A PROJECT REPORT ON CUSTOMER PROFILING & PURCHASE PARAMETERS INDEX Part-1

Page no.
Executive summary Brief history of the organization Organization structure

09-18 19-22 23-27 28 29-41 42-82

About Maruti True Value

Mission, vision and philosophy of the org. Performance Product/services

Part-2
Objective

84 85-88 89-111 112 113 114-115 116 117-120 121-123

2

Research methodology

Analysis (SWOT analysis)

Findings

Conclusion

Suggestion/Recommendation

Limitations

Annexure

Bibliography

 Words of thanks

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Part-1
Comprehensive chapter about the Organization which should incorporate

BRIEF HISTORY OF ORGANISATION

Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) was established in Feb 1981 through an Act of Parliament, to meet the growing demand of a personal mode of transport caused by the lack of an efficient public transport system. Suzuki Motor Company was chosen from seven prospective partners worldwide. This was not only due to their undisputed leadership in small cars but also to their commitment to actively bring to MUL contemporary technology and Japanese management practices (which had catapulted Japan over USA to the status of the top auto manufacturing country in the world). A license and a Joint Venture agreement were signed between Govt of India and Suzuki Motor Company (now Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan) in Oct 1982. The objectives of MUL then were: Modernization of the Indian Automobile Industry, Production of fuel-efficient vehicles to conserve scarce resources, Production of large number of motor vehicles which was necessary for
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economic growth.

The Revolution Maruti created history by record production in 13 months. On 14 December 1983, the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, handed over the keys of the first car to Mr. Harpal Singh of Delhi. Volume targets were routinely exceeded, and in March 1994, it became the first Indian company to produce over one million vehicles, a landmark yet to be achieved by any other car company in India. Maruti is the highest volume car manufacturer in Asia, outside Japan and Korea, having produced over 3.5 million vehicles by December 2001. Maruti is one of the most successful automobile joint ventures, and has made profits every year since inception till 2000-01. In 2000-01, although we generated operating profits on an income of Rs 92.5 billion, high depreciation on new model launches resulted in a book loss. We are again on track for profits in 2001-02, with a profit of Rs 300 million in the first half. In this period, sales were increased by 5.3%, against an industry decline of 6.1 %. We revolutionized the wav Indians looked at cars. "No other car company so completely dominates its home market" - (The Economist). Despite there being 11 companies now in the passenger car market, Maruti holds about 60 % of the total market share. MUL is also the first and only car company in the world to lead its home market in terms of
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both market share and in the JD Power Customer Satisfaction study (JD Power Asia Pacific 2000 India Customer Satisfaction studies). Transfer of Technology Every minute two vehicles roll out of the Maruti Plant. It is therefore imperative that the transfer of contemporary technology from our partner Suzuki is a smooth process. Great stress is laid on training and motivating the people who maintain the equipment, since the best equipment alone cannot guarantee high quality and productivity. From the beginning it was a conscious decision to send people to Suzuki Motor Corporation for on-thejob training for line technicians, supervisors and engineers. This helps them to imbibe the culture in a way that merely transferring technology through documents can never replicate. At present 20 % of our workforce is trained under this program. Our Ethos Our employees are our greatest strength and asset. It is this underlying philosophy that has molded our workforce into a team with common goals and objectives. Our Employee-Management relationship is therefore characterized by: Participative Management, Team work, Kaizen,

Communication, Information sharing, and an open office culture for easy accessibility to implement this philosophy. We have taken several measures
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like a flat organizational structure i.e. there are only three levels of responsibilities ranging from the Board Of Directors, Division Heads to Department Heads. Other visible features of this philosophy are common uniforms (at all levels), and a common canteen for all. This structure ensures better communication and speedy decision making processes. It also creates an environment that builds trust, transparency and a sense of belonging amongst employees. Maruti eyes Global Pie, to be R&D Hub for Suzuki New Delhi: With the enhanced backing of Suzuki, Maruti Udyog is gearing up to become a global scale player and will be a R&D centre for Suzuki cars outside Japan. Becoming a global player is the resurgent theme of Maruti's future strategy in the post-privatization phase as listed in the IPO offer document filed with SEBI. In terms of manufacturing processes or quality systems or even R&D, the flavor is global. Clearly, the company wants to build on its leadership in the domestic market and make a place for itself in the global arena. After sharp gains in productivity and quality in the past two years, the company wants to further improve its operating efficiencies by cutting costs by 30% and enhancing productivity by 50% and align itself with Suzuki's Kosai plant in Japan by year '04-05. On the quality front, while Maruti was
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amongst the first automobile manufacturers in the world to receive the ISO 9001:2000 certification, it wants to go further and adopt Suzuki's global customer audit index. But the biggest shift is in the area of R&D. Although Maruti has gained from its expertise in localization of components, it now wants to take R&D to another plane where it can become Suzuki's centre for cars in Asia, outside Japan. In fact, it has recently acquired the capability to conduct minor and major face lifts to its products and upgrade products in terms of technology or features. To reduce initial investment on models, Maruti may outsource dye from other than Japan, such as Taiwan, which are often less expensive. Maruti's initiatives are based also on its recent success in the export market. It sold nearly 24,000 units of the Alto in Europe last fiscal and its overall exports were up by a whopping 163% over the previous year. Its global ambitions are also now nurtured by the backing of Suzuki Motor Corporation. The prospectus makes this point by Sayin2 that as a subsidiary of Suzuki, Maruti has "access to globally respected technology in the small car segment.

Even while maintaining the overall global theme, Maruti wants to leverage
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its local advantage. Its promise of providing customers a "wide range of Maruti branded services at different stages of ownership" is at par with other global manufacturers. It lays great emphasis on these Maruti branded services like insurance, finance and pre-owned cars, and believes that this "360 degree customer experience" will secure repeat purchase and increase revenue of the sales network. In supply chain initiatives as well, Maruti's reference is to the world wide purchase system fostered by General Motors. Through this, it could make a select few of its vendors the sole suppliers for Suzuki products in several countries. Our focus will continue to be the small car: Jagdish Khattar From a loss of Rs 269 crore in 2000-01, after being written off by many analysts, Maruti has bounced back: its 800 model is as popular as ever, new launches are picking up. Jagdish Khattar, managing director Maruti, spoke to Vinay Pandey on Maruti's transformation. Excerpts: Maruti's turn around: To understand Maruti today, you need to go back to 1993 when liberalization took place and foreign manufacturers were allowed to come. Maruti should have taken proactive measures then. But between 1995 and 1998 our shareholders (the government and Suzuki) had differences.

Decisions that should have been taken in the mid-90s to prepare for
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competition got delayed. In June 1998, we decided to increase our capacity by one lakh vehicles and to introduce four or five new models, which arrived a year and a half after our competitors', who gained from this. Two, investments that should have been done over five years were done in 24 months in a hurry to launch new models. So, localization was low, the yen was strong, prices were marketdetermined, depreciation increased, and we ran into losses. That's when you got the feeling Maruti was in trouble. But internally, it was a very good wake up call, which did a lot of good to us. We brought out models, localized faster, cut costs massively. So even when everyone thought we were in trouble, we were confident that we'd bounce back. Our market share went down to 61%, but we've now stabilized around 58-59%. We took off a bit late, had lot of catching up to do, which we've done. Role of M800: People say 800 is old and so on. But go on the road and see someone on a two-wheeler, wife and two children, in rain, in winter, in summer. Is he going to be bothered about power windows and steering, or does he wish to be in a car and be comfortable?

Today we're selling air-conditioned 800s at Rs 2.2 lakh. Many people

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buying AC 800s may not have an AC at home. So, look at the tremendous role it is playing. India's car penetration is six per 1,000; Pakistan and Sri Lanka are at 12. Thailand is at 200, Japan and America are over 500-600. What I'm saying is that there's still a huge gap. If our motorization has to increase, we can't do that by selling expensive cars. We need to make cars more affordable. Therefore, a narrower gap between two-wheelers and entry-level cars is what's required. It should also have good performance, no compromise on quality, fuel-efficient and low on maintenance. The 800 fits the bill. The Alto can't replace the 800 today because the volume and price at which 800 is selling, we can't sell Alto at that. Yes, once we get costs under control, we'll position the Alto between segments A and B. We'd like to have a car from the entry level to Rs 3-3.5 lakh at every Rs 20,000- Rs 25,000 difference. Success of new models: Historically, Maruti's new models never start with a bang. I joined Maruti in 1993 when Zen was introduced and we found it hard to sell initially. We had to reduce our production plan drastically, but then after a year or two it caught on. And look what it is today.

