MARKETING

MANAGEMENT
Introduction
With the global economic growth, India has witnessed a dynamic change in electronics industry. Television Set is one such gadget which has brought a huge revolution in Indian electronics industry. In recent times, with superior technology, and greater spending the market for televisions has moved from CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) technology to LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology.

Sum of the major players in the LCD television market in India are: Sony LG Electronics Samsung Panasonic Philips Onida

 Videocon Sansui

Market share of different brands in LCD Television market

Fig 1.1, market share of different brands in LCD TV market in 2010

Studying the above pie chart, we can see that Samsung was the lead brand with 29% market share in 2010. While SONY with 28% market share is second after Samsung and is closely chased by LG. Indian player Videocon is another prominent player along with Panasonic.

On the basis of market share, Sony, Samsung and LG are the honchos whereas Videocon, Panasonic, Sansui etc. have a long way to go. The prices of the brands are reasonably close to each other where you have to pay a premium price to get the same features. The brand value of these companies is also strong in the minds of the consumers. Videocon with its Indian background and accountability is a major player to watch out for in the Indian market.

Sales report of the LCD market: Sales report of the LCD TV market for the Final quarter 2010 is: The Korean consumer electronic giants Samsung dominated the other players in 3D TV shipment which comprises both LCD and Plasma segment. According to quarterly Advanced Global TV shipment and forecast report by Display search a) SONY captured 43.3 % Global market share by shipping 7.8 lacs Units of LCD TVs.
b)

Samsung and LG electronics captured 3D LCD TV global market share with 36.1% and 6.1% by sales of 6,50,000 and 1,20,000 Units respectively. Panasonic captured 14.5% Global market share in LCD TV segment.

c)

Penetration of LCD TV Market:

Penetration of LCD TV and Plasma Technology in the fourth quarter of 2010, 18,00,000 units of LCD TVs are sold, whereas sale of Plasma TVs are 4,50,000 Units respectively. From the above sales it is clear that sale of LCDs is 4 times the sale of plasma TVs.

Brand chosen- SAMSUNG

It is a Korean company with its headquarters at Samsung city, Seoul. It is South Korea's largest Chaebol and the world's largest conglomerate by revenue, founded in 1938. Lee KunHee is the Chairman and CEO. The main products under this company are electronics, telecom etc.

Reasons for choosing Samsung:

It has the biggest market share and also a prominent player in the LCD TV market as well as other electronic gadgets.

The picture quality offered by Samsung is incredible among all the LCDs.

 It features bold presence and feel of luxury and fine Quality than other LCD brands. It features sleek monolithic design, like a single sheet of glass with better aesthetic appeal than other brands.

Target Market Segment for Samsung

Market Segmentation- It is the process of grouping consumers according to common needs or characteristics or behaviour. It is the act of dissecting the market place that requires different market strategies.

The market segmentation of Samsung LCD televisions has been done on the basis of four variables, i.e. Demographic, Geographic, Psychographic and Behaviouristic. 1) DEMOGRAPHIC Income The target segment for Samsung is on the basis of one of the demographic variable, i.e. Income. It offers LCD televisions to the higher end of the income group for whom the price is not a concern but they are keen in the latest innovations that the technology has to offer them.

2) GEOGRAPHIC

City Samsung targets the metro cities where in the consumers are lifestyle conscious and are having a high standard of living, i.e. they target the urban population.

3) PSYCHOGRAPHIC Lifestyle The Company targets that segment of the society which is lifestyle oriented, i.e. those who enjoy high end lifestyle and desires to have premium quality products that are in sync with their way of living.

4) BEHAVIOURAL Benefit Sought Samsung has developed its LCD televisions with different features to cater to different expectations of the consumers. Example, Movie Plus for movie lovers, Game Mode for those who enjoy playing games etc.

Competitor Brand Analysis

The three brands which give a tough competition to Samsung are

LG Electronics

Videocon Philips

1)

LG Electronics

It is the second largest conglomerate Korean company, established in 1958. It became the first Korean company to enter the plastic market. Koo Bon-Moois is the Chairman & CEO of the company. The main products under LG are electronics, chemical and telecommunication.

The Company understands the consumer behaviour well and prices its LCD televisions strategically and positions itself sharply by being an aggressive marketer. It focuses on low and medium price strategies.

