Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar – MBA (BM) 2019-

2021

TERM III

Marketing Management – III

Pick up the brand of your choice. Go through its online reviews, across online marketing websites and analyse
the reviews.

“Marketing Research Project on Royal Enfield”

A project submitted towards partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree in Masters in Business
Administration (MBA-BM) at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
Introduction
With the advent of technology, there is an exponential growth in the online activities of the people. Several
platforms are available for people to interact in the form of messages, posts or blogs. To increase the
competition among the brands several websites and blogs have come up where people can freely comment
their user experience for a particular product which can be viewed by a wide audience. These plays a vital
role in shaping customer’s buying decisions. Once a customer starts reading multiple reviews and ratings
about a brand, they start making an opinion based on his/her interpretation. These interpretations create a
brand image in the mind of the customer.

Problem Statement
Brand Image is basically the image a customer makes about the brand in this mind or in other words how a
customer perceives the brand. A Brand can be broadly divided into two types:
 Functional Brand Image: It focusses on customer’s view about the functional aspects of the brand
depending on the operations of the brand. It is basically affected by online reviews and word of
mouth.
 Hedonic Brand Image: It focusses on the emotions, feelings and sense of belonging the customer has
for the brand.
A brand usually tries to bring a positive image of its own in the minds of its customer so as to gain
competitive advantage. So, my study focusses on the impact of online reviews on customers’ mind and
brand image for Royal Enfield so as to study and examine the subjective experience of the customers
through qualitative study.

Qualitative Study:
Qualitative study is a type of research that works with non-numerical data and interpret these data to reach to
a meaningful conclusion. Data are collected through personal experience, case study, interviews, small
group discussions, open ended surveys, participant observation, content analysis semi structured interviews
to find opinions on focussed topics and in-depth interviews. The purpose of this type of research is to
understand people’s experiences, beliefs, behaviour, interaction and attitudes. This study answers the
question to “why” and “how” a phenomenon is occurring, instead of the number of occurrences.
In qualitative research the researcher gains an insider’s view which allows him to find the issues that are
often missed in the quantitative research technique. It plays an important role in suggesting possible
relationships, cause and effects of a dynamic process. Data analysis of Qualitative research is endlessly
creative and interpretations. These interpretations are made with various tools and techniques that can be
used to reach to a meaningful conclusion. So, qualitative research is designed to reveal the meaning that
tells us the outcomes or actions measured in quantitative technique.
It helps the social scientists to understand how day to day life is influenced by social things like social order,
social structure and other social forces. It is usually conducted with minimal cost in most of the cases.
However, the findings of qualitative research cannot always be generalized. In addition to this, researchers
have to make sure they do not bring personal bias while in interpreting the data.

About the Brand:

Royal Enfield is considered to be one of the most successful and popular brands in Indian Market. Over the
past years, it has gained a large share in the Indian market and as of now is leading the segment it operates
in. Started in the year 1901 in UK, it is the oldest two-wheeler brand in the world. In the first decade of 20th
century, Royal Enfield surprised the world by bringing a small bike of 2 ¾ HP V motorcycle of swiss origin.
With further innovations in the next decade it became a household name. In 1914 it started producing bikes
with its own engine which was widely accepted by people. During the first world war, Royal Enfield
supplied large number of motor bikes to the British Army. In addition to this it won motorcycle contract
from Russian Army.
Royal Enfield had connected its ties with India after independence. It became a supplier to Indian Army and
Police, as they needed a strong motorcycle for patrolling purpose. With passage of time, it dominated the
Indian roads and highways and sales kept on increasing every year. In 1990, it entered into a strategic
alliance with Eicher Motors and merged with it in 1994. Now, Royal Enfield is manufactured in Chennai
and supplied to rest of the country.
The logo of Royal Enfield is centred with bubbly winged R.
These are actually not wing. They represent double E. Pair
of wings is often symbolised as speed. Its tagline is “Built
like a gun” which justifies the tough built and royalty
associated with the brand.