So, initially there's skepticism, then some people buy and share their
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experience. About 60-70% of our sales take place by referral. I'm not saying marketing is unimportant, but there's nothing more effective than a present owner giving a good chit to prospective buyer. We're seeing the same effect with Wagon R, which is doing really well now. Versa is slightly different. When we decided on Versa, in 1998, the government had announced that in April 2002 the administered price mechanism (APM) for oil would be abolished. The gap between petrol and diesel prices would have then been negligible. Versa came, but APM remained. Now there is no hell of a chance of anyone buying a petrol version when a diesel alternative is available for the same purpose. For the Versa we've carried out a lot of localization, the pricing has been reworked and things are looking up. But some amount of disadvantage between petrol and diesel will remain. Those who bought the Baleno are very happy. Also, view it from our perspective. We launched five models in a space of 12 months. We had to prioritize. Because of low localization, we were losing money on Baleno. So it made no sense to just gain numbers. Now some localization has taken place and the product is getting its due. The Vitara is different, it's not manufactured here. We'll import what is
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required. Anyway, our core competence and focus would be the small car because that is what the county needs and that is where the volumes are. Let us look at it in another way. There are only four major players in the small car segment - Telco, Fiat, Hyundai and Maruti and 80 % of the market is the small car segment. In the remaining market, there are a dozen players. It is a very lopsided market structure today.

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ORGANISATION STRUCTUR
RKBK Automobiles Ltd
Managing Director Mr.B.K.Poddar

Director & CEO Mr. K.P.Poddar General Manager Mr.S.K.Thompson

Human Resourse Manager Mr.Sanjay Pathak Manager sales Spares Customer Care Manager Accounting Workshop Manager Manager True Value

Team Leader-1 Mr.Santosh Singh

Team Leader-2 Mr.Sujeet Singh

Sales executive (se) [4 sales executive under 1 team leader]

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WORKSHOP MANAGER Mr.Nasir Ali Khan

Service Advisor/ Supervisor

Predelivery Inspection (PDI)

Accidental Unit

Customer Manager Mr.C.Moitra

Back Office

Mechanic

Customer Care Manager

Mechanic

Jr.Mechanic

Electrician

Denter/Painter

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TRUE VALUE MANAGER Mr.R.K.Tiwari

Evaluaters Executive

Sales Executive

Back Office Staff

A/C Department

Sr.Manager A/c Mr.K.N.Ojha A/C Manager

Executive A/C Manager

Duties and Responsibilities of the Staff in RKBK.

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The duties and responsibilities of the staff of the dealer RKBK Automobiles ltd is To sale maximum vehcles . To maintain all the a/c with honesty. To create healthy environment in the organisation. To co-oporate with each other in the organisation. To maintain good relation with the customers. To be in the office at right time. To provide all the facilities and services to the customers which are given by Maruti Company to their customer.

To complete the target of selling cars of dealer .

True Value
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Maruti Trye Value is India No.1 organised pre-owned car brand. True Value is venture of indias largest automobiles manufacture Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Unique advantages Indias largest certified used car dealer network 300 outlets in 178 cities and growing All car related services under one roof Professionally trained manpower Complete peace of mind Maruti True Value business expands the family of Maruti customers, providing reassurance to exsting Maruti customers about resale of their cars and further emphasizes Marutis Commitment towards enhancing customer satisfaction by continuous association during the vehicle ownership life cycle. No one know your Maruti car better than Maruti- based on this premise,
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Maruti chanalises its expertise to ensure that transactions in pre owned cars are transparend and fair. Through that, the company endeavors to extend the relationship and emotional connect that it enjoys with the customer. True Value has transparend and fair evaluation process, which is currently missing in the largely unorganized market for pre-owned cars. Maruti true Value processes and systems ensure that the seller gets the right price and is paid promptly. Under True Value, the seller has option to be paid in cash, or get a True Value car in exchange or a brand new Maruti Suzuki car in exchange.True Value category cars bought by Maruti True Value dealers are taken to stateof- the-art workshops. True value category cars are refurbished in state of art workshops using Maruti Genuine Parts and by skilled technicians. These cars are then sold through Maruti true Value outlets. As a mark of confidence, and to provide reassurance to customers, every Vehicle bought under Maruti True Value is inspected and certified by Maruti Engineers and the car carries a one- year warranty and three free Services. Convenient finance options are also offered to buyers of Maruti True Value cars.

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Marutis True Value for used cars

AFTER launching its fleet management service under the Umbrella brand Project Vistaar, Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) is now rolling out its used- car business countryide in a phased manner. The pre-owned cars business is being introduced under the sub-brand nameMaruti True Value and is aimed at catering to customers who are both first-time car buyer and those who are looking to upgrade themselves to a passenger car in a higher segment. MUL is also hoping to retain its customer by offering a range of cars, resale and financing options all under one roof. The launch of new service, for which MUL has tied up with a select set of dealers, will begin in Maruti True Value outlets in Banalore on Oct 19 and later, in Delhi from Oct 22 onwards. It will then be extended to the rest of the country, company sources said. Under the Maruti True Value service, Maruti cars which are less than four years old or ones which have done up to 60,000 km and have not changed two previous ownerships will be accepted for purchase from the customer. Then, designated engineers from Maruti who will be present at
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the True Value outlets will conduct a standard 120- point check of the vehicle brought to the outlet. The documents of the seller will also be checked for any irregularities. MUL has trained its staff at the select dealer outlets to handle its pre owned cars business. The engineers at the True value counter are expected to adopt a transparent and fair evolution process to ensure that the seller gets the right price. The outlet will also offer finance options to the customers, to enable the second -hand car seller to purchase a new car of his choice. Consequently, the seller will have the option to be paid in cash, or get another True Value car in exchange or even a new Maruti car in exchange. After this, the purchased used car is readied for refurbishment. Using Maruti Genuine parts, techniciana at the True Value outlet will refurbish the car, which will then be offered for sale. For the buyer of a second hand car, MUL is going a step further in offering a one- year warranty and three free services along with the refurbished car. Again ,Finance options are begin offered for the True Value car, which will be certified by the company after allowing the potential buyer an opportunity to personally evaluate the car.

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Maruti's True Value on Growth Scale

02 December, 2008 Maruti Suzuki has recorded a growth in its used car business inspite of slowdown in the car market. The company denies the impact of low-cost cars like Tata Nano on its True Value and expects a growth by 30%. Ravi Bhatia, Chief General Sales Manager, Maruti Suzuki stated, The low priced cars like Nano will not have any impact on used cars business since there is an altogether different set of buyers vying for this segment. Unlike the Rs 1 Lakh priced cars, used ones are available for Rs 60,000-Rs 80,000 and usually two-wheeler owners looking for upgrading their status go for used cars. According to Bhatia, Maruti holds majority of the shares in the robust used car market in India. He also states that business with True Value is quite robust and expects to climb a growth scale. Recently, Maruti has made a new offering to India with the launch of Maruti Suzuki A-star in the A2 segment, a car that is targeted towards urban young consumers.

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VISSION & MISSION

Our Vision:
The leader in Indian automobiles industry creating customer delight and shareholders wealth; a pride of India.

Mission
(i)

Provide superior products and services to our customers and maintain market leadership.

(ii) (iii) (iv)

Evolve as an institution that serves the best interest of all stakeholders. Pursue excellence through total quality management. Ensures the highest standards of ethics and integrity in all our action.

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PERFORMANCE

In more ways than one, the year 2004-05 was a watershed year for Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL). The company has consolidated and initiated a new growth momentum. There have been several developments, of which it is useful to begin with three.

