Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
ON
TO ACCESS THE CUSTOMER PERCEPTION
OF HLL PRODUCTS
&
SERVICE ISSUES IN BHOPAL CITY
SUBMITTED BY:
MANOJ SHRIVASTAVA
M.B.A. (Full Time) III SEMESTER
SUBMITTED BY:
MANOJ SHRIVASTAVA
M.B.A. III(Full Time) SEMESTER
The project was undertaken as the part of course curriculum of MBA programme, Barkatulla
University, Bhopal. This has not been submitted to any other examination body earlier.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I take this opportunity to place on record my grateful thanks and sincere gratitude to
Dr. (Col.) Rajesh Malhotra , who gave me valuable advise and input for my study.
I am immensely grateful to my esteemed guide Prof. Mukesh Porwal, whose continued and
invaluable guidance can never be forgotten by me but for whom; this study could not have
got present shape.
Last but not least, I would like to express my thanks to my friends and family members who
inspired me to put best efforts for the survey report
MANOJ SHRIVASTAVA
iv
PREFACE
The project report is on the topic of “TO ACCESS THE CUSTOMER PERCEPTION OF
HLL PRODUCTS & SERVICE ISSUES IN BHOPAL CITY” Although I have tried my
level best to prepare this report an error free report every effort has been made to offer the
most authenticate position with accuracy.
v
CONTENTS
Chapter-1 Introduction
- Background of the study
- Identification Of Problem Area
- Justification/ Relevance of the Study
Chapter-II Objectives of the Study
Chapter-III Review of Literature
Chapter-IV Scope & Research Methodology
- Scope of Study
- Research Design
- Type of Study
- Area of the study
- Period of the study
- Sample Design
- Tools of analysis
- Limitations of Study
Chapter-V Data Analysis & Interpretation
Chapter-VI Observations & Findings
Chapter-VII Conclusions & Suggestions
Bibliography
Annexure
- Questionnaire
- curriculum vitae
LIST OF TABLES
Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) is India's largest fast moving consumer goods company,
with
leadership in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. HLL's brands spread
across 20 distinct consumer categories, touch the lives of two out of three Indians. They
endow the company with a scale of combined volumes of about 4 million tonnes and sales of
Rs.10,000 crores.
The leading business magazine, Forbes Global, has rated Hindustan Lever
as the best consumer household products company. Far Eastern Economic Review has rated
HLL as India’s most respected company. Asiamoney has rated HLL as one of India’s best
managed companies. Leading national publications, like The Economic Times, Business
World, and Business Today have also rated HLL as one of India’s most respected companies
and the number one in Market Value Added and EVA.The vision that inspires HLL's 32,400
employees (40,000 including Group Companies), including about 1,425 managers, is to
“meet everyday needs of people everywhere - to anticipate the aspirations of our consumers
and customers and to respond creatively and competitively with branded products and
services which raise the quality of life.” This objective is achieved through the brands that the
company markets.It is an ethos HLL shares with its parent company, Unilever, which holds
51.55% of the equity. A Fortune 500 transnational, Unilever sells Foods and Home and
Personal Care brands through 300 subsidiary companies in about 100 countries worldwide
with products on sale in a further 50.
BUSINESS NATURE
HLL is India's largest marketer of Soaps, Detergents and Home Care products. It has the
country’s largest Personal Products business, leading in Shampoos, Skin Care Products,
Colour Cosmetics,and Deodorants. HLL is also the market leader in Tea, Processed Coffee,
branded Wheat Flour,Tomato Products, Ice cream, Soups, Jams and Squashes.HLL is also
one of the country's biggest exporters and has been recognised as a Golden Super StarTrading
House by the Government of India; it is a net foreign exchange earner. HLL is India's largest
exporter of branded fast moving consumer goods. The company's Exports portfolio includes
HLL's brands of Soaps and Detergents, Personal Products, Home Care Products, Tea and
Coffee.HLL is also driving exports in chosen areas where India has a competitive advantage
– Marine Products, Basmati Rice, Castor Oil and its Derivatives. It is India's largest exporter
of Marine Products, and one of the largest global players in castor.
MARKET LEADING BRANDS
HLL’s brands have become household names. The company’s strategy is to concentrate its
resources on 30 national power brands, and 10 other brands which are strong in certain
regions.The top five brands together account for sales of over Rs.3000 crores. Each of these
mega brands has a potential scale of Rs.1000 crores in the foreseeable future.
Some of the big brands in Soaps and Detergents are Lifebuoy, Lux, Liril, Hamam, Breeze,
Dove,(all soaps), Surf Excel, Surf, Rin, Wheel (the number one detergent brand in India, and
HLL's largest), 501, Sunlight (all detergents). HLL also markets the Vim and Domex range of
Home Care Products.In the Personal Products business, HLL's Hair Care franchises are
Clinic, Sunsilk and Lux shampoos; the company markets Nihar oil. In Oral Care, the
portfolio comprises Close-up and Pepsodent toothpastes and toothbrushes. In Skin Care, HLL
markets Fair & Lovely Skin Cream and Lotion, the largest selling Skin Care Product in India;
a brand developed in India, it is now exported to over 30 countries. It has been extended as an
Ayurvedic cream, an under-eye cream, a soap and a talc, in line with the strategy to take
brands across relevant categories. The other major Skin Care franchises are Pond’s, Vaseline,
Lakme and Pears. In Colour Cosmetics, HLL markets the Lakme and Elle-18 ranges. In
Deodorants, the key brands are Rexona, Axe, Denim and Pond's, while the Talc brands are
Pond's, Liril, Fair & Lovely, Vaseline and Lifebuoy. Axe and Denim are HLL’s franchises
for Men’s toiletries. HLL has recently launched Lever Ayush Ayurvedic Health & Personal
Care Products. Health Care is among the new businesses HLL has chosen to enter. The
product range comprises Cough Naashak Syrup, Headache Naashak Roll-on, Dandruff
Naashak Shampoo, Hair Rakshak Oil and Body Rakshak Soap. The purity of the Ayurvedic
ingredients in Lever Ayush is endorsed by the renowned Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (AVP) of
Coimbatore. It is for the first time that rigorous testing procedures of the pharmaceutical
industry have been applied to Ayurvedic products. That is why the brand seal is ‘Truth of
Ayurveda; Proof of Science’.HLL has started franchised Lakme Beauty Salons, offering
standardised services, in line with the strategy to add a service dimension to relevant brands.
