Elkos Pens LTD Final

A FINAL PROJECT REPORT
On SALES PROMOTION STRATEGIES IN ELKOS PENS LTD
For
New Delhi Institution of Management
By Vijay Pratap Singh ROLL NO: A-59
In partial fulfillment for the award of the diploma & degree MBA & PGDBM July: 2010-12
New Delhi Institution Of Management
A PROJECT REPORT
ON
SALES PROMOTION STRATEGIES IN ELKOS PENS LTD
Under the supervision

Of
Dr. Madhu Jasola Ms. Sayanti Banerjee
Submitted ByVijay Pratap Singh Roll No: A-59

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Submitted ToDr. Madhu Jasola Faculty of NDIM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my heartfelt gratitude to several people for their direct and indirect assistance in the successful completion of my project. It is submitted to Dr. Manav Adhikari and Dr. S. R. Arora. It is a great pleasure, privilege and humbleness that I express my sincerest gratitude to all the people who, despite of their busy schedule, have happily rendered me valuable help and guidance. I am in-debited to Dr. Madhu Jasola, my faculty-guide, who helped me at different stages of the project and shared her thoughts about mobile market in India that helped a lot in furnishing my knowledge of the concerned topic. My special and sincere thanks to Ms. Sayanti Banerjee, my Research Methodology mentor, and seniors who guided me at every step of the research work. It was for their regular assistance that Im able to get all the data and findings for the project.
Without these extended supports and co-operation, the project wouldnt have been the same.
Yours respectfully, Vijay Pratap Singh
DECLARATION
I Vijay Pratap Singh, student of New Delhi Institution of Management, Batch (2010-12), declare that every part of the Project Report SALES PROMOTION STRATEGIES IN ELKOS PENS LTD that I have submitted is original. I was in regular contact with the nominated guides for discussing over the project.
Date of Project submission:
Faculty mentors comments:
Dr. Madhu Jasola
RM faculty guides comments:
Ms. Sayanti Banerjee
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The objective of the project was to find the sales promotional strategies of Elkos regarding pens, and the satisfaction level of the customers towards the facilities, satisfaction providing by Elkos Pens Ltd in pens categories products. Elkos Pens got the research carried out to find what the current trends are in the market and what the competitors product offerings are. Also, market share of different pens was to be found and the recommendations to increase the prospective customer through marketing using different tools to attract customer and increase the market share for Elkos Pens Ltd were to be given. The purpose of the study is to find out the market potential of Elkos pens as compared to other pens. An Elkos pen is interested in finding out the sales potential, and sales promotional strategies of its pens. Specifically, the research objectives are to: Know the consumer preferences towards the various products provided by the various pens in the Elkos Identify areas of the various products provided by the Elkos pens which need the improvements. Determine the type of products, choices needed by the consumers. Identify the important and attractive attributes in products, product to retain the existing consumers.
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Determine the type of pens related parameters most popular with the consumer. Identify the important characteristics that make the pens attractive to purchase an Elkos pens. Gather and analyze the future aspirations of the customers with respect to the Elkos pens. Rank and evaluate the relative importance the various pens related parameters associated with the Elkos pens.
For this purpose a primary research was conducted in the region of Kolkata. The target consumers were of various ages group, monthly income and occupation. The total field work was done for 40 days in which a total sample size of 100 consumers was covered... The questions cover a wide range of issues including: Identifying the customers using different pens and to know whether he or she is happy with the pens. Obtain the likelihood of the respondent purchase for a specific type of pens while purchasing an Elkos pens. Determine the characteristics of the various pens features that are important while purchase an Elkos pens. Finally it will seek demographic information of the respondents. Analyze the demographic information of the respondents with the Elkos pens parameters. Predict the purchasing behavior of the respondents with reference to the location facilities and demographic information. For the purpose of this research it was absolutely imperative for me to find out what the consumers want from pens products. It was also necessary to find out the consumers profile, i.e. his age, monthly income, occupation and sex and also the current pens Company from whom he/she is purchasing. This required us to get a detailed
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questionnaire filled by the concerned person. All the analysis in the report is drawn out of these questionnaires. For carrying out the competitor analysis further help was taken from pens websites and journals. A detailed area wise analysis was also carried out to find out which pen was most prevalent in a particular area. This research will provide information to Elkos pens ltd like the current market share of pens and also a detailed analysis of the products offered by other pens companies and what are the parameters through which the customer selects the preferred pens. The pens companies can also get data on prospective customers by designing its product offerings and marketing strategy in a way so as to attract more customers in the near future.
Table of Contents
1.
Introduction Literature support Objective of company profile SWOT analysis Process/Methodology of Study Objective of the study Data Collections
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8-14 15 16-25 26-28 29-34 35 36-38

