1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Marico’s Business Profile

Marico is a leading Indian Group in Consumer Products & Services in the Global

Beauty and Wellness space. Marico’s Products and Services in Hair care, Skin Care

and Healthy Foods generated a Turnover of about Rs. 19.1 billion (about USD 477

Million) during 2007-08. Marico markets well-known brands such as Parachute,

Saffola, Sweekar, Hair & Care, Nihar, Shanti, Mediker, Revive, Manjal, Kaya,

Sundari, Aromatic, Camelia, Fiancee and HairCode. Marico’s brands and their

extensions occupy leadership positions with significant market shares in most

categories- Coconut Oil, Hair Oils, Post wash hair care, Anti-lice Treatment,

Premium Refined Edible Oils, niche Fabric Care etc. Marico is present in the Skin

Care Solutions segment through Kaya Skin Clinics (65 in India and The Middle East),

the Sundari range of Spa skin care products (in the USA & other countries) and its

soap franchise (in India and Bangladesh). Infact, the mother brand of Marico is

“Parachute”.

Earlier Marico was also dealing in the instant noodle segment with it’s’ brand

Top Ramen. Also, it had jam, sauce, jelly, etc. under the brand name of Sil. But few

months back, an Indonesian firm took over those products. Yet today, the gap created

by Top Ramen lies unfulfilled.

Marico's branded products are present in Bangladesh, other SAARC countries,

the Middle East, Egypt and South Africa. The Overseas Sales franchise of Marico’s

Consumer Products (whether as exports from India or as local operations in a foreign

country) is one of the largest amongst Indian Companies and is entirely in branded

products and services. Marico was selected as one of the eight Indian companies in S

& P’s list of Challenger Companies from various nations, compiled globally by

Standard & Poor’s in June 2007. Very recently, Marico’s “Saffola World Heart Day"

campaign has won a Bronze at the first-ever Asia Pacific Effie Awards, Singapore,

2008

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1.2 Product Portfolio:

The products of Marico can be broadly divided into two broad segments-

PERSONAL CARE and EDIBLES.

The PERSONAL CARE segment can be divided into-

A) Hair Care

B) Anti lice treatment

C) Fabric Care

The EDIBLES segment can be divided into-

A) Refined oils

B) Saffola Atta Mix

C) Saffola Salt Plus

A) Hair Care segment :

This segment has:

I. Four hair oils-

(i) Parachute, with the variants as Jasmine, Rose, Pure, Advanced.

(ii) Nihar, with the variants as Jasmine, Rose, FCN

(iii) Shanti Badam Amla

(iv) Hair n Care

II. One Hair Gel with two variants- Wet Looks and Extra Hold.

III. One Hair Cream with two variants- After Shower and After Shower anti

dandruff.

IV. One hair conditioner called Silk N shine.

B) Anti lice treatment:

Marico has one oil called Malo, and a shampoo called Medikar for anti-lice

treatment.

C) Fabric Care:

Marico has two clothes stiffeners called Revive Starch and Revive Liquid.

D) Refined Oils:

Marico has five variants of refined oils called Saffola Kardi, Saffola Korn and

Kardi, Saffola Gold, Saffola Active and Sweeker.

E) Saffola Atta Mix

F) Saffola Salt Plus

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Research Objectives & Methodology

2.1 Need for the project:

Marico has been the undisputed market leader in the hair oil, anti-lice, starch

and refined oil segment. The brand equity of this FMCG Company is one of the best

in the market. But, over sometime, the company has been facing lots of threat from

other FMCG companies, especially in the post price rise period. As such, the

company has realized that the ultimate key to success is “serviceability”. This is not

only in terms of customer satisfaction, infrastructure enhancements or increasing its

stocks in the retail outlet’s shelves, but rather doing it through proper disciplined

channels. This has in turn necessitated to knowing the present scenario of Marico’s

products in the Guwahati market vis-à-vis its competitors.

In this context, the project was undertaken for gap analysis, competition

mapping, and delivery channel re-structuring and launching promotional activities of

Marico. To achieve perfection in this project, I was imparted an executive training of

2 weeks, during which I had to place 3 products in the present Guwahati market. Also,

I was given specified targets to be achieved in sales in specified period of time.

2.2 Objectives:

The project revolves around the following objectives-

1(a) To install two new products of Marico- Saffola Active and Revive Liquid, as a

part of New Product Launch Process (NPLP).

1(b) To assess the status of penetration level of the company’s products.

1(c) To ensure cent percent penetration of Marico’s products with special reference to

the specified products- Nihar 200ml and 400ml, Parachute Advance Oil, Saffola Gold

and Revive Starch and Liquid.

1(d) To identify any gap in the present market infrastructure of the company, and

suggest measures in increasing its serviceability.

2(a) To select the best possible media mix for placing the advertisement of Nihar hair

oil.

2(b) To prepare a monthly budget for launching the advertisement campaign of Nihar

hair oil.

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3. To map the competitors of Marico, with special reference to the hair oil and refined

oil segment.

4. To study the consumer switching behavior while purchasing hair oils and refined

oils.

5. To study the physical delivery system of the company’s products to the non open

format outlets, from a specified distributor, and suggest measures to improve the same

system.

2.3 Methodology and sampling plan:

For the purpose of this study, data was collected almost entirely from primary

sources. A detailed break up of the methodologies adopted is specified as under:

Objective

No

Time Duration Sampling Element Sampling size

1 (a) 2 weeks (17th

April - 3rd May)

(i) TSO(Territory Sales

Officer) of Marico,

(ii) DSR(Distributor’s Sales

Representative) of Sati

Agency (Distributor),

(iii) Retailers and

wholesalers,

TSO- 1, DSR- 2,

wholesale and

Retail outlets- 305

1 (b) 1 month (25th

April – 24th

May)

(i) Retailers and wholesalers,

(ii) Consumers

Outlets= 305+355=

660, Consumers=

110

1 (c) 1 month (25th

April – 24th

May)

(i) Retailers and wholesalers,

(ii) Distributor’s stocks in the

godowns.

(iii) Stocks in the company

godowns

Outlets= 305+355=

660

1 (d) 1 month (25th (i) All the outlets, both 390 outlets

4

April – 24th

May)

covered and not covered by

Marico under Hiralal Prakash

Chand (distributor).

2(a) 1 week (26th

May – 31st

May)

(i) Ladies of the age group

25-30yrs

(ii) Marketing Departments

of- Radio Ooo La La, Gup

Shup, Big FM, The Assam

Tribune, The Sentinel, Dainik

Asom, Pratidin, Nandini

Ladies= 50 in

number

2 (b) 1 week (26th

May – 31st

May)

(i) The Marketing Head of

Marico based at Kolkata

1

3 1 month (25th

April – 24th

May)

(i)Retailers, (ii)wholesalers,

(iii)Consumers

Outlets= 425

outlets (under HPC

and others selected

randomly)

4 1.5 months (30th

April – 10th

June)

(i) Consumers,

(ii) Retailers

110 consumers, a

general interaction

with retailers

5 1 week (2nd

June – 10th

June)

(i) Delivery personnel,

(ii) Delivery Van Driver,

(iii)Godown keeper,

(iv)Retailers,

(v) MIDAS (the software

used at Marico)

i)Delivery

personnel= 4,

(ii)Delivery Van

Driver= 4,

(iii)Godown

keeper= 3,

(iv)Retailers= 605

The areas covered and the techniques employed for fulfilling each objective is shown

below:

5

Objective

no

Areas

Covered

Techniques Adopted

1 (a) (i)Narengi,

(ii)Forest Gate,

(iii) Satgaon,

(iv) Ganeshguri,

(v)Silpukhuri,

(vi)Chandmari,

(vii) Zoo Road,

(viii) Six Mile,

(ix) Khanapara

Here, I was required to position two new products, Saffola

Active and Revive Liquid, for the first time in the outlets

covered by Marico located at the area mentioned. For this, I

had developed selling stories for both the products, as it was a

totally new venture for the company as well as the retailers and

wholesalers. For support, I was provided with a DSR to assist

me.

The selling story for Saffola Active was that, “in this post

price rise period, the prices of refined oil have touched the

skies, especially for the cholesterol preventing ones. So, to

address the budget as well as health concerns, Marico has come

up with this refined oil, which is equally beneficial for the

heart as well as the pocket, and is affordable mainly for the

large middle class. Infact, the margin is higher than the

competitor brands.”

The selling story of Revive Liquid was that “earlier Revive

Starch powder stiffened only cotton clothes. Now, Marico has

come up with such a stiffener which is equally good on

synthetic clothes as well. It has the same margin as Revive

Starch has. Also, there is no question of competitors at all”.

This way I convinced the retailers to keep those two products.

1(b) All the areas under

the two (out of the

four) distributors

of Marico, as

specified to me.

The distributors

are Sati Agency

and Hiralal

I had adopted an informal interview method with the

retailers, where I conducted interviews with the retailers

keeping as well as not keeping Marico products. From those

keeping the products, I got to know the number of lines they

stocked, a comparative report on the competitors’ penetration

level, and also an insight into the consumer minds. And from

those not keeping Marico products, I came to know of the

penetration of the competitor products.

6

Prakash Chand.

(refer to annex…)

Again, I adopted the questionnaire method to find out the

penetration level of the company products amongst the

consumers, both in terms of satisfaction as well as buying

behavior.

1(c) Do I was given product wise specified sales targets to be

fulfilled for Saffola Active, Revive Liquid, Nihar 200 ml and

400ml, Saffola Gold. I had visited all the outlets under the

specified distributors, to see whether they stock Marico

products or not, especially the specified ones. If any retailer or

wholesaler refused to stock, I enquired the reason and tried to

settle issues if any. In fact, I had built up selling stories for

each of them. This way I boosted up the sales and achieved

cent percent EC (Effective Coverage) of the specified

products. This also formed a part of my brand and product

line wise gap analysis objective.

1(d) All the areas under

the distributor

Hiralal Prakash

Chand, of Marico,

as specified to me.

