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A PROJECT REPORT ON

Berger paints customer base segmentation study. Identification and categorization in Kolkata megapolis. Submitted by

KINANKA NANDY In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

Of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

In MARKETING MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT WEST BENGAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

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Declaration

This is to certify that this report is entitled Berger paints customer base segmentation study. Identification and categorization in Kolkata megapolis. Which is submitted by me in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree Master of Business Administration to West Bengal University of Technology, Salt Lake comprises only my original work and due acknowledgment has been made in the text to all other material used.

Date:

Kinanka Nandy

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Certificate

This is to certify that Kinanka Nandy the student of MBA 2nd year of Institute of Engineering & Management, Kolkata have completed their Grand Project Berger paints customer base segmentation study and Identification and categorization in Kolkata megapolis in the year 2011-2013 in partial fulfillment of West Bengal University of Technology requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration is a record of the candidate own work carried out by him under my/our supervision. The embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted for the award of any other degree.

Date:

Supervisor

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Acknowledgement

It is said, the most important single word is we and the zero important single word is I. This is true even in todays modern era. It is absolutely impossible for a single individual to complete the assigned job without help and assistance from others. It is my greatest pleasure to acknowledge sincere gratitude towards Mr. Mainak Ghosh (Area Sales Manager) , Berger Paints India Limited Kolkata for the completion of the project work.

I would also like to acknowledge to my sincere gratitude to the Director of my institute Dr. P.K. Mishra and my project guide Prof. S N Sanyal for helping me in this project work.

I am thankful to all of my friends and batch mates for their help in completing this project work. Finally, I am thankful to my entire family members for their great support and encouragement.

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Executive Summary

Authentic marketing is the art of identifying and understanding customer needs and creating solutions that deliver satisfaction to the customers, profits to the producers and benefits for the stakeholders. ................... Philip Kotler The businesses are ever changing so are the way of their characteristics. The changing scenario presents us new techniques and methods of business as well as their marketing strategies. The core of business is to market the product that will be attracted by the consumers and also the product will satisfy the consumers needs. Marketing efforts are vital for any business that is the combination of various factors affecting the real market scenario. The changing environment is creating new issues that must be considered for doing a business. In this dynamic business world the scenario of business aspect changes so rapidly that one false decision could cause the firm to lose its very existence. We have chosen to conduct the study in BERGER paints India Limited because they are one of the leading firm in the painting industry occupying a significant market share. My project has started from mid of June and has ended in August. My project has been divided into two different parts. The first one is to know companys customer and to study them and the second one is to make a survey on the Interior Designers and their preference of choice in terms of interior painting or decorating. My title of the project is Berger paints customer base segmentation study and identification and categorization in Kolkata megapolis.The main objective of my project is to build an effective customer relation by direct interactions with contractors and Interior Designers of Kolkata to gain competitive advantages over other companies- with special reference to promotional strategy. In the first phase the data source was companys record. I met the contractors physically and gathered all the information according to questionnaire. What I observed that the maximum contractors are very satisfied with the company and its facility. Few contractors are trying to switch to the other companies. The main reason behind that is customer preference. Customers are preferring Asian paints and Dulux paint ( ICI ) due to product quality. Bergers product quality is diminishing and it has effected to
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customers mind. But the primer of Berger Paint is still no.1 in the prevailing market. In terms of customer relation or Dealer handling Berger Paint is showing a great performance. So, my recommendation in this study is to increase product quality, better promotional strategy, more interaction with the customers, provide more facility to customer for maintain the market share and more profitable business. In the second phase I have done a market survey on the basis of a questionnaire provided by Berger Paints of the Interior Designers. The primary data source was internet. WWW.Just dial. com, WWW.sulekha.com are the main primary data source. I met the Interior designers physically and gathered all the information as per companys questionnaire. What I observed that the Interior designers have a high preference on Asian Paint. The main reason behind that is high quality, high promotion and advertising, direct contact with the indirect customer, availability of shops and outlets. And Berger Paint is lacking in all of the areas. But Interior Designers have a certain preference on Berger paints due to their brand value and many of them have a will to work with Berger paints. My recommendation in this regard is to increase promotional activity along with betterment of quality of the products, enhancement of direct interaction with complete coverage and offer some certain benefits which can propel them towards Berger paints. Berger Paints is one of the top leading companies in India as well as paint industry. They have their head office in Kolkata at Park Street. They have 9 factory/plant, 113 sales depots in India. They have a vast market in Kolkata and have a great market share in paint industry. They have a great marketing team, sufficient working capital, good inventory management, developed technology, large distribution channel or network and a renowned brand value. They have some certain competitors (Asian paints, ICI, Nerolac, Shalimar etc. ) in Kolkata market. Beside of maintaining a good position in this market they are going towards more market share by improvising their potential. I am very lucky to get the opportunity of doing Summer Internship Project from this pioneer company.