2)

Videocon

Videocon Company was founded by Nandlal Madhavlal Dhoot in 1987. The present chairman of Videocon is Venu

Gopal Dhoot . The main aim of Videocon group is to satisfy the customers needs and wants of the consumer and also to make them loyal towards the company. It innovates new idea and technologies to improve upon their products. Their main products are electronics and telecom.

Videocon has an image of a low price brand. It offers more features at a given price in comparison to its competing brands. It has taken over MNC brands like Sansui, to cater to the untouched segments.

3)

Philips

The foundations of Philips were laid when Anton and Gerard Philips established Philips & Co. in 1891 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Over the years, the list of inventions of Philips has only been growing to include many breakthroughs that have continued to enrich peoples everyday lives.

The Company focuses on the technological aspect. They plugged the gap by touting its digital technology.

Tangible and Intangible Brand features

The consumer while deciding upon a brand considers various tangible and intangible brand features, on the basis of which he buys the product of a particular brand. Tangible features are those which can be seen or felt on the other hand, intangible features are those which cannot be seen or felt.

TANGIBLE FEATURES

PRICE

FEATURE S

SIZE

COLOUR

PICTURE QUALITY

COMPLIMEN TARY GIFTS

ANTI ENERGY GLARE Price: The price of the product is one of the key factors TECHNOL that a customer considers while choosing upon a brand. If METER OGY the LCD television would fit into the the price of consumers budget, then only he will buy the product.

Features: The LCD television should have all those features that the latest technology has to offer. Example, better resolution, surround sound.

Size: The consumer would also take into consideration the size of the television and would buy the television set which would best fit in the living room of the consumer.

Colour: The colour of the LCD television which goes with the dcor of consumers living room will also have an impact on the decision of the consumer.

Picture Quality: The LCD television should have better picture quality. Example, it should have full HD (high definition) technology, i.e. having high image resolution with excellent video quality and sharpness.

Complimentary Gifts: The decision of the customer also depends upon complimentary or free gifts that a customer gets on purchase of the product. Example, Remote, Woofers, Speakers etc.

Anti-Glare Technology: With this technology, reflection and refraction of ambient light reduces due to which the consumer does not have to stress his eyes.

Energy Meter: The consumer will consider this as this will help him to reduce his monthly electricity bill up to a certain limit.

INTANGIBLE FEATURES

COMPA NY NAME

AFTER SALES SERVICE

WARRAN TY PERIOD

CUSTOM ER LOYALTY

Company Name: The consumer would choose the company which has a good brand name in the market.

After Sales Services: The consumer would go for the brand which provides the consumer with better after sales services as compared to its competitors. Example, free home deliver, free installation etc.

Warranty Period: The Company which will give a longer warranty period, the consumer would prefer that company over its competitors. Example, the consumer would give preference to the brand which will give warranty of 2

years over the company which will give warranty of 1 year.

Customer Loyalty: If a consumer has loyalty towards a particular brand on the basis of his past experiences with that brand, he will definitely prefer it over the other brands producing the same LCD television.

KAPFERER Brand Identity Prism

Kapferer represents brand image diagrammatically as a sixsided prism as shown below:-

Physique: According to him, physique is the basis of the brand. Example, Tata is trust

Personality: It answers the question what happens to this brand when it becomes a person? Example, Adidas is Traditional, conservative Culture: It symbolizes the organisation, its country-oforigin and the value it stands for. Example, traditional brands like Dabur and Zandu. Relationship: It means the handshake between consumer and the organisation. Example, the relationship with Safola is safety. Reflection: It is the consumers perception for what the brand stands for. Example, Cokes image more attracts the youth. Self-image: It is what the consumer thinks of himself. Example, Benz car owner think that since he has bought the car he is treating himself to one of the best car in the world.

