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PROJECT REPORT
ON
MARKETING MIX
OF VOLTAS
AIR CONDITIONERS
FOR
VOLTAS LIMITED (MUMBAI)
Submitted By
Prashant.Relwani
(2009)
CONTENTS
Executive Summary
Project Objective
Introduction
Company Overview
Area Of Business
Methodology
Analysis
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Annexure I
Conclusion
Executive Summary
The project deals with the Study into the marketing mix of Voltas in the Mumbai Air-
Conditioner Market. The report consists of the primary data obtained from the dealers.
The attributes, which defined the data, were Shelf Space, Window Display, Prices
Given, P.O.P. Material, Dealer Preference, General Positive and Negative Attributes
for various Brands, Dealer Interface, and Finance Schemes Offered.
In all I visited 50 outlets spread all over Mumbai (includes dealers and retailer), who
dealt in air conditioner I also interviewed 44 customers at showrooms across Mumbai.
Data thus obtained was then grouped and analyzed, after which the inferences were
drawn.
I observed that L.G. was undoubtedly the market leader. In Mumbai AC market LG
has the highest penetration, as it is available in almost 75% of the outlets while
Hitachi is present in only 64% of the outlets. L.G. also leads in the other categories
like the window display (40%), shelf space (50%) and POP (40%) while Voltas has
the share of 7%, 28% and 34% in the respective categories. Although Voltas is No.2
brand in Mumbai region but it has the highest corporate customer or we can say,
institutional sales in comparison to other AC brands.
Of the outlets visited, 44% claim L.G. to be the top Brand whereas Voltas has 21% of
the outlets claim it to be the top Brand. The strengths of L.G. lie in its low price and
good quality whereas Hitachi’s strengths lie in its superior quality and post sales
service. Whereas, on the negative side the claim that LG is not as durable as other
brands & has a life expectancy less than other brands like Voltas, General etc.
For Voltas the most spoken about negative is its high price & poor after sales service.
Next there was the classification of the demonstrator/salesperson for the outlets
visited. Based on this data collected, I recommend that customer awareness about
Voltas’s star rating mode has to improve, so that it will be a lot easier to convince the
customer that price difference, which works against Voltas, can be negated in the
electricity bills.
Project Objective
This project was carried out in Mumbai during the period of 4th May 2009 to 30th June
2009. The project would also include the study competitor activities and the relative
position of Voltas, when it comes to retail level activities.
The following are the heads, which were given prominence during the primary data
collection.
Voltas Ltd. is one of the major players in the highly competitive A.C. market today
with the market share of 16 %, which is overall second in the market today. This
project primarily aims to understand the 4 P’s i.e Product ,Price ,Place & Promotion
of Voltas air conditioners at SSD level, Dealer level & Customers Level.
Introduction
Indian Consumer durables market used to be dominated by few domestic players like
Godrej, Voltas, Allwyn and Kelvinator. But post liberalization many foreign
companies have entered into Indian market dethroning the Indian player and
dominating Indian market the major categories in the market REFRIGRATOR, AIR
CONDTIONERS AND WATER COOLERS.
India being the second largest growing economy with huge consumer class has
resulted in consumer durables as the fastest growing industries in India. LG &
SAMSUNG the two Korean companies have been maintaining the lead in the
industries with LG being leader in almost all the categories.
Consumer durables major Voltas Limited will invest nearly Rs 500 crore in India this
year in research and development, brand-building and other marketing initiatives.
The company, having a turnover of Rs 500 crore and market share of 17 per cent, is
investing Rs 500 crore on brand-building and other marketing initiatives and around
Rs 500 crore on research and development, besides launching new platforms in
information technology and related areas,
Before the liberalization of the Indian economy, only a few companies like
Kelvinator, Godrej, Allwyn, and Voltas were the major players in the consumer
durables market, accounting for no less than 90% of the market. Then, after the
liberalization, foreign players like LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, Daewoo, and Aiwa came
into the picture. Today, these players control the major share of the consumer durables
market.
