A STUDY ON THE MARKET SURVEY ON BRAND EQUITY AT AUTO-MACHINE

MAIN PROJECT REPORT Submitted to SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT In the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Submitted by S.R.MONISH 3511010431

Under the guidance of Mrs. DHANALAKSHMI

SRM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SRM UNIVERSITY KATTANKULATHUR 603 203

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE Certified that this project report titled A MARKET SURVEY ON BRAND EQUITY AT AUTO-MACHINE LTD, is the Bonafide work of Mr. S.R.MONISH (3511010431) who carried out the study under my supervision. Certified further, that to the best of my knowledge the work reported here in does not from part of any other project report or dissertation on the basis of which a degree or award was conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.

Submitted for the viva-voice examination held on _____________________

Mrs.DHANALAKSHMI (INTERNAL GUIDE)

Dr.JAYSHREE SURESH DEAN / MBA

___________________________ External Examiner

ABSTRACT
Indian Automobile Industry Following India's growing openness, the arrival of new and existing models, easy availability of finance at relatively low rate of interest and price discounts offered by the dealers and manufacturers all have stirred the demand for vehicles and a strong growth of the Indian automobile industry. The data obtained from ministry of commerce and industry, shows high growth obtained since 2001- 02 in automobile production continuing in the first three quarters of the 2004-05. Annual growth was 16.0 per cent in April-December, 2004; the growth rate in 2003-04 was 15.1 per cent the automobile industry grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22 per cent between 1992 and 1997.

With investment exceeding Rs. 50,000 crore, the turnover of the automobile industry exceeded Rs. 59,518 crore in 2002-03. Including turnover of the autocomponent sector, the automotive industry's turnover, which was above Rs. 84,000 crore in 2002-03, is estimated to have exceeded Rs.1,00,000 crore ( USD 22. 74 billion) in 2003-04.

DECLARATION

I, S.R.MONISH, hereby declare that the Main Project, entitled A MARKET SURVEY ON BRAND EQUITY AT AUTO MACHINE LTD submitted to the SRM University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration is a record of original research work done under the supervision and guidance of Mrs.Dhanalakshmi SRM School of Management, SRM University, Kattankulathur Campus and it has not formed the basis for the award of any Degree/Fellowship or other similar title to any candidate of any University.

Place: Chennai Date:

Signature of the Student

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Internship is an integral part of any Master of Business Administration program and for that purposes I had joined the company AUTO-MACHINE LTD. I take the opportunity to express my gratitude to all of them who are in some or other way helped me to accomplish this challenging project. No amount of written expression is sufficient to show my deepest sense of gratitude to them.

Also, I express my gratitude and sincere thanks to our Dean Dr. JAYSHREE SURESH, for having given us spontaneous and wholehearted encouragement for completing the project successfully.

I am very indebted to our Project guide, Mrs.Dhanalakshmi for her deluge of ideas, assistance and invaluable support that has provided all through the project. My thanks to all other faculty and non-teaching staff members of our department for their support and also those who helped me to complete this project.

CONTENTS

INDEX CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM CHAPTER 3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY CHAPTER 4 REVIEW OF LITERATURE CHAPTER 5 METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY CHAPTER 6 HOSPITAL PROFILE CHAPTER 7 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION CHAPTER 8 FINDINGS

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CHAPTER 9 SUGGESTIONS CHAPTER 10 CONCLUSION ANNEXURE BIBLIOGRAPHY

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LIST OF TABLES SNO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 INDEX BUY PRODUCT IF MANUFACTURED INDEPENDENTLY APPROPRIATE INDICATOR FOR BRAND EQUITY TRUST PRODUCT GOT FROM LOCAL STORES WHERE DO U PREFER BUYING OUR PRODUCT APPEARANCE OF OUR PRODUCT QUALITY OF OUR PRODUCT INTANGIBLE FEATURES OF OUR PRODUCT WILL U SPEND PREMIUM PRICE FOR REPUTED COMPANY PRODUCT ASSOCIATE OUR PRODUCT WITH WOULD U IDENTIFY OUR BRAND WITH LITTELE OR NO ADVERTISING COMPANY INVEST IN BUILDING BRAND EQUITY WHICH IS WELL MANAGED, CUSTOMER LOYALTY OR SATISFACTION IS OUR PRODUCT MARKET LEADER MARKETING ACTIVITIES FOR BRAND BUILDING UNDERTAKEN BRAND VALUE MEASUREMENT EXERCISE DOES THE FIRM KEEP UP ITS PROMISES IMPORTANT CRITERION FOR BRAND PREFERENCE ARE U BULK PURCHASER OF OUR PRODUCT BENEFITS COMPETITORS PROVIDE FOR YOUR PRODUCT PAGE NO 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82

LIST OF CHARTS SNO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 INDEX BUY PRODUCT IF MANUFACTURED INDEPENDENTLY APPROPRIATE INDICATOR FOR BRAND EQUITY TRUST PRODUCT GOT FROM LOCAL STORES WHERE DO U PREFER BUYING OUR PRODUCT APPEARANCE OF OUR PRODUCT QUALITY OF OUR PRODUCT INTANGIBLE FEATURES OF OUR PRODUCT WILL U SPEND PREMIUM PRICE FOR REPUTED COMPANY PRODUCT ASSOCIATE OUR PRODUCT WITH WOULD U IDENTIFY OUR BRAND WITH LITTELE OR NO ADVERTISING COMPANY INVEST IN BUILDING BRAND EQUITY WHICH IS WELL MANAGED, CUSTOMER LOYALTY OR SATISFACTION IS OUR PRODUCT MARKET LEADER MARKETING ACTIVITIES FOR BRAND BUILDING UNDERTAKEN BRAND VALUE MEASUREMENT EXERCISE DOES THE FIRM KEEP UP ITS PROMISES IMPORTANT CRITERION FOR BRAND PREFERENCE ARE U BULK PURCHASER OF OUR PRODUCT BENEFITS COMPETITORS PROVIDE FOR YOUR PRODUCT PAGE NO 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
INDUSTRY PROFILE: In the year 1769, a French engineer by the name of Nicolas J. Cugnot invented the first automobile to run on roads. This automobile, in fact, was a self-powered, three-wheeled, military tractor that made the use of a steam engine. The range of the automobile, however, was very brief and at the most, it could only run at a stretch for fifteen minutes. In addition, these automobiles were not fit for the roads as the steam engines made them very heavy and large, and required ample starting time. Oliver Evans was the first to design a steam engine driven automobile in the U.S.

A Scotsman, Robert Anderson, was the first to invent an electric carriage between 1832 and 1839. However, Thomas Davenport of the U.S.A. and Scotsman Robert Davidson were amongst the first to invent more applicable automobiles, making use of non-rechargeable electric batteries in 1842. Development of roads made travelling comfortable and as a result, the short ranged, electric battery driven automobiles were no more the best option for travelling over longer distances.

The Automobile Industry finally came of age with Henry Ford in 1914 for the bulk production of cars. This lead to the development of the industry and it first begun in the assembly lines of his car factory. The several methods adopted by Ford, made the new invention (that is, the car) popular amongst the rich as well as the masses.