The company has set up the Hindustan Lever Network, a direct selling channel, offering the
Lever Home range of Laundry and Home Care products and the Aviance Personal Care
range.The company has also begun an e-tailing service, called Sangam, which can home-
deliver on order by phone or through the Net, a diverse range of about 5000 branded and
unbranded products. The service is now available in select areas of Mumbai and Navi
Mumbai, besides Thane.HLL is one of the world’s largest packet Tea marketer. Its Tea
brands – Taj Mahal, Red Label,Taaza, A1, 3Roses - are among the top brands in the country;
it also markets Lipton Ice Tea.HLL and Pepsi have formed an alliance to distribute a full
range of tea and coffee and soft beverages through vending machines; HLL already has a
base of around 15000 such machines. The coffee business comprises Bru Instant Coffee and
Deluxe Green Label Roast & Ground Coffee. The Kissan and Knorr Foods range comprises
Spreads & Jams, Biscuit Sticks, Soups, Squashes,Tomato Ketchup, Sauces, Puree, and
Cooking Aids.Popular Foods, like Wheat Flour and Iodized Edible Salt, under the Knorr
Annapurna brand name,have met with remarkable success. The range has been expanded
with ready-to-eat 10-second chapatis. The innovative offerings are changing consumer habits
into using processed, hygienic,healthy and convenient products.The Kwality-Wall's Ice
Cream range comprises exotic Sundaes, Viennetta Desserts, popular ‘Impulse’ segment
products like Max, Cornetto and Feast, and Cornetto Ripple Softies.
Max was extended in 2001 as sugar confectioneries, because children are a key consumer
segment in confectioneries too. This is among the new businesses HLL has chosen to enter.
HLL has acquired Modern Food Industries (India) Limited, entering the bread market.
Modern
Foods was the first Public Sector Undertaking to be disinvested. Besides upgrading the
existing
Modern products, HLL has launched new products, among them biscuits.HLL is liberating its
brands from their existing category mindset. Historically, brands originated and stayed within
a category format. HLL sees its Power Brands as being able to occupy a unique position in
the consumer's mind and therefore being able to stretch into other product formats and
categories. All such initiatives have had a promising start, and there are more to come.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The expertise and commitment of HLL's employees, coupled with Lever's more than 100
years' link with India, gives the company a formidable competitive advantage. The first
Unilever product came to India in 1888, when Sunlight soap was introduced through imports.
Lifebuoy was introduced in 1895 and other famous brands like Pears, Lux and Vim followed.
Vanaspati was launched in 1918 and the famous Dalda brand came to the market in 1937.In
1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing
Company,
followed by Lever Brothers India Limited (1933) and United Traders Limited (1935). These
three companies merged to form HLL in November 1956; HLL offered 10% of its equity to
the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to do so. Unilever, which
gradually divested its stake in HLL, now holds 51.55% equity in the company. The rest of the
shareholding is distributed among about 380,000 individual shareholders and financial
institutions. The erstwhile Brooke Bond's presence in India dates back to 1900. By 1903, the
company had launched Red Label tea in the country. In 1912, Brooke Bond & Co. India
Limited was formed.Brooke Bond joined the Unilever fold in 1984 through an international
acquisition.The erstwhile Lipton's links with India were forged in 1898. Unilever acquired
Lipton in 1972, and in 1977 Lipton Tea (India) Limited was incorporated. Pond’s (India)
Limited had been present in India since 1947. It joined the Unilever fold through an
International acquisition of Chesebrough Pond’s USA in 1986. Since the very early years,
HLL has vigorously responded to the stimulus of economic growth. The growth process has
been accompanied by judicious diversification, always in line with Indian opinions and
aspirations.
Unparalleled Distribution Un
Nationwide distribution with 7000 stockists
Directly covers
Entire urban population through 1 million outlets
50,000 villages
Power Brands
HLL has identified 30 power brands out of its 110 portfolio. These 30 brands, covering key
product segments contribute to over 75% of profits. In 2001, company concentrated on these
profitable brands and has defocused on the others. Power brands registered a 6.5% yoy
growth in 2001, as against a 1.1% degrowth in other brands. Overall, net sales grew by 3.5%
yoy. Operating profit on power brands was higher by 9.7% as against a 8.1% growth in
operating profit of other brands. The main power brand of HLL is given as follows:
Unilever 51.55 %
Mutual Funds and UTI 3.78 %
Banks, Financial Institutions, Insurance Companies, other institutions 10.09 %
Foreign Institutional Investors 12.83 %
Indian public 21.57 %
COMMODITISATION OF BRANDS
The Indian Market Place: Let us see what is happening. Lakme Moisturisers (60 ml Bottle)
free with Lipton Green Label Tea, Rs. 35 off on buying Gillette series Deo Body Spray, Kaun
Banega Crorepati Britannia offer, Pears soap free with every 200-ml Lakme Moisturisers,
150 gm Palmolive extra care worth Rs. 27 on buying 250 gm Colgate Dental Cream, 200 gm
Kissan Tom-Tom free with every % Kg pack of Kissan Fortified Atta, 500 grams of Kissan
Annapurna Iodised Salt free with One kg of Kissan Annapurna fortified Atta, 15% off on
Bombay Dying clothing…Oh a very long-unending list.
Am I really talking about one of the most successful brands in the Indian marketplace. Aren't
a brand is the sum of expectations that a stakeholder or customer has when purchasing a
product or dealing with an organization, or is the mental image generated when exposed to a
product or company name. Why brands are important for customers, whether they work for
customers, or they simplify everyday choices or they reduce the risk of complicated buying
decisions or they provide emotional benefits or they offer a sense of community. Well the
obvious answer Yes but after looking at these offers I can only say "I guess so".