Consumer durables market is expected to grow at 8-13% in 2009-2010. It is growing
very fast because of rise in living standards, easy access to consumer finance, and
wide range of choice, as many foreign players are entering in the market.
With the increase in income levels, easy availability of finance, increase in consumer
awareness, and introduction of new models, the demand for consumer durables has
increased significantly. Products like washing machines, air conditioners, microwave
ovens, color televisions (CTVs) are no longer considered luxury items. However, there
are still very few players in categories.
Voltas, A Tata Group Company is India's premier air conditioning and engineering
services provider. It provides engineering solutions for a wide spectrum of industries
in areas such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, refrigeration, climate
control, electro-mechanical projects, textile machinery, machine tools, mining and
construction, materials handling, water management, building management systems,
pollution control and chemicals. Voltas have capability in the manufacture of
room/split air conditioners, industrial air conditioning and refrigeration equipment,
water coolers, refrigerators, visi-coolers, freezers, forklift trucks and large water
supply pumps. All these products bear the stamp of state-of-the-art automated
manufacturing plants resulting in consistently high quality and reduced costs.
Company is partnered with international companies such as LG Electronics and
Samsung of Korea and Fedders International of USA for 'manufacture only' alliances
producing low cost, high quality refrigerators and room air conditioners.
The company’s promoters, Tata Sons hold around 28 per cent of the shares in the
company. Foreign investors and the public hold around 21 per cent share each, while
domestic financial institutions and non-promoter corporates hold the balance.
Company involved mainly into the design and manufacture of industrial equipment,
management and execution of air conditioning and public work projects, sourcing,
installation and servicing of technology-based systems, and representation of global
technology leaders, serving diverse industrial sectors and applications. Voltas'
operations have been organized into three independent business-specific clusters. Each
of these has its own facilities for market coverage and service to customers. Namely:
Unitary
Cooling
Product
s
Engineering products &
Services
Textile Machinery
Mining & Construction Equipment
Machine Tools
Materials Handling Solutions
Cooling Appliances
Commercial Refrigeration
Air Conditioning Industry
Air Conditioners give respite from summer heat and have become a necessity. They have
made our lives comfortable. After a hard day's work you return home and switch on your
air conditioner and let the fresh air relax you and rejuvenate your spirits. Once again you
are ready to shop out with your family or help your spouse in household work or spend
some quality time with your kids. India you desperately need an air conditioner. In this
scorching heat it is only an air conditioner that can give you some respite and make you
livelier and energetic. Earlier buying an air conditioner was not easy. It was very costly
and middle class families can't afford but now purchasing an air conditioner in India is
no more tough and expensive. There are various companies offering air conditioner like
LG, Hitachi, Samsung, Onida, Godrej, Sanyo, Cerrier, Bluestar, Voltas, Amtrex, O
General etc. These companies have various offices all over India. They have their own
store and shops selling air conditioner of all types.
Air conditioner comes in various sizes and shapes. Some air conditioner does not even
look like an air conditioner especially ones offered by LG. Their surfaces are too good
looking and look like a beautiful scenery. There are room air conditioners, split air
conditioners, car air conditioners, ductless air conditioners, air ceiling conditioner mount
system etc.
History of Air Conditioners
Air conditioning as we know it today is a rather new technology although different
form of cooling air and dehumidifying the air has been around for centuries. The ancient
Romans used aqua duct water to circulate through the walls of the wealthiest homes. This
is just one example of ancient air conditioning. The Chinese were also were also obsessed
with cooling the air through water and wind. They used various methods to cool their
interior buildings and stay cool during the hot months. In the 1800's one man came close
to inventing what is similar to modern day air conditioning.
In 1820 British Inventor Michael Faraday discovered that ammonia could chill the air
when compressed and liquidized and then allowed to evaporate. In 1841, John Gorrie, a
medical doctor discovered that he could use compressor technology to create ice to cool
his patients rooms in Florida. This discovery gave Gorrie the great aspiration of inventing
the first air conditioning unit. He came very close. His first pro type leaked and was
unsuccessful. He secured funding and his patent was approved in 1851. His funding
partner died and he lost the money to see his dream realized. He later died in 1855 and
with him his vision of indoor air conditioning died as well for the next 50 years.