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-: CONTENTS :-

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Topic Research problem & background Objectives and scope of study Project methodology Data analysis and interpretation Observations and findings Recommendations Limitations and scope of study Bibliography

Page No 9 12 14 21 37 40 43 45

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Chapter 1

RESEARCH PROBLEM & BACKGROUND

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Background
This project is basically based on the analysis of the existing contractors, investigating a new avenue of contractors i.e the interior decorators and architects and also comparing the advertisements of Berger Paints with its competitors. 1) KYC is an acronym for "Know Your Customer", a term commonly used for Customer Identification Process. The activities of customer that financial institution and other regulated companies must perform to identify their clients and ascertain relevant information pertinent to doing financial business with them. The KYC guidelines of BERGER PAINTS INDIA LTD are to collect three proofs from their customers. They are 1. Photograph 2. Proof of identity 3. Proof of address Accordingly, BERGER has framed its KYC procedure according to which, a photograph and documentary proof of personal identification and address proof are required to be provided. In addition to these documents various other information like the per year consumption of each paint category, construction chemicals and wood finish were taken. These data formed the main basis of the study. Various analysis like brand preferences, contribution of each product in the total sales volume etc were analysed. 2) Investigating a new avenue in the market, this in marketing perspective is increasing the customer base, which will in turn lead to sales expansion and growth. This is done in case of the interior decorators and architects. In marketing terms we can define market expansion as a growth strategy in which an organization targets existing products to new markets, market development by targeting new geographic markets, new demographic or psychographic segments, or totally new users. 3) Analysis of the advertisements : Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new action. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering. So we can say here that better the quality of the advertisements better is the customer response.

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Research Problem
In this case the research problem is divided into three heads : Analyse the existing contractors satisfaction level, contribution in the sales volume, tastes and preferences in terms of choice of a particular paint brand and scopes for increase in the volume of sales. Investigate a new market with existing products in hand i.e, the interior decorators and contractors, analyse their state, the brand preference, and the type of job they do so that they can be converted into dedicated customers in near future. A comparative analysis of the advertisements of Berger Paints with respect to its competitors and suggest the various strengths and weakness of the media promotion of Berger Paints.

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Chapter 2

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF STUDY

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Objectives of study

1) To find the preference and choices of contractors and Interior Designers. 2) To collect appropriate customer identification and to know the customer better. 3) To survey the market potential of the company. 4) To survey the product usability in Kolkata.

Scopes

1) Selling process should be studied and improved. 2) Customer satisfaction study has to be included. 3) Product quality study should be done. 4) This study can be extended by any paint manufacturer (Asian Paints, Nerolac or even Berger Paints) to launch a new product in the market. 5) This study can be extended to analyze, if Berger Paints need to reposition / re brand itself in the Indian Market. 6) Primary demographic profile of survey takers are from Tier-1 cities, this study can be extended to other parts of the country and even to Tier-2, Tier-3 cities, so as to identify and analyze how the marketing and promotional strategy of companies vary in Tier-1 / 2 or 3 cities.

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Chapter 3

PROJECT METHODOLOGY

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Project Objectives : The research includes meetings with the contractors or painters and interior designers and preparation of the questionnaire to be answered by above people for knowing their respective contribution in the sales, their involvement with Berger Paints and the respective market share of Berger Paints in comparison to his competitors. The views of the above parties were recorded as per the questionnaire. The objective of the first phase is to differentiate Berger paints from the other painting companies in the terms of market share, material quality, capacity of holding up the contractors by schemes. In the first phase, I was allotted for meeting 65 contractors with their phone number and dealers name of Berger Paints. The purpose was to collect some details of their business data along with 2 passport size photographs and photocopy of their address proof. There was a certain questionnaire which consist of name, date of birth, anniversary date, business value per year, monthly consumption of material including interior paints ,exterior paints and wood finish etc. And also I was able to differentiate Berger paints from the other painting companies in the terms of market share, material quality, capacity of holding up the contractors by schemes.
The objective of the second phase is to know about the current position of Berger Paints