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According the History of Automobile Industry US, dominated the automobile markets around the globe with no notable competitors. However, after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Automobile Industry of other technologically advanced nations such as Japan and certain European nations gained momentum and within a very short period, beginning in the early 1980s, the U.S Automobile Industry was flooded with foreign automobile companies, especially those of Japan and Germany.

The current trends of the Global Automobile Industry reveal that in the developed countries the Automobile Industries are stagnating as a result of the drooping car markets, whereas the Automobile Industry in the developing nations, such as, India and Brazil, have been consistently registering higher growth rates every passing year for their flourishing domestic automobile markets.

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NEED FOR THE STUDY

The World Automobile Industry is turned to the developing markets.

With the developed markets almost saturated, the World Automobile Industry is now focused on the developing markets of South America and Asia, and Eastern Europe with special emphasis on BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). As per the reports of the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers or OICA(the association of the companies involved in World Automobile Industry), for the fiscal end in 2006, the automobile manufacturers in the U.S. have been overtaken by those in Japan, in terms of the total volume of automobile units manufactured worldwide. However, the struggling General Motors of the U.S. still remain the worldwide leaders of the World Automobile Industry, ahead of the rapidly growing Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, by a substantial margin.

The Emerging Indian Automobile Market: The Indian Automobile Market is a promising industrial sector that is growing immensely every passing year. The passenger cars are referred to, through the use of the word "automobile." The whooping growth experienced by the Indian Automobile Market in the last financial year itself that is the financial year end in February, 2007 was very close to an 18 percent over the previous fiscal. This statistical fact is a glittering example of the potential of the growing Automobile Industry in India.

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As per the survey conducted by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the total number of automobiles manufactured by the Automobile Industry in India, throughout the financial year 2006-07, was very close to the 15.5 lakh (1.5 million) margin. The huge of number of automobiles manufactured by the Automobile Industry in India was an enormous growth upon the number of automobiles manufactured during the previous fiscal that ended in 2006.

The total number of cars that were exported from India were very close to the 2.0 lakh (2.0 hundred thousand) margin, an encouraging sign for the Automobile Industry in India. The export of cars manufactured in India comprised nearly 13 percent of the total number of cars manufactured domestically by the Automobile Industry in India.

The India Automobile Market looks set to prosper, largely due to the growing market for automobiles that is developing in India. In the financial year that ended in February, 2004, the Indian automobile markets were the fastest growing in the world, with the registered growth rate touching nearly 20 percent. The Automobile Industry in India mainly comprises of the small car section, which enjoys nearly a 2/3rd market share of the entire market for automobiles in India. In this respect, the Indian markets are the largest in the world for small cars, behind Japan.

The Indian passenger car market which ranks amongst the largest in the world, is poised to become even larger and enter the top five passenger car markets in the world in the next decade.

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CHAPTER 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Professional management is essence for improving overall efficiency and effectiveness in every business, which makes business organization sustainable in changing political and economic environment. Since couple of years more and number of corporate sector companies have experienced the grave problems of deciding promotional strategy and specifically sales promotion schemes to win the customers. Also, on the other hand, sales promotion initiatives taken without keeping the long term objectives of the business may dilutes the brand equity. It is felt that management practices of designing and implementing promotional decisions should be well researched and rational to justify the investment on promotions. It has been felt that large gap remain what has been accomplished and what is remaining. Therefore the statement of the problem under the study that has been selected is Effects of Sales Promotions on Consumer Preferences & Brand Equity Perception .

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CHAPTER 3

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To provide a useful strategic function and guide marketing decisions, it is important for marketers to fully understand the sources of brand equity, how they affect outcomes of interest. 2. To know how these sources and outcomes change, if at all, over time. 3. To understand the sources and outcomes of brand equity provides a common denominator for interpreting marketing strategies and assessing the value of a brand. 4. To study the sources of brand equity help managers understand and focus on what drives their brand equity.

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SCOPE OF THE STUDY

To understand exactly how and where brands add value. Towards that goal, we review measures of both sources and outcomes of brand equity in detail. We then present a model of value creation, the brand value chain, as a holistic, integrated approach to understanding how to capture the value created by brands. We also outline some issues in developing a brand equity measurement system. We conclude by providing some summary observations.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

we propose an integrated approach to measuring and managing brand equity using an econometric model of supply and demand that takes into account both the perspectives of the firm and the consumer and illustrates the structural link between consumer- and firm-based measures of brand equity. We model firm-based brand equity in the form of product market performance measures of the brands profit, profit premium, revenue, and revenue premium, and model consumer-based brand equity using a logit model that not only accounts for the products physical characteristics, price, and advertising, but also consumer mindset measures of brand equity in the form of the consumers perceived quality and satisfaction with the brand.

We also study the importance of incorporating such consumer mindset data in a model of brand equity management vis--vis excluding such data, and discuss its managerial usefulness in understanding a brands equity positioning among competing brands and in assessing and predicting the brands performance in the market.
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CHAPTER 4

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Does consumption respond to promotion? Many studies have focused on the effects of promotion on brand switching, purchase quantity, and stockpiling and have documented that promotion makes consumers switch brands and purchase earlier or more. The consumersconsumption decision has long been ignored, and it remains unclear how promotion affects consumption (Blattberg et al. 1995). Conventional choice models cannot be used to address this issue because many of these models assume constant consumption rates over time (usually defined as the total purchases over the entire sample periods divided by the number of time periods).

While this assumption can be appropriate for some product categories such as detergent and diapers, it might not hold for many other product categories, such as packaged tuna, candy, orange juice, or yogurt. For these categories, promotion can actually stimulate consumption in addition to causing brand switching and stockpiling. Thus, for product categories with a varying consumption rate, it is critical to recognize the responsiveness of consumption to promotion in order to measure the effectiveness of promotion on sales more precisely.

Emerging literature in behavioral and economic theory has provided supporting evidence that consumption for some product categories responds to promotion. Using an experimental approach, Wansink (1996) establishes that significant holding costs pressure consumers to consume more of the product. Wansink and
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Deshpande (1994) show that when the product is perceived as widely substitutable, consumers will consume more of it in place of its close substitutes. They also show that higher perishability increases consumption rates. Adopting scarcity theory, Folkes et al. (1993) show that consumers curb consumption of products when supply is limited because they perceive smaller quantities as more valuable. Chandon and Wansink (2002) show that stockpiling increases consumption of high convenience products. More than that of low-convenience products.

In an analytical study, Assuncao and Meyer (1993) show that consumption is an endogenous decision variable driven by promotion and promotion-induced stockpiling resulting from forward-looking behaviour. There are some recent empirical papers addressing the promotion effect on consumer stockpiling behaviour under price or promotion uncertainty. Erdem and Keane (1996) and Gonul and Srinivasan (1996) establish that consumers are forward looking. Erdem et al. (2003) explicitly model consumersexpectations about future prices with an exogenous consumption rate. In their model, consumers form future price expectations and decide when, what, and how much to buy. Sun et al. (2003) demonstrate that ignoring forward looking behavior leads to an over estimation of promotion elasticity.

