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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Anand Pramod Kotasthane is a student ofVishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune. He has successfully carried outsummer internship titled Market Research for DIC India Ltd. from 1 June

for 6 weeks.

The project is submitted in partial fulfillment of MBA course of University ofPune, for academic year 2004-06.

Dr. Sharad Joshi Mr.Rajesh

VhatkarDirector ProjectGuideVishwakarma Institute of Management.Pune.

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CONTENTS

Executive Summary

1

Printing Industry

a) History of Printing3

b) Modern Printing Techniques7

c) Introduction to Printing Inks8

d) About the Company12

e) Products14

Theoretical &Methodical background

a) Introduction16

b) What is Research?19

c) Marketing research21

d) Scope of marketing research.22

e) Sequential stages

24f) Main steps in marketing research

25g) Sampling design

30h) Research tool A questionnaire

37i) Interview

38

Introduction

a) Introduction to project work39

b) Methodology/technique40

c) Scope and importance41

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Acknowledgement

I have great pleasure to present the project report on Market Research for

DIC India Ltd in Pune , in partial fulfillment of Master s Degree in Business

Administration, University of Pune, at Vishwakarma Institute of Management,

Pune.

I would like to place on records deepest sense of gratitude to Mr. Hendre, Area

Sales Manager,Pune, for his inspiring and able guidance which made it

possible to bring the best of my efforts on the project.

I am desirous of placing on record profound indebtedness to Mr. Vatkar,

project guide, for valuable advice, guidance and support he offered.

I also acknowledge the gratitude to Dr. Sharad Joshi, Director of

Vishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune, who motivated us a lot in

carrying out this project.

Mr. Anand Pramod Kotasthane.

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EXCECUTIVE SUMMARY:

PROJECT TITLE:

Market Research in DIC India Ltd. for Pune area

Objectives:1) The company wanted to know their market position with so many new

ink companies coming in.

2) The company wanted to enter into two new segments i.e. blankets used

in printing offset machines and the chemicals used while printing.

3) The company wanted to know if the customer is satisfied with their

products as well as the after service.

Research Methodology:Research Methodolgy: Basic Research.

Research Tool: Questionnaire is our research tool. To carry out this

research study, data collection (primary data) have been collected from thirty

five different printing presses in Pune city,

Sample Size: 35 Printing presses.Scope of Project: Pune city

Conclusion

1) As far as printing ink is concerned the position of DIC Coates is very

strong in the market. They enjoy the loyalty of the customers, as the

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company is very old. The prices are also reasonable and competitive in

the market.

2) Customers are satisfied with the performance of the Coates ink and

expect the after sales service to be more efficient.

3) Customers were given three words, price, quality and service and were

told to give their priorities, and around 80 % people gave quality as

their first priority, service as the second priority and price as the third.

Recommendations

1) The Company should try and do some type of advertising in the

market, to increase the sales and the share in the market.

2) The after sales service should be more prompt and fast. Complaints

should be looked after immediately without any delay.

3) Entering into the chemicals market can be profitable. Quality should be

maintained, compared to Technova, with reasonable price. The

Company can use its brand image of printing inks in chemicals field.

Printing industry

History of printing

Printing was first conceived and developed in China. Primitive woodblock printing was already in use from the sixth century. The oldest survivingbook printed using the more sophisticated block printing, the Diamond Sutradates from 868. Pi Sheng invented the movable type printer in 1040. Themovable type metal printing press was invented in Korea between 1234 and

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1241. By the 12 th and 13 th century many Chinese libraries containedthousands of printed books.

There is little direct evidence, but it is highly probable that Chineseprinting technology diffused into Europe through trade links that went through

India, and on through the Arabic world. Johann Gutenberg, of the German cityMainz, developed European printing technology in 1440. Johan Fust and PeterSchoffer experimented with him in Mainz. Basing the design of his machineon a wine press, Gutenberg developed the use of raised and movable type, andfrom the start used oil-based inks.

This development of printing press revolutionized the spread ofknowledge and a printing press was built in Venice in 1469 and the city had417 printers by 1500. In 1470 Johann Heynlin set up a printing press in Paris.In 1476, William Caxton developed a printing press in England. In 1539 theItalian Jaon Pablos set up an imported press in Mexico City. Stephen Day built

the first printing press in North America at Massachusetts Bay in 1628, and

helped establish the Cambridge Press.

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At the end of eighteenth century there were several remarkable innovations inthe graphic techniques and those that were utilized to make their materials.Bewick developed the method of using engraving tools at the end of the wood.

Senefelder discovered lithography. Blake made relief etchings. Early in thenineteenth century Stanhope, George Clymer, Koenig and others introducednew kinds of type presses, which for strength surpassed anything that hadpreviously been known.

Slowly but surely the technologies developed according to therequirements and needs. Various different processes were introduced forprinting on different surfaces. Various processes such as screen-printing,offset printing, gravure printing, flexography, letterpress etc were introducedto suit different surfaces and requirements. For example, Gravure andflexography are exclusively used for packaging printing i.e. on plastics, tinsetc. Offset printing is used for commercial type of printing such as brochures,

magazines. Screen and letterpress printing is usually used for small scale jobssuch as letter heads, wedding cards, visiting cards etc. According to therequirement the process is chosen. The materials used for each process isdifferent. For e.g. inks used in each process have some different characteristics

from each other. Similarly other materials also vary.

This project is done in DIC India Ltd, which is a printing inkmanufacturing company, and in majority deals in offset printing process. Sowe will discuss the Offset printing process in detail.

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Offset Printing

Offset Printing is a widely used printing technique where the inked image istransferred (or offset ) from a plate first to a rubber blanket, then to the

printing surface. When used in combination of the lithographic process, whichis based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat(Plano graphic) image carrier, on which the image to be printed obtains inkfrom ink rollers, while the non printed areas attract a film of water keeping thenon printing areas ink free.

Advantages of Offset Printing include-

Consistent high image quality, sharper and cleaner than letterpress

printing, because the rubber blanket conforms to the texture of the

printing surface.

Usability on a wide range of printing surfaces in addition to smooth

paper (e.g. wood, cloth, metal, leather, rough paper)

Quick and easy production of printing plates.

Longer plate life than on direct litho presses because there is no direct

contact between plates and printing surface.