in the luxurious paint industry or market and to find out the strength, weakness, opportunity and threats of Berger Paints .In the second phase I was allotted to visit 35 interior designers for a market survey by filling up a certain questionnaire. Company provided me the name of companies, their phone numbers and their addresses. The questionnaire consisted of several details of Interior designers like name, material value per year, value of interior and exterior Emulsion paints with brand preference, value of wood finish products with brand preference, value of chemical constructions with brand preference, top 5 best jobs done in this current year along with job address, job type and job value etc. Type of Project Design: It is a descriptive project. Sample Unit: Kolkata

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Project Instrument: Structured open ended questionnaire for both the two phases. In the first phase, in the questionnaire the contractors or painters were directly asked to give the money value of purchase of different paint items of Berger Paints and lastly their overall investment in paints per year. In the second phase, in the questionnaire the interior designers were directly asked to give the money value of purchase of different paint items of different paint companies(Berger paints, Asian paints, ICI, Nerolac paints)and their preference towards company and their recent accomplished job names with job types and job values. Data Collection Methods : Phase 1: Secondary Data : Books, Internet, Departmental Records. Primary Data : Interview, Direct interaction and survey different contractors . Target Sample Size for proposed Survey: 85 Number of questionnaires filled up: 57 Number of wrong numbers: 15 Number of out of station contractors: 8 Number of not interested contractors: 5 Number of given questionnaire: 85

Phase 2: Secondary data: Internet (www.just dial.com, www.sulekha.com etc.),Books (Interiors 2011 etc.) etc., , companys own records. Primary data: Direct interaction, Interview, survey different interior designers. Target Sample Size for proposed Survey: 65

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Number of collected questionnaire filled up: 28 Number of wrong number & wrong address: 15 Number of not interested Interior Designers: 8 Number of out of station Interior Designers: 7 Number of busy Interior designers: 7 Number of given questionnaire: 65

Primary Data

Visiting Contractors & Interior Designers for Information Information From Indirect Sources

Project Report

Secondary Data

Published report, Internet Sources etc.

Project Plan : Phase 1:( Know your contractors study) Direct interview of the contractors by personally visiting them and having face to face communication and taking the respective feedbacks based on the questionnaire. Refusal rate is low. Contractors are more or less cooperative. Many information other than the questionnaire set was also gained from these interviews which will be later related within the project as per requirement. I had to call all of my contractors and conveyed them the information about this programme. I called them, fixed the appointments with each of the contractors and visited to collect the information. There I had to face some problems. Like some of the phone numbers were wrong, few contractors were out of station, few of them were not interested to carry on the relationship with Berger Paints after being rectified all of their queries and complains by me. I had to visit various places like Metiabruje, behala, Borobazar, Garia ,Jadavpur, Kasba and many more. For the first 1.5 months I was bound to visit the places. I was able to collect 35 details of
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contractors. By collecting those information I was able to know our contractors or customers. Who they are and how are their businesses. Knowing the customers of Berger Paints was the first objective of my project. After getting details information of each of the contractors I was able to find out the actual market share of Berger Paints and the satisfaction level of customers. Contractors Call by phone

Wrong number

not interested

interested or available

out of station

busy

Noted down

reported

fixation of appointment

queued

queued

and complain taken

questionnaire filled up Flow Chart of phase 1

Phase 2: ( Evaluation of involvement and satisfaction level of Interior Designers) Direct interview of the interior designers by personally visiting them and having face to face communication and taking the respective feedbacks based on the questionnaire. Refusal rate is higher than phase 1. Interior designers are more or less cooperative. Many information other than the questionnaire set was also gained from these interviews which will be later related within the project as per requirement. In the second phase I was allotted to visit 65 interior designers for a market survey by filling up a certain questionnaire. Company provided me the name of
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companies, their phone numbers and their addresses. The questionnaire consisted of several details of Interior designers like name, material value per year, value of interior and exterior imulsion paints with brand preference, value of wood finish products with brand preference, value of chemical constructions with brand preference, top 5 best jobs done in this current year along with job address, job type and job value etc. This task was a little bit tougher than phase 1because they wanted some certain benefits from us apart from market survey in order to have wasted their time. The main objective of the task was to find out companys position in Kolkata in terms of interior designing. Interior designers call by phone

wrong number

not interested

interested or available

out of station

busy

visit without appointment

reported

fixation of appointment

queued

queued

and complain taken

questionnaire filled up questionnaire wrong not interested filled up address Flow Chart of Phase 2

