SUMMER TRAINING REPORT

ON “SALES AND MARKETING IN SKODA AUTO”

GAUTAM BUDDH TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOWIn Partial FullFillment of the Requirement of the Degree of Master of Business

Administration

Year 2009 - 11

Department of ManagementTeerthanker Mahaveer Institute of Management & Technology

Delhi Road, Moradabad

Project guide Project InchargeINTERNAL: Miss Nazia Hasan Mrs.Sonia Gupta EXTERNAL:Mr.Pawan Arora (Course Coordinator-MBA) Submitted By

Shantanu GuptaRoll No: 0914870401

MBA III Semester

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CERTIFICATE DATE :

This is to certify that Mr. /Ms. Shantanu Gupta Is pursuing two years full time Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) course from TMIMT, Moradabad as a regular student.

In compliance with the provisions/guidelines of U.P Technical University, Lucknow. She/he has been assigned a summer training research projectThe project work has been genuinely carried out by the student for theDuration specified by the university

He/she has made sincere efforts in the completion of the project work

Internal guideMiss Nazia Hasan

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DECLARATION

I, SHANTANU GUPTA student of MBA III Semester, Teerthankar Mahaveer

Institute of Management & Technology, Moradabad Batch 2009 – 2011 Roll

No. 0914870401 hereby declare that summer training report entitled “SALES

AND MARKETING IN SKODA AUTO” is the outcome of my own work and

the same has not been submitted to any University / Institute for the award of any

degree of professional diploma.

DATE: Shantanu Gupta

(M.B.A. 3rd Semester) Roll No: 0914870401

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A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T

It gives me immense pleasure to place before my examiners

my Project Report on “MARKETING AND SALES IN SKODA

AUTO”

My sincere acknowledgement and over riding debt is to my

project guide Miss Nazia Hasan & my External Guide Mr.

Pawan Arora (General Manager, FAHRENHEIT AUTO Pvt.

Ltd.”) who provide me with the time and inspiration needed to

detail out this project. He, as over should be thank for her

continuous and untiring support.

I also express my sincere thanks to my Parents and Shri

Suresh Jain (Chairman), Mr. Manish Jain (Vice Chairman),

Dr. A.K. Garg (Executive Director), M.P. Singh (HOD), Dr.

Sonia Gupta (Course coordinator & project in charge,

MBA), and all faculty members, librarian & lab staff, who

have provided me the required information and valuable feedback

for completing this project report.

Finally, I crave the faculty members of the indulgence to

communicate the deficiencies in the effort. I shall be grateful

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obliged to my examiners for comments and their valuable

suggestions for further improvements.

Shantanu Gupta MBA IIIrd Semester

Roll No. : 0914870401

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The present report is prepared for the partial fulfillment of M.B.A. and as a part

of curriculum. This is an attempt to determine and do a Study of

“Markrting And Sales in SKODA AUTO”

To pursue the research area are FAHRENHEIT AUTO Pvt. Ltd.” New

Delhi was chosen. Where the survey conducted through QUISTIONNARE and

INTERVIEW. The data collection is as analyzed and some practical tools were

applied to get inferences from the survey. The results are printed in forms of

graphs and diagrams.

The report has two sections, in its first section company profile is given, where as

in second section, research methodology is given which includes sample design,

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analysis on sample and findings are given. Suggestions with respect to the survey

for future improvement is given to improve the survey because there competitors

have also taken up the survey.

At the end of the report limitations, Conclusion of the research. Last there is Bibliography

P R E F A C E

In the present scenario marketing and sales is a major challenge for

seasoned professional. And it is no surprise that Marketing is a tough

concept to understand. Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and

processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings

that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

The project report consists of detailed Study of “Marketing and Sales in

Skoda Auto” A sincere effort has been made to analyze working pattern of

Depository Services.

The report further provides information regarding Skoda Auto, its financial

position, infrastructure with its product and services offered by them, which

facilitate the buyer effectively. It is very important that trained marketing

professionals who are able to communicate specific features of the services

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should sell the products. In the millennium all these activities would play a

crucial role in the overall development and maturity of the organization.

I hope that the research work made by me will be of great help to get the

comprehensive knowledge of the organization.

C O N T E N T S

Chapter no. Title

Student Declaration

Certificate of Institute

Certificate of Industry

Acknowledgment ii

Executive Summary i

Preface

a. Introduction

b. Scope and role Marketing and Sales

a) BCG Matrix

b) SWOT ANALYSIS

c. Research Objectives

d. Company Profile

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e. Research Methodology

f. Data Analysis & Interpretation

g. Findings

h. Recommendations & Suggestions

i. Conclusion

j. Limitations

k. Bibliography

l. Questionaire

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Marketing is the process of performing market research,  selling products 

and/or services to customers and promoting them via advertising to further

enhance sales. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques,

business communication, and business developments. It is an integrated

process through which companies build strong customer relationships and

creates value for their customers and for themselves.

Marketing is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the customer, and to

keep the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be

concluded that marketing management is one of the major components

of business management. Marketing evolved to meet the stasis in

developing new markets caused by mature markets and overcapacities in

the last 2-3 centuries. The adoption of marketing strategies requires

businesses to shift their focus from production to the perceived needs and

wants of their customers as the means of staying profitable.

The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals

depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering

the desired satisfactions. It proposes that in order to satisfy its organizational

objectives, an organization should anticipate the needs and wants of

consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors.

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Further definitions

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA) as "the

activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering,

and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and

society at large." The term developed from the original meaning which referred

literally to going to a market to buy or sell goods or services. Seen from a systems

point of view, sales process engineering views marketing as "a set of processes that

are interconnected and interdependent with other functions, whose methods can be

improved using a variety of relatively new approaches."

The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as "the management

process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer

requirements profitably." A different concept is the value-based marketing which

states the role of marketing to contribute to increasing shareholder value. In this

context, marketing is defined as "the management process that seeks to maximize

returns to shareholders by developing relationships with valued customers and

creating a competitive advantage."

Marketing practice tended to be seen as a creative industry in the past, which

included advertising, distribution and selling. However, because the academic study

of marketing makes extensive use of social

sciences, psychology, sociology, mathematics, economics, anthropology and neuros

cience, the profession is now widely recognized as a science, allowing numerous

universities to offer Master-of-Science (MSc) programmes. The overall process starts

with marketing research and goes through market segmentation, business planning

and execution, ending with pre and post-sales promotional activities. It is also

related to many of the creative arts. The marketing literature is also adept at re-

inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times and the culture.

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Evolution of marketing

An orientation, in the marketing context, related to a perception or attitude a firm

holds towards its product or service, essentially concerning consumers and end-

users. Throughout history marketing has changed considerably as consumer tastes

are changing faster.

Earlier approaches

The marketing orientation evolved from earlier orientations namely the production

orientation, the product orientation and the selling orientation.

Orientation

Profit driver

Western Europea

n timefram

e

Description

Production

Production methods

until the 1950s

A firm focusing on a production orientation specializes in producing as much as possible of a given product or service. Thus, this signifies a firm exploiting economies of scale, until the minimum efficient scale is reached. A production orientation may be deployed when a high demand for a product or service exists, coupled with a good certainty that consumer tastes do not rapidly alter (similar to the sales orientation).

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ProductQuality of

the product

until the 1960s

A firm employing a product orientation is chiefly concerned with the quality of its own product. A firm would also assume that as long as its product was of a high standard, people would buy and consume the product.

SellingSelling

methods1950s and

1960s

A firm using a sales orientation focuses primarily on the selling/promotion of a particular product, and not determining new consumer desires as such. Consequently, this entails simply selling an already existing product, and using promotion techniques to attain the highest sales possible.

Such an orientation may suit scenarios in

which a firm holds dead stock, or

otherwise sells a product that is in high

demand, with little likelihood of changes

in consumer tastes diminishing demand.

Marketing

Needs and wants of

customers

1970 to present

day

The 'marketing orientation' is perhaps the most common orientation used in contemporary marketing. It involves a firm essentially basing its marketing plans around the marketing concept, and thus supplying products to suit new consumer tastes. As an example, a firm would employ market research to gauge consumer desires, use R&D to develop a product attuned to the revealed information, and then utilize promotion techniques to ensure persons know the product exists.

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Contemporary approaches

Recent approaches in marketing is the relationship marketing with focus on the

customer, the business marketing or industrial marketing with focus on an

organization or institution and the social marketing with focus on benefits to the

society. New forms of marketing also use the internet and are therefore

called internet marketing or more generally e-marketing,online marketing, search

engine marketing, desktop advertising or affiliate marketing. It tries to perfect

the segmentation strategy used in traditional marketing. It targets its audience

more precisely, and is sometimes called personalized marketing or one-to-one

marketing. Internet marketing is sometimes considered to be broad in scope, because it not

only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless

media.

Orientation Profit driver

Western

European

timeframe

Description

Relationship marketing /Relati

onship management

Building and keeping good

customer relations

1960s to

present day

Emphasis is placed on the whole relationship between suppliers and customers. The aim is to give the best possible attention, customer services and therefore build customer loyalty.

Business marketing /Industrial marketing

Building and keeping

relationships betweenorganiz

ations

1980s to

present day

In this context marketing takes place between businesses or organizations. The product focus lies on industrial goods orcapital goods rather than consumer products or

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end products. A different form of marketing activities like promotion, advertising and communication to the customer is used.

Social marketingBenefit to

society

1990s to

present day

Similar characteristics as marketing orientation but with the added proviso that there will be a curtailment on any harmful activities to society, in either product, production, or selling methods.

Branding Brand value

2000s to

present day

In this context, "branding" is main company philosophy and marketing is considered an instrument of branding philosophy.

Customer orientation

A firm in the market economy survives by producing goods that persons are willing

and able to buy. Consequently, ascertaining consumer demand is vital for a firm's

future viability and even existence as a going concern. Many companies today have

a customer focus (or market orientation). This implies that the company focuses its

activities and products on consumer demands. Generally there are three ways of

doing this: the customer-driven approach, the sense of identifying market changes

and the product innovation approach.

In the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are the drivers of all strategic

marketing decisions. No strategy is pursued until it passes the test of consumer

research. Every aspect of a market offering, including the nature of the product

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itself, is driven by the needs of potential consumers. The starting point is always the

consumer. The rationale for this approach is that there is no point spending R&D

funds developing products that people will not buy. History attests to many

products that were commercial failures in spite of being technological

breakthroughs.

A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing is known as SIVA (Solution,

Information, Value, Access). This system is basically the four Ps renamed and reworded to

provide a customer focus. The SIVA Model provides a demand/customer centric version

alternative to the well-known 4Ps supply side model (product, price, placement, promotion) of

marketing management.

Product → Solution

Price → Value

Place → Access

Promotion →

Information

If any of the 4Ps had a problem or were not there in the marketing factor of the

business, the business could be in trouble and so other companies may appear in

the surroundings of the company, so the consumer demand on its products will

become less.

Organizational orientation

In this sense, a firm's marketing department is often seen as of prime importance

within the functional level of an organization. Information from an organization's

marketing department would be used to guide the actions of other departments

within the firm. As an example, a marketing department could ascertain (via

marketing research) that consumers desired a new type of product, or a new usage

for an existing product. With this in mind, the marketing department would inform

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the R&D department to create a prototype of a product/service based on

consumers' new desires.

The production department would then start to manufacture the product, while the

marketing department would focus on the promotion, distribution, pricing, etc. of

the product. Additionally, a firm's finance department would be consulted, with

respect to securing appropriate funding for the development, production and

promotion of the product. Inter-departmental conflicts may occur, should a firm

adhere to the marketing orientation. Production may oppose the installation,

support and servicing of new capital stock, which may be needed to manufacture a

new product. Finance may oppose the required capital expenditure, since it could

undermine a healthy cash flow for the organization.

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What is meant by a Marketing And Sales?

DEFINITION   OF   MARKETING .

What is  Marketing ?

It  is  a  process  by  which:-  

- One  identifies  the  needs and wants  of  the  people.- One determines and creates a product/service to meet the needs and wants. [PRODUCT]- One determines a way of taking the product/service to the market place. [PLACE]- One determines the way of communicating the product  to the  market  place. [PROMOTIONS]- One determines the value for the product.[PRICE].

- One determines the people, who have needs/ wants. [PEOPLE]

and then creating a transaction for exchanging the product for   a value. And thus creating a satisfaction to the buyer's needs/wants.

TERMS  to  understand.

1. Product/Service means a product or service or idea to satisfy  the people’s needs / wants.

2. Needs  mean  when  a  person feels deprived of something.

3.Wants  mean  when a  person's  need  is  formed / shaped  by  personality, culture, and  knowledge.

4.Value  means  the  benefits  that the  customer  gains from   owning  and  using the  product  and  the  cost  of  the product.

5.Satisfaction  means  the extent  to  which  a  product's   perceived  performance  matches  a  buyer's expectation.

6. Exchange means the act of obtaining a needed/ wanted  object by offering something in return.

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7.Transactions  mean a  trade  off  between  a  buyer / a seller  that  involves  an  exchange  at  agreed  conditions.

Marketing is based on identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs effectively and profitably. It encompasses market research, pricing, promotion, distribution, customer care, your brand image and much more. 

===========================================================================

DEFINITION     OF     SALES  

What  is  Sales ?

It  is  a  process  by  which  

- one  identifies   the  people, who  have a  need. [ PROSPECTING]- one determines  the  needs  of  the  people.[ NEEDS ]

- one determines  a way  of  finding  a  solution to the  prospect's  problem.[PROPOSE]

- one determines the  way of  communicating  your product  as a  solution.RECOMMENDING]

- one determines the value for the product for  the  prospect.[ ADVOCATING YOURPRODUCT].

- one determines  / sells  benefits  of the  product   to the  prospect. [ SELLINGBENEFITS]

and then  creating a  transaction for exchanging the product for   a  value. [ CLOSING  THE SALE ]

and  thus  creating a  satisfaction to the buyer's needs/wants. [CREATING  CUSTOMER  SATISFACTION]

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I WILL  GIVE  YOU  SOME  OUTLINE OF  THE  PROCESS, HOW YOU  WILL  SELL TO  A  CUSTOMER.

STAGE 1 --ESTABLISHING  YOURSELF

-how you will  introduce yourself  to  the  customer.-how you will approach  the customer-how you will  create interest  for the  customer-how you will  grab the attention of the customer-how you will  establish rapport with the customers

STAGE  2 --DEVELOPING  CUSTOMER  NEEDS

-how you will  you profile the customer  -how you will  define the  needs of the customer-how you will  probe  the  customers-how you will  determine the  customer needs

STAGE  3 --PROPOSING  YOUR  PRODUCT AS SOLUTION

-how you will  advocate your solution  -how you will  recommend your  products as a  solution-how you will  sell  benefits  of your  products-how you will  motivate the customer  to make a  decision in your favour

STAGE 4 --HANDLING  OBJECTIONS

-how you will  manage cutomer resistance  -how you will  handle the customer  objections

STAGE 5 - CLOSE THE  SALES-how you will  seek  customer  commitment-how you will  help  the  customer to  close the  sale.-how you will  take the  order.

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Why Marketing?

• Not enough to be good, must communicate this too

• Thus, Marketing is crucial

Concepts in Marketing

• The Production Concept : States that Consumers will favor those products that are widely available and low in cost

• Therefore what do you do?

• Any companies following this concept today?