For infrastructural gap analysis, I visited all the outlets

which do not keep Marico items. I talked with the proprietors

on behalf of the company, enquired about the reasons for not

keeping the products, and tried to settle disputes if any. Again

I visited the newly opened outlets, convinced them to keep

Marico products from the licensed distributor and also made

them place orders. Sources other than the specified distributors.

I also took special care to see that the outlets took the company

items only from the listed distributors and not from other

sources. I also conducted informal interview with the DSRs

about the causes for existence of uncovered outlets. This way I

analyzed the infrastructural gaps, and increased its

serviceability in a more disciplined manner.

2(a) (i)Guwahati,

(ii) Mirza,

(iii) Palasbari,

For finding the best media mix to launch the advertisement of

Nihar hair oil, I visited all the marketing departments of the

leading FM stations and print media, and conducted formal

interview related to sales and coverage (geographical and

viewership /readership) on behalf of the company with those

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(iv) Tezpur,

(v) Nagaon

personnel. Again, the target age group being 25-30 yr old

ladies, and the special target areas being Lower Assam and

Mid Assam, I conducted informal interviews with target group

ladies of Guwahati, Mirza and Palasbari and talked to

certain people of Tezpur and Nagaon over the phone to find

out the most heard radio station and show, the most read

newspaper and magazine, and the most observed north eastern

TV channel. Again, I listened to all the FM shows of all

stations to find out which show at which station had the

maximum number of callers from the target group. I also, used

secondary data for the entire three medium. Thus, all the

statistical reports compiled together, I landed on finding the

perfect media mix for Nihar hair oil advertisement.

2(b) (i) The Regional

Marketing

department of

Marico at Kolkata,

(ii) Advertisement

Heads of all the

Media options.

The concept and the duration of the advertisement was

informed to me by the Regional Marketing department of

Marico based at Kolkata. Based on the concept, I had to

suggest a punch line for the advertisement in Assamese. Again,

I had collected the rate charts from all the probable options.

Also, while conducting formal interviews with the media

personnel (as mentioned above), I had negotiated regarding

certain discount schemes, which they accepted after much

efforts. Thus, I prepared a monthly budget on the best media

mix selected by me.

3 Two (out of the

four) distributors

of Marico, as

specified to me.

The distributors

All the areas under

Sati Agency and

I adopted the simple questionnaire method for the consumers

to find out what the attributes or features in the competitor

brands of Marico which influence their purchase decision of

those brands in the hair care and refined oil segment. This in

turn talk about those attributes of the competitor brands, which

the Marico users wish to have in the Marico products. I

conducted informal interview with the distributor personnel,

8

Hiralal Prakash

Chand.

(Refer to annex…)

to know the distribution system of those competitor brands.

Again, I used informal interview method with the retailers

and wholesalers to know about the margin offered by the

competitor brands, put to them in the local language, later

marked by me in the questionnaire. These techniques were

used for competition mapping.

4 Respondents of

GuwahatiI conducted simple questionnaire method with the

consumers. I also conducted informal interviews with the

certain consumers whom I happened to meet while they were

purchasing hair oil and refined oil. I conducted informal

interviews with the retailers to know about the switching

behavior of refined oil users in the post price rise period. At

the time of my study, the Guwahati depot was running out of

Saffola Kardi stocks. Saffola Kardi and Saffola Gold, both

being yellow oils, I was asked to convince the retailers to

suggest Gold to the loyal kardi users. So, looking at the month

end sale report, I got a fair idea about the switchers within the

brand Marico itself. Thus I studied the consumer switching

behavior.

5 All the areas under

the Distributor

Hiralal Prakash

Chand. (Refer to

annex…)

I sat in 1 of the 2 the delivery vans every morning and went

for delivery along with the operator of the van. There I noted

the number of parties to be delivered, number of cases carried,

routes taken by the van, point of delays and, number and cause

of delivery cancellations. I also took the average records of

past 3 months from the software MIDAS. Again, I visited the

cancelled parties to understand the dispute from their point of

view.

2.4 Explaining the questionnaires:

(a) Retailer’s questionnaire:

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The questionnaire for the retailers was put to them in the local language, which was

filled by me, as per they answered. Q1, Q2, Q3 was put to know whether that outlet

keeps Marico products or not; if it does, then what is the source of purchase, and if

not, then why? Q4 tells us the reasons for which the retailers prefer the wholesaler

over the distributor. Q5, Q6, Q7 was put to compare the stock availability and

retailer margin of the leading brands of Marico in the Coconut Hair Oil segment,

Perfumed Hair Oil segment and Refined Hair Oil segment. This helped in mapping

the competitors of Marico. Q8 was put to find the BPM (Business Per Month) of the

sample outlet. Q9 was put to find the backlog in the delivery process on part of the

distributor. Q10, Q11, Q12, Q13, Q14, Q15 was put to find the deficiency of

Marico in the merchandising as well as promotional aspect. These questions also

portray a comparative study of the rates offered by the other FMCG companies for

displays. From Q16, Q17, Q18, we come to know of the replacement facilities

offered by the distributor to the retailers, and whether they are at par with the actual

rules laid out by the company or not. Q19, Q20 tells about the credit duration

offered by the distributor to the retailers. As per Marico policy, a credit limit of 7 days

is allowed. But to increase business, the distributors even give 1 month credit to very

strong parties. Q21 was put to find out if any schemes are provided by the competitor

of Marico in the hair oil and refined oil segment. This helped in mapping the

competitors. Q22, Q23, Q24 was put to find out the level of satisfaction or

dissatisfaction of the retailers on the distributor. From these questions, I have come to

know of certain practices like dumping, not visiting, non replacement, improper

delivery, etc, being carried on by the distributor, but are not encouraged at all by the

company.

(b) Consumer’s Questionnaire :

The consumers selected for sample study were mostly selected randomly, at the retail

outlets while purchasing. Q1 was put to find the brand awareness, whether they

recognize the Marico products by the company name or not. Q2, Q3 was put to find

the hair oil used, and what factor influences the use of a particular brand. This helped

me to find and predict the switching behavior in the hair oil segment. Q4 and Q5 was

put to find the refined oil used presently in the post price period. Q6 speaks of the

factors influencing the purchase of that particular brand. Q7 was put to probe the

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refined oil brand used prior to price rise, and the as of now status of the “Saffola”

refined oil users before the price rise. From this, not only can I draw the consumer

switching behavior, but also get the variant wise break up of the refined oil Saffola

used. Finally, Q8 was put to find the consumer awareness regarding the newly

manufactured product Revive Liquid. This will tell on the efforts required by the

company on the promotional aspects for Revive Liquid.

2.4 Limitations 0f the study:

The limitations which I had faced while conducting this study are:

The tendency of the respondents to provide correct information.

It was not practical on my part to cover the entire end user population/

consumers due to time and budget constraints. So, sampling method for the

end users/consumers was taken into consideration and as such the study

suffers from limitations which all study based on samples do.

Due to time and language constraints, not all the retailers and wholesalers

filled in my questionnaire, which was in English. So in such cases, I translated

the contents of the questionnaire to them in the vernacular language, and based

on their answers I filled in the questionnaire.

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ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

3.1 Installation of New Products Launched

3.1.1 Introduction:

Once a new product is developed (NPD), effectively post NPD becomes the critical

step to its success. This is also known as commercialization. This step in short

consists of the product launch. The Product Launch Process must address all the steps

necessary to start volume production, plan and execute marketing activities, develop

needed documentation, train sales and support personnel (internal and external), fill

channels, leading to the final installation of the product. As a part of the

commercialization process, I installed two new products- Saffola Active and

Revive Liquid, for two weeks in all outlets in the markets of Narengi, Forest Gate,

Satgaon, Zoo Road, Narikalbasti, Ganeshguri, Silpukhuri, Chandmari, Six Mile

and Khanapara under distributor named the Sati Agency.

3.1.2 Findings after installation of those two new products :

a) Active retail outlets (billing done since 6 months) in all the markets/ beats

mentioned above under the distributor = 239

b) Status of the retail outlets where Saffola active was installed:

no27%

1st week21%

2nd week36%

Both16%

no

1st week

2nd week

Both

12

Interpretation:

The above doughnut diagram says that, out of the 239 active outlets under Sati

Agency, 21% (50 outlets) kept Saffola Active only during the 1st week and not during

the 2nd week. While 36% (87 outlets) kept it only during the 2nd week and not during

the 1st week. Again 16% of the total outlets (38), kept Saffola Active during both the

weeks. But, 27% (64 outlets) did not keep it during both the weeks of my observation.

c) Status of the retail outlets where Revive Liquid was installed

no15%

1st week49%

2nd week15%

Both21%

no

1st week

2nd week

Both

Interpretation:

The above doughnut diagram says that, out of the 239 active outlets under Sati

Agency, 49% (118 outlets) kept Revive Liquid only during the 1st week and not

during the 2nd week. While 15 % (35 outlets) kept it only during the 2nd week and not

during the 1st week. Again 21% of the total outlets (49 outlets), kept Revive Liquid

during both the weeks. But, 15% (37 outlets) did not keep it during both the weeks of

my observation

3.1.3 Case experiences:

a) Many retailers were reluctant to stock Saffola Active because of a few reasons.

MRP of 1 lit Saffola Active was Rs 88. But the margin offered by it was

comparatively lesser than the other low cost refined oils like Fortune, Dhara, etc. In

case of Fortune, Dhara, etc. as the margin was more, so the retailers could charge the

customers with prices lesser than the MRP. And this even helped them to push those

oils. But this couldn’t be done in case of Saffola Active.

13

b) Some retailers said that the promotional activity of Saffola Active is very less.

They feared that unsold stocks might lie in their godowns, which in turn might be

bitten by rats. And as per the company policy, only expired stocks are replaced, and

not the rat bitten ones. So, only when the demand for this oil grows amongst the

customers, they will stock this oil.

c) Some retailers said that the loyal and health conscious customers of other Saffola

variants will continue buying the other variants, which happen to be quite expensive

as compared to Saffola Active. If asked to purchase Saffola Active, they might doubt

the quality. So, the price insensitive ones will continue buying their preferred Saffola.

