CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.

Introduction In todays competitive environment,innovationserves as a competitive advantage that

allows companies to dominate particular market segments. With respect to corporate strategy, innovation is not only the key to extended market share, but in order to increase the market share companies have to focus on the customer and dealer perception that they are having on the products. Then only it is possible to survive in the market and it will help the company to redesign and develop their products periodically. 1.2 Statement of the Problem V-Guard is one of the market leaders for stabilizers. Initially they manufactured only stabilizers later they entered into the market of other electronic items such as Inverter, batteries, Water heater, Fan, Water pumps etc. V Guard as a brand has a good image and awareness in the mind of the dealers and customers, but it is widely believed that this awareness and image is not reflected in the sales of its batteries and Inverter. So the objective of this study is to find out the dealers perception about v-guard inverters and batteries which will help the company to cater the needs of the dealers and to be more competitive among the other players in the market. 1.3 Objective of the Study Primary Objective To find out the dealer perception about a v -guard Inverter and batteries. Secondary Objective To study market size and share of v-guard inverter and batteries. 1.4 Scope of the Study: The study will be conducted at Idukki district among the dealers of Inverter and batteries. The study will play a very important role in market research of V Guard industries. The information thus gathered through this systematic market research would help the company to understand the dealer perception about its Inverter and Batteries.

The study mainly focuses towards the dealers of Idukki district and considerable number of dealer of V Guard Inverter and Batteries are available in Idukki district. 1.5 Research Methodology Methodology is the systematic way of describing the research process. The methodology followed for conducting the study can be the specified by describing research design, sample design, questionnaire design, data collection and statistical tools used for analyzing the collected data. 1.5.1Research Design The design for the study is descriptive research. The research approach that will be used in this study was survey research. The researcher will conduct a survey in order to extract the valuable information or data from the dealers. A proper sample design will be developed by the researcher under which from the total population selected number of samples will be taken. The research instrument which will be a structured questionnaire is going to be used by the researcher. Statistical tools or software such as SPSS and Microsoft Excel will be used to analyze the data. The study will be based upon both primary and secondary data sources. The relevant secondary data will be collected from various journals, magazines, books and websites. 1.5.2 Research Instrument The research instrument used in this study was a structured questionnaire. A questionnaire is a formalized set of questions for eliciting information. It is one of the most common instruments used for primary data collection. There are different techniques for collecting data and views from customers like questionnaire, direct oral interview, conversation etc. The questionnaire can administer in several ways. It can administer by means of personal interview as well as by telephone or mail etc. Here the questionnaire is administered by a personal interview. Here a structured questionnaire was used for collecting primary data. 1.5.3 Data Sources The present study used both primary and secondary data sources Primary Data: Primary data are collected by the researcher for the first time or for the current study. Primary source includes personal meeting or interviewing method.

As a primary source of data the researcher had collected the information from different dealers who distribute inverter and battery. The researcher held detailed discussion with dealers of different brands of the above products also. Secondary Data: Secondary data is the data that have been already collected and readily available from other sources. Such data are cheaper and more quickly obtainable than the primary data and also may be available when primary data cannot be obtained at all. The sources of secondary data were the company website, journals, magazines and other published records of the company. 1.5.4 Sampling Plan A sampling plan is a detailed outline of which measurements will be taken at what times, on which material, in what manner, and by whom. Sampling plans should be designed in such a way that the resulting data will contain a representative sample of the parameters of interest and allow for all questions, as stated in the goals, to be answered. Here the sampling plan includes determination of sampling unit, sampling size and sampling procedure 1.6 Project Schedule: The research will start from 19th March 2012 and it will end on 18th May 2012. 1.7 Limitations Each and every task has certain limitations and hurdles in the course of its performance. But this does not mean that the task should stick up whenever certain limitations come up. The need is to try ones level best to solve incoming limitations. Few limitations of the project are enumerated below. 1. The dealers of V-guard products may not give the accurate data as they are busy and they may not be able to give sufficient time for interview and for filling the questionnaire. 2. The study will be conducted in a limited span of time which is also a limiting factor. 3. The co-operation from the company is also a concern here as the employees will be busy with their work.

1.8 Chapter Scheme This project report is presented in 6 chapters. a. First chapter contains introduction which includes statement of the problem, objectives of the study, scope of the study, research methodology, limitations of the study and chapter scheme. b. Second chapter consists of industry profile which contains international scenario, national scenario and the state scenario. c. Third chapter gives an overview about the profile of V-Guard Industries ltd d. Fourth chapter contains literature review e. Fifth chapter includes data analysis and interpretation of data collected for this study. f. Sixth chapter contains the findings, suggestions and conclusion of the research.