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Time Frame In Methodology: Mid June2012 Gathering information Organizing information Analyzing information Arranging contents Report writing Submission of Report -July Eve of August Mid of August End of August Eve of End of

September

September

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CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

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Know Your Contractors

Interior Paints
Purchase in Rs (Lakhs) 0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 No of contractors 10 10 11 5 12 2 0 0 0 1 Cumulative % 19.61% 39.22% 60.78% 70.59% 94.12% 98.04% 98.04% 98.04% 98.04% 100.00%

Interior Paints
Frequency 14 12 No of contractors 10 8 6 4 2 0 0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 Purchase in Rs (Lakhs) Cumulative % 120.00% 100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00%

INTERPRETATION: Maximum number of contractors purchasing interior paints of value between 0 to 5 lakh annually. From the above diagram we can conclude that there is no purchase of interior paints between 6 to 9 lakh yearly. There are very few contractors ,roughly around 2% who have the capacity to buy above 9 lakh.

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Exterior paints

Purchase in Rs(lakhs) 0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9 and above

No of contractors 8 12 12 7 3 2 2 0 2 3

Cumulative % 15.69% 39.22% 62.75% 76.47% 82.35% 86.27% 90.20% 90.20% 94.12% 100.00%

Exterior Paints
Frequency No of contractors 15 10 5 0 0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9 and above Cumulative % 150.00% 100.00% 50.00% 0.00%

Purchase in Rs(lakhs)

INTERPRETATION: Maximum number of contractors purchasing exterior paints of value between 0-4 lakh
annually.

From the above diagram we can conclude that there is no purchase of exterior paints
between 7-8 lakh.

Very few contractors are there who are purchasing paints within the range of 4-9 lakhs
annually.
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Damp proof.

.
Purchase in Rs 0-20000 20000-40000 40000-60000 60000-80000 80000 and above No of contractors 14 0 3 0 5 Cumulative % 63.64% 63.64% 77.27% 77.27% 100.00%

Damp proof
Frequency 15 No of contractors 10 5 0 0-20000 20000-40000 40000-60000 Purchase in Rs 60000-80000 80000 and above Cumulative % 120.00% 100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00%

INTERPRETATION: Approximately 60% of the contractors purchases damp proof within the range of 20000. Sales value of damp proof is comparatively poor to the sales value of interior and exterior paints.

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Roof treatment.
Purchase in Rs 0-20000 20000-40000 40000-60000 60000-80000 80000 and above No of contractors 6 0 3 0 4 Cumulative % 46.15% 46.15% 69.23% 69.23% 100.00%

Roof treatment
Frequency 7 6 No of contractors 5 4 3 2 1 0 0-20000 20000-40000 40000-60000 Purchase in Rs 60000-80000 80000 and above Cumulative % 120.00% 100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00%

INTERPRETATION: Approximately 45% of the contractors purchases roof treatment materials within the
range of 20000.

Very few contractors use roof treatment materials of Berger paints i.e out of sample of 51
only 13 contractors use it.(25%)

Roughly 31% of the contractors uses roof treatment above Rs 80000.

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Wood finish.
Purchase in Rs 0-20000 20000-40000 40000-60000 60000-80000 80000 and above No of contractors 5 1 10 1 2 Cumulative % 26.32% 31.58% 84.21% 89.47% 100.00%

Wood finish
Frequency 12 10 No of contractors 8 6 4 2 0 0-20000 20000-40000 40000-60000 Purchase in Rs 60000-80000 80000 and above Cumulative % 120.00% 100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00%

INTERPRETATION: Approximately 53% of the contractors makes their purchase within 60,000. Purchase of wood finish materials among the contractors are very less the maximum being roughly Rs 100000. Out of all the respondents only 50% of the contractors use wood finish materials.