Why am I saying that company's are increasingly relying on a variety of sales promotion
offers and because of that customer is getting trained to buy on price, in effect the world is
turning back to hundred years to the time when commodities, not brands, filled the shopping
basket. Commodities are undifferentiated and are sold on price competition. Many brand
managers seem to aim for a "me-to" position reflecting their desire to be all things to all
people. Lack of uniqueness is commoditisation, and it makes a brand vulnerable. But why is
that happening, all these tactics given above used by the companies to increase their market
share results in lack of uniqueness of a brand, which is commoditisation.
So what do we need to do, The industry needs a "common change language" regardless of
channel or segment. We must address and resolve the burning issues for long-term survival.
The real issues that retailers and manufacturers must confront and resolve is that most
branded companies are working to maintain and build consumption demand not
brand/shareholder equity. The "commoditisation" of categories and products is forcing
suppliers to shift financial resources to support cost reductions in manufacturing and existing
product formulations (therefore impacting quality) in an effort to lower prices and maintain
desired margins and market share. Less support for brands and new product development is a
dangerous sign of commoditisation, where costs and price, not "value-added" products or
services, drive decision-making.
The advertising Guru David Ogilvy has said in 1986 in New York on the occasion of 50th
anniversary of Advertising Research Foundation "Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it
takes a genius, faith and perseverance to create a brand."
He has addressed the problem and its solution in one of his speech in 1955, also he said, "The
time has come to sound an alarm! To warn what is going to happen to brands if so much is
spent on deals that there is no money left to advertise them."
"Deals don't build the kind of indestructible image which is the only thing that can make your
brand part of the fabric of a persons life".
"The manufacturer who dedicate their advertising to building a favourable image, the most
sharply defined personality for their brand, are the ones who will get the largest share of
market at the highest profits."
To sum it up with a real life story let me elaborate the fight between an FMCG giant HLL's
Fair & Lovely and a new entrant CavinKare Limited's (CKL) Fairever fairness cream. Fair &
Lovely has dominated the fairness beauty cream market since its launch in 1975, it has a
market share of 90% in 1998, when CKL has launched its Fairever cream in January 1998,
with a unique proposition of "Saffron", which has quietly got the customer's attention, who
was looking for a new product since years. Fairever even after being priced higher then F&L
was catching the market-share. HLL attacked with its promotional offers of price cut and
extra cream but the rise in Fairever remain continued and today it has market share of 15%. It
is surprising to know that Fairever is just a me-too brand of F&L with similar formulation. So
why was HLL loosing the market share. F&L was just like a commodity brand and when
Fairever has offered value of Saffron, customers tend to accept that and HLL lost, even with
its promotional offers.
The bottom-line is Brands are products that are distinguished from others. Brands constantly
evolve. Successful brand proprietors manage to anticipate market shifts and reposition and
develop their brands accordingly.
HINDUSTAN LEVER LTD - STILL THE BEST OR GLORY DAYS OVER
For the motion - A must for every portfolio, says The Bull
Still the best stock, says the Bull. Hindustan Lever has underperformed despite almost no
change in fundamentals. This is the best time to buy.
Against the motion - Yesterday's hero, tomorrow's ???, says The Bear
The Bear begs to differ. It is an excellent company, agreed. But the market has changed.
Your views on the topic
Hindustan Lever- A must for every portfolio
The largest FMCG player with a presence in almost every FMCG product category; market
leadership or #2 position in most of these categories, a strong brand portfolio, unmatched
distribution network; a business with a vast growth potential - given India's population size &
current per capita consumption levels; and the most respected management in the country -
What more can you ask for?
Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) - the largest personal products company in the country with a
63% market share in toilet soaps, 38% share in detergent powders, 48% in detergent bars,
60% share in dish cleaning segment, 72% share in shampoo, 60% share in skin care and 37%
share in oral care. In the foods business also, where the focus has increased in last few years,
HLL has established a significant presence in all segments. Market share figures for major
foods businesses are Packet Tea (41%), Coffee (45%), Jams (75%), Ketchup (38%),
Vanaspati (28%), Staple foods (20%).
Average sales CAGR in the last ten years has been 29.5%, driven partly by successful
acquisitions like Kwality, Dollops, TOMCO, BrookeBond and Lakme. But even sans the
mergers, HLL would have maintained an average of 18% yoy growth pa. Net profit has
grown at a compounded rate of 37% during the same period
The company has constantly improved return on capital employed as well as returns to
shareholders. Infact, the Indian subsidiary has been Unilever's largest success story in any
Asian country.
HLL's key strength in a vast country such as ours has been its unmatched distribution reach
through a stockist network of 7000 and a retail reach of over 1mn outlets. It is the only
company which distributes its products to more than 50000 villages. Innovative programmes
like Project Bharat have been undertaken which aim to make available to every consumer in
the remotest corner of the country, products that meet his day to day requirements.
Also the management is well known for its marketing savvy. It has over the years studied and
understood the Indian markets as no other MNC player has. It has adapted its products to suit
the Indian tastes. A lot of wars have been played and won on the price front, acknowledging
that the Indian consumer is extremely price sensitive. The financial strength to cross
subsidize new initiatives with existing profitable businesses has enabled the company to
achieve its zeal of being the dominating player in all markets that it enters into.
While the personal products business has been the revenue driver during the last few years,
growth rates in the category (specially like detergents and toilet soaps) are likely to taper off
once certain penetration levels are reached. The company has been therefore consiously
building up an extended product range which are at various stages of the growth cycle. As Mr
Dadi Seth emphasizes, "The building of the personal products business was started 10 years
ago, and the benefits are being reaped now. Similarly we are investing in the foods business
today - as that will be the revenue driver in the future." Although profitability in the foods
business may still be a few years away, once the branded foods market really matures, the
potential for volume growth in the business are enormous.
