SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

On

“Impact of Marketing Strategy on

V Guard’s branding”

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF MASTER OF BUSINESS

ADMINISTRAION (MBA)

VEER BAHADUR SINGH PURVANCHAL UNIVERSITY

JAUNPUR

ACADEMIC YEAR - 2020-21

Submitted to: - Submitted By:-

Dr. Murad Ali Aditya Pratap Singh
H.O.D. Roll No. - 191103
(Department of Business Management) MBA III Semester

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my deepest and most sincere thanks to Dr. Murad Ali (Faculty
Mentor) and all my teachers who provided me their valuable time and
information. The summer internship program and Project could not be possible
without their able support and guidance.
It was a great opportunity for me to work with V-Guard Industries Ltd.
(Varanasi) I am extremely grateful to those who have shared their expertise and
knowledge with us and without whom the completion of this project would have
been virtually impossible.
Specially, I would like to thank my company guide Mr. Suraj Singh, Manager
(Sales & Marketing), who has been a constant source of inspiration for me
during the completion of this project. He gave me invaluable inputs during our
endeavor to complete this project.
I am indebted to all staff members of V-Guard Industries Ltd. (Varanasi) for
their valuable support and cooperation during the entire tenure of this project.
Not to forget, all those who have kept our spirits surging and helped me in
delivering my best.
Last but most important I thank ‗God Almighty‘ above who guided me and
bestowed me with the wisdom and an opportunity to carry out the project.

Aditya Pratap Singh

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the Project work entitled “Impact of Marketing Strategy

On V-Guard’s branding” is an authentic record carried out at V-Guard

Industries Limited (Varanasi), as Requirements of 45 days Summer

Internship for the Award of MBA Degree, Under the Guidance of Mr. Suraj
Singh, Manager (Sales & Marketing) of V-Guard Industries Limited
(Varanasi).

Place: Varanasi Aditya Pratap Singh

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 TABLE OF CONTANT

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................ 5
2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY ................................ 8
3. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................... 9
4. COMPANY PROFILE ......................................... 44
5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................ 54
6. ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION ........................ 58
7. FINDINGS ........................................................ 68
8. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ................... 69
9. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ........................... 71
10. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES................ 72
QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................... 73

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 CHAPTER – 1
1. INTRODUCTION

Planning is an important component of every business. Designing a plan begins with a deep
analysis of an organization‘s internal and external environment. The situational analysis helps
the business determine its existing resources, strengths, and capabilities compared to those of
its customers. The situational review also helps the company to form its mission, vision,
goals, objectives, and strategies in a number of key areas of operations. One of the key areas
that the situational review assists in is in designing customer oriented marketing strategies
that will help the business to achieve its marketing objectives. A marketing strategy is
therefore an important component of the overall business strategy because it helps the
business to gain a competitive advantage by differentiating its products and aligning the
marketing activities to the mission of the organization.

The marketing plan is a document that outlines how the business will implement,
evaluate, and control its marketing efforts. The marketing plan serves a number of functions.
First, it outlines the goals and objectives of the company‘s marketing efforts. Therefore, the
plan serves as a roadmap to help the managers to implement their marketing strategies.
Secondly, the marketing plan outlines the tasks involved in design the marketing strategy as
well as the resources to be assigned to each of the tasks. The marketing plan also gives the
timing of all the marketing activities (Schnaars, 1998).

According to Schnaars (1998), the main focus of marketing strategies is manipulate the
variables of the marketing mix, that is, the product, price, a place, and the promotion
strategies so as to achieve the objectives of the organization. There are four steps in setting
the marketing strategies: defining the business, setting the mission, selecting the functional
plans, and budgeting. Defining the business involves setting the vision of the business. The
vision outline the broad goals that the company would like to achieve in future. Secondly, the
process of setting the mission tries to define why the business exists and how it will meet the
needs of its target market in order to meet its long-term objectives (Schnaars, 1998). Thirdly,
developing functional plans is involved with outlining the tasks that will help the business in
achieving its objectives. Finally, budgeting is concerned with the resources that the marketing
department will have to implement the marketing plan. As outlined above, managers must

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make the marketing decisions within the boundaries of the company‘s vision, mission, goals,
and objectives (David, 2001).

A good strategy must outline the marketing mix objectives that it wants to achieve. The four
elements of a marketing mix are the product, price, a place, and the promotion strategies.
Firstly, product strategy is involves deciding the product or services that the business will
offer to the customers and the need that this will satisfy. For restaurants, the marketing mix
will involve determining the menu mix that the business will offer to its clients. The product
mix should also take into considerations like the customer service and quality to satisfy all
the needs of the clients (Percy, 2008).

Secondly, the place involves determining how the customers will access the business so as to
consumer its services. The business must locate the business in a convenient place so the
customers can access the restaurant easily. The managers must also look at the location of
similar business in order to come up with a good location for the business (David, 2001).

Thirdly, the price is concerned with the price that the customers must pay to acquire the
service. Pricing is an important component of the marketing strategy because it helps the
business in its branding and positioning efforts. For example, a luxury restaurant will price its
services above those of its competitors in order to position itself in the market. Finally,
promotion is concerned with the strategies that the business will use to bring clients to its
business. This will involve determining the appropriate promotion mix. Some promotion
strategies include advertising, personal selling and sales promotion (David, 2001).

In conclusion, the marketing strategy is an important strategic undertaking. This is because

the plan outlines the actions plans through which the business will achieve its marketing
objectives. The marketing strategies must take place within the mission, vision, and
objectives of the business. The strategy also involves determining the marketing mix that the
business will utilize in order to achieve its marking goals. The four elements determine the
product, price, place, and the promotion strategies that the business will use to achieve its
marketing efforts. Finally, a business should use the four elements of a marketing mix to
position and differentiate it from its competitors. This will give it a competitive advantage
over other restaurant businesses.

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The development of marketing strategy is very demanding and exciting task .So developing
product market strategy is also more challenging because it includes the development of new
product & its launching into market.

Marketing itself can be defined as group of customers, consumers, clients and the distinction
between want and need, from the perspective of Product and service functionality,
dependence and performance Perception, ownership and use Value and meaning Branding,
brand value and competitive advantage Marketing communications Projection of ideas and
concepts to target markets.(Elsevier Ltd,2005)

Before developing a market strategy for products it is vital; to write a marketing plan for
product. It should include the information about customers, targeted population, tools &
techniques that will be used for market research .So marketing expert must start market plan
by writing an effective sketch or a summary of market plan that will be helpful in collecting
information & organizing all activities needed for the development of product market
strategy.

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 CHAPTER-2
2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The study was done primarily with the following objective in mind.
 To study the brands of Product & consumers perception with its competitors.
 Understanding the customers V-guard, their needs, likes and dislikes helps to know
what the customers want.

 To know how demographic changes affect the marketing strategies.

 To find out the key elements used by V-GUARD to get maximum audience pull.

 Analyzing the competition: Competitors are companies which satisfy the same
customer needs. Once a company identifies its primary competitors, it must ascertain
their characteristics, specially their strategies, objectives, strengths and weaknesses,
and reaction patterns in line with their target segment.

 To know why people buy V-guard Product and why some people prefer other
company.
 To study the features of different brands that gives a good idea of various products
and services offered by the company.
 To understand the competitive environment in which the company is operating and is
desired to meet customer need and satisfaction.
 To provide useful information to the company about the product features of various
competing companies.

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 CHAPTER – 3

3. LITERATURE REVIEW
Marketing strategy has the fundamental goal of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable

competitive advantage. Marketing strategy includes all basic, short-term, and long-term

activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation

of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies that

contribute to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives. Marketing strategies

cover everything from Pay per click, search engine marketing, public relations (PR),

Engineering with Marketing & the much more.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT VS MARKETING

STRATEGY
The distinction between ―strategic‖ and ―managerial‖ marketing is used to distinguish "two

phases having different goals and based on different conceptual tools. Strategic marketing

concerns the choice of policies aiming at improving the competitive position of the firm,

taking account of challenges and opportunities proposed by the competitive environment. On

the other hand, managerial marketing is focused on the implementation of specific targets."

Marketing strategy is about "lofty visions translated into less lofty and practical goals is

where we start to get our hands dirty and make plans for things to happen."

DEVELOPING A MARKETING STRATEGY

Strategic planning begins with a scan of the business environment, both internal and external,

this includes understanding strategic constraints. An understanding of the external operating

environment, including political, economic, social and technological which includes

demographic and cultural aspects, is necessary for the identification of business opportunities

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and threats. This analysis is called PEST, it stand for Political, Economic, Social and

Technological. A number of variants of the PEST analysis can be identified in literature,

including: PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Legal and Environmental);

STEEPLE (adds ethics); STEEPLED (adds demographics) and STEER (adds regulatory).

PEST analysis: variables that may be considered in the environmental scan

The aim of the PEST

Analysis is to identify opportunities and threats in the wider operating environment. Firms try

to leverage opportunities while trying to buffer themselves against potential threats.

Basically, the PEST analysis guides strategic decision-making.

The main elements of the PEST analysis are:

 Political: political interventions with the potential to disrupt or enhance trading

conditions e.g. government statutes, policies, funding or subsidies, support for

specific industries, trade agreements, tax rates and fiscal policy.