Production Concept

• Produce as much as possible

• Distribute widely

• Example, Henry Ford’s early cars

• Today, screws, nuts, plugs

• However, there were problems here, which were?

• No focus on quality and features, just price and availability

• This gave way to the Product Concept

• Product Concept: Consumers will favour that product that offers the

best quality/performance and most features

• Hence, what do you do?

• Make the “best” possible product

• Do R&D, come out with new features, improve, improve and improve

• What are the problems here?

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Product Concept – Myopia

• Ted Levitt called it “Marketing Myopia”

• Focus on the consumer need, rather than on the product

• For instance, railroad companies in the US

• The rise of budget airlines, even in Asia

• Bajaj missed the motorcycle revolution

• IBM missed the PC revolution

Marketing Concept

• Marketing Concept: Determine Consumer Needs/Wants and fill them better than anyone else, at a profit

• The Consumer is thus the starting point

• Marketing starts with consumer needs

• Hence, marketers have to be consumer focused always, consumer obsessed, in fact

• Who is the market leader in consumer electronics today here in this country?

• So is the end or can we improve the marketing concept any further?

• Is the customer the only person you care about?

Societal Marketing Concept

• You need to care about society as well

• Societal Marketing: Fill consumer needs, at the same time, harm him/her & society as little as possible

• Thus, McDonalds faces lawsuits

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• Eco-friendliness is in vogue - CFC free fridges the norm

• Thus, currently, the last two concepts hold sway

Marketing – Definition

• AMA, 1948; “ Marketing was the performance of business activities directed toward, and incident to the flow of good and services from producer to consumer” a mere highway

• “The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas and goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives” - AMA, 1985

Marketing Vs. Selling

• Is selling the same as Marketing?

• Any ideas?

• Selling is “how to convert this product to cash”? “How do I get the customer to part with money”?

• Marketing is “How do I find consumer needs and fill them better than anyone else?”

• Selling is short-term focused, marketing is not

• Selling is a part of marketing, which is all-encompassing

Marketing – Prerequisites (Priorities)

• What/who need to be there for Marketing to take place?

Marketing – Prerequisites

• Exchange: whether of goods or information.

• Two parties: one marketer and one buyer

• A Product is a good, service or idea that the customer acquires to satisfy a need or a want

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• So what is a need and what is a want?

• Any difference?

Marketing - Prerequisites

• A need:- is a felt state of basic deprivation

• A Want: - Specific Satisfier of Deeper Needs

• I am hungry, I need food, but do not want chapathi, want a masala dosa

• A need is at a more basic level

• Plus for Marketing to take place, one needs money, of course

The Marketing Environment

• What Constitutes the Environment ?

• All internal and external factors that directly or indirectly influence a marketer’s actions

• Internal factors are closer than external ones

• Some degree of control can be exerted over them

• Microenvironment Vs. Macroenvironment

A Few Examples

• European Exporters in the Banana wars

• Japanese exporters when the yen rose

• And so on and so forth

• Thus, sometimes companies cannot do a thing

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Some Internal Environmental factors

• The set of factors inside the marketer’s value chain

• That can influence marketing success

Employees

• Hire good people

• Empower them

• keep them happy otherwise how can they keep your customers happy ?

Stockholders

• How can they influence you ?

• Mergers and acquisitions require support

• Institutional investors

• can buy and sell huge volumes

• shareholder value

Partners

• McDonald’s franchisees

• Microsoft’s partners

• V.W Group And Skoda Auto

Suppliers

• Crucial when there are lots of parts

• Car industry

• Few suppliers only (following Japanese)

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Customers

• Consumer Movement

• Thus, the importance of relationship marketing

• particularly, when times are hard

Elements of the environment.

The marketing environment involves factors that, for the most part, are beyond the control of the company. Thus, the company must adapt to these factors. It is important to observe how the environment changes so that a firm can adapt its strategies appropriately. Consider these environmental forces:

Competition: Competitors often “creep” in and threaten to take away markets from firms. For example, Japanese auto manufacturers became a serious threat to American car makers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Similarly, the Lotus Corporation, maker of one of the first commercially successful spreadsheets, soon faced competition from other software firms. Note that while competition may be frustrating for the firm, it is good for consumers. (In fact, we will come back to this point when we consider the legal environment).Note that competition today is increasingly global in scope. It is important to recognize that competition can happen at different “levels.” At the brand level, two firms compete in providing a very similar product or service. Coca Cola and Pepsi, for example, compete for the cola drink market, and United and American Airlines compete for the passenger air transportation market. Firms also face less direct—but frequently very serious—competition at the product level. For example, cola drinks compete against bottled water. Products or services can serve as substitutes for each other even though they are very different in form. Teleconferencing facilities, for example, are very different from airline passenger transportation, but both can “bring together” people for a “meeting.” At the budget level, different products or services provide very different benefits, but buyers have to make choices as to what they will buy when they cannot afford—or are unwilling to spend on—both. For example, a family may decide between buying a new car or a high definition television set. The family may also have to choose between going on a foreign vacation or remodeling its kitchen. Firms, too, may have to make choices. The firm has the cash flow either to remodel its offices or install a more energy efficient climate control

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system; or the firm can choose either to invest in new product development or in a promotional campaign to increase awareness of its brand among consumers.

Economics. Two economic forces strongly affect firms and their customers:

o Economic Cycles. Some firms in particular are extremely vulnerable to changes in the economy. Consumers tend to put off buying a new car, going out to eat, or building new homes in bad times. In contrast, in good times, firms serving those needs may have difficulty keeping up with demand. One important point to realize is that different industries are affected to different degrees by changes in the economy. Although families can cut down on the quality of the food they buy—going with lower priced brands, for example—there are limits to the savings that can be made without greatly affecting the living standard of the family. On the other hand, it is often much easier to put off the purchase of a new car for a year or hold off on remodeling the family home. If need be, firms can keep the current computers—even though they are getting a bit slow—when sales are down. The economy goes through cycles. In the late 1990s, the U.S. economy was quite strong, and many luxury goods were sold. Currently, the economy fluctuates between increasing strength, stagnation, or slight decline. Many firms face consequences of economic downturns. Car makers, for example, have seen declining profit margins (and even losses) as they have had to cut prices and offer low interest rates on financing. Generally, in good economic times, there is a great deal of demand, but this introduces a fear of possible inflation. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve will then try to prevent the economy from “overheating.” This is usually done by raising interest rates. This makes businesses less willing to invest, and as a result, people tend to make less money. During a recession, unemployment tends to rise, causing consumers to spend less. This may result in a “bad circle,” with more people losing their jobs due to lowered demands. Some businesses, however, may take this opportunity to invest in growth now that things can be bought more cheaply.

o Inflation. Over time, most economies experience some level of inflation. Therefore, it is useful to explicitly state whether a reference to money over time involves the actual dollar (or other currency) amount exchanged at any point (e.g., one dollar spent in 1960 and one dollar in 2007) or an “inflation adjusted” figure that “anchors” a given amount of money to the value of that

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money at some point in time. Suppose, for example, that cumulative inflation between 1960 and 2007 has been 1,000%--that is, on the average, it costs ten times as much to buy the same thing in 2007 as it did 47 years earlier. If the cumulative inflation between 1960 and 1984 had been 500%, we could talk about one 1984 dollar being worth fifty 1960 cents or two 2007 dollars. It is important to note that inflation is uneven. Some goods and services—such as health care and college tuition—are currently increasing in cost much higher than the average rate of inflation. Prices of computers, actually decline both in absolute numbers (e.g., an average computer cost $1,000 one year and then goes for $800 two years later) and in terms of the value for money paid once an adjustment has been made for the improvement in quality. That is, two years later, the computer has not only declined in price by 20%, but it may also be 30% better (based on an index of speed and other performance factors). In that case, then, there has actually been, over the period, a net deflation of 38.5% for the category.

Political. Businesses are very vulnerable to changes in the political situation. For example, because consumer groups lobbied Congress, more stringent rules were made on the terms of car leases. The tobacco industry is currently the target of much negative attention from government and public interest groups. Currently, the desire to avoid aiding the enemy may result in laws that make it more difficult for American firms to export goods to other countries. Many industries have a strong economic interest in policies that benefit the industry may have a negative impact on the nation as a whole but enhance profits for the industry. For example, regulations that limit the amount of sugar that can be imported into the United States is estimated to cost each American approximately $10.00 a year. The total increase in profits to the sugar industry is difficult to estimate because many of the large producers of refined sugar are privately held corporations, but it is likely that the net gain to the industry is as much as the roughly $3 billion lost by Americans a whole. However, the interests of the industry are much more concentrated. The industry can rally its stockholders, unions and employees, and suppliers (e.g., fertilizer manufacturers and manufacturers of sugar cane processing equipment)

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together to lobby for their special interests. In turn, the industry can join forces with other agricultural interests which each support each other’s programs.

Legal.  Firms are very vulnerable to changing laws and changing interpretations by the courts. Firms in the U.S. are very vulnerable to lawsuits. McDonald’s, for example, is currently being sued by people who claim that eating the chain’s hamburgers caused them to get fat. Firms are significantly limited in what they can do by various laws—some laws, for example, require that disclosures be made to consumers on the effective interest rates they pay on products bought on installment. A particularly interesting group of laws relate to antitrust. These laws basically exist to promote fair competition among firms. We will consider such laws when we cover pricing later in the term.

Technological. Changes in technology may significantly influence the demand for a product. For example, the advent of the fax machine was bad news for Federal Express. The Internet is a major threat to travel agents. Many record stores have been wiped out of business by the trend toward downloading songs (or illegally “ripping” songs from friends’ CDs—an act to which even the President of the United States has confessed). Although technological change eliminates or at least greatly diminishes some markets, it creates opportunities for others. For example, although Federal Express has lost a considerable amount of business from documents that can now be faxed or sent by the Internet rather than having to be physically shipped, there has been a large increase in demand for packages to be delivered overnight or “second day air.” Just-in-time manufacturing techniques, in addition to online sales, have dramatically increased the market for such shipments. Online sites such as eBay now makes it possible to sell specialty products that, in the old days, would have been difficult to distribute. Although it has been possible for more than a hundred years to sell merchandise by catalog, buyers of these specialty products often had no easy access to the catalogs.

Social: Changes in customs or demographics greatly influence firms. Fewer babies today are being born, resulting in a

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decreased demand for baby foods. More women work outside the home today, so there is a greater demand for prepared foods. There are more unmarried singles today. This provides opportunities for some firms (e.g., fast food restaurants) but creates problems for others (e.g., manufacturers of high quality furniture that many people put off buying until marriage). Today, there are more “blended” families that result as parents remarry after divorce. These families are often strapped for money but may require “duplicate” items for children at each parent’s residence.

Strategic Planning

Plans and planning .

Plans are needed to clarify what kinds of strategic objectives an organization would like to achieve and how this is to be done. Such plans must consider the amount of resources available. One critical resource is capital. Microsoft keeps a great deal of cash on hand to be able to “jump” on opportunities that come about. Small startup software firms, on the other hand, may have limited cash on hand. This means that they may have to forego what would have been a good investment because they do not have the cash to invest and cannot find a way to raise the capital. Other resources that affect what a firm may be able to achieve include factors such as:

Trademarks/brand names: It would be very difficult to compete against Coke and Pepsi in the cola market.

Patents: It would be difficult to compete against Intel and AMD in the microprocessor market since both these firms have a number of patents that it is difficult to get around.

People: Even with all of Microsoft’s money available, it could not immediately hire the people needed to manufacture computer chips.

Distribution: Stores have space for only a fraction of the products they are offered, so they must turn many away. A firm that does not have an established relationship with stores will be at a disadvantage in trying to introduce a new product.

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Plans are subject to the choices and policies that the organization has made. Some firms have goals of social responsibility, for example. Some firms are willing to take a greater risk, which may result in a very large payoff but also involve the risk of a large loss, than others.Strategic marketing is best seen as an ongoing and never-ending process. Typically:

The organization will identify the objectives it wishes to achieve. This could involve profitability directly, but often profitability is a long term goal that may require some intermediate steps. The firm may seek to increase market share, achieve distribution in more outlets, have sales grow by a certain percentage, or have consumers evaluate the product more favorably. Some organizations have objectives that are not focused on monetary profit—e.g., promoting literacy or preventing breast cancer.

An analysis is made, taking into consideration issues such as organizational resources, competitors, the competitors’ strengths, different types of customers, changes in the market, or the impact of new technology.

Based on this analysis, a plan is made based on tradeoffs between the advantages and disadvantages of different options available.

This strategy is then carried out. The firm may design new products, revamp its advertising strategy, invest in getting more stores to carry the product, or decide to focus on a new customer segment.

After implementation, the results or outcome are evaluated. If results are not as desired, a change may have to be made to the strategy. Even if results are satisfactory, the firm still needs to monitor the environment for changes.

Levels of planning and strategies. Plans for a firm can be made at several different levels. At the corporate level, the management considers the objectives of the firm as a whole. For example, Microsoft may want seek to grow by providing high quality software, hardware, and services to consumers. To achieve this goal, the firm may be willing to invest aggressively.

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Plans can also be made at the business unit level. For example, although Microsoft is best known for its operating systems and applications software, the firm also provides Internet access and makes video games. Different managers will have responsibilities for different areas, and goals may best be made by those closest to the business area being considered. It is also more practical to hold managers accountable for performance if the plan is being made at a more specific level. Boeing has both commercial aircraft and defense divisions. Each is run by different managers, although there is some overlap in technology between the two. Therefore, plans are needed both at the corporate and at the business levels.

Occasionally, plans will be made at the functional level, to allow managers to specialize and to increase managerial accountability. Marketing, for example, may be charged with increasing awareness of Microsoft game consoles to 55% of the U.S. population or to increase the number of units of Microsoft Office sold. Finance may be charged with raising a given amount of capital at a given cost. Manufacturing may be charged with decreasing production costs by 5%.

The firm needs to identify the business it is in. Here, a balance must be made so that the firm’s scope is not defined too narrowly or too broadly. A firm may define its goal very narrowly and then miss opportunities in the market place. For example, if Dell were to define itself only as a computer company, it might miss an opportunity to branch into PDAs or Internet service. Thus, they might instead define themselves as a provider of “information solutions.” A company should not define itself too broadly, however, since this may result in loss of focus. For example, a manufacturer of baking soda should probably not see itself as a manufacturer of all types of chemicals. Sometimes, companies can define themselves in terms of a customer need. For example, 3M sees itself as being in the business of making products whose surfaces are bonded together. This accounts for both Post-It notes and computer disks.

A firm’s mission should generally include a discussion of the customers served(e.g., Wal-Mart and Nordstrom’s serve different

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groups), the kind of technology involved, and the markets served.Several issues are involved in selecting target customers. We will consider these in more detail within the context of segmentation, but for now, the firm needs to consider issues such as:

The size of various market segments; How well these segments are being served by existing firms; Changes in the market—e.g., growth of segments or change in

technology; How the firm should be positioned, or seen by customers. For

example, Wal-Mart positions itself as providing value in retailing, while Nordstrom’s defines itself more in terms of high levels of customer service.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix provides a firm an opportunity to assess how well its business units work together. Each business unit is evaluated in terms of two factors: market share and the growth prospects in the market. Generally, the larger a firm’s share, the stronger its position, and the greater the growth in a market, the better future possibilities. Four combinations emerge:

A star represents a business unit that has a high share in a growing market. For example, Motorola has a large share in the rapidly growing market for cellular phones.