First, driven by renewed vigor and aggression in the market, Maruti recorded

its highest ever sales of over 4.72 lack vehicles in the domestic & export markets which resulted in gross sales revenue of Rs.112,840 million a growth of 25.8 per cent over 2003-04. It is the highest top-line growth in the last seven years.

Second, this high sales growth, coupled with significant improvements in

operational efficiencies, has translated into much higher returns on investment. Earnings per share (EPS) more than trebled from Rs.5.14 in 2003-04 to Rs.18.77 in 2004-05.
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Third, the Government of India divested a majority of its shares through an

initial public offer(IPO) and made way for greater participation from you the shareholders in the fortunes of Indias leading passenger car manufacturer.

In a nutshell, therefore, 2004-05 marks the beginning of a new journey for your company, as it restructured itself in the face of stiff competition and entered a new high growth phase.

The sharp revival in the Indian economy from 4 per cent GDP growth in 2003-04 to 8.2 per cent in 2004-05 has definitely assisted your company in increasing revenue. This is the highest GDP increase recorded by India since the advent of economic liberalization, and the country has become one of the fastest growing economies of the world .This has considerably increased per capita disposable income which, coupled with much easier availability of significantly cheaper consumer finance, has driven automobile sales.

Historically, the fortunes of automobile industries across the globe are strongly correlated with macro-economic parameters and the performance
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of the industrial sector. Chart A plots growth in GDP, industry, passenger vehicle (PV) sales volumes and total automobile sales volumes and emphasizes this correlation. In 2004-05, the Indian passenger car and multi-utility vehicles market finally reached efficient scales of nearly a million. Although the improved economic environment helped growing automobile sales, it was not a totally smooth drive for the Indian automobile industry. An increase in the number of players and models has resulted in fierce competition driving down prices across all segments. The industry also witnessed significant rise in prices of key raw materials like steel, rubber and plastics. Thus, profit margins were under pressure.

Maruti has always believed in size and spread. When the Indian automobile industry was reconciled to around 40,000 cars in early 1980s, MUL was the first company that aspired to sell 100,000 cars a year. The aspiration of being the market leader with high sales volume continues to be intrinsic to your companys philosophy. This belief has held the company in good stead during 2004-05 where the strategy of pushing volume growth resulted in higher margins due to the positive effects of better capacity utilization. Improved operational efficiencies, which are largely due to the transfer of technology, systems and work culture from MULs majority shareholder.
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Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has also contributed to the improved returns on investments. In 2004-05, the company has had record growth in bottom-line and return on investments. Here are some numbers.
Net profit margin (PAT/total income) increased from 2 per cent in 2003-04

to 5.6 per cent in 2004-05.

Return on average capital employed (ROCE) increased from 9.9 per cent in

2003-04 to 22.3 per cent in 2004-05.

Return on average net worth (RONW) increased from 5.2 per cent in 2003-04

to 16.5 per cent in 2004-05.

Earnings per share (EPS) increased from Rs.5.14 in 2003-04 to Rs.18.77 in

2004-05, while cash EPS increased from Rs.17.79 in 2003-04 to Rs.38.39 in 2004-05. MUL also witnessed a key structural change during 2004-05. The company was originally set up as a joint venture between the Government of India (GOI) and SMC to provide the average Indian with a reliable and affordable car. Today, 20 years hence, MUL has come a long way from charting the initial growth of the Indian automobile industry to becoming one of Indias leading business organizations

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-which has also promoted overall industrial growth through its linkages with vendors. GOI played a key role in supporting Marutis growth. In 200405, GOI divested a bulk of its shares in the company to the public. GOI offered 72,243,300 equity shares, which is 25 per cent of the companys share capital, for sale to the public through the book-building route. Even in a somewhat bearish stock market, the issue was fully subscribed within three hours of its opening. In fact, it was over subscribed nearly 10 times at the floor price. Encouraged by the overwhelming response, GOI exercised the green-shoe option, and offloaded an additional 10 per cent of the issue size (equivalent to 7,224,300 equity shares). Thus, MUL is now a listed company in Indian stock exchanges (Bombay Stock Exchange & National Stock Exchange) with Suzuki Motor Corporation having 54.2 per cent share ownership. Today, GOI owns 18.3 per cent of MULs ordinary shares, while 27.5 per cent is in public hands. MUL is a company which is constantly reinventing itself in a sector that is on the move. In the course of the following sections, we shall discuss markets, operations and financials of Maruti during 2004-05, and analyze the rapid external and internal transformations in its business. All data pertaining to markets is based on figures released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
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INTRODUCTION
What is Consumer Buying Behavior? Definition of Buying Behavior, Buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products.

Need to understand:
Why consumers make the purchases that they make? What factors influence consumer purchases? The changing factors in our society. Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying behavior of the ultimate consumer. A firm needs to analyze buying behavior for: Buyers' reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firm's success.
The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a marketing

mix(MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how consumers buy. Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies.

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Stages of the Consumer Buying Process

Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). Actual purchasing is only one stage of the process. Not all decision processes lead to a purchase. All consumer decisions do not always include all 6 stages, determined by the de2ree of complexity...discussed next.

The 6 stages are:

1. Problem Recognition (awareness of need)--difference between the

desired state and the actual condition. Deficit in assortment of products. Can be stimulated by the marketer through product information i.e, see a commercial for a new pair of shoes, stimulates your recognition that you need a new pair of shoes.

2. Information search Internal search, memory. External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives (word of mouth). Marketer dominated sources; comparison shopping; public sources etc. A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives.

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3. Evaluation of Alternatives you need to establish criteria for

evaluation features the buyer wants or does not want. Rank/weight alternatives or resume search. May decide that you want to eat something spicy. If not satisfied with your choices then return to the search phase. Can you think of another alternative? Look in the yellow pages etc. Information from different sources may be treated differently. Marketers try to influence by "framing" alternatives.

4. Purchase decision-Choose buying alternative, includes product,

package, store, method of purchase etc. Purchase May differs from decision, time lapse between 4 & 5, product availability.

5.Post-PurchaseEvaluation--Outcome Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction.

Cognitive Dissonance, have you made the right decision. This can be reduced by warranties, after sales communication etc.

Types of Consumer Buying Behavior

Types of consumer buying behavior are determined by: Level of Involvement in purchase decision. Importance and intensity of interest in a product in a particular situation.

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 Buyer's level of involvement determines why he/she is motivated to

seek information about a certain products and brands but virtually ignores others. High involvement purchases--Honda Motorbike, high priced goods, products visible to others, and the higher the risk the higher the involvement. Types of risk: Personal risk Social risk Economic risk

The four type of consumer buying behavior are:

Routine Response Programmed Behavior -- buying low involvement

frequently purchased low cost items; need very little search and decision effort; purchased almost automatically. Examples include soft drinks, snack foods, milk etc.
Limited Decision Making buying product occasionally. When you

need to obtain information about unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category, perhaps. Requires a moderate amount of time for information gathering. Examples include Clothes know product class but not the brand.
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 Extensive Decision Making/Complex high involvement, unfamiliar, expensive and/or infrequently bought products. High degree of economic/performance/psychological risk. Examples include cars, homes, computers, education. Spend a lot of time seeking information and deciding. Information from the companies MM; friends and

relatives, store personnel etc. Go through all six stages of the buying process.

Impulse buying, no conscious planning. In order to produce successful ads, you must give people exactly what they want. This article will teach you why people buy the things they do so you can design your ads to fulfill these needs.