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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Data analysis and Interpretation 39-45 Data conclusions Recommendations Limitation References Questionnaire 48 49 50 51-52 47-48
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INTRODUCTION
Pens have become one of the most important parts of the life in the world. Gifts of pens sets into different range have become traditional on certain occasion. Pen is also used in all stage of life and every time, to present sincere and seniority. Pen is regularly used for write your thought. Besides, there are many potential beneficial effects on brain by using pens. Better and comfort grip helps the circulatory system and the acupressure. Other beneficial effects are suggested, such as brain stimulator and brain storming. On the other hand, writing less quantity of pages affect on your writing skill. There is concern those person is using writing instrument for the writing purpose in a day for the 90 days thats writing become good.
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Pleasure of consuming Writing with freedom and pleasure gets by the consumption of pens. It is also helps to improve due to the consumption of fact that its writing skill and concise. A study reported by the BBC indicated that using of writing instrument as much as possible: produced an increase in brain activity and creativity that was more intense than that associated with passionate thinking. The Indian pens companies industry is going through very competitive environment and upcoming changes. With the lowering of entry barriers and upcoming different product lines of pens and non- pens products. Since the financial sector reforms, Pens companies are functioning increasingly under competitive pressures emanating from within the pens product, from non pens product companies, and from the domestic and international pens markets. In this era of mature and intense competitive pressures, it is imperative that pens companies maintain a loyal customer relationship. In order to achieve this and improve their market.
And profit positions, many pens companies are directing their strategies and promotional tools towards increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty through improved products quality. In the present competitive Indian pens context, characterized by rapid change and increasingly sophisticated customers choice, it has become very important that pens companies in India determine the product quality factors, which are pertinent to the customers purchase decision process. With the initiation of international pens companies, the trend towards larger pens market share holding companies, and innovations in the marketplace, the customers have greater and greater difficulty in
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selecting one of the best pens according to their needs. Therefore the current problem for the pens companies in India is to determine the way that how the pens companies can provide customer-perceived product quality. This is because if product quality dimensions can be identified, product managers should be able to improve the customer relationship and provides the customer- perceived quality during the product process and have greater control over the overall outcome. Moreover, investigating the influence of the dimensions of product quality on customers behavioral intentions should provide a better understanding of the drivers of customer satisfaction and also help to specify measure, control and improve customer perceived product quality. Hence, to gain and sustain competitive advantages in the fast changing retail pens companies industry in India, it is crucial for pens to understand in-depth what customers perceive to be the key dimensions of product quality and what impacts the identified dimensions have on customers behavioral intentions?
The statistical analyses of survey responses in this study reveal interesting findings. The study suggests that customers distinguish five dimensions of product quality in the case of the pens companies industry in India. These five dimensions of customer-perceived product quality are: customer-orientedness, competence, cost effectiveness, brand image and convenience. The first factor, customer-oriented ness is primarily related to the attitude and skills of the employees providing the product and maintaining the customer relationship. The second factor, competence, is primarily associated with the concept of providing reliable products to customers. The third factor cost effectiveness is associated with that how much the customer has to pay
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for the pens, the forth factor, and brand image is primarily associated with the visual appeal of the pens physical looks and communication materials to the customers. Finally, the fifth factor, convenience, encompasses items related to the convenience of the pens shops locations and the spread of the pens varieties. Identifying the underlying dimensions of the product quality construct in the Indian pens companies industry is the first step in the definition and hence provision of quality product. The results of this study also offer strong support for the intuitive notion that improving product quality can increase favorable behavioral intentions, namely, WOM (Word-ofMouth) communications and purchase intentions and decrease unfavorable intentions, namely, complaining behavior. Furthermore, the results yielded an intricate pattern of product qualitybehavioral intentions relationship at the level of the individual dimensions. The product quality factor customer-oriented ness was found to be the most important for influencing WOM about the pens and customers complaining behavior, followed by competence, tangibles and convenience, whereas in the case of purchase intentions, competence emerged as the most important factor followed by customer-oriented ness, tangibles, and convenience.
The results thus provide evidence of the usefulness of product quality research, since WOM communications and purchase intentions have been suggested as important dimensions of the concept of product loyalty. Investigating the influence of the dimensions of product quality on customers behavioral intentions should help to measure, control and improve customer perceived product quality. Hence, these issues Should be a central concern for retail pens managers as well as product management academics and practitioners. Important managerial implications and recommendations are also presented.
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The Scope: To maintain and enhance the position further, the pens companies decided to have a thorough insight into the Elkos Pens. As it is product industry, which depends upon the customer perception of the product conception and their views towards the product provider, thus ,the feedback from the customers thus become s all the more important. The purpose of the undergone study is to study the Elkos Pens products and its rates of different pens To find out how an pens companies can develop the strategy for attract the more consumer to increase its the market share and customer full satisfaction .
Problems: The main problem faced by the company was that it had a very high level of competition in market. .-The pens own product had very less market as compare to Cello, GM pens, Gigneswar, Linc and Add companies and companies (Including stationary companaies). The study thus focuses on the following dimensions:
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1. To identify critical factors that influences the buying behaviors of
individuals regarding pens. 2. To know the customer acceptance of the products of Elkos pens in Kolkata regions. 3. To asses the problem volume of future sales. 4. To analyze the consumer preference towards the quality of the product, so that the steps can be taken to maximize Elkos pens ltd pens vis--vis its competitors. The pens company wants to strengthen its customer relationship by gathering information about the market scenario for Elkos pens. Elkos Pens Limited needs to know about the competitors moves and the customers preference that for which products the customers are looking for.
OVERVIEW OF ELKOS AND ITS BRAND NAME:

