Customer knowledge management in the natural cosmetics industry

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the level of customer knowledge (CK) for natural cosmetic products, namely Bulgarian rose products, in three European countries – Bulgaria, Montenegro and Italy – and to propose appropriate solutions for its management.

Design/methodology/approach

The research structure is based on a questionnaire and represents a part of the general investigation about the nature of the Bulgarian rose products. The study includes the responses to priority questions on customers' knowledge about these products. Feedback is received from 236 respondents in 450 distributed inquiries for the whole investigation.

Findings

The results of the research indicate that the role of the customers in the cognitive process of knowledge accumulation for the specific and rare aromatic rose products is captive, based on a new learning for the nature of the product and on the application of integrated marketing ideas for product development and promotion.

Practical implications

This paper gives suggestions for the customers' preferences of organizing communication systems by the use of integrated media mix of TV, internet and journals on the unique natural cosmetic products in Bulgaria. The empirical results show the opportunity to organize a collected database for healthy products as Bulgarian rose products.

Originality/value

The study of CK in the natural cosmetics industry is structured on the basis of logit regression model, which targets to analyze the increase of the chance for effective knowledge transfer with customers, with the recognition of motivation for purchasing natural Bulgarian rose products and the exchange of high‐grade information with customers about this product.

Citation

Dimitrova, V., Kaneva, M. and Gallucci, T. (2009), "Customer knowledge management in the natural cosmetics industry", Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 109 No. 9, pp. 1155-1165. https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570911002243