Nor has the company ever given loyal shareholders a reason to be unhappy about its
performance in the bourses. The stock market performance has year after year been more
than satisfactory. Just look at the comparison of annualized returns earned by major food and
personal products companies viz a viz Sensex returns in the last ten years.
The management of HLL held its analyst meet to discuss Q4 F12/04 and F12/04 performance
and the outlook for the industry and the company in the years to come. The key takeaways
from the meet were as follows:
HPC
HPC segment grew by 4.9% in volume and 3.4% yoy in value terms to Rs18.3bn during the
quarter under review. While, for the full year sales from HPC segment increased by 2.2% yoy
to Rs68.8bn.
The company was able to increase its market share and sales in the toothpaste category
despite stiff competition from low priced brands.
iii) Shampoo
The shampoo volumes were marginally lower while, the value share decreased to 47.1%
during Q4 F12/04.
Financial Highlights
FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) marketing is no more going to be the same again!
The changing consumer mindset thanks to more knowledgeable and discerning customers
coupled with changing competition and saturated market is giving a tough time to the FMCG
marketers. The changed scenario not only demands a new game plan with a sharp and
decisive strategy but also a lot of creativity and insight. Some of the players in Indian FMCG
industry have already taken a lead and are smartly moving to chart a success story for their
brands. Some brands that reaped magnificent dividend from adopting a new strategy are
Fairever, Ujala, Ghadi detergent, Chik, and Dandi namak. If we analyze the success story of
these brands, it will be self evident that their marketing strategy is not a jargon filled new
model of marketing. It is more of common sense marketing. But then, common sense is not
so common!
A common thread that binds the strategy adopted by these brands is razor sharp focus. They
clearly see their target market. They know their customers well. They are not targeting
consumers who already have built-in perceptions. They are reaching out to untapped market
within a well known product category. Their primary focus is on millions of lower middle
class families in small towns and rural segment. They are doing what legendry management
guru C K Prahlad advocates when he says in his published paper, "Raising the Bottom of the
Pyramid: Strategies for Sustainable Growth" that the greatest challenge for managers is to
visualize an active market when what exists is abject poverty. These successful brands are
just doing that- focusing on untapped markets. Take the example of Dandi namak. Who
would have advised them to enter the branded salt market when Tata and HLL virtually share
the whole market among them? But they entered this category when conventional wisdom
said no. And they became a success story overnight. How? The answer is focus. They entered
the market not to compete with Tata and HLL, but with the focus to take branded salt to rural
and semi-urban areas. With this narrow focus, they not only captured a large rural and semi-
urban market but also got some share of the urban market due to rub off effect.
Moreover, these small players fully realize that in today’s world, marketing needs money. So
they don’t shy away from investing in marketing. Again take the example of Dandi namak.
They splashed out money on their lengthy TV commercials to ensure that the message gets
ingrained in the mind of the prospect. Fairever and Ujala adopted the same strategy. Of
course they don’t spend as much as the MNCs do but they do spend enough to get attraction.
The best part is when they get attention and a little success, MNC Goliaths retaliate back with
huge spending and these little Davids piggyback on that!
Communicating 2 Consumers
One of the important aspects of the strategy being adopted is effective communication about
product. These wannabe marketers are sending just the right message to the consumers. If the
advertisements of these brands are analyzed, it will be evident that they don’t go for blitz but
instead try to relate themselves with their target customers. To achieve this object, they are
not shying away from being unconventional. Take the case of Dandi namak. The TV
advertisement was bland and uninteresting. However, without any glitz, it was able to
connect to its target customers because it talked in the language of its target customers. These
brands send a powerful message to their target customers that they are made for each other.
Dandi namak, Ujala, Ghadi detergent, and Chik, projected that they belonged to the lower
middle class! And this worked wonders.
The stratagem of this new breed of marketing is deciding the opponent to fight! In case of
most of these brands, it is seen that they fight their marketing battle by selecting a particular
company and in many cases a particular brand, which often is the market leader! Then they
deploy their entire marketing arsenal on this selected competitor. Ujala applied this tactic to
full advantage against Robin Blue and now it commands nearly three-fourth of the Rs2bn
ultra marine blue market, Fairever did the same to Fair & Lovely, Ghadi detergent is doing it
now to Nirma and Wheel, and Chik is going shoulder to shoulder with Clinic Plus, the market
leader in shampoo. The case of Dandi namak is different only in the sense that it selected its
battlefield instead of opponent. The battlefield, rural and semi-urban market, was such that no
major marketing war was fought on it before. Even the advertising strategy is designed with
an eye on its opponent. This hurts the big companies badly. They wake up from their
complacent sleep to realize that they are being brutally attacked. And by the time they
retaliate, it’s too late and they only succeed in helping these brands get more attention. HLL
realized that it’s brand Fair & Lovely was in danger only after Fairever had garnered a
healthy market share within months of its launch. Retaliatory advertising by Fair & Lovely
only helped Fairever gain more attention!
The way these homegrown marketers are inducing insomnia to Kotler fed B-school grads is
really amazing. By their ability to be flexible, innovative, and being close to their customers,
they are conquering Indian market, which many MNCs find a tough nut to crack. The secret
of their success is not hard to guess. It is connecting with the heart and soul of India- the
lower middle class and the rural consumers. Are the FMCG giants listening?
• If we look at the market ,we find majority of brands are homogenous, little in
differentiation there are no more value proposition.
• Almost every country is trying hard to differentiate their image both tangibility &
intangibility.
• In this Report the main intention is to analyze the consumer behavior in HLL Infos.
• Lack of consumer awareness about HLL
• The advertisement of HLL is satisfactory but it is not widely. It need more
advertising.