 Economic: economic factors with the potential to affect profitability and the

prices that can be charged, such as, economic trends, inflation, exchange rates,

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 seasonality and economic cycles, consumer confidence, consumer purchasing

power and discretionary incomes.

 Social: social factors that affect demand for products and services, consumer

attitudes, tastes and preferences like demographics, social influencers, role

models, shopping habits.

 Technological: Innovation, technological developments or breakthroughs that

create opportunities for new products, improved production processes or new

ways of transacting business e.g. new materials, new ingredients, new

machinery, new packaging solutions, new software and new intermediaries.

When carrying out a PEST analysis, planners and analysts may consider the operating

environment at three levels, namely the supranational; the national and sub national or local

level. As businesses become more globalized, they may need to pay greater attention to the

supranational level.

A SWOT analysis, with its four elements in a 2×2 matrix.

In addition to the PEST analysis, firms carry out a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and

Threats (SWOT) analysis. A SWOT analysis identifies:

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  Strengths: distinctive capabilities, competencies, skills or assets that provide a

business or project with an advantage over potential rivals; internal factors that

are favorable to achieving company objectives

 Weaknesses: internal deficiencies that place the business or project at a

disadvantage relative to rivals; or deficiencies that prevents an entity from

moving in a new direction or acting on opportunities. internal factors that are

unfavorable to achieving company objectives

 Opportunities: elements in the environment that the business or project could

exploit to its advantage

 Threats: elements in the environment that could erode the firm's market

position; external factors that prevent or hinder an entity from moving in a

desired direction or achieving its goals

After setting the goals marketing strategy or marketing plan should be developed. This is an

explanation of what specific actions will be taken over time to achieve the objectives. Plans

can be extended to cover many years, with sub-plans for each year. Although, as the speed of

change in the merchandising environment quickens, time horizons are becoming shorter.

Ideally, strategies are both dynamic and interactive, partially planned and partially unplanned.

To enable a firm to react to unforeseen developments while trying to keep focused on a

specific pathway, a longer time frame is preferred. There are simulations such as customer

lifetime value models which can help marketers conduct "what-if" analyses to forecast what

might happen based on possible actions, and gauge how specific actions might affect such

variables as the revenue-per-customer and the churn rate. Strategies often specify how to

adjust the marketing mix; firms can use tools such as Marketing Mix Modelling to help them

decide how to allocate scarce resources for different media, as well as how to allocate funds

across a portfolio of brands. In addition, firms can conduct analyses of performance,

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customer analysis, competitor analysis, and target market analysis. A key aspect of marketing

strategy is often to keep marketing consistent with a company's overarching mission

statement.

Marketing strategy should not be confused with a marketing objective or mission. For

example, a goal may be to become the market leader, perhaps in a specific niche; a mission

may be something along the lines of "to serve customers with honor and dignity"; in contrast,

a marketing strategy describes how a firm will achieve the stated goal in a way which is

consistent with the mission, perhaps by detailed plans for how it might build a referral

network. Strategy varies by type of market. A well-established firm in a mature market will

likely have a different strategy than a start-up. Plans usually involve monitoring, to assess

progress, and prepare for contingencies if problems arise.

The customised target strategy

The requirements of individual customer markets are unique, and their purchases sufficient to

make viable the design of a new marketing mix for each customer.

If a company adopts this type of market strategy, a separate marketing mix is to be designed

for each customer.

The differentiated strategy

Specific marketing mixes can be developed to appeal to most of the segments when market

segmentation reveals several potential targets.

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DIVERSITY OF STRATEGIES
Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the individual business.

However, there are a number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies. A brief

description of the most common categorizing schemes is presented below:

Strategies based on market dominance

In this scheme, firms are classified based on their market share or dominance of an industry.

Typically there are four types of market dominance strategies:

 Leader

 Challenger

 Follower

 Nicher

Entrant strategies

According to Lieberman and Montgomery, every entrant into a market – whether it is new or

not – is classified under a Market Pioneer, Close Follower or a Late follower

Pioneers

Market Pioneers are known to often open a new market to consumers based off a major

innovation. They emphasise these product developments, and in a significant amount of

cases, studies have shown that early entrants – or pioneers – into a market have serious

market-share advantages above all those who enter later. Pioneers have the first-mover

advantage, and in order to have this advantage, business‘ must ensure they have at least one

or more of three primary sources: Technological Leadership, Pre-emption of Assets or Buyer

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Switching Costs. Technological Leadership means gaining an advantage through both

Research and Development or the ―learning curve‖. This lets a business use the research and

development stage as a key point of selling due to primary research of a new or developed

product. Pre-emption of Assets can help gain an advantage through acquiring scarce assets

within a certain market, allowing the first-mover to be able to have control of existing assets

rather than those that are created through new technology. Thus allowing pre-existing

information to be used and a lower risk when first entering a new market. By being a first

entrant, it is easy to avoid higher switching costs compared to later entrants. For example,

those who enter later would have to invest more expenditure in order to encourage customers

away from early entrants). However, while Market Pioneers may have the ―highest
[19]
probability of engaging in product development‖ and lower switching costs, to have the

first-mover advantage, it can be more expensive due to product innovation being more costly

than product imitation. It has been found that while Pioneers in both consumer goods and

industrial markets have gained ―significant sales advantages‖, they incur larger disadvantages

cost-wise.

Close followers

Being a Market Pioneer can more often than not, attract entrepreneurs and/or investors

depending on the benefits of the market. If there is an upside potential and the ability to have

a stable market share, many businesses would start to follow in the footsteps of these

pioneers. These are more commonly known as Close Followers. These entrants into the

market can also be seen as challengers to the Market Pioneers and the Late Followers. This is

because early followers are more than likely to invest a significant amount in Product

Research and Development than later entrants. By doing this, it allows businesses to find

weaknesses in the products produced before, thus leading to improvements and expansion on

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the aforementioned product. Therefore, it could also lead to customer preference, which is

essential in market success. Due to the nature of early followers and the research time being

later than Market Pioneers, different development strategies are used as opposed to those who

entered the market in the beginning, and the same is applied to those who are Late Followers

in the market. By having a different strategy, it allows the followers to create their own

unique selling point and perhaps target a different audience in comparison to that of the

Market Pioneers. Early following into a market can often be encouraged by an established

business‘ product that is ―threatened or has industry-specific supporting assets‖.

Late followers

Those who follow after the Close Followers are known as the Late Entrants. While being a

Late Entrant can seem very daunting, there are some perks to being a latecomer. For example,

Late Entrants have the ability to learn from those who are already in the market or have

previously entered. Late Followers have the advantage of learning from their early

competitors and improving the benefits or reducing the total costs. This allows them to create

a strategy that could essentially mean gaining market share and most importantly, staying in

the market. In addition to this, markets evolve, leading to consumers wanting improvements

and advancements on products. Late Followers have the advantage of catching the shifts in

customer needs and wants towards the products. When bearing in mind customer preference,

customer value has a significant influence. Customer value means taking into account the

investment of customers as well as the brand or product. It is created through the ―perceptions

of benefits‖ and the ―total cost of ownership‖. On the other hand, if the needs and wants of

consumers have only slightly altered, Late Followers could have a cost advantage over early

entrants due to the use of product imitation. However, if a business is switching markets, this

could take the cost advantage away due to the expense of changing markets for the business.

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Late Entry into a market does not necessarily mean there is a disadvantage when it comes to

market share, it depends on how the marketing mix is adopted and the performance of the

business. If the marketing mix is not used correctly – despite the entrant time – the business

will gain little to no advantages, potentially missing out on a significant opportunity.

Raymond Miles' strategy categories

In 2003, Raymond Miles proposed a more detailed scheme using the categories: Miles,

Raymond (2003). Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. Stanford: Stanford

University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4840-3.

 Prospector

 Analyzer

 Defender

 Reactor

 Marketing warfare strategies – This scheme draws parallels between marketing

strategies and military strategies.

GROWTH STRATEGIES
Growth of a business is critical for business success, so using strategies such as horizontal

integration, vertical integration, diversification and intensification will all benefit a business‘s

growth, be it long term or short term. Refer to Ansoff's Matrix for a simpler explanation of

the various growth strategies if those mentioned below are difficult to understand.

Horizontal integration

Some benefits of the horizontal integration strategy is that it is good for fast changing work

environments as well as providing a broad knowledge base for the business and

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employees.[26] High levels of horizontal integration leads to high levels of communication

within the business. Another benefit of using this strategy is that it leads to a larger market for

merged businesses, and it is easier to build good reputations for a business when using this

strategy. A disadvantage of using the horizontal integration strategy is that this limits and

restricts the field of interest that the business is expanding the new products into. Horizontal

integration can affect a business's reputation, especially after a merge has happened between

two or more businesses. There are three main benefits to a business's reputation after a merge.

A larger business helps the reputation and increases the severity of the punishment. As well

as the merge of information after a merge has happened, this increases the knowledge of the

business and marketing area they are focused on. The last benefit is more opportunities for

deviation to occur in merged businesses rather than independent businesses.