And the price sensitive ones will definitely buy those refined oils, where they get a

maximum relaxation over the MRP. So, many retailers refused to keep Saffola Active.

d) Few retailers expressed their reluctance to keep Revive liquid because they were

very unsure of how a liquid clothes stiffener would be. Revive starch had no

complaints. At this point of time, if they suggest the liquid and its performance fails,

then no doubt the customers will be offended, but also the stocks will lie unsold.

e) Although many retailers were keen to keep Revive Liquid, yet they didn’t because

of the SKUs (Stock Keeping Unit) of liquid. The Revive Starch was available in

packs of 50 gm, 100 gm and 200 gm. And the most sold SKU was the 50 gm pack.

But Revive Liquid was available only in bottles of 100 ml and 200 ml. As such the

retailers could not offer the liquid as e replacement of the starch. So, inspite of liking

the product, many didn’t keep it.

f) The retailers who kept Revive liquid in the 1st week commented on the 2nd week

that the response to it was positive. Though slowly, yet the stocks were moving.

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3.2 Serviceability of Marico:

3.2.1 Defining Serviceability:

Serviceability means the penetration level of Marico products amongst the

consumers. This can be achieved only by increasing the serviceability amongst the

retailers and wholesalers. Apart from keeping stocks from the distributors, the

retailers also have an option, wherein they can keep stocks from the stockiest or other

sources. But this does not form a part of the serviceability of the company. The

company wants a disciplined route to be followed- Regional Depot to End Users, via

Distributor, wholesaler or retailer .Thus serviceability of Marico is in terms of-

Consumers using Marico products

Outlets keeping those Marico products.

Distributors catering to those outlets.

3.2.2 Aspects to be probed:

Gap Analysis:

Gap analysis is a very useful tool to determine the serviceability status of a

company. There's a straightforward structure to follow. The appropriate step is

to decide upon how the company is going to judge the gap over time. This

judgment can be done by market share, by sale, by profit and so on. And

Marico chooses to judge the gap in terms of its outlet reach via the

distributors. In short, Marico looks at the Infrastructural Gap Analysis

aspect.

Infrastructural Gap Analysis is to assess the penetration level of the company

products amongst all the outlets located within the distributors of the

company.

The next step lies in convincing the retailers who do not keep Marico products

at all, or keep from sources other than the distributor, to procure Marico

products only from the licensed distributors.

15

The graph below shows that the present Infrastructural serviceability of Marico is

2400 outlets. But Marico considers a potential serviceability of 3600 outlets. So, here

lies the infrastructural gap of 1200 potential retail outlets.

3.2.3 Case experiences and findings:

a) The beat / market structure as per the distributor is such that the DSR is left

with no other option but to be on his foot from 9 in the morning to 4 in the

evening. After personally visiting all the beats on foot, and after observing and

talking to the DSRs, I found that certain beats are too large to be covered by 1

person on his foot. For example, one beat starts at Kalapahar and ends at

Lokhra. Same for certain beats like Zoo Tiniali, Narikalbasti upto

Ganeshguri, and Forest Gate to Satgaon, via Narengi, Bonda including all

the by lanes. In such cases, the DSRs do not take the pain of going till the

extreme ends of the beat. Rather they show it as visited but unordered outlet.

This way the distributor ends up loosing the potential outlets.

b) Again in certain beats, although the places are nearby, say in one beat

covering Ulubari and B.K. Kakati Road, or say Rehabari, yet there are so

many lanes and by lanes, and the geographical gap between each outlet is

large that the DSRs do not enter certain by lanes having 1 or 2 shops. They

Where Marico wants to be: 3600 Outlets

The gap

Where marico is at Present: 2400 outlets

TIME

OUTLET S

16

show it as visited but unordered outlet. This way the distributor ends up

loosing the potential outlets.

c) By not fully visiting the beat, as mentioned in a) and b), the DSR never comes

to know of the newly opened outlets, both retail as well as wholesale. This

way gap develops in the company infrastructure.

d) There exists a limitation in terms of increasing the infrastructural

serviceability. If all the gaps of retail outlets are covered by the distributor i.e.,

DSR, then the business of the wholesaler located at that beat, who also

happens to procure goods from the same DSR, might get hampered. The

proprietor might even get offended and stop subscribing to that distributor. So

ultimately, it is a business for the company. So, the best way is to strike a

balance between the two.

e) There are certain credit policies of the company. Like, for a new outlet, the

first payment has to be in cash. The subsequent purchases can be on 1 week

credit, but the amount has to be more than Rs. 500. But certain outlets demand

credit for even purchases worth Rs. 100. This is against the company policy.

In such cases, those outlets cannot be included under the company

infrastructure, and the gap remains.

f) The reporting system of the company is such that the DSR is only given daily

LPD(Lines Per Day) of 100 lines to be placed. In certain beats where there are

lots of wholesalers, say Fatasil or Athgaon, this target may be achieved after

visiting 4-5 wholesalers. So, nothing motivates the DSR to further visit the

outlets, at the cost of his own physical labor. Again, the payment system is

such that no incentive is given for creating new outlets. So, an infrastructural

gap persists.

g) Many of the outlets in many beats get closed down for lunch. So by the time

the DSR reaches, it already gets closed down and he misses out. After this

occuring for several numbers of times, the retailer gets frustrated and starts

procuring from other sources. This way infrastructural gap develops.

h) At times, the DSR shows an existing outlet as a closed/ inactive one, and then

reenters those outlets in his Beat Book with a new name. This was found in

17

many outlets of Bhangagarh, Fatasil and Kalapahar. He does this to escape

working hard.

3.2.4 Analysis on coverage of Marico/ Serviceability:

Marico has four distributors in total. These are-

Sati Agency, Hatigaon

Hiralal Prakash Chand, Athgaon

Badri Prasad, Fancy Bazar

Priyadarshini, Pandu

But due to time constraints, I was given only to survey Sati Agency, Hatigaon and

Hiralal Prakash Chand, Athgaon.

A. Sati Agency, Hatigaon:

Total no of outlets = 1163

Outlets visited = 307 (including the uncovered ones)

a. Marico coverage out of the total outlets under the sample agency.

Covered, 1071, 92%

Not Covered, 92, 8%

Covered

Not Covered

18

Interpretation:

Out of the total 1163 outlets under this distributor, only 1071 outlets (92%) are active

(billing done) as yet. The rest 8% (92 outlets) have turned inactive (no billing done

for the past 6 months) and are no longer covered by this distributor. Thus, Marico

covers only 92% and the rest 8% remains uncovered under this distributor.

b. Status of the uncovered outlets.

Double entry, 18, 20%

Closed, 13, 14%

No Marico, 10, 11%

Wholesaler, 44, 47%

Stockiest, 7, 8%

Double entry

Closed

No Marico

Wholesaler

Stockiest

Interpretation:

From the above pie diagram, it is seen that out of the 92 uncovered outlets, 18 of them

(20%) are entered twice, 13 outlets (14%) have closed down, 10 of them (11%) no

longer keep Marico products, 7 outlets (8%) have started keeping company products

from the stockiest, and the bigger 47% (44 outlets) have started purchasing Marico

products from the wholesalers. Thus, under this distributor, out of 92 uncovered

outlets, 18 are entered twice, 13 outlets have closed down, 10 outlets no longer

keep Marico products, and the rest 51 of them have taken to indirect mode of

purchase of the company products.

19

c. Reasons for turning inactive:

No visit, 30, 50%

Credit issues, 10, 16%

Delivery Issues, 21, 34% No visit

Credit issues

Delivery Issues

Interpretation:

From this pie diagram, we see that out of the 61 existing inactive outlets, 30 of them

(50%) have stopped purchasing from the distributor due to irregular or no visit of the

DSR. Again, due to irregular delivery of ordered goods, 21 outlets (34%) have taken

to indirect mode of purchase. The last 16% (10 outlets) have shifted from direct

(distributor) to indirect (other sources) mode of purchase due to credit disputes.

B. Hiralal Prakash Chand, Athgaon :

Total no of outlets under this distributor = 906

Outlets under this distributor which I visited = 355

20

a. Marico coverage out of the total outlets under the sample agency.

Covered, 824, 91%

Non covered, 82, 9%

Covered

Non covered

Interpretation:

Out of a total of 906 outlets under this distributor, only 824 outlets, i.e., 91% are

active (billing done). The rest 82 outlets, i.e., 9% have turned inactive (no billing

done for the past 6 months) under this distributor. Thus, Marico covers only 91% and

the rest 9% remains uncovered under this distributor.

b. Status of the uncovered outlets

Closed, 15, 18%

No Marico, 10, 12%

Wholesaler, 40, 49%

Stockiest, 17, 21%Closed

No Marico

Wholesaler

Stockiest

21

Interpretation:

From the above shown pie diagram, it is seen that out of the total 82 inactive outlets,

15 (18%) of them have closed down, 10 outlets (12%) have stopped keeping Marico

products, 40 (49%) of them have started picking stocks from the wholesaler, and

17outlets (21%) purchase from the stockiest and ready-to-stock delivery vans. Thus

out of the 82 uncovered outlets under this distributor, 15 have closed down, 10

outlets no longer keep Marico products, while the rest 67 have taken to indirect

mode of purchase of Marico goods.

C. Reasons for turning inactive:

No visit, 32, 48%

Credit issues, 13, 19%

Delivery Issues, 22, 33%

No visit

Credit issues

Delivery Issues

Interpretation:

The doughnut diagram shows that, out of the 67 existing outlets which have

become inactive (not covered by the distributor), 32 outlets (48%) said that the

DSR does not pay regular visit for order taking, for which they have started taking

Marico products from other sources. Again, 22 outlets (33%) said that irregular

delivery system of the ordered goods have forced them to purchase from other

sources, and 13 outlets (19%) said that due to non availability of the desired

credit facilities, they have started purchasing the company goods from other

sources.

22

3.3 Physical Delivery System

3.3.1 Defining Physical Delivery System :

Physical delivery system includes that part of the marketing channel, which physically

delivers the ordered goods to the retailers or wholesalers. Such channels are called

physical delivery channels. Here, the physical delivery channel is the distributor, and

the medium is delivery vans, better known as units. In Marico, each distributor has 3

DSRs. Each DSR is allotted 1 beat each day of the week. As a total he covers 6 beats

per week, repeating it 4 times a month. As per company policy, if a DSR takes order

of certain goods on a previous day, then the next day those goods are to be delivered

by the 2 units. The purpose of such a delivery system is to help in breaking bulk and

creating assortment for the retailers, in turn the end users. Also it is more cost

effective due to specialization.