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History of Offset Printing Process-

The first lithographic offset printing press was created in England inaround 1875 and was designed for printing on metal. The offset cylinder wascovered with specially treated cardboard that transferred the printed image

from the litho stone to the surface of the metal. About five years later, thecardboard covering of the offset cylinder was changed to rubber, which is stillthe most commonly used material.

The first person to use an offset press to print on paper was most likelyAmerican Ira Washington Rubel in 1903. He got the idea accidentally bynoticing that whenever a sheet of paper was not fed into his lithographic pressduring operation, the stone printed its image to the rubber-covered impressioncylinder, and the next impression had an image on both sides: direct litho onthe front and an image from the rubber blanket on the back. Rubel thennoticed that the image on the back of the sheet was much sharper and clearerthan the direct litho image because the soft rubber was able to press the image

onto the paper better than the hard stone. He soon decided to build a presswhich printed every image from the plate to the blanket and then to the paper.Brothers Charles and Albert Harris independently observed this process atabout the same time and developed an offset press for the Harris AutomaticPress Company soon after.

Harris designed his offset press around a rotary letterpress machine. Itused a metal plate bent around a cylinder at the top of the machine that pressed

against ink and water rollers. A blanket cylinder was positioned directlybelow, and in contact with, the plate cylinder. The impression cylinder belowpressed the paper to the blanket in order to transfer the image to the sheet (seediagram). While this basic process is still used today, refinements include two-sided printing and web feeding (using rolls of paper rather than sheets).

During the 1950 s, offset printing became the most popular form ofcommercial printing as improvements were made in plates, inks and paper,maximizing the technique's superior production speed and plate durability.Today, the majority of printing, including newspapers, is done by the offsetprocess, although digital printing has greatly increased in popularity due todemand and cost advantages for low quantity runs.

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Present day scenario

Offset printing is by far the most dominant form of commercialprinting due to its quality in respect of volume and paper costs, with this

market being split between sheet-fed offset for low to medium volume (anyjob too large to be economic for laser printers ordigital presses, but too smallfor web offset) and web offset for medium volume up to the 1-2 million copiesmarket. (For high volume, a rotogravure press is often used.) The principaldifference here is that sheet-fed litho machines are fed with sheets of paperwhereas web offset machines (which are larger) are fed with reels of paper and

run at higher speeds; the basic offset technology remains the same. Modernoffset presses increasingly use computer to plate systems.

Private or hobby presses, engaged in patient production of limitededitions of fine quality books, often use letterpress as well as offset methods,some "purists" preferring the slightly embossed look resulting from the direct

impression of inked type upon fine paper. These books are sometimes printedfrom hand-set foundry type (individual pieces of movable, lead-alloytype).flexography, a form of letterpress, is still used in the printing of high-quality premium labels, in ticket printing, and in envelopemanufacturing/printing, though is now no longer the dominant technology.

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Modern printing technology

Books and newspapers are usually printed today using the technique ofoffset printing. Other common printing techniques include relief print, (which

is principally used for catalogues), screen printing, rotogravure, and digital-based inkjet and laser printing. The largest commercial and industrial printerin the world is Montreal, Quebec-based Quebecor World.

Digital printing primarily uses an electrical charge to transfer toner orliquid ink to the substrate that it is going down on. Digital printing quality hassteadily improved through the years from color and black & white copiers tosophisticated color digital presses like the Xerox iGen3, the Kodak Nexpressand the HP Indigo series presses. The iGen3 and Nexpress use toner particlesand the Indigo uses liquid ink. All three are made for small runs and variabledata and rival offset in quality. Digital offset presses are called direct imagingpresses; although these receive computer files and automatically turn them

into print-ready plates, they cannot do variable data.

Small press and fanzines generally use offset printing or xerography,but prior to the advent of cheap photocopying, the use of machines such as thespirit duplicator, hectograph, and mimeograph was common.

There are two types of offset presses. One is sheet fed offset machineand other is web fed offset machine. As the name suggests in sheet fed offsetmachine, sheets are fed inside the machine i.e. paper is cut into required sizeand fed in. Sheet fed machines are widely used for printing brochures,magazines,books etc. Web offset machines use reel i.e. web or roll of paperwhich is fed into the machine. After printing, the roll is cut into required sizes.

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Introduction to Printing Inks

The quality of any printed matter depends mainly upon the quality ofthe ink used. There are many other factors that can affect the quality of the

print, but if the quality of the ink itself is poor, the it directly affects the qualityof the print. So now, we will discuss the formulation and properties of theprinting ink used in lithography.

Lithographic inks are formulated on three basic ingredients; pigmentwhich gives colour, a vehicle which is semi transparent and serves to carry thepigment; and driers , which are substances added to promote drying of theprinted ink film. Modern printing inks are formulated on often complexrecipes which require additional ingredients to these basic properties.

Pigments

These are coloured substances which are finely divided and dispersedthroughout the vehicle. Pigments are derived from a wide variety of sourcesand it is not unusual to find, therefore, that some inks perform better on thelithographic press than the others. Apart from giving colour to the ink, thepigment is combined in such proportions with the vehicle as to influence theperformance of the ink.

The pigment should be capable of reduction to a finely dividedpowder, and should possess colouring properties which are either transparentor opaque. It must form a homogenous paste when mixed with vehicle.

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Vehicles

The main function of the vehicle is to transport the dispersed pigment

from the press ink duct via the rollers, printing plate and blanket, to the paperwhere it must remain permanently.Suitable viscous liquids are chosen for thispurpose and the ink manufacturer has to consider the vehicle characteristics,its flow tack etc.

Drying Oils

These are obtained from organic (animal and vegetable) sources andthey are selected for their ability to flow and distribute well on the press, andform solid elastic films when exposed to the air. Drying oil such as linseed oilcan be made more viscous by heating in the absence of air.

Driers

A drier is a compound which when mixed with the ink accelerates thedrying time. The driers act as a catalyst by absorbing atmospheric oxygen andgiving it up to the oxidising vehicle, thus speeding up the reaction ofpolymerisation.

The percentage of the ingredients vary according to the requirements.For example high speed web offset printing makes extra demands uponprinting inks. The transfer and flow of the ink must be good at high speedwithout having to reduce the ink viscosity. With press speeds four times thatof sheet fed machines, the heat of rollers causes the lowering the ink viscosity.