Vertical integration

Vertical integration is when business is expanded through the vertical production line on one

business. An example of a vertically integrated business could be Apple. Apple owns all their

own software, hardware, designs and operating systems instead of relying on other businesses

to supply these. By having a highly vertically integrated business this creates different

economies therefore creating a positive performance for the business. Vertical integration is

seen as a business controlling the inputs of supplies and outputs of products as well as the

distribution of the final product. Some benefits of using a Vertical integration strategy is that

costs may be reduced because of the reducing transaction costs which include finding,

selling, monitoring, contracting and negotiating with other firms. Also by decreasing outside

businesses input it will increase the efficient use of inputs into the business. Another benefit

of vertical integration is that it improves the exchange of information through the different

stages of the production line. Some competitive advantages could include; avoiding

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foreclosures, improving the business marketing intelligence, and opens up opportunities to

create different products for the market. Some disadvantages of using a Vertical Integration

Strategy include the internal costs for the business and the need for overhead costs. Also if

the business is not well organised and fully equipped and prepared the business will struggle

using this strategy. There are also competitive disadvantages as well, which include; creates

barriers for the business, and loses access to information from suppliers and distributors.

Diversification

Diversification is an area included in the Ansoff Matrix strategy, where the most risk for a

business is situated. This is due to the use of a new product being introduced to a new market,

so there are no already existing target markets or competition. There are two types of

diversification, vertical and horizontal. Horizontal diversification is when a new product is

introduced but doesn‘t contribute to the already existing product line. Meaning horizontal

diversification focuses more on product that the business has knowledge about, whereas

vertical diversification focuses more on the introduction of new product onto new markets,

where the business could have less knowledge of the ne market. A benefit of horizontal

diversification is that it is an open platform for a business to expand and build away from the

already existing market. A disadvantage of using a Diversification strategy is that the benefits

could take a while to start showing, which could lead the business to believing that the

strategy doesn‘t work. Another disadvantage or risk is, it has been shown that using the

horizontal diversification method has become harmful for stock value, but using the vertical

diversification had the best effects.

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STRATEGIC MODELS
Marketing businesses often use strategic models and tools to analyze marketing decisions.

There are three main models that can be applied and used within a business to receive better

results and reach business goals. These include:

The 3C’s

The 3C‘s stand for: Customer, Corporation and Competitor, is a strategic model that uses

these three key factors which lead to a sustainable competitive market. This strategy was

developed by a Japanese strategy guru called Kenichi Ohmae. Each factor is key to the

success of this strategy; The corporation factor mainly focuses on maximizing the strengths

of the business from which the business can influence the relevant areas of the competition to

achieve success within the industry. Customers are the basis to any business. The most

important factors of customers and the wants, needs and requirements that the business needs

to fulfill in order to attract buyers. The competition can be looked at in various different ways

such as; purchasing, design, image and maintenance. The more unique steps a business takes

the less competition a business will face in that field.

The Ansoff Matrix

The Ansoff Matrix model invented by H. Igor Ansoff; is a model that focuses on four main

areas; Market penetration, Product development, Market development and Market

Diversification. These are further split into two areas known as the ‗New‘ and ‗Present‘.

From this strategy, businesses are able to determine the product and market growth. This is

done by focusing on whether the market is a new market or an already existing one, and

whether the products are new or not. Market penetration covers products that are familiar to

the consumers; this creates a low risk as the product is already on the established market.

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Product development is the introduction of a new product into an existing market. This can

include modifications to an already existing market which can create a product that has more

appeal. Market development, also known as market extension, is when an already existing

product is introduced to a new market in order to identify and build a new clientele base. This

can include new geographical markets, new distribution channels, and different pricing

policies. Diversification is the riskiest area for a business. This is where a new product is sold

to a new market. There are two type of Diversification "Related" which means the business

remains in the same industry that they are familiar with. The other is "Unrelated" which is

when there are no previous relations or market experiences for the business.

Marketing Mix Model (4P’s)

The 4P‘s also known as Price, Product, Place and Promotion is a strategy that originated from

the single P meaning Price. This strategy was designed as an easy way to turn marketing

planning into practice. This strategy is used to find and meet the consumer needs and can be

used for long term or short term purposes. The proportions of the marketing mix can be

altered to meet different requirements for each product produced.

Real-life marketing

Real-life marketing revolves around the application of a great deal of common-sense; dealing

with a limited number of factors, in an environment of imperfect information and limited

resources complicated by uncertainty and tight timescales. Use of classical marketing

techniques, in these circumstances, is inevitably partial and uneven.

Thus, for example, many new products will emerge from irrational processes and the rational

development process may be used (if at all) to screen out the worst non-runners. The design

21
of the advertising, and the packaging, will be the output of the creative minds employed;

which management will then screen, often by 'gut-reaction', to ensure that it is reasonable.

For most of their time, marketing managers use intuition and experience to analyze and

handle the complex, and unique, situations being faced. These will often intuition coupled

with the knowledge of the customer which has been absorbed almost by a process of osmosis.

This will determine the quality of the marketing executed. This almost instinctive

management, is what is sometimes called 'coarse marketing'; to distinguish it from the

refined, aesthetically pleasing, form favoured by the theorists.

Few notable exceptions of "Real life marketing" are based on gut instinct as opposed to

trained, vetted and backed by high investment data. This may lead to producing low results

and income.

Many entrepreneurs and small companies think they can manage the marketing sector

without training but this is to the detriment of their business.

A Start up or a company's strategy combines all of its marketing goals into one

comprehensive plan. A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and

focus on the product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit and sustain the business.

The marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan.

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MARKETING:

It takes a lot of time and effort to develop and maintain a marketing campaign that resonates

with your intended audience. As a strategic thinker, however, the development of a marketing

campaign takes even more consideration. After all, we're always searching for ways to gain

the oh-so important competitive edge.

There are times, though, when we all hit the proverbial wall. If you find yourself in that

situation, then you may want to check out these fifteen marketing strategies that will

definitely spark your creative energy.

1. Partner with allies.

Marketing partnerships have a number of benefits to push a marketing campaign. For starters,

when you collaborate with someone else, you tend to deliver better content. On top of that,

marketing partnerships are cheaper to create, see success more quickly, and expose your

brand to a new audience.

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For example, prior to being acquired by eBay, Half.com worked the town of Halfway,

Oregon, to change its name to Half.com in exchange for stock, Internet access, and other

giveaways. The tactic gained a lot of attention for the textbook rental company. Another

example was when Converse teamed up with Guitar Centre to record music entitled "Rubber

Tracks." The content was then used to create a series of YouTube videos that focused on the

musicians.

Marketing is the process of performing market research, selling products and/or services to

customers and promoting them via advertising to further enhance sales. It generates the

strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments.

It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and

create value for their customers and for themselves.

Marketing is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the customer, and to keep the customer.

With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing

management is one of the major components of business management. Marketing evolved to

meet the stasis in developing new markets caused by mature markets and overcapacities in

the last 2-3 centuries. The adoption of marketing strategies requires businesses to shift their

focus from production to the perceived needs and wants of their customers as the means of

staying profitable.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Marketing Management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application

of marketing techniques and the management of a firm's marketing resources and activities.

Rapidly emerging forces of globalization have compelled firms to market beyond the borders

of their home country making International marketing highly significant and an integral part

24
of a firm's marketing strategy. Marketing managers are often responsible for influencing the

level, timing, and composition of customer demand accepted definition of the term. In part,

this is because the role of a marketing manager can vary significantly based on a business'

size, corporate culture, and industry context. For example, in a large consumer products

company, the marketing manager may act as the overall general manager of his or her

assigned product To create an effective, cost-efficient Marketing management strategy, firms

must possess a detailed, objective understanding of their own business and the market in

which they operate. In analyzing these issues, the discipline of marketing management often

overlaps with the related discipline of strategic planning.

Traditionally, marketing analysis was structured into three areas: Customer analysis,

Company analysis, and Competitor analysis (so-called "3Cs" analysis). More recently, it has

become fashionable in some marketing circles to divide these further into certain five "Cs":

Customer analysis, Company analysis, Collaborator analysis, Competitor analysis, and

analysis of the industry Context.

In Customer analysis is to develop a schematic diagram for market segmentation, breaking

down the market into various constituent groNestle of customers, which are called customer

segments or market segmentation's. Marketing managers work to develop detailed profiles of

each segment, focusing on any number of variables that may differ among the segments:

demographic, psycho graphic, geographic, behavioral, needs-benefit, and other factors may

all be examined. Marketers also attempt to track these segments' perceptions of the various

products in the market using tools such as perceptual mapping.

Marketing management employs various tools from economics and competitive strategy to

analyze the industry context in which the firm operates. These include Porter's five forces,

analysis of strategic groNestle of competitors, value chain analysis and others. Depending on

the industry, the regulatory context may also be important to examine in detail.

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In Competitor analysis, marketers build detailed profiles of each competitor in the market,

focusing especially on their relative competitive strengths and weaknesses using SWOT

analysis. Marketing managers will examine each competitor's cost structure, sources of

profits, resources and competencies, competitive positioning and product differentiation,

degree of vertical integration, historical responses to industry developments, and other

factors.

Marketing management often finds it necessary to invest in research to collect the data

required to perform accurate marketing analysis. As such, they often conduct market research

(alternately marketing research) to obtain this information. Marketers employ a variety of

techniques to conduct market research, but some of the more common include:

 Qualitative marketing research, such as focus groNestle and various types of

interviews

 Quantitative marketing research, such as statistical surveys

 Experimental techniques such as test markets

 Observational techniques such as ethnographic (on-site) observation

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing. The marketing mix is often crucial

when determining a product or brand's offering, and is often synonymous with the four Ps:

price, product, promotion, and place; in service marketing, however, the four Ps have been

expanded to the seven Ps or eight Ps to address the different nature of services.