The above figure shows the entire market channel format of the company. Although

there are other ways of physical delivery, yet the company considers the delivery

through the distributors as a more disciplined way.

23

3.3.2 Analysis and findings:

a) Efficiency of the delivery units:

Delivered, 57

Cancelled, 5

Delivered, 49

Cancelled, 6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Sati HPC

Cancelled

Delivered

Interpretation:

In Sati Agency, the average number of parties billed every day is 62. Out of these 62,

on average only 57 parties are delivered every day. The rest 5 gets cancelled or

remains undelivered. Now in Hiralal Prakash Chand, 55 parties are billed every day

on average. Out of these, 49 parties are delivered and 6 parties remain undelivered or

get cancelled every day.

b) Reasons for poor delivery in HPC:

time issues26%

credit53%

mis uti21%

time issues

credit

mis uti

24

Interpretation:

This pie diagram shows that in 53% of the cancelled bills, the retailers demand

credit for delivery below Rs 500, which is against the company policy. So,

because of this, the delivery boy has to reload the goods after unloading them at

the outlet. Again, in 26% of the cases, the delivery unit reaches the outlet by the

time it gets closed for lunch. Because of this, the goods remain undelivered. But in

21% cases, it is because of misutilization of the delivery units that many parties

remain undelivered.

c) Comparative analysis of delivery related complaints in the two distributors- Sati

Agency and HPC:

No Comp, 251

With Comp, 55

No Comp, 224

With Comp, 131

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Sati HPC

With Comp

No Comp

Interpretation:

In this pyramid diagram we see that, out of the 306 outlets visited under sati

Agency, 55 of them complained of delivery dissatisfactions, either in the form of

dumping of unordered goods or back log. In HPC, out of the 355 outlets visited,

131 of them complained of delivery dissatisfactions, majority of which were of

back log in delivery. And this backlog was up to the extent of 150-200%.

25

d) Utilization of the two delivery units of HPC:

As already mentioned, HPC has two delivery units for Marico. In the graph below,

the “red” symbols mean over utilization of the delivery units, “green” means

proper utilization and “yellow’ means under utilization.

The utilisation of the vehicals in terms of the average numbers of outlets delivered

42

23 21

13

38

8

26

12 11

22

13

37

05

1015202530354045

1 2 3 4 5 6

Numbers of days in a week when delivery is done

Ave

rag

e n

um

ber

s o

f o

utl

ets

del

iver

ed

unit1 unit2

Interpretation:

Here we see that, out of 6 days of functioning a week, Unit 1 is over utilized

thrice, under utilized once and properly utilized only four days. Again, Unit 2 is

never over utilized, under utilized four times and properly utilized only once.

3.3.3 Case experiences :

a) In most of the areas, the beats where the goods are to be delivered, as per the

existing beat plan, are located so far that to reach from one end to the other,

the delivery unit has to cross a lot of traffic jam and other constraints. By the

time he reaches, his time already comes to end, and many goods return

undelivered to the distributor point.

b) In a few cases, it is seen that by the time the delivery van reaches the outlet,

the proprietor already leaves the outlet for lunch. In such cases, if the delivery

26

personnel don’t know the other person’s face, and then even if the other party

is willing to pay, they don’t deliver the goods.

c) Also, the delivery people have fixed lunch time of their own. So even if the

outlets in a particular area get closed at certain time, the delivery personnel

will never be flexible on the lunch hours, even though the orders get cancelled.

d) Again, there are certain disciplinary issues, like, the driver of the unit never

takes short cut routes, and always drags his delivering time up to 7 in the

evening.

e) At times the retailer claims that the goods delivered to him are more than what

had been ordered (DSR places more orders in his Beat book). So, some

retailers get frustrated and cancel the entire order. While others return the

unordered ones. And this particular settlement of bills takes much time. As a

result, the delivery personnel end up losing time.

f) In the distributor Hiralal Prakash Chand, there is a 150 – 200% back log in the

delivery process. Say, the order placed on Monday is to be delivered on the

next working day, i.e., Tuesday. But here, it is delivered on Thursday.

27

3.4 Competition Mapping:

3.4.1 Defining Competition Mapping :

Any study conducted concerning the attitudes of customers, comparisons of products

or market evaluation, or any combination of marketing factors, of ones company

products with that of its competitors, where the results are charted on a graph to show

a correspondence amongst the variables, is known as Competition Mapping.

3.4.2 Identifying the competitors:

Before mapping the competitors of Marico, it is to be remembered that “Brand

awareness of the company is very low, but brand equity is very good.” Brand

equity is formed by a number of factors like brand awareness, consumer perception,

proprietary assets like logo, punch line and lot of other factors. In Marico, the very

low brand awareness doesn’t contribute to the high brand equity.

I) Hair Oil Segment :

In the hair oil segment, the mother brand in the coconut hair oil segment is the

Parachute Coconut oil. Its leading competitors are Vatika coconut oil and Shalimar.

Again, in the perfumed hair oil segment, the leading brand of Marico is Nihar Hair

Oil, and the leading perfumed oil of other companies are Bajaj almond Drops and

Keo Karpin

(i) A detailed qualitative analysis of the competitors of Parachute with the leading

competitor brands is as shown below ( Coconut Hair Oil ) :

28

(a) Competitors of Parachute are Vatika and Shalimar.

Shalimar hair oil

Brands: Parachute Shalimar Vatika

Vvvv Manufactured

byby:

Marico ltd Shalimar chemical

works ltd

Dabur ltd

Contents: If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

Coconut Y Y Y

Henna N N Y

Almonds N N N

Fragrances Y Y Y

Amla,Ritha etc N N Y

Form: If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

Plastic Bottle Y Y Y

Jar Y Y N

29

Tin Y Y N

Size and MRP: If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

50 ml Y; Rs. 10 Y; Rs.10.50 Y; Rs.8.50

100 ml Y; Rs.19 Y; Rs.20 Y; Rs.15

150 ml N N Y; Rs. 30

200 ml Plastic

bottle

Y; Rs.35 Y; Rs.32 Rs 50

200 ml Easy Jar Y; Rs 38 N N

200 ml Tin Y; Rs 40 Y; Rs 42 N

300 ml N N Y; Rs 76

400ml N Rs 58 N

500ml Y; Rs. 84 Y; Rs.98 Rs 82

1lit Y; Rs.165 N N

2 ltrs Y; Rs.335 N N

Consumer offer:

Not Frequent Not Frequent Frequent

Advertisement:Frequent; in TV

(National

Less Frequent; in

TV (National

Very Frequent; in

TV (National

30

Channels) and

Magazine

Channels) Channels) and

magazine

Margin to retailers:

High, 10 % High, 10 % Moderate, 8%

Coverage by

company:

Expiry Stocks Covered Covered Covered

Leakage and

Damage

Covered Covered Covered

Coverage:

Dabur Hail oil

Segment.

Consumer reach 1.9 million 1.2 million 2.2 million

Retailer reach 1.6 million 1.4 million 2.5 million

Super distributor 153 97 220+

Direct distributor 882 570 1100

Small stockiest 2393 1900+ 2600

Van market 4523 3500+ 5200

At Guwahati:

Distributor 4 2 3

DSR in each

Distributor

4 2 2

Van in each

distributor

2 2 2

Stock Out Problem 1st 2nd 3rd

31

(Rank out of three)

The competitive edge of Parachute over the other two competitors are:

Very high brand awareness

Very good brand image/ consumer perception.

The easy jar of Parachute which can be used to take out solidified oil during

winters, without heating the container.

(b) Brand availability of the Coconut Hair Oil Segment:

Parachute42%

Shalimar19%

Vatika30%

others9%

Parachute

Shalimar

Vatika

others

Interpretation:

Out of the 140 outlets surveyed, in the coconut hair oil segment, 42% of the stocks are

covered by Parachute, 30% by Vatika, 19% by Shalimar and 9% by other local brands

like Pancharatna. Thus, Marico covers about 40% of the total Coconut Hair Oil

Segment.

(c) Stock Keeping Unit ( SKU) preferred :

Most retailers said that during the summer season, the highest sold SKU of coconut

oil segment was 50 ml and 100 ml. But during winters, people not only preferred 200

ml or 500 ml, but also demanded easy to open jars, however expensive it might be.

(i) A detailed qualitative analysis of the competitors of Nihar with the

leading competitor brands is as shown below ( Perfumed Hair Oil ) :

32

Attack on Nihar

Fig: This is a pictorial depiction of Nihar Hair Oil being attacked by its

competitors Bajaj Almond Drops and Keo Karpin.

Brands: Nihar Bajaj almonds Keo karpin

Vvvv Manufactured Marico ltd Bajaj consumer

care ltd

Dabur ltd

Contents: If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then “N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

Coconut Y N N

33

Henna N N N

Almonds N Y N

Fragrances Y (Both Rose and

Jasmine)

Y Y

Amla, Ritha, etc Y N N

Vitamin E N Y N

Colour Colourless GOLDEN

(Same as

Almond colour)

Greenish

Form: If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then “N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

Bottle Y; Plastic Y; Glass Y; Glass

Jar N N N

Tin N N N

Size and MRP: If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then “N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

If contains, then “Y”

If don’t contain, then

“N”

50 ml Rs 12 Rs 20 Rs 15

100 ml Rs. 25 nil Rs 28

150 ml nil Rs 42 Nil

200 ml Rs. 41 Nil Rs. 50

300ml Nil Rs 80 Nil

400ml Rs 41 Nil Nil

500ml Nil Nil NIl

1lit Nil Nil Nil

Consumer offer:

Recently given. But

not frequent.

Not frequent Not frequent

Advertisement: Currently on

National TV

On TV,

magazine, bill

Very less.

Nowadays in TV.

34

Channels and other

magazines. But

very soon, will be

launched on Ooo

La La, NE TV and

Nandini magazine.

boards. Earlier used to be

placed on local

newspapers as

well.