Sales Promotion

Consumer promotions are now more pervasive than ever. Witness 215 billion manufacturer coupons distributed in 1986, up 500% in the last decade (Manufacturers Coupon Control Center 1988), and manufacturer expenditures on trade incentives to feature or display brands totaling more than $20 billion in the same year, up 800% in the last decade (Alsop 1986; Kessler 1986). So far, not much work has been done to identify the purchasing strategies that
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consumers adopt in response to particular promotions, or to study how pervasive these strategies are in a population of interest. Blattberg, Peacock and Sen (1976) define a purchase strategy as a general buying pattern which "incorporates several dimensions of buying behavior such as brand loyalty, private brand proneness and deal proneness." A greater understanding of the different types of consumer responses to promotions can help managers to develop effective promotional programs as well as provide new insights for consumer behavior theorists who seek to understand the influence of different types of environmental cues on consumer behavior.

Blattberg, Eppen, and Liebermann (1981), Gupta (1988), Neslin, Henderson, and Quelch (1985), Shoemaker (1979), Ward and Davis (1978), and Wilson, Newman, and Hastak (1979) find evidence that promotions are associated with purchase acceleration in terms of an increase in quantity purchased and, to a lesser extent, decreased inter purchase timing. Researchers studying the brand choice decision-for example, Guadagni and Little (1983) and Gupta (1988)-have found promotions to be associated with brand switching. Montgomery (1971), Schneider and Currim (1990), and Webster (1965) found that promotion-prone households were associated with lower levels of brand loyalty.

Blattberg, Peacock, and Sen (1976, 1978) describe 16 purchasing strategy segments based on three purchase dimensions: brand loyalty (single brand, single brand shifting, many brands), type of brand preferred (national, both national and private label), and price sensitivity (purchase at regular price, purchase at deal price). There are other variables that may be used to describe purchase strategies, examples are whether the household purchases a major or minor (share) national brand, store brand, or generic, or whether it is store-loyal or not. McAlister (1983) and Neslin and Shoemaker (1983) use certain
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segments derived from those of Blattberg, Peacock, and Sen but add a purchase acceleration variable to study the profitability of product promotions.

A large body of literature has examined consumer response to sales promotions, most notably coupons (e.g.. Sawyer and Dickson, 1984; Bawa and Shoemaker, 1987 and 1989; Gupta, 1988; Blattberg and Neslin, 1990; Kirshnan and Rao, 1995; Leone and Srinivasan, 1996). Despite this, important gaps remain to be studied. It is generally agreed that sales promotions are difficult to standardize because of legal, economic, and cultural differences (e.g., Foxman, Tansuhaj, and Wong, 1988; Kashani and Quelch, 1990; Huff and Alden, 1998). Multinational firms should therefore understand how consumer response to sales promotions differs between countries or states or province.

Brand Equity Measurement:

According to Rust, Ambler, Carpenter, Kumar, & Srivastava (2004), it is important to measure marketing asset of a firm which they define as customer focused measures of the value of the firm (and its offerings) that may enhance the firms long-term value. To measure this, they focus on two approaches: brand equity and customer equity. Measuring brand equity deals with the measurement of intangible marketing concepts, such as product image reputation and brand loyalty. Rajagopal (2008) supports the view of measuring the marketing asset of a firm and highlights that the major advantage of a brand measurement system is that it links brand management and business performance of the firm and is a strategic management tool for continuous improvement rather than a static snapshot in time of the brands performance. An effective brand measurement system therefore helps businesses to understand how the brand is performing with the framework of customer values and against competing brands.
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According to Ambler, 2003 many companies measure brand equity to ensure that marketing activities are aligned with the companys strategy and to ensure that investment is used for the right brands. Ambler (2003) further defines marketing metrics as quantified performance measures regularly reviewed by top management which can be classified into six categories such as: 1. Consumer intermediate: such as consumer awareness and attitudes. The measure lies in inputs (advertising) and behaviour (sales). 2. Consumer behaviour: such as quarterly penetration. 3. Direct trade customer: distribution availability. 4. Competitive market measures: market share (measure relative to a competitor or the whole market). 5. Innovation: such as share of turnover due to new products. 6. Financial measures: advertising expenditure or brand valuation. Multinationals such as Coca Cola, PepsiCo, McDonalds, IBM and many others have marketing metrics in place that are used globally to measure and track brand equity. According to Kish, Riskey & Kerin (2001), PepsiCo measures and tracks brand equity using a propriety model called Equitrak which is based on two factors: (1): Recognition how broad and deep is a brands awareness and (2): Regards: which measures how people feel about the brand and includes brand reputation, affiliation, momentum and differentiation. The Equitrak model used by PepsiCo not only tracks the company brands but competitor brands as well and is used by all subsidiaries in different countries. McDonalds UK has key areas for metrics to track their marketing quarterly: 1. Sales transaction (which also includes customer satisfaction, value for money and cleanliness), 2. Market share and brand equity measures (awareness, and advertising recall) and 3. Mystery diners who visit the stores to evaluate the
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service level (Ambler, 2003). Shell also uses a global tracker which provides metrics and diagnostics for their brand versus competitors across 70 countries and has a range of questions including awareness, trial, purchase, loyalty and image (Ambler, 2003).

The key therefore is to balance financial and non financial goals and many authors do agree that top management must support this and regular review of both financial and non-financial goals is necessary to drive a market orientated business. Dunn and Davies (2004), suggest that having a brand focused business should be a top bottom approach driven by the top executives. The concept of market orientation therefore plays a significant role. According to Barwise & Farley (2004), both external and internal forces are steadily forcing firms to be more market oriented and research suggests that market-oriented firms tend to enjoy superior performance.

This view is supported by Best (2005), who says that a strong market orientation cannot be created by a mere proclamation but by adopting a market based management philosophy whereby all members of the organization are sensitive to customers needs and are aware of these needs. The benefits of strong market orientation are: better understanding of competitors, customer focus, customer satisfaction and high profits (Best, 2005; Ambler, 2003). Davis (2002) adds that brands should be managed as assets using a top down approach where senior executives embrace the concept that marketing should have a leading seat at the strategy table and use the brands to drive key strategic decisions. Also if senior executives are vocal and show commitment to the brands, then employees within an organization will start taking ownership of the brand.

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Sales Promotion

At this point, it is useful to define what mean by the terms "expected price" and "price promotion." Following Thaler (1985), it is viewed that the price consumersuse as a reference in making purchase decisions as the price they expect to pay prior to a purchase occasion. Further, the expected price may also be called the "internal reference price" (Klein and Oglethorpe 1987) as opposed to an external reference price such as the manufacturers' suggested list price. Finally, a brand is on price promotion when it is offered with a temporary price cut that is featured in newspaper advertising and/ or brought to consumers' attention with a store display sign.

The price expectations hypothesis has been used to provide an alternative explanation for the observed adverse long-term effect of price promotions on brand choice (Kalwani et al. 1990). Previous research has shown that repeat purchase probabilities of a brand after a promotional purchase are lower than the corresponding values after a non promotional purchase (Dodson, Tybout, and Sternthal 1978; Guadagni and Little 1983; Shoemaker and Shoaf 1977).

Consumers' reactions to a retail price then may depend on how the retail price compares with the price they expect to pay for the brand. Specifically, during a price promotion, they are apt to perceive a price "gain" and react positively; correspondingly, when the deal is retracted, they are apt to perceive a price "loss" and are unlikely to purchase the brand. Neslin and Shoemaker (1989) offer yet another alternative explanation for the phenomenon of lower repeat purchase rates after promotional purchases.