The marketer E. Jerome McCarthy proposed a four Ps classification in 1960, which has since

been used by marketers throughout the world.

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Product - A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a consumer needs or wants. It is a

tangible good or an intangible service. Intangible products are service based like the tourism

industry, the hotel industry and the financial industry. Tangible products are those that have

an independent physical existence. Typical examples of mass-produced, tangible objects are

the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service

is a computer operating system.

Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a growth phase followed by a maturity

phase and finally an eventual period of decline as sales falls. Marketers must do careful

research on how long the life cycle of the product they are marketing is likely to be and focus

their attention on different challenges that arise as the product moves through each stage.

The marketer must also consider the product mix. Marketers can expand the current product

mix by increasing a certain product line's depth or by increasing the number of product lines.

Marketers should consider how to position the product, how to exploit the brand, how to

exploit the company's resources and how to configure the product mix so that each product

complements the other.

Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The price is very important

as it determines the company's profit and hence, survival. Adjusting the price has a profound

impact on the marketing strategy, and depending on the price elasticity of the product, often it

will affect the demand and sales as well. The marketer should set a price that complements

the other elements of the marketing mix.

Promotion - represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to

provide information to different parties about the product. Promotion comprises elements

such as: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion.

Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from cinema commercials, radio and

Internet advertisements through print media and billboards. Public relations is where the

27
communication is not directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals,

exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events.

Place - refers to providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to

access. Place is synonymous with distribution. Various strategies such as intensive

distribution, selective distribution, exclusive distribution and franchising can be used by the

marketer to complement the other aspects of the marketing mix.

Marketing strategy as a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources on

the optimal opportunities with the goals of increasing sales and achieving a

sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing strategy includes all basic and long-term

activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation

of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and

therefore contributes to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives.

If the company has obtained an adequate understanding of the customer base and its own

competitive position in the industry, marketing managers are able to make their own key

strategic decisions and develop a marketing strategy designed to maximize the revenues and

profits of the firm. The selected strategy may aim for any of a variety of specific objectives,

including optimizing short-term unit margins, revenue growth, market share, long-term

profitability, or other goals.

To achieve the desired objectives, marketers typically identify one or more target customer

segments which they intend to pursue. Customer segments are often selected as targets

because they score highly on two dimensions: 1) The segment is attractive to serve because it

is large, growing, makes frequent purchases, is not price sensitive (i.e. is willing to pay high

prices), or other factors; and 2) The company has the resources and capabilities to compete

for the segment's business, can meet their needs better than the competition, and can do so

28
profitably. In fact, a commonly cited definition of marketing is simply "meeting needs

profitably."

The implication of selecting target segments is that the business will subsequently allocate

more resources to acquire and retain customers in the target segment(s) than it will for other,

non-targeted customers. In some cases, the firm may go so far as to turn away customers who

are not in its target segment. The doorman at a swanky nightclub, for example, may deny

entry to unfashionably dressed individuals because the business has made a strategic decision

to target the "high fashion" segment of nightclub patrons.

In conjunction with targeting decisions, marketing managers will identify the desired

positioning they want the company, product, or brand to occupy in the target customer's

mind. This positioning is often an encapsulation of a key benefit the company's product or

service offers that is differentiated and superior to the benefits offered by competitive

products. For example, Volvo has traditionally positioned its products in the automobile

market in North America in order to be perceived as the leader in "safety", whereas BMW

has traditionally positioned its brand to be perceived as the leader in "performance."

Implementation planning

The Marketing Metrics Continuum provides a framework for how to categorize metrics from

the tactical to strategic.

After the firm's strategic objectives have been identified, the target market selected, and the

desired positioning for the company, product or brand has been determined, marketing

managers‘ focus on how to best implement the chosen strategy. Traditionally, this has

involved implementation planning across the "4Ps" of marketing: Product management,

Pricing (at what price slot do you position your product, for e-g low, medium or high price),

29
Place (the place/area where you are going to be selling your products, it could be local,

regional, country wide or International) (i.e. sales and distribution channels), and People.

Organizational Management and Leadership

Marketing management may spend a fair amount of time building or maintaining a marketing

orientation for the business. Achieving a market orientation, also known as "customer focus"

or the "marketing concept", requires building consensus at the senior management level and

then driving customer focus down into the organization. Cultural barriers may exist in a given

business unit or functional area that the marketing manager must address in order to achieve

this goal. Additionally, marketing executives often act as a "brand champion" and work to

enforce corporate identity standards across the enterprise.

Reporting, Measurement, Feedback and Control Systems

Marketing management employs a variety of metrics to measure progress against objectives.

It is the responsibility of marketing managers – in the marketing department or elsewhere – to

ensure that the execution of marketing programs achieves the desired objectives and does so

in a cost-efficient manner.

Marketing management therefore often makes use of various organizational control systems,

such as sales forecasts, sales force and reseller incentive programs, sales force management

systems, and customer relationship management tools (CRM). Recently, some software

vendors have begun using the term "marketing operations management" or "marketing

resource management" to describe systems that facilitate an integrated approach for

controlling marketing resources.

Types of strategies

Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the individual business.

However there are a number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies. A brief

description of the most common categorizing schemes is presented below:

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Strategies based on market dominance - In this scheme, firms are classified based on their

market share or dominance of an industry. Typically there are four types of market

dominance strategies:

 Leader

 Challenger

 Follower

 Nicher

Porter generic strategies - strategy on the dimensions of strategic scope and strategic

strength. Strategic scope refers to the market penetration while strategic strength refers to the

firm‘s sustainable competitive advantage. The generic strategy framework (porter 1984)

comprises two alternatives each with two alternative scopes. These are Differentiation and

low-cost leadership each with a dimension of Focus-broad or narrow. ** Product

differentiation ** Cost leadership ** Market segmentation * Innovation strategies — this

deals with the firm's rate of the new product development and business model innovation. It

asks whether the company is on the cutting edge of technology and business innovation.

There are three types: ** Pioneers ** Close followers ** Late followers * Growth strategies

— In this scheme we ask the question, ―How should the firm grow?‖ There are a number of

different ways of answering that question, but the most common gives four answers:

 Horizontal integration

 Vertical integration

 Diversification

31
Marketing participants often employ strategic models and tools to analyze marketing

decisions. When beginning a strategic analysis, the 3Cs can be employed to get a broad

understanding of the strategic environment. An Ansoff Matrix is also often used to convey an

organization's strategic positioning of their marketing mix. The 4Ps can then be utilized to

form a marketing plan to pursue a defined strategy.

There are many companies especially those in the Consumer Package Goods (CPG) market

that adopt the theory of running their business centred around Consumer, Shopper & Retailer

needs. Their Marketing departments spend quality time looking for "Growth Opportunities"

in their categories by identifying relevant insights (both mindsets and behaviours) on their

target Consumers, Shoppers and retail partners. These Growth Opportunities emerge from

changes in market trends, segment dynamics changing and also internal brand or operational

business challenges. The Marketing team can then prioritize these Growth Opportunities and

begin to develop strategies to exploit the opportunities that could include new or adapted

products, services as well as changes to the 7Ps.

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SALES PROMOTIONS

Sales promotion includes incentive-offering and interest-creating activities which are

generally short-term marketing events other than advertising, personal selling, publicity and

direct marketing. The purpose of sales promotion is to stimulate, motivate and influence the

purchase and other desired behavioral responses of the firm‘s customers.‖

OBJECTIVES OF SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion is a tool used to achieve most of the five major promotional objectives.

Building Product Awareness – Several sales promotion techniques are highly effective in

exposing customers to products for the first time and can serve as key promotional

components in the early stages of new product introduction. Additionally, as part of the effort

to build product awareness, several sales promotion techniques possess the added advantage

of capturing customer information at the time of exposure to the promotion. In this way sales

promotion can act as an effective customer information gathering tool (i.e., sales lead

generation), which can then be used as part of follow-up marketing efforts.

Creating Interest – Marketers find that sales promotions are very effective in creating

interest in a product. In fact, creating interest is often considered the most important use of

33
sales promotion. In the retail industry an appealing sales promotions can significantly

increase customer traffic to retail outlets. Internet marketers can use similar approaches to

bolster the number of website visitors. Another important way to create interest is to move

customers to experience a product. Several sales promotion techniques offer the opportunity

for customers to try products for free or at low cost.

Providing Information – Generally sales promotion techniques are designed to move

customers to some action and are rarely simply informational in nature. However, some sales

promotions do offer customers access to product information. For instance, a promotion may

allow customers to try a fee-based online service for free for several days. This free access

may include receiving product information via email.

Stimulating Demand – Next to building initial product awareness, the most important use of

sales promotion is to build demand by convincing customers to make a purchase. Special

promotions, especially those that lower the cost of ownership to the customer (e.g., price

reduction); can be employed to stimulate sales.

Reinforcing the Brand – Once customers have made a purchase sales promotion can be used

to both encourage additional purchasing and also as a reward for purchase loyalty (see loyalty

programs below). Many companies, including airlines and retail stores, reward good or

―preferred‖ customers with special promotions, such as email ―special deals‖ and surprise

price reductions at the cash register.