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Process colour inks

CMYK refers to the printing inks used in four-color process printing. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Blackare the colors used to produce full-color photographs and designs. (An approximate representation of these colors is

below.) These colors can be combined and printed to emulate a wide number of other colors. If you look carefully at aprinted color photograph in any magazine or book, you'll see that it's made up of rows of tiny dots called a half tonescreen. The dots work together, at different angles, to fool your eye into seeing a full spectrum of colors.

For a graphics file to be printed in CMYK, it must be converted orcreated in that color mode. When film is produced, a different sheet of film iscreated for each color. For the computer to tell the machine that produces thefilm, an image setter, what to put on each sheet of film, the computer imagemust be in CMYK format. Colors in a page layout program must also bespecified in percentages of the four colored inks.

So, why do we refer to these four ink colors as CMYK and notCMYB? Well, quite simply, it's so that no one will be confused into thinking

that the last color is Blue rather than Black.

The principle of modern full colors reproduction is based on thepremise that the subtractive primary colors, cyan yellow and magenta may beselective combination produce the range of colors in the spectrum.

Printing Ink Industry

As in any industry there is also a fierce competition in the printing inks

industry. In Pune area itself there are more than hundred, big and smallprinting presses. So, the demand for printing inks is very high. With thisnumber we can imagine the number of printing presses all over India. As newtechnologies are emerging regularly the printings inks also should be with parof the technologies. So, every ink manufacturing company tries to come upwith something new and innovating.

In India, there is huge competition of printing inks as new companiesare coming up with new trends, which the earlier companies have to cope upwith. The main players in printing inks industry are DIC India Ltd, which ishaving a good market share, and then there is United Inks, which is also usedin Pune area. Another company is Micro Inks, which was earlier HindustanInks and has considerable market share compared to the others. Sicpa is also aprinting ink company, which is striving to increase the market share. Other inkcompanies include Sakata, BSF etc.

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In Pune area, small printing presses generally use local manufactured

printing inks, which are very cheap but low in quality. All the above

companies provide good quality inks which are for medium and high scale

jobs.

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About the company

Dainippon Inks and Chemicals, or DIC as it is increasingly known,

changed the name of its two subsidiary Indian companies to DIC India

Limited and DIC Coatings India Limited. DIC India was formerly know as

Coates of India Limited and is a 65.76 per cent subsidiary of DIC through its

wholly owned company in Singapore DIC Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd. DIC Coatings

Limited was known as Coates Coating Limited before the name change and is

a 100 per cent subsidiary of DIC.

The DIC group together with its subsidiary Sun Chemical is the largest

ink company in the world. Around US$ 5 billion (Rs 22000 crore) of the

group s revenues of more than US$ 9 billion come from ink related business.

DIC is the world s largest supplier of inks, organic pigments, varnishes,

coatings, resins, and toners and ink jet inks.

The focus in India remains on maintaining DIC s position as a leading

supplier to the high technology and quality end of the market where new

presses with full automation require rapid drying and coating with quick wash-

ups and make-readies.

DIC India, 65.8% subsidiary of US $ 9 billion Dainippon Inks andChemicals (DIC) of Japan, world leader (40%global market share) in printinginks, organic pigments and thermosetting resins, is set for quite good growingfuture driven by rising volumes following change in business compositionbetter macro picture on the industry front and improved margins. Thus, topline would grow @ 10-12%, while PAT is expected to grow at acceleratedpace of ~ 20% or so.

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DIC India enjoys strong market position (33% market share) in Rs. 1,500

crore printing and liquid ink market. There are three segments in printing ink,

viz., publishing inks (covers newspapers, magazines & books), and packaging

Inks (as covers FMCG sector, has tremendous potential to grow) and highquality emerging segment - Commercial printing inks (covers sales literature,leaflets, brochures, tourist literature, catalogues, etc). Company is the marketleader in high volume low value publishing inks segment.

DIC India has changed its business focus towards highly profitable publishingink and commercial printing ink (growing ~ 12-15%), while simultaneouslycutting down on sales of low margin packaging ink segment. It hasintroduced eco-friendly ink (water base) in FY 2004 in export market, which itwill be launching in domestic market as well. Changed business compositionand new product launches will be driving volume growth.

Coates of India is a market leader in printing inks for the past fifty five yearswith client support among one lac printers in India. Today, Coates makes avariety of products to serve the printing and packaging needs of industriesranging from publishing, consumer packaging, paints, milk products,pesticides, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, footwear, etc. An ISO certifiedCompany whose direct technical & management responsibility rests with DIC(Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Japan). DIC is World s No.1 in Printing Ink.DIC is also a leader in Graphic Arts Industries in the World. Coates brings theWorld s best technology from all the Group Companies e.g. Sun Chemicals,Coates Lorilleux & DIC.

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Products

The main products of DIC India Ltd. are liquid inks, screen printinginks and offset inks. In India they have a strong market share compared toother ink manufacturing companies. In Pune area, there are few large scale

printing presses and many small scale printing presses. The main demand isfor four color offset process set inks and also blacks which are used forpublications. Some of the products are as follows

Super chrome process set used mainly for maplitho type of paper.

Cash on process set- for economical purpose, used for duplex board

and maplitho paper.

Xtra process set- used for small scale, for art paper and maplitho.

Xtra speed process set- for commercial use.

Calibre process set.

Eurospeed process set.

Lancer- for economical purpose.

Geos G process color- for high quality (imported)

Values G-imported.

Ramafix process set- for non-absorbent surface.

Web offset black- for web machines.

Kitab black- running jobs on maplitho.

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Koyal black

Buro black.

Excel black- Half tone jobs, for art paper, quick drying.

Atlantic black- used for maplitho paper.

Gloss varnish- high gloss over printing ink.

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Theoretical & Methodical Background

Introduction

At one time, business was small, customers were few, and markets were

mostly local. Suppliers and customers were in daily, close personal contact.Bargaining was done face to face; the market place was the hub of economicaland social life.

Businesses were run not by corporate executives but by people who

were similar to those whose customs they sought to attract. They shared the

same culture, often they were kinsfolk and communication was direct and

resonant with cultural values.

Today; technologies are dispersed over the world ; new centers of

production have been setup for motor cars electronic equipments, and many

other products that were once viewed as the prerogative of the western

developed countries. Inevitably, the gap between producer and final consumer

has widened; some firms are in danger of losing touch with the actual needs of

the customers, particularly if they are thousands of miles away.