They argue that the lower repeat purchase rates may be the result of statistical aggregation rather than actual declines in the purchase probabilities of
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individual consumers after a promotional purchase. Specifically, "if the promotion attracts many consumers who under non promotion circumstances would have very low probabilities of buying the brand, then on the next purchase occasion the low probabilities of these consumers bring down the average repurchase rate among promotional purchases".

The behavior of households that have low probabilities of buying a brand upon the retraction of a deal can be explained readily in a price expectation framework. It has been suggested that the price they expect to pay for the brand may be close to the deal price and they may forego purchasing the focal brand when it is not promoted because its retail price far exceeds what they expect to pay for it. It has been investigated that the impact of price promotions on consumers' price expectations and brand choice in an interactive computercontrolled experiment.

Manohar U. Kalwani and Chi Kin Yim discussed that expected prices were elicited directly from respondents in the experiment and used in the empirical investigations of the impact of price promotions on consumers' price expectations. Further, rather than studying the impact of just a single price promotion and its retraction, they assessed the significance of the dynamic or longterm effects of a sequence of price promotions.

They have concluded that both the price promotion frequency and the size of price discounts have a significant adverse impact on a brand's expected price. Consistent with the findings of Raman and Bass (1988) and Gurumurthy and Little (1989), they also found evidence in support of a region of relative price insensitivity around the expected price such that changes in price within that region produce no pronounced change in consumers' perceptions.

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Price changes outside that region, however, are found to have a significant effect on consumer response. Further, they discussed that promotion expectations are just as important as price expectations in understanding consumer purchase behaviour. In particular, consumers who have been exposed to frequent price promotions in support of a given brand may come to form promotion expectations and typically will purchase the brand only when it is price promoted. Added to it, in the case of price expectations, consumer response to promotion expectations was asymmetric in that losses loom larger than gains.

Applying Helson's (1964) adaptation-level theory to price perceptions, Sawyer and Dickson (1984) suggest that price promotions may work in the short run because consumers may use the brand's regular price as a reference and then are induced by the lower deal price to purchase the brand. However, frequent temporary price promotions may also lower the brand's expected price and lead consumers to defer purchases of the brand when it is offered at the regular price. Tversky and Kahneman (1974) have shown that people rely on a limited number of heuristic principles that reduce complex tasks of assessing probabilities and predicting values to simpler judgmental operations. In some cases, people may anchor and adjust their forecasts by starting with a preconceived point and weigh that point heavily in arriving at a judgment. When the frequency of past price promotions is "very low," consumers identify a price promotion offer as an exceptional event and may not modify the brand's expected price. The brand's expected price then will be anchored around the regular price because of insufficient adjustment. In other cases, people may arrive at a judgment on the basis of how similar or representative the event is to a class of events.

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Therefore, when a brand is price promoted "too often," consumers come to expect a deal with each purchase and hence expect to pay only the discounted price on the basis of its representativeness. Clearly, given a certain level of price discount, the brand's expected price will be bounded by the regular price and the implied sale price. That line of reasoning suggests that the relationship between the price promotion frequency and the expected price can be approximated by a sigmoid function. Whether a price discount will affect the brands expected price depends on how consumers perceive the discount.

Uhl and Brown (1971) postulate that the perception of a retail price change depends on the magnitude of the price change. They report results from an experiment indicating that 5% deviations were identified correctly 64% of the time whereas 15% deviations were identified correctly 84% of the time. Della Bitta and Monroe (1980) find that consumer' perceptions of savings from a promotional offer do not differ significantly between 30%, 40%, and 50% discount levels. However, they find significant differences between the 10% and 30 to 50% levels.

Hence, the impact of the depth of price discounts on lowering the brand's expected price is likely to occur when the price discount offered by the brand is relatively large but not so large that it is seen as an exceptional event. Price discounts ranging from 10 to 40%, a range commonly used in past research on price discounts in the consumer packaged goods categories (Berkowitz and Walton 1980; Curhan and Kopp 1986). Within that range, the findings of Uhl and Brown (1971) and Della Bitta and Monroe (1980) suggest that it is reasonable to expect the relationship between the brand's expected price and the depth of price discounts to be concave.

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However, Manohar U. Kalwani and Chi Kin Yim (1992) found that the brands expected price is a linear function of the price promotion frequency and the depth of price discounts at conventional significance levels. Nevertheless, the results provide some directional support for nonlinear relationships between the expected price and the two elements of a price promotion schedule. Given the important implications of such potential nonlinear effects of price promotions on brands' expected prices, further research testing those nonlinear effects of price promotions should prove fruitful for the design of optimal price promotion policies.

They also contributed that promotion expectations suggest that unfulfilled promotion expectation events among consumers who have come to expect promotions on a brand because of frequent exposure to them will have an adverse impact on the brand. Analogously, unexpected promotion events will enhance the probability of purchasing a brand among consumers who have not been exposed to many price promotions and therefore do not as a rule expect the brand to be available on a promotional deal. they suggest that those results are consistent with the rational expectations view that "any policy rule that is systematically related to economic conditions, for example, one observed with stabilization in mind, will be perfectly anticipated, and therefore have no effect on output or employment" (Maddock and Carter 1982). Policy actions that come as a surprise to people, in contrast, will generally have some real effect. Clearly, the design of optimal price promotion schedules requires consideration of the fact that an increase in the use of price promotions could erode long-term consumer demand by lowering the prices that consumers anticipate paying for the brand. Price promotional deals may come to be "perfectly anticipated" and have much less impact on consumer response than they do when they come as a surprise to consumers.

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Apart of it they suggested that Evaluation of the trade off between the shortterm sales gain from a price promotion and the adverse effect on future sales because of consumers forming price and promotion expectations requires knowledge of how price promotions affect the formation of consumers' expectations under different market conditions. Promotions have increased in popularity during the past few decades.

The positive short-term impact of price promotions on brand sales is well documented. A price promotion typically reduces the price for a given quantity or increases the quantity available at the same price, thereby enhancing value and creating an economic incentive to purchase. However, if consumers associate promotions with inferior brand quality, then, to the extent that quality is important, a price promotion might not achieve the extent of sales increase the economic incentive otherwise might have produced. It is well documented that building and maintaining positive brand equity with ones consumer base is considered to be critical for long-term survival (Farquhar 1990; Keller 1993; Blackstone 2000; Ambler 2001). Fill C. (2005) noted that in the changing and competitive marketing communication industry it is of vital importance for companies finally to recognize that consumers perceive a brand through all the communication touch-points. This, in turn, implies the importance of a strategic focus in any marketing communications plan, as brand building is a long-term exercise. A brand entails a construct of, first, an identity that managers wish to portray and secondly, images construed by audiences of the identities they perceive. Given the potential link between promotion and brand equity, of major concern is to know consumers perception towards consumer based brand equity sources. Despite a wealth of literature on the separate issues of Brand Equity and sales promotion, to date there has only been a relatively small
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amount that specifically addresses the relationship between the two; further support for Schultzs suggestion that they dont really know a lot yet. The most recent literature on sales promotions (Chandon & Laurent 1999) stresses the need to distinguish between two types, monetary and non-monetary, because there are important differences between them. On the one hand, monetary promotions (e.g. free product, coupons) are primarily related to utilitarian benefits, which have an instrumental, functional and cognitive nature. They help consumers to increase the acquisition utility of their purchase and enhance the efficiency of their shopping experience.