Product and Services provided by Royal Enfield:

Royal Enfield is the pioneer of the industry and offers
6 bikes:
1. Himalayan
2. Interceptor
3. Continental GT
4. Bullet
5. Thunderbird
6. Classic
Royal Enfield Bullet offers nostalgia and this bike has good street presence and offers a good ride quality.
It stands as the longest running motorcycle and is still in production since its launch that is 1932. Since then
it is trusted for its high performance and heavy dependability to carry load and thus stands out to be a living
legacy. It targets customer of all age group and economical status.
Royal Enfield Himalayan is claimed to be the most dependable, agile and quick bike and is made to for off
roading and travelling in the most challenging terrains. It has long suspensions so as to keep in harmony
with the rocks, roads, mountains and everything in between.
Royal Enfield Interceptor is a retro styled motor cycle introduced in 2018 by Royal Enfield. It gives an
“Easy Come, Easy Go” vibes which was designed for inside city rides with a high-power engine of 650 cc.
Royal Enfield Continental GT is a café racer introduced by Royal Enfield in the year 2018 in India which
give a stylish look along with expression of free spirit and targets a very niche segment of buyers. It takes
one back to the time when biking was considered to make a statement. In India it is offered in three variants
i.e. Standard, Custom and Classic.
Royal Enfield Thunderbird is a cruiser styled motorcycle produced in India in the year 2012. It is
considered to be the touring legend of Royal Enfield and it targets the urban middle-class youths. It can be
used for long rides because of its comfortable sitting position. It can also be used for city rides too.
Royal Enfield Classic is the largest selling bike of Royal Enfield and has dominated the Indian roads. This
bike basically targets the bike enthusiasts and youth’s belonging to middle age who prefers quality over
anything. It adopts a premium pricing policy for its high-quality products.
Social Media Accounts and Reaches:
Royal Enfield is present in almost all social media. It has its wide presence in basically:
1. Facebook
2. Instagram
3. Twitter
In Facebook, it has a page with 4.1 million likes and an official closed group with 108 thousand members. In
Twitter, it has 130 thousand followers and in Instagram, its page has got 2.3 million followers. So Royal
Enfield has got a great presence in all the leading social media platforms. It is highly active in all the social
media platforms with making at least 5 posts per day in each social media platform so as to always remain in
the subconscious mind of its followers.
Each brand community members should have the following characteristics:
 Common sense of belongingness: Royal Enfield tries to inculcate a common sense of
belongingness among the people irrespective if they own Royal Enfield or not. People should feel
associated with the company’s values.
 Shared values: Royal Enfield has come up with a lot of campaigns and posts where it encourages its
users to come up with stories and experience related to Royal Enfield in social media where people
can comment and interact on the posts.
 Moral responsibility: In case any of the member needs any information about the brand or product,
they can post their relevant queries and people are always ready to come up with suggestions.
So as to check the above factors, I had considered certain parameters on which the reliability of social media
and online communities reach can be validated.
 Relevant: To check how much relevant is the proposed brand community
 Active: To check the number of daily/weekly/monthly posts done about the brand
 Interactive: To check if the members are active and having a healthy interaction among each other
or not
 Substantial: To keep a track on number of active users
 Heterogeneous: To keep a track on content and go for diverse topics and queries addressed by
diverse group of members
 Data-rich: Content should be data-rich and not redundant

Results and Discussions:

As on 1st April 2020, it has received all total of 806 mentions out of which 628(78%) were positive mentions
and 178(22%) were negative mentions. (Data collected from brand24.com)

Mentions

Postive Negative
As on 1st April, 2020 the sources of mentions are: (Data collected from brand24.com)