Elkos Pens Limited is a Kolkata, India based company, with two factories and a five number of co-assembler, Elkos pens is a vibrant Company that provides consumers in India with products of global standards and is committed to long-term sustainable growth and shareholder satisfaction.
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The Company insists on honesty, integrity and fairness in all aspects of its business and expects the same in its relationships. This has earned it the trust and respect of every strata of society that it comes in contact with and is acknowledged amongst India's 'Respected Companies'.
Introduction:
Elkos Pens headquarters in Kolkata, India was founded in 2003-2004 by Mr. B. K. Jain, Director and is today the Elkos is 6th position in Indian company in stationary segment. We employ around 350 people and have factories in Kolkata, India or operations in most every part of country and three continent of the world.
The Company's strategy is guided by several fundamental principles. Elkos existing products grow through innovation and renovation while maintaining a balance in geographic activities and product lines. Longterm potential is never sacrificed for short-term performance. The Company's priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people, wherever they are, whatever their needs, throughout their lives.
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Elkos Pens major dates of footprints:

2003-2004: Established the first time Elkos name starts with ball pens 2005-2006: Starts the gel pen and gift pack operation 2006:2007: Starts the second factory operation 2007-2008: Starts the Direct fill operation 2009-2010: Introduced the Elkos glue with the brand name of Exo Stic 2010-2011: Introduced the own international brand Wiser The Write Line of Success
Main Brands:
Today Elkos pens are present in different markets with the following main brands: Ball pens Gel pens Gift Pack Direct fill Glue stick Oxer, Better, Wish, Zossa and 33 Boom, Velo, Anex, Limi and Avis Senior, Style and Wi-Wi Doxe, Colours, Sifco, Fun Gl and Alfa Exo stik
LITERATURE SUPPORT:
Time zones of pens:
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Timeline 100 BC: 800 BC: 1663: 1787s: 1792: 1888:
The Quill pen was used in Qumran, Judea to write some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is a specific reference to quills in the writings of St. Isadora of Seville in the 7th century. There is also a reference to 'a silver pen to carry ink in', in Samuel Pepys' diary. Quill pens were used to write and sign the Constitution of the United States. 'New invented' metal pens are advertised in The Times. The first patent on a ballpoint pen [2] was issued on 30 October 1888, to John Loud.
1888:
2003-2004:
As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rotated, picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper. Biro filed a British patent on 15 June 1938. Elkos first time introduced in Indian market, head office in Kolkata.
Current Market scenario: AFTER having it easy for several years, the five listed players in the pens industry are set to face a buzz of activity. Consumer of writing giant Cello has just announced M S Dhoni as brand ambassador. An entry into this segment is also part of
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the diversification plans of capture more market share. Mr. B. K. Jain, director, Luxor writing instruments, said: Against popular perception, the pen industry is growing between 35-40 per cent annually. This is essentially in the mass segment Rs 2-10 category. The Rs 50 and above category has also shown growth of 30-35 per cent.
High on potential On the face of it, the vital statistics of the stationary segment seem more promising than the conventional retail categories such as ball pens or direct fill pens. While ball pens and direct fill pens already reach over 35-40 per cent of the stationary segment, both pens and direct fill have abysmally low penetration levels. AC Nielsen associate director, client services There is a consistent month-on-month growth in the writing instruments industry fuelled by competitive pricing and product innovation. Today, one can buy a gel pen for Rs 2 and can choose from a wide variety of pens easy grip to waterproof ink. Anmol Sherpa said, The pen market had earlier suffered from lack of organized information on market size or market shares of players as most were not listed companies and distribution was mostly limited to stationery stores, he said. But this was no longer the case.
The Indian stationary market is segmented into ball, gel, direct fill pens, scale and pencil stapler and pins, punching machine, calculator, sketch pens, whitener stamp pad, coloring pencil and glue is the largest of the
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segments and valued at approx Rs 3,000 crore. The organised segment is dominated by Cello.
Elkos Pens Product mix (Offering): Ball Pens Gel Pens Sketch Pens Direct Fill Glue Refill
The main product of the Elkos pens is the Elkos Gift pack for student:
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Elkos Gift Pack: A dominant gift set analysis of the product available under Elkos Pens is presented below: Senior:
Senior, elegant looks always helps describe your seniority at work and study place by ultra smooth gel writing, and helps in acupressure by the pp grip. Sub tag line: Officer Choice! Style:
Style, elegant foil design and metalized chrome finished clip helps in present your style and also give the write more experience by Korean technology. Sub tag line: The tradition of writing!
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Wi-Wi:
Wi- Wi decent look and ball and gel pens in one box become more attractive and 1st choice of the customer in the current market scenario. Sub tag line: Customer first choice!
Elkos ball pens (Product depth): Oxer:
Oxer is a leading sub brand in Elkos ball pens product. It is most preferred pen from the customer side since 2004, by their sophisticated look, metal clip with chrome finished cap top, also available five fabulous colors with effortless writing and Korean technology.
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Wish:
Wish is a one of the pen which accepted sine 2003 in sub brand of Elkos ball pens product. Its most favored pen their elegant look, chrome finished clip with scientific rubberize grip, also long running refill with two years self life with available five fabulous colors and Korean technology.
Yoolee:
Yoolee is a most good looking pen in Elkos ball pen categories. Its is introduced by Elkos in 2008 by their long R& D research for loyal as well new customer demand. It is come with chrome finished clip with scientific acupressure grip, also long running refill and with Japanese technology.
Hope:
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Hope is an economical categories Elkos ball pen product. Which is designed as per economic view unbreakable poly-carbonated cap, elegant design, soft rubberize grip and smooth writing.
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33 is getting good response from the customer side since 2003 by their descent design, PP cap, transparent barrel, consistent ink flow as per need.
Elkos gel pens (Product depth): Anex:
Anex is a leading sub brand in Elkos gel pens product. It is most preferred pen from the customer side since 2004, by their sophisticated look, pp cap, also available seven fabulous colors with effortless gel writing and Korean technology.
Velo:
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Velo is getting good response from the customer side since 2003 by their descent design, PP cap, transparent and ink color barrel, consistent ink flow as per need.
Limi:
Limi gel become most preferable pen by their latest technology era barrel and choice of most attractive seven body color and pocket size.
Avis:
Avis is design for latest market demand of loyal customer. As pigmented barrel, scented ink, rubber grip, pp cap and metal clip.
Boom:
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Boom gel pen is getting good response from the customer side since 2003 by their descent design, PP cap, transparent barrel, consistent ink flow as per need.
Elkos Direct fill pens (Product depth): Sifco:
Sifco direct fill pen develop recently by R & D in October 2011. As per market scenario it gives the good response by their side.
Colours:
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Colours is consistently getting good response by their colorful barrel design till March 2012 from October 2008 (Its really good response in the DF section of pens)
Alfa:
Alfa direct fill pen is also getting good response from customer side. By their acupressure design barrel and golden color name.
Fun Gl:
Fun Gl direct fill pen is also getting good response from customer side. By their rubberize feeling at the time of writing and it become easier at time of sweating.
Gold Mine:
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Gold Mine pen is also getting good response from customer side. By their acupressure design and golden color barrel.
Elkos sketch pens (Product depth): Willy: Fresco: Little Angel
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Elkos diversified the business with pens to sketch pens by need and age of the target market into three different categories for the better response from the customer side.
Elkos glue: Exo Stik:
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Elkos diversified the business in stick segment with the develop of Exo Stik for the very much expectation of Elkos loyal customer.
Elkos - A SWOT analysis