Without valid and reliable information, management decision-making

would soon degenerate into some crazy game of chance. Hence, a systematic

approach to the task of management is increasingly important in today s

complex environment. One of the prime functions of management is to make

decisions; marketing decisions are peculiarly difficult to make and their efforts

are felt throughout the business and, indeed, entire industries, as in the case of

British motorcycle industry whose products were once world famous are now

no more. Good information is the raw materials used by world famous and are

now no more. Good information is the raw material used by management indeciding a company s policy and day-to-day operations.

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As the widely read text In search of Excellence showed that keeping close

to customers was one of the critical factors identified during research.

To be successful in new competitive atmosphere, the needs of the

customer have to be satisfied. This reorientation of business activities

demanded a more analytical and systematic approach, founded on an

assessment of customer requirements, with the objective of maximizing net

profits by providing customers with products and services that really fulfill

their particular need.

The essence of marketing is that a firm will make what it ca sell, rather

than sell what it can make. Marketing therefore requires an assessment of

consumer needs through market research and the orientation of all the firms

activities towards the satisfaction of the needs. The technique of marketing is

that of marketing research.

Identification of customer needs entails, therefore, some systematic

investigation into the markets, either those currently being supplied or newmarket areas of potential interest. This is the role of marketing research, which

is the foundation of sound marketing strategies and their associated tactics.

Marketing research is not a substitute for management decisions but it

is an aid to making better decisions by providing additional information

relative to specific marketing problems. Marketing research is a fact-finding

process, logical and essential for successful marketing and adaptable to the

requirements of the firm and other types of organizations that aim to attract the

support of the customers, clients, patrons, patients or donors.

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To survive, every organization has to be able to offer acceptable goods

and services, which satisfy the identified needs of specific kinds of people ,

industries and firms. Value in exchange lies at the root of the business and

personal negotiations, perceived value if not necessarily dependant on

objective assessment; people buy with their hearts as well as their heads.

Motivations may be myriad; attractive new values can be built into products to

make them stand out from their competitors.

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What is Research?

Research always starts with a question or a problem. Its purpose is to

find answers to questions through the application of scientific methods. It is a

systematic and intensive study directed towards a more complete knowledge

of the subject studied.

Research can be classified into two broad categories:

a) Basic research

b) Applied research

a) Basic research:

It is sometimes called fundamental research, theoretical research

or pure research. It aims at expanding the frontiers of knowledge and does

not directly involve pragmatic problems. The essence of basic research is that

it addresses itself to more fundamental questions and not to problems with

immediate commercial potential.

b) Applied research:

Applied research is also called as decisional research by some

authors. On the other hand, with a certain problem, and it specifies alternative

solutions and possible outcomes of each alternative. Unlike basic research, it

is promoted by commercial consideration. Though usually, one may be able to

distinguish basic research from applied research, the distinction between the

two sometimes gets blurred. Several firms may be engaged in basic research,

which do not have any immediate commercial use. However, it may be

potentially commercial or else firms will not undertake it at all.

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Applied research can be divided into two categories:

Problem solving research:

Problem solving research as the name implies is concerned with a particular

issue or a problem and is usually proprietary in character.

Problem oriented research:

Problem oriented research indicates that such a research is undertaken within a

firm or by an outside consultant on its behalf. Problem oriented research, on

the other hand is concerned with a class of issues or problems in which several

firms may be interested. Research of this type is usually concerned withconceptual aspect but is oriented to applied problems.

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Marketing Research

Marketing is a specialized function of management generally interpreted today

as including all those activities concerned with the development production

and distribution of products to identifiable markets where they will provide

satisfaction to those who buy them. Marketing research is therefore far ranging

in its inquiries it covers product development identifying in the market and

suitable methods of selling distribution promotion and sales/service facilities.

In fact every aspect of business activity from the idea stage to eventual

consumer satisfaction.

Definition- by Marketing Research Society:

Market research is the means used by those who provide goods and servicesto keep themselves in touch with the needs and wants of those who buy anduse those goods and services.

Marketing research should be viewed as a form of applied research that while

imposing on its practitioners the rigors and discipline of scientific enquiry has

a pragmatic purpose. Without this scientific orientation marketing research

would have little validity it would deteriorate into subjective and biased

assessment of market behavior. Hence an objective posture and systematic

methods of enquiry are vital constituents of marketing research. It has been

observed that marketing research is scientific in the sense that science may be

at least partly defined in terms of the attitude of disinterest and impersonality

one must take towards the outcomes of scientific investigation. Science deals

with the unembroidered fact rather than with opinion and belief.

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Scope of Marketing Research

The area of marketing decision is wide it covers product design pricing

distribution and promotion. It acknowledges the fact that there are many

variables affecting marketing activities, which cannot be controlled by

suppliers to a market. These environmental variables such as the demographic

structure of the population, economic condition, legal restrictions, competitors

activities and the shifting tastes dictated by fashion can cause marketing

decisions to be complex and difficult to make. Every organization must take

marketing decisions of some kind of frequency; these involve large capitalexpenditure on the building and equipping the new building of a new plant.

Marketing decisions may result in the redirection of the resources of a

business into entirely new markets or in exploiting new technologies, which

have been developed by research laboratories.

Sir Douglas Was in his presidential address to the conference of the

market research society in 1990 commented that market research enables

producers of goods and services to design and deliver their products

according to the informed preferences of the final consumer and so

reduces the rise of costly production mistakes being made through poor

market intelligence. He also stressed that market research can help policy

makers in both central and local government to design their programs in a

way that takes into account the views of the consumers. For example

social security beneficiaries might be surveyed to find out whether they

would prefer cash payments to assistance in kind as with subsidized travel

or housings.

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Information for marketing decision-making may be broadly classified as

a) Strategic

b) Tactical

c) Data bank

The first type refers to information needed for strategic decisions e.g. whetherto enter a specific overseas market or to diversify into new markets. The

second type relates to information for tactical decisions such as the planning of

sales territories. The third type provides essential background knowledge

about, for example, competitors activities, market trends, VAT requirements

etc. Marketing management information has two-way flow from theorganization to the environment (i.e. market) and from the market to the

organization. The principle feedback is an essential element. See fig. In

rapidly changing market conditions it is imperative for management to have an

up to date knowledge to be aware of the entry of new competitive products

and services and to be able to plan ahead for emerging trends in taste,

systematic enquiry is far preferable to hunch.