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Category Distribution.

category A B C

No of contractors 43 6 2

Cumulative % 84.31% 96.08% 100.00%

Category Distribution of contractors

A 4% 12% B C

84%

The categories have been divided on the basis of total annual purchase of the contractors.There are three categories namely A,B and C. Category A- above 5,00,000. Category B- between Rs 2,00,000 and Rs 5,00,000. Category C- below Rs 2,00,000. INTERPRETATION: According to the analysis 84%,12% and 4% of the contractors fall in the categories A,B and C. Major section of the contractors have an annual purchase of above Rs 5,00,000.
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Contractors distribution.
Type dedicated berger contractors others Frequency 32 19

Contractors Distribution
dedicated berger contractors others

37%

63%

INTERPRETATION: According to the analysis it can be interpreted that 63% of the contractors are dedicatedly using Berger Paints products. The remaining 37% of the contractors are not fully using Berger Paint products.

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Market share of individual Paint category: INTERIOR PAINT(RS) 16,050,000.0 EXTERIOR PAINT(RS) 18,090,000.0 DAMP PROOF(RS) 1,190,000.0 ROOF TREATMENT(RS) 900,000.0 WOOD FINISH (RS) 910,000.0

Market share of each paint category{Berger Paints}

3% 2% 3% 43%

INTERIOR PAINT(RS) EXTERIOR PAINT(RS)

49%

DAMP PROOF(RS) ROOF TREATMENT(RS) WOOD FINISH (RS)

INTERPRETATION: From the above analysis it can be interpreted that the interior and exterior paints are the two main sectors from where the major part of the revenue is earned(92%). The remaining three sectors contribute a very little amount in the total revenue earned by the company(8%).

N.B This analysis is strictly based on the annual purchase of the contractors.

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Chi square test to analyze the brand preference.

Brand preference with respect the choice of interior and exterior paints Original Values Berger Interior Exterior Total expected values Berger Asian 17.058815 11.948 29 Chi-test value = Asian 17 12 29 7 5 12 ICI 2 4 6 Nerolac 2 0 2 Shalimar 2 0 2 Total 30 21 51

FORMULA: (row total* cloumn total)/ grand total ICI 7.056 4.944 12 3.528 2.472 6 Nerolac 1.176 0.824 2 Shalimar 1.176 0.824 2 Total 30 21 51

Interior Exterior Total

0.353291

A chi-squared test, also referred to as chi-square test or test, is any statistical hypothesis test in which the sampling distribution of the test statistic is a chi-squared distribution when the null hypothesis is true, meaning that the sampling distribution (if the null hypothesis is true) can be made to approximate a chi-squared distribution as closely as desired by making the sample size large enough. From the data we collected through survey, Null hypothesis: The attributes are dependent i.e. the difference in brands does have an impact on the choice of interior and exterior paints. Alternate hypothesis: The attributes are independent i.e. the difference in brands does not have an impact on the choice of interior and exterior paints .In Excel, the formula to evaluate is:CHISQUARE TEST chi-square(actual range, expected range)

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The value after evaluation 0.353291 REMARKS:0.353291 is smaller than the boundary value 5.Therefore we can say that the null hypothesis is accepted. i.e the difference in brand has an impact on the choice of interior and exterior paints.

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Analysis of interior decorators/architects.

BRAND Asian No.of 13 respondents

Berger 7

ICI 10

Shalimar Nerolac 2 3

interior paints
asian 6% 8% 29% 20% 37% berger ici shalimar nerolac

INTERPRETATION: From the above study it can be concluded that Asian paints is the leading brand in the interior sector followed by ICI, Berger, Nerolac and Shalimar. So it can be interpreted that Asian Paints is the market leader followed by strong competitors.

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Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for different types of paints and brands

Analysis of Variance has been defined as the statistical technique for the separation of variation due to a group of causes from the variation due to other groups. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is similar to regression in that it is used to investigate and model the relationship between a response variable and one or more independent variables. However, analysis of variance differs from regression in two ways: the independent variables are qualitative (categorical), and no assumption is made about the nature of the relationship (that is, the model does not include coefficients for variables). In effect, analysis of variance extends the twosample t-test for testing the equality of two population means to a more general null hypothesis of comparing the equality of more than two means, versus them not all being equal. One-way analysis of variance tests the equality of population means when classification is by one variable. The classification variable, or factor, usually has three or more levels (one-way ANOVA with two levels is equivalent to a t-test), where the level represents the treatment applied. For example, if you conduct an experiment where you measure durability of a product made by one of three methods, these methods constitute the levels. The one-way procedure also allows you to examine differences among means using multiple comparisons. Two-way analysis of variance performs an analysis of variance for testing the equality of population means when classification of treatments is by two variables or factors. In two-way ANOVA, the data must be balanced (all cells must have the same number of observations) and factors must be fixed.