SAMSUNG BRAND PRISM

INTERNALISATION

PICTURE OF SENDER

RELAF PHYSIQUE

BEAUTIFUL, DURABLE

PERSONALITY CONVENTIONAL KOREAN

EXTERNALISATION

RELATIONSHIP COMPARATIVE

SAMSUN G

CULTURE XC CDV

REFLECTION AGGRESIVE

SELF IMAGE ADAPTABLE

PICTURE OF RECEIVER

LG BRAND PRISM

INTERNALISATION

PICTURE OF SENDER

PHYSIQUE RELIABLE

PERSONALITY KOREAN INNOVATIVE

EXTERNALISATION

RELATIONSHIP QUALITY

LG

CULTURE ASIAN f

REFLECTION TRUST WORTHY

SELF IMAGE TECH SAVVY

PICTURE OF RECEIVER

VIDEOCON BRAND PRISM

INTERNALISATION

PICTURE OF SENDER

PHYSIQUE EXPERIENCED

PERSONALITY SIMPLE

EXTERNALISATION

RELATIONSHIP ETHICS

CULTURE

VIDEOC ON

TRADITIONAL, INDIAN

REFLECTION CONCERNED

SELF IMAGE ECO FRIENDLY

PICTURE OF RECEIVER

PHILIPS BRAND PRISM

INTERNALISATION

PICTURE OF SENDER

PHYSIQUE TECHNOLOGY

PERSONALITY STYLISH

EXTERNALISATION

RELATIONSHIP PRACTICAL

PHILIPS

CULTURE GLOBAL

REFLECTION PROFESSIONAL

SELF IMAGE SUBTLE

PICTURE OF RECEIVER

Perceptual Map
Perceptual map is the diagrammatic representation to display the perceptions of the customer. It tells what the customer feels and thinks about a particular brand that he/she is willing to buy. The perceptual map has two dimensions in it. The perceptual map of different brands in LCD TV market is given below-

CONTEMPORARY STYLE
LG

SAMSUNG

HIGH ON FEATURES FEATURES PHILIPS

LOW ON

VIDEOCO N

TRADITIONAL STYLE
Fig 1, Perceptual Map of LCD TV Brands

Examining the above shown perceptual map, the two dimensions taken under consideration to distinguish

between the different brands in the LCD TV market are Features and Style.

Features: It refers to the attributes of the LCD Television that attracts the customer. Example: picture quality, surround sound etc. Style: It refers to the design of the LCD Television. The map tells us how a particular brand is placed in the minds of the customer with respect to other brands. SAMSUNG offers high range of features ranging from high resolution to natural colours. They also offer trendy and fashionable designs of television. LG also offers a range of features but not as many as Samsung does. But like Samsung, it also offers contemporary style televisions. PHILIPS like Samsung is also high on features but it focuses on the traditional style of the LCD televisions. VIDEOCON on the other hand is low on features as compared to the other brands and in addition, Philips also emphasize on traditional style.

HIGH EMOTIONAL PULL

SAMSU NG LG

USE OF CELEBRITY COMMON MAN VIDEOCON

USE OF

PHILIPS

LOW EMOTIONAL PULL

Fig 2, Perceptual Map of LCD TV Brands

The dimensions considered for preparing the perceptual map are: Use of celebrity advertisements or a common man in the

 Emotional Pull, i.e. how much the consumer is attached to a particular brand. Talking about LG, the brand uses Akshay Kumar to promote itself. The emotional pull is high which means the consumers are loyal to the brand. Looking at the position of Samsung, they show common man in their advertisements. As consumers are willing to buy their LCD Televisions, the emotional pull is high in this case as well. Coming to Videocon, their brand ambassador is Abhishek Bachhan who promotes Videocon. The emotional pull is low in this case as consumers do not connect as strong as with other brands. Lastly Philips, the advertisements focuses on common man. The emotional pull is also not high in case of this brand as compared to brands like LG, Samsung, Sony etc.

Conclusion
The LCD Television market is in growth phase because of which many new players are entering the market. Example: MoserBaer Due to existence of a large number of players in the market, the level of competition is too high between the brands. Each brand is focussing on targeting as many consumers as they can and also to retain them. In order to do this, they are utilising the technology in the best possible manner. The cost of advertisements

is high for all the firms. Through product differentiation they are trying to have a competitive edge over others. Every brand is following different marketing strategies and positioning itself very differently from each other in consumers mind.

Bibliography
Web sources

<http://marketpublishers.com/report/technologies_electro nics/electronic_devices/india_lcd_tv_market_growth_oppor tunities.html> April 02,2011 www.lg.com, April 04,2011 www.samsung.com, April 04,2011 www.videoconworld.com, April 04, 2011 www.india.philips.com, April 05, 2011 www.afaqs.com, April 05, 2011 http://gadgetophilia.com/c/television/page/2/, 05,2011 April

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/videoconeyeing-18-lcd-tv-market-share/, April 05,2011

 http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-10454971-260.html, April 05,2011

Books as references

Gupta S.L, Strategic Marketing Management: Text and Cases. Ghaziabad: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd: 2009. Jobber David, Principles and Practice of Marketing. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Higher Education: 2010 Kotler Philip, et al. Principles of Marketing: A South Asian PerspectiveNoida: Pearson Publication: 2010