Although faced with the limitations mentioned a sincere effort was made to minimize
these limitations. I have tried my best to accomplish the primary objective as well as the
secondary objective of my study. My report remained within the framework of scientific
study as I opted sample method for my project. I made use of questionnaire method for
collecting the data. Field investigation and interviews were done personally. As regards to the
study the questionnaire was formulated systematically and in scientific manner so as to cover
all aspects of the subject and to obtain accurate data from the respondents. The analysis were
made on the data's given by the consumer whom when contacted were ready to give their
response and other valuable information. Thus the interpretation and analysis of the data will
fully justify the report prepared and the same can be considered as a genuine one. This report
Helped me to increase my practical knowledge of the management field and help in my
summer training project
CHAPTER – II
OBJECTIVES OF THE
STUDY
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
Examine the taste of consumer that what they want in the product of H.L.L.
I. REVIEW OF BOOKS
The customer market consists of all the individuals and householders who can buy or acquire
goods and service for personal consumption. Customers are tremendously in age, income,
education level, mobility pattern and taste. Marketers find it useful to distinguish different
customer groups and to develop products and services tailored to their need.
The areas of customer perception in marketing research are important because about 80% of
national income are constituted by expenditure incurred by the customer. The study of the
customer behaviour is a part of sociology economics and politics. Marketing is Concerned
with the inter exchange of goods and services between the producer and customer. Customer
behavior constitutes at least in part environment in which the producer operates. And in
which the management has to make decision and implement them.
Basically the research follows a truism, the customer are always bright therefore the needs of
the customer are of prime importance and must be investigated the customer and reports on
his habits, his likes and dislikes, to the manufacturer or to the advertiser.
A customer is a person who brings his wants, whether the customer is perception after
purchase depends on the offers performance in relation to the customer’s
expectation.
If the performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly perception or delighted. The
customers play a vital role in the health of the economy.
Thus, we see that the customers play a vital role and hence the markets should aim to manage
customer perception.
3. Chabbra, T.N. (2004):’Marketing Management’ Dhanpat Rai & Co. (Pvt) Ltd.,
New Delhi
A service is any act or performance that one party can offer To another that is essentially
intangible and does not result .In the ownership of any thing. Its production may or may not
be tied to a physical product.
Services have four major characteristics that greatly affect the design of
marketing programs: Intangibility,Inseparability,Variability,Perishability
Customers form their expectation on the basis of messages and claims sent out by the seller
and other communication sources. If the seller makes exaggerated claims for the product, the
customer experience disconfirmed expectation, which lead to dissatisfaction. The amount of
dissatisfaction depends upon the size of difference between expectations and performance
contrast theory says that the amount of dissatisfaction well be large then the performance gap.
Cognitive dissonance theory says that the amount of dissatisfaction will be less because
customer will try to reduce the dissonance by imputing higher performance. Some sellers
even understand performance levels so that the customers will experience higher than
expected perception from the product.
If the purchased brad fails to deliver the expected perception to the buyers, the buyers will
revise downwards his attitude towards the brand. On the other hand, a perception experience
will tend to strengthen the buyers brand preference.
Customer behaviour is an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on how and why
customers behave as they do. Its objective is to understand, explain, and predict customer
actions. The study of customer behaviour is the study of now individuals makes decisions to
spend their available resources.
(Money, time, effort) on consumption related items. It includes the study of what the
customers buy, why they buy it and how often they buy it, where they buy it and how often
they buy it Although this text focus on how and why customers make decisions to buy goods
and services, customers make decisions to buy goods and service, customers behaviour.
Research also considers the uses customer make of the goods they buy and their evaluations
of these goods after use.
The study of customer behaviour holds great interest for the customers also. The customers
need insight into their own consumption related decisions what is buy, why to buy and how
to buy. The study of customer behaviour makes them aware of that product or services.
It is important for the markets to recognize why and how individuals make their consumption
decisions so that we make better strategic decisions. Without doubt, marketers who
understand customer behaviour have a great competitive advantage in the market place.
In considering a particular good, the customer will see it as a bundle of attributes reflecting
what he or she is seeking. Thus each brand offers the customers a certain total utility at a
certain price. The consigner will choose the brand that maximiser the value to cost ratio.
The task of understanding customer buying behaviour is enormously complex. Here we will
attempts to present the main concepts and findings it is present here in the course of
answering four questions:
1. what are the major factors influencing the customers buying decisions?(Buying
influence )
2. what is the role played by the type of buying situation?(Buying situation)
3. what sub decisions are involved in the buying decision?(buying process)
4. what is the buying process through which the buyer process(buying process)
In short, customer market is the ultimate market for which economic activities are organized,
it consist of the whole population and it is important for the marketer to research age
distribution, family size, income, education levels, mobility patterns and tastes. The customer
market buys objects that can be classified according to their tangibility and according to how
the customers go about buying them.
The timing of customer purchases it’s influenced by family size, seasonal factors and
economic conditions.
The purchase decision is influenced by various parties playing various roles
(Initior, Influencer, decider, buyer, and user) Behaviors of the customer in the market is of
great importance to the manufactures, distributors and small business etc. because it is this
customer behaviour and his expenditure pattern helps them to exist and expand their business
in the market. The customers are the backbone of the market. Hence it is necessary to know
how the customers will respond to the different offers made by the producers. For this the
customer’s needs, desires and preference and income and expenditure.
BASIC CONCEPT
Today’s customers face or vast array of product and brand choices, prices and suppliers. The
question is how do customers make their choices ?
Customers estimate which offer will deliver the most value. Customer are value-maximizers,
within the bounds of search costs and limited knowledge mobility and income. They form an
expectation of value and art on it. Then they learn whether the offer lived upto the value
expectation and thus affects their perception and their repurchase probability.
Customer value is the bundle of benefits customers expect from a given product or service.
Customer delivered value is the difference between total customer value and total customer
cost.
Customer value consists of things like the product value, services value personnel value and
also the image value.
Customer cost, monetary price first of all, the time cost, wasted, customer will consider the
energy cost and psychic cost.
RETAINING CUSTOMERS
Today companies an intent on developing stronger bonds and loyalty with their ultimate
customers. Before the producer did not mind much about perception the customer, he could
lose customer and gain new, but today there is a lot of competition a company has to
perception his customer properly to keep him and to get new ones.