Elkos Pens Limited is a fast growing organization in a stationery sector. It is one of the leading branded processed quality product and reasonable price companies in the country with a large market share in products like ball, gel, direct fill, sketch pens and glue etc. It also has a significant share in the stationary market.
STRENGTHS:
Parent support - Elkos has a strong support from its parent company Paras Industries Ltd, which is the largest processed quality product and reasonable price company, with a presence in almost every major companies B2B business. The company has access to the parents hugely successful at national level folio of products and brands. Brand strength - Elkos has some very strong brands like Oxer, Magic and Un-seen. These brands are almost generic to their product categories. Product innovation - The Company has been continuously introducing new products for its Indian patrons on a frequent basis, thus expanding its product offerings.
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WEAKNESS:
Exports The companys exports stood at Rs 50cr at the end of 20012 (10% of revenues) and continue to grow at a decent pace. But a major portion of this comprises of ball pens (around 67% of the exports were that of Elkos instant to Middle East) this constitutes a big chunk of the total exports to a single location. Historically, Middle East has been a very volatile market for Elkos, and its overall performance takes a hit often due to this factor. Supply chain - The Company has a complex supply chain management and the main issue for Elkos pens is traceability. The pens industry requires high standards of ink quality for effortless writing and personnel. The fragmented nature of the Indian market place complicates things more.
OPPORTUNITIES:
Expansion - The Company has the potential to expand to smaller towns and other geographies. Existing markets are not fully tapped and the company can increase presence by penetrating further. With India's demographic profile changing in according customer demand of the consuming class, the per capita consumption of most stationary products is likely to grow. Elkos will have the inherent advantage of this trend. Product offerings - The Company has the option to expand its product folio by introducing more brands which its maintain and improve shares.
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Global hub - Since manufacturing of some products is cheaper in own Kolkata manufacturing house other than Middle East countries.
THREAT:
Competition - The Company faces immense competition from the organized as well as the unorganized sectors. Off late, to liberalize its trade and investment policies to enable the country to better function in the globalised economy, the Indian Government has reduced the import duty of pens segments thus intensifying the battle. Changing consumer trends - Trend of increased consumer spends on consumer durables resulting in lower spending on stationary products. In the past 2-3 years, the performance of the retail sector has been lackluster, despite the economy growing at a decent pace. Although, off late the situation has been improving, the dependence on monsoon is very high. Sectoral woes - Rising prices of raw materials and fuels, and inturn, increasing packaging and manufacturing costs. But the companies may not be able to pass on the full burden of these onto the customers. Conclusion The pens processing business in India is at a nascent stage. Currently, only about 10% of the output is processed and consumed in packaged form thus highlighting huge potential for expansion and growth. Traditionally, Indians believe in consuming fresh stuff rather Then packaged or frozen, but the trend is changing and the new fast pens generation is slowly changing.
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Research Methodology:
PROCESS/METHODOLOGY OF STUDY: The process of collecting raw data is very important because through the raw data Manager can obtain the important information regarding the providence of better product. And the pens business is a business of emotion and preference and in business the managers have to take some important decision to promote the sales and brand image as per the data obtained. There are several implications in this statement:
The Companies gets a clear picture of the Elko pens scenario. They can examine the available information in the form of data to make a decision They can even get a clear picture of the scenario or potential of the Elkos pens of their pens in comparison to other pens. This will help the pens in making any decision. The information can only be gathered by data collection and then analyzing the available data. Therefore, it can be said that the data collection is an important part of the project.
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RESEARCH PROCESS
Identify of Problem Information Research Design
Sampling Plan
Gather the data
Process of analysis
Questionnaire (Retailer)
Conclusion &Report
Final Recommendation
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The projected objectives were considered and as per the requirement a market survey was done. Procedure: The procedure that followed can be enlisted as below: Reading about the product Deciding on the objective to proceed. Developing Survey instruments Conducting personal interviews of different age-groups, sex, monthly income and occupation religion, occasion. Finally analyzing the data of various areas and trying to study with the other pens. Process adopted: 1. Gaining knowledge about the product: To know about the pens feature was the first step undertaken. We went to the different pens shops and try to gather information about the product that is offering by the different pens companies. We gathered information through the query from pens company manager & from advertisements.
Steps in the Development of the Survey Instruments The main instruments required for survey was a well-developed questionnaire. The questionnaire development took place in a series of steps as described below:
STEP-1 STEP-2
Research objectives are being transformed into information objectives
The Appropriate data collection methods have been determined 33

