blog by reading it and also can comment below the blog on how useful the blog was for
their gardening progress. The keywords in the blogs may help SHS Kebun to top the SEO in
google.

The About Us section will be consisting of Brand story of SHS Kebun, like introduction
how SHS Kebun started and the journey. Lastly, there will be a feedback and queries to get the
customer experience or enquiries. Customer will be able to ask their queries on some gardening
issue and the topic will be published as a blog post in the website with relevant solutions or
recommendation. This feedback and queries section link the seller and buyer to maintain a
good professional relationship.

3. To create better offline purchase experience
According to the findings, customers who are also followers of SHS Kebun, are

interested to walk in to retail shop. As SHS Kebun’s loyal customer, they have no choice
than shopping online for their gardening as for currently, there is only online channel for
them to purchase. During the interview, some them were really interested to walk in to the
retail shop due to the purchase experience they might.

They choose offline channel than the online channel due to some issues like late
delivery, high delivery cost, can’t able to see or feel the product and no interaction between
seller and buyer. Some retired people who does gardening as their hobby, looking forward
for SHS Kebun’s retail shop as they are not interested in online shopping methods.
Therefore, there is a need for an offline for SHS Kebun. As one of their goal to reach is to
do business online to offline, it is important for them to open a retail shop to sustain their
customers for a long term.

A retail shop together with a plant clinic will be an innovative idea as SHS Kebun will
be the first one to initiate this plan in Kulim, Kedah. There are several nurseries and
gardening retail shops in town but there is no plant clinic for home gardeners to get the
solutions for their plants.

Gardening Gardening
Retail Shop Retail Shop &
Plant Clinic

Online Store
Only

It is important to understand customer needs to expand the business as well as satisfy
and sustain the customers. From only having online store, SHS Kebun wanted to expand
for both online and offline retail shop to an innovative idea of having both online and offline
along with a plant clinic.

The concept of having a retail shop is being able to satisfy customer by giving fresh
and new products. It is easy to sell plants offline because people always wants the plants
they buy to be fresh and will be easy to take care of. It is very hard to sell plants online,
seller have to be concern on how long the plant can survive in transit till delivery. Seller
does not need to worry on the survival of the plant as it will immediately handover to the
buyer without any damage.

Other than that, customer can also feel the product before they purchase. The
understanding of why some products are expensive will be easier when they could feel the
product and check the quality of it. It is for seller to convince the buyer to get the product
and also can recommend some products to buyers by direct marketing technic. Both seller
and buyer have the benefit in retail shopping.

The concept of having plant clinic is quite new in the market as it is usual for us to see
retail shops and nurseries. Plant clinic is a concept of treating the plant with the right
product by showing it to gardening experts. Some gardeners does not have the knowledge
what is the issue with the plant and try several of product and end up killing the plant. It
could be because of usage of wrong product or wrong method. Plants do need special and
specific care according to type of it and not everyone knows about all the plants they are
planting. It’s important get consultation from experts and giving the plant with right organic
matters or vitamins at the correct stage.

The concept retail shop along with a plant clinic, SHS Kebun can get a better turn over

than just having a retail shop. This concept will work like when customer consult the expert
on some issues and it is advised to use certain product and the product will be able to get
from the retail shop. It will be a good marketing technic to gain more sales and revenue for
SHS Kebun.

It is crucial to advertise correctly to the public in order to pull traffic towards the Retail
Shop and Plant Clinic. Emphasising the benefits and advantage of the Plant Clinic will be
a marketing and advertising. The advertising material like creating social media advertising
and also billboard advertising important to get visible not only to the existing customers
and also new customers. SHS Kebun needs to use it social media to advertise on the opening
of new retail shop and plant clinic. A strategic place needs to be found in the area of SHS
Kebun origin to place a billboard advertisement on the opening of the offline store.

Timeline and Budget

The execution timeline of this tactic plan is from October 2022 to September 2023.

Some of the ideas like social media post, gardening shows and social media advertising may

continue according to the relevance of the brand. The estimated for the tactical plan for a year

is around RM 315 000. SHS Kebun should consider each and every tactic as a priority because

all the plan has its own benefit and importance to the growth of the brand.
The evaluation for the tactics’ effectiveness can be categorized as per below:

Tactic Effectiveness Measurement Improvements

Social Media Post

- Facebook - Can be measured through - Maintain the pattern or

number of likes, comments change the post timing and

and share style of content

- Instagram - Can be measured through - Improve on visuals and

number of likes, comments content details

and saves

- Tik tok - Measured through number - Maintain the pattern or use
Gardening Shows
Website Revamp of views and likes more trending music or

Social Media Advertising style

- Number of participants - Change the target

joined and viewers came audience and location for

over each show

- Number of visitors enter - Maintain the website or

website add more new features

- Revenue gained from - Improve on price

website sales strategy or work USP

- Number of comments, - Improve on blogs’

feedback and queries content

received

- Measure engagement - Strategize the target

and conversion rate audience and increase

the ad rate

Conclusion
The purchasing pattern of consumers has changed rapidly with time. Especially, for

purchasing gardening products, consumers are using different methods purchasing which suits
their convenient and also affordable. The competition between brands are keep growing as the
target audience keep increasing day by day. To survive in the market, each brand should work
on the unique selling point to stabilize the business. For an upcoming brand like SHS Kebun,
taking effort to keep the competition standard high plays a major role on how long they could
sustain in the market. Therefore, an integrated marketing plan is outlined to how omni-channel
commerce idea can help SHS Kebun to sustain for a long run. According to the findings, SHS
Kebun has to improve on their online and offline presence to reach much wider customers and
expand their business from time to time. The strategies proposed is based on findings to
enhance the customers preferred channel which is both online and offline. Social media plays
a vital role for business expansion, so that SHS Kebun make their social media presence more
visible to be found by customers easily. Therefore, it is advised that SHS Kebun use the
methods and tactics in the above plan to target the appropriate audience, whether they are online
or offline, at the ideal time, and with a reasonable investment.

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Appendix
Social Media Content
 Facebook Content

 Instagram Content (Carousel Post)

 Tik Tok Video (Thumbnail)
Gardening Show Poster

Gardening Show Brochure

Website Design

Billboard Advertisement Design