For detailed qualitative analysis the online posts and comments on Royal Enfield’s Facebook page,
Instagram, twitter page and Royal Enfield official group has been extracted for last 3 months:
Common Sense of Belongingness: Comments from all the platforms were studied and a common trend in
most of the comments and posts were found. Most people use the words like “us” and “we” while talking
about the brand. This shows the members have a common sense of belongingness among each other. Royal
Enfield has successfully inculcated this feeling through its strategies and customer engagement programs.
Some examples of the same are:
“When our Enfield gets dirty, it means we are on the right track
#ROYAL_ENFIELD, #ROADS”
“While travelling amid the mountains, our Enfield sounded like lion’s roar #ROYAL_ENFIELD,
#TRIP_STORY, #RIDE_PURE”
Shared Values: Members of the group share common values. Whenever the members go for a ride, they
share the place along with their experience with pictures and nearby places to freshen up or stay. This is a
common practice made in the group so as to make people aware about new biking destinations and in case
they plan to visit, they should not face any problems for fooding and lodging. They even talk if their bikes
showed any kind of trouble or was fit for the road or not. For example, in one of the posts a member talked
about his ride to Ladakh:
“Some pictures from the Ladakh exactly one year ago. This was by far the most difficult time I have faced
while traveling. Looking back now all of it seems funny, but I was just one minor incident away from
leaving the motorcycle in the middle of nowhere and just taking some transport back to somewhere with
trees, no winds & sunshine.
Thousands of kilometres of nothingness with merciless winds, unpredictable weather & comedy of errors, I
had to literally push the motorcycle up a mountain to get out of Ladakh.
But I think it was all worth the ridiculous quantities of Leh-Ladhak steak I consumed every day. You need to
travel at least 50 kms from Leh junction point to get tea and some refreshments. Pack your bags because
there is not a single shop for next 100 kms. Plan your night stay in Lal Quill Residency, Kargil for some
good hospitality after a hectic day. I used Royal Enfield Thunderbird for my ride and it was not smooth on
the terrains. However, my friend’s Himalayan was quite smooth. I would not suggest anything other than
Himalayan for this place.
Would love to go back there again with @dishayu
@arif.ehsan
@ashish.varkey .
.#TripStory  #royalenfield #himalayan #rerides”
Moral Responsibilities: Members help each other out whenever anyone of them have any query. For
example
1. One of the member posted a query “I am planning to go to Daman and Diu this weekend from Pune
on my Royal Enfield. What are some things to keep in mind?”
And the answer to the query was “Nothing much really. Just carry rain coat and your head gears of
course. Also, you will find lots of food joints on highway so feel free and keep eating. Carry paper
soap as well (I shouldn’t be writing this though). When you come to Daman, make sure to go to
some nice restaurants here and the booze is cheap here so Enjoy!
P.S.: Daman has really awesome Wada Pav as well. Don't miss out!”

2. How do I increase the top speed of my Royal Enfield Thunderbird -350?

Answer to this was “Please Don't.!! Respect your royal Enfield for what it is. If you want speed buy
some other motorcycle because Enfield is not for speeding rather it for cruising and comfort. The top
speed of 350 Enfield is enough, enjoy the ride my friend because slower or faster you will reach your
destination…!! Ride safe”
So, from this we can say that Royal Enfield is an ideal brand community group. The next step was to check
if Royal Enfield followed the guidelines to be reliable or not.

 Relevant: The community is focused towards biking, trips, bike specifications etc. The content is
always related to Royal Enfield. Image and pictures posted in the group are also during trips with
Royal Enfield.
 Active: The group members are active. On an average per day 12 post are done on Facebook group,
5 posts on Instagram and several comments related to the query asked or on picture posted.
 Interactive: There is always a two-way communication. Multiple Member talk to each other via
comments and share their opinion.
 Substantial: In Facebook, it has a page with 4.1 million likes and an official closed group with 108
thousand members. In Twitter, it has 130 thousand followers and in Instagram, its page has got 2.3
million followers
 Heterogeneous: Members of the community spread all around the globe. The contents are related to
travel destination and bike specifications.
 Data-rich: Online reviews are descriptive. Members also post about the bike they used during their
travel and if they faced any difficulty with the bike or not.