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CLASSIFICATION OF SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion can be classified based on the primary target audience to whom the

promotion is directed. These include:

Consumer Market Directed - Possibly the most well-known methods of sales promotion are

those intended to appeal to the final consumer. Consumers are exposed to sales promotions

nearly every day, and as discussed later, many buyers are conditioned to look for sales

promotions prior to making purchase decisions.

Trade Market Directed – Marketers use sales promotions to target all customers including

partners within their channel of distribution.

FUNCTION OF SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion is a short-term marketing strategy designed to achieve a specific purpose.

Sales promotion differs from advertising in that its intent is to create a sense of urgency to

encourage immediate action as opposed to building sales or a brand over a long period of

time. Sales promotion may take the form of a temporary price reduction or a campaign to

introduce an item.

Production Differentiation

Use of sales promotion techniques helps to differentiate your products from those of your

competitors. This is especially beneficial are your products offered essentially the same

features and benefits as others on the market. A method often used to make products stand

out is to offer them at a slightly reduced price for a short period of time.

35
Attract Customers

Sales promotions are used to attract customers during periods of slow sales. For example, if

you offer a seasonal product such as barbecue grills, by running a promotion in the middle of

winter where the price is reduced by 50 percent may encourage people to buy a grill at a time

where it might not otherwise cross their mind.

Important techniques of sales promotion are as follows:

(1) Rebate:

Under it in order to clear the excess stock, products are offered at some reduced price. For

example, giving a rebate by a car manufacturer to the tune of 12,000/- for a limited period of

time.

(2) Discount:

Under this method, the customers are offered products on less than the listed price. For

example, giving a discount of 30% on the sale of Liberty Shoes. Similarly giving a discount

of 50% + 40% by the KOUTONS.

(3) Refunds:

Under this method, some part of the price of an article is refunded to the customer on

showing proof of purchase. For example, refunding an amount of 5/- on showing the empty

packet of the product priced 100/-.

36
(4) Product Combination:

Under this method, along with the main product some other product is offered to the

customer as a gift. The following are some of the examples:

(5) Quantity Gift:

Under this method, some extra quantity of the main product is passed on as a gift to the

customers. For example, 25% extra toothpaste in a packet of 200 gm tooth paste. Similarly, a

free gift of one RICH LOOK shirt on the purchase of two shirts.

(6) Instant Draw and Assigned Gift:

Under this method, a customer is asked to scratch a card on the purchase of a product and the

name of the product is inscribed thereupon which is immediately offered to the customer as a

gift. For example, on buying a car when the card is scratched such gifts are offered – TV,

Refrigerator, Computer, Mixer, Dinner Set, Wristwatch, T-shirt, Iron Press, etc.

(7) Lucky Draw:

Under this method, the customers of a particular product are offered gifts on a fixed date and

the winners are decided by the draw of lots. While purchasing the product, the customers are

given a coupon with a specific number printed on it.

On the basis of this number alone the buyer claims to have won the gift. For example, ‗Buy a

bathing soap and get a gold coin‘ offer can be used under this method.

37
(8) Usable Benefits:

Under this method, coupons are distributed among the consumers on behalf of the producer.

Coupon is a kind of certificate telling that the product mentioned therein can be obtained at

special discount.

It means that if a customer has a coupon of some product he will get the discount mentioned

therein whenever he buys it. Possession of a coupon motivates the consumer to buy the

product, even when he has no need of it.

Such coupons are published in newspapers and magazines. Some companies distribute

coupons among its shareholders. Sellers collect the coupons from the customers and get the

payment from the company that issues the same.

(9) Full Finance @ 0%:

Under this method, the product is sold and money received in installment at 0% rate of

interest. The seller determines the number of installments in which the price of the product

will be recovered from the customer. No interest is charged on these installments.

(10) Samples or Sampling:

Under this method, the producer distributes free samples of his product among the

consumers. Sales representatives distribute these samples from door-to-door. This method is

used mostly in case of products of daily-use, e.g., Washing Powder, Tea, Toothpaste, etc.

Thus, the consumers willy-nilly make use of free sample. If it satisfies them, they buy it and

in this way sales are increased.

38
(11) Contests:

Some producers organize contests with a view to popularizing their products. Consumers

taking part in the contest are asked to answer some very simple questions on a form and

forward the same to the company. The blank form is made available to that consumer who

buys the product first.

Result is declared on the basis of all the forms received by a particular date. Attractive prizes

are given to the winners of the contest. Such contests can be organized in different ways.

Customer satisfaction measures how well the expectations of a customer concerning a

product or service provided by your company have been met.

Customer satisfaction is an abstract concept and involves such factors as the quality of the

product, the quality of the service provided, the atmosphere of the location where the product

or service is purchased, and the price of the product or service. Businesses often use

customer satisfaction surveys to gauge customer satisfaction.

Purpose

A business ideally is continually seeking feedback to improve customer

satisfaction."Customer satisfaction provides a leading indicator of consumer purchase

39
intentions and loyalty." "Customer satisfaction data are among the most frequently collected

indicators of market perceptions. Their principal use is twofold:"

1. "Within organizations, the collection, analysis and dissemination of these data send a

message about the importance of tending to customers and ensuring that they have a

positive experience with the company's goods and services."

2. "Although sales or market share can indicate how well a firm is performing currently,

satisfaction is perhaps the best indicator of how likely it is that the firm‘s customers

will make further purchases in the future. Much research has focused on the

relationship between customer satisfaction and retention. Studies indicate that the

ramifications of satisfaction are most strongly realized at the extremes."

On a five-point scale, "individuals who rate their satisfaction level as '5' are likely to become

return customers and might even evangelize for the firm. (A second important metric related

to satisfaction is willingness to recommend. This metric is defined as "The percentage of

surveyed customers who indicate that they would recommend a brand to friends." When a

customer is satisfied with a product, he or she might recommend it to friends, relatives and

colleagues. This can be a powerful marketing advantage.) "Individuals who rate their

satisfaction level as '1,' by contrast, are unlikely to return. Further, they can hurt the firm by

making negative comments about it to prospective customers. Willingness to recommend is a

key metric relating to customer satisfaction."

The Disconfirmation Model

"The Disconfirmation Model is based on the comparison of customers‘ [expectations] and

their [perceived performance] ratings. Specifically, an individual‘s expectations are

confirmed when a product performs as expected. It is negatively confirmed when a product

40
performs more poorly than expected. The disconfirmation is positive when a product

performs over the expectations (Churchill & Suprenant 1982). There are four constructs to

describe the traditional disconfirmation paradigm mentioned as expectations, performance,

disconfirmation and satisfaction." "Satisfaction is considered as an outcome of purchase and

use, resulting from the buyers‘ comparison of expected rewards and incurred costs of the

purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences. In operation, satisfaction is somehow

similar to attitude as it can be evaluated as the sum of satisfactions with some features of

product." "In the literature, cognitive and affective models of satisfaction are also developed

and considered as alternatives (Pfaff, 1977).

CONSTRUCTION

Organizations need to retain existing customers while targeting non-customers. Measuring

customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at

providing products and/or services to the marketplace.

"Customer satisfaction is measured at the individual level, but it is almost always reported at
an aggregate level. It can be, and often is, measured along various dimensions. A hotel, for
example, might ask customers to rate their experience with its front desk and check-in
service, with the room, with the amenities in the room, with the restaurants, and so on.
Additionally, in a holistic sense, the hotel might ask about overall satisfaction 'with your
stay.'"

As research on consumption experiences grows, evidence suggests that consumers purchase

goods and services for a combination of two types of benefits: hedonic and utilitarian.
Hedonic benefits are associated with the sensory and experiential attributes of the product.
Utilitarian benefits of a product are associated with the more instrumental and functional
attributes of the product (Batra and Athola 1990).

41
Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of

the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to

product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and

physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend

rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may

have and other products against which the customer can compare the organization's products.

Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (Leonard L) between 1985 and 1988

provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the

gap between the customer's expectation of performance and their perceived experience of

performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction "gap" which is objective and

quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the

"confirmation/disconfirmation" theory of combining the "gap" described by Parasuraman,

Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance)

into a single measurement of performance according to expectation.

The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey using a Likert scale. The

customer is asked to evaluate each statement in terms of their perceptions and expectations of

performance of the organization being measured.

Good quality measures need to have high satisfaction loadings, good reliability, and low error

variances. In an empirical study comparing commonly used satisfaction measures it was

found that two multi-item semantic differential scales performed best across both hedonic and

utilitarian service consumption contexts. A study by Wirtz & Lee (2003), found that a six-

item 7-point semantic differential scale (for example, Oliver and Swan 1983), which is a six-

item 7-point bipolar scale, consistently performed best across both hedonic and utilitarian

services. It loaded most highly on satisfaction, had the highest item reliability, and had by far

42
the lowest error variance across both studies. In the study, the six items asked respondents‘

evaluation of their most recent experience with ATM services and ice cream restaurant, along

seven points within these six items: ―pleased me to displeased me‖, ―contented with to

disgusted with‖, ―very satisfied with to very dissatisfied with‖, ―did a good job for me to did

a poor job for me‖, ―wise choice to poor choice‖ and ―happy with to unhappy with‖. A

semantic differential (4 items) scale (e.g., Eroglu and Machleit 1990),[14] which is a four-item

7-point bipolar scale, was the second best performing measure, which was again consistent

across both contexts. In the study, respondents were asked to evaluate their experience with

both products, along seven points within these four items: ―satisfied to dissatisfied‖,

―favorable to unfavorable‖, ―pleasant to unpleasant‖ and ―I like it very much to I didn‘t like it

at all‖. The third best scale was single-item percentage measure, a one-item 7-point bipolar

scale (e.g., Westbrook 1980). Again, the respondents were asked to evaluate their experience

on both ATM services and ice cream restaurants, along seven points within ―delighted to

terrible‖.