Marketing

ManagementEnvironment

Problems and

DecisionsMarket needsrelated to

specific

supplies.

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Sequential stages of Marketing Research

Five logical steps can be identified in the survey process. These apply

irrespective of the nature of the market.

Stage 1 Research Brief

Stage 3 Data collection

Stage 4 Data analysis and

evaluation

Stage 5 Preparation and

presentation of report.

Stage 2 Research proposal

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Main steps involved in marketing research:

In applying marketing research for solving any marketing problem the

researcher has to go through several steps or stages and each step has its own

decisive role in the total research process right from defining the problem to

the preparation of the report, the researcher has to proceed like a scientist in a

laboratory.

Following are the major steps involved in marketing research

process:

Defining the problem.

Problem analyst.

Developing the research design.

Data collection.

Analyzing and interpreting the data.

Summarizing the findings.

Preparing the research project.

Defining the problem:

Defining the problem is the most important part of the marketing research

process. Normally there is nothing like a marketing research problem in a

business. The problem may belong to any area of marketing The marketing

research problem is a derivative of marketing problem therefore in the first

instance the marketing problem involved should be clearly identified, defined

and conceptualized.

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Problem analysis:

Apart from defining the problem correctly it is also essential to analyze

the problem in depth. This helps the collection of relevant data. Sometimes

more than the researcher, marketing executive by virtue of their experience

may be able to give useful directions in this regard. A consultative approach

may therefore be required.

There must be complete agreement between the researcher and the

marketing executive regarding the nature of the marketing problem and the

consequent marketing research problems that are tackled. Otherwise research

effort, time and money will be wasted.

Developing the research design:

Development of research design is the next step in marketing research

process after problem definition and problem analysis.

The choice of research design depends mainly on the purpose forwhich the research is conducted. The depth and extent of data required, the

cost and benefits of the research, the urgency of the work and the time

available for completing it, will decide the research design.

Research design provides the blueprint of the research work. Research

design is actually the blue print of the research project and when implemented

must bring out the information required for solving the identified marketing

problem.

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Primary and Secondary data

Data or facts are the raw materials with which a market researcher

functions. These facts are derived from several sources. Data can be classified

as primary data, which is gathered for the first time by the researcher, and

secondary data, which is borrowed by the researcher from other secondary

sources.

Secondary data

Secondary data (whether internal or external) is the data already

collected by others, for the purposes other than the solution of the problem at

hand. The researcher must thoroughly search secondary data sources before

commissioning any efforts for collecting the data. There are many advantages

in searching for and analyzing secondary data before attempting the collection

of the primary data. In the first place, in some cases the secondary data itself

can be sufficient to solve the problem. Usually, the cost of searching the

secondary data is much lower than the cost of organizing primary data.

Moreover , secondary data has several supplementary uses. It also helps to

plan the collection of the primary data, if primary data becomes necessary.

Sources of secondary data

In most firms, secondary data (internal) of enormous magnitude is

often available. The sales records constitute by far the most important part of

secondary data on marketing which the researcher uses extensively. Since this

data is readily available, the researcher gets it with very little effort, time and

money.

In addition to sales records, publication of a wide variety provide a

good deal of external data on any subject such as newspapers, magazines,

technical journals, directories, committee reports etc.

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Other examples of secondary data are company reports, research reports, by

various agencies, reference book. Secondary data can also be purchased from

commercial marketing services.

Only when secondary data, internal data and external published data is

insufficient for the purpose of the given marketing research job, an original

research project, including a market survey, is launched for collecting primary

data.

Primary data or data for respondents

The person of the firm that gives primary data is usually referred to as

the respondent. A respondent may give information passively or actively.

When information is gathered through the mere observation of the respondents

behavior, he is said to provide information passively. When he gives

information through written or spoken response, he is said to provide

information actively.

There are different means of obtaining data from respondents. The

most important means is the interview. There are several types of interviews,

such as personal interview, telephonic interview and interview by mail.

The interview may be structured or unstructured, direct or indirect.

Sometimes a depth interview, or a qualitative interview is also employed for

illicit information.

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Sampling design

Making the census of the entire universe will be out of the question in

many marketing research projects, on account of limitations of time and

money. Hence, sampling becomes inevitable.

Sampling is used to collect primary data when the sources of data are

far too many to be exhaustively handled. Sampling is an integral part of the

data collection process; we are discussing subject in length. Obviously, a

sample is only a portion of the universe or the population. The success of

sampling depends on the extent to which the characteristics of the sample truly

represent those of the universe.

According to Yule, a famous statistician, the object of sampling is to

get the maximum information about the parent population with the minimum

effort. Often, people who are not familiar with the scientific basis of sampling

have an impression that data collected through sampling is less reliable than

data generated by exhaustively covering the entire population. This impression

is erroneous. If properly done, sampling produces representative data on theentire population.

Advantages of sampling

Sampling reduces cost, saves time, enables collection of information

that is good enough for the given purpose, enables more thorough

investigation, enables better supervision of the survey, enables better

presentation of the data and enables the required degree of precision.

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Developing the sample design

The following are the basic components of a sample design

Choosing the sample unit (who are to be surveyed)

Choosing the sample size (how many to be surveyed)

Choosing the sample procedure (how to ensure those who are included

in the sample)

Choosing the sample media (how to reach the respondents in the

sample- through mail interview, personal interview or telephonic

interview.

Sampling Methods

Different methods can be employed to select the sample units. These

methods, termed as sampling methods, fall under two broad categories

Probability sampling methods

Non-probability sampling methods.

Probability/ Random sampling

In probability sampling method, the sample units are selected at

random. At random should not be understood as haphazard or arbitrary

manner, they are full of bias. Almost all human beings are biased in selecting.

Sometimes, they are biased deliberately, but often they are unaware that they

are biased. Random sampling follows a precisely specified system where there

is no scope for any biased selection of the sample units. Randomness ensuresthat the selection of the units takes place by sheer chance. It means that every

member of population has an equal chance of being selected.