A question mark results when a unit has a small share in a rapidly growing market. The firm’s position, then, is not as strong as it would have been had its market share been greater, but there is an opportunity to grow. For example, Hewlett-Packard has a small share of the digital camera market, but this is a very rapidly growing market.

A cash cow results when a firm has a large share in a market that is not growing, and may even be shrinking. Brother has a large share of the typewriter market.

A dog results when a business unit has a small share in a market that is not growing. This is generally a somewhat unattractive situation, although dogs can still be profitable in the short run. For example, Smith Corona how has a small share of the typewriter market.

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Firms are usually best of with a portfolio that has a balance of firms in each category. The cash cows tend to generate cash but require little future investment. On the other hand, stars generate some cash, but even more cash is needed to invest in the future—for research and development, marketing campaigns, and building new manufacturing facilities. Therefore, a firm may take excess cash from the cash cow and divert it to the star. For example, Brother could “harvest” its profits from typewriters and invest this in the unit making color laser printers, which will need the cash to grow. If a firm has cash cows that generate a lot of cash, this may be used to try to improve the market share of a question mark. A firm that has a number of promising stars in its portfolio may be in serious trouble if it does not have any cash cows to support it. If it is about to run out of cash—regardless of how profitable it is— is becomes vulnerable as a takeover target from a firm that has the cash to continue running it.

A SWOT (“Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats”) analysis is used to help the firm identify effective strategies. Successful firms such as Microsoft have certain strengths. Microsoft, for example, has a great deal of technology, a huge staff of very talented engineers, a great deal of experience in designing software, a very large market share, a well respected brand name, and a great deal of cash. Microsoft also has some weaknesses, however: The game console and MSN units are currently running at a loss, and MSN has been unable to achieve desired levels of growth. Firms may face opportunities in the current market. Microsoft, for example, may have the opportunity to take advantage of its brand name to enter into the hardware market. Microsoft may also become a trusted source of consumer services. Microsoft currently faces several threats, including the weak economy. Because fewer new computers are bough during a recession, fewer operating systems and software packages.

Rather than merely listing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, a SWOT analysis should suggest how the firm may use its strengths and opportunities to overcome weaknesses and threats. Decisions should also be made as to how resources should be allocated. For example,

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Microsoft could either decide to put more resources into MSN or to abandon this unit entirely. Microsoft has a great deal of cash ready to spend, so the option to put resources toward MSN is available. Microsoft will also need to see how threats can be addressed. The firm can earn political good will by engaging in charitable acts, which it has money available to fund. For example, Microsoft has donated software and computers to schools. It can forego temporary profits by reducing prices temporarily to increase demand, or can “hold out” by maintaining current prices while not selling as many units.

Criteria for effective marketing plans. Marketing plans should meet several criteria:

The plan must be specific enough so that it can be implemented and communicated to people in the firm. “Improving profitability” is usually too vague, but increasing net profits by 5%, increasing market share by 10%, gaining distribution in 2,000 more stores, and reducing manufacturing costs by 2% are all specific.

The plan must be measurable so that one can see if it has been achieved. The above plans involve specific numbers.

The goal must be achievable or realistic. Plans that are unrealistic may result in poor use of resources or lowered morale within the firm.

The goals must be consistent. For example, a firm cannot ordinarily simultaneously plan improve product features, increase profits, and reduce prices.

Social Responsibility in Marketing

Ethical responsibilities and constraints. Businesses and people face some constraints on what can ethically be done to make money or to pursue other goals. Fraud and deception are not only morally wrong but also inhibit the efficient functioning of the economy. There are also behaviors that, even if they are not strictly illegal in a given jurisdiction, cannot be undertaken with a good conscience. There are a number of areas where an individual must consider his or her conscience to decide if a venture is acceptable. Some “paycheck advance” loan operators charge very high interest rates on small loans made in anticipation of a consumer’s next paycheck. Depending

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on state laws, effective interest rates (interest rates plus other fees involved) may exceed 20% per month. In some cases, borrowers put up their automobiles as security, with many losing their only source of transportation through default. Although some consider this practice unconscionable, others assert that such loans may be the only way that a family can obtain cash to fill an immediate need. Because of costs of administration are high, these costs, when spread over a small amount, will amount to a large percentage. Further, because the customer groups in question tend to have poor credit ratings with high anticipated rates of default, rates must be high enough to cover this.

Sustainability. Sustainability is a notion that proposes that socially responsible firms will somehow financially outperform other less responsible firms in the long run. This might result from customer loyalty, better employee morale, or public policy favoring ethical conduct. Empirical results testing this hypothesis are mixed, neither suggesting that more responsible firms, on the average, have a clear financial advantage nor a large burden. Thus, a useful approach may be to determine (1) specific circumstances under which a firm may actually find the more responsible approach to be more profitable, (2) under which circumstances responsible behavior can be pursued without an overall significant downside, and (3) the ethical responsibilities that a firm faces when a more responsible approach may be more costly.

The individual, the firm, and society. Different individuals vary in their ethical convictions. Some are willing to work for the tobacco industry, for example, while others are not. Some are willing to mislead potential customers while others will normally not do this. There are, however, also broader societal and companywide values that may influence the individual business decision maker. Some religions, including Islam, disfavor the charging of interest. Although different groups differ somewhat in their interpretations of this issue, the Koran at the very least prohibits usury—charging excessive interest rates. There is some disagreement as to whether more modest, fair interest rates are acceptable. In cultures where the stricter interpretation applies, a firm may be unwilling to set up an interest-based financing plan for customers who cannot pay cash. The firm might, instead, charge a higher price, with no additional charge for interest. Some firms also have their own ethical stands, either implicitly or explicitly. For example, Google has the motto “Do no evil.” Other firms, on the other hand, may actively encourage lies, deception, and other reprehensible behavior. Some firms elect to sell in less developed countries products that have been banned as unsafe in their own countries.

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Making it profitable for the tobacco industry to “harvest.” Many see the tobacco industry as the “enemy” and may not want to do anything that can benefit the industry. However, in principle, it may actually be possible to make it profitable for the tobacco industry to “harvest”—to spend less money on brand building and gradually reduce the quantities sold.  The tobacco industry is heavily concentrated, with three firms controlling most of the market. Some other industries are exempt from many antitrust law provisions. If the tobacco companies were allowed to collude and set prices, the equilibrium market price would probably go up, and the quantity of tobacco demanded would then go down. It is been found that among teenagers, smoking rates are especially likely to decrease when prices increase. The tobacco companies could also be given some immediate tax breaks in return for giving up their trademarks some thirty years in the future. This would reduce the incentive to advertise, again leading to decreased demand in the future. The tax benefits needed might have to be very high, thus making the idea infeasible unless the nation is willing to trade off better health for such large revenue losses.

“Win-win” marketing. In some cases, it may actually be profitable for companies to do good deeds. This may be the case, for example, when a firm receives a large amount of favorable publicity for its contributions, resulting in customer goodwill and an enhanced brand value. A pharmacy chain, for example, might pay for charitable good to develop information about treating diabetes. The chain could then make this information on its web site, paying for bandwidth and other hosting expenses that may be considerably less than the value of the positive publicity received.

“Sponsored Fundraising.” Non-profit groups often spend a large proportion of the money they take in on fundraising. This is problematic both because of the inefficiency of the process and the loss of potential proceeds that result and because potential donors who learn about or suspect high fundraising expenses may be less likely to donor. This is an especially critical issue now that information on fundraising overhead for different organizations is readily available on the Internet.

An alternative approach to fundraising that does not currently appear to be much in use is the idea of “sponsored” fundraising. The idea here is that some firm might volunteer to send out fundraising appeals on behalf of the organization. For example, Microsoft might volunteer to send out letters asking people to donate to the American Red Cross. This may be a very cost effective method of promotion for the firm since the sponsor would benefit from both the positive publicity for its involvement and from the greater attention that would likely be given a fundraising appeal for a group of

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special interest than would be given to an ordinary advertisement or direct mail piece advertising the sponsor in a traditional way.

One issue that comes up is the potential match between the sponsor and sponsee organization. This may or may not be a critical issue since respondents are selected for the solicitation based on their predicted interest in the organization. Microsoft—directly or indirectly through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—has been credited with a large number of charitable ventures and has the Congressional Black Caucus as one of its greatest supporters. In many cases, firms might volunteer for this fundraising effort in large part because of the spear heading efforts of high level executives whose families are affected by autism.

Commercial Comedy. Another win-win deal potential between industry and non-profit groups involves the idea of commercial comedy. Many non-profit groups are interested in finding low cost, high quality entertainment for fundraising events. After all, money spent on buying entertainment reduces the net proceeds available for the organization’s program. Firms, on the other hand, have difficulty getting current and potential customers to give attention to advertising in traditional media. If firms were able to create some high quality entertainment involving their mascotss—e.g., the Energizer Bunny, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and the AFLAC Duck—the audience at a fundraising event would give attention for an extended period of time. Good will would also be generated, and it is likely that the act would receive considerable media coverage.

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The Marketing Mix: Product

Products come in several forms. Consumer products can be categorized as convenience goods, for which consumers are willing to invest very limited shopping efforts. Thus, it is essential to have these products readily available and have the brand name well known. Shopping goods, in contrast, are goods in which the consumer is willing to invest a great deal of time and effort. For example, consumers will spend a great deal of time looking for a new car or a medical procedure. Specialty goods are those that are of interest only to a narrow segment of the population—e.g., drilling machines. Industrial goods can also be broken down into subgroups, depending on their uses. It should also be noted that, within the context of marketing decisions, the term product refers to more than tangible goods—a service can be a product, too.

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A firm’s product line or lines refers to the assortment of similar things that the firm holds. Brother, for example, has both a line of laser printers and one of typewriters. In contrast, the firm’s product mix describes the combination of different product lines that the firm holds. Boeing, for example, has both a commercial aircraft and a defense line of products that each take advantage of some of the same core competencies and technologies of the firm. Some firms have one very focused or narrow product line (e.g., KFC does only chicken right) while others maintain numerous lines that hopefully all have some common theme. This represents a wide product mix 3M, for example, makes a large assortment of goods that are thought to be related in the sense that they use the firm’s ability to bond surfaces together. Depth refers to the variety that is offered within each product line. Maybelline offers a great deal of depth in lipsticks with subtle differences in shades while Morton Salt offers few varieties of its product.

Products may be differentiated in several ways. Some may be represented as being of superior quality (e.g., Maytag), or they may differ in more arbitrary ways in terms of styles—some people like one style better than another, while there is no real consensus on which one is the superior one. Finally, products can be differentiated in terms of offering different levels of service—for example, Volvo offers a guarantee of free, reliable towing anywhere should the vehicle break down. American Express offers services not offered by many other charge cards.

NEW PRODUCT DEVELOLOPMENT

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New product development tends to happen in stages. Although firms often go back and forth between these idealized stages, the following sequence is illustrative of the development of a new product:

New product strategy development. Different firms will have different strategies on how to approach new products. Some firms have stockholders who want to minimize risk and avoid investing in too many new innovations. Some firms can only survive if they innovate frequently and have stockholders who are willing to take this risk. For example, Hewlett-Packard has to constantly invent new products since competitors learn to work around its patents and will be able to manufacture the products at a lower cost.

Idea generation. Firms solicit ideas as to new products it can make. Ideas might come from customers, employees, consultants, or engineers. Many firms receive a large number of ideas each year and can only invest in some of them.

Screening and evaluation: Some products that after some analysis are clearly not feasible or are not consistent with the core competencies of the firm are eliminated.

Business analysis. Ideas are now exposed to more rigorous analysis. Profit projections, risks, market size, and competitive response are considered. If promising, market research may be done.

Development: The product is designed and manufacturing facilities are planned.

Market testing: Frequently, firms will try to “test” a product in one region to see if it will sell in reality before it is released nationally and internationally. There is a lesser risk if the firm only commits money to advertising and other marketing efforts in one region. Retailers will also be more receptive in other parts of the country and world if it has been demonstrated that the product sold well in one region. The firm may also experiment with different prices for the product.

Commercialization: Facilities to manufacture the product on a larger scale are now put into operation and the firm starts a national marketing campaign and distribution effort.

THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

Products often go through a life cycle. Initially, a product is introduced.

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Since the product is not well known and is usually expensive (e.g., as microwave ovens were in the late 1970s), sales are usually limited. Eventually, however, many products reach a growth phase—sales increase dramatically. More firms enter with their models of the product. Frequently, unfortunately, the product will reach a maturity stage where little growth will be seen. For example, in the United States, almost every household has at least one color TV set. Some products may also reach a decline stage, usually because the product category is being replaced by something better. For example, typewriters experienced declining sales as more consumers switched to computers or other word processing equipment. The product life cycle is tied to the phenomenon of diffusion of innovation. When a new product comes out, it is likely to first be adopted by consumers who are more innovative than others—they are willing to pay a premium price for the new product and take a risk on unproven technology. It is important to be on the good side of innovators since many other later adopters will tend to rely for advice on the innovators who are thought to be more knowledgeable about new products for advice.At later phases of the PLC, the firm may need to modify its market strategy. For example, facing a saturated market for baking soda in its traditional use, Arm & Hammer launched a major campaign to get consumers to use the product to deodorize refrigerators. Deodorizing powders to be used before vacuuming were also created.

It is sometimes useful to think of products as being either new or existing.Many firms today rely increasingly on new products for a large part of their sales. New products can be new in several ways. They can be new to the market—noone else ever made a product like this before. For example, Chrysler invented the minivan. Products can also be new to the firm—another firm invented the product, but the firm is now making its own version. For example, IBM did not invent the personal computer, but entered after other firms showed the market to have a high potential. Products can

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be new to the segment—e.g., cellular phones and pagers were first aimed at physicians and other price-insensitive segments. Later, firms decided to target the more price-sensitive mass market. A product can be new for legal purposes. Because consumers tend to be attracted to “new and improved” products, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) only allows firms to put that label on reformulated products for six months after a significant change has been made.

DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONThe diffusion of innovation refers to the tendency of new products, practices, or ideas to spread among people.

Usually, when new products or ideas come about, they are initially only adopted by a small group of people. Later, many innovations spread to other people. The bell shaped curve frequently illustrates the rate of adoption of a new product. Cumulative adoptions are reflected by the S-shaped curve.

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The saturation point is the maximum proportion of consumers likely to adopt a product. In the case of refrigerators in the U.S., the saturation level is nearly one hundred percent of households. The figure will almost certainly be well below that for video games that, even when spread out to a large part of the population, will be of interest to far from everyone.

Several specific product categories have case histories that illustrate important issues in adoption. Until some time in the 1800s, few physicians bothered to scrub prior to surgery, even though new scientific theories predicted that small microbes not visible to the naked eye could cause infection. Younger and more progressive physicians began scrubbing early on, but they lacked the stature to make their older colleagues follow.

ATM cards spread relatively quickly. Since the cards were used in public, others who did not yet hold the cards could see how convenient they were. Although some people were concerned about security, the convenience factors seemed to be a decisive factor in the “tug-of-war” for and against adoption.The case of credit cards was a bit more complicated and involved a “chicken and-egg” paradox. Accepting credit cards was not a particularly attractive option for retailers until they were carried by a large enough number of consumers. Consumers, in contrast, were not particularly interested in cards that were not accepted by a large number of retailers. Thus, it was necessary to “jump start” the process, signing up large corporate accounts, under favorable terms, early in the cycle, after which the cards became worthwhile for retailers to accept.