Finally, all measures captured both affective and cognitive aspects of satisfaction,
independent of their scale anchors. Affective measures capture a consumer‘s attitude
(liking/disliking) towards a product, which can result from any product information or
experience. On the other hand, cognitive element is defined as an appraisal or conclusion on
how the product‘s performance compared against expectations (or exceeded or fell short of
expectations), was useful (or not useful), fit the situation (or did not fit), exceeded the
requirements of the situation (or did not exceed).

Recent research shows that in most commercial applications, such as firms conducting
customer surveys, a single-item overall satisfaction scale performs just as well as a multi-item
scale. Especially in larger scale studies where a researcher needs to gather data from a large
number of customers, a single-item scale may be preferred because it can reduce total survey
error.

43
 CHAPTER-4

4. COMPANY PROFILE
The origin dates back to 1977, when Mr. Kochouseph Chittilappilly with a burning passion to
make a difference set out to build a robust brand in the Indian electric and electronic goods
panorama. With a small manufacturing unit for voltage stabilizers, a vision and a strong
make-do belief, apart from a capital of Rs. 100,000 borrowed from his father and two
workers to assist him, he set sail on his dream. V-Guard grew rapidly to become a name
synonymous with voltage stabilizers across South India. The company soon extended their
range of products to Voltage Stabilizer, Digital UPS, Inverter and Inverter Batteries, Electric
Water Heaters, Solar Water Heaters, Domestic Pumps, Agricultural Pumps, Industrial
Motors, Domestic Switch Gears, Distribution Boards, Wiring Cables, Industrial Cables,
Induction Cooktops, Mixer Grinders, Fans, Rice Cooker, Gas Stoves & Solar Power Systems.

Very soon the brand expanded its wings and is now available across the length and breadth of
the country with a wide range of products.

The reputation has been built on sheer passion and a continuous quest to understand its
consumer better. With stringent quality control measures, reliable products, talented people
and a responsible approach to business, V-Guard continues to steadily capture the hearts of
people across the country.

In its endeavour to reach every nook and corner of the country V-Guard is armed with over
500 distributors, 3,000 direct dealers, more than 20,000 retailers and service centres spread
across the 29 states.

As we look into the future, it will be the endeavour of brand V-Guard to stay relevant and
inspirational to a world that is growing younger, every day. The quest is to understand human
life and its relationship with the tools and appliances he uses and to create a seamless
experience of thoughtfully engineered products in its endeavour to enrich consumer lives.

44
 VISION & MISSION
Our Vision
Let us endeavour to make V-Guard a trusted household name.
Our Mission

 To offer a range of products at affordable prices, which add to comfort of life through saving
in manual labor, time and energy or for entertainment.
 To make our products meet international quality standards and provide trouble free
performance.
 To adopt designs, which support timely and efficient post sale service.
 To continuously innovate and add value to our products, if needed with technical
collaboration.
 To continuously assess and improve customer care.

THE QUEST FOR ENRICHING CONSUMER LIVES

It‘s no secret that the world around us is weaved on technology. It feeds on innovation and
thrives on creativity. Many of the inventions, gadgets and appliances that changed human life
dramatically in the 21st century are now beginning to look like misfits in a digitised 22nd
century. The ease in our lives is a result of products that not just follow orders, but
understand what consumers want, intuitively. This evolved understanding helps them play a
more fulfilling role in the lives of consumers.

In less than four decades V-Guard has earned itself a reputation for solidity. For designing
and manufacturing products that are built to last. For us being rooted in solidity is only the
beginning, something we can be proud of but a glory we cannot bask in. Because there is so
much more to achieve in a world in which the meaning of a better quality of life is being
redefined every day, fuelling greater expectations from the tools that enable a better quality
of life.

At V-Guard we are not just thinking up the next innovation. We are constantly seeking to
understand human life and its relationship with the tools and appliances that he uses. And
then to evolve a seamless experience with thoughtfully engineered products in our quest to
enriching consumer lives.

45
 MILESTONES

Establishing our supremacy in the solar water heaters segment with a punch, V-Guard
commissioned India's largest manufacturing plant for solar water heaters at Perundurai, Tamil
Nadu. This state-of-the-art Unit is India's largest integrated manufacturing facility for
polymer tanks and stainless steel tanks for Solar Water Heaters. Also added to the product kit
were a special range of Mixer Grinders.

Innovative strategies, efficient work-flow, effective marketing, strict cost control measures,
excellent administration â€― the results of these and many more factors reflected in the
phenomenal growth of the Company, with the Financial Year 2014 witnessing the total
revenue hitting the Rs. 1500 crore mark.

An eventful year by all means, the Directorial Board of V-Guard appointed Mr. Kochouseph
Thomas Chittilappilly as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Company and Mr. Mithun K.
Chittilappilly as the Managing Director. This year also saw the total turnover hitting the Rs
1000 Crores mark. Also, a premium range of Induction Cook Tops were added to the V-
Guard portfolio of high-utility products.
With a seed capital of Rs.1 Lakh, two employees and a heart full of dreams, Mr. Kochouseph
Chittilappilly laid the foundation of V-Guard. The unit was set up in a garage space and
concentrated on the manufacturing of Stabilizers which were much in demand during those
times.

46
Having established credentials in the stabilizer business, V-Guard diversified it's range of
products and accommodated high-quality Pumps into it. It was an altogether different
category and V-Guard entered its market successfully.

Stretching the scope of business a little further, the company added a special quality
Stabilizers for Air Conditioners to its product portfolio to cater to an emerging market
segment that is rich in potential.

V-GUARD FOUNDER
MR. KOCHOUSEPH CHITTILAPPILLY

Chairman

Mr. Kochouseph Chittilappilly was born in 1950 in Thrissur District, Kerala into a family
which was traditionally engaged in agriculture. He holds a Master‘s Degree in Physics and
began his career as a Supervisor in an electronics company. A multifaceted individual, Mr.
Kochouseph Chittilappilly has been spearheading the V-Guard Group from its inception.

At the age of 27, the industrialist in him took shape with a borrowed capital of Rs. 100,000
from his father to set up a small manufacturing facility for stabilizers. He had two workers to
assist. Sensing the need for a reliable and quality product with a good after sales backup, he

47
set about manufacturing the V-Guard brand of stabilizers. Quality and reliability was the key
focus and armed with an effective marketing strategy. Today V-Guard is a listed company
with BSE and NSE having various electrical, electronic and electro-mechanical products
which apart from others include electric and solar water heaters, cables and wires, Domestic
and Agricultural Pumps, Inverters, Fans, Induction Cooktop, Mixer Grinder and so forth and
a turnover racing past Rs. 1700 crores.

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Mithun K Chittilappilly

It all began in the year 1977. With an investment of Rs.100,000 and two employees Mr.
Kochouseph Chittilappilly embarked on the journey of V-Guard. Today we are on the
threshold of Rs 2000 crore in turnover, a public limited company, a trusted brand name with a
multiple product portfolio and backed by a professional team of over 1900 employees.

The recent years (2009-2014) had been phenomenal for us as an organization as we have
been growing at a CAGR of 37%. Having said that we do understand that the business
environment will continue to pose newer challenges and it is important as an organization we
too are equipped to meet them. Our team has adopted different management tools, practices
and techniques in tackling new challenges, sustaining growth and delivering world class
products and services to our discerning customers.At V-Guard we strongly believe in a
healthy work–life balance. Many a member of my team have started their careers here and
grown with the ranks. We are also bringing in a lot of new talent across various disciplines
thereby building a strong coterie of youth and experience and cultivating new age thinking
and practices.

V-Guard will continue to move forward in its quest to enriching consumer lives. It will be our
endeavour to delight our consumer with thoughtfully designed products that will make
consumer lives more fulfilling.

48
DIRECTORS :-

JOSHNA JOHNSON THOMAS Director

KOCHOUSEPH THOMAS Director
CHITTILAPPILLY
RAMACHANDRAN Wholetime
VENKATARAMAN Director
KASARAGOD ULLAS Director
KAMATH
RADHA UNNI Director
CHENAYAPPILLIL JOHN Director
GEORGE
MITHUN KOCHOUSEPH Managing
CHITTILAPPILLY Director
CHERIAN NADUVATHRA Director
PUNNOOSE

V-GUARD PRODUCTS
Stabilizer and UPS– V–Guard is the largest selling brand of electronic voltage stabilizers
across country. It manufactures stabilizer for ACs, TV, digital equipment and refrigerators.
The company also manufactures a wide range of UPS for computers.
Cables– V–Guard manufactures PVC wiring cables, XLPE Insulated power Cables and PVC
Insulated Power Cables.
V–Guard also manufactures water and solar heaters, pumps, motors and fans.
Awards
The company has received Industry Excellence Award for Medium Scale Industries awarded
by The Institution of Engineering, Cochin.
It was acknowledged as Kerala‘s No.1 Consumer Durable products category from Dhanam
Magazine.
Outlook
V–Guard Industries is planning to form a joint venture in order to foray into UPS
(Uninterruptible Power Supply) business. Currently the market size of branded UPS is is in
the range of Rs 2,000 crore. The company is engaged in manufacturing low–end UPS. It aims
to be manufacturing UPS having capacity of more than 1kV.The company is setting up a

49
low–tension (LT) power cables plant at Coimbatore and a house–wiring cables plant at
Kashipur, Uttarakhand.