Margin to retailers: 11.25% 10% 8%

Coverage by

company:

Expired stocks and

Leakage and

damage

Expired stocks

and Leakage

and damage

Expired stocks

and Leakage and

damage

Coverage:

Consumer reach 1.6 million 1.2 million

2.2 million

Retailer reach 1.9 million 1.5 million 2.5 million+

Super distributor 153 97 220+

Direct Distributor 882 570 1100

Small Stockiest 2393 1900+ 2600

Van Market 4523 3500+

5200

At Guwahati:

Distributor 4 2 3

DSR in each

Distributor

4 2 2

Van in each 2 2 2

35

distributor

Stock out Problem

(Rank out of the

three competitors)

3rd 1st 2nd

To be the market leader in the perfumed hair oil segment, Marico has to come up with

a new variant of Nihar with Almond content, or develop a new oil with Almond

contents.

(b) Brand availability of the Perfumed Hair Oil Segment:

Nihar 22%

Bajaj 32%KK 16%

Others 30%

Nihar

Bajaj

KK

Others

Interpretation:

Out of the 140 outlets surveyed, 32% of the total stocks in the Perfumed Oil segment

comprised of Bajaj almond drops, 22% was formed by Nihar Hair Oil, 16% was

formed by Keo Karpin and 30% was formed by other hair oils like Eleen, Dabur

Amla, Dabur Special, Hair n Care (Marico product), etc. Thus, Marico covers about

25% of the total perfumed Hair Oil segment.

A. Refined Oil Segment:

36

In the refined oil segment, the leader brand is the Saffola. Its leading competitors are

Fortune, Sundrop and Dhara. Again, in this particular segment itself, each refined oil

brand has got a number of variants.

(i) A detailed qualitative analysis of the competitors of Saffola with the leading

competitor brands is as shown below ( Refined Oil )

Attack

Brands

Saffola Fortune Dhara Sun drop

Manufactured by: Marico India

Ltd.

Adani

Wilmar Ltd.

Dhara

Vegetable oil

and Food

Corporation

Ltd

Variants: (i) Active

(ii) Korn and

Kardi

(iii) Gold

(iv) Kardi

(i) Soyabean

oil

(ii) Sunflower

oil

(i) Vegetable

oil

(ii) Soyabean

oil (fit n fine)

(iii) Sunflower

oil

(i) Lite oil

(ii) Heart oil

(iii) Super

Lite oil

Form and size: (i) 1 ltr pouch

(ii) 1 ltr jerry

(i) 500 ml

pouch

(i) 1 ltr pouch

(ii) 5 ltr jerry

(i) 1 ltr

pouch

37

can

(iii) 5 Ltr

jerry can

(iv) 15 ltr tin

(ii) 1 ltr

pouch

(iii) 1 ltr pet

bottle

(iv) 5 ltr jerry

can

can (ii) 1 ltr pet

bottle

(iii) 5 ltr

jerry can

Customer

awareness:

Quite high,

both as a high

range product

as well as a

very healthy

oil

(ingredients)

Very high as

a low cost oil

High as a low

cost oil

High as a

sunflower oil

Product

availability:

In limited

grocery

shops; limited

stocks of

limited

variants

In almost all

grocery

shops; stocks

not limited

In almost all

grocery shops;

stocks not

limited

In limited

grocery

shops; stocks

limited

MRP

500ml NIL Rs 45 Rs 40 NIL

1 ltr (i) Rs 99

(Active) (ii)Rs

110(korn and

kardi) (iii)Rs

120 (gold)

(iv)Rs 140

(kardi)

(i) Rs

90(Soyabean)

(ii)Rs 95

(sunflower)

(i) Rs 70 (veg

oil) (ii)Rs 78

(Soyabean)

(iii) Rs 84

(sunflower)

(i) Rs 110

(lite)

(ii)Rs115

(Super lite)

(iii)Rs120

(heart)

2 ltr Rs. 240, Rs

280

Nil Nil Nil

5 ltr Rs. 605, Rs. Rs. 435 Rs. 400 Rs. 560

38

585

15 ltr Rs. 2055 Nil Nil Nil

Customer’s

purchase

price:

Same as the

printed price

For 1 ltr: Rs

25 to Rs 30

less than the

MRP.

For 5 ltrs: Rs

40 to Rs 50

less than the

MRP

For 1 ltr: Rs

10 to 15 less

than the MRP.

For 5 ltrs: Rs

20 to Rs 30

less than the

MRP

Same as the

printed

price. But at

times, Rs 5

or so less

than the

MRP

Retailer’s

margin:

Rs 6/lit

(along with a

discount of

0.75% for

leakage and

damage)

15% 10% Rs 8/lit

Main advantage

over the

competitors :

Quality Price Price Price and

quality

Coverage:

Consumer

reach

1.6 million 1.2 million 1.4 million 1.7 million

Retailer reach 1.9 million 1 million 1.2 million 1.4 million

Super

distributor

153 110 124 160

Direct

distributor

882 623 723 900

39

Small stockiest 2393 1320 1700 2400

Van market 4523 2300 2690 4600

In Guwahati:

Distributor 4 3 4 4

DSR in each

Distributor

4 4 4 4

Van in each

distributor

2 2 3 3

Advertisement: Very frequent

on TV

Not frequent Moderate Frequent

Replacement by

company

(i) Expired

stocks

(ii) Leakage

and damage

(i) Expired

stocks

(ii) Leakage

and damage

(iii) Rat bitten

stocks

(i) Expired

stocks

(ii) Leakage

and damage

(iii) Rat bitten

stocks

(i) Expired

stocks

(ii) Leakage

and damage

Although the best refined oil in the market is Saffola, yet the competitive edge of

Fortune refined oil over Saffola is the low or the discounted price at which the retailer

sells.

(a) Brand availability of the refined oil segment:

40

Saffola19%

Fortune32%

Dhara28%

Sundrop8%

Others13%

Saffola

Fortune

Dhara

Sundrop

Others

Interpretation:

In the 140 outlets visited, 19% of the total stocks in the refined Oil segment

comprised of Saffola, 28% was formed by Dhara, 32% was formed by Fortune, 8%

was formed Sundrop and the rest 13% was formed by other refined oil brands like

Mahakosh, Ambuja, etc.

(b) Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) preferred:

The most sold SKU of refined oils according to the retailers was 1 lit. However,

certain economically backward people preferred the 500 ml and 200 ml pouches of

refined oils available for low cost refined oils like Fortune and Dhara.

3.4.3 Display related findings:

a) There are very less number of displays of Marico products, in comparison to

that of the competitor brands.

b) Marico offers the highest display rates than the other leading FMCG

companies like Unilever, ITC, Palmolive, Dabur, etc. Yet, because of the non

consistency and irregularity in updating the displays, the retailers are not much

keen to put up Marico displays.

c) Again in many outlets, the retailers are seen keeping other company products

in Marico display shelves.

41

d) After setting the displays, no merchandising in-charge or personnel visits the

outlets to check the condition of the displays.

e) Many retailers under both Sati Agency and Hiralal Prakash Chand,

complained of having ordered the displays, but didn’t receive them.

3.5 Media Mix

3.5.1 Defining Media Mix :

Media mix here means a combination of all the feasible options from the various

modes of advertising media available- print media (newspaper and magazines),

TV (the NER based channels) and Radio (FM stations), for running the advertisement

of Nihar hair oil. This feasibility was determined on the basis of the highest reach

amongst the target group of 25-30 year old ladies.

3.5.2 Criteria for selection of the Media Mix:

1. Geographical / on air coverage.

2. Target group penetration (25-30 year old ladies).

3. Price / rates.

3.5.3 Analysis and findings:

A. Radio:

A detailed analysis of the leading FM stations in the North East is shown in a tabular

format below:

Note: Here, the newly launched FM station S FM is not taken into consideration as it

is a newly launched station, and the coverage and brand equity is comparatively

lower than the other FM players.

a. Qualitative Analysis:

42

Radio Stations Big F.M Radio 0oo la la Gup-Shup

Target Group Urban Youth All section

( urban + rural )

Diverse age group.

On Air coverage 60 – 80 km

( radius)

80 km ( radius ) 200 km ( radius )

Geographical

coverage:::::::

Up to Bongaigoan

and certain shadow

areas like

Chaygoan and

Goalpara

Up to Bongaigoan;. Areas like Nalbari,

Udalguri

Lower Assam

Upper Assam Up to Roha Up to Nagoan and

Darrang as shadow

area.

Up to Darrang and

Tez pur as shadow

area.

Mid Assam All places All places and

Meghalaya

All places and

covers Ribhoi dist.

Specialty - - Only 24 hr channel

in guwahati.

Percentage of

Target Group

callers out of the

total callers

30% 60% 25%

No of women

based shows per

week

7 14 7

b. Quantitative Analysis:

43

The on air coverage, geographical coverage, target group callers and no of women

based shows per week can be represented by the following line diagram:

Here, the qualitative data on the three parameters are rated on a scale of 10 and then

are plotted on the graph.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Big FM Ooo La La Gup Shup

On air coverage Geographical Coverage

Target group composition Women based shows

Interpretation:

In the above line diagram, Big FM stands the lowest scorer in three aspects –

geographical coverage, on air coverage and women based shows. Gup Shup scores

highest in the aspects of geographical coverage and on air coverage, while scores the

lowest in target group composition and women based shows. Again, Ooo La La

scores the highest in target group composition and women based shows, while

scores average in the aspects of geographical coverage and on air coverage. Thus

Radio Ooo La La is the best option. Also, quantitatively Big FM and Gup Shup score

a total of 14 and 21 out of 40. But Ooo La La scores 22 out of 40. Thus the best two

radio options are Radio Ooo La La and Gup Shup. But, Radio Ooo La La

undoubtedly remains the best mode option for radio.

b. Mother tongue wise break up of callers of all FM stations:

44

Assamese50%

Bengali25%

Hindi15%

Boro5%

Others5%

Assamese

Bengali

Hindi

Boro

Others

Interpretation:

In all the FM stations, 50% of the callers are Assamese, 25% are Bengali, 15% have

Hindi as their mother tongue, 5% are Boro and the rest 5% is formed by people of

other mother tongue. As such, people with Assamese mother tongue are the highest

number of callers to the FM stations. So, it is very likely that the number of

listeners will match to this result too.

