Public Relations and Marketing Communication Strategies to Increase the Competitive Capacity of Herbs

Abstract

           The purposes of this research were to investigate and analyze the utilization, action and cultivation of herbs, and explore the public relations strategies and marketing communication channels of Chinese herbs for the promotion of Chinese herbs. This was mixed methods research combining quantitative and qualitative research methods. The qualitative research consisted of 40 samples, namely 10 herbal shop owners, 10 Thai tourists, 10 foreign tourists and 10 government officials. Data were collected through interviews and focus group discussion. Logical analysis was employed to analyze, and interpret and link the data. The samples in the quantitative research were 400 people living in Samphanthawong District, Bangkok and 400 Thai and foreign tourists. Data were collected by a questionnaire and analyzed by inferential statistics, including t-test and f-test. The Scheffe’s method was used to compare pairwise differences.
           The analysis results regarding the utilization, action and cultivation of herbs revealed that the action and cultivation of herbs were more of prevention than treatment, which can be divided into 9 categories: 1) herbal medicines for treating circulatory problems, 2) herbal medicines for treating gastrointestinal diseases, 3) herbal medicines for gynecological problems, 4) antipyretic drugs, 5) herbal medicines for the respiratory system disorders, 6) blood tonics, 7) herbal medicines for musculoskeletal disorders, 8) health supplements and 9) herbal medicines and supplements for liver and kidneys. Herbs can be cultivated by the following 3 methods: seeds, seedlings, or cuttings and tubers. The analysis results of the public relations strategies and marketing communication channels of herbs indicated that most of the samples were female, aged 46-55 years with Thai nationality. They mostly graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Most of them were business owners/traders. Their income was more than 55,000 baht. They mostly used to buy herbs at Yaowarat. The herbal products they used to buy were in the form of modern medicines (tablets, capsules, powders). Most of them bought herbal products from online stores. The reasons for choosing herbs were to treat diseases/nourish the body. The overall analysis result of the public relations and marketing communication strategies to increase the competitive capacity of herbs was at a high level. The first three aspects with the mean scores at a high level included “The prices are suitable for products”; “The products are produced with quality”; and “The products are distributed both online and offline”.   
           Regarding the hypothesis testing results, it was found that gender, income, the history of buying herbs at Yaowarat were different. The public relations strategies and marketing communication channels of herbs were also significantly different at the level of 0.05. Moreover, the public relations and marketing communication strategies to increase the competitive capacity of herbs consisted of 4 components: 1) product strategies, 2) pricing strategies, 3) distribution strategies and 4) advertising, public relations and marketing promotion strategies.