WAKE UP TO SMARTER MORNINGS

WI-FI CONNECT

Access the intelligent water heater through the V-Guard Smart app on your smart phone
using Wi-Fi. As soon as the V-Guard Smart app comes in contact with a Wi-Fi network, it
lets you control the appliance remotely.

INTELLIGENT SHOWER SCHEDULER

Schedule your water heater to automatically switch on and off at desired temperatures every
day, using the V-Guard Smart app on your phone. Verano water heater comes with a set of
scheduling options and once the time and temperature is set, the advanced water heater will
operate automatically.

50
SMART GLOBAL SYNC

Getting in touch with your smart water heater and controlling its activities just got simplified
with Verano smart water heaters. Just download the V-Guard Smart app and sync your
smartphone to control and change modes, set schedules and monitor energy consumption
from anywhere, anytime.

 V-Guard Industries limited is a major electrical appliances manufacturer in India,

and the largest in the state of Kerala with an annual turnover of 23.21 billion (US$340
million) in financial year 2018-19.
 Company manufactures voltage stabilizers, electrical cable, electric pumps, electric
motors, geysers, solar water heaters, air coolers and UPSs. It was founded in 1977
by Kochouseph Chittilappilly as a small voltage stabilizer manufacturing unit.
 Kochouseph Chittilappilly also founded other establishments held as subsidiaries such
as V Star Creations, an Indian manufacturer of innerwear for men, women, and
children, and Wonderla, a chain of amusement parks in South India.

History

V-Guard is one of India‘s consumer goods company with diversified product offerings.
Headquartered in city of Kochi, Kerala, the company now has over 500 distributors, 30,000
retailers, and branches across India. It‘s listed with the NSE and BSE since 2008. Over the
years V-Guard has forayed into Electronics, Electrical and Consumer Durable segments.

The company started in 1977, when Kochouseph Chittilappilly set out to build a brand in the
Indian electric and electronic goods industry The company started with a small

51
manufacturing unit for voltage stabilizers, a capital of Rs.100,000 and two employees. The
Kangaroo logo was created by artist Sreekandan V.A. (Manii).

Chairman and founder, Kochouseph Chittilappilly was born in 1950 in Thrissur

District, Kerala into a family traditionally engaged in agriculture. He holds a master's degree
in Physics and began his career as a Supervisor in an electronics company. He is one of the
founder promoters and was also the acting Managing Director of the company till in April,
2012 he passed the baton on to his son Mithun Chittilappilly.

The company‘s current Managing Director, Mithun Chittilappilly is a Post Graduate in

Management from the University Of Melbourne, Australia. In the year 2006, he joined V-
Guard as the Executive Director and in 2012, he was appointed as the Managing Director of
the company. Mithun Chittilappilly has previously worked with leading MNCs
like Deloitte & Hewlett Packard.PVC insulated cables, Voltage Stabilizer, Electric & Solar
water heating,Pumps and motors, Digital UPS and inverter systems and Electric Fans are the
main product lines of the company. In the year 2018-19 the company undertook a major
brand rejuvenation project including extensive refresh to its brand identity and packaging.

52
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

53
 CHAPTER-5

5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study.

It comprises the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a

branch of knowledge. Typically, it encompasses concepts such as paradigm, theoretical

model, phases and quantitative or qualitative techniques.

A methodology does not set out to provide solutions - it is, therefore, not the same thing as a
method. Instead, it offers the theoretical underpinning for understanding which method, set of
methods or so called ―best practices‖ can be applied to specific case, for example, to calculate
a specific result.

It has been defined also as follows:

1. "the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a

discipline"

2. "the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a

discipline"

3. "the study or description of methods‖

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design is purely and simply the framework of plan for a study that guides the

collection and analysis of data. Types of Research Design:

 Exploratory Research – The main purpose of such studies is that of formulating a

problem for more precise investigation or of developing the working hypotheses from

an operational point of view.

 Descriptive Research – Those studies which are concerned with describing the

characteristics of a particular individual, or of a group.

54
  Hypothesis Testing Research – They are those where the researchers tests the

hypotheses of casual relationships between variables.

SAMPLE SIZE

Details:

Size of Data : 100

Area : New Delhi

Sampling Technique

Sampling techniques can be broadly classified in to two types:

 Probability Sampling.

 Non Probability Sampling.

Methods of Data Collection--- Testing Of Questionnaire

Primary Data:
Primary data is basically the live data which I collected on field while doing cold calls with

the customers and I shown them list of question for which I had required their responses.

Source: Main source for the primary data for the project was questionnaires which I got

filled by the customers, dealers, retailers and staff or sometimes filled myself on the basis of

discussion with the people.

Secondary Data:

Secondary data for the base of the project I collected from intranet of the hotels and from

internet, magazines, newspapers etc.

Statistical Analysis

In this segment I will show my findings in the form of graphs and charts. All the data which I

got form the market will not be disclosed over here but extract of that in the form of

information will definitely be here.

55
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES OF ANALYSIS

Tools for analysis

 Bar chart (Bar charts will be used for comparing two or more values that will be taken

over time or on different conditions, usually on small data set )

 Pie-chart (Circular chart divided in to sectors, illustrating relative magnitudes or

frequencies)

Tools and Techniques

As no study could be successfully completed without proper tools and techniques, same with

my project. For the better presentation and right explanation I used tools of statistics and

computer very frequently. And I am very thankful to all those tools for helping me a lot.

Basic tools which I used for project from statistics are-

- Bar Charts

- Pie charts

- Tables

Bar charts and pie charts are really useful tools for every research to show the result in a well

clear, ease and simple way. Because I used bar charts and pie cahrts in project for showing

data in a systematic way, so it need not necessary for any observer to read all the theoretical

detail, simple on seeing the charts any body could know that what is being said.

Technological Tools

Ms- Excel

Ms-Access

Ms-Word

Above application software of Microsoft helped me a lot in making project more interactive

and productive.

56
SURVEY SUMMARY
 V-Guard is an electric & electronic goods manufacture company. It basically makes
regular home appliances. V-Guard initially made stabilizers which were secondary
product but V-Guard made a huge change to make it primary product.
 ―Bring home a better tomorrow‖ the tag line itself consists the motive of quality
deliverable, future concern and safety. All the ads and campaigns are more focused to
make consumer‘s life smooth and easy which clearly reflect from branding action.
 V-Guard was the manufacturer of a niche category of product. For rural area it
applied the old door to door promotions technique which helped V-Guard to build
brand image, the person who used to visit door to door would not only demonstrate
the product but also tell them about the strength and weaknesses of product. That
sales representative acted as the medium of contact in between company and
customers.
 As the V-Guard had only one category for stabilizer which was in urban area but the
rural area was not explored with adequate product so company started making other
electric products like cables, pumps etc. to reach the rural area. V-Guard did direct
door to door sales and explained the use of the product, V-Guard promoted its
message in local language also.
 As the demographical distribution 30% of population lives in urban area where huge
media modes are available like TV, digital display, print media, online promotion
which are easy to access by the audience, and brand can communicate with one single
language where as rural area needed to be assisted in their local language to make
people understand the message from brand, so V-Guard hired sales personal to make
the customer understand about the brand. Now V-Guard products are available
digitally as well as in store also. V-Guard also organizes competition where the
students can participate and show their innovative talents, V-Guard tries to apply
innovations in their own products. These competitions are also a method of promotion
for brand.

57
 CHAPTER -6

6. ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Ques 1-) Do you think the current Marketing Strategy of V-Guard is sufficient enough

to compete with its fellow Brands?

Table 1

Option No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 70 70%

No 20 20%

May be 5 5%

Can’t say 5 5%

Total 100 100%

GRAPH : 1

80
70
70

60

50

40

30
20
20

10 5 5

0
Yes No May be Can't say

Interpretation: From the above graph, Most of the customers, dealers and retailers think that

the current Marketing Strategy of V-Guard is sufficient enough to compete with its fellow

Brands.

58
Ques 2-) Does the publicity of a product affect your purchase decision?

Table 2

Option No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 60 60%

No 20 20%

May be 10 10%

Can’t say 10 10%

Total 100

GRAPH : 2

10

10

Yes
No
May be
20 60 Can't say

Interpretation: From the above graph, Most of the customers think Yes, the publicity of a

product affect their purchase decision.

59
Ques 3-) Are you aware of the new product launches of V-Guard?

Table 3

Option No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 95 95%

No 5 5%

Total 100

Graph : 3

Report

5 Yes
95 5
No

Interpretation: The above graph shows that Most of the customers and dealers are aware of

the new product launches of brand V-Guard.