Rap music initially spread quickly among urban youths in large part because of the low costs of recording. Later, rap music became popular among a very different segment, suburban youths, because of its apparently authentic depiction of an exotic urban lifestyle.

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Hybrid corn was adopted only slowly among many farmers. Although hybrid corn provided yields of about 20% more than traditional corn, many farmers had difficulty believing that this smaller seed could provide a superior harvest. They were usually reluctant to try it because a failed harvest could have serious economic consequences, including a possible loss of the farm. Agricultural extension agents then sought out the most progressive farmers to try hybrid corn, also aiming for farmers who were most respected and most likely to be imitated by others. Few farmers switched to hybrid corn outright from year to year. Instead, many started out with a fraction of their land, and gradually switched to 100% hybrid corn when this innovation had proven itself useful.

Several forces often work against innovation. One is risk, which can be either social or financial. For example, early buyers of the CD player risked that few CDs would be recorded before the CD player went the way of the 8 track player. Another risk is being perceived by others as being weird for trying a “fringe” product or idea. For example, Barbara Mandrel sings the song “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.” Other sources of resistance include the initial effort needed to learn to use new products (e.g., it takes time to learn to meditate or to learn how to use a computer) and concerns about compatibility with the existing culture or technology. For example, birth control is incompatible with religious beliefs that predominate in some areas, and a computer database is incompatible with a large, established card file.

Innovations come in different degrees. A continuous innovation includes slight improvements over time. Very little usually changes from year to year in automobiles, and even automobiles of the 1990s are driven much the same way that automobiles of the 1950 were driven. A dynamically continuous innovation involves some change in technology, although the product is used much the same way that its predecessors were used—e.g., jet vs. propeller aircraft. Adiscontinuous innovation involves a product that fundamentally changes the way that things are done—e.g., the fax and photocopiers. In general, discontinuous innovations are more difficult to market since greater changes are required in the way things are done, but the rewards are also often significant.

Several factors influence the speed with which an innovation spreads. One issue is relative advantage (i.e., the ratio of risk or cost to benefits). Some products, such as cellular phones, fax machines, and ATM cards, have a strong relative advantage. Other products, such as automobile satellite navigation systems, entail some advantages, but the cost ratio is high. Lower priced products often spread more quickly, and the extent to which the

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product istrialable (farmers did not have to plant all their land with hybrid corn at once, while one usually has to buy a cellular phone to try it out) influence the speed of diffusion. Finally, the extent of switching difficulties influences speed—many offices were slow to adopt computers because users had to learn how to use them.

Some cultures tend to adopt new products more quickly than others, based on several factors:

Modernity: The extent to which the culture is receptive to new things. In some countries, such as Britain and Saudi Arabia, tradition is greatly valued—thus, new products often don’t fare too well. The United States, in contrast, tends to value progress.

Homophily: The more similar to each other that members of a culture are, the more likely an innovation is to spread—people are more likely to imitate similar than different models. The two most rapidly adopting countries in the World are the U.S. and Japan. While the U.S. interestingly scores very low, Japan scores high.

Physical distance: The greater the distance between people, the less likely innovation is to spread.

Opinion leadership: The more opinion leaders are valued and respected,the more likely an innovation is to spread. The style of opinion leadersmoderates this influence, however. In less innovative countries, opinion leaders tend to be more conservative, i.e., to reflect the local norms of resistance.

It should be noted that innovation is not always an unqualifiedly good thing. Some innovations, such as infant formula adopted in developing countries, may do more harm than good. Individuals may also become dependent on the innovations. For example, travel agents who get used to booking online may be unable to process manual reservations.

Sometimes innovations are disadopted. For example, many individuals disadopt cellular phones if they find out that they don’t end up using them much.

Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communication

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) involves the idea that a firm’s promotional efforts should be coordinated to achieve the best combined

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effects of the firm’s efforts.  Resources are allocated to achieve those outcomes that the firm values the most.Promotion involves a number of tools we can use to increase demand for our  The most well known component of promotion is advertising, but we can also use tools such as the following:

Public relations (the firm’s staff provides information to the media in the hopes of getting coverage). This strategy has benefits (it is often less expensive and media coverage is usually more credible than advertising) but it also entails a risk in that we can’t control what the media will say.  Note that this is particularly a useful tool for small and growing businesses—especially those that make a product which is inherently interesting to the audience.

Trade promotion.  Here, the firm offers retailers and wholesalers temporary discounts, which may or may not be passed on to the consumer, to stimulate sales. 

Sales promotion.  Consumers are given either price discounts, coupons, or rebates.

Personal selling.  Sales people either make “cold” calls on potential customers and/or respond to inquiries.

In-store displays.  Firms often pay a great deal of money to have their goods displayed prominently in the store.  More desirable display spaces include:  end of an aisle, free-standing displays, and near the check-out counter.  Occasionally, a representative may display the product.

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PROMOTIONAL OBJECTIVES AND   EFFECTIVENES S

Generally, a sequence of events is needed before a consumer will buy a product.  This is known as a “hierarchy of effects.”  The consumer must first be aware that the product exists.  He or she must then be motivated to give some attention to the product and what it may provide.  In the next stage, the need is for the consumer to evaluate the merits of the product, hopefully giving the product a try.  A good experience may lead to continued use.  Note that the consumer must go through the earlier phases before the later ones can be accomplished.

Promotional objectives that are appropriate differ across the Product Life Cycle (PLC).  Early in the PLC—during the introduction stage—the most

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important objective is creating awareness among consumers.  For example, many consumers currently do not know the Garmin is making auto navigation devices based on the global position satellite (GPS) system and what this system can do for them.  A second step is to induce trial—to get consumers to buy the product for the first time.  During the growth stage, important needs are persuading the consumer to buy the product and prefer the brand over competing ones.  Here, it is also important to persuade retailers to carry the brand, and thus, a large proportion of promotional resources may need to be devoted to retailer incentives.  During the maturity stage, the firm may need to focus on maintaining shelf space, distribution channels, and sales. 

Different promotional approaches will be appropriate depending on the stage of the consumer’s decision process that the marketer wishes to influence.  Prior to the purchase, the marketer will want to establish a decision to purchase the product and the specific brand.  Here, samples might be used to induce trial.  During the purchase stage, when the consumer is in the retail store, efforts may be made to ensure that the consumer will choose one’s specific brands.  Paying retailers for preferred shelf space as well as point of purchase (POP) displays and coupons may be appropriate.  After the purchase, an appropriate objective may be to induce a repurchase or to influence the consumer to choose the same brand again.  Thus, the package may contain a coupon for future purchase.

There are two main approaches to promoting products.  The “push” strategy is closely related to the “selling concept” and involves “hard” sell and aggressive price promotions to sell at this specific purchase occasion.  In contrast, the “pull” strategy emphasizes creating demand for the brand so that consumers will come to the store with the intention of buying the product.  Hallmark, for example, has invested a great deal in creating a preference for its greeting cards among consumers.

There are several types of advertising.  In terms of product advertising, the “pioneering” ad seeks to create awareness of a product and brand and to instill an appreciation among consumers for its possibilities.  The competitive or persuasive ad attempts to convince the consumer either of the performance of the product and/or how it is superior in some way to that of others.  Comparative advertisements are a prime example of this.  For instance, note the ads that show that some trash bags are more durable than others.  Reminder advertising seeks to keep the consumer believing what other ads have already established.  For example, Coca Cola ads tend not to provide new information but keep reinforcing what a great drink it is.

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DEVELOPING AN ADVERTISING   PROGRAM

Developing an advertising program entails several steps:

Identifying the target audience.  Market reports can be bought that investigate the media habits of consumers of different products and/or the segments that the firm has chosen to target.

Determining appropriate advertising objectives.  As discussed, these objectives might include awareness, trial, repurchase, inducing consumers to switch from another brand, or developing a preference for the brand.

Settling on an advertising budget. Designing the advertisements.  Numerous media are available for

the advertiser to choose from. A list of some of the more common ones may be found on PowerPoint slide #11.  Each medium tends to have advantages and disadvantages. 

It is essential to pretest advertisements to see how effective they actually are in influencing consumers.  An ad may have to be redesigned if it is found not be to be as effective as targeted.  Note that selecting advertisements is often a “numbers game” where a lot of advertisements are created and the ones that “test” best are selected.

Pricing

Background.  Pricing decisions are extremely important for the firm.  Some of the reasons:

Pricing is the only part of the marketing mix which brings in revenue. Once a price has been set, consumers will often show a great deal of

resistance to any attempts to change it. Pricing frequently has important implications for the positioning of a

product. Price is the marketing mix variable for which a competitive response

can be most quickly implemented.

Conceptualizing price. A logical examination suggests that price should be defined as

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That is, we need to consider the quantity you receive as well as the amount of money you have to fork out.  To say that gasoline costs $1.29 is meaningless outside the context that this cost is per gallon.

PRICING STRATEGIES

Pricing strategies can be categorized based on several different variables.  One variable of interest relates to the consistency of the prices.  Some retailers today attempt to follow a strategy of "everyday low pricing."  Although few firms tend to practice this method with perfect consistency, certain retailers like Wal-Mart tend to focus on providing constant low prices without any real sales.  Other retailers instead feature prices which, when not discounted, are somewhat higher.  To compensate, periodic sales feature price reductions.  Sales can be implemented either with a predictable pattern (e.g., a product is put on sale every fourth week) or in a random manner (e.g., in any given week, there is a 25% chance that the product will offered on sale).  (See chart on overheads).

Note that "high-low" and "everyday low price" strategies are intended to take advantage of different price elasticities across people.  Some consumers are price sensitive and will tend to buy only during sales; other people, in contrast, will buy all the time.  Thus, people who are not willing to switch brands will have to pay full price for your products when they are not on sale; while they are on sale, a large number of "switchers" are attracted and sales volumes are increased.

Another dimension of interest in pricing the price introductory strategy.  The "skimming" strategy entails offering a product first at a relatively high price.

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Consider, for example, what we can do when there is a large degree of price elasticity—i.e., when some consumers are willing to pay more than others.  In the chart above, we see that some consumers are willing to pay a lot of money to get a new product quickly, while others are not willing to pay as much.  This often happens, for example, with new computer chips.  It may be possible, then, to charge the first segment more money, and then lower the price enough so that the next segment will buy it.  The process continues until all segments that can be profitably served have bought. In the chart below, we introduce the product at price P1. This means that we will only sell a limited quantity--Q1. Later, we reduce the price to P2, enabling us to sell a quantity of Q2. Eventually, we lower to P3, selling Q3.

Since consumers differ in how much they are willing to pay for a product, it is possible to make large margins on the price inelastic segment.  For example, Intel tends to charge high prices for its most recent chips, gradually lowering prices as a new generation is introduced.

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Alternatively, firms may choose to use the "penetration" pricing strategy.  This strategy also takes advantage of price elasticity and attempts to dramatically boost the number of units sold by offering the product at a low price. 

Since costs of production tend to go down as cumulative production increases, this strategy may be effective.  Penetration pricing is also useful when a firm wishes to establish a large market share early on, and it may be useful to develop a market for accessories to products.  For example, a manufacturer of a new computer system may want to increase sales volumes in order to encourage the development of compatible software so that the computer brand will become more competitively attractive.

Note that "skimming" and penetration pricing involve tradeoffs.  A clearly preferred strategy may not be obvious, and managers may need to engage in some serious consideration to arrive at a desired strategy.  Both strategies involve some level of risk.  The main risk to "skimming" is the attraction of aggressive competitors who see an opportunity to make large profits by entering.  Penetration pricing, in contrast, gambles on the possibility that sales volumes will in fact increase with lower prices.

Two other concepts are worth noting.  A "cost-plus" pricing strategy entails marking up the estimated cost of producing a product by a certain, fixed percentage.  We will discuss deficiencies of this approach later.  In contrast, pricing based on consumer perceived value keeps the firm in closer proximity to the market.

Several objectives can be pursued in pricing.  One is product line pricing.  In some cases, it may be useful to settle for small margins on some members

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of the product line in order to assure the success of others.  For example, Avery, the maker of adhesive labels, sells relatively inexpensive software for printing on the labels in order to stimulate demand for the higher margin labels.  Two-tier pricing involves an attempt to entice the consumer into buying a product at a low price with the expectation that he or she will buy accessories later.  For example, makers of razor blades tend to sell the razors at low prices so that the consumer has an incentive to go with the same brand of blades later on. Tying, which is often illegal in the U.S. when it is based on unreasonable exercise of monopoly power by a dominant firm in a market, involves requiring the consumer to buy a less desirable product in order to be able to buy a more desired one.  Back when Xerox was the dominant manufacturer of copy machines, for example, a court case forced the company to abandon its policy of including service of the copiers with machine purchase; consumers were now free to seek out any cheaper third party service available.  For a more contemporary example, let's imagine that rap singer Joyoys J has two albums on the market:  A Rated X-Mas and X-Mas Gift 'rappin'.  If market research suggests that X-Mas Gift 'rapping' will be received as a mediocre album while A Rated X-mas is likely to reach Platinum status,  Joyoys J might refuse to sell A Rated X-Mas without a simultaneous purchase of the less desirable product.  The legal issues here are complex, in part because there are often serious questions about the extent to which it is reasonable for the customer to be able to buy only one product when most customers would want to buy the combination.  It is probably not reasonable, for example, to insist on being allowed to buy only pink M&Ms® since most customers appear to prefer a mix of colors. 

Product price bundling, generally legal, presents an alternative to outright tying.  Here, the consumer can buy each product separately, but a discount is offered for buying two or more items simultaneously.  In Joyoys J’s case, a possible pricing schedule might be:

A Rated X-mas                           $20.00X-Mas Gift 'rapping'                    $10.00Both for                                    $25.00 (>$20.00+$10.00=$30.00)

In general, simple "cost-plus" pricing is inappropriate because:

Your costs, in a market which is not perfectly competitive, may not be reflective of the costs of your competitors.  If theirs are lower than yours, you may be over pricing your products; if it is higher than yours, you may be able to charge higher prices than cost-plus would suggest.

Your costs are not reflective of the value of the product to consumers.

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The prices of some products are more salient than those of others; thus, you may want to use some products as "loss leaders."

Cost should, however, play some role in pricing decisions:

Whether you can produce products at a cost low enough to compete effectively against market existing market prices should help determine whether to enter (or exit) a given market.

Understanding the relationship between price and quantity demanded as well as the cost of producing this quantity will help make decisions on pricing and quantity produced.  In this context, note the effects of experience previously discussed in the text.  That is, it may be profitable to sacrifice margin immediately to move along the experience curve and enjoy a cost advantage relative to competitors later.

Distribution: Channels and Logistics

Distribution (also known as the place variable in the marketing mix, or the 4 Ps) involves getting the product from the manufacturer to the ultimate consumer. Distribution is often a much underestimated factor in marketing. Many marketers fall for the trap that if you make a better product, consumers will buy it. The problem is that retailers may not be willing to devote shelf-space to new products. Retailers would often rather use that shelf-space for existing products have that proven records of selling.