On the other hand, non-monetary promotions (e.g. contests, sweepstakes, free gifts, loyalty programmer) are related to hedonic benefits with a noninstrumental, experiential and affective nature, because they are intrinsically rewarding and related to experiential emotions, pleasure and self-esteem. So, studying the consumer preference between cash discount (Price Promotion) and free gift (Non Price promotion) has been identified as one of the objectives of this study.

These factors have been highlighted especially in the markets, characterized usually by low involvement products; a lack of clear differentiation between brands and extreme competiveness. Premium brands and market leaders have not been exempted from these issues, as it has been found that followers and market leaders experience the same level of competition although their brand characteristics may vary greatly.

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IMPORTANCE OF BRAND EQUITY:

Brand equity is one of the most valuable assets that a firm can have, and brand equity measurement and management continue to be important areas of research in both academia and industry. Most of the extant research on brand equity has looked at the issue from the perspective of either the consumer or the firm. Brand equity research from a consumers perspective usually involves collecting data on consumer mindset measures of brand equity from the consumer through surveys or experiments, and using the data to assess the consumers perceptions, feelings, and attitudes towards the brand. It may also involve collecting data on the consumers revealed preference behavior, using self-reported or actual purchase data, and using it to assess the incremental value that the brand name has on the consumers utility and her resulting choice behavior. On the other hand, brand equity research from a firms perspective generally involves the use of observed market data to assess the brands financial value to the firm. The market in question could be a geographic or physical product market, where performance measures such as market share or profit can be used, or it could be a financial market, where performance measures such as the firms stock price or other financial variables may be used to assess the brands value.

While studying brand equity using either a consumer-based or a firm-based approach has yielded valuable insights on the different ways that brand equity can be measured and managed, there is a need to better understand the link between the brand metrics obtained from the two perspectives. In particular, there is a general consensus that a brands performance in the marketplace is determined in part by consumer perceptions, behavioral intentions, and attitudes toward the brand.
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For example, Srivastava and Shocker (1991) propose that brand equity comprises of two components: brand strength, which consists of the set of associations and behaviors on the part of the brands customers, channel members, and parent company that allows the brand to enjoy a competitive advantage; and brand value, which is the financial outcome of managements ability to strategically leverage brand strength (the basis of brand value) to produce profits.

Researchers such as Aaker and Jacobson (1994, 2001) and Kim, Kim, and An (2003) have also shown the existence of a relationship between measures of consumer brand perceptions and the brands financial performance. In addition, related streams of research have looked at the link between marketing and financial metrics, such as those between consumer satisfaction and a firms market performance (e.g. Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994; Gomez, McLaughlin, and Wittink 2003), as well as the relationship between consumer brand ratings and a firms market share and penetration (e.g. Baldinger and Rubinson 1996). These studies, among others, suggest that studying brand equity solely from the perspective of either the firm or the consumer may be inadequate. While assessing brand equity from the perspective of the firm can provide a measure of the financial value of the brand to the firm, it neglects the fundamental basis of the brand equity concept, which suggests that the equity of a brand is not merely a dollar-metric value but also an intangible asset residing in the minds of consumers.

Similarly, while measuring brand equity from the perspective of the consumer gives an indication of the value that the brand name provides to the consumer in the form of the consumers favorable (or otherwise) attitudes or perceptions of the brand, or the increase in the consumers utility provided by the brand name,
32

it does not show how these mindset measures can be translated into more tangible measures of a brands financial value or its market performance, which may be more useful for managers.

A simultaneous firm-based and consumer-based approach to measuring and managing brand equity will not only have significant implications for firms attempting to improve the equity of their brands on both fronts, but will also be useful in developing a more complete picture of the brand equity concept. Firmcentric approach also does not assess how this financial value may be affected by changes in these consumer mindset measures of brand equity.

33

CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Objectives: 1. To study the consumer attitude towards the cash discount as a sales promotion scheme. 2. To compare the consumer preference between cash discount and free gift 3. To study the deal proneness of consumer considering demographic variables. 4. To study the consumer perception towards brand equity sources considering sales promotion schemes. 5. To understand the media preference to know the sales promotion schemes information. 6. To study consumer preference of sales promotion schemes across demographic variables. 7. To study the sales promotion schemes preference according to various attributes. Research Hypothesis:

Ho1: There is no significant difference between Consumer attitude towards the cash discount as a sales promotion scheme and demographic variables. Ho2: There is no significant difference between consumer preference of cash discount and free gift as sales promotion schemes. Ho3: There is no significant difference between Consumer deal proneness and demographic variables.

34

Ho4: There is no significant difference between Brand equity perception and demographic variables considering sales promotion schemes. Ho5: There is no media preference to know the sales promotion schemes information Ho6: There is no significant difference between demographic variables and sales promotion schemes preference. Motivation for the study:

With the growth of population and spending power of the consumer has created the opportunities and challenges for the companies in the world market. Simultaneously, competition to win consumers has been increased drastically. World is becoming the small village and Many MNCs have entered in India and other countries. Marketing paradigm is shifting from consumer satisfaction to consumer delight. Enticing consumers with the various sales promotion schemes is the order of the day. If this tool is not used strategically, company has to follow the trend of promotions to maintain the market share. Considering almost universal applications of designing the sales promotion schemes and understanding its impact on business has motivated to take the steps in the direction to study this crucial aspect of promotion management.

Research Design:

A research design is a framework or blue print for conducting the research project. It details the procedures necessary for obtaining the information need to structure and/or solve research problems. The research design lays the foundation for conducting the project. The descriptive research design is being used to study the formulated problem. Primary and secondary data has been collected according to the need of the study. For collecting primary data,
35

structured questionnaire has been prepared considering objectives of the study. More over important factors has been considered to measure the interested variable of the study.

Sampling Element: Each and every individual who purchases the products in the state of Gujarat has been identified as a sampling element.

DATA COLLECTION: In this study, for primary data collection we have used questionnaire method. This is written and in organized format containing all questions relevant to soliciting type, in which all questions and answers is specified and comments in the respondents own words are held to a minimum. The unstructured questionnaire is useful in carrying out in depth interviews where the aim is to probe for attitudes and reasons. For secondary data we have used the data prepared by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION: Data collection is the systematic recording of information; data analysis involves working to uncover patterns and trends in data sets; data interpretation involves explaining those patterns and trends. Scientists interpret data based on their background knowledge and experience, thus different scientists can interpret the same data in different ways.

36

 By publishing their data and the techniques they used to analyze and interpret that data, scientists give the community the opportunity to both review the data and use it in future research.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

1. The samples size is not too much to generalize the result of the study. 2. This study is limited to Gujarat state only and result may differ if conducted in other regions. Also it measures the consumer preference product categories. If the same study is repeated for other industry consumer preference of sales promotion schemes may vary 3. The study is limited to sales promotion schemes of product categories only and result may vary if study is conducted for non product categories. 4. There are other variables besides sales promotion schemes which affect brand equity perception and consumer preferences. 5. Evaluation is based on the primary data generated through questionnaire and accuracy of the findings entirely depends on the accuracy of such data and unbiased responses of the customers. Although sales promotion is an important strategy for producing quick, shortterm, positive results, it is not a cure for a bad product, poor advertising, or an inferior sales team. After a consumer uses a coupon for the initial purchase of a product, the product must then take over and convince them to become repeat buyers. In addition, sales promotion activities may bring several negative consequences, including due to the number of competitive promotions.