STEP-3 STEP-4 STEP-5 STEP-6 STEP-7 STEP-8 STEP-9 STEP-10
The information required by each objective is being determined Specific Questions/Scale Measurement format is developed Question/Scale Measurements is being evaluated. Research objectives are being transformed into information objectives. The questionnaire and layout is being evaluated.
The number of information needed is being determined Revise the questionnaire layout if needed. The Questionnaire format is being finalized.
2. Customer Survey: The customer and general people are important source to obtain an idea about the attitude of people towards the product. That what are the requirements of the people, what improvements they want in the Pens companies. 3. Referred to advertisements and websites of competitors: To know the way through that the Elkos Pens Ltds pens can improve the product it is very essential to understand the competitors product features and rates what they are offering. So, to understand the competitors products features and different rates of the Elkos pens a competitive analogy are been made through advertisements and websites of various pens companies. The table is been attached in the Appendix.
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4. Research Design: A two stage Research was conducted: 1. Secondary Research: Data was collected from retailer, websites and advertisement to understand the product and the prices of the different Pens companies. 2. Primary Research: A Primary Research was conducted: The questionnaire was prepared for the companies and following areas covered: Competing other Pens companies Features offered by different Pens companies. Consumer profile and expectation. Satisfaction level of consumers with the current Pens Reason for the selection of specific Pens. Desirable features of the product related to pens. Sampling Sampling plan is of probability type People from the general population above the age of 10 yrs Kolkata region for survey.
Field procedure Step 1.visit to the Pens shops & market of the Kolkata region. Step 2.ask the respondents to give some information with respect to the products quality of preferred Pens. Step 3.Then personal interaction with the respondents and the buyers in the shops. Step 4.Try to ask some specific question with respect of the survey topic.
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Primary Data: Research Design Exploratory research (initial research conducted to clarify and define the nature of the problem). The objective is to accept or reject the hypothesis
I have done through Questionnaire for making my project on the Topic of market Potential of Saving Account
Market Share Market Share Research Research Image Research Image Research
Market potential Market potential Research Research Problem Problem Identification Identification Research Research Business Trend Business Trend Research Research
Sales Analysis Sales Analysis Research Research Forecasting Forecasting Research Research
Data Collection Method Data has collected through questionnaire, personal interaction with respondents and observation who has visited to the different pens shops & observation of the respondents behavior towards the quality of pens
Data Collection Device Questionnaire & personal interview
Sample size: 100 respondents