60
Q.4. What is your perception about V-Guard brand Product?
Table 3
Particulars No. of Respondent Percentage
BEST 43 43%
GOOD 26 26%
ORDINARY 17 17%
NO COMMENT 0 0%
POOR 14 14%
WORST 0 0%
POOREST 0 0%
TOTAL 100 100%

GRAPH 4
100 100.00%
90 90.00%
80 80.00%
70 70.00%
43.00%

60 60.00%
43

50 50.00%
26.00%

40 40.00%
17.00%

14.00%
26

30 30.00%
17

14

20 20.00%
0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

10 10.00%
0

0 0.00%

Number of Respondent
Percentage

Interpretation:
The above graph reveals that best perception comes from 43%, 26% have good perception
about the Product and rest by 17% have ordinary ,14% have poor perception.

61
Ques 5-) Do you think that Marketing of the Product is more important than the

features of the product in generating the sales?

Table 5

Option No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 60 60%

No 20 20%

May be 10 10%

Can’t say 10 10%

Total 100

Graph : 5

Report

10

10
Yes
No
May be
20 60 Can't say

Interpretation: Most of the V-Guard dealers and retailers think that Marketing of the

Product is more important than the features of the product in generating the sales.

62
Ques 6-) Which media tool is the most influential for the customer.

A) TV Commercial B) Newspaper

C) Radio D) Word of Mouth

Table 6

Option No. of Respondents Percentage

TV Commercial 60 60%

Newspaper 10 10%

Radio 5 5%

Word of Mouth 25 25%

Total 100

Graph 6:

Result
70
60
60

50

40

30 25 Series 1

20
10
10 5

0
TV Commercial Newspaper Radio Word of Mouth
:

Interpretation: From the above graph we can say that TV Commercials are most

influential media for the customers.

63
Ques 7-) Do you think Celebrity Endorsement affect the Customer purchase decision?

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

Table 7

Option No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 40 40%

No 20 20%

May be 10 10%

Can’t say 30 30%

Total 100

GRAPH: 7

Report

30
40 Yes
No
May be
Can't say
10

20

Interpretation: Most of the dealers and managers think that Celebrity Endorsement affects

the Customer purchase decision.

64
Ques 8- ) Do you think Brand V-Guard is now targeting the lower segment group?

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

Table 8

Option No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 60 60%

No 20 20%

May be 5 5%

Can’t say 15 15%

Total 100

GRAPH : 8

Report
70
60
60

50

40

30 Sales
20
20 15

10 5

0
Yes No May be Can't say

Interpretation: The above graph shows that most of the customers agree with the fact that

V-Guard is now targeting the lower segment group.

65
Ques 9- ) What should be the key msg from a promotional activities?

A) Product details B) Price centric

C) Brand informatics D) No idea

Table 9

No. of Respondents Percentage

Product details 60 60%

Price centric 20 20%

Brand informatics 5 5%

No idea 15 15%

Total 100

GRAPH : 9

Report

15

5
Product details
Price centric
Brand informatics
20 60 No idea

Interpretation: Above graph shows that most of the Consumers and workers are saying that

Product details should be key element in promotional activities.

66
Ques 10-) Do you think V-Guard should plan a revive Marketing strategy focusing on

its durability.

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

Table 10

Option No. of Respondents Percentage

Yes 80 80%

No 5 5%

May be 5 5%

Can’t say 10 10%

Total 100 100%

GRAPH : 10

Report

10
5
5
Yes
No
May be
Can't say

80

Interpretation: The above graph shows that most of the mid level management workers and

dealers agree with the fact that V-Guard should plan a revive Marketing strategy, focusing on

its durability.

67
 CHAPTER-7
7. FINDINGS

 The brand awareness of V-Guard electrical appliances product seems to be almost

100%.

 The general opinion about V-Guard product is that it is either good or satisfactory.

 Most of the V-Guard Dealers, retailers and customers think that the current Marketing

Strategy of V-Guard is sufficient enough to compete with its fellow Brands.

 Most of the customers think Yes for the publicity of a product affect their purchase

decision.

 Marketing of products is more important than product details for generating more

sales.

 Most of the customers and retailers are aware of the new product launches of V-

Guard.

 Most of the V-Guard dealers and retailers think that Marketing of the Product is more

important than the features of the product in generating the sales.

 TV commercials are most influential media.

 Most of the customers, workers and dealers think that Celebrity Endorsement affects

the Customer purchase decision.

 Most of the customers think that V-Guard is now targeting the lower segment group.

 Most of the customers are saying that Product details should be key element in

promotional activities.

 Many V-Guard retailers and dealers told that V-Guard should plan a revive

Marketing strategy focusing on its durability.

68
 CHAPTER – 8
8. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
8.1 CONCLUSION

During my summer training in V-Guard Industries limited (New Delhi) I have learnt lots
of things. The culture of the organization, office etiquettes and the unique management
model gives a deep insight about the industry. In training I got a chance to be familiar with
different products of V-Guard and different aspects of V-Guard industries.

V-Guard proves to be a trusted household name due to the quality and support it offers to
its customers. The company was able to achieve new heights, year after year only because
of understanding and coordination between the management and staff. V-Guard has been
able to develop new products as per the customer‘s perception and tastes and offering
consistent performance of the product. The company also has a goodwill it has brought up
by the dedicated social welfare activities it is doing in different parts of the India. As the
brand V-Guard is already renowned so it was easy for me to contact people and ask them
questions regarding V-Guard products.

Most of the V-Guard dealers, retailers, staffs and customers agree with following facts:

 V-Guard is having sufficient resources and marketing strategies to compete with

other companies.

 V-Guard‘s advertisement policy and promotional activities are quiet influential.

 Marketing strategies adopted by V-Guard helped it to grow rapidly across the

country and made V-Guard a brand that will be remembered for long time.

 V-Guard communicate it's audience with most comfortable media that‘s why they

have different marketing strategy in different regions based on the demography.

 Overall Consumer‘s perception about brand V-Guard was Good.

So in a nutshell we can say that the V-Guard is ―The name which all can trust‖. The

company is focusing on its vision for this ―Let us endeavour to make V-Guard trusted

household name‖.

69
8.2 SUGGESTIONS

The following are the suggestion made based on the results of the study.
 Keep maintaining the quality as a competitive edge.

 Increase advertising & show your competitive edge in advertisement.

 Increase loyalty of customer with brand through attractive packages and extra

features.

 Try to target lower class more with effective utilization of resources.

 Increase its distribution network.

 Increase incentives & promotional activities

 Training courses / workshops for team

 Conduct training sessions of salesmen at least once a month at regional level.

70
 CHAPTER-9
9. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
As said a basic research was conducted at the company to enable the company to assess how

far the customers are satisfied with product and services during the course of the study the

following limitations were observed:

 The sample size is very small compared to the total population of the region.

 The study was conducted with the basic assumption that the information given by the

respondent is factual and represents their true feelings and behavior.

 The method lacks flexibility. In case of inadequate or incomplete information the

result may deviate.

 It is very difficult to check the accuracy of the information provided.

 Since all the products and services are not widely used by all the customers it is

difficult to draw realistic conclusions based on the survey.

71
 CHAPTER-10
10. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Books:

 Philip Kotler, Kevin Keller (2009), Marketing Management (Thirteenth Edition)

 Marketing Management, The McGraw.Hill Company Rajan Saxena (Third Edition)

 Brassington, F and Pettitt, S, (2000), Principles of Marketing, Second Edition,

Prentice Hall, Harlow

 Brooks, I and Weatherston, J. (1997) The Business Environment. Challenges and

Changes, Prentice Hall.

Magazines:

- Business today

- Business & Mgt.

Web links:-

 https://www.vguard.in/

 http://www.gangatechnicalcampus.com/

 https://www.iwriteessays.com/samples/marketing-strategy-and-mission-statement

 https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/developing-a-marketing-strategy-

marketing-essay.php

 https://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing-strategy

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing

 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing.html

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_valuable_customers
72
 QUESTIONNAIRE
Customer name: - Mr/Mrs/Miss………………………

Address: - ……………………………………………………

……………………………………………………

Contact no: - …………………………………………………….

Age : ……………………………………………………

Ques 1- ) Do you think the current Marketing Strategy of V-Guard Product is sufficient

enough to compete with its fellow Brands?

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

Ques 2-) Does the publicity of a product affect your purchase decision?

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

Ques 3-) Are you aware of the new product launches of V-Guard Product .

A) Yes B) No

Q.4. What is your perception about V-guard Product?

Showing Customer Perception about Product
Particulars

BEST

GOOD

ORDINARY

NO COMMENT

POOR

WORST

73
POOREST

TOTAL

Ques 5-) Do you think that Marketing of the Product is more important than the

features of the product in generating the sales?

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

Ques 6-) Which media tool is the most influential for the customer?

A) TV Commercial B) Newspaper

C) Radio D) Word of Mouth

Ques 7-) Do you thing Celebrity Endorsement affects the Customer purchase decision?

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

Ques 8-) Do you think V-Guard Product is now targeting the lower segment group?

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

Ques 9- ) What should be the key msg from a promotional activities?

A) Product details B) Price centric

C) Brand informatics D) No idea

Ques 10-) Do you think V-Guard Product should plan a revive Marketing strategy

focusing on its durability?

A) Yes B) No

C) May be D) Can‘t say

74