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CHAPTER 6

INDUSTRY PROFILE
COMPANY PROFILE: Auto - Machine, is one of the leading manufactures of pipe and tube fittings components of brass and steel and automobile parts. Auto - Machine, having established in 1983, have developed to a full fledged manufacturing unit with annual capacity of more than 10 million components. We are producing large varieties of compression fittings, flare type fittings and high pressure couplings for hydraulic, pneumatic and refrigeration application, in strict compliance of BS, IS, and SAE specifications in various ranges and also we are manufacturing machined components as per the customer's requirements. Infrastructure We have the backing of a state-of-the-art infrastructure aiding the operations. The unit is well-equipped with advanced R&D wing assisted by sophisticated machines and equipment. These machines have enabled us in bringing out costeffective products like Stainless Steel Rods, Steel Sheets & Plates. We have developed to a full-fledged manufacturing unit for precision and machined components supplying to all leading OEM groups of customers. We do own the rare privilege of being the self certified supplier to all leading earth movers and automobile manufactures. Our field activities are not confined to the customers in India. We have been exporting Automobile products to many of the countries since 1999.
38

Auto - Machine, have established Quality Assurance Laboratory, which is responsible for inspection of components. This industry includes manufacturers who produce a range of plastic pipes, plastic fittings for plastic pipes, and plastic profile shapes such as rods, tubes, plates and car parts, but specifically excludes plastic hose or plastic plumbing fixtures. The pipe products are sold to customers with fluid handling requirements such as construction and irrigation supply vendors, water treatment plants, oil rigs and farmers. The essential steps of pipe and fitting production are to heat, melt, mix and convey the raw material into a particular shape and hold that shape during the cooling process. This is necessary to produce solid wall and profile wall pipe as well as compression and injection moulded fittings. Quality Management Quality has been the integral part of our business policy. Our products are available with an assurance of high quality and standards as they are tested on different parameters before supply. This is to ensure that only flawless products reach the hands of the clients.

Network We are thriving on our well-established network that is spread not only in India but also in the markets of Gulf countries. Our well-coordinated network has enabled us in the timely and efficient delivery of the products. Subsequently, we are acknowledged as one of the trusted Industrial Fasteners Manufacturers & Suppliers in India.

39

Services

SAE Fittings Pipe TEE, Clevis, Cock Pipe plug Olive type Ferrule type Flair type Hose fittings Forged and Machined components Elbow tee connector Pipe line fittings

AUTO MACHINE established its presence in India by opening a subsidiary called Hyundai Motor India Limited with a total investment of US$ 614 Millions. The AUTO MACHINE project is the largest to be made by an MNC in the automobile sector. The plant near Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu is the largest manufacturing plant of AUTO MACHINE outside Korea and

contains nearly all facilities necessary for a self sufficient manufacturing and production site for developing cars. This assembly plant not only boasts its own assembly facilities but also a R&D center, a performance experimenting and testing center, and a driving testing ground. As such, the India plant represents a family-type combined automobile assembly facility, capable of all production processes, research and development, testing of products, marketing for sales and provision of after sale service in India.

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Measures to be adopted by global leaders of the World Automobile Industry: Several significant economic measures are being considered by the major players of the World Automobile Industry in order to make a smooth entry into the markets of the developing countries, and to make a name for them. The effective measures include:

Reducing the selling prices of the automobiles manufactured in their factories

Improving the levels of after-sales services to keep customers satisfied Opening manufacturing factories in the developing nations, to reduce effective costs of production as well as saving shipping charges, and enhancing prompt delivery of automobile units.

Automobile Industry Trends: In keeping with the Automobile Industry Trends, the leading automobile manufacturers are turning to the Asian markets that appear set to grow immensely over the next decade. The automobile markets in the U.S., Europe and the Japan have almost matured as a result of saturation and appear set to decline through the next decade. In contrast, the automobile markets spread over the entire Asian continent (with the exception of Japan), are constantly increasing in size and will be the destination for most of the globally leading automobile manufacturers. The Automobile Industry Trends reveal that the emerging markets of the developing nations of Asia especially China, and India are backed by their huge population growth rate, to add to the growing national economy of these two nations.

41

The rapid growth of the national economy of the BRIC countries (including Brazil, Russia, India, and China) has enabled a growing section of the population of these countries to purchase automobiles. Global surveys conducted recently reveal that within the next ten years, these emerging automobile markets will account for nearly a whooping 90 percent of the global automobile sales growth. As a result of this, leading Automobile manufacturers of the world are setting up factories in the emerging markets, in order to serve the potential consumers better as well as reduce manufacturing and shipping costs. In addition, these arrangements are enabling the leading global automobile manufacturers to compete with the local automobile manufacturers that were flourishing in the absence of quality competition.

The prosperity of the national economy is reflected in the rising per capita income of the developing nations. Therefore, increasing Gross Domestic Product and per capita income have raised the purchasing ability of the population that constitutes these emerging markets

As a growing percentage of the population in the developed nations age rapidly, in comparison to the rest of the world, these aging numbers necessitate automobiles to fit the physiological change of the world population.

The Emerging Indian Automobile Market: In terms of Car dealer networks and authorized service stations, Maruti leads the pack with Dealer networks and workshops across the country. The other leading automobile manufactures are also trying to cope up and are opening their service stations and dealer workshops in all the metros and major cities of the country.
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Major Manufacturers in Automobile Industry:

Maruti Udyog Ltd. General Motors India Ford India Ltd. Eicher Motors Bajaj Auto Daewoo Motors India Hero Motors Hindustan Motors Hyundai Motor India Ltd. Royal Enfield Motors Telco TVS Motors DC Designs

Government has liberalized the norms for foreign investment and import of technology and that appears to have benefited the automobile sector. The production of total vehicles increased from 4.2 million in 1998- 99 to 7.3 million in 2003-04. It is likely that the production of such vehicles will exceed 10 million in the next couple of years.

The industry has adopted the global standards and this was manifested in the increasing exports of the sector. After a temporary slump during 1998- 99 and 1999-00, such exports registered robust growth rates of well over 50 per cent in 2002-03 and 2003-04 each to exceed two and- a-half times the export figure for 2001-02.

43

Automobile Export Numbers:

Category Passenger Car Multi Utility Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Two Wheelers Three Wheelers Percentage Growth

1998-99 25468 2654 10108 100002 21138 -16.6

2004-05 (Apr-Dec) 121478 3892 19931 256765 51535 32.8

Export growth rates have been high both for motorcycles and scooters. Automotive spare parts and components is a lesser known industry yet a big one. In past few years the industry has grown enormously, even more than the automotive industry itself not only in the Indian but global scenario. This vast industry includes automotive components, accessories, gadgets, spare parts and tools; the consumers being the OEM segment and the replacement and aftermarket sector. Automotive spare parts replacement and aftermarket have in themselves become a major industry. In mid 1990s the quality of Indian products increased a lot and the prices were considerably lowered. This posed an interesting situation where the Indian replacement and aftermarket industry had geared up to meet the international standards and awaited an ideal opportunity for global exposure. The results are quite apparent, Indian automotive parts industry makes original components of major automotive giants like General Motors and Mercedes amongst others. They have, through consolidated efforts been positioned as global players of the sector.