The commercially available of air conditioning applications started based on the need
to cool air for industrial processes than for personal comfort. The first electrical air
conditioning was invented by Willis Haviland Carrier in the year 1902. He was also
known as the Father of Modern Air Conditioning. His invention was designed to improve
the manufacturing process of a printing plant. By controlling the temperature
and humidity of the plant, the processes were made more efficient as the paper size and
the ink alignment were consistently maintained.
The Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America was established by him to meet
the demand of better productivity in the workplace. Today, Carrier Corporation is the
biggest air conditioner manufacturer and marketing corporation in the world in central air
conditioning.
The term air conditioning was first coined by Stuart W. Cramer of Charlotte, North
Carolina in 1906. Cramer was trying to create ways to add moisture to the air in his textile
plants. Cramer used the term Air conditioning in a papers filed to the patent office for his
invention of a water conditioning unit which was required to control the humidity in
textile plants. Willis Carrier took the term air conditioning and put it into his companies
name as he used evaporative cooling to provide a cooling effect in the air.
The first air conditioners proved to be hazardous to human’s health when the toxic
gases leaked. The use of ammonia, methyl chloride and propane. These toxic, flammable
gases tended to leak causing fatal results. In 1928 Thomas Midgley, Jr. was the first to
create an air conditioner that used Freon. This was found to be much safer for humans but
had disastrous effects to the environment.
Modern day air conditioning has improved over the years. The emphasis these days are on
energy conservation and efficiency. The modern day air conditioner can come with all
sorts of bells and whistles and most importantly is that it is available to just about
everyone. The modern day air conditioning is affordable to everyone.
METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is considered as the nerve of the project. Without a proper well-
organized research plan, it is impossible to complete the project and reach to any
conclusion. The project was based on the survey plan. The main objective of survey was to
collect appropriate data, which work as a base for drawing conclusion and getting result.
Therefore, research methodology is the way to systematically solve the research problem.
Research methodology not only talks of the methods but also logic behind the methods
used in the context of a research study and it explains why a particular method has been
used in the preference of the other methods.
Research design:
Research design is important primarily because of the increased complexity in the market
as well as marketing approaches available to the researchers. In fact, it is the key to the
evolution of successful marketing strategies and programmers. It is an important tool to
study buyer’s behavior, consumption pattern, brand loyalty, and focus market changes. A
research design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting a particular study.
According to Kerlinger, “Research Design is a plan, conceptual structure, and strategy of
investigation conceived as to obtain answers to research questions and to control variance.
The first step of the project was to collect information regarding the distributors, dealers
and sub dealers with multi product/ multi brand portfolio which included products like
A.C. Televisions, Refrigerators and Washing Machines for the whole Mumbai region
(also including the sales and services that are exclusive dealers for A.C).
For this purpose I took the help of various newspapers like T.O.I., Economic Times,
Midday and Business Standard & also Just Dial. All the ads of Consumer Durables, which
appeared in these papers, were noted down and the necessary details like the name of the
shop, the phone number and the location of the shop was fed into the computer in an excel
format and used as the database during the course of the survey.
The data was then structured and the whole Mumbai Region was divided into three Zones.
Then I set about the job of deciding upon the format of the Questionnaire that would be
used while collecting data from the retailers/dealers. The initial format was then tested for
whether all required information was obtained from the showrooms after which the
required changes were made to get the optimum results.
After freezing the format I had to decide on the role that would enable us to get the
complete information that I was looking for. I had various options:
• To go to the outlets as personnel from Voltas.
• To go to the outlets as Management Student.
• To go to the outlets disguised as customers.