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Difficulties in field Work Time management Personal behavior with respondents To know what the respondents want to convey and what does it mean how it is related to the report topic.
Pretesting Prewriting has done on the 20 respondents of the local pens & market.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this project is to find out: The Elkos pens potential in todays market scenario as a whole. The Market potential of Elkos pens and what are the sales promotional strategies should be used. Comparing Elkos pens with on various pens companies parameters.
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Trying to find out the various factors related to pens on which the customers buying behavior is based Finally to find the requirement of the customer by segmenting them on the basis of: Age Sex Profession Monthly Income Occasion Religion
DATA COLLECTIONS
Data Collection Plan: The first of Research consisted of secondary data search from the following sources: Advertisement Websites Companies Employee
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Customer at different shops Questionnaire from retailer In this, information about different pens, different features the pens are offering to customer in pens and what are the flavor and category are needed in the pens to purchase were collected. For the conclusive research and to obtain primary data, questionnaires (retailer) were developed on the basis of secondary data to gather information on the research objective. A Pre testing was conducted to test these questionnaires. In this sample of 20 people was picked up from the target population on convenience basis, so as to determine the limitation and deficiencies in the questionnaires. The final draft of the questionnaire (see Appendix) was then prepared on the basis of the observations from the Pre testing. These were then finally filled by 100 consumers, for the conclusive study and collection of primary data... Finally the data collected was analyzed with the help of charts.
Types of Primary Data collected: Demographic /Socioeconomic Characteristics: Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics are the characteristics through which we divided the people into different categories on the basis of age, sex and occupation religion. We divided the people according to their occupation on the basis of government job, private job, business and students. Monthly income is also an important parameter but it is difficult to verify. Also the age is most important factor related to pens consumptions. Although the amount of money that an individual earns in a month is an absolute, not a relative quantity but it is a sensitive topic in our society and it is difficult to determine. Attitudes/Opinions: Through the questionnaire we have tried to know about the preference of the people towards the pens product. And try to analyze the need and requirements of the individuals preference... Attitude is an important notion in the marketing literature, since it is generally thought that the
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attitudes are related to the behavior of individual. So we have also tried to analyze the attitude of the individual. Awareness/Knowledge: They are used in marketing research refers to what respondents do or do not know about the product. For instance, here we pens. Have tried to find out the market awareness regarding the product of the Elkos pens ltd pens. A persons intentions refer to the individuals anticipated or planned behavior. We have tried to find out through the collected primary data the intentions of the people in general about the product called Elkos pens. Motivation: Through the questionnaire we have tried to find the hidden need or want of an individual and have tried to find if these people can be tapped as the potential customer for Elkos pens. Behavior:
Behavior shows the intention and attitude of the customer towards the product. Through the questionnaire we have tried to know whether the person can make a prospective customer of Elkos pens ltd pens or not. If the attitude of the person is favorable towards the products and features of the pens then definitely that person can be a prospective customer... The primary data serves as an important tool to measure the behavioral trend of the customer. It helps in answering few vital questions like: How much an individual interested to keep relationship with Elkos pens? When would he like to purchase pens? Which brand would an individual like to purchase in pens? What is he looking for in pens?
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Thus, it helps to draw a comparison between the Purchase and the observed behavior of the individuals. Obtaining the Primary Data: The data collection was primarily done through communication. Communication involves questioning respondents to secure the desired information, using a data collection instrument called questionnaire. The questions were in writing and so were the
Communication
Degree of structure-
Degree of disguise-
Method of Administration-
Structured
Undisguised
Personal Interview
responses. Versatility: It is the ability of a technique to collect the information on the many types of primary data of interest to marketers. It has also been found that some of the people do not answer truthfully to all the questions especially in the case of the personal details.
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DATA ANALYSIS:
General Analysis: 1. In which pen(s) do you have interest to write?
It defines major market player is 1. Cello 22% 2. Reynolds 20% 3. Rotomac 17% 4.Linc 16% 5. Elkos 15% 6. Other brand 10%
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2. How much these all features attract you to purchase pens?