Although many firms advertise that they save the consumer money by selling "direct" and “eliminating the middleman,” this is a dubious claim in most instances. The truth is that intermediaries, such as retailers and

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wholesalers, tend to add efficiency because they can do specialized tasks better than the consumer or the manufacturer. Because wholesalers and retailers exist, the consumer can buy one pen at a time in a store located conveniently rather than having to order it from a distant factory. Thus, distributors add efficiency by:

Breaking bulk—the consumer can buy small quantities at a time. Small and modest scale retailers (e.g., the USC bookstore) can buy modest quantities. This service reduces quantity discrepancy in the supply-demand relationship between manufacturers and end customers.

Consolidation and Distribution. It would be highly inconvenient for customers to have to buy each product at a different store. Most American consumers today also have limited patience with specialty stores in most categories. Rather than having to go to one store to buy produce, one store to buy meat, and other stores for other household products, there is considerable value in having everything available in a supermarket. The consumers can buy at a neighborhood store, which in turn can buy from a regional warehouse. It would also be very inconvenient for supermarkets and most other retailers to have to receive deliveries individually from each manufacturer. Wholesalers consolidate products from different manufacturers so that a large number of different products can be received in one shipment. This reduces costs by increasing the efficiency with which products can be (1) delivered and (2) received. Consolidation and distribution services offered by wholesalers reduce the assortment discrepancy between manufacturers on the one hand and local retailers and consumers on the other. NOTE: Some very large retail chains such as Wal-Mart may be able to handle distribution more effectively than outside wholesalers. Wal-Mart often insists on sales directly to the chain from the manufacturer rather than sales through wholesalers. This is the exception to the rule since Wal-Mart is large enough to be able to handle distribution itself rather than going through retailers. It should be noted that Wal-Mart has made very large investments to make this possible, and these capabilities have taken a long time to develop. Wal-Mart had a very difficult time breaking into the grocery business—especially for perishable items—and took several years to perfect this capability.

Carrying inventory. This service reduces the temporal discrepancybetween

o Manufacturers who may need to schedule production at relatively constant levels and consumers who need certain products only at certain times (e.g., turkeys needed mostly at Thanksgiving and Christmas)

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Financing. Certain small manufacturers may have difficulty waiting for payment until goods are sold to the end-customer. Wholesalers and retailers may negotiate lower prices from the manufacturer in return for quick payment.

Many of the cost savings associated with having an efficient system of intermediaries result from specialization. Manufacturers specialize in what they do well—manufacturing products—while others specialize in handling various phases of the distribution path. Some specialize in retailing—usually selling a large assortment of goods in small quantities to a large number of end customers. Wholesalers, in turn, specialize in moving and goods from numerous manufacturers to a large number of retailers.

Channel structures vary somewhat by the nature of the product.

Jet aircraft are custom made and shipped directly to the airline. Automobiles, because they are difficult to move, are shipped directly to a dealer. Other products are shipped through a wholesaler who can more efficiently handle, and combine, products from many different suppliers. Several layers of wholesalers may exist, depending on the product. Occasionally, agents may also be involved. Agents usually do not handle products, but instead take care of the business aspect of negotiating with distributors, which manufacturers may feel uncomfortable or ill prepared for doing themselves.

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"Wheel of Retailing.” An interesting phenomenon that has been consistently observed in the retail world is the tendency of stores to progressively add to their services. Many stores have started out as discount facilities but have gradually added services that customers have desired. For example, the main purpose of shopping at establishments like Costco and Sam’s Club is to get low prices. These stores have, however, added a tremendous number of services—e.g., eye examinations, eye glass prescription services, tire installation, insurance services, upscale coffee, and vaccinations.

MANUFACTURER DISTRIBUTION PREFERENCESMost manufacturers would prefer to have their products distributed widely—that is, for the products to be available in as many stores as possible. This is especially the case for convenience products where the customer has little motivation to go to a less convenient retail outlet to get his or her preferred brand. Soft drinks would be an extreme example here. The vast majority of people would settle for their less preferred brand in a vending machine rather than going elsewhere to get their top choice. This is one reason why being a small share brand in certain categories can become a vicious cycle that perpetuates itself.

For most manufacturers, wide distribution is not realistically obtainable. In food product categories, for example, the larger supermarkets can carry a large number of brands. Smaller convenience stores and warehouse stores, however, are likely to carefully pick a few brands. After all, if convenience stores were to carry as many products as supermarkets, the purpose of having a neighborhood store with easy entry and exit would be defeated.In a very small number of cases, some manufacturers prefer to have their products selectively, or even exclusively, distributed. This is usually the case for high prestige brands (e.g., Estee Lauder) or premium quality image

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brands (e.g., high end electronic products) that require considerable before and after sales service.

DISTRIBUTION INTERESTS: RETAILERS VS. MANUFACTURERSManufacturers of different kinds of products have different interests with respect to the availability of their products. For convenience products such as soft drinks, it is essential that your product be available widely. Chances are that if a store does not have a consumer’s preferred brand of soft drinks, the consumer will settle for another brand rather than taking the trouble to go to another store. Occasionally, however, manufacturers will prefer selectivedistribution since they prefer to have their products available only in upscale stores.

Parallel distribution structures refer to the fact that products may reach consumers in different ways. Most products flow through the traditional manufacturer - -> retailer --> consumer channel. Certain large chains may, however, demand to buy directly from the manufacturer since they believe they can provide the distribution services at a lower cost themselves. In turn, of course, they want lower prices, which may anger the traditional retailers who feel that this represents unfair competition. Firms may also choose to utilize factory outlet stores. To allay concerns held by conventional stores, however, these factory outlet stores are usually located in areas where they are not easily accessible.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

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This research project work undertaken for the partial fulfillment of the MBA degree

program fulfills the following objectives:

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objective of the project is to find out the consumer Satisfaction or

Preference and behavior of customer towards “SKODA AUTO INDUSTRY”

What all are the stimuli effecting there choices before selecting an Auto

company. Is it the credibility, good return or celebrity endorser.

It also helps in letting the above company know its basic position in relation

to its competitors in the market & how better can it help re-design its

product in achieving higher sales growth.

The study of this research also analyses the findings and provide Skoda

Auto with the effective recommendations or suggestions.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE

To study and understand the different strategies of Marketing in Skoda Auto.

To find out the different features of Marketing.

To find out which makes Skoda Auto different from others Automobiles

Manufactures?

To study the current and future trends of the Automobile market.

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Škoda Auto

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Type Private company, subsidiary of Volkswagen Group

Industry Automotive

Founded 1895 as Laurin & Klement

Founder(s) Václav Laurin and

Václav Klement

Headquarters Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic

Number of locations 6 plants (4 in Europe, 2 in India)

Area served Global

(except North America)

Key people Reinhard Jung

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Hans Dieter Pötsch

Chairman of the Supervisory Board

Products Automobiles

Services Automotive financial services

Revenue  €8.5 billion (2007)

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Profit 15.94 billion Koruna/$990 million (2008)

Employees 27,680 (2007)

Parent Volkswagen Group

Website Škoda-Auto.com

SKODA AUTO INDUSTURY- AN INTRODUCTION

HISTORY

At the beginning of December 1895 the mechanic Václav Laurin and the book-seller Václav Klement, both bicykle enthusiasts, started manufacturing bicycles of their own design, patriotically named Slavia in the nationalist atmosphere of the ond of the 19th century. A few years later, in 1899, the Laurin & Klement Co. began producing motorcycles, which were soon successful and gained several racing victories. After initial experiments at the turn of century, producing of motorcycles was gradually replaced by automobiles from 1905 onward.

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Like the motor cycles, the 1st Laurin & Klement automobile, the Voiturette A was a full success, later becoming the archetype of Czech automobile classic. It soon formed a stable position for Company in the developing international automobile market, so that the Company could soon start operating on a wide scale. The volume of the production increased and soon exceeded the potential of a private enterprise, and in 1907 the founders of the Company initiated conversion to a joint-stock company. The international character of Škoda’s operations became increasingly important. The production facilities were extended constantly and after 1914, Škoda took part in the production for the armed force. 

Due to the country’s economic development, the joint venture with a strong industrial partner became essential in the nineteen twenties in order to strengthen and modernize the Company, which was at that time producing numerous types of passenger cars, trucks, busses,  airplane engines and agricultural machinery. In 1925, fusion with the Pilsen Škoda Co. was accomplished, marking the end of the Laurin & Klement trademark. In early 1930s, the automotive business was again organized as a separate joint-stock company within the Škoda Group (Automobile Industry Co., ASAP). After the crisis, the Company achieved a break-through with the Type Škoda Popular. 

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The German occupation in 1939 to 1945 caused a considerable disruption in the history of the company, which was integrated into the industrial structure of the German Empire. The civilian production programme was immediately limited and production was turned to its needs. In the course of a large-scale nationalisation which began immediately after the end of the war, the Company became a national enterprise named AZNP in 1946. Within the political and economic changes of that time, it acquired the monopoly of passenger car production. 

Based on the traditional production processes and past success, the Czechoslovak economy managed to maintain a relatively good standard in the post/socialist period for several decades, in spite of the changes brought about by planned economy and efforts at unduly rapid growth. This standard only became questionable towards the end of the nineteen sixties due to development of new technology in the western world. The permanent stagnation of the economy started after the seventies, also affecting the Mladá Boleslav automobile manufacturer in spite of the company’s leading position in the East Europe marker. Production grew again only when the model range Škoda Favorit went into production in 1987.

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After the political changes of 1989, under the new market economy conditions the Government of the Czechoslovak Republic and the management of Škoda began to search for a strong foreign partner whose experience and investments would be capable of securing long-range international competitiveness of the company. In December 1990, the Government decided on cooperation with the German Volkswagen Group. The Škoda – Volkswagen joint venture began to operate on 16 April 1991 under the name Škoda, automobilová a.s., becoming the fourth brand of the Volkswagen Group alongside VW, AUDI a SEAT.

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COMPANIES PRODUCTSkoda Cars in India

Skoda cars drive the luxury car market with their value-for-money

premium Skoda sedan and Skoda wagon cars. Skoda, the European

brand, is a part of the international Volkswagen group. Skoda cars in

India began their journey in 2001 from their plant at Aurangabad, and

within 5-6 years achieved more than a quarter share of the market in

luxury cars in India. Skoda Auto India has launched twelve luxury models

including Skoda Superb, Skoda Octavia, and the immensely successful

Skoda Laura. Cars from Skoda.

Cars from Skoda :

Skoda Fabia (Hatchback) Skoda Octavia (Sedan) Skoda Laura (Sedan) Skoda Superb (Sedan) Skoda Octavia (Wagon)

Skoda (Hatchback)

Popular Skoda Fabia models range in on-road price from below rupees seven lakhs to a bit above rupees eight lakhs, including

Skoda Fabia (Hatchback)  

Skoda Fabia is luxurious hatchback model from the world class Skoda collection now available in India. Its style and substance

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make it a sure competitor to other C segment Sedan cars in the market. The Skoda Fabia offers an on-road price range between rupees seven and eight lakhs. Skoda Fabia is available in different engine specifications like diesel and petrol. The Skoda Fabia variants include 

Fabia Classic (Diesel)Skoda Fabia Classic is revolutionary model born in the Skoda hatchback family is available at a showroom price of around Rs.6,67,191 with an on road price of around Rs.7,30,786 including supplementary charges. 

Fabia Ambiente (Diesel)Skoda Fabia Ambiente gives tough competition to sedan species in the market with its superior looks and striking features. New cars have a show room price of around Rs.7,43,627 and on-road price of around Rs.8,14,066. 

Fabia Elegance (TDI) ( Diesel)Skoda Fabia Elegance TDI is a luxury hatchback packed with excellent features and born with diesel engine. At the showroom, this car costs around Rs.7,92,686 with an on-road price of around Rs.8,67,462. 

Fabia Elegance (MPI) (Petrol)Skoda Fabia Elegance MPI is a luxury hatchback packed with excellent features and born with petrol engine. At the showroom, this car costs around Rs.6,99,932 with an on-road price of around Rs.7,66,510. 

Skoda (Sedan)

Popular Skoda sedan car prices start from Skoda cars at a bit below rupees eight lakhs to Skoda cars at a bit above rupees ten lakhs, including

Skoda Octavia (Sedan) 

Skoda Octavia is well known for its classy looks and cost effective features. This master piece boasts for its unbeatable style and

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performance. Skoda (Sedan) The Skoda Octavia with its petrol and diesel variants targets the middle class consumer and offers Skoda car prices between rupees twelve and fifteen lakhs. Skoda Octavia variants include 

Octavia Rider 1.8 Turbo (Petrol)Octavia Rider 1.8 Turbo is packed with trendy design and various attractive features. New cars have a show room price of around Rs.11,15,000 and on-road price of around Rs.12,50,000 inclusive of all charges such as insurance, octroi, RTO, etc. Skoda Octavia Rider 1.8 Turbo (Petrol) car prices vary in lakhs upon the car dealer's location. 

Octavia Rider 1.9 TDI (Diesel)New cars in this series have a showroom price ranging from around eleven lakhs to around twelve lakhs inclusive of all charges like insurance, octroi, RTO, etc. Octavia Rider 1.9 TDI car prices vary with the car dealer's location. 

Octavia Elegance 1.9 TDI (Diesel)The Octavia Elegance 1.9 TDI (Diesel) is now available at a showroom price of around Rs.12, 82,000 with an on road price of around Rs.14,35,000 including supplementary charges. 

Octavia 1.8 RS Turbo (Petrol)New cars have a show room price of around Rs.13, 50,000 and on-road price of around Rs.15, 10,000. Skoda Octavia 1.8 RS Turbo (Petrol) car prices vary in lakhs upon the car dealer's location. 

Octavia L& K (Diesel)At the showroom, this car costs around Rs.14, 00,000 with an on-road price of around Rs.15, 67, 000. This includes standard ancillary charges also. 

Skoda Laura (Sedan) 

Skoda Laura, a stalemate of Skoda Octavia, Laura is popular for its contemporary, dynamic designer looks. Specially customized,

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the model has stood the test of times in Indian conditions with its extraordinary performance giving results beyond imagination. Skoda (Sedan) The Skoda Laura with its diesel variants targets the middle class consumer with Skoda car prices between rupees sixteen and nineteen lakhs. Skoda Laura variants include 

Laura Elegance (Diesel)Passionately designed interiors, is what makes this vivacious beauty, a truly comfort zone to indulge in. New cars have a show room price of around Rs.14, 74,000 and on-road price of around Rs.16, 50,000. Skoda Laura Elegance (Diesel) car prices vary in lakhs upon the car dealer's location. 

Laura L and K (Manual) (Diesel)New cars in this series have a showroom price ranging from around sixteen lakhs to around eighteen lakhs inclusive of all charges like insurance, octroi, RTO, etc. Laura L and K car prices vary with the car dealer's location. 

Laura L and K AT (Diesel)At the showroom, this car costs around Rs.16,75,000 with an on-road price of around Rs.18,72,000. This includes standard ancillary charges also. 

Skoda Superb (Sedan) 

Skoda Superb is flagship model of Skoda and an automobile wonder. Just the look of it, makes you want it more than your next heartbeat. Skoda (Sedan) The Skoda Superb with its petrol and diesel variants targets the upper middle class consumer with Skoda car prices between rupees twenty two and twenty five lakhs. Skoda Superb variants include 

Superb 2.8 V6 (Petrol)New cars have a show room price of around Rs.20, 30,000 and on-road price of around Rs.22, 70,000. Skoda Superb 2.8 V6 (Petrol) car prices vary in lakhs upon the car dealer's location. 