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MODEL OF BUYING BEHAVIOR

Marketing Stimuli Product Price Place Promotion

Other Stimuli Economy Political Cultural Technological

Buyers Characteristic Cultural Social Personal Psychological

Buyers decision process Problems recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase decision Post purchase decision Rural development (rdse)
[3 rdse under 1 sales executive]

Product choice Brand choice Dealer choice Purchase timings Purchase amount

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STAGES OF CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

Problem recognition

Information search

Evaluation of alternatives

Purchase decisions

Post purchase behaviour

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR

High involvement Significant differences between brands Complex buying behaviour

Low involvement Variety-seeking buying behaviour

Few differences between brands

Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour

Habitual buying behaviour

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

MARUTI 800

ECONOMY Great technology enables the Maruti 800 to deliver great fuel efficiency. The Maruti 800 has topped every fuel efficiency survey that has been conducted in the past. The Maruti 800 has the lowest fuel cost per kilometer of any petrol car in the country with a cost of Rs1.94 per kilometer.This confirms the position of the Maruti 800 as the most fuel efficient petrol car in the country and Maruti also launched their LPG model which is more economic than others.
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MARUTI OMNI

FOR THE FAMILY This car position itself in the mind of consumer as a family car. The punch line of the car is total solution of the entire family

Features are:
MPFI Engine The multi-point fuel injected engine helps to lower emissions and achieve greater fuel efficiency. With 37 bhp @ 5000 rpm, you have greater pulling power. A torque of 6.32 kgm @ 3000 rpm ensures better climbing power and lesser gear changes. In
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other words, less fatigue. The MPFI engine also meets all the stringent Euro II emission norms

SPACE
Stretch out. Open up. Enjoy the luxury of space inside the Omni. The ample headroom and legroom make long rides comfortable and enjoyable. Reclining front seats with adjustable head restraints let you relax completely. With its ample luggage space, the Omni is equipped for anything. Pack in your family, your group of friends, your luggage, your golfing gear, your picnic hamperall can fit in snugly.

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MARUTI ALTO

Features are:
MPFI ENGINE Plenty of power, great mileage and low emission make the Alto the perfect choice for Indian roads. The fuel efficiency of the Alto is better than any other vehicles in its class. The 16x4 hypertech MPFI engine delivers unadulterated power, begging for fun. The 4-valves per cylinder MPFI engine mated with a 5-speed gearshift and a 16-bit on-board computer allows the Alto to effectively combine power with optimal fuel efficiency

RELIABILITY
Here's another first by ALTO, which has been setting records since its introduction in India!
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Alto becomes the first Indian car to undergo a 24 hours endurance test and sets 13 national records in the process.

Wagon R

COMFORT The smarter race knows exactly how to take the stress out of driving and push driving comfort to the max. Full flat folding front seats and reclining rear seats allow you to stretch yourself during long drives. This ensures that you travel in maximum comfort as compared to cramped seating arrangements in other cars. The McPherson strut suspension in the front and coil springs at the rear

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ensures a smooth comfortable drive. It's not just comfort; Wagon R also has a 1061cc MPFI low friction engine

SPACE
Nothing cramps the style of the smarter race. Thats why it prefers the Wagon R. Tall body, high seats and wide opening doors make it easy to get in and get out. Seven cm taller than the Santro, the Wagon R offers more headroom, amazing spaciousness and a commanding driving position. The split rear seating arrangement along with fully reclining front and the reclining rear seats gives a first comfort. The Wagon R comes with an extra large boot space, which is possible because of its unique design that maximizes space on a compact platform. Caution, safety and protection are integral to a smarter mindset. And the Wagon R is designed to satisfy every concern. Just check out the battery of safety features: Dual side-impact beams in the front and rear doors protect you from lateral collisions. A long crumple zone shields you in the unlikely event of a frontal collision.
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class airline seating

A Roll Control device in the front suspension imparts greater stability and helps the Wagon R to negotiate sharp curves at high speeds. The 8 inch booster-assisted brakes equip you well to handle any emergency High seating position gives you a bigger field of view, allowing you to better anticipate traffic problems before they occur.

MARUTI VERSA

ONE GREAT DRIVE. TWICE THE SAFETY The Versa is one of the safest cars on the road. It has safety features to guard your loved ones from road disasters. Side impact absorbing beams in all 4 doors protect the passengers from side crashes. Front impact

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beams between the front pillars and the collapsible steering column shield you from head on collisions. A steel pipe frame in the rear seat safeguards your family from rear impacts.ELR seat belts allow free movement, but hold you securely during sudden stoppages. Height adjustable head restraints, brake boosters and a collapsible steering column further ensure your safety. When you step out of the house and into your Versa, rest assured Sink in. Stretch out. Lie back. Indulge Versa's the ideal car for long journeys. Now stretch your legs on those long rides. All seats* have recliners. In SDX, the 2nd row bucket seats can be slid forward or backward independently to suit the convenience of the passengers. The high seat position makes it easy to get in and out and gives superior road visibility. The front row seats have thick insulation between seat and the engine. Two layers of PUF and aluminium sheets act as a buffer, protecting the driver from engine heat. The rear seat also has a steel pipe frame for protection in the event of a rear impact. * Except for the folding seat in 2nd row (DX, DX2) and last row seats.
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MARUTI GYPSY

Gypsy Advantage HILLS Higher ground clearance of 210 mm to ensure better off-road handling. Diaphragm Spring Clutch designed to with stand higher rotational speeds requiring less release load ,thereby reducing the wear of parts

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SNOW The Engine thats high on thermal conductivity, and heats up quickly even under extremely cold conditions. Thus, there are no starting problems even in the midst of snow. 1300 cc petrol engine lighter than a diesel engine, resulting in a higher power to weight ratio. This ensures better control, more power and greater responsiveness.

DESERT The Engine avoids overheating because its high thermal conductivity enables it to give off heat much faster

STREAMS Maximum power of 80 bhp @ 6000 rpm makes for easier crossings. 4-Wheel drive for better control and more power at the wheel. A higher power to weight ratio of 0.0812 ensures faster acceleration through streams DIRT TRACKS
46

and muddy terrain.

DIRT TRACKS Steering Damper ensures that shocks encountered from bumps and potholes are not passed on to the steering wheel. Thus, any loss of control owing to unexpected obstacles is avoided. The Gypsy is a lighter vehicle weighing in at 1020 kg (hard top) and 985 kg (soft top). This is a major advantage on sandy or muddy tracts a heavier vehicle will get stuck but the Gypsy keeps

SWIFT

The time has come for a new kind of compact car, one that's based on a fresh approach to design and development, delivers the kind of driver and
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passenger experience that places it in a class of its own and has true worldwide appeal. The time has come for the Maruti Suzuki Swift. The Swift is more eyecatching, more spacious, more refined, more user-friendly, and a whole lot more enjoyable to drive than anything else in the compact-car category.

SWIFT DZIRE

Maruti Swift DZire The new Swift DZire joined the Swift and SX4 in Suzuki's Indian lineup and is intended to "redefine the market and stir excitement in the entry level sedan segment". It's a good news for the consumers because Swift DZire, which comes both in diesel and petrol engines, offers luxury feature options
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including integrated stereo, steering mounted audio controls, automatic climate control and power windows as well. Not only this but, it is also equipped with latests safety features like Dual Airbags, ABS with EDB, collapsible steering column and an i-CATS anti-theft facility. It's true to say that many of these features are being offered for the first time in this segment in contemporary car market in India. Variants Petrol Diesel LXI LDI VXI VDI ZXI ZDI RANGE OF COLOURS There is a wide range of colors for the customers. The newly Swift DZire is offered in seven colours: Arctic White Silky Silver Clear Beige Midnight Black Bright Red Azure Gray Sovereign Blue Features Launched as a replacement of the earlier mid size sedan Maruti Esteem, the Swift DZire is sophisticated in look and features. There is a long list of features of Swift DZire which includes:

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INTERIORS Steering Mounted Audio Controls: Swift DZire is equipped with a classy dashboard integrated audio system with remote control along with powerful speaker. Automatic Climate Control (ACC): Whenever you need to choose you temperature, just choose the temperature you desire and the on-board computers is there to auto-adjust to the weather outside, maintaining precise cabin temperature. EXTERIORS Makes Heads Turn with its desirable exteriors: There is a chiseled shoulder line to complement muscular flared wheel arches and sills. Rich chrome styling for an imposing grille and an impressive rear is also there now. Stylish wraparound tail lamps fitted. Powerful clear lens headlamps for superior night visibility is and additional benefit for you. Headlight leveling allows you perfect light beam adjustment while driving. A high mounted stop lamp and a rear bumper-integrated fog lamp give clear signals to following traffic, thus avoiding accidents. Comfort & Convenience Indulge your desire of complete comfort:

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All around power windows for improved convenience to the drivers is there now. Sounds absorbing materials and vibration dampers for a smooth and pleasurable drive. Now, there is height adjustable drivers seat for personalized driving position. A tilt adjustable steering column lets you to set it just right for your height, so you enjoy a comfortable drive and enjoy the ride even for long distance. Improved comfort in the back row for those who don't drive but enjoy the ride. Variants

MARUTI SX4

Maruti Suzuki SX4

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Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.. is out with it's cutting edge new model, Maruti Suzuki SX4, a joint venture made by two of automobile czars, Suzuki and Maruti. The model closely follows the Swift platform, therefore, it is easily available with exclusive features which makes it all the more desirable among car connoisseurs. A mini SUV (sport utility vehicles) style, SX4 is almost like a car in it's construction & comfort context. The model is found in two- and four- wheel drive. With two variants, the model is all set to conquer the Indian auto biz market. These are commonly referred as the "Urban Line" & the "Outdoor Line", where the latter is more like an SUV in appearance compared to the first one. The car is expected to have 1590cc petrol engine making it capable enough to deliver a power of 94bhp and a torque of 13.4kgm. OTHER FEATURES Maruti Suzuki SX4 is assorted with elegant features which makes the model worth possessing. These are : ABS EBD Dual SRS airbags Front and rear side doors having impact beams Seat belt pre-tensioners Force limiters Car immobilizer Anti theft device Switchable three-mode 4x4 system for : 2WD
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4WD Auto mode 4WD Lock mode Colors Colors for Maruti Suzuki SX4 are quite unique & contemporary in nature

GRAND VITARA

Grand vitara is anew segment entered by maruti. Initially they are just in traditional cars business Grand vitara is a SUV (sports utility vehicle) with a powerful engine of 2600 cc. It is fitted with a MPFI diesel engine. It delivers 4x4 drive.
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Price charged for grand vitara is between 13.5 lakh to 16 lakh. It is of premium segment.

MARUTI RITZ

Maruti Ritz Review

Maruti Ritz is the perhaps the most awaited and hyped car from Maruti Suzuki. The car is positioned in the premium A2 market segment, which includes its compact offering such as Alto, WagnoR, Swift, Zen and the newly-launched A-Star. Hundai has already launched their i10 model in the Indian market. Now, its the turn of market leaders maruti Suzuki to

respond with a brand new vehicle for the Indian market. Engineers from
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Maruti Suzuki worked at close quarters with their Japanese counterparts in the development of the Ritz, much like that for the A-Star.MUL seems to be going the complete distance to insure that the Ritz manages to make an impact on the cut-throat A-2 hatchback space. How far the new Ritz manages to complete with its counterparts is yet to be seen in the time to come. Ritz launched in the Indian markets on 15th May,2009, the Ritz Maruti is one of the first BS-IV complaint cars of India. Priced at Rs 4 Lakh to Rs.5 Lakh, the Ritz Maruti has a sporty new look with cool spacy interiors. It's true to say segment in contemporary car market in India.that many of these features are being offered for the first time in this segment in contemporary car market in India. Mruti Ritz LXi Mruti Ritz VXi Mruti Ritz VXi ABS Mruti Ritz ZXi Mruti Ritz VDi Mruti Ritz LDi Mruti Ritz VDi ABS

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Features
Alloy wheels Engine immobilizer(iCATS) Steering-mounted audio controls

Front seat under tray 60:40 rear split seats

Driver seat / Steering wheel / Seatbelt height adjustor

MARKETS
DOMESTIC Maruti primarily operates in the passenger vehicles market with an emphasis on passenger cars. During 2004-05, the Indian passenger vehicles market finally attained critical mass with sales volume of 900,752 units a 27.4 per cent increase from 707,198 units sold in 2003-04. The passenger vehicle market is divided broadly into the following three categories: 1. Passenger cars
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2. Multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and 3. Utility vehicles (UVs) Within these categories, MULs presence in order of prominence and in volume term is in passenger cars, MPVs or the C segment and UVs or the B segment. Chart B gives the relative share of each segment in Marutis passenger vehicles sales, where passenger car sales have been broken up according to the SIAM based classification (A1-A6).

PASSENGERS CAR In volume terms, passenger car sales accounted for over 77 per cent of the Indian passenger vehicles market and grew by 28.6 per cent from 541,491 units in 2003-04 to 696,207 units in 2004-05. Maruti continues to be the market leader. During 2004-05, not only did Maruti grow due to the overall market growth, but also managed to overcome intense competition and gain market share which increased from 50.8 per cent in 2003-04 to 51.4 per cent in 2004-05. The Indian car market is classified into six categories based on the vehicle length
1: Mini A2: Compac

up to 3,400 mm. from 3,401 mm to 4, 000 mm.

A3: Mid-size from 4,001 mm to 4,500 mm. 57

 A4: Executive 4,501 mm to 4,700 mm. A5: Premium from 4,701 to 5,000 mm. A6: Luxury 5,001 mm and above. MUL has presence in three of these cate-

gories namely A1, A2 and A3. Chart C plots MULs sales volumes in these three categories for 2004-05 and 2003-04.

A1 CATEGORY: With its Maruti 800, your company is the only player in this category. Sales volumes increased by 16.9 per cent during 2004-05. Growth in this economy segment comes mainly from first-time buyers, and consumers buying their second car. Penetrating this market requires greater reach in distribution, and MUL is undertaking many efforts in this direction. A2 CATEGORY: Maruti has three models in this category Zen, Alto and Wagon R. This is the segment where the company faced stiff competition in the last few years, and had lost some ground due to delays in launching new models. Things have fundamentally changed in 2004-05. Through a well-crafted strategy, Maruti consolidated its leadership position in the A2 category. While the category grew by 23.4 per cent in 2004-05, MULs sales volume grew by 46 per cent. Consequently, the companys market share has increased from 40.3 per cent in 2003-04 to 47.7 per cent in 2004-05.
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We believe that given Indias income distribution and low levels of car penetration, the A1 and A2 segments will continue to register strong growth as the population increases its levels of motorization. Today, India is the second largest two-wheeler market in world with sales of around 5 million two wheelers during 2004-05. The existing stock of two wheelers on Indias roads is over 50 million. With cheaper credit facilities, many users of twowheelers, especially in the higher end segment, should shift to cars in the A1 category. MUL is the dominant company in India, which has the models to tap this huge growth opportunity. To penetrate deeper into the Indian market, MUL has tied up with the State Bank of India (SBI) to finance cars. SBI has the widest branch network in India, and we expect to reach parts of the rural markets hitherto uncovered by retail finance availability. Apart from strengthening the distribution network, key initiatives that drove this growth during 2004-05 include:

Strengthening the brand image of the three models through advertisements and sales promotional initiatives.

Repositioning Alto in a niche space between A1 and A2 cars. Aggressive

pricing of the Alto was supplemented by a strong ad campaign that targeted the younger generation. These factors played a role in boosting the volume of Alto sales by over 125 per cent.
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 New variant of the Zen was launched in the latter half of 2003,

which rejuvenated the brand in the market. There were also significant changes in the Wagon R, which contributed to a volume growth of
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per cent.

A3 CATEGORY: This is a highly fragmented category with several models, and no single player has major leadership position. MULs two models Swift Desire& SX4 have a combined market share of a little over 10 per cent. Maruti lost some market share as its volume sales grew by around 30 per cent, against the overall categorys growth of 50.8 per cent. In the last quarter of 2004-05, to increase market penetration, MUL revised the prices of SX4 downwards and launched a new version the SX4Lxi. We have already started witnessing results from this initiative.