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CHAPTER 7

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The data after collection is to be processed and analyzed in accordance with the outline and down for the purpose at the time of developing research plan. Technically speaking, processing implies editing, coding, classification and tabulation of collected data so that they are amenable to analysis. The term analysis refers to the computation of certain measures along with searching for pattern groups. Thus in the process of analysis, relationship or difference should be subjected to statistical tests of significance to determine with what validity data can be said to indicate any conclusions. The analysis of data in a general way involves a number of closely related operations, which are performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing them in such a manner that they answer the research questions.

45

TABLE 1

BUY PRODUCT IF MANUFACTURED INDEPENDENTLY

particulars Yes No May be Cant say Total

No of respondents 60 30 10 100

% 60 30 10 100

INTERPRETATION:

According to the above chart 60% of the people said yes product if it was manufactured independently with company group. And 30% of the people said no, product if it was manufactured independently with company group.10% of the people said may be, and none of people said product if it was manufactured independently with the group of company.

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CHART 1

BUY PRODUCT IF MANUFACTURED INDEPENDENTLY

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 yes no may be product if it was manufactured independently with company group

can't say

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TABLE 2

APPROPRIATE INDICATOR FOR BRAND EQUITY

particulars Brand value Brand identity Brand recall

No of respondents 30 30 20

% 30 30 20

Brand image Total

20 100

20 100

INTERPRETATION

According to the above chart 30% of the people said brand value and 30% of the people said brand identity, and 20% of the people said brand recall, and 20% of the people said brand image the most appropriate indicator of the brand equity.

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CHART 2

APPROPRIATE INDICATOR FOR BRAND EQUITY

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 bran value brand identity brand recall the most appropriate indicator of brand equity

brand image

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TABLE 3

TRUST PRODUCT GOT FROM LOCAL STORES

particulars Yes No

No of respondents 40 60

% 40 60

Total

100

100

INTERPRETATION

According to the above chart 40% of the people said yes our product brought from local store, and 60% of the people said no, our product bought from local store.

50

CHART 3

TRUST PRODUCT GOT FROM LOCAL STORES

do you trust our product bought from local store

yes no

40% 60%

51

TABLE 4

WHERE DO U PREFER BUYING OUR PRODUCTS

particulars Company stores Local shops Sales persons online other Total

No of respondents 40 10 30 20 100

% 40 10 30 20 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 40% of the people said company stores buying the product, and 10% of the people said local shops, and 30% of the people said sales persons from buying the product, 20% of the people said online buying from the product. None people said other.

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CHART 4

WHERE DO U PREFER BUYING OUR PRODUCTS

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 company stores local shops sales persons online from where do you prefer buying our product

other

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TABLE 5 APPEARANCE OF THE PRODUCT RATING BETWEEN 1-5. 1 = least appealing, 5 = most appealing

particulars 1 2 3 4 5 Total

No of respondents 20 30 30 10 10 100

% 20 30 30 10 10 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 20% of the people said rate appearance of the product 1, and 30% of the people said rate appearance of the product 2 or 3, and 10% of the people said rate appearance of the product 4 or 5.

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CHART 5 APPEARANCE OF THE PRODUCT

Rate the appearance of the product. 1 = least appealing, 5 = most appealing

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 rate the appearance of the product

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TABLE 6 QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT Rate the quality of our product. 1= of least quality, 5 = of highest quality

particulars 1 2 3 4 5 Total

No of respondents 20 30 30 10 10 100

% 20 30 30 10 10 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 20% of the people said rate of quality the product 1, and 30% of the people said rate of quality and highest quality 2 or 3, and 10% of the people said rate of quality of product and highest product 4 or 5.

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CHART 6 QUALITY OF OUR PRODUCT

30 25 20 15 rate of quality 10 5 0 1 2 3

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TABLE 7 INTANGIBLE FEATURES OF THE PRODUCT

particulars

No of respondents

Yes

60

60

No

40

40

Total

100

100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 60% of the people said yes, intangible features of the product, and 40% of the people said no, intangible features of the product.

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CHART 7

INTANGIBLE FEATURES OF OUR PRODUCT

the intangible features of the product

yes no

40%

60%

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TABLE 8

WILL U SPEND PREMIUM PRICE FOR REPUTED COMPANY PRODUCTS

particulars

No of respondents

Yes

60

60

No

40

40

Total

100

100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 60% of the people said yes spend premium of the product, and 40% of the people said no spend premium of the product.

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CHART 8

WILL U SPEND PREMIUM PRICE FOR REPUTED COMPANY PRODUCTS

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 yes no spend premium price

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TABLE 9

ASSOCIATE OUR PRODUCT WITH

particulars Its advertisements Its attributes The parent group of

No of respondents 40 30 20

% 40 30 20

companies Other Total 10 100 10 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 40% of the people said its advertisement associate of the product, and 30% of the people said attribute associate of product, and 20% of the parent of the group of companies, and 10% of the people said other associate of the product.

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CHART 9

ASSOCIATE OUR PRODUCT WITH

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 associate the product

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TABLE 10

IDENTIFY OUR BRAND WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVERTISING

particulars

No of respondents

Yes

40

40

No

60

60

Total

100

100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 40% of the people said yes, and 60% of the people said no, identify our brand with little or no advertising.

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CHART 10

IDENTIFY OUR BRAND WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVERTISING

identify our brand with little or no advertisting

40

60

yes

no

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TABLE 11

COMPANY INVEST IN BUILDING BRAND EQUITY

particulars

No of respondents

Yes

70

70

No

30

30

Total

100

100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 70% of the people said yes, company investing building brand, and 30% of the people said no, investing building brand.

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CHART 11 COMPANY INVEST IN BUILDING BRAND EQUITY

company investing building brand

yes no

30%

70%

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TABLE 12

WHICH IS WELL MANAGED CUSTOMER LOYALTY OR SATISFACTION

particulars

No of respondents

Customer loyalty

50

50

Customer satisfaction

50

50

Total

100

100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 50% of the people said customer loyalty, and 50% of the people said customer satisfaction the brand is being managed well.

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CHART 12 WHICH IS WELL MANAGED CUSTOMER LOYALTY OR SATISFACTION

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% customer loyalty customer satisfaction the brand is being managed well

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TABLE 13

IS OUR BRAND MARKET LEADER

Particulars Yes No Total

No of respondents 60 40 100

% 60 40 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 60 % of the people said yes, in the brand leader of industry, and 40% of the people said no, in the brand leader of industry

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CHART 13

IS OUR BRAND MARKET LEADER

the market leader in the industry

yes no

40%

60%

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TABLE 14

MARKETING ACTIVITIES FOR BRAND BUILDING

particulars Yes No To a good extent Total

no of respondents 50 30 20 100

% 50 30 20 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 50% of the people said yes marketing activities for brand building, and 30% of the people said no marketing activities for brand building, and 20% of the people said to a good extents marketing activities brand building.

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TABLE 14

MARKETING ACTIVITIES FOR BRAND BUILDING

marketing activities for brand buliding

yes 20% no to a good extent

50%

30%

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TABLE 15

UNDERTAKEN BRAND VALUE MEASUREMENT EXERCISE

particulars Yes No Total 80 20

No of respondents 80 20 100

100

INTERPRETATION According to the people said 80% of the people said yes, undertaken a brand value investment, and 20% of the people said no, undertaken a brand value investment.