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Superb 2.5 V6 Tdi (Diesel)New cars in this series have a showroom price ranging from around twenty two lakhs to around twenty four lakhs inclusive of all charges like insurance, octroi, RTO, etc. Laura L and K car prices vary with the car dealer's location. 

Skoda (Wagon)

Popular Skoda wagon car prices start from Skoda wagons at a bit above rupees fifteen lakhs to Skoda wagons at a bit below rupees sixteen lakhs twenty thousand. Available Skoda wagons include

Skoda Octavia (Wagon) 

Skoda's "extra bit of car" in every single model, inescapably reflects in Skoda Octavia (wagon) again. Skoda (Wagon) The Skoda Octavia with its petrol and diesel variants targets the middle class consumer with Skoda wagon car prices between rupees fifteen and sixteen lakhs. Skoda Octavia variants include 

Octavia Combi 1.8 RS Turbo (Petrol)The Octavia Combi 1.8 RS Turbo is now available at a showroom price of around Rs.14, 00,000 with an on road price of around Rs.16,00,000 including supplementary charges. 

Skoda cars have been recognized for their style, and technology. Skoda Laura won the "Most Technologically Advanced Car" award in 2006 from CNBC-TV18. Skoda Laura also won the "Automotive technology of the Year award from OVERDRIVE in 2006. The future of Skoda cars in India is already secured and growing brighter.

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AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

AWARDS

The Golden Steering Wheel Awards – 2010 by AutoBild India • Best Variant of the Year – Škoda Laura • Best Sedan of the Year – Škoda Superb

Overdrive - CNBC TV18 Awards – 2010 • Midsize Car of the Year – Škoda Laura 

Bloomberg UTV-Autocar Awards – 2010 • Best Variant of the Year – Škoda Laura

NDTV Profit – Car India & Bike India Awards – 2010 • Entry Premium Car of the Year – Škoda Superb 

BS Motoring Executive Car Of The Year – 2010 Škoda Superb 

2002

2002 – BBC – Best Entry Level Car for Škoda Octavia 

2003

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NFO– Voice of Customer Award 

2004

2nd rank – J D Power India Sales Satisfaction Index Study

2005

2005 – CNBC TV-18 Autocar – Best Variant of The Year ŠkodaRS

2005 – Overdrive – Auto Tech Of The Year ŠkodaRS

2005 – J D Power – Initial Quality Study – Best Premium Car of the Year for Škoda Octavia

2005 – J D Power – APEAL Study – Premium Midsize Car for Škoda Octavia

2005 – CNBC TV-18 Autocar – The Car of The Year for Škoda Superb

2005 – CNBC TV-18 Autocar –Best Design and Style of The Year for Škoda Superb

2005 – CNBC TV-18 Autocar – Viewers Choice Car Of The Year for Škoda Superb 

2006

2nd rank – J D Power India Sales Satisfaction Index Study

2006 – CNBC TV-18 Autocar – Best variant of the year for Škoda Superb

2006 – CNBC TV-18 Autocar – Most technologically advanced car of the year for Škoda Laura

2006 – NDTV Profit Car India – Executive car of the year for Škoda Laura

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2006 – Overdrive – Auto Tech of the year for Škoda Laura

2006 – Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS) Study by TNS – Best Premium Midsize Segment car for Skoda Octavia

2007

1st rank in J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2007 India Sales Satisfaction Index

3rd rank in Dealer Satisfaction Study by TNS Automotive for four-wheeler manufacturers

2007 – Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS) Study by TNS – Best Premium Midsize Segment car for Skoda Octavia

2008

1st rank in J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2008 India Sales Satisfaction Index

2008 – Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS) Study by TNS – Best Premium Midsize Segment car for Škoda Octavia

2009

Active Small Car of the Year Active Small Car of the Year at the NDTV Profit Car & Bike Awards.

Car of the Year Award Škoda’s Superhatch Fabia wins the “Car of the Year” award at the CNBC TV 18 Overdrive awards ‘09 held at Taj Lands End, on the 9th of January in Mumbai.

Compact Car of the Year The Superhatch Fabia, known for the practicality along with roominess it offers, also bagged the award for Best Compact Car of the year.

ACHIEVEMENTS

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Manish Malhotra and ŠkodaAuto India unveil the 'Superb' at LFW

Autumn Winter 2009

A collection inspired by the 7 star Škoda Superb

Škoda Auto, the official car of the Lakme Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2009 proudly announced the launch of Manish Malhotra's glamorous ensemble 'Superb' at the Fashion Week held at Grand Hyatt on 27th March, 2009.

Škoda Superb unveiled at the Performance ShowThe new Škoda Superb, a proposed offering for the Indian market, was unveiled on 13th November, 2008. The car was unveiled by Mr. Thomas Kuehl, Member, Board Member, Sales & Marketing ŠkodaIndia, and Mr. Martin Lauer, Head, Corporate Communications, Škoda Auto at the Performance Show 2008 held in Mumbai. The range of successful models which included Fabia Sport Line and Škoda Laura were also displayed.

Kunal Rawal and Škoda Auto unveiled the ‘Expedition’ at LFW

Spring Summer 2008A collection inspired by the super hatch Škoda Fabia

Škoda Auto, the official car of the Lakme Fashion Week Spring Summer 2008 unveiled Kunal Rawal’s scintillating ensemble ‘Expedition’ – a collection inspired by the super hatch Škoda Fabia on Friday 24th October, 2008 at the Fashion Week held at NCPA, Mumbai

India’s First Super hatch, Škoda Fabia Launched at the Auto Expo

‘08India’s first super hatch - The Škoda Fabia was launched a day ahead of the Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi. With the launch of this vehicle, the technological might of ŠkodaAuto was showcased with a grand display of several vehicles from their worldwide stable

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History of sales

model 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Škoda Felicia

288,458

261,127

241,256

148,028 44,963 — — — — — — — —

Škoda Fabia — — 823 128,87

2250,97

8264,64

1260,98

8247,60

0236,69

8243,98

2232,89

0246,56

1264,17

3

Škoda Octavi

a47,876 102,37

3143,25

1158,50

3164,13

4164,01

7165,63

5181,68

3233,32

2270,27

4309,95

1344,85

7317,33

5

Škoda Superb — — — — 177 16,867 23,135 22,392 22,091 20,989 20,530 25,645 44,548

Škoda Rooms

ter— — — — — — — — — 14,422 66,661 57,467 47,152

Škoda Yeti — — — — — — — — — — — — 11,018

year totals

336,334

363,500

385,330

435,403

460,252

445,525

449,758

451,675

492,111

549,667

630,032

674,530

684,226

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland

Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland  graduated from Technical University Darmstadt with a major in Mechanical Engineering and Economics. He received his Master Degree of Business Administration at the General Motors Institute, Michigan, United States. In 1984, he began working as a project analyst of European investments at Adam Opel AG. In 1987 he became Head of Manufacturing Strategy Review at General Motors Europe. 

In 1990, he joined Audi AG as Director of Controlling. In 1993, he was assigned to Volkswagen AG as Director of Group Controlling. From 1995 to 1997 he took responsibility for Sales Coordination of the Volkswagen brand and the Volkswagen Group and additional for sales of the Volkswagen brand in Asia-Pacific. In 1997, Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland was appointed to Brazil to act as Finance Executive Director of Volkswagen do Brasil Ltda. One year later, he became its Executive Vice President for Finance and Corporate Strategy. In August 2002, Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland was appointed

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Member of the Board of Management of Škoda Auto, followed by his promotion to Vice Chairman of the Board of Management of Škoda Auto a year later. In July 2005, he assumed the position as President and CEO of Volkswagen (China) Investment Company as well as Global Vice President of Volkswagen AG and in July 2006 he was appointed Executive Vice President of Volkswagen AG. Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Škoda Auto effective September 1, 2010.Further members of the Board of Directors of Škoda Auto (in alphabetical orders):

Klaus Dierkes

After studying building engineering and social sciences, in 1983, Klaus Dierkes started his professional career at the Triumph Adler company in Nürnberg. He joined VW Group in 1989 and started working at Volkswagen BKK Insurance Company. In 1997-1999 he was employed as a managing director of the Gründungs und Innovationszentrum Wolfsburg. He served as a spokesman at the AutoVision company and at the Wolfsburg AG, where he was also the Board member in 1999-2001. In 2006 he accepted the position of personnel director at Volkswagen Deutschland and he became a general agent at Volkswagen AG in 2007. Klaus Dierkes has been with Škoda Auto as the member of the Board of Directors responsible for Human Resources Management since 2008.

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Dipl.-Ing. Karlheinz Hell

Dipl.-Ing. Karlheinz Emil Hell graduated in Mechanical Engineering at the Munich University. He started his professional career at the Audi AG company, that he joined as a Trainee in 1987 and where he was holding various head positions in the sphere of tool production by the year 1998. Then he became a Head of Forward Sourcing and Global Sourcing. In 2003 he accepted the position of Head of Purchase (exterior). Before he was appointed as Škoda Auto Board member responsible for purchase on January 1, 2010, he had been working as Head of Purchase at Volkswagen AG in South Africa.

Dipl.-Ökon. Winfried Krause

Dipl.-Ökon. Winfried Krause began his career with the Group in sales controlling at Audi in 1991. Then he held responsibility for various Volkswagen controlling and finance departments in Wolfsburg (Germany), Puebla (Mexico) and Palmela (Portugal). In 2001 he was named Head of Divisional Controlling at Volkswagen AG and from 2006 he was Head of Volkswagen Group Controlling. Since April 1, 2010, he has been member of the Board of Directors of Škoda Auto responsible for Commercial Affairs.

Dipl.-Ing. Michael Oeljeklaus

Effective from 1. August 2010, Michael Oeljeklaus was appointed Škoda Auto BOD Member for Production and Logistics. Michael Oeljeklaus joined the Volkswagen Group right after finishing university in 1988. From 1996 until 1998 he was responsible for new vehicle production start-ups in VW's

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plant in Wolfsburg and then until 2001 worked as Director of the Volkswagen Coaching subsidiary in Kassel. Then he assumed responsibility for start-ups of production of all new models of the Volkswagen brand. In 2002, he was appointed management spokesman at Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH. Since 1 August, 2005, Michael Oeljeklaus was BOD Member responsible for production and technological development at Shanghai Volkswagen.

Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Scholz

Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Scholz graduated from the Braunschweig Technical  University with a major in Energy and Process Technology and received his doctorate in 2005 from the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberge. He joined Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg in 1991, where he worked in passenger car testing. In 1995-1996 he worked at IAV Gifhorn. Then he returned to Volkswagen AG as Head of the Vehicle Body Engineering Department. After three years he accepted the position of Head of Passenger Car Equipment and in May 2002 he was appointed Head of the Car Body Development. On 1 April, 2007, Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Scholz  was appointed the member of the Board of Directors of Škoda Auto responsible for Technical Development.

Dipl.-Betrw. Jürgen Stackmann

Dipl.-Betrw. Jürgen Stackmann began his career at Ford-Werke in 1989, holding several posts in sales and marketing in Germany and Europe, particularly in the passenger cars division. He became Director for Marketing in 1999 before being appointed as Vice President Marketing at Ford Europe in 2005. Dipl.-Betrw. Jürgen Stackmann became Managing Director for Sales

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and Marketing at Ford-Werke in 2006, and was appointed Vice President in 2009. Since September 1, 2010 he has been Board of Directors member for Sales and Marketing at Škoda Auto.

COMPANIES VISION

Sales of Genuine parts and Accessories

Sales of genuine parts and accessories comprise an important part of the Group’s business policy and have a significant impact on customer satisfaction. The sales philosophy is based on offering top-quality products, a broad selection, availability and timely delivery. As our portfolio of models and variants expands, the range of parts and accessories delivered to markets around the world is also growing.Revenues from sales of genuine parts amounted to CZK 13.5 billion in 2009, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. With its range of original accessories, the Group is responding to the ever-growing segment of customers who require a higher degree of individuality while fulfilling strict quality criteria guaranteed by the manufacturer. Revenues from sales of original Škoda accessories totalled CZK 1.7 billion in 2009 (–21.6%). This development was significantly affected by a legislative amendment for the category of light utility vehicles for Central European markets. Sales of genuine parts and accessories contributed substantially to the Group’s overall financial results in 2009.

Sales and Service Network

Our high-quality sales and service network plays an integral role in the fulfilment of the Group’s sales and growth strategy. The Škoda brand was represented in 102 world markets in 2009. Despite the adverse conditions found in most markets and the general recession in the automotive industry, the Škoda brand further expanded its sales and service network. At the end of 2009, there were a total of 5,098 registered sales and service partners worldwide (2008: 5,017). While maintaining our focus on existing markets,

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we continued to strengthen our position on new markets, particularly in China and Russia. The year-on-year development for 2009 confirmsthe attractiveness of the Škoda brand among business partners and the success of the chosen sales strategy. One of the key topics in 2009 was maintenance of thestability of the dealer network, its adaptation to the new conditions in the automotive sector and preparation for the anticipated growth phase. Important factors for success in this area include optimal planning of the sales and service network connected with the resulting implementation of the distribution methodology and ongoing development of the dealer network. Further improvement in the quality and level of services provided by the sales and service network was achieved in 2009 via the “Human Touch” programme. This programme’s main pillars are the willingness and helpfulness of personnel, the personal approach to customers and individual concept of customer care.Thanks to the programme, customer satisfaction is continually rising, which confirms the results of the surveys.

Sales of Vehicles to Fleet Customers

A total of 132,500 vehicles were delivered to fleet customers in 2009 (–18.1% year-on-year). The falling was largely due to the decline of overall markets, which were mired in the financial crisis. Decline in sales of vehicles to fleet customers was generally less significant than on the retail markets, where the scrap page programmes were notintroduced. 87,500 were sold in Western Europe (–24.0% year-on-year) and 38,200 in Central Europe. More than 6,800 vehicles were sold on the biggest markets of EasternEurope (Russia, Ukraine). The Group’s biggest market in this segment, accounting for 26% of annual fleet sales, is Germany, followed by the Czech Republic, Poland,Great Britain and Spain. In comparison with sales to individual private customers, sales to large-volume buyers are generally less sensitive to changes in the economic environment, and thus in 2009 helped Škoda Auto to partially offset the negative effects in the private-customer segment on those markets which were not supported by government stimuli..

Marketing Communication

Škoda Auto introduced two new models in 2009 thereby penetrating market segments in which the Škoda brand had not been previously represented.

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The brand’s new entrant in the SUV segment, the Škoda Yeti, was presented to the public at the Geneva Motor Show in the spring, and the Škoda Superb Combi made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the autumn.The Škoda Yeti was presented to sellers from around the world in the Austrian Alps, where it could fully show off its off-road capability. The Yeti was at the centre of attention even at the 96th annual Tour de France bicycle race, which was realised with the Škoda brand’s support for the sixth time. During the Tour, spectators could catch a glimpse 350 Škoda vehicles provided for the event, whereas ten Škoda Yetis were prominently featured in the promotional convoy ahead of the peloton. The Škoda Yeti’s marketing communication emphasised the model as a new kind ofSUV with the slogan “Be prepared for something wild”. Building on the success of the Škoda Superb sedan, the brand’s new flagship model, the Škoda Superb Combi, exceeded all expectations. The international marketing campaign for the latest version of the Škoda Superb was focused on the small yet important successes ineveryone’s daily life with the slogan “Everything that made us big – now even bigger

1.MARKET RESEARCH

What is Market Research?