B. Television:

A detailed qualitative analysis of the leading TV channels of the NER, is shown

below:

T.V. Channel NE TV NE Hifi NE Bangla DD

Distribution Cable

Distributed

Cable

Distributed

Cable

Distributed

State owned.

Show Content News, Live

shows and

soaps

Entertainment News, Serial,

entertainment.

Discussion and

Documentary

mainly.

Viewer ship

(up to 25

years)Low Moderate Very Low Very Low

(25yrs – 40yrs Low Moderate Moderate Low

45

)

(40yrs –

above)

Moderate Low Moderate Moderate

Rural ( *all

rural areas do

not have cable

coverage)

Low Low Popular in the

Bengali

dominated area

like( Rangia,

Silchar)

Low

Urban High Low Moderate Very low

Rate ( in Rs.) 1500/10 sec

Tax extra

1500/10 sec

Tax extra

- -

C. Print Media:

(i) A detailed analysis of the leading newspapers is shown in a tabular format below:

Note: Here, the three newspaper mentioned below are short listed for the study on the

basis of their popularity amongst the public.

a. Qualitative Analysis:

Newspapers The Assam

Tribune

Asomiya Pratidin The Sentinel

Circulation per

month( copies )

2,50,000 2,00,000 58,000

Urban coverage High High Moderate

Rural coverage Moderate Very High Very Low

46

Popularity

Reader group

(Till 25 years)

High Moderate Moderate

Reader group

( 25 years-50 years

)

High High Low

Reader group

( Above 50 years )

High Very High Low

Rates in Rs. per

sq. cm ( all

editions )

180 225 500

Popularity

amongst the

Target Group

Very High Moderate Low to Moderate

Language English Assamese English

Thus, the quantitative analysis proves that the best two options amongst the

newspaper are The Assam Tribune and Asomiya Pratidin. While, undisputedly

The Assam Tribune stands as the best player amongst the newspapers to launch

the advertisement of Nihar Hair oil.

b. Quantitative Analysis:

47

Interpretation:

The above bar diagram clearly shows a comparative study on the circulation of the

three newspapers. Clearly, the circulation of The Assam Tribune is 66.66% more

than that of Asomiya Pratidin and is 330% more than that of The Sentinel. Thus,

The Assam Tribune has the best reach amongst the population, especially the

Target group.

(ii) A very popular mode of advertising medium is monthly ladies’ magazine. And

the most popular magazine is Nandini.

a. Qualitative Analysis on Nandini .

Subject Monthly women magazine

Coverage Entire Assam

Language Assamese

Contents Social Issues, Health Issues, Latest happening , recipes, Beauty and

fashion tips, etc

Popularity Very high Amongst all Age Group of Ladies

Rates (in Rs.) Back cover: 50,000

Back cover inside:40,000

Front Cover inside:40,000

Inside Full page:30,000

Inside half page:20,000

Strip:12,000

48

3.5.4 ANALYSIS:

Pros and cons of Print Media:

Pros:

The presence of Monthly Women Magazine called “Nandini”.

Presence of visual aid.

Quite dearer for the readers to procure.

The brand equity of the daily contributes to building the equity of the product.

It would have been a better option had the target group been educated elite

class.

Cons:

Penetration level is very limited to only a few sections of the society.

The rates are too high in comparison to the other modes of advertisement.

The target group (25-30 yr old ladies) is not much influenced by print media

advertisements in comparison to the others.

Very little scope for feedback and no scope for instant feedback.

Pros and cons of Electronic(TV) Media:

Pros:

o Best influencer of people.

o Retention is always better here.

o Presence of audio as well as visual aid, along with drama and

dialogues.

Cons:

49

o The regional/local channels available here are viewed by only a

meager amount of the target group.

o Most of the channels are cable distributed channels, except one. So,

cent percent penetration cannot be ensured.

o The state owned channel has almost nil percent of the target group as

its viewers.

o Also, there is no uniformity in the channel viewership. So placing

advertisement in all the channels would be very expensive.

o Prone to uncontrollable factors like power failure, TV out of order, etc.

o No scope of feedback from the viewers.

Pros and cons of Radio:

Pros:

The FM channels are a new sensation nowadays.

The ladies staying in the hostel (20-30 yrs), are addicted to the FM radio,

as they do not have access to TV, and not much attached to newspaper.

Very less expensive or totally free access for the listeners, other than the

radio set or the mobile handset.

Vast coverage, especially in the area of Lower Assam, Mid Assam and

parts of Upper Assam.

Unlike other media, no transport and carriage related problems occur.

Can be readily accessed by mobile phones even.

The advertising rates are fine for the company, with lots of discounts.

Suitable for both literate as well as illiterate people.

Less number of competitor players in the FM segment, so the probability

of gaining listeners of each channel is much more here.

Facility for instant feedback from the listeners is available.

50

Cons:

Visual aid is absent.

Silchar, which is a good prospect for high sales of Nihar is not covered

by any FM station.

Thus, it is seen that Radio undoubtedly is a better option as an advertising media,

in view of the criterions - Target group- 25-30 yr old ladies, Cost and rates,

Geographical and on air coverage, People exposed to the advertising media.

Again, in the Radio Media, the best two options can be found out from the

following analysis:

Merits of Ooo La La over Big 92.7 FM :

Ooo La La is a contemporary 24 hr channel unlike Big 92.7 FM.

Ooo La La targets all the sections of the population, along with all the signal

coverage areas. Whereas, Big 92.7 FM targets only the urban youth of

Guwahati.

Ooo La La has more number of listeners from the target group.

The on air signal coverage for Ooo La La is more than 80 kms, wheras for Big

92.7 FM it is only 60-80 kms on air.

The advertisement rates for Ooo La La is cheaper than Big 92.7 FM.

Merits of Gup-Shup 94.3 FM. over Big 92.7 FM :

Gup-Shup has an on air signal coverage upto 200-220 kms, whereas for Big

92.7 FM it is only 60-80 kms on air.

Gup-Shup is the only 24 hr channel, unlike Big 92.7 FM.

In Gup-Shup, equal importance is given to shows and songs in various

languages like Assamese, English, Bengali, etc. But in Big 92.7 FM, less

importance is given to vernacular languages.

Gup-Shup is quite popular in target areas like Mid Assam, Lower Assam and

parts of Upper Assam. But at the same time, it is less popular in Guwahati. Big

51

92.7 FM is more popular than Gup Shup in Guwahati, but less popular in the

other target areas.

The advertisement rates for Gup Shup is much cheaper than Big 92.7 FM

3.5.5 Conclusion on Media Mix selection:

From the above displayed qualitative and quantitative analysis, the best media mix

selected on the basis of the above mentioned criteria is -

Radio Print TV

Radio Ooo La La

and Gup Shup

Nandini (magazine) NE TV

3.5.6 Aspects to be probed for monthly Budget preparation for Media

Mix:

The particular mode of advertisement media, which is most exposed to the

target group.

The location or programme or time slots of the selected media which attracts

the target group the most.

Thus, the best media mix is-

Radio: Ooo La La and Gup Shup

TV: NE TV

Newspaper: The Assam Tribune

Magazine: Nandini

These aspects have already been probed in the above analysis. Based on those

findings, certain analyses are as follows:

1. In the magazine Nandini, the best location to place the advertisemant of Nihar

is the “Back Inside Cover” location. It is because, on the other side of that

page, the magazine features an article called “Face of the month”, which every

lady goes through. So there is every possibility that any lady going through

that article, will definitely see and experience the advertisement of Nihar.

52

2. In radio media, the 7 women based shows of Ooo La La would be the best

option. Although the number of women based shows in Big FM is double than

that of the other two, yet Big FM isn’t the best option because Big FM targets

only the urban youth. But the target group of the Nihar doesn’t comprise of

urban youth solely.

3. Again, although the geographical and on air coverage of Gup Shup is more

than that of Ooo La La, but since the number of target group callers are more

in Ooo La La than Gup Shup, so the number of listeners in Ooo La La is

assumed to be more in Ooo La La than Gup Shup. Thus, Ooo La La is the best

option.

4. In TV, out of all the regional channels, the best is the NE TV. And the best

programme to place the advertisement would be the NE news. Although there

exists other regional entertainment channels, yet it is the best option. It is

because, other regional entertainment channels are cable based channels. So

for entertainment, the ladies would prefer to watch other national

entertainment channels rather than the NE HiFi or NE Bangla or NE TV even.

Also the programmes of DD itself are very unattractive to the target group

(ladies of 25-30 years of age).

3.6 Consumer Switching Behavior

3.6.1 Defining consumer switching behavior:

Those consumers which are not loyal or do not stick to one particular brand, and shift

from one brand to another on the basis of the offerings they get are known as

switchers. Again, there might be many variants of a particular brand. Those

customers, who are loyal to one brand, but keep on shifting from one variant to the

other, are called intra brand switchers.

3.6.2 Aspects to be probed while studying the consumer switching

behavior in the hair oil and refined oil

1. Aspects which a consumer considers while buying hair oil, and refined oil.

53

2. Any change in the buying behavior of refined oils in the post price period.

3.6.3 Analysis and findings:

A. Hair oil segment:

a) The most used hair oil

Para Co29%

Nihar12%

Vatika17%

KK3%

shalimar5%

Baj Alm20%

Para Jas14%

Para Co

Nihar

Vatika

KK

shalimar

Baj Alm

Para Jas

Interpretation:

Out of the 130 sample respondents, 29% use Parachute Coconut oil, 14% use

Parachute Jasmine Oil, 12% use Nihar, 17% use Vatika, 20% use Bajaj almond hair

oil, 5% use Shalimar and 3 % use Keo Karpin. This shows that Marico occupies 55%

of the hair oil segment (Parachute Coconut oil, Parachute Jasmine Oil and Nihar).

b) Factors influencing the purchase decision of the preferred hair oil:

54

Price2%

Availability5%

Brand name29%

Prev Exp17%

Fragrance9%

Contents7%

Seasonal31%

Price

Availability

Brand name

Prev Exp

Fragrance

Contents

Seasonal

Interpretation :

Out of the 130 respondents, 29% bought their preferred hair oil because of the brand

name, 17% bought because of their previous experiences with that or other brands.