1. The study by Zeithaml et al and our as well also showed that customers assessed
service of the firm on the following five parameters:
Our research showed that Indian customers perceived reliability, assurance, tangibility,
responsiveness and empathy, in that order, as determining the service quality of the firm.
This is different from Zeithaml’s as their’s showed that reliability, assurance responsiveness,
and empathy were rated higher by customers than tangible dimension of service. Perhaps the
reason is that in India firms have yet to incorporate state- of- the- art technology in their
products and services. They still have a long way to go in terms of improving their
atmospherics and communications. Hence the customer believes that the company should
show higher priority in upgrading its facilities, equipment & communication. Once all firms
are at par on this dimension may be the Indian customer too will be like his or her western
counterpart, placing least weightage on the tangible factor.
2. Oliver, Richard L. (1993a). —A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and
Service Perception: Compatible Goals, Different Concepts,“ Research and
Practice, Vol. 2, Teresa A. Swartz, David E. Bowen, and Stephen W. Brown
(Eds.). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press
The concept of perception can be divided into four categories. First, perception is viewed as a
cognitive concept to be rewarded for the consumers‘ payment. Secondly, it is regarded as an
evaluation on the accord of prior expectation with alternatives of the selection. Third,
perception is defined as an affective response after purchase. Fourth, consumer perception
demonstrates that perception judgments are influenced by both emotional responses and
cognitive disconfirmation. Another approach to define the concept of perception derives from
two factors; `outcome‘ and ”process‘. The former approach emphasizes the results from the
consuming experience. The latter one extended to the notion that perception involves states
that are not limited to mere satiation and can be described as a process. The customer
perception research has been performed, based on two points of view. The first view is the
transaction-specific customer perception, which judges perception by comparing the
performance and expectation of each transaction. The second view is the cumulative
customer perception, which determines perception by the comprehensive evaluation on the
cumulative experience of the specific transaction. From these several points of view,
customer perception with a retail establishment may be viewed as an individual‘s emotional
and cognitive reaction to his or her evaluation of the total set of experiences realized from
patronizing the retailer. The varied customer experiences in connection with retail patronage
may be usefully categorized into two broad types: (1) experiences related to consuming the
products and services obtained from the retailer and (2) experiences related to being in the
store itself and dealing with the organization. Customers derive perception both from the
experiences in the store and use of each product and service purchased from the store.
CHAPTER – IV
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research approach for this study was conclusive research. Conclusive research is
designed to help executives to choose among various possible alternatives to make a viable
business decision. Further this research on perception was of descriptive type, which is an
offshoot of conclusive research. This research was designed to describe prospect of customer
perception of HLL. This was undertaken and data was collected to find actual perception of
HLL.
The problem for this research was non-operating in nature i.e. special situation
peculiar to particular company's marketing department. The data both primary and secondary
data, the source was one hundred respondents.
For the proper analysis of data simple statistical techniques such as percentage were
use. It helped in making more accurate generalization from the data available. The data,
which was collected from a sample of population, was assumed to be representing entire
population was interest. Demographic factors like age, income and educational background
was used for the classification purpose.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is made to determine the degree of perception felt by the customers of
HLL. To know their attitude towards the problem related to HLL and to understand the
perception or disperception of the customers.
The students are highly benefited as the purpose if this research is to get acquainted
with the practical side of marketing research, in addition to the theoretical studies in course of
the academic year. This research also gives a chance for application and testing of the
theoretical study on the real work situation. The students got the lessons of experience by
meeting various sections of people conducting on interview knowing opinion of people
tabulating interpreting and analyzing the data collected and this will help the researcher in.
future for career building.
The study also provided a great significance to the company find out how much the
customers are satisfied with the product. The suggestions that were given by the customers
are great help to the company to look the real drawback of the product.
The study helps the customers to evaluate the perception level on the product. They
got a chance to suggest for the improvement of the product.
The project is written with an aim to draw forth the intelligence and problem solving
activities within oneself by exposure to real work situation.
TYPES OF STUDY
Thus, this, conclusive descriptive statistical study is the best study for this purpose as
it provides the necessary information which is utilized to arrive at a concrete decision.
AREA OF THE STUDY
This study was based on the customer satisfaction of HLL hence I have done the survey of
100 respondents in Bhopal city.
The areas which we have studied are
• Karod chauraha
• Nehru nagar
• Kotra thana
• Coach factory
• DIG
• Super bazaar
To know the response, I have used the questionnaire method in sample survey. If one
wishes to find what people think or know, the logical procedure is to ask them. This has led
marketing researchers to use the questionnaire technique for collecting data more than any
other method.
In this method questionnaire were distributed to the respondents and they were asked
to answer questions in the questionnaire. The questionnaires were structured non-disguised
questionnaire because the questions, which the questionnaire contained, were arranged in a
specific order besides every question asked was logical for the study; no question can be
termed as irrelevant.
Bhopal has a population of approximately 15 lakhs. For carrying out any research or study on
any subject it is very difficult to cover even 10% of the population. Therefore the sample size
has to be decided for a meaningful conclusion. For designing the sample size, it was thought
proper to cover a very small percentage of population in various age groups.
The method used for sample technique was non probability convenience sampling
method. This method was used because it was not known previously as to whether a
particular person will be asked to fill the questionnaire. Convenient sampling is used because
only those people were asked to fill the questionnaires that were easily accessible and
available to the researcher.
Considering the constraints, it was decided to conduct the study based on sample size
of 100 people in specific age groups. Scientific method was not adopted in this study because
of financial constraints and also because of lack of time, also the basic aim of doing the
research was academic, hence most convenient way was selected.
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
It should also be kept in mind that, unnecessary facts are not collected and only those facts
should be adopted, which is useful in comparative method.
The existing and non-existing factors pertaining to the subject of comparative study should be
noted down. It should not be that only existing factors are taken note of and non-existing
factors are ignored.