BRAND IMAGE
Functional Brand Image
Member do communicate about the functionality and specifications of Royal Enfield. For instance, when
one member asked a query, Which silencer is best for Royal Enfield Bullet? Another member addressed the
query.
Some other member asked, what are the pros and cons of a Royal Enfield Classic 350/Thunderbird 350?
. The reply came as, “Hi. I stay in US and I have been riding an RE Thunderbird 350 for 3 years and here is
what I have to say about it. PROS:
1. Comfortable for long rides at low speeds at 60 to 70 kmph.
2. Good in-class mileage of 45-50 kmpl in economy ride and 35 to 38 kmpl under power ride conditions.
3. Front and rear disc brakes, which brings the motorcycle to a quicker halt.
CONS:
1.Prone to vibrations at high speeds such as 95–110 km/h.
2.Parts need frequent attention and maintenance, especially the chain which has to be checked for slack and
lubricated every 1000 kms or so.”

From these we got to know that the people or members of the group have a positive image about the brand
and consider it to be a brand that stands for toughness. As most of the comments revolved around travelling,
speed it can be inferred that Royal Enfield stands for adventure and people who have that Adeline rush
associate themselves with this brand.

The company needs to be active in social media and go through all the posts on a daily basis so as to know
the issues the customer is facing, there needs and change in requirements and leverage upon these data so as
to improve its brand image and performance. In addition to it, Company can contact the most active users
for their online surveys and any data they want from customers. They can be made influencers so as to
improve the brand image as well. Companies can use online and social media platform to get a view of what
their customers think about the brand, know what the customers wants to be changed and improve over them
so as to make the customers satisfied and come up with a stronger brand image.

Hedonic Brand Image

From the posts, the subjective emotions were revealed. For example
“My friend and I went to 25 states in India during a ten-month road trip. That trip was about 30 years ago,
still I have not come to an experience to surpass it. Meeting different people from different culture during
different seasons, whoa. we started that trip with 3000 rupees in a hand. With passage of time I had to sell
the bike. But now as things have settled down, I have owned a Royal Enfield Bullet recently and I am
planning to go for a short trip”
“While the civilian people love their vehicles. I have never seen anyone who literally worships their vehicle.
My Dad is an retired army officer. He is crazy for Royal Enfield bullets and also owns one. One can literally
see his passion for Royal Enfield oozing from every action of his. Whenever he goes for a ride, he takes at
least 10 pictures of the bike against different backgrounds, using different filters, adjusting the exposure;
applying all his photography skills in short., immediately posting it on Facebook to share it with his fellow
RE lovers. He always narrates him army stories and guess what, in most of the stories there is his Royal
Enfield with him”
From the above-mentioned posts, we can see that people from different age groups have memories with
Royal Enfield. Ex-army officers, policeman have shared their stories related to the brand. Senior citizens
who are owning Royal Enfield Bullet because of memories associated with it. So, from this, it is quite clear
that people are emotionally attached with Royal Enfield. When they go for road trips, it becomes memory
for life time and they start having an emotion towards this brand.
This can be used by marketers to advertise the brand too.

Conclusion:
The study aims at finding if the online reviews creates a considerable impact on the brand image or not.
From the qualitative study accomplished, tells us online review have a greater impact on both the functional
as well as the hedonic brand image, as online reviews, rating, opinion can play a major role in shaping the
brand. Social media marketing should be in the priority list of the marketing team, since most people spend
their maximum time online. Quality and product service should be given utmost importance, because a small
negligence from the company’s part can be written in several online platforms which has access to wide
audience. Marketers should identify community leaders and social media influencers so as to spread positive
image about the brand. Reviews and comments can also be used to come up with some innovative
campaigns and advertisements so as to make the brand image stronger.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Enfield
https://www.cartoq.com/10-solid-reasons-why-royal-enfield-motorcycles-are-selling-so-well/
https://www.royalenfield.com/in/en/our-world/since-1901/
https://www.carandbike.com/royal-enfield-bikes
https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/article/royal-enfield-the-brand-that-made-man-fall-in-love-with-the-
motorcycle/
https://www.autox.com/track-test/royal-enfield-interceptor-650-track-test-106866/
https://motoroctane.com/news/200380-royal-enfield-bullet-trials-350
https://app.brand24.com/panel/summary/?sid=491623952#d1=2020-03-10&d2=2020-04-
09&dr=4&va=1&cdt=days
https://www.facebook.com/pg/RoyalEnfield/posts/?ref=page_internal