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Non-profitability/ non-random Sampling

In non-probability sampling methods, the sample units are selected in a

non-random manner. The selection may be opportunist or purposive, it may be

based on the convenience or the judgment of the researcher, the choice is

deliberate, not random. As a general observation, it can be stated that

probability-sampling methods are more scientific and capable of yielding

more representative samples than non-profitability sampling methods. They

are more scientific because in their case, the sample error could be estimated

mathematically. However, the non-profitability methods too are used

extensively despite the fact that they lack the precision of probability

sampling.

Different methods of probability sampling

There are many methods of probability sampling. The commonly used

methods are as follows

Simple random sampling.

Systematic random sampling.

Stratified sampling.

Area sampling.

Simple random sampling

A simple random sample is a sample wherein any item of the

population is as likely to be selected in the sample as any other item. In other

words, all items of the population have equal chances of being selected in a

sample. Lottery is one method of selecting a simple random sample. In fact,

the method is commonly known by the name lottery sampling .

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Systematic sampling

There is only a small difference between simple random sampling and

systematic sampling. Systematic sampling involves selecting every n th unit

from the population after the beginning unit is selected at random. The interval

n is fixed by dividing the population by sample size. For example, if the

population consists of 500 elements and a sample of 50 elements is required,

the sample interval would be fixed as 500/50 = 10. Every tenth unit from the

previously ordered population can be taken to get the systematic sample of 50.

Stratified sampling

In this case, the population is divided into a few strata according to

certain characteristics that are common to members within the strata. From

each stratum, a specified number of units are picked up by random means.

These units together constitute a stratified sample. While resorting to stratified

sampling, it is essential that the criteria used to stratify the population is

directly associated with what the study is going to measure. In other words,

stratification of a population should be done only if a direct correlation exists

between the criteria for stratifying and the data sought by the study. Within

stratified samples there are two different kinds; the proportional sample and

the disproportional sample. In some cases, the number of sample units selected

from each stratum may be proportional to the stratum s share in the total

population. In these cases, the samples are proportional samples. In certain

marketing situations, sample units from each stratum may be taken based on

certain assigned priorities and not on the basis of stratum s share in the total

population. The samples in these cases are disproportional samples.

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Area Sampling

Area sampling is also a form of stratified sampling. In this case, the

stratification is based on the criterion of locations. This method selects the

sample units in several stages. At each stage, a series of intermediary

geographical blocks are selected on random basis. Finally, from within these

blocks, the sample units are selected at random. The area and sub area

selections at each stage have to be validated to ensure randomness in the

sample finally selected.

Different methods under non-profitability sampling

The sampling methods mentioned below fall under the category of

non-profitability methods of sampling

Convenience sampling.

Quota sampling.

Judgment sampling.

Panel sampling.

Convenience sampling

In this method, selection of the sample units is based on the

convenience of the researcher. Quite often, accessibility decides the selection

of sample. Convenience sampling is normally used only in retesting phases of

studies. It is not resorted in situations where the researcher has to estimate

values of the target population for descriptive research studies. This is so

because, with convenience samples, there is no way of deciding the

representative ness of the sample.

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Quota sampling

The researcher prescribes certain parameters and assigns sample quotas

to the field workers. Each field worker selects the unit to be interviewed,

based on the parameters indicated and fills the quota assigned to him. Quota

sampling is often resorted to in marketing research studies to save the work

and time associated with probability sampling.

Judgment sampling

Judgment sampling is a deliberate choice of a sample by the researcher

based on his judgment about the population members. The selection of the

sample is deliberate and purposeful; it is not random. The researcher or the

person nominated by him would be well acquainted with the members of the

population and he exercises his judgment in selecting the sample.

Panel sampling

In this method, members are selected to a panel and they become an

almost permanent sample for drawing specific information on selected

subjects. There can be many kinds of panels such as consumer panel, expert

panel etc. Panel members are approached either personally or through mail.

Panel members are recruited with prior knowledge; they are not selected at

random.

The different sampling methods/procedures have their respective

advantages. Depending on the nature of the marketing research problem, the

type of data required, the extent of reliability required, the budget and time

available etc, the marketing researcher can choose the method that is best

suited for his particular research project.

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Similarly, the researcher can also choose the desired sample size based on

theses factors. Understandably the margin of error will vary depending on the

sample size. But all marketing research situations do not depend on highly

accurate data/findings. Many of them can tolerate varying degrees of margins

of errors. So, the market research has a choice in sampling procedure, sample

size, etc. He can go in for the appropriate ones and not necessarily the perfect

ones, which will depend disproportionately large amounts of time and money.

Market Survey

Market survey is one of the widely used MR techniques. Market

survey is at times viewed as synonymous with market research. This is

erroneous. It has to be understood clearly that market survey is just one of the

techniques of market research and is not synonymous with market survey. It is

just one method of collecting the marketing information required for carrying

out a given marketing research task. It is used if the required data is not

available from the company s internal records and from external published

sources. It amounts to original research work/field research work for the

purpose of collecting raw data. There are two types of market survey, the

census survey and the sample survey.

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Research Tool- a questionnaire

Questionnaire development is an important part of the market survey

job. It is an art that calls for a lot of expertise and resourcefulness on the part

of the researcher. The questionnaire should be structured so as to collect all

relevant information. It often sets the framework as well as the tone of the

survey. The research data is build up on the framework of the questionnaire. If

the questionnaire is faulty, it will generate incorrect information and no

amount of analysis and interpretation can set it right. The choice of words in

the questionnaire should also be appropriate and should be easily understood

by all respondents.

Nuances of questionnaire development

As a general principle, the questionnaire should be as simple as the

subject of the survey permits. It should be brief and to the point, forming a

logical sequence. Questions should be broken into component parts so as to

cover a single idea. Leading and misleading questions should be avoided.

Questions, which respondents cannot answer properly, should be avoided. The

questions in a survey questionnaire usually belong to one or the other of the

following types.

Open ended questions.

Close ended questions.

A step-by-step approach in questionnaire development

List all relevant points exhaustively

Do some informal, trial interview

Draft the questionnaire based on the above

Put the questionnaire through a pilot survey

Develop the final questionnaire based on the pilot survey.

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Interview

A conversation directed to a definite purpose other than satisfaction in

the conversation itself, if it is concerned with a purposeful exchange ofmeanings and it is this interaction between the interviewer and the respondent,

which contributes so much to the success of the interview. This give and take

and free exchange of communication lie at the root of a successful interview.