From the data we collected through survey,

asian Interior Exterior interior texture exterior texture green quality paint water based enamel 13 8 15 14 8 3 berger 7 14 4 4 3 0 ici 10 6 8 7 6 1 shalimar 2 3 2 0 1 0 nerolac 3 4 6 6 5 2

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Anova: Two-Factor Without Replication SUMMARY interior exterior interior texture exterior texture green quality paint water based enamel asian berger ici shalimar nerolac Count 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 Sum 35 35 35 31 23 6 61 32 38 8 26 Average 7 7 7 6.2 4.6 1.2 10.16667 5.333333 6.333333 1.333333 4.333333 Variance 21.5 19 25 26.2 7.3 1.7 21.36667 23.06667 9.066667 1.466667 2.666667

ANOVA Source of Variation Rows Columns Error Total SS 132.7 247.3333 155.4667 535.5 df 5 4 20 29 MS 26.54 61.83333 7.773333 F 3.414237 7.954545 P-value 0.021615 0.000524 F crit 2.71089 2.866081

Interpretation The observed value of F for the types of paints is larger than the critical value of F for degrees of freedom (5,20) which implies that there is a significant difference between the types of paints, i.e, the choice of paints is dependent on the respondents preference. The observed value of F for the types of brands is larger than the critical value of F with the degrees of freedom (4,20) which implies that there is a significant difference between the types of brands, i.e, the choice of the brands is dependent on the respondents preference.

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Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for different types of Construction Chemicals and Brands From the data we collected through survey :
sika admixture latex based tile adhesive roof treatment damp proof 13 0 10 12 9 pidilite 12 0 16 18 10 brger 2 0 3 1 3 asian paints 1 0 3 1 0 texsa 0 0 0 3 3 shalimar 7 0 2 0 1

Anova: Two-Factor Without Replication SUMMARY admixture latex based tile adhesive roof treatment damp proof sika pidilite berger asian paints texsa shalimar Count 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 Sum 35 0 34 35 26 44 56 9 5 6 10 Average 5.833333 0 5.666667 5.833333 4.333333 8.8 11.2 1.8 1 1.2 2 Variance 32.56667 0 37.06667 54.96667 17.46667 26.7 49.2 1.7 1.5 2.7 8.5

ANOVA Source of Variation Rows Columns Error Total SS 150.3333 499.4667 210.8667 860.6667 df 4 5 20 29 MS 37.58333 99.89333 10.54333 F 3.564654 9.474549 P-value 0.023737 9.41E-05 F crit 2.866081 2.71089

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Interpretation The observed value of F for different types of brands is larger than the critical value of F with degrees of freedom (5,15) which implies that there is significant difference between the types of brands, i.e, the choice of the brand of construction chemical is dependent on the brand itself.

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Chapter 5

Observations and Findings

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Contractors.
On the basis of our analysis it has been observed that most of the contractors are purchasing materials above Rs 5,00,000 in a year. On the basis of the sample of respondents it has been observed that around 63% of the contractors are dedicated towards Berger Paints (loyal Berger Paint contractors) and 37% of the respondents are using a mixture of all brands prevailing in the market. According to the survey it has been observed that major part of the revenue is earned from interior and exterior paints. On the basis of our survey conducted it has been found that the difference in brand has an impact on the choice of interior and exterior paints. According to the contractors Berger has a communication gap with them. Most of the contractors are satisfied with the paint quality of Berger mostly the primer. Based on the survey conducted it has been found that the difference in the brands has an impact on the choice of the interior and the exterior paints. Based on the survey it has been found that there is a communication gap between the representatives of the Berger Paints and various small contractors. Many contractors have been complaining that there is a lack of availability of shade cards with them. It has also been found out that most of the contractors are satisfied with the interior and exterior primer paints. There is a reputation in the market about the primer paints is quite positive.