I realized during the format the best and most unbiased Information was provided to me
when I visited the outlets as a Management Student. Hence a call was made by me
to visit the outlets as a Management Student so that the purpose of getting complete and
unbiased information is served.
Primary data: For primary data collection, we have to plan the following four important
aspects.
Sampling
Research Instrument
Secondary Data - The Company’s profile, journals and various literature studies are
important sources of secondary data.
Data analysis and interpretation
1. Questionnaires
2. Pie chart and Bar chart
Questionnaires:
This is the most popular tool for the data collection. A questionnaire contains question that
the researcher wishes to ask his respondents which is always guided by the objective of
the survey.
Pie chart:
This is very useful diagram to represent data, which are divided into a number of
categories. This diagram consists of a circle of divided into a number of sectors, which are
proportional to the values they represent. The total value is represented by the full create.
The diagram bar chart can make comparison among the various components or between a
part and a whole of data.
Bar chart:
This is another way of representing data graphically. As the name implies, it consist of a
number of whispered bar, which originate from a common base line and are equal widths.
The lengths of the bards are proportional to the value they represent.
Preparation of report:
The report was based on the analysis and presented with the findings and suggestions. The
sample of the questionnaires is attached with the report itself.
Sampling Methodology:
Details of the sampling methodology, I have made questionnaire.
Analysis
PRODUCT & SERVCE:
On the whole the data collected shows that under the various heads taken to conduct
the survey Voltas’s performance overall is a mixed bag or I can say that it was 75:25
of (good: bad). Finally I landed up to five most popular brands who are ruling the AC
market; Voltas, LG, Samsung, Carrier and Hitachi. On the basis of these brands the
further study has been carried out.
From the survey conducted we can determine that the overall presence of Voltas is
equal to the other four brands, which would primarily mean that the reach of the brand
to the people is satisfactory. Brands like LG and Samsung doing well because of their
overall branding due to their presence in other consumer product like LCD,
refrigerators, Washing Machines etc.
But, on the counts of Shelf Space and Window Display Voltas is lagging behind LG
and Samsung thus depriving the potential customers the first hand experience of the
functioning of the AC which might also mean that the brands which have more
presence on the shelf might capture these customers.
The POP material which is quite quintessential when it comes to convincing the
customer about the Brand’s features, providing it distinctness from the host of other
competitors and in establishing the Brand Identity in the minds of the customers. In
the survey it was found that Voltas is in the second position after LG when it comes to
the POP material in the outlets but this is not the complete picture the presence of LG
in terms of the support material.
Continuing about the support material, the best support any brand can have is the word
of mouth preference that the dealers or the salespersons give to the customers as only
what they push has the maximum chance of selling. In the outlets visited it was found
that Voltas although second, again lags behind LG by some margin.
While speaking about there preferences the dealers or the salespersons invariably give
the attributes of the brand that they are pushing and the negatives of others that they
advise the customers against. The good news here is that the most spoken about
positive attribute for Voltas (the good quality attribute) as against the most spoken
about positive attribute of LG (the low price attribute). So, we can safely assume that
the positive attributes of Voltas are spoken about by the dealers/salespersons.
But here again there is a spoiler, which are the negative attributes of the Brands that
the dealers/salespersons use to dissuade the customer buying a particular brand. While
dealers claimed LG to be less durable, there were outlets that claimed that Voltas is
priced too high. The result of which is that all the good work of the positive attributes
is nullified.
The best and the biggest international brands are here in India –but the irony if it all:
where is the after-sales-service? So integral to a brand, so critical for its success and so
taken for granted in developed markets! In India, after sales service is, for want of a
better description, the pits. So what’s stopping the second best air conditioning
companies from pulling out all the stops when it comes to providing the best service?
Do customers expect for too much? Or is it that in India they don’t really care. Brand
Equity fanned out to MNC as well as Indian consumer durable companies, stockiest
and dealers, analysts and market researchers to get a feel of what’s really keeping after
sales from being used as a cutting edge marketing tool in pushing products across
categories.
Now when we talk of air conditioners, there are a number of makes and models
available in the market. So as to say that there is a variety of sizes and types of AC’s
available for cooling rooms of different sizes. And in order to choose the perfect air
conditioner for your room it is always advisable to have some extra knowledge about
the types of AC and their purpose as to which one is best for what kind of room.
With the variety of air conditioners available in the market, it is very difficult to
choose the most suitable AC for our home or office. And if we don’t have a clue about
air conditioner then it adds to our own disadvantage. There are mainly five types of air
conditioner:
1) Window mounted: These are air conditioners that are usually fixed through the
windows, which have been designed typically for double hung windows. And it is one
of the most commonly used air conditioners as this is best for cooling a single room
for the simple reason that these are easy to install, cheaper and works with almost all
the wiring system of your home. The price range varies from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 27, 000
on an average for room size the range varies from 10 meter square - 84 meter square.
2) Split Air conditioner: This type of air conditioner is best suited for rooms whose
area is up to 60 meter square and might cost you (approx) around Rs.16,000 to Rs.
35,000 on an average (multi-split system). A split air conditioner consists of two parts:
the indoor unit which is also called as the evaporator unit and the outdoor unit which
is known as the external condenser box and is installed outside the room or the
building. And this is one main reason why most people opt for split AC’s, as during
the operation, it doesn’t make any noise which might distract your attention or annoy
you. Split AC’s are permanent systems which can either be installed at the floor level
or on the walls or on the ceiling. However, it can be very noisy and may create
nuisance for your neighbors.
3) Cassette Air Conditioner: These are air conditioners that are usually fixed into
the sealing. This ultra thin air conditioner can be installed in any narrow ceiling.
These are usually fit in places where it is not possible to fit either a Window or
Split Air conditioner. The price range varies from Rs. 68,500 to Rs. 86,500on an
average.
4) Slimline Air Conditioner: This type of air conditioner has been one of the most
popular types for certain reasons. One major reason is that they can be easily moved
from one room to the other and is often referred to as a mobile air conditioner. Being
portable, it is easier to store when the summer season wears off.
5) Ductable Split Air Conditioners: Ductable air conditioners are those that are used
to condition more than one room, in the same building. These kind of air conditioners
are usually seen in institutions, big organizations, hotels etc. Duatables comes in
different tonnages depending upon the space needed to be cooled. The prices of
ductables vary depending upon the tonnage.
Out of all the above mentioned air conditions the maximum selling would be the Split
air conditioners .Though window a/c will cost less and is easier to install. The
downside is you will loose your view through the window and you will have more air
leakage than a split unit. A window unit will be less efficient than the split also a slit
a/c is much quieter than a window a/c. The split unit will add more value to the home
and will be quieter.
• The product range is changed very frequently and the customers are not able to
relate themselves to the products.
• Spare parts are a major issue as they are not available readily. While comparing
it to market leader LG spares are readily available.
• Stock outs too are a major worry as products are not available on demand,
especially during peak season.
• There are a lot of complaints from customers about the machine making a lot of
noise while running.
• After sales service was criticized greatly. While most of the dealers &
customers were happy with the after sales service provided by LG.
• Installation too is a bit on a slower side when you compare it to LG. Where
Voltas takes approximately 48hrs to install the a/c LG takes half as much time.
• The design & color of Voltas air conditioners is very simple & common.
• People buy Voltas mainly because it’s a Tata group of company & also as it is
the pioneer in air conditioners in India.
• By calculating the display share we found that in most of store LG has 50%
display share almost all categories.
• Better design could give it a huge leverage as in today’s world looks are given
high weighed. Different color panels could be used like that used by Godrej to
give the product a better look. Also detachable panels could be popularized as
people could select the color of the panels according to there taste &
preferences.
• In a lot of cases it was reported that dealers are not made aware about new
product releases hence awareness about new products should improve the
enthusiasm of dealers to sell a product as well.
• A separate sales person could be appointed by Voltas in major stores promoting
Voltas exclusively. In most of the outlets visited it was observed that most of
the dealers promoted LG as the first preference.
• To make efforts to make the machine a lot more silent.
• Product availability especially during peak season must be paint a lot of
attention to. As I observed that there was not even a single window A/c
available in the first half of June & there was a lot of demand for the same in
the market.
• A lot more must be spend on R & D activities & to introduce never seen before
features and products much like Hitachi.
• Make the products more durable (increased life) as a numerous customers give
a lot of importance to durability of product.
• On the counts of Shelf Space and Window Display Voltas is lagging behind LG
and Samsung thus depriving the potential customers the first hand experience of
the functioning of the AC which might also mean that the brands which have
more presence on the shelf might capture these customers hence rigorous effort
need to be made to increase the shelf space & window display in order to attain
leadership position
• Voltas can come up with detachable panels. This will allow the customers to
choose the color of there choice to match there room & taste.
Pricing
The pricing policy for dealers varies depending upon the number of units sold by a
particular dealer in a stipulated period of time (usually 1 month.).
Quantity Scheme
15-50 2% On basic To
51-75 2.5% On basic To
75-125 3% On basic To
126-175 3% On basic To
176-220 4% On basic To
>220 5% On basic To
Quantity Incentives
In nearly all the multi brand dealers vested there primary preference was LG followed
my either Voltas or Samsung. The best support any brand can have is the word of
mouth preference that the dealers or the salespersons give to the customers as only
what they push has the maximum chance of selling hence it would be vital for Voltas
to offer higher margins to its dealers if it wanted to be the primary brand spoken about
my all dealers.
It was also observed that Big accounts such as Vijay Sales, Croma, Reliance Digital,
Kohinoor and Snehaanjali are offered products at nearly 22% less than small dealers.
In such a scenario it would get extremely difficult for small dealers to compete with
these giants.
Example: An air conditioner sold to a small dealer for a price of Rs.25, 000 the same
air conditioner would be sold to Vijay sales for 19,500. As a dealer there would be no
ways in which you could compete with these big dealers as far as price is concerned
eventually resulting in loosing out the customer.
Key Findings about Pricing:
• Voltas air conditioner are priced nearly Rs.2000 to Rs. 3000 higher than LG.
• The Incentives provided to small dealers is 5% less than that provided by LG
• Margins offered to big giants like Vijay Sales, Croma, Reliance Digital etc is far
more than that offered to the small dealers .As a result small dealers would find
it extremely difficult to compete with these heavy weights.
• One would rather not prefer to be a dealer of Voltas and buy the products from
these giants themselves at a lower price than what Voltas can offer them.
Example: As a dealer, Voltas offers me an incentive of 2% on 50 units sold. I
would rather purchase the products from Vijay sales at a lower price and sell it
at a higher profit margin.
• Spares too are a bit higher priced while comparing it to LG
• Initial dealership fees of Rs 50, 000 needs to be paid to become an authorized
dealer of Voltas.
• Very low profit margins for dealers.
• From time to time LG provides free installation for its customers.
Recommendations about Pricing
Place
Visit to warehouse
Logistics is the art and science of managing and controlling the flow of goods, energy,
information, and other resources like products, services, and people, from the source
of production to the marketplace. It is difficult to accomplish any marketing or
manufacturing without logistical support. It involves the integration of information,
transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging. The
operating responsibility of logistics is the geographical repositioning of raw materials,
work in process, and finished inventories where required at the lowest cost possible.
Logistics Management is that part of the supply chain, which plans, implements and
controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods,
services and related information between the point of origin and the point of
consumption in order to meet customers' requirements.
The Factory is located at Bhandup & Bhiwandi there are three types of
Warehouse-
1. Mother Warehouse
2. Branch Warehouse
3. Spare part warehouse
The mother warehouse is that where the products from the factory are kept and from
that warehouse, the products are sent to the branch warehouse.
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by
manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc.
They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They
come equipped with loading docks to load and unload trucks; or sometimes are loaded
directly from railways, airports, or seaports. They also often have cranes and forklifts
for moving goods, which are usually placed on ISO standard pallets loaded into pallet
racks.
In warehouse, the products are pinup with 3-color paper to get the knowledge about
the delivery.
1. Red Card – To stop the product going into market,
• It was found that Voltas had to go through a lot of nitigrity processes which are
time consuming hence resulting in slow delivery.
• While LG manages to delivery its air conditioners in a1 days it was found that
Voltas delivered its air conditioners in 2 to 3 days.
• The installation of the air conditioner too was found to be on the slower side
while comparing it to market leader LG.
• The market penetration can be increased by having more number of dealers.
• Only 2 warehouses in Mumbai.
Recommendations about Place
• Make process short & simple to ensure quicker delivery of final product.
• Improve the pace of installation at customers place.
• Reduce the delivery time from 2 to 1 day.
• Decide on the best possible channel of distribution keeping in mind
company’s value to its customers.
• Developing operational excellence in sales forecasting, warehouse
management, transportation management & material management.
• Having more number of dealers to increase the market reach.
• Having more number of warehouses at strategic locations could reduce
the time lag.
• Reducing the cost of logistics & passing on the benefit to the consumer.
• To reduce octroi charges the movement could be directed via Goa as it’s
an octroi free zone.
Promotion:
Communication methods
Impersonal Personal
Advertising, Store
atmosphere, Visual Personal selling Paid
merchandising, Sales
promotion
Paid Personal:
Control Flexibility Credibility Cost
Personal
selling
Unpaid Impersonal:
Control Flexibility Credibility Cost
Publicity
Unpaid Personal:
Control Flexibility Credibility Cost
Word of
mouth
Control: Retailers have more control when using paid versus unpaid methods. When
using advertising, Sales promotions, and Stores atmosphere retailers determine
messages, content and time of delivery. But because each salesman can deliver
different messages, retailers have less control over content/timing of publicity and
word of mouth. Since unpaid communication is not designed and delivered by retailer
one can communicate both favorable and unfavorable information.
The showroom atmosphere along with the word of mouth is the perfect combination
when it comes to wining the customer’s confidence. The perfect example could be of
LG’s, there were 11 outlets that had the dealer certificates for the brand claiming it to
be the number 1 brand in India and invariably these outlets pushed LG to the
customers (overall LG is the most preferred brand at 21outlets and one of the top three
most preferred brands at a staggering 36 outlets. With such kind of bombardment
more customers are expected to turn to LG rather than away from it.
Flexibility: Personal selling most flexible because sales people can talk and cover
customer specific needs and develop unique presentation. Other communication
method less flexible
E.g.: Advertisements convey the same message to all customers. In all there area lot of
dealers that claim that Voltas’s electricity efficiency will see to it that the difference in
the price (over LG) will be recovered in about a year’s time. Such a push will lure the
customers who want to buy a cheaper AC to buying Voltas.
Awareness Signs
Knowledge Advertising
Publicity
Repeat
Visits Positional Advertising
Personal Selling / Sales Promotion
POP Displays /Positional Advertising
Personal Selling
The above figure shows which communication methods most effective at various
stages in the decision are making process. For egg: for creating awareness/knowledge
Signs, Advertising, and Publicity are very important.
Favorable attitude and visiting the store is very important from the sales point of view
these 2 factors are dependent on the dealer preference, image of the shop, the
atmosphere inside the shop, sales promotion carried out by the dealer, and the
effective use of the POP material by the dealer is very important
In the overall analysis we found that the dealer preference for LG was the most, in 21
outlets out of 50 LG was the top brand while in 36 outlets it figured among the top
three brands.
Voltas was the top brand in 14 outlets while in 29 outlets it figured among the top
three brands.
In the use of POP material again LG was the top brand, 21 outlets made proper use of
the POP material for LG out of 50, while for Voltas 11 outlets made use of the POP
material provided by the company.
Attitudes of
others
Unanticipated
Situational
Factors
Here the customer typically goes through all the brands offered by the dealer in the
market definitely with the intention of purchasing one of them. He evaluates each
brand on the basis of the information provided in the leaflet and then on the response
given by the dealer.
Price is one factor, which weighs heavily in the favor of a particular brand. Here LG
scores highly and Voltas gets negative feedback from the dealers.
After deciding on a particular product there is a very rare chance that the customer
will backtrack from the purchase of that particular brand until and unless he comes
across some negative feedback regarding the brand or the company?
For e.g.: in the case of LG bad service and low durability are the major negative
factors which a customer would often come across while looking for ACs. Word of
mouth spreads very fast and travels even faster when the news is bad; hence it
becomes very important for the company to create a goodwill and trust among the
consumers as well as the dealers.
3) How would you rate Voltas Air conditioners in terms of performance Vis a
Vis competition?
a) Low b) Average c) High b) Superior
4) What is your take on the after sales service provided by Voltas compared to
other Brands?
a) Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d)Average e) Poor
8) Are you aware in advance about the new products which are going to be
launched by Voltas?
a)Yes b)No
4) In case of any damaged products, are you happy with the process
of returning back the products to Company?
a) Yes b) No
Promotion
1) Which is your favorite Air conditioner Ad?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Others
2) Which company’s name comes to your mind First when one says
Air Conditioners?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Others
9) Which company’s name comes to your mind First when one says
Air Conditioners?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Others
Results
Product
1) Which air conditioner according to you offers the best features?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Others
2) On a scale of 1 To 5, how would you rate Voltas Air conditioners on the basis
of design?
a )1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4 e) 5
3) How would you rate Voltas Air conditioners in terms of performance Vis a Vis
competition?
a) Low b) Average c) High b) Superior
4) What is your take on the after sales service provided by Voltas compared to
other Brands?
a) Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d)Average e) Poor
5) Does the pricing of Voltas Air conditioners offer enough range to different
classes of customers?
a) Yes b) No
6) What are your payment terms?
a) Full on delivery b) Full advance c) Part advance & Part on delivery
d) Full credit
7) Which Air conditioning Brand offers you maximum discount & return on
investments (Highest profit)?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Others
8) Do you as a dealer get some additional benefit for promoting a particular
brand?
a) Yes b) No
Place
1) What is the delivery system adopted by Voltas compared to other brands?
a) Delivery via intermediaries b) Direct delivery c) Pick up from
factory/warehouse
2) Are you happy with the delivery System of Voltas?
a) Yes b) No
6) What is the average number of days taken by Voltas to deliver the Air
Conditioner?
a) 12 hours b) 1 Day c) 2 Days d) 3 days e) 4 Days
Promotion
1) Which is your favorite Air conditioner Ad?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Others
2) Which company’s name comes to your mind First when one says Air
Conditioners?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Others
Customers Results
1) How do you perceive Air conditioners today?
a) Luxury b) Necessity c) Can do without
7) According to you which Air conditioner offers full value for money?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Not applicable
9) Which company’s name comes to your mind First when one says Air
Conditioners?
a) Voltas b) LG c) Hitachi d) Carrier e) Samsung f) Blue Star
g) Godrej h) General i) Not applicable
Conclusion
From above Literature review and findings we can say that Voltas needs to redesign
its marketing strategies and improve its after sales services and also a slight revision
it’s pricing strategy for dealers in order to make a success in India .If Voltas improves
the services & incentive scheme for dealers, then there are good chances of a grand
success, as the Indian air conditioner market is growing very fast. So Voltas has two
options:
1. Improve the marketing strategies i.e. advertising & after sales service. This
could certainly help Voltas to penetrate the tough Indian market and to increase
the market share.
2. Revamp the incentive schemes for dealers & distributors so that they push
Finally we can conclude that the success (or Sales) of Voltas AC is dependent on
after sales service & incentives provided to dealers as they are the ones who push your
brand. Indian customers won’t buy it just because it is their brand; but they expect
value for money and satisfaction.