The psychological atmosphere of an interview is important in the interviewing

process for effective interviewing it requires insight into the dynamics of

interaction. If this interaction is treated with skill and sensitivity the data

collected during the interview depends largely on the interviewer developing a

relationship with the respondent, which will encourage good communication.

This is a two way process to which both the interviewer and the respondent

subscribe in fulfilling the particular role. The distinctive role of the interviewer

is concerned with securing valid information about a particular problem,

which has been carefully defined in the objectives of the survey.

The interview must therefore be directed and controlled by the

interviewer if it is to fulfill its eventual function of a conversation with a

purpose. The techniques used should be those that are most likely to result in

data, which will satisfy these objectives. Flexibility is therefore an important

attribute of the interviewing process and there is no ideal method, which can

be applied generally. These are some techniques, which are more appropriate

than others. In particular cases the success of the survey rests on the skill with

which the interview has been devised.

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Introduction to the Project work

Marketing indeed is an ancient art; it has been practiced in one form or

the other since the days of Adam and Eve. Its emergence as a management

discipline, however, is of relatively recent origin. And within this relatively

short period, it has gained so much importance and stature that today most

management thinkers and practitioners throughout the world, view it as the

most important of all management functions in any business.

The project undertaken as a summer project was in DIC India Ltd.,

which is into printing inks and related products. The topic assigned was to

analyze the market i.e. all the main printing presses in Pune area. Another

topic was to calculate the total requirement of printing inks. The company also

wanted to enter into a new segment i.e. chemicals required on the machine

while printing, and the blankets used in offset machines.

To carry out the project, survey was conducted in 35 main printing

presses in Pune city. The survey included the current ink they are using, their

monthly consumption, the chemicals and their monthly consumption, and

requirements of the blankets.

The summer project was for 6 weeks as a part of the M.B.A.

curriculum at the completion of the first year of the course.

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Methodology

Measurability of the data gathered from the respondents is one of the

important requirements in any research study. Measurement may be easy, if

the answers are totally based on qualitative data. But in any marketing

situation, responses sought from the respondents are qualitative in nature,

relating to perception, feelings, likes and dislikes, inclinations and preferences.

To carry out this research study, data collection (primary data) have

been collected from thirty five different printing presses in Pune city, to know

the actual facts and the market position of the company. The company also

wanted to enter into a new segment i.e. chemicals and blankets used in

printing industry.

To experience the primary data, sampling procedure is implemented in

research study. Sampling is the function of an expert, should possess adequate

knowledge of the statistical theory of probability and also have considerable

experience in survey work relating to marketing problems. The quality of

statistical sample is not a matter of luck. It is the result of the scientific

application of the right research approach. To get the complete data, non-

probability sampling has been undertaken.

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Scope and importance

Marketing starts with market research and ends with market research.

To start any new business, first we should check if there is demand of the

product, we are offering. Who are our competitors? What is the position of the

competitors? What is the financial position? What are the strategies of the

competitors and what are our strategies? For all theses answers and many

more, market research is very important. Before investing any amount of

money in the market, market research is a must. With every increase in the

complexities, marketing in business activity carrying out research relating to

customers, products and market also becomes equally complex, necessating

specialized skill and sophisticated techniques. This resulted in emergence of

market research as a specialized subject of marketing management.

Market research plays a key role in the entire marketing process. It

helps the firm in marketing measurement, assessment of market potential and

development of sales and forecast. It also helps the firm acquire a better

understanding of the customer and the marketing environment. It aids the

formulation of marketing mix. As a matter of fact, decision making of each

element of marketing mix, like products and services mix, distribution mix,

promotion mix and pricing policy relies heavily on market research findings.

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Data Tabulation and Analysis

Tabulation is the process of summarizing the raw data and displaying

the same in the compact form for further analysis. The tabulation can be

simplified in columns and rows. It conserves space and minimizes exploratory

and descriptive statements. Tabulation facilitates the process of comparison.

Tabulation helps in summation of items and error defection. It assist in various

statistical computations. When large volume of inquiry is being used the

researcher can use mechanical or computer tabulation. It simplifies complex

data, gives identity to the data and reveals the pattern.

Analysis of any data depends on what is the basic purpose of the

research. Depending the basic purpose the type of tools should be used for the

analysis. The analysis is done in accordance with the acceptable relevant

scientific methods. The main characteristics of a good analysis are that it

should be easily understood by others and should be based on all items, and

should be rigidly defined.

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Name of the Company Ink used

Rich Prints United

Kalyani Printers United

Unique Offset BSF

Replica Packaging Coates

Super Computers Coates

Mudrankan Micro

Delight Printers Micro

Mirror Art Coates

Vinayaka Stationary Coates

Prakash Offset Coates

Vikram Printers Coates

Anurup Printers Micro

Sri J United

Runa Graphics Coates

Mandar Traders United

Raj printers Coates

Blue Bird India Ltd United

Jangam Offset Coates

Sri Om Coates

Kalpana Graphics Coates

Mudra Coates

Sri Om Offset United

Sri Ram Offset United

Amol Associates Micro

K. Joshi Sicpa

Spectrum Offset Toyo King

Pratima Coates

Sangam Press NIK

Ashish Advt. Micro

Shantadurga Coates

Pratiroop Sicpa

Sidhkala Process Coates

Prabhat Printing Press Coates

Zaware Graphics Coates

Poonam Offset Coates

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Name of the Company Monthly Req. of Inks

Rich Prints 60 kg

Kalyani Printers 600 kg

Unique Offset 60 kg

Replica Packaging 30 kg

Super Computers 70 kg

Mudrankan 30 kgDelight Printers 30 kg

Mirror Art 50 kg

Vinayaka Stationary 40 kg

Prakash Offset 60 kg

Vikram Printers 50 kg

Anurup Printers 100 kg

Sri J 40 kg

Runa Graphics 40 kg

Mandar Traders 50 kg

Raj printers 50 kg

Blue Bird India Ltd 1100 kg

Jangam Offset 60 kg

Sri Om 200 kg

Kalpana Graphics 30 kg

Mudra 30 kg

Sri Om Offset 30 kg

Sri Ram Offset 40 kg

Amol Associates 50 kg

K. Joshi 60 kg

Spectrum Offset 50 kg

Pratima 40 kg

Sangam Press 100 kg

Ashish Advt. 240 kgShantadurga 100 kg

Pratiroop 200 kg

Sidhkala Process 40 kg

Prabhat Pinting Press 120 kg

Zaware Graphics 50 kg

Poonam Offset 40 kg

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Name of the CompanyMonthly Req. ofChemicals