3. Deriving Conclusions:
Due care should be taken in drawing conclusions. If the comparison is faulty there is every
chance of arriving at faulty conclusions.
4. Study Reports:
It is necessary to prepare a report of the comparative study. This will enable, the reader to
know the exact nature of the comparative study.
The comparative method appears to be an easy method of study but actually is very difficult.
No conclusion can be drawn very easily from the data and details collected by this method.
Varied conclusions can be drawn in a study of one and the same group, community and
circumstances and if the groups, communities are different the results are bound to differ.
HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY
Interpretation :
15 respondents come to know about HLL Products through their neighbours, 10 respondents
come to know through their friends.
GRAPH – V.1 : SOURCE OF AWARENESS
16
14
12
10
0
Advertisement Friends Colleagues Neighbours Others
Q2. Have you seen the advertisement of HLL Products ?
a. Yes
b. No
TABLE 5.2 : AWARENESS OF ADVERTISEMENT
Interpretation :
70% of the respondents have seen the advertisement of HLL Products.
GRAPH – V.I : ADVERTISEMENT AWARENESS
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
Yes No North
Q3.Have you seen the advertisement of HLL Products, If yes then in which media :
a. Television
b. Newspaper
c. Magazines
d. Banners / Hoarding
e. Road Show
TABLE 5.3 : BEST MEDIUM OF ADVERTISEMENT
Options No. of Respondents
Television 18
Newspapers 0
Magazines 2
Banners/ Hoarding 15
Road Show 2
Interpretation:
18 respondents have seen the advertisement on Television, 15 on Banners / Hoardings.
GRAPH – 3 : BEST MEDIUM OF ADVERTISEMENT
18
16
14
12
10
0
Television Newspapers Magazines Banners/ Road Show
Hoarding
Q4. Why you are using the HLL Products ?
a. Quality
b. Price
c. Brand Image
d. Offers
e. Others
TABLE 5.4 : REASON FOR USING HLL PRODUCTS
Options No. of Respondents
Quality 18
Price 8
Brand Image 16
Offers 5
Others 3
Interpretation:
18 respondents are using HLL Products for its quality, 16 respondents are using HLL
Products for its brand image.
GRAPH – V.4 : REASON FOR USING HLL PRODUCTS
18
16
14
12
10
0
Quality Price Brand Image Offers Others
Q5. What factors do you consider before purchasing these product ?
a. Brand Image
b. Brand Loyalty
c. Price
d. Others
TABLE 5.5 : FACTORS FOR PURCHASING
Options No. of Respondents Percentage
Brand Image 18 36
Brand Loyalty 8 16
Price 16 32
Others 8 16
Interpretation :
36% of the respondents consider Brand Image, 16% of the respondents consider price before
purchasing these products.
GRAPH – V.5 : FACTORS FOR PURCHASING
18
16
14
12
10
0
Brand Image Brand Loyalty Price Others
Q6. How did you felt after purchasing it ?
a. Highly satisfied
b. Satisfied
c. Dissatisfied
TABLE 5.6 : SATISFACTION LEVEL
Interpretation :
70% of the respondents are Highly Satisfied,10 respondents are satisfied, 5% are dissatisfied.
GRAPH V.6 : SATISFACTION LEVEL
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
Highly Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied
Q7. According to your perception, what characteristics it has better than other Alternatives
brands available in the market.
a. Brand Image
b. Price
c. Quality
d. Others
TABLE 5.7 : PERCEPTION AS COMPARED TO OTHER BRANDS
Interpretation :
40% say its quality is best, 10% say its prices are less.
GRAPH V.7 : PERCEPTION AS COMPARED TO OTHER BRANDS
20
18
16
14
12
10
0
Brand Image Price Quality Others
Q8. Which Brand offers you the value for your money ?
a. HLL
b. P&G
c. Ajanta Health
d. Others
TABLE 5.8 : PERCEPTION AS COMPARED TO OTHER BRANDS
Options No. of Respondents
Ajanta Health/ Oral Care 8
HLL 16
P&G 12
Others 14
Interpretation :
16 respondents say HLL gives value for money.
GRAPH – V.8 : PERCEPTION AS COMPARED TO OTHER BRANDS
16
14
12
10
0
Ajanta Health/ Oral HLL P&G Others
Care
Q9. Which brand offers you the more attractive schemes ?
a. HLL
b. P&G
c. Ajanta Health/ Oral Care
d. Others
TABLE 5.9 : BRANDS WHICH OFFER ATTRACTIVE SCHEMES
Options No. of Respondents
Ajanta Health/ Oral Care 6
HLL 20
P&G 10
Others 14
Interpretation :
40% respondents HLL brand offers attractive schemes, 28% respondents says others provide
attractive schemes.
GRAPH – V.9 : BRANDS WHICH OFFER ATTRACTIVE SCHEMES
20
18
16
14
12
10
0
Ajanta Health/ HLL P&G Others
Oral Care
Q10 What do you think about the brand image of HLL Products.
a. Excellent
b. Good
c. Average
d. Poor
e. Can’t Say
TABLE 5.10 : BRAND IMAGE OF HLL PRODUCTS
Options No. of Respondents
Excellent 21
Good 10
Average 12
Poor 6
Can’t Say 1
Interpretation :
42% respondents say Brand image of HLL is excellent.
GRAPH –V.10 : BRAND IMAGE OF HLL PRODUCTS
25
20
15
10
0
Excellent Good Average Poor Can’t Say
Q11. Your suggestions to improve the brands image of HLL Products ?
a. Advertisement
b. Quality
c. Competitive Prices
d. Others
Options No. of Respondents
Advertisement 10
Quality 15
Competitive Prices 16
Others 9
Interpretation :
32% of the respondents say HLL must reduce the prices.
Graph – 11
16
14
12
10
0
Advertisement Quality Competitive Others
Prices
Q12. Who in your family would decide about purchasing a particular brand?
a. Father
b. Mother
c. Brother
d. Yourself
e. Don’t Know
Options No. of Respondents
Father 10
Mother 15
Brother 2
Yourself 10
Don’t Know 13
Interpretation :
26% respondents don’t give any reason.