Interior Decorators / Architects

Though this section of interior decorators and architects is a new avenue for Berger Paints, i.e a market segment which was not a target previously, it is found that these prospects use Berger Paints products mainly the paints but not in huge volume. They mainly prefer interior paints of Asian Paints as it gives a good coverage and the quality is also better as compared to the others, inspite of the price being higher than Berger Paints. On the basis of the survey conducted it is found that the exterior paint qualities of Berger Paints are in good demand as it has the maximum share. With respect to the exterior and interior texture paints again Asian Paints and ICI leads the market.
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The primer of Berger Paints is highly preferred by these prospects because of its best quality among all other brands. Other brands like Nerolac and Shalimar are hardly preferred. The green quality paints are not in much demand, very few people go for that. With respect to wood finish materials majority of the architects and interior decorators use gala polish, NC finish, PU etc are hardly used. With respect to the various construction chemicals and adhesives, the market relies mainly on brands like Sika and Pidilite as they are the pioneers in the market with a high quality product base. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) done on the sample data determines that the choice of paint brands is dependent on the respondents preference. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) done on the sample data determines that the choice of the brand of construction chemical is dependent on the respondents preference. Berger Paints sales team should make more efforts in terms of regular interactions and co operations with these customers, as these are potential customers and can give good business if co ordinated properly. Shade cards are not available with all the customers, which is a major problem for them. The quality of melamine should be improved according to the responses received from the survey.

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Chapter 6

RECOMMENDATIONS

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After analyzing the data obtained from the consumers and the dealers it was evident that Berger Paints is one of the market leader. It enjoys a vast customer base in the Kolkata market. I came up with the following suggestions for improving upon the current customer base and expanding into other high potential sectors besides the decorative segment. Sales promotion committee should be formed to formulate and implement new market strategies to compete with competitors and to extend the market share. Company sales representatives must maintain relations with construction companies as well as with painting contractors with the help of the dealers. Company should conduct meetings, at least to make the customers to know about the latest development in the paint industry and their products. Companies should even concentrate on quality of the products as the customers are not satisfied. Advertisement should be increased to update the image of Berger Paints in the changing environment. Company must look after, there is a close relationship between sales representatives and dealers with the customers. Company should maintain the customer records as any change of contact number or address of customer can be same with losing customer. Company should convey the information about their new products to the customers as the coverage of Berger Paints is very much unknown to the most of the interior designers. As per the feedback obtained the customers were unable to associate new products like Green Quality Paint, water Based Enamel Paint etc. with the parent brand. Therefore the company needs to emphasize more on the promotion of products. Company should promote their Home painting association for better business profit. Since the intermediaries play a very important role in the marketing of the brand, the company should take initiatives like painter training program with Berger Paints
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certificates. This will increase the creditability of the painters in the market and they will become brand loyal. Company should start to think about penetration of rural market by several small size packs of products like Asian Paints. More and more women can be found perusing the shelves at paint stalls in search of the right type of paint for their homes. So the company can target this new set of interested customers by increased advertising in women magazines. The services provided by the company on the website are not being used because of the low penetration of internet in India. So we recommend that these facilities should be made available at the point of purchase. For decorative range of products it is difficult for international companies to set up shop on a standalone basis because of existing barriers like strong network of existing players, brand image and distribution logistics. But this may not apply on the basis of industrial products in which tie-ups in home countries and their customers, the required stock can be made and sold. In the face of cut-throat competition and new technology, Berger Paints requires new associations and strategic partnerships to move ahead in the industry segment. Efficient working capital management has been the strength of the company for years. However recently declared budget 2012, there has been increase in level of inventory due to VAT uncertainties and in anticipation of higher material prices. Increased working capitals lead to diversion from productive investments.

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Chapter 7

LIMITATIONS & SCOPE OF STUDY

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Limitations
Only 65 contractors and 35 interior decorators have been visited, which comprises a very small sample. Survey area was confined to south Kolkata and parts of south 24 paraganas. Survey was totally confined within small level contractors and interior decorators, but a huge sale which is contributed by the real estates, builders etc are not investigated. Time span was limited to 2 months. Questions were mostly open ended.

Future Scopes
This study can be used by the company to convert more contractors into dedicated berger paints customers. Analyse the requirements of the interior decorators and devise strategies of market penetration. Make a quantitative research and analysis of the effectiveness of the advertisements of Berger Paints.

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Chapter 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCE

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Bibliography
1. Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective by Philip Kotler, Abraham Koshy, Kevin Lane Keller, Mithileswar Jha 2. Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation by Naresh K. Malhotra, Satyabhushan Dash 3. Advertising and Promotion by Keyoor Purani, George E Belch, Michael A Belch

Reference
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/ 2. http://stockshastra.moneyworks4me.com/paints-indian-paint-industry-analysis-andresearch-report-2011/ 3. http://www.scribd.com/ 4. http://www.slideshare.net/

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