Rich Prints 40 lit

Kalyani Printers 60 lit

Unique Offset 50 lit

Replica Packaging 50 lit

Super Computers 50 lit

Mudrankan 30 lit

Delight Printers 30 lit

Mirror Art 50 lit

Vinayaka Stationary 40 lit

Prakash Offset 300 lit

Vikram Printers 60 lit

Anurup Printers 30 lit

Sri J 50 lit

Runa Graphics 45 lit

Mandar Traders 30 lit

Raj printers 25 lit

Blue Bird India Ltd 400 lit

Jangam Offset 150 lit

Sri Om 50 lit

Kalpana Graphics 25 lit

Mudra 75 lit

Sri Om Offset 50 lit

Sri Ram Offset 20 lit

Amol Associates 20 lit

K. Joshi 30 lit

Spectrum Offset 110 lit

Pratima 50 lit

Sangam Press 450 lit

Ashish Advt. 120 lit

Shantadurga 30 lit

Pratiroop 50 lit

Sidhkala Process 30 lit

Prabhat Pinting Press 30 lit

Zaware Graphics 75 litPoonam Offset 50 lit

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53Poonam Offset Cow

Name of the Company Blankets Used

Rich Prints Cow

Kalyani Printers Cow

Unique Offset Phoenix

Replica Packaging Day

Super Computers Cow

Mudrankan Phoenix

Delight Printers Cow

Mirror Art Cow

Vinayaka Stationary Cow

Prakash Offset Day

Vikram Printers Phoenix

Anurup Printers Cow

Sri J Cow

Runa Graphics Cow

Mandar Traders Cow

Raj printers Cow

Blue Bird India Ltd Cow

Jangam Offset Cow

Sri Om Cow

Kalpana Graphics Cow

Mudra Cow

Sri Om Offset Cow

Sri Ram Offset Cow

Amol Associates Cow

K. Joshi Day

Spectrum Offset Conti Air

Pratima Phoenix

Sangam Press MeijiAshish Advt. Cow

Shantadurga Cow

Pratiroop Cow

Sidhkala Process Cow

Prabhat Pinting Press Cow

Zaware Graphics Cow

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Coates

49%

United

20%

Sicpa

6%

Micro

14%

Others11% Coates

United

Sicpa

Micro

Others

The above pie chart is of the total market share of printing inks in Pune area. As we can

see Coates is having around 49 % of the market share, which is the highest. United inks is

having a market share of 20%, whereas Sicpa and Micro inks are having 6% and 14%

respectively. So we can say that in Pune area Coates is the market leader.

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Distribution of Chemicals

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

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DIC India Ltd. is a printing ink manufacturing company and the main reasons for

this research were

4) The company wanted to know their market position with so many new ink

companies coming in.

5) The company wanted to enter into two new segments i.e. blankets used in printing

offset machines and the chemicals used while printing.

6) The company wanted to know if the customer is satisfied with their products as

well as the after service.

For the above purpose, thirty five main printing presses were selected from Pune city

who were medium or large scale, and information was obtained using questionnaires.

Each printing press was visited personally and information was obtained from the owner

as well as the workers. The questionnaire was so prepared that it would be very easy for

the respondent to answer the questions without any stress and also without consuming

more time.

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Analysis

1) The first chart is of the different manufacturers from which the press owners buy

the ink. The main players are Coates, Micro inks, United inks, Sicpa etc. As we

can understand from the Pie chart Coates inks is having 49 % share, United inks is

having 20 % share whereas Micro inks is having 14 % share in the market. As we

can see the main competition is between these three companies. Coates is

relatively older company and has loyal customers.

2) The total ink consumption monthly of all these thirty-five printing

presses is 3940 kg. Each company has given the average monthly requirement as

ink requirement depends on thejobs available for printing.

3) The total consumption of chemicals is 2755 lit monthly, which is also given as

average, as requirement of chemicals depend on the availability of the job.

4) Round 75 % of the printing presses use blankets from Cow Company. This

company is old and has loyal customers. People using this product are quite

satisfied with its performance.

Conclusion

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4) As far as printing ink is concerned the position of DIC Coates is very strong in the

market. They enjoy the loyalty of the customers, as the company is very old. The

prices are also reasonable and competitive in the market.

5) Customers are satisfied with the performance of the Coates ink and expect the

after sales service to be more efficient.

6) Customers were given three words, price, quality and service and were told to

give their priorities, and around 80 % people gave quality as their first priority,

service as the second priority and price as the third.

7) Around 75 % of the customers do the color matching on the machine itself, and

only for high quality jobs color matching is done from outside.

8) The monthly requirements of the blankets is very less, i.e. very few presses

change their blankets every month. The wear and tear of the blanket depends on

the frequency of the job and at the speed at which the machine is normally run.

9) Technova is the only competitor in the chemicals field. Many printers use localmade chemicals for economical purpose. Chemicals with good quality and

reasonable prices will be welcomed in the market.

10)Entering the Blanket segment will be a bit difficult as Cow is having a very strong

position in the market. Right now there is no direct threat to Cow Company.

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Recommendation

4) The Company should try and do some type of advertising in the market, to

increase the sales and the share in the market.

5) The after sales service should be more prompt and fast. Complaints should be

looked after immediately without any delay.

6) Entering into the chemicals market can be profitable. Quality should be

maintained, compared to Technova, with reasonable price. The Company can use

its brand image of printing inks in chemicals field.

7) The Company should enter the Blanket segment very slowly, with less investment

at first. People should know the brand before giving serious competition to Cow.

8) The distribution service should be improved and the supplies should be regular for

the convenience of the customer.

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Questionnaire:

1) Name of the company?

2) Address?

3) Which ink do you use?

4) What is your monthly requirement of ink?

5) Which blankets do you use?

6) What is your monthly requirement of blankets?

7) What are your monthly requirements of chemicals?

8) Are you satisfied with the performance of your ink?

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Bibliography

1) Modern Lithography by Ian Faux.

2) Handbook of print media.

3) Company brochures.

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