5% said availability, 9% said fragrance, 7% said contents and only 2% said that they

bought their preferred hair oil brand owing to the price factor. But, 31 % of the total

respondents said that they are using the current preferred because they want

non sticky and light oils during the summers. This 31% of the respondents also

expressed their willingness to change their hair oil brands once winter arrives-

switchers. (The previous pie diagram showed that 49% respondents were using

perfumed hair oil).

B. Refined Oil Segment:

a) Factors considered while purchasing refined oil:

55

Brand Name, 14%

Price, 59%

Ingredients, 27%

Brand Name

Price

Ingredients

Interpretation:

Out of 130 respondents, 59% named price to be the determining factor while selecting

a refined oil brand while purchase. Again, 27% said ingredients, and 14% said that

they consider the brand name while purchasing refined oil.

b) The most used Refined Oil brand now ( post price rise ) :

No7%

Fortune24%

Dhara20%

Saffola18%

Sweeker8%

others11%

Sundrop12%

No

Fortune

Dhara

Saffola

Sweeker

others

Sundrop

Interpretation:

Refined oil Brand User Percentage out of the total 130 respondents

56

Fortune 24%

Sweeker 8%

Sundrop 12%

Saffola 18% (24)

Dhara 20%

Others, like Mahakosh,

Gemini, Nature Fresh, etc

11%

Non users 7%

.

c) Refined oil used most prior to the price rise :

No7%

Fortune18%

Dhara15%

Saffola28%

Sweeker18%

others5%

Sundrop9%

No

Fortune

Dhara

Saffola

Sweeker

others

Sundrop

Interpretation:

57

Refined oil Brand User Percentage out of the total 130 respondents

Fortune 18%

Sweeker 18%

Sundrop 9%

Saffola 28% (35)

Dhara 15%

Others, like Mahakosh,

Gemini, Nature Fresh, etc

5%

Non users 7%

d) As of now status of the entire pre price rise Saffola users:

58

Interpretation:

Out of the entire population of 35 pre price rise Saffola users, after the price rise

27% have shifted to other brands- 15% to Fortune and 12% to Sundrop. Also,

6% has switched to Sweeker, which is also a product of Marico. The rest 67% (24

respondents, as shown in Table b ) have remained loyal to brand Saffola, although

variant switching has occurred.

e) Status of variants of the entire post price rise Saffola users:

Gold26%

Kardi22%

Tasty Blend39%

Active13%

Gold

Kardi

Tasty Blend

Active

Interpretation:

Of the entire post price rise Saffola users, 39% use Saffola Tasty Blend, 22% use

Saffola Kardi, 26% use Saffola Gold and only 13% use Saffola Active. This proves

that Saffola users are more driven by the ingredients and health factor rather than

the price factor. Had price been the prime factor, the percentage users of Active

would have been more than that of Kardi, the price per ltr of Kardi being Rs 51

more than that of Active.

3.6.4 Retailer’s Input:

a) Most of the retailers said that for costly refined oils, they cannot apply push

strategy to the consumers. Or else, they might falsely interpret the retailers as getting

59

more margins by that particular oil. So, they give only the asked brand. Again, in the

present shortage of Saffola Kardi oil in the Marico Guwahati depot, the retailers said

that they won’t suggest Gold to the customers asking for Kardi oil. Only when asked

by the customer, they would say that Gold is yellow oil just like the Kardi. Infact, the

retailers preferred to apply push strategy for the low cost refined oils stocked in their

outlets, rather than pushing Saffola.

b) Some retailers said that the customer mentality is such that, however expensive

particular refined oil be, if they get certain discounts on the MRP, then they feel

having the value realized. So, certain retailers asked to raise the MRP by certain

percent also the retailer margins by that percent, which would in turn enable the

retailers to offer certain discounts to the customers.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

4.1 Recommendations:

From the entire project done by me, I have offered certain recommendations to the

company. Of all the suggested recommendations, majority of them have been

taken up as well as implemented by the company.

These recommendations can be viewed from the “4 P” point of view. These “4 P”s

are:

Product

Price

60

Place

Promotion

1. PRODUCT:

From the above given analysis and findings, the certain recommendations from the

product point of view are:

(i) The refined oils should be made available in pouches of 500 ml. This is

most required for the newly launched Saffola Active oil, whose MRP is Rs. 99 per

lit. So, this will help compete in the price aspect with Fortune refined oil.

(ii) The Revive Starch best works for cotton clothes. So, there was a gap in the

synthetic clothes stiffener. But the newly launched Revive Liquid works best for

the synthetic clothes also, in addition to the cotton ones. But nowhere in the

product is it mentioned or written about it. So, the aesthetics of the product

should be modified to highlight the core competency of Revive Liquid.

(iii) The highest sold SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) of Revive starch is 50 gm. So,

instead of just manufacturing Revive Liquid of 100 ml and 200 ml, the

product should also be made available in mini bottles of 50 ml. Infact, many

customers have also demanded for it.

(iv) Earlier Marico used to market edibles like Sil Jam, Sil Sauce and Top Ramen

instant noodles. But now those are no longer marketed by the company. Yet, the

retailers demand heavily for those products, especially the instant noodles. Thus,

there is a wide gap in the instant noodles segment, and the company should

use its’ previous goodwill and venture on its own in this part of edibles

segment.

(v) The outer appearance and aesthetics of the Parachute Advanced gel and

Parachute Wet Looks gel should be modified. The Wet Looks gel gives a stronger

hold of hair than the other. But, it is very difficult for the consumer as well as the

retailer to distinguish between the functions offered by the each of the two. Also

the prices of Wet Looks gel being higher than the other, people get confused by it.

So, Marico should redesign the outer appearance of the tubes and jars of the

hair gels, clearly mentioning the function of each of them.

61

(vi) The Guwahati depot of Marico faces frequent stock out of all the products

other than the Hair Oil segment. This frustrates the retailers as well as the

consumers. Also, it hampers the sales. The best example is the Saffola Atta Mix.

After heavy promotional activities, by the time the demand was created, the

Guwahati depot already started facing stock out problems. So, the supply chain

of the products of Marico to the NER (Guwahati) Depot from the Buffer

Depot of Kolkata, should be strictly vigiled.

(vii) The DSRs (Distributor’s Sales Representatives) should be well trained

about the contents, functions and competitive advantages of the company

products over its’ competitors. They should even be trained to cook up selling

stories of their own. This will be of extreme use in the refined oil segment and the

newly launched products.

(viii) The replaceable goods should be replaced immediately. After receiving the

complaint, the next time when the delivery unit goes to that beat, the damaged

goods should be replaced.

2. PRICE:

From the above given analysis and findings, the certain recommendations from the

price point of view are:

(i) The price of Saffola refined oils should be reduced by certain percentage.

(ii) The consumer psychology is such that however high the prices of a particular

product be, if the retailer gives the consumer a certain percentage of discounts on

the MRP, then the consumer feels worth the money spent. This behavior can be

taken advantage of by the company, in the refined oil segment. The company can

raise the MRP of the refined oils, as well as raise the retailer margin, so that

the retailers can offer certain discounts to the consumers too. This is a win-

win situation for all.

62

3. PLACE:

From the above given analysis and findings, certain recommendations from the place

point of view are:

(i) The beats or the markets in many cases are too large to be covered by the DSR

on foot. So, to avoid skipping of any outlet, the DSRs should be given cycles to

be used in those beats which are to be covered on foot, and are spread far apart.

(ii) The beat restructuring should be done keeping in view the geographical

layout, the average parties billed daily, carrying capacity of the delivery units and

lunch hours of the retailers. This has been worked out and suggested by me,

which was at once implemented by the company from the very next day.

(iii) DSRs should be given a monthly infrastructure expansion target. This

would carry certain incentives on an annual as well as basis. The monthly

tolerance level of the company for infrastructure expansion by the DSR

should be low. Non attainment of that tolerance level would bring discredit to the

DSR. This has been implemented by the company upon my suggestion.

(iv) In addition to specifying only LPD (Lines Per Day i.e., number of

product lines of which order is taken daily) target to the DSRs, they should

also be given daily EC (Effective Coverage i.e., parties billed everyday)

targets. This will not only boost up sales, but also check the outlet skipping habit

of the DSRs. This has been implemented by the company upon my suggestion.

(v) The DSRs should be prohibited to “dump” unordered products at the outlets.

They should be instructed to place orders of only the items specified by the

retailer.

(vi) A new PDP (Per Day Plan) i.e., the delivery route and plan to be followed by

the delivery personnel, should be designed based on the new beat plan, the

capacity utilization of the delivery units, geographical layout and lunch hours of

the retailers. This has been implemented by the company upon my suggestion.

(vii) The tolerance level of the cancelled bills should be decreased. This will

bring in more efficiency, discipline and dedication on part of the delivery

personnel.

63

(viii) The delivery personnel and the van operator should be instructed to bring in

certain flexibility in their lunch hours. They should be asked to have their lunch

only during the same lunch hours as that of the parties to be delivered.

(ix) A printed form acting as “show cause”, should be given to the delivery

person showing the various probable cause of cancellation, which must be

duly signed by the respective dealer.

(x)The DSRs should be given palmtops. This will not only reduce order taking

time, but also facilitate authentic order placing.

(xi)The TSO must pay surprise visit at the market to scrutinize the DSR as

well as the delivery unit.

4. PROMOTION:

From the above given analysis and findings, the certain recommendations from the

place point of view are:

(i) When asked various retailers and consumers, it was proved that almost 60% of

the sample size didn’t recognize the various products of Marico by the company

name, unlike other FMCG companies. Rather, many thought the company name to

be “Parachute”. Of the rest 40%, about 30% think Marico to be the name of a

biscuit brand.

(ii)Displays, hangers, banners and advertisements are required for the newly

launched Saffola Active refined oil to make the consumers aware of the

contents, and attract the price sensitive middle class. Same has to be done for

Revive Liquid as well as other existing products.