GRAPH -12
16
14
12
10
0
Father Mother Brother Yourself Don’t
Know
CHAPTER – VI
OBSERVATIONS
&
FINDINGS
OBSERVATIONS & FINDINGS
This project report is a partial fulfillment of our studies M.B.A has helped me
tremendously in knowing how marketing activities are carried out in a real situation. In
classroom lectures, I was able to understand only the theoretical work I have the practical
experience about the marketing activities.
Marketing is more an art than science. Successful decision making in marketing
depends upon the skills and judgement of the individual involved and cannot be reduced to an
organized body of principles. The decision making mainly depends upon the experience of
the people, but if the manager finds it difficult to make decision on certain points, he make
use of research they are applying the methods of science tot he art of marketing.
As far as my study on marketing on consumer's perception of HLL Products. I feel I
was more on art than a science, although scientific techniques and tools were made use for
the collection of data.
Inspite of some limitations like less samples, less time and finance I could accomplish
my objectives. The analysis of the data collected vividly states that the consumers are
satisfied with the product. As every position has some opposition. The sample feels that this
product also has some problems as nothing is perfect.
CHAPTER – VII
CONCLUSIONS
&
SUGGESTIONS
CONCLUSION
This quotation is very important for every business organization and every one should
keep in mind this thing.
The route of all companies wishing to survive and prosper into the Millennium should
be ‘onwards and upwards’. Some companies may however have lost the way and
adopted a ‘wait and see’ strategy. Companies most likely to survive increasingly
competitive markets must be flexible, adaptive and prepared to plan for the
future. These factors suggest some key strategic actions which should be taken to
improve business performance and the competitive position of individual firms and
the sector as a whole.
These strategic actions include:
• The preparation of a Mission Statement and formal Business, Marketing
and Training Plans for executives.
• The establishment of Objectives and Targets and a Monitoring System.
• The acquisition of in-depth knowledge about Customers and Competitors.
• Further enhancements in relationships with Suppliers.
• A review of all business activities which might be outsourced.
• The creation and continuous improvements in Customer-Care programmes.
• The building of good relationships with customers.
• Keeping eye on the activities of competitors action and quickly react on that
action.
Customers are giving a very good response to HLL Products and they are fully
satisfied with the products of HLL
SUGGESTIONS
• REPRESENTATIVES
• Visit at each and every retail shop.
• Regular visits every week should be there.
• RESEARCH/ SURVEY
• More emphasis on research and survey
• Better understanding of market demand
• More emphasis on product diversification
• No. of new inventions in detergent category should be there.
• PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES
• Promotional activities for sale should be increased i.e. gift items should be
provided to consumers.
• Promotional activities like posters, dangler, and hoardings should be
enhanced.
• Hindustan Level Ltd. Have to advertise well their products as the Proctor &
Gamble is doing.
• T.V. advertisements should be increased.
• Local newspaper advertisement should be there i.e. advertisement in Dainik
Bhaskar, Nav Bharat etc.
• Some gift items and gift coupon should be given to the retailer for achieving
maximum sales target of Surf detergent brand.
• SERVICES
• Service is not so good and fast, so HLL should improve it, like product should
be easily available in each shop.
• Damaged product should be taken care of efficiently and seriously.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:-
• Kotler, Philip (1996): ‘Marketing Management’ Analysis, Planning,
Implementation &Control. 8th edition, prentice hall of India, New Delhi.
• Kothari.C.R. (1994): ‘Research Methodology’ Wishwa prakashan.
• Kaynak, E & Savitt.R (1984): ‘Comparative Marketing Systems’. Praegar,
New York.
• Neil Wearne& Alison M (1996): ‘Hospitality Marketing’. Butterworth-
Hinmenn Ltd, Oxford.
• Page Limited, London.
• Zeithaml, V.A (1996): ‘Service Marketing’ McGraw Hill New York.
Websites:
• www.google.com
• www.hll.com
• www.indiainfoline.com
ANNEXURES
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name : ______________________________________________
Address : ______________________________________________
Q3.Have you seen the advertisement of HLL Products, If yes then in which media :
f. Television
g. Newspaper
h. Magazines
i. Banners / Hoarding
j. Road Show
Q4. Why you are using the HLL Products ?
f. Quality
g. Price
h. Brand Image
i. Offers
j. Others
Q5. What factors do you consider before purchasing these product ?
e. Brand Image
f. Brand Loyalty
g. Price
h. Others
Q7. According to your perception, what characteristics it has better than other Alternatives
brands available in the market.
e. Brand Image
f. Price
g. Quality
h. Others
Q8. Which Brand offers you the value for your money ?
e. HLL
f. P&G
g. Ajanta Health
h. Others
Q12. Who in your family would decide about purchasing a particular brand?
f. Father
g. Mother
h. Brother
i. Yourself
j. Don’t Know
CURRICULUM VITAE
OBJECTIVE
Professional Qualification
Pursuing MBA(III Sem) from Maharishi Centre for Educational Excellence , Maharishi
Institute of Management Bhopal, Affiliated to Barakatullah university Bhopal (M.P)
Likely to passout in June 2006.
Specialization :
Marketing Management
Educational Qualification
• B.S C. from Thakur Ranmant Singh Autonomous College affiliated to A.P.S. University
Rewa (M.P) in the year 2003 and Secure70%.
• 12th (biology) from C.B.S.E Board, Panna in the year 2000
• 10th from C.B.S.E Board, Rewa in the year 1998.
Computer Proficiency
MS Office & Working Knowledge of Internet
Project details
I have done my project from HLL & my topic is To Assess the customer percepton towards
the product of HLL & service issue in Bhopal city.
PERSONAL DETAILS
Pin-486001
Phone : (07662) 220905
Mobile-9827745860
Hobby : Making New Friends & Watching Criket
Date :
Place : (MANOJ SHRIVASTAVA)