Most important factor for pens purchasing 6% 3% 2% 6% 12% 31% 13% 3% 7% 17% Quality Occasion Need Price Future use Product category Availability Accessibility Brand Image Packaging
According to the above graph the most affecting feature is the need of the product and the quality because the pens mainly known for the taste. And in this graph the people say that we recognize products if they are quality proof.
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3.For which facility preferred product category?
Preferred product category
22%
6% In different needs Quality Selections Occasional Packaging
16%
56%
This charts shows that the most wanted category of the product in pens is the individual packaging.
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4.What is the preference consumer regarding pens on age basis? Preference of the consumers regarding pens: According to the chart given below the pens market is more over with the Cello. People most like Linc then Elkos Style gel and Senior and then a little market is also filled with Win pens. Age:
AE RF RN E G P EE E C
2% 1 B L W0 EO 1 4% 3 8 % 7 % 2% 1 2- o 5Nv 2- 5 63 3- 5 64 4 AD V B 6 N A OE
First of all if we try to take or examine our data segment-wise we can see that if we take the satisfaction of the customers age-wise. Below than 10 yrs are mostly satisfied of them are highly satisfied with the products of the pens.
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According to this chart the 50 percent people are feeling that the quality wise Elkos products are good. And the consumption is more in the child then adult.
5. Do you use Elkos Pens? Aweareness: After the survey data are collected that shows that 40 per cent [1] peoples have already using the Elkos Pens that means the awareness rate is very medium regarding Elkos Pens.
In general it is seen that above than 50 percent people are satisfied with the products of the Elkos Pens. And approx 32 percent not aware with the pens provided by their pens Company. Very few cant say about the pens provided by their pens Company.
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% of respondents
60 50 40 30 20 10 0
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How much satisfied you with Elkos Pens % 0f respondents
32 10
Yes
No Answer
Can't Say
6.Your income level (yearly) comes under? Monthly Income: In this we will be analyzing the trend and preference of different income group individually. First we will see the pens preference of various income groups. Income Group (Yearly): Rs: less than 1, 00,000/Income Level of Res pondents
16%
30% Less than 1 lakhs 1 to 2 lakhs
20% 34%
2 to 3 lakhs M than 3 lakhs ore
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Here the chart shows that the most of the people from every income level is more or less consuming pens in a same way.
Overview of pens advertising on TV:

Key Findings:

Pens advertising rose by 30 per cent January-November 2005 compared to January-November 2000. Maximum pens advertising were during Exam period (really no specific time) across 2005 and 2006 and January-November 2007. As expected pens advertising skewed towards educational and business channels and regional GEC took the second position.
7. Do you view most pen advertisement on TV? Elkos Pens Ltd advertising on television at regional basis:
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VOLUME GROWTH OF PENS ADVERTISING
30 per cent rise in the pens advertising during January-November 2007 compared to the same period in January-November 2006.
8.Genre preference for pens advertising over electronic media? GENRE PREFERENCE FOR PENS ADVERTISING: As expected Pens advertising skewed towards News channels.
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Corporate took the second place with a 21 per cent share ad volumes of pens, followed by Kids with 13 per cent share during January-November 2007.
CONCLUSIONS:
Part A: Questionnaire Analysis 1. The important facts which we could conclude from our data regarding the buying behavior of individuals are that people give
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2.
3.
4. 5.
6.
maximum importance to Product quality and packaging for an Elkos pens. The accessibility of product is not of much importance to the individuals as initially thought to be, in fact people give little importance to this attribute while purchasing an Elkos pens. Also the brand name of the pens is of little more consideration and in fact price, packaging and its related product is what is considered to be the single most important factor while purchasing an Elkos pens. It defines major market player is Cello which have 22%, 2nd is Reynolds 20%, 3rd is Rotomac 17%, 4.Linc 16%, 5. Elkos 15%, 6. Other brand 10%. Another very interesting finding from our data is that as against what the pens says the share of the pens is actually increasing as the income levels of the customers rises. This may have also happened as the sample size was not big enough to support the exact findings. But our data indicates that even the Selection of pen also vary by age in paying higher charges for a number of products for specific purpose. Talking of its income with respect to competitors the pens have an equal preference in the market and its market share is still increasing at much higher rate when compared to other pens. The pens gains opportunities on several counts like its increasing product category and its broad target customers. Also the prices of the pens are suitable as compared to other pens in the industry. The generic preference of customer over a TV is news.
Part B: Competitors Analysis 1. It defines major market player is Cello which have 22%, 2nd is Reynolds 20%, 3rd is Rotomac 17%, 4.Linc 16%, 5. Elkos 15%, 6. Other brand 10%.
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2. Almost all the pens companies offer similar features and facilities
with their consumer, therefore for existing customers of Elkos pens can switch to any other brand for that they should consistently advertise their product and do sales promotion activities so, customer can more take involvement in the events related to brand. 3. The level of product in terms of delivering whatever is promised, fast response in case of problems, is the most important benefit that the customers seek, from the Bank they have an Elkos pens with. 4. Network reach and visibility of a Bank is a very important criterion for the customer while purchasing an Elkos pens. We can also conclude from our analysis that network reach in terms of Branches and ATMs is directly proportional to the market share in case of Private Players.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. The pens should try to improve the quality of the Products
through continues improvement. 2. The pens should increase the number of product category... 3. Should improve the sales promotional tools and do more or more in a country 4. The pens company should target the customer preference and the whole category of people after knowing the whole requirement and expectation regarding pens.
Limitations and Caveats