(iii) In the outlets where displays have already been put up, regular visit must be

paid by the merchandising supervisor to check the proper positioning and

condition of the display.

(iv) The promotional activities of the perfumed hair oil segment should attempt

to portray it as light, non sticky, nutritious, perfumed hair oil and not merely

perfumed oil. This technique has been applied by Bajaj Almond Drops. As a

result, it is the market leader in the perfumed hair oil segment.

64

(v) More number of Consumer Offers should be introduced in the Marico

products.

(vi) The best Media Mix for placing the advertisement campaign of Nihar hair oil,

to target the ladies of age group 25-30 yrs, as suggested by me is Radio Ooo La

La, Gup-Shup and Nandini magazine.

(vii) The advertisement campaign of Nihar hair oil should be in Assamese

medium in Assam. The concept of the Nihar advertisement is “the magic of open

hair”. Based on this, the Assamese punch line suggested by me is “khula sulir

jadu”. This advertisement has already been launched.

(viii) Through out the year 2008, there will be shortage of Saffola Kardi stocks.

To shift the Kardi users to Saffola Gold, Marico has to promote Gold as a “yellow

oil” just similar to Kardi oil. Also, the ingredient aspect of Saffola Gold should be

high lighted. This will stops the Kardi users from switching over to Sundrop Super

Light or Sundrop Heart. Also, the retailers should be convinced by the DSR to

push Saffola Gold, in the absence of Saffola Kardi.

(iii) The monthly budget of the Nihar advertisement to be placed in the best

Media Mix (as mentioned in Chapter 3) as suggested by me, is as follows:

Amount = R s. 4, 50,000/-

Duration = 3 months

Detailed Description:

(A) Ooo La La

Two women based shows: Planet Venus and late Night Masti

One Western Show: Purple Haze.

Shows Planet Venus Late Night Masti Purple Haze

Days Monday to Friday Whole week Friday to Saturday

Time 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm Mon to Fri. and sun 9.00pm to 11.00

65

( 11.00pm to 1.00

am)

Sat 11.00 pm to

12.00am

pm

Time Band Happy Hours Good night Good night

Rate/ 10 sec( in

Rs)

300 300 300

Nos. of

advertisement per

show ,per day:5 Nos.

3 Nos. - Saturday

5 Nos. - others day 5 Nos.

Nos. of

advertisement per

week:25 Nos. 33 Nos. 10 Nos.

Duration of

advertisement: 20.sec 20.sec 20.sec

Total Amount per

week( in Rs) : 15000 19800 6000

Gross Amount =Rs. 40,800/-

Less 5 % Discount = Rs. 2040/-

NET Amount = Rs. 38760/-

(B) Gup- shup

Women based show: Keru Moni Thuria ( KMT)

Youth Targeted Show: Youth Express, In the Groove.

Shows KMT Youth Express In the Groove

Days Mon to sat Mon to sat Mon to sat

66

Time 10.00 am- 12.00

pm

4.00 pm – 6.30 pm 8.00 pm – 9.00 pm

Time Band Day hours After noon hours Night hours

Rate/ 10 sec (in Rs) 600 400 400

Nos.of

Advertisement to

be placed per day

per show.

5 Nos. 5 Nos. 2 Nos

Nos of

advertisement per

week.30 Nos. 30 Nos. 12 Nos.

Duration of

advertisement. 20 sec 20 sec 20 sec

Total Amount per

week( in Rs) : 36,000 24,000 9600

Net Amount required = Rs 69,600/-

(C) Nandini

1. Monthly magazine

2. Best position for the advertisement will be the Back Cover Inside.

Net amount required = Rs 40,000/-.

(D) The Assam Tribune

Position – Front panel ( Bottom )

Size - 3.85 cms. x 5 cms.

Rate – Rs 3000 ( colour ) , per advertisement.

No of Days, the advertisement is to be placed – 15 days

67

Charges( colour )( a ) = Rs 45000/-

Extra charges ( b )

1. Colors ad ( 100 %) = Rs 45000/-

2. Front page ( 50%) = Rs 22500/-

3. Sunday sub charge ( 25 % ) = Rs 11250/-

TOTAL (a) + (b) = Rs 1,23,750/-

C) NE.TV

The balance amount Rs (3, 50,000-2, 72,110) = Rs. 77,890/- must be allocated

to NE.TV.

Thus, the GROSS AMOUNT required per month= Rs. 3, 50,000/-

4.2 My contribution to Marico:

CHAPTER

NO.

AREA OF

CONTRIBUTION

CONTRIBUTION TO

MARICO:

3.1 New Product Launch Process

(NPLP): Installation of two

New Products Developed-

Revive Liquid and Saffola

Active.

I have placed these two new

products in the market (numerical

figures are provided in 3.1.2).

Apart from that, I have also

immensely contributed in

attainment of monthly EC

68

target of the TSO, in existing

products.

3.2

Infrastructural Gap Analysis

I have added to the distributor

coverage of retail outlets by 4%.

These newly created outlets had a

placed an order of Rs 28000 in the

1st week.

3.3

Physical Delivery System

I have proposed the distributor a

new PDP and modified beat plan,

based on my own observation, as

well as the secondary data of past

6 months. My proposed PDP

was implemented immediately

and it has not only increased the

efficiency in the performance of

the DSRs, but also saved an

amount of Rs. 20,000 per month

of the distributor, which it was

earlier spending on petrol.

3.4

Competition Mapping

Based on my study of the

competitors, on 6th July 2008,

Marico has launched a new hair

oil named “Almond gold” in the

almond oil segment to compete

with Bajaj almonds drops.

3.5

Media Mix selection

I have written two punch lines in

Assamese, of Nihar

advertisement, which is scheduled

to be put on air/ print by Mid-

June. The punch lines are “Khula

sulir jadu” and ‘khula suli,

sundar suli”.

69

Annexure I

Questionnaire for Retail / Wholesale Outlets

Q/no:

Date:

Shop name:

Contact Person:

Address:

1) Do you keep Marico products ?

[1] Yes [2] No

70

If “No”, why? ……………...

2) From where do you take Marico products?

[1] Distributor , Name …………………

[2] Stockiest [3] Wholesaler

3) If not distributor, then why?

[1] Delivery/ dumping issues [2] No DSR visit [3] Credit Issues

4) If from wholesalers, what are the benefits?

……………………………………………………………

5) Which Coconut Hair oil do you keep?

Oil Percentage of Stocks Retailer Margin

[1] Parachute ………… ……………

[2] Vatika ……….... ……………

[3] Shalimar ……........ …………...

[4] Others ………… …………...

6) Which Perfumed Hair oil do you keep?

Oil Percentage of Stocks Retailer Margin

[1] Nihar ………… ……………

[2] Keo Karpin ……….... ……………

[3] Bajaj Almond Drops ……........ …………...

[4] Hair and Care . . …….. …………..

[5] Others ………… …………...

7) Which Refined Hair oil do you keep?

Oil Percentage of Stocks Retailer Margin

[1] Saffola ………… ……………

[2] Fortune ……….... ……………

71

[3] Sundrop ……........ …………...

[4] Dhara . . …….. …………..

[5] Others ………… …………...

8) What is the average bill value per order?

…………………………………………………………...

9) What is the time taken to deliver the order?

[1] Next Day [2] 2 days [3] 3-4 days [4] Upto 1 week [5] More than 1 week

10) Do you display the Marico products?

[1] Yes [2] No

11) If yes, are there any dedicated people for helping in the display of the products?

[1] Yes [2] No

12) If yes, what is the frequency of his visit?

………………………………….

13) Do you display other FMCG products?

[1] Yes [2] No

If “Yes”, names …………………………………

14) Are you paid anything for displaying the product?

[1] Yes [2] No

15) If yes, what is the amount paid for displaying the products?

Company Name Amount

[1] ………………………….. …………

[2] ………………………….. …………

[3] ………………………….. …………

16) If any of the products are damaged, are they replaced?

[1] Yes [2] No

17) What kind of damaged products are replaced?

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[1] Leakage and Damage [2] Code date expiry

[3] Products damaged by rats/insects [4] Any other (please specify)……………………

18) In how many days are the products replaced?

…………………………………………………..

19) Does the Marico distributor offer you credit facilities?

[1] Yes [2] No

20) If yes, what is the credit period extended?

[1] 1week [2] 2weeks [3] 3weeks [4] 4weeks

21) Does the competitor hair oil and refined oils provide you any schemes?

[1] Yes [2] No

If “Yes”, how frequent? ……………………………………….

22) Are you satisfied with the services provided by your current distributor?

[1] Yes [2] No

23) If no, why?

………………………………..

24) If yes, why?

…………………………………

THANK YOU

Annexure II

Questionnaire for Consumers

Q/no:

Date:

73

Name:

Address:

1) Please write the company name of the following prodcts.

Products Company name

[1] Vatika ………………..

[2] Parachute ……………….

[3] Silk n Shine ……………….

[4] Saffola ……………….

[5] Fortune ……………….

[6] Revive ……………….

2) Which hair oil do you use?

……………………………………………………………………….

3) What influenced you to purchase that oil?

[1] Seasonal choice [2] Price

[3] Availability [4] Brand Name

[5] Fragrance [6] Contents

[6] Others, like previous experience, advertisements, etc…………………………

4) Do you use refined oils?

[1] Yes [2] No

5) After the price rise, what refined oil are you using now?

…………………………………………………………..

6) Why that brand?

[1] Price [2] Brand Name [3] Ingredients

7) Which refined oil did you use before price rise?

…………………………………………………………….

If any variant of “Saffola”, then what are you using now? .................................

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8) Do you think Revive Liquid is different from Revive Starch?

[1] Yes [2] No

If “Yes”, then how? …………………………………………

Thank You

References

Web sites

www.google.co.in

www.maricoworld.com

Bibliography

Marketing Research, by Rajendra Narugundkar, 2nd Edition.

Principles of Marketing, by Philip Kotler , Keller, Koshy and Jha, 12th edition.

LIST OF OUTLETS VISITED AND THE LOCATION

75

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