Market research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting

of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the

company.

Market research firms fall in to the three categories:

1) Syndicated-service research firms-These firms gather consumer and

trade information, which they sell for a fee.

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2) Customs market research firms-These firms are hired to carry out

specific projects. They design the study and report the findings.

3) Specialty-line market research firms-These firms provide specialized

research services to other firms.

Benefits of Market Research

Information gained through marketing research isn't just "nice to know." It's

solid information that can guide your most important strategic business

decision. Market research is effective when the findings or conclusions you

reach have a value that exceeds the cost of the research itself.

Market research guides your communication with current

and potential Customers

Once you have good research, you should be able to formulate more

effective and targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to the

people you're trying to reach in a way that interests them. For example,

some retail stores ask customers for their zip codes at the point of purchase.

This information, which pinpoints where their customers live, will help the

store's managers plan suitable direct mail campaigns.

Market research helps you identify opportunities in the

marketplace.

For example, if you are planning to open a retail outlet in a particular

geographic location and have discovered that no such retail outlet currently

exists, you have identified an opportunity. The opportunity for success

increases if the location is in a highly populated area with residents who

match your target market characteristics. The same might be true of a

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service you plan to offer in a specific geographic area or even globally, via

the Internet.

Market research minimizes the risk of doing business.

Instead of identifying opportunities, the results of some market research may

indicate that you should not pursue a planned course of action. For example,

marketing information may indicate that a marketplace is saturated with the

type of service you plan to offer. This may cause you to alter your product

offering or choose another location.

Market research helps you evaluate your success.

Information gathered through market research helps you to determine if

you're reaching your goals. In the above example, if your product's target

market is women between the ages of 35 and 50, then you're making

progress toward your goal. (If not, this information can indicate a needed

change in marketing strategy!)

• Marketplace competition is information about the other

companies

Within your area of business. Research answers these questions: Who are

my primary competitors in the market? How do they compete with me? In

what ways do they not compete with me? What are their strengths and

weaknesses? Are there profitable opportunities based upon their

weaknesses? What is their market niche? What makes my business unique

from the others? How do my competitors position themselves? How do

they communicate their services to the market? Who are their customers?

How are they perceived by the market? Who are the industry leaders? What

is their sales volume?

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• Environmental factors information uncovers economical

and political

Circumstances that can influence your productivity and operations.

Questions to be answered include: What are the current and future

population trends? What are the current and future socio-economic

trends? What effects do economic and political policies have on the target

market or my industry? What are the growth expectations for my

market? What outside factors influence the industry's performance? What

are the trends for this market and for the economy? Is the industry growing,

at a plateau, or declining?

Target market. What is the best target market for the products or

services being offered by the organization? How large is the target market

and how can it be described? What are the attitudes, opinions, preferences,

lifestyles, and so on of its members?

Products/services. Regarding particular, products and services, how

satisfied or dissatisfied is the target. Market with what is currently available?

What product features and benefits do those consumers desire? How do they

compare the organization’s product with those offered by competitors?

Price. How much value does the target market place on the product in

question? What products are they willing to substitute for the product in

question? What prices are charged for those substitutes? What advantages—

in features or benefits or appeals—does the organization’s product have that

might allow it to charge a higher price?

Distribution. What distribution channel is the target market most likely to

use when purchasing the product in question? Is the organization’s pricing in

line with what the target market expects to pay for the product when

purchased through that channel? Does the pricing include the size of margin

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the channel traditionally expects to receive? Will the channel be able to

provide the service or support needed for the product?

Promotion. What can the organization say in its advertisements about its

product that will appeal to the target market and lead them to consider the

organization’s product more attractive, than those offered by competitors?

Through what medium(s) (television, newspaper, billboards, etc.) should the

organization advertise? What specific vehicles (i.e., what specific television

programs or newspapers) should the organization use to carry the

advertisements? How often should the advertisements appear, and how

much money should the organization spend on advertising? Should personal

selling be used and, if so, how? What kinds of promotions would have a

favorable effect on the target market?

Market Research the Process

Market research, like other components of marketing such as advertising,

can be quite simple or very complex. You might conduct simple market

research such as including a questionnaire in your customer bills to gather

demographic information about your customers. On the more complex side,

you might engage a professional market research firm to conduct primary

research to aid you in developing a marketing strategy to launch a new

product.

Regardless of the simplicity or complexity of your marketing research

project, you'll benefit by reviewing the following seven steps in the market

research process.

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Step One: Define the Problems, the decision alternatives, and the

research objectives:

The market research process begins with identifying and defining the

problems and opportunities that exist for your business, such as:

1 Launching a new product or service.

2 Low awareness of your company and its products or services.

3 Low utilization of your company's products or services. (The market is

familiar with your company, but still is not doing business with you.)

4 A poor company image and reputation.

5 Problems with distribution, your goods and services are not reaching

the buying public in a timely manner.

Step Two: Set Objectives, Budget and Timetables

Objective: With a marketing problem or opportunity defined, the next step

is to set objectives for your market research operations. Your objective might

be to explore the nature of a problem so you may further define it. Or

perhaps it is to determine how many people will buy your product packaged

in a certain way and offered at a certain price. Your objective might even be

to test possible cause and effect relationships. For example, if you lower your

price by 10 percent, what increased sales volume should you expect? What

impact will this strategy have on your profit?

Budget: How much money are you willing to invest in your market research?

How much can you afford? Your market research budget is a portion of your

overall marketing budget. A method popular with small business owners to

establish a marketing budget is to allocate a small percentage of gross sales

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for the most recent year. This usually amounts to about two percent for an

existing business. However, if you are planning on launching a new product

or business, you may want to increase your budget figure, to as much as 10

percent of your expected gross sales. Other methods used by small

businesses include analyzing and estimating the competition's budget, and

calculating your cost of marketing per sale.

Timetables: Prepare a detailed, realistic time frame to complete all steps of

the market research process. If your business operates in cycles, establish

target dates that will allow the best accessibility to your market. For

example, a holiday greeting card business may want to conduct research

before or around the holiday season buying period, when their customers are

most likely to be thinking about their purchases.

Step Three: Select Research Types, Methods and Techniques

There are two types of research: primary research or original information

gathered for a specific purpose and secondary research or information

that already exists somewhere. Both types of research have a number of

activities and methods of conducting associated with them.

Secondary research is usually faster and less expensive to obtain that

primary research. Gathering secondary research may be as simple as

making a trip to your local library or business information center or browsing

the Internet.

See Market Research Types, Methods and Techniques for more details about

the activities and methods for primary and secondary research.

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Step Four: Design Research Instruments

The most common research instrument is the questionnaire. Keep these tips

in mind when designing your market research questionnaire.

1 Keep it simple.

2 Include instructions for answering all questions included on the survey.

3 Begin the survey with general questions and move towards more specific

questions.

4 Keep each question brief.

5 If the questionnaire is completed by the respondent and not by an

interviewer or survey staff member, remember to design a questionnaire

that is graphically pleasing and easy to read.

6 Remember to pre-test the questionnaire. Before taking the survey to

the printer, ask a few people-such as regular customers, colleagues,

friends or employees-to complete the survey. Ask them for feedback on

the survey's style, simplicity and their perception of its purpose.

7 Mix the form of the questions. Use scales, rankings, open-ended

questions and closed-ended questions for different sections of the

questionnaire. The "form" or way a question is asked may influence the

answer given. Basically, there are two question forms: closed-end

questions and open-end questions.

Step Five: Collect Data

To help you obtain clear, unbiased and reliable results, collect the data under

the direction of experienced researchers. Before beginning the collection of

data, it is important to train, educate and supervise your research staff. An

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untrained staff person conducting primary research will lead to interviewer

bias.

Stick to the objectives and rules associated with the methods and techniques

you have set in Step Two and Step Three. Try to be as scientific as possible

in gathering your information.

Step Six: Organize and Analyze Data

Once your data has been collected, it needs to be "cleaned." Cleaning

research data involves editing, coding and the tabulating results. To make

this step easier, start with a simply designed research instrument or

questionnaire.

Some helpful tips for organizing and analyzing your data are listed below.

1 Look for relevant data that focuses on your immediate market needs.

2 Rely on subjective information only as support for more general findings

of objective research.

3 Analyze for consistency; compare the results of different methods of

your data collection. For example, are the market demographics

provided to you from the local media outlet consistent with your survey

results?

4 Quantify your results; look for common opinions that may be counted

together.

Step Seven: Present and Use Marketing Research Findings

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Once marketing information about your target market, competition and

environment is collected and analyzed, present it in an organized manner to

the decision makers of the business. For example, you may want to report

your findings in the market analysis section of your business plan. Also, you

may want to familiarize your sales and marketing departments with the data

or conduct a company-wide informational training seminar using the

information. In summary, the resulting data was created to help guide your

business decisions, so it needs to be readily accessible to the decision

makers.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

A research design is a type of blue print prepared depending on various

types of blueprints available for the collection, measurement and analysis of

data. A research design calls for developing the most efficient plan of

gathering the needed information. The design of research study is based on

the purpose of the study.

A research design is the specification of methods and procedures for

acquiring the information needed. It is overall operational pattern or

framework of the project that stipulates what information is to be collected

from which source by what procedures.

Types, Methods and Techniques

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Secondary Research

Usually the easiest and least expensive, secondary research is information

that already exists somewhere. It may be a study, a group of articles on a

topic, or demographic or statistical data gathered by someone else. For

example, the demographic data about car owners in your county available

from your Chamber of Commerce may be just the information you need-and

it's already gathered!

Secondary Research Activities

1 Review and analyze the existing data on your target markets available

from magazines, books, published research studies, government

publications, etc.

2 Evaluate the competition.

3 Assess environmental factors such as social, economic, political, etc.

Secondary Research Methods

Because secondary research already exists, no specific scientific method or

technique is needed to collect information. Instead, your efforts are spent

locating and gathering market information from reliable sources. Don't forget

the Internet. Many of the resources listed below, such as magazines, trade

associations and government resources now have materials available online.

Some resources for gathering secondary research information include:

1 Libraries and other public information centers - Look in reference

centers for resource materials and other existing data on your market.

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2 Books and business publications - Many books have been written on

specific industries and markets. Look for helpful existing data and

environmental factors.

3 Magazines and newspapers - Each and every day, studies and other

survey results are released as news events. Also, look into news about

environmental factors such as the leading economic indicators or the

upcoming local political elections.

4 Trade associations - Most associations have reports on the industries

they serve, the standards they operate under and leaders in the field.

Many even conduct educational seminars on trends and other issues.

Associations are also helpful in researching the competition. Chambers of

Commerce - The local Chamber is a terrific resource for information on

the community you hope to serve, other local businesses and maps of the

area. One can also learn from other members at Chamber networking

events.

1 Banks, real estate and insurance companies may keep information and

statistics on the communities they serve.

2 Wholesalers and manufacturers - Contact these enterprises for

information on the industry standards, customers, costs, distribution,

potential problems

3 Indian government resources can provide extensive demographic data

on population, markets and the economy like Census Bureau of India.

4 Media representatives - Advertising salespeople at TV, radio, and print

media outlets keep information on the markets their viewers, listeners,

and readers to help influence potential advertisers.

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5 Competition - Ask directly for company brochures, menu of products

and services, prices, annual reports, etc. One may have to disguise

him/her self as a potential customer!

Primary Research

Sometimes, the information you need doesn't exist-anywhere! You've

searched the Internet; you scoured the library, journals and databases all to

no avail. That's when you may need to conduct primary research, or

research conducted for a specific purpose. FYI, the secondary research you

may have used was probably someone's primary data once.

Primary Research Activities

1 Conducting surveys to create market data or using other research

Instruments such as questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, etc.

2 Noting first-hand observations

3 Conducting experiments

Primary Research Methods

Each methodology uses "sampling" which allows the researcher to reach

conclusions about a population within a certain degree of accuracy without

having to survey everyone. It is not necessary to have a large sample size.

Samples as few as one percent of a target market can often provide reliable

results, under the direction of experienced researchers.

Primary research can be either qualitative or quantitative.

Qualitative research provides definitive market information regarding the

opinions and behaviors of the subjects in the market research study.

Qualitative research is used to achieve a variety of objectives.

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1 Obtain helpful background information on a market segment

2 Explore concepts and positioning of a business or product

3 Identify attitudes, opinions and behavior shared by a target market

4 Prioritize variables for further study

5 Fully define problems

6 Provide direction for the development of questionnaires

Sampling

Sample

A sample is the set of observations obtained from experimental unit that

were selected from a larger group (the population). By studying the sample it

is hoped to draw valid conclusions about the larger group. If the conclusions

drawn from a sample are to be meaningful the sample must be obtained in a

random fashion. This means that each member of the population has an

equal chance of being included in the sample. This ensures that the sample

is unbiased. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to obtain a truly random

sample from sampling units that are widely dispersed.

A representative sample is only possible if, before collecting the sample, the

researcher has carefully and completely defined the population, including a

description of the members to be included.

Why Sample?

Sampling is done in a wide variety of research settings. Listed below are a

few of the benefits of sampling:

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1. Reduced cost: It is obviously less costly to obtain data for a selected

subset of a population, rather than the entire population. Furthermore, data

collected through a carefully selected sample are highly accurate measures

of the larger population. Public opinion researchers can usually draw

accurate inferences for the entire population of the United States from

interviews of only 1,000 people.

2. Speed: Observations are easier to collect and summarize with a sample

than with a complete count. This consideration may be vital if the speed of

the analysis is important, such as through exit polls in elections.

3. Greater scope: Sometimes highly trained personnel or specialized

equipment limited in availability must be used to obtain the data. A complete

census (enumeration) is not practical or possible. Thus, surveys that rely on

sampling have greater flexibility regarding the type of information that can

be obtained.

It is important to keep in mind that the primary point of sampling is to create

a small group from a population that is as similar to the larger population as

possible. In essence, we want to have a little group that is like the big group.

With that in mind, one of the features we look for in a sample is the degree

of representative ness - how well does the sample represent the larger

population from which it was drawn? How closely do the features of the

sample resemble those of the larger population?

Types of Samples:

Although there are a number of different methods that might be used to

create a sample, they generally can be grouped into one of two categories:

1 Probability samples or

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2 Non-probability samples.

Probability Samples:

The idea behind this type is random selection. More specifically, each sample

from the population of interest has a known probability of selection under a

given sampling scheme. There are four categories of probability samples

described below.

Simple Random Sampling

The most widely known type of a random sample is the simple random

sample (SRS). This is characterized by the fact that the probability of

selection is the same for every case in the population. Simple random

sampling is a method of selecting n units from a population of size N such

that every possible sample of size n has equal chance of being drawn.

An example may make this easier to understand. Imagine you want to carry

out a survey of 100 voters in a small town with a population of 1,000 eligible

voters. With a town this size, there are "old-fashioned" ways to draw a

sample. For example, we could write the names of all voters on a piece of

paper, put all pieces of paper into a box and draw 100 tickets at random. You

shake the box, draw a piece of paper and set it aside, shake again, draw

another, set it aside, etc. until we had 100 slips of paper. These 100 form our

sample. And this sample would be drawn through a simple random sampling

procedure - at each draw, every name in the box had the same probability of

being chosen.