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There was difficulties/obstacle faced during the initial part of the project, which were however overcome successfully. To list:1. It was difficult to break the ice with the common people initially. It was a daunting task to convince them to fill in the personal details of the questionnaire where they have to mention the monthly income, occupation and religion which can affect the purchase of Elkos Pens. 2. To convince the people regarding better quality is also difficult. 3. The competitor analysis in the manual could only be compiled for a rough idea to the nature of the product. The product features and price keep on changing on a frequent basis. 4. Compilation of data on competitor analysis was difficult due to non-availability of correct information.
Difficulties in field Work: Time management Personal behavior with respondents To know what the respondents want to convey and what does it mean how it is related to the report topic.
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BIBILIOGRAPHY:
REFERENCES
Books:
1. Business Economic, June 2010, Industry, 11th edition 2. Malhotra Naresh, 2005, Marketing Research, Prentice Hall of
India. 3. Nilson A C, 2006, Marketing Research
Websites:
1. http://www.elkospens.com/ 2. http://www.google.com/ 3. http://www.indiamart.com/ 4. http://www.thetelegraph.com/ 5. http://www.anadabazar.com/ 6. http://www.pengallery.com/ 7. http://www.paperworld.com/ 8. www.indianyellowpages.com 9. http://www.exportindia.com/ 10. http://www.worldtradezone.com/ 11. http://www.allbiz.com/ 12. http://www.tradeindia.com/ 13. http://www.hotfrog.com/ 14. http://www.ebay.com/ 15. http://www.allbaba.com/ 16. http://www.apnacircle.com/ 17. http://www.gortal.com
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QUESTIONNAIRE
Retailer/Distributor/Customer
Name of the respondent: -------------------------------- Age: -----------------Religion------------------------Location-------------Contact no. (If any) ---------------------Sex: - Male Female
1 . In which pen(s) do you have interest to write---------------------? A) Cello b) Reynolds c) Rotomac d) Linc e) Elkos f) Any other brand
2. How much these all Features attract you to purchase pens. (Please rate on scale 1 to 5):--1. Quality 1=Extremely Important 2. Occasion 2=Very Important 3. Needs 4. Price 3=Somewhat Important 5. Feature 4=Not very Important 6. Product categories 7. Availability 5=Not at all Important 8. Accessibility 9. Brand 10. Packaging
3. For which facility preferred product category--------------------? (You can tick more than one) a) Quality b) Selection c) Occasional packaging d) In different needs 55
4. What is the preference consumer regarding pens on age basis? a) Below 10 b) 25 above c) 26-25 e) 46 above d)36-45
5. Do you use Elkos pens? a) Yes:
b) No:
6. Your income level (yearly) comes under: ----------a) Less than 100000 b) 100000 to 200000 c) 200000 to 300000 d) More than 300000
7. Do you view most pen advertisement on TV? a) Yes b) No
8. Genre preference for pens advertising over electronic media?

a) News d) Hindi GEC GEC g) Hindi movie b) Corporate e) Regional music h) Hindi music c) Kids f) Regional
Thank you for your cooperation. Date: - /May/2012 ---------------Signature:
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A FINAL PROJECT REPORT

On SALES PROMOTION STRATEGIES IN ELKOS PENS LTD

By Vijay Pratap Singh ROLL NO: A-59

New Delhi Institution Of Management

SALES PROMOTION STRATEGIES IN ELKOS PENS LTD

Under the supervision

Dr. Madhu Jasola Ms. Sayanti Banerjee

Submitted ByVijay Pratap Singh Roll No: A-59

Submitted ToDr. Madhu Jasola Faculty of NDIM

Yours respectfully, Vijay Pratap Singh

New Delhi Institution Of Management

Date of Project submission:

Faculty mentors comments:

Dr. Madhu Jasola

RM faculty guides comments:

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Ms. Sayanti Banerjee

8-14 15 16-25 26-28 29-34 35 36-38

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1. To identify critical factors that influences the buying behaviors of

OVERVIEW OF ELKOS AND ITS BRAND NAME:

Elkos Pens major dates of footprints:

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Timeline 100 BC: 800 BC: 1663: 1787s: 1792: 1888:

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Elkos ball pens (Product depth): Oxer:

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Elkos gel pens (Product depth): Anex:

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Elkos Direct fill pens (Product depth): Sifco:

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Elkos sketch pens (Product depth): Willy: Fresco: Little Angel

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Elkos glue: Exo Stik:

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Elkos - A SWOT analysis

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Gather the data

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Research objectives are being transformed into information objectives

The Appropriate data collection methods have been determined 33

STEP-3 STEP-4 STEP-5 STEP-6 STEP-7 STEP-8 STEP-9 STEP-10

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Data Collection Device Questionnaire & personal interview

Sample size: 100 respondents

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

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2. How much these all features attract you to purchase pens?

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3.For which facility preferred product category?

Preferred product category

6% In different needs Quality Selections Occasional Packaging

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How much satisfied you with Elkos Pens % 0f respondents