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CHART 15

UNDERTAKEN BRAND VALUE MEASUREMENT EXERCISE

Chart Title
undertaken a brand value measurment exercise

80

20

yes

no

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TABLE 16

DOES FIRM KEEP ITS PROMISES

particulars Completely successful Moderately successful Unsuccessful Failed completely Total

No of respondents 40 30 20 10 100

% 40 30 20 10 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 40% of the people said completely successful, and 30% of the people said moderately successful, and 20% of the people said unsuccessful, and 10% of the people said failed successful, do you think the firm has been in keeping the promise.
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CHART 16

DOES FIRM KEEP ITS PROMISES

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

how successful di you think the firm has been in keeping it promise

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TABLE 17

IMPORTANT CRITERION FOR BRAND PREFERENCE

particulars Quality Cost Availability durability flexibility other Total

No of respondents 30 20 20 10 20 100

% 30 20 20 10 20 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 30% of the people said quality, and 20% of the people said cost, and 20% of the people said availability or flexibility, and 10% of the people said durability, and none of the people said product most important brand preference.
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CHART 17

IMPORTANT CRITERION FOR BRAND PREFERENCE

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 brand perferance

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TABLE 18

ARE U BULK PURCHASER OF OUR PRODUCT

particulars Yes No Total

No of respondents 60 40 100

% 60 40 100

INTERPRETATION According to the above chart 60% of the people said bulk purchase, 40% of the people said bulk purchase of the product

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CHART 18

ARE U BULK PURCHASER OF THE PRODUCT

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 yes no bulk purchase

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TABLE 19

BENEFITS COMPETITOR PROVIDE FOR YOUR PRODUCT

Particulars Yes No Total

No of respondents 70 30 100

% 70 30 100

INTERPRETATION

According to the above chart 70% of the people said yes, and 30% of the people said no benefits that your competitors provide over your product

CHART 19

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BENEFITS COMPETITORS PROVIDE FOR YOUR PRODUCT

70 60 50 40 benefits that your compitors 30 20 10 0 yes no

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CHAPTER 8 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Analyzing the information of sales promotion schemes on various products, it can be inferred that cash discount and Free gift as one type of value added sales promotion schemes widely used by marketers.

Sales promotion schemes on international brand are preferred therefore managing the perception towards brand is also very important in sector. So, it is suggested to manage the perception towards the brands. Word of mouth as a medium of spreading sales promotion schemes awareness is preferred over others. Considering this fact found in this research, promotion mix of the company should be decided to take the benefits of the sales promotion schemes.

While deciding sales promotion schemes of products, immediate benefits should be provided to consumers as this research highlights the preference of immediate benefits compare to delayed benefits

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CHAPTER 9 SUGGESTIONS
It can be suggested from this research that cash discount should be used compare to free gift as a sales promotion scheme. Extending further, it can be suggested from conjoint analysis considering various attributes and their levels of sales promotion schemes value added schemes should be given preference over other types of sales promotion schemes.

From Present research it can be suggested that consumers are deal prone which signals the importance of timing of launching sales promotion schemes. Brand type is the most important attribute among the selected attributes of the sales promotion scheme followed by medium to spread awareness about sales promotion schemes. These both should be given weighted and due consideration while designing the sales promotion schemes

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CHAPTER 10 CONCLUSION
Brand equity appears to play a significant role in industrial branding. It was conceptualized as the result of past investments in the 5 Ps of the marketing mix. That is, investments in product, place, people, promotion and price. In the business-to business context, promotion was interpreted as providing information. Buyers perceptions about the 5Ps have an influence on the way they perceive and evaluate the brand.

This, in turn, has an effect on their purchase decisions. By investing in the 5Ps, companies create brand awareness and a positive brand image. In this way, brand equity and loyalty are created. Two interrelated components of brand equity were distinguished: product brand equity and corporate brand equity. The results show that product brand equity is mostly influenced by physical product attributes and distribution. Employees and information played a lesser role. Corporate brand equity is mostly determined by service attributes, and employees. Here distribution and value did not play a direct role. In terms of direct effects, the corporate brand seems to be slightly more important in industrial markets than the individual product brand; however, the product brand contributes not only directly to behavioral intentions, but also indirectly via corporate brand equity.

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APPENDIX
Questionnaire Name: Address: ____________________ ____________________

Phone Number: ____________________ Email id: ____________________

1. Would you have bought the product if it was manufactured independently with no connection with the company group? a) Yes c) May be b) No d) Cant say

2. Can you list down some of our other brands belonging to our company? _______________________________________________________________ 3. Do you trust our product bought from local stores? a) Yes b) No

4. From where do you prefer buying our products? a) Company stores c) Salespersons b) Local shops d) Online

e) Other __________________________________________________

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5. Rate the appearance of the product. 1 = least appealing, 5 = most appealing a) 1 d) 4 b) 2 e) 5 c) 3

6. Rate the quality of our product. 1= of least quality, 5 = of highest quality a) 1 d) 4 b) 2 e) 5 c) 3

7. Do you value the intangible features of the product? a) Yes b) No

8. Are you willing to spend premium price for products of reputed companies? a) Yes b) No

9. What do you associate the product with? a) Its advertisements b) Its attributes (smell, taste, flavour, etc)

c) The parent group of companies d) Other __________________________________________________

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10. Can you interpret what brand equity means to you? ___________________________________________________________ 11 Does your company invest in building brand equity? a) Yes b) No

12. If the answer to the above question is no, please provide a reason for not doing so. ________________________________________________________________ If the answer to Q1 is yes, please proceed with the following questions. 13. What is the amount of investment in brand building as a percentage of the total sinvestment in the company? __________________________ 14. What kind of marketing activities are undertaken to improve the brand equity of the company? a) ____________________ b) ____________________ c) ___________________ 15. Do you think that the consumers are getting the messages through the marketing activities for brand building?
89

a) Yes b) No c) To a good extent 16. Have you ever undertaken a brand value measurement exercise? a) Yes b) No

17. If the answer to the above question is yes, please provide the result of the brand value measurement in brief. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 18. For your products, what is the most important criterion for brand preference? a) Quality b) Cost c) Availability d) Durability e) Flexibility f) Other _________________________________

90

19. What should be the reason for customers to choose your products over that of your competitors? _______________________________________________________________ 20. Name some of your brand competitors? a) ____________________ b) ____________________ c) ____________________ 21. Did you find any benefits that your competitors provide over your products? a) Yes If yes, please b) No list them

______________________________________________

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aaker, David A. (1991), Managing Brand Equity, New York: Free Press. Aaker, J. L. (1997), Dimensions of Brand Personality, Journal of Marketing Research, 34 (August), 347-356. Allenby, Greg and Peter E. Rossi (1999), Marketing Models of consumer Heterogeneity, Journal of Econometrics, 89 (1), 57-78. Elrod, Terry and Michael P. Keane (1995), A Factor Analytic Probit Model for Representing the Market Structure in Panel Data, Journal of Marketing Research, 32 (1), 1-16. Farquhar, Peter H. (1989), Managing Brand Equity, Marketing Research, 1 (September), 24-33.

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