Stratified Random Sampling

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In this form of sampling, the population is first divided into two or more

mutually exclusive segments based on some categories of variables of

interest in the research. It is designed to organize the population into

homogenous subsets before sampling, then drawing a random sample within

each subset.

Systematic Sampling

This method of sampling is at first glance very different from SRS. In

practice, it is a variant of simple random sampling that involves some listing

of elements - every nth element of list is then drawn for inclusion in the

sample. Say you have a list of 10,000 people and you want a sample of

1,000.

Creating such a sample includes three steps:

1. Divide number of cases in the population by the desired sample size. In

this example, dividing 10,000 by 1,000 gives a value of 10.

2. Select a random number between one and the value attained in Step. In

this example, we choose a number between 1 and 10 - say we pick 7.

3. Starting with case number chosen in Step 2, take every tenth record (7,

17, 27, etc.).

Cluster Sampling

In some instances the sampling unit consists of a group or cluster of smaller

units that we call elements or subunits (these are the units of analysis for

your study). There are two main reasons for the widespread application of

cluster sampling. Although the first intention may be to use the elements as

sampling units, it is found in many surveys that no reliable list of elements in

the population is available and that it would be prohibitively expensive to

construct such a list. In many countries there are no complete and updated

lists of the people, the houses or the farms in any large geographical region.

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Important things about cluster sampling:

1. Most large-scale surveys are done using cluster sampling;

2. Clustering may be combined with stratification, typically by clustering

within strata;

3. In general, for a given sample size n cluster samples are less accurate

than the other types of sampling in the sense that the parameters you

estimate will have greater variability than an SRS, stratified random or

systematic sample.

Non probability Sampling

Social research is often conducted in situations where a researcher cannot

select the kinds of probability samples used in large-scale social surveys. The

primary difference between probability methods of sampling and non

probability methods is that in the latter you do not know the likelihood that

any element of a population will be selected for study.

There are four primary types of non-probability sampling methods:

Availability Sampling

Availability sampling is a method of choosing subjects who are available or

easy to find. This method is also sometimes referred to as haphazard,

accidental, or convenience sampling. The primary advantage of the method

is that it is very easy to carry out, relative to other methods. A researcher

can merely stand out on his/her favorite street corner or in his/her favorite

tavern and hand out surveys. One place this used to show up often is in

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university courses. Years ago, researchers often would conduct surveys of

Quota Sampling.

Quota sampling is designed to overcome the most obvious flaw of availability

sampling. Rather than taking just anyone, you set quotas to ensure that the

sample you get represents certain characteristics in proportion to their

prevalence in the population. Note that for this method, you have to know

something about the characteristics of the population ahead of time. Say you

want to make sure you have a sample proportional to the population in

terms of gender - you have to know what percentage of the population is

male and Purposive Sampling.

Purposive sampling is a sampling method in which elements are chosen

based on purpose of the study. Purposive sampling may involve studying the

entire population of some limited group (sociology faculty at Columbia) or a

subset of a population (Columbia faculty who have won Nobel Prizes). As

with other non-probability sampling methods, purposive sampling does not

produce a sample that is representative of a larger population, but it can be

exactly what is needed in some cases - study of organization, community, or

some other clearly defined and relatively limited group.

Meaning Of Hypothesis

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A hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of proposition set forth as an

explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena either

asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide some investigation or accepted

as highly probable in the light of established facts. Quite often a research

hypothesis is a predictive statement, capable of being tested by scientific method,

that relates an independent variable to some dependent variable.

HYPOTHESIS: The business or organization is able to sustain profitability and

performance by linking the employees pay to competency and contribution in

MNYL LTD. MORADABAD.

Meaning of Null Hypothesis:

If researcher compare method A with method B about its superiority and if

proceed on the assumption that both method are equally good, then this

assumption is termed as null hypothesis.

Meaning of Alernative Hypothesis:

If sample result do not support null hypothesis , researcher conclude that

something else is true. Rejecting the null hypothesis is known as alternative

hypothesis.

HYPOTHESIS TESTING

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Whenever we have a decision to make about a population characteristic, we make

a hypothesis.

PROCEDURES IN HYPOTHESIS TESTING

When we test a hypothesis we proceed as follows:

1. Formulate the null and alternative hypothesis.

2. Choose a level of significance.

3. Determine the sample size.  (Same as confidence intervals)

4. Collect data.

5. Calculate z (or t) score.

6. Utilize the table to determine if the z score falls within the acceptance

region.

7. Decide to a. Reject the null hypothesis and therefore accept the alternative

hypothesis or 

b. Fail to reject the null hypothesis and therefore state that there is not

enough evidence to suggest the truth of the alternative hypothesis

ERRORS IN HYPOTHESIS TESTS 

We define a type I error as the event of rejecting the null hypothesis when the null

hypothesis was true.  The probability of a type I error () is called the significance

level.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ADOPTED

The general methodology adopted for the research project work is as follows:

Source of data collection

For the purpose of collecting the data required for the research project work,

secondary data has been used from various sources like different books on

Marketing Managmaent, websites, search engines, journal etc.

For the purpose of collecting the primary data which is required during study

the formal interaction has been taken place with the customers in

Fahrenheit Auto Pvt. Ltd. and various other Skoda Dealers in New Delhi.

Different perception of customers was analyzed according to the frequencies

of their discrete income.

• Type of research: - Qualitative research

-Element- Consumers

-Sampling unit- Each element acts as an independent unit.

• Sampling Type: - Area sampling.

As research was limited on the basis of geographical location i.e. New Delhi

• Sample Size: - 160 Customers

• Data Source: - Mainly Secondary Data as well as Primary Data collected

by conducting face to face personal interviews.

• Research instruments: -

Questionnaire was used to extract the information from the respondents.

Questions were

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- Close ended

- Multiple choices

• Method of Sampling: - Random

Duration of fieldwork : 08 weeks

Method of Data Collection : Through Questionnaire

Analysis & Data Interpretation

Table-1

TABLE IS SHOWING THE SEX RATIO OF THE RESPONDENTS

WHILE TAKING THE SAMPLING IN New Delhi REGION

SEX MAL

E

FEMA

LE

%NO.OF 125 35

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RESPONDENTS

Analysis: - From above table we can see that 81% people are male

respondent and 19% are female while taking the sample out of 160

people.

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Table-2

TABLE IS SHOWING THE AGE GROUP OF THE RESPONDENTS

AGE 18-

25

26-

35

36-

45

ABOVE

45

NO.OF

RESPONDENTS

40 60 38 22

Analysis: - From above table we can find that the 25% respondents are

of age group between 18-25 and 37.5% people are of 26-35. Rests are of

23.7% between36-45 and above 45 are 13.75%.

Inference: - From above table and analysis we can see the maximum

no. of respondents is of age between 26to35.

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Table-3

TABLE IS SHOWING THE OCCUPATION OF THE

RESPONDENTS

OCCUPATION BUSINE

SS

SERVI

CE

PROFES-

SIONAL

ANY

OTHE

RS

%NO.OF

RESPONDENTS

43 82 25 10

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Analysis: - From above table we can get that 26.87% respondents

are from business class. 51.25% belongs to service class and

15.62%are professionals and rest 6.25% belongs to other class.

Inference: - From above table we can infer that majority of

respondents belongs to service class.

Table-4

TABLE IS SHOWING THE INCOME LEVEL OF THE RESPONDENTS

INCOME BELO

W

25000

0

250000

--

400000

400000

--

600000

ABOV

E

60000

0

% NO. OF

RESPOND

ETS

123 22 13 2

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Analysis: - From above table we can find that 76.87% respondents

belong to income group of below 250000. 13.75% belongs to income

group of 250000-400,000, 8.12% of 400,000 to 600,000, and 1.25%

of above 600,000.

Inference: - From above table and analysis we can infer that

maximum no. of respondents are belongs to income group below

250000.

Table-5

TABLE IS SHOWING THAT PEOPLE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH WHICH

AUTOMOBILE COMPANY

Hyundai Maruti Tata Skoda Others

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Suzuki

25% 35% 20% 10% 10%

Analysis:- From above table we can see that 25% respondents are associated with

Hyundai, 35% with Maruti , 20% with Tata ,10% with Skoda AND 10% with others.

Inference: - From above table and analysis we can infer that majority of people are

associated with Maruti Suzuki.

Table-6

TABLE IS SHOWING HOW PEOPLE COME TO KNOW ABOUT NEW

VARIANTS

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AGENT\

ADVISIORS

NEWSPAPER\

MAGAZINE

INTERNET OTHERS

120 26 8 6

Analysis: - From above table we can see that 75% respondents get information about new

product through Agent\Advisors. 16.25% through Newspaper\Magazine, 5% through

Internet, 3.75% through other ways.

Inference:-From above table and findings we can infer that Agent\Advisors are the main

medium of information about Automobiles.

FINDINGS

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It was observed that there are different people from different professions

having their own savings and expense limits. Major people in India are now

buying cars. As far as car market is concerned people are less aware of it

and there are number of myths in the market because of which people do

not comfortable in purchasing of cars specially the expensive ones.

It was also observed that people have lack of knowledge or are not aware of

the products of Skoda Auto and there are no resources to create

awareness in this area of knowledge. AS Skoda Auto is not an old player in

Indian market, the major aspect coming into picture through this study was

that every buyer had in his mind to purchase the car from the company that

is as follows:

Name and Fame in Indian Market

Best Quality with chaep rates

Good fuel efficiency

Survive on Indian roads

Latest Technology with good Safety features

But due to the various models and variants of different companies, it is very

obvious that there is high investment at the low return. So here Marketing

and Sales policies should be adopted by the company in order to increase

the sales and also have to provide better After Sale services in order to gain

consumer satisfaction.

Conclusions

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1 The age group between 26-35 is more conscious about the Automobiles

and they avail them.

2 People get Vehicles for family purpose but some people have different

thoughts like touring etc..

3 Professionals are the highly Interested group and following are service

class as well as businessmen.

4 Economic condition of a person influenced for getting vehicle.

5 Maruti Suzuki is the biggest company in India with huge numbers of

customers according to finding of research.

6 Agent or Advisors are the big sources of information about a new plan of

insurance company.

7 People are now thinking the other companies are doing a good job and

their parts are easily accessible.

8 Maruti is the popular brand among the persons because of its reliability.

9 Change is very important and one who goes with the changing

environment always succeed, that is what I have learned from the study.

The competition has grown too much in the automobile sector with the

opening of the sector. This is for the Hyundai to change their strategy on

the basis of the competition. On the basis of the project I can conclude

that the auto sector is one of the oldest industries of India.

10 Nationalized after independence. For many years it was only Maruti

Suzuki and Hindustan motors. In 1991 when the liberalization started, foreign

organizations become attracted towards the country. Multinational

companies aligned with the Indian companies to step into this sector. Maruti

Suzuki has the largest network of Vehicles.

RECOMMENDATIONS

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1 People have less knowledge about current Products, so company should

advertise it more through Television, Radio and Newspaper because these

mediums are easily accessible to them.

2 Innovation is required as the people demand new and innovative for

which they are also ready to invest more.

3 Automobiles companies has some plan about poor people but it is not

implemented properly they are remain untouched.

4 Government should allow hiking the stake of foreign collaborator because

it makes more competitive market of automobiles.

5 Auto companies should come up with new policies that can launch cheap

SUVs for middle income group.

6 Auto companies should venture their policies in remote areas of our

country.

The Automobile companies should now try to identify the gap between

current level of customer service and customer expectations. Some of the

strategies being recommended are as follows:

1 Product Differentiation: Offering a product that is distinctly

different from other products available in the market.

2 Innovativeness: Identifying means of a delightful customer

experience.

3 Riders: These are additional offerings along with the main product.

4 Flexibility: The companies should make their products flexible for the

convenience of their customer.

5 Hassle Free Service: All bureaucracy in customer interactions

should be eliminated.

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6 Proper Policy Documentation: Wrong interpretations/ non-awareness

of product by the customer may have serious implications in the long

term and the possibility of the same should be alleviated by the auto

companies.

Limitations

1 The research covers only west Delhi, so the survey results are restricted

to a particular area.

2 Biased answers can sometimes be received in questionnaire because

customers sometimes tend to hide their salary, price as the factor for

buying the product etc.

3 Survey is done under limited time constraint so the completeness of the

product may not be sure.

4 Behavior of the customer keeps on changing as they are continuously in

linked with the external environmental happening.

5 Market is more heterogeneous so the survey is not too flexible.

6 Consumer taste and preferences are hard to judge so it can change

frequently.

7 People were hard pressed with time so most of them were reluctant to

answer

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Journals and Magazines

1 Autovehicles companies Public issue and Study Material of Skoda Auto.

2 Extreme Machines and other Magazines.

NEWSPAPERS

3 Economic Times

Webilography

4 www.google.com

5 www.skoda-auto.co.in

6 www.marutisuzuki.com

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Questionnaire

I Shantanu Gupta student of MBA from Teerthankar Mahaveer Institute of Management & Technology, Moradabad doing a project on “MARKETING AND SALES IN SKODA AUTO.” and for the same reference I seek your valuable information and time. I assure you that all the information will be kept confidential and will not be use anywhere else academic purpose.

PART-(A)

Personal Profile

Name ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Address

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Personal Contact No. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Age Group:

Below 1920-50Above 50

Gender: MaleFemale

In terms of your current occupation, how would you characterize yourself?

Service Administration StudentProfessionalTechnicalBusinessOthers please specify

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PART-(B)

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Which of the following best describes your vehicle?

1. Standard (gasoline/diesel)

2. Hybrid (gasoline and petrol)

2. What is the class of your vehicle?

1. small car

2. 4-door sedan

3. Sport utility (SUV)

4. Van/wagon

5. Sport car

6. Pick-up truck

SOCIAL INFORMATION

1. In order to have relevant information for the survey could you fill the 2 blanks underneath?

City/Town:

Country:

4.What is your education level?

1. University or college degree

2. A-level or high school diploma

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3. GCSE or equivalent

5. What is the type of the household?

1 Single person

2 Married with kids

3 Married with no kids

4 Others

6. How many cars are there in your household?

1 2 3 4+

7. Which company cars are you currently owned?

Hyundai Tata Skoda

Maruti Chevrolet Others

8. Why you are associated with this company, what influences you

to buy a car of this company?

Good average Safety faetures

Prices Celebrity endorser

Others( please specify) ___________________________________________________

9. What is the household income?

< 2, 50,000 2, 50,000 - 4, 00,000

400,000 - 6, 00,000 6, 00,000 & above

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10. What is your estimated monthly fuel consumption?

1 Less then Rs. 1,000

2 Between Rs 1,000 – 2,500

3 Between Rs 2,500 – 5,000

4 More then Rs 10,000

11. Do you perceive meaning in vehicles?

Comment: The meaning or image you perceive from a car can be positive or negative. You can also perceive no meaning at all. Example: you may think sports car project an image of youth.

1 No

2 Yes, for some kind of cars.

3 Yes, for almost every car.

12. Does the image of your car enable you to communicate your lifestyle, identity or values?

1 NO

2 Partially

3 Yes

13. How do you come to know about new cars of your Company?

Agent\Advisors Newspaper\Magazine

Internet Others

14. What other services would you want from your car company?

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THANKYOU

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