Introduction

• Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a

carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight.

• India is the 10th largest steel producer in the

world, but with only a 2% share in the global trade.

• Sail and Tata Steel have traditionally been the

major steel producers of India.

• Steel is mostly used for construction of bridges,

buildings, automobiles production etc.

• The Indian economy is growing at a very high rate

presently and the demand for steel is also showing
an upward trend.
 Segmentation
• Majority of Steel is consumed by business houses
for constructions, automobiles etc.

• Minor portion of Steel is consumed directly by

consumers such as nails, razor, blades etc.

• E.g.80% of Tata Steel’s revenues come from B2B

customers (about 200 large business customers),
while only 20% revenues come from B2C segment.

• Since maximum customers for Steel Industries are

from B2B hence they need to have a relationship
approach since Steel is required on a regular bulk
basis.
 Continued
• Steel Industries go for Targeted Marketing
because their consumers are fixed. i.e. the
business units. E.g. Automobile Sectors,
Manufacturing Industries etc.

• The demand for Steel is steadily increasing with

India marching towards rural infrastructural
development. E.g. Construction of Townships,
Dams, Bridges etc.
 Geographic
• More & more steel is being demanded in urban areas
for construction, automobiles. E.g. Steel is required
for Metro in Delhi & Kolkata etc.
• These days more & more dams, bridges, railway
stations are being constructed in rural areas for there
upliftment. E.g. Madhavpur Railway Station,
Narayanapura Dam over the river Krishna etc.

Demographic
•Demand for Steel also demands on the
lifestyle people are following.
E.g. If more & more people demand for car
the demand for Steel by the Automobile
Industry would increase.
 Drivers of the Industry
• The Steel Industry is highly driven by business units since
the percentage consumed by them is the maximum.
E.g. If demand for automobiles increase the demand for
Steel would also increase.
• However Government policies also play a major role in
driving the steel industry.
E.g. if the Government reduces the import tax the Indian
Steel demand would fall & if the import tax rises the
demand for it would rise.

• Trade Regulations
• Employment Laws prevailing in the country
• Interest Rates
• Pollution Norms
 Marketing Mix
Product
Types of Steel
• Long Steel
• Flat Carbon Steel
• Stainless Steel
• Crude Steel
• Mild Steel
 Continued
Tata Steel has essentially three generic products-

• Tata Bearings-Ball bearings, Ball Joints, Ball

Screws, Bearing Bushes, Bearing housing etc.

• Tata Pipes-GI pipes, Iron & Steel pipes, Ductile

Iron Pipes etc.

• Tata Agrico-Sickle, Crowbars, Axe, Bill Hook, Cane

Chopper, Hoe, Shovels etc.
 Place

•
Distribution
Steel can be ordered online through internet.
E.g. Steel can be ordered from Sail website-
www.sail.co.in

• Since major consumption is by business houses

hence direct selling is often used by means of
sending letters, proposals & participating in
tenders etc.

• Some major players like TATA & SAIL also organize

trade fairs to attract new/old business units.
 Continued
• For B2B selling Steel Industries don’t drive the
sales since they have their targeted industries
where they supply Steel.

• However for B2C selling like nails, blades etc. the

distribution channel is from Industries to the
wholesalers & distributors & finally to retailers
who sell it to the consumers.
 Price
 The pricing strategy
depends on input prices
like labour cost, cost of
raw materials,
transportation cost etc.

 Domestic Steel prices are

Rs.26000 to Rs.35000 per
tonne whereas the
international prices are
$692.8/tonne.
 Price Sensitivity
• Even if the price of Steel raises the demand will
not fall because it is required by business units
regularly for production of the ultimate products.
Moreover there is no substitute for Steel.

• E.g. Construction industries will not stop

consumption of steel if the steel prices would go
up.
 Promotion

• The pull strategy is used since steel is always in

high demand.
E.g. Steel is regularly demanded for
infrastructure development like Jawahar Gram
Samridhi Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak
Yojana (Madhya Pradhesh) etc.

• The B2B units are offered discounts on bulk

purchase or on advance payment.
 Significant Innovation
• Tata Steel decided to enter into organized steel
retailing.

• Tata Steel is about to launch India’s first organized

steel retail store selling steel with its first pilot store
‘Steel Junction’ in Kolkata.

• Tata Steel hopes that

‘Steel Junction’ would
be a platform that
would bring together
vendors & manufacturers.
 Branding
Major Brands of the Major Steel Players:

• ELEGANT-Elegant bracelets, Elegant cufflinks, Elegant tie bars etc.

• TATA- Tata Shaktee in GC sheets and Tata Tiscon in rebars etc.

• SAIL- Sail H R Coils,Sail C R Coils etc.

• Steel Industries like Elegant Steels & Essar Steels go for regular
hoardings & advertisements.

• Whereas Industries like Tata & Sail come up with advertisements on

special occasions such as anniversaries, trade fairs, seminars etc.

• B2B units are not brand conscious since the units prefer quality
product.
 Sales Management
• Since the major business of Steel Industries is driven
by Targeted Customers hence the scope for sales
management has wide scope.

• Development of the customer relations and customer

retention is important for business to succeed since
they have to manage bulk buyers & large industries.

• Since the major players are the business units the

compensation for the sales force is mostly on fixed
salary basis rather than incentive driven unlike
Insurance industries.
 Key Account Management
• Managing the accounts of customers who produce
most profit for a company or have the potential to
do so or those who are of strategic importance.

• Particular emphasis is placed on analyzing which

accounts are key to a company at any one time,
determining the needs of these particular
customers, and implementing procedures to
ensure that they receive premium customer
service and to increase customer satisfaction.