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MULTI-PURPOSE VEHICLES (MPVS)

In this segment, Marutis models include the Omni and the Versa. Here, Maruti is the dominant player with nearly 100% market share. In 2004-05, the companys sales volumes grew by 14.7 per cent. During the latter half of the year, Maruti launched an economy model of the Versa. A new Omni variant, which runs on LPG was launched to tap newer cargo markets.

Passenger Cars + MPV Market Passenger cars and MPVs are generally analyzed as a comprehensive segment. Maruti marginally increased its share in this segment with about 55.2 per cent in volume terms during 2004-05. Segment with a market share of only 2.5 per cent. The primary model in this segment is the Gypsy. During April 2003, the company Launched its state-of-the-art sports utility vehicle (SUV) the Grand Vitara. Customer Orientation
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The growth in sales volumes is a consequence of Marutis continuous stress on customer focus. Regular interface and feedback from customers is integral to the companys planning process. A tribute to its efforts at improving customer satisfaction is the top ranking given to the Wagon R in the premium compact segment, and Esteem in the entry midsize segment, by JD Powers survey on IQS. Table 1 gives a snapshot of five top reasons why people buy Maruti cars as per the JD Power survey. It is important to note that the rating, which was between 10 and 20 per cent in 2000, has increased to above 50 per cent in 2003. Another interesting point is that while Marutis

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UTILITY VEHICLES (UVS)

Diesel vehicles dominate this segment with a share of around 95 per cent. This is mainly because vehicles in this segment are by nature heavy and diesel has a policy determined price advantage over petrol. Since Maruti does not have a diesel vehicle today, it remains a small player in the MUV economy factor was the most important reason for purchase in 2000, the companys reputation has become the leading factor determining the customers purchase decision in 2003. Thus, Maruti has managed to build a strong brand image in the last four years. MULs technological capabilities are getting greater recognition as in 2003: good technology became one of the five leading reasons cited by customers for buying a Maruti car. Dealership and Service Network This high level of customer satisfaction and award of number 1 position in customer satisfaction by world renowned J D Power survey for four times in a row can be translated into sales only through a strong dealer network, which actively reaches out to potential customers. The company has extended its dealership network to 280 sales outlets, spread over 182 cities, and has a service network of more than 1900 workshops spread across 1000
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cities. The confidence of the dealer community in Maruti is spelled out by the fact that 28 existing dealers made large investments and opened new showrooms. On the same lines, 59 new workshops were opened by 51 existing dealers. The automobile industry has two levels of customers the dealer and the buyer. It is imperative to have a robust dealer network to push sales to the final customer. Therefore, MUL treats its dealers as its first level of customers. In the last three years, Maruti has worked hard to revitalize and strengthen its dealership network. Apart from having a good product, the key factor in developing a good dealer network is to assure profits for the dealers. Maruti believes that selling a car is only the beginning of a long-term relationship with the car buyer. During the course of a cars life, there are many services and products which can be offered to the customer like finance, accessories, insurance, service, spare parts and finally trade-in resale opportunities. MUL offers its customers a suite of products through its authorized dealers, which meets all the requirements during the life cycle of a car. This not only meets a much larger basket of customer needs but also provides dealers with the opportunity to generate greater profits. Other services that have been launched under new business initiatives of Maruti include Maruti
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Finance (a consortium of finance companies), Maruti Insurance and the pre owned cars business under the True Value brand name. In all these businesses, Maruti plays the role of an aggregator and brand manager. None of the risks related to these businesses are booked in the books of MUL. Most dealers have understood the importance and profitability of this new business model and their strong motivation has resulted in record top-line growth for 2004-05. A key initiative to promote best practices on the dealer front has been the practice of the balanced scorecard to evaluate dealers. Those dealers who achieve or exceed a certain score are financially rewarded for their efforts. The company acknowledges that superior customers experience is only possible if the dealers employees are adequately trained. To achieve this, training is undertaken in all areas of dealership operations. We are proud to state that Marutis dealers technicians were ranked the best among Suzuki distributors in South-East Asia; and now, an Indian team will participate in the International Technical Skill Competition in Japan.

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EXPORTS
2004-05 was also a landmark year for Maruti in terms of exports. The FOB value of exports grew by 51.7 per cent from Rs.6,204 million in 200203 to Rs.9,410 million in 2004-05 which is the highest ever in Marutis 17 years export history. It is also the first year in which the company exported over 50,000 vehicles. It exported 51,175 units. Marutis export growth has been driven primarily by 56.8 per cent increase in exports of Maruti 800, and 60.5 per cent growth in exports of A2 category cars. Within the A2 category the YG4 (Alto) was a huge success in the European market, where 34,399 Suzuki Altos were sold during 2004-05. The M-800 and the Zen were very well accepted in Algeria. We also achieved substantial growth in our exports to Algeria, Belgium, Bhutan, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Nepal, Sri Lanka and UK. Maruti entered the Gulf market (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar) for the first time with the new Alto GCC specifications, specially designed for this region.

O P E R AT I O N S
Your company remains steadfast in its quest for achieving higher operational efficiencies. This includes efforts at reducing costs, increasing productivity and maintaining delivery schedules.
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An example of Marutis strength in operations is its capability to roll out two vehicles every minute from its shop floor. It is on the foundation of such strong operations that MUL offers its customers a suite of 10 models in over 50 variants. In times of unfavorable market conditions, our operational efficiencies have helped us remain competitive. Today, as markets have turned upbeat, we have leveraged this strength to seize opportunities and ensure that profits outpace top-line growth.

PRODUCTION
Spread over 297 acres, Maruti has three fully integrated production facilities with a combined capability of 500,000 units per annum. Chart D shows the category-wise production of vehicles in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Production increased across all categories of passenger cars the A1 category grew by 20.4 per cent, A2 grew by 47.7 per cent and A3 grew by 33.8 per cent. Total vehicle production increased by 31.4 per cent from 359,960 units in 200304 to 472,908 units in 2004-05. Two years ago, in the backdrop of fierce competition, your company had initiated a program called Challenge 50 go fast, high quality across its production facilities.
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The principal philosophy behind this program is to raise our productivity levels by 50 per cent in three years through Kaizen and continuous performance benchmarking. 2004-05 is the last year of this program. As shown in Chart E, this program has already yielded impressive operational gains for the company. A critical parameter that measures efficiency of production systems in the automobile industry is man-hours spent in producing one vehicle. This has improved by around 54 per cent in the last three years. In addition, there has been a considerable reduction in inventory holding period, which dropped from 30 days in 2003-04 to 19 days in 200405.

SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT
In an industry like automobiles, where large part of its components are outsourced, vendor management becomes a critical operation. This has always been a key focus area for your company. When MUL started its operations in India, auto-component suppliers were almost non-existent. Thus, one of the immediate goals was to develop and establish a competent vendor base. This involved providing capital, transplanting technology, and developing production processes for suppliers.

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Today, this situation has changed. The Indian auto-component industry is increasingly finding global recognition for its production capabilities and low costs. This has considerably eased pressure on the vendor development front. Nevertheless, given the severe competitive pressures over the last few years, vendor management has become critical to the business. Some of the operational issues in this regard are discussed below. 220 at the end of 2004-05. This has helped us enhance supply chain efficiencies by lowering the time and costs involved in dealing with more vendors. It has also provided our vendors with the requisite volumes to realise economies of scale. Going forward, we plan to have technically and financially capable set of vendors, whose standards match up to those of Maruti.
improving quality and productivity of the vendors is a priority area for Maruti.

While the average standards have improved significantly over the years, there is still high variability. Hence, improvement in this area is of considerable importance to MUL.
our company has been encouraging vendors to develop their own technology and

R&D capability. In the long run, Maruti expects its vendors to initiate and develop specialised components on their own, while it focuses energies on its core competency of making better cars.

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R&D AND TECHNOLOGY

R&D activities of Maruti have the twin objectives of reducing product costs by developing capabilities of local vendors and becoming a regional R&D hub for all Suzuki operations. The company has adopted a focused model cost reduction technique. Maruti has been continuously engaging in Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VA/VE) activities across its operations. This initiative has gathered greater momentum this year with the introduction of Junkai (or Focus) visits by our engineers to our vendors production facilities. Junkai visits facilitate development of fresh VA/VE ideas for cost reduction and also reduce the cycle time for idea evaluation. In addition, Maruti has started conducting cost workshops with vendors supplying high cost parts. In these workshops, current cost structures of vendors are analyzed in detail and specific cost reduction targets suggested. To help vendors achieve these targets, a team of engineers from Maruti and Suzuki visit their production facilities and develop an action plan to meet these targets. The assistance of vendors collaborators, wherever applicable, is taken to accelerate implementation.
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The action plan often includes VA ideas, localization of inner parts, and reduction in cost of bought-out parts, yield improvement and process cost reductions. In the year under review, 33 such visits were made. In its early days, the Maruti R&D centre was primarily involved in providing technical assistance to local component manufacturers. Over the years, this centre has developed capabilities for face lifts and body changes of current models. These include styling, clay modeling, computer aided design, prototype making and its evaluation, and stamps / dies designing. All modifications done on the new Zen model introduced by the company in 200304 were carried out in-house by the R&D team. The dies for the new body panels were developed in- house die-shop for the first time. All the changes required in the existing production facilities were also developed in house, resulting in significant reduction in the investment required for these modifications.

QUALITY
Maruti has raised the bar for quality checks by adopting the Global Customer Audit (GCA) mechanism. The GCA methodology places a great deal of emphasis on delivering products which meet the quality requirements of our customers. In this process, a select number of cars are picked at random everyday and taken through rigorous tests.
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This includes examining the vehicle in static condition and then in dynamic condition by test driving it under varied road conditions to check all functional parts. The total cycle time for GCA is 95 minutes per vehicle. Based on the GCA feedback, requisite remedial measures are undertaken to ensure that defects are not carried in vehicles which are under production. In the year under review, MUL introduced the concept of Quality Gates across its manufacturing processes. These Quality Gates have been positioned at 110 key locations throughout the manufacturing process, and provide real-time feedback for continuous process improvement by following the concept of plan-do-check-act. MULs press shop and related functions received the TS 16949 quality certification in 2004-05. While we are proud of this achievement, we believe it is imperative that these high quality standards be shared by our vendors too. To this end, MUL is actively involved in assisting its suppliers to improve their quality practices to TS 16949. We are pleased to report that our initiatives on the quality front have yielded gains:
MUL was ranked No. 1 in the prestigious JD Power Customer Satisfaction

Survey, 2003. This No.1 rank is for fourth time in a row which is a world record for any automobile leader in a country.
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In 2003, Maruti models topped Initial Quality Study conducted in India

by JD Power Asia Pacific. In the highly competitive A2 segment, Wagon R was rated best in overall quality rating, followed by the Zen; while in A3 segment, Esteem achieved top ranking in 2003.
In 2004-05, NFO, an international survey agency, ranked Maruti WagonR as

no.1 in the Total Customer Satisfaction for Premium Compact segment.

HUMAN RESOURCES
Marutis most valuable asset has always been, and will continue to be, its people. The successes and accomplishments of the company over the years have been entirely due to the motivation, dedication and commitment of its employees. It has been a constant endeavor of the management to share with its workforce the opportunities and challenges faced in its business operations. This initiative was given a major thrust with organizing a training program for the union working committee members so that the message reached the workmen. Through this training program, management shared its perception of the companys future and familiarized the union members with the
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competitive pressures faced by the company. Subsequently, a one-day training program, Sankalp, was launched to cover 100% of our workmen on the global business trends and the ever-increasing competition. The objective was to highlight the need for a change in mindset and approach to business. The Sankalp series will continue through the year to cover the entire workmen population. Encompasses a flexible perquisite basket based compensation package. Going forward, we believe that this agreement would provide us the confidence and strength to keep our costs competitive and bring in greater operational resilience. Developing human resource capabilities across all levels and functional areas is integral to the companys human resource philosophy. As a part of this, Maruti Udyog sends its workers, supervisors and engineers to Suzuki factories in Japan for on-the-job training programs. Varying from one month to two years, these programs are not only aimed at enhancing technical skills but also inculcating the Japanese way of working and facilitating crosscultural exchange. Management training programs focusing on leadership and change management were organized by the Company for all departmental heads.

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Apart from this the Company also has a well-structured, one yearlong training-cum-orientation program for new campus recruits. In light of mounting competitive pressures, a priority area for Maruti is to rationalize and redesign its manpower needs to transform itself into a lean and competitive organization. To this end, Maruti offered a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to its employees in the year under review. This offer was accepted by 1,251 employees, and followed an earlier VRS offer made in 2001-02, which was accepted by 1,050 employees. As on 31 March 2004, Maruti Udyog has 3,334 employees. Industrial relations remained cordial throughout the year and not a single days work was lost due to strikes or disputes. During 2004-05, a five year wage settlement agreement was signed by MUL with its workers union. Apart from bringing in the concept of cost to company in the remuneration scheme for workers, this agreement.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Since its inception 20 years ago, Maruti Udyog has made concerted efforts to leverage innovative and cutting-edge Information Technology (IT) tools to enhance operational efficiencies. The IT initiative of the company started in 1983 with the implementation of a booking system for its vehicles. With growing business complexities, IT tools have now found use across all areas of operation including marketing and sales, finance, plant and production management, raw material and spare parts management. As mentioned earlier Maruti has the widest network of dealer comprises dealership showrooms, workshops and authorized service stations spread across the country. Currently transactions with these dealers are through a centralized extranet, which allows dealers to log in and transact business in an online mode. While this system has proved to be effective, to further enhance operational efficiencies, the company is in the process of launching a first-of-its-kind Dealer Management System (DMS). This system implemented in Application Service Providing (ASP) mode will provide real-time information on all transactions between dealers and the company. It would bring in downstream-visibility into the distribution network, and standardize service delivery at customer touch points.
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The system is presently undergoing pilot-testing, and is expected to be operational by November 2004. Maruti has also introduced a Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) at two of its plants. This acts as an interface between business and shop-floor systems. It enhances shop-floor efficiencies by providing accurate and timely instructions to the shop-floor, along with a feedback to the business systems. Going forward, this infrastructure should provide additional strategic capability of introducing more products and variants on the same production facilities. VTS along with existing Quality Gate System has considerably enhanced our quality control systems and has given us an important competitive advantage in todays scenario. One of the key initiatives on the operations front has been the introduction of E-Nagare a system for material scheduling and ordering. This is one of the best practices inherited from Suzuki, and has significantly smoothened our Just-In-Time (JIT) operations on the shop-floor. MUL has also taken up e-sourcing as one of the key focus areas for cost reduction and improved procurement. The company has successfully used this to significantly reduce costs of procurement, while bringing in greater transparency into the system.

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Going forward, MUL intends to increase procurement through e-sourcing, and is in the process of deploying a software solution which is integrated with MULs internal applications.

Knowledge management is another area of focus for MUL. To this end, an intranet portal using Microsoft Share point software one of the first six free sites of this product developed by Microsoft before its launch worldwide has been established, and is finding increasing popularity among employees across all levels and functional areas .

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Part-2
The study of micro research profile

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OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The objectives are.

1. To find the mode of purchase by the customers.

2.

To find the brand status, brand loyalty in the mind of customer for Maruti.

3.

To find the various sources of information about cars from primary data through customers.

4.

To find and analyses the various parameters of buying decision of customers.

5.

To find the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threats of the company.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Marketing Research is the backbone of marketing. The objective of my research is to Determine Customer Profiling & Purchase Parameters. The nature of my research is exploratory research. Its goals to shed light on the real nature of the problem and to suggest possible selection and its involves number of steps. I. Define the Problem & Research Objective: Management must define a problem in broader way. Because it is said that defining the problem is half solved and the objective of my research is to study the consumer perception about MARUTI CARS over in Indian consumer durable industry. II. Develop the Research Plan The second stage of marketing research calls for developing the most efficient plan for gathering the needed information. Designing the research plan calls for decision on the data sources, Research Approaches, Research Instrumental, Sampling Plans & Contact Methods.

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(a) Data Sources I have collected my research data from secondary as well as primary sources from random sampling survey.

Primary Data Mostly in marketing research involves some primary data collection by the questionnaire Sample Size : 100 Sample Area : Gorakhpur Secondary Data Magazines, Catalogue, Newspapers, Product Profile & Internet.

(b) Research approaches

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Primary data can be collected into five ways observations, focus groups, survey, behavioral data & experiments and here I have used survey research.

TARGET MARKET
The target market of our study was mainly concentrated to the recent car buyer's and the survey was conducted at the point of purchase.

METHODOLOGY
The tool used for this research is questionnaire, administered and filled by interviewees. The questionnaire was typed and presented to respondents in an arranged manner. In this process the personal interview came very handy in explaining the respondents the exact list of questions or if they face any problem while answering the questionnaire or in clarifying any confusion they had. Personal interviews provided flexibility in the sense that the researcher was able to provide further clarification or explanation whenever required. Following facts were kept in mind while preparation the questionnaire: 1. The questionnaire is in an easy language

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2. Maximum questions are of multiple choice questions and there can be more than one answer for most of them 3. The comments and suggestions were open-ended questions so that the respondent could elaborate upon his thoughts 4. The size of the questionnaire is not too long. This is to make the job feasible both for the respondents and researcher

THE RESEARCH
Aim: The aim of the research was to study the factors which a customer perceives in a car and the sources as well as the knowledge which the consumer employs in gathering information for the product he is planning to purchase. Universe: The universe means the set of objects or population among which the research is to be conducted. The universes of this task constitute all the people who have recently purchased their cars. Sampling design: The sample design adopted was convenient sampling.

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ANALYSIS

Analysis has been divided into 2 parts:

1. A detailed analysis has been done for Maruti cars on the basis

of questioner.

2. A SWOT analysis for the company has been done.

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1. A detailed analysis has been done for Maruti cars on the basis of questioner.

TO FIND OUT MODE OF PURCHASE.

QUESTIONS: 1.Which car have you purchased? 2. What was the purchase mode? a) Cash b) Finance, which company ICICI HDFC SBI PNB

M&M FSL ANY OTHER __________ Model wise division of the cars purchased Cars Maruti800 Omni Zen Alto WagonR Versa purchased In % 25 6 16 36 11 2 SX4 3 Vitara 1

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CARS PURCHASED 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
M ar ut i8 00 m ni W ag on R Ze n Al to 4 pu rc ha se d Ve rs Vi ta ra a O SX

INTERPRETATION The above figure shows that the ALTO model of Maruti commands a good share in the market, followed by WagonR and hot selling Zen. ALTO& Maruti 800 is the undisputed leaders of the roads of Gorakhpur.

Alto model has the largest share in the export category, and is marketed in Europe. Versa's sale has got to pick up because costumers have an unclear picture in their mind regarding the car being high priced which is actually a myth.

C ar s

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The mode of purchase of the vehicle Mode of Cash Purchase In % 16 ICICI 36 SBI 12 HDFC 19 PNB 8 M&MFSL 9

MODE OF PURCHASE 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Mode of Purchase Cash ICICI SBI HDFC PNB M&MFSL

INTERPRETATION As can be seen in the figure above the availability of easy loan has attracted the consumers to much so that the out of the cars purchased only 16 % of the vehicles are paid for in cash. With the mushrooming of finance companies the rate of interests has been continuously reducing. The two rivals in car financing are ICICI and SBI bank with ICICI leading
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the race due of more and wider presence. Easy availability of finance have up surged the demand for higher segment cars with more and more people who have the capability of paying cash opting for finance due to hassle free approvals and lowest interest rates .

TO FIND THE BRAND STATUS IN THE MIND OF CUSTOMER.

QUESTIONS: 1. Which are the three brand (companies) that come to when you think of a car? __________________ __________________ __________________ your mind

2. Which two TV car commercials (Ads) can you recall _______________________________________ _______________________________________

right now?

The brand-recalling test showing the brand that has the picture in consumer's
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mind

Brand Recalling Maruti Hyundai Tata In % 97 66 40

Honda 20

Fiat 19

Ford 12

BRAND RECALLED 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Brand Recalling Maruti Hyundai Tata Honda Fiat Ford

INTERPRETATION As seen in the figure above somewhere down the line people do recall Maruti when they are asked to name a brand that comes to their mind at the first instance. Followed by Maruti is a close competitor Hyundai which relies on aggressive marketing tools, followed by the good old Tata which their flagship Indica.

It can be seen that the more the people recall the brand the more likely are
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the chances of good sales turnover The advertisements that strike

Advertisement WagonR Versa Alto Maruti800 In % 3 8 12 11

Maruti service 4

Zen 4

Hyundai 58

A DV ERTISEMENT RECA LLED 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 WagonR V ersa A lto Maruti800 Maruti service Zen Hyundai

INTERPRETATION As said earlier in the above brand recalling analysis Hyundai commands a higher recalling power when it comes to Media advertisements because of its high advertisement budget.

Also the hot favorite in Maruti ads is the Bachaan father and son ad with the
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highest recalling in Maruti brand of cars. TO FIND VARIOUS SOURCES OFINFORMATION ABOUT CAR. QUESTION: What were the sources of information when you purchase Sports channels Star sports ESPN Ten sports Any other ____________________ the car?

News channels Aaj Tak Zee news Star News Any other __________________

Entertainment channels News papers Times of India Hindustan Times

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Star Zee Any other ____________________

 Magazines

Economic Times Bainik Bhaskar

Amar Ujala Navbharat Times

Any other _____________________

Business World India Today Auto car India

Overdrive Outlook Business Today

Any other _________________________

Entertainment IN %

STAR SPORT 45

ESPN 24

TEN SPORTS 31

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SPORTS CHANNEL MOSTLY ACSSESED

50 40 30 20 10 0 STAR SPORT ESPN TEN SPORTS Series1

Entertainment In %

STAR 54

Zee 24

SONY 15

ENTERTAINMENT CHANNEL MOSTLY WATCHED

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 STAR Zee SONY

INTERPRETATION
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Summarizing the above figures we can say that the people watch Star Sports the most followed by ESPN and Ten sports therefore we can say that it would be better for Maruti to advertise on Star rather than Ten sports. But one has to look at the target audience and then make a feasible decision; it is possible that a media is good for a certain class of target audience. Likewise Star has a much wider coverage than other entertainment channels followed by Zee and Sony India.

AMAR Newspapers read In % TOI 18

RASDAINIK 40

ECONOMIC S TIMES 7

UJALA SHARA 12 23

NEWS PRINT MOSTLY READ 50 40 30 20 10 0

AI NI K TO I JA LA AR AS -S H -T IM EC O ES A

AM AR U

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Print media is perhaps the most effective and the most widely circulated media and a good medium for advertising but one has to be sure about its target audience and then resort to division of the same into different segments. Such as people reading English newsprints or Hindi or for that matter any other language but it is important that to make the ad effective it should be positioned right. DAINIK JAGARAN is the most widely circulated as well as read newspaper in and around Gorakhpur, followed by Rastriya sahara.

Auto Magazines read In % India 14 Outlook 9 Overdrive 4

Business India World 8 34

MAGAZINE MOSTLY READ

40 30 20 10 0 Auto India Outlook Overdrive Business world India Today

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INTERPRETATION Similarly the magazine India Today is quite a source of good information for the elite class. There is a saying that "Advertising is a social waste" but it is advertising that makes the customer aware and the right kind of expenditure is definitely a necessity in today's competitive environment.

TO FIND THE VARIOUS PARAMETER OF BUYING DECISION.

QUESTION: You choose this brand because : Please rank in order of importance (1 being most important) Price Schemes Mileage Resale value Looks [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

After sales services [ ] Reference Advertisement [ ] [ ]

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Features Brand image

[ ] [ ] [ ]

Repeat purchase

Now the most important question that comes to the consumers mind when he plans to purchase a car of at the time of purchasing the car. Whether he wants economy or style,discount or resale, features or services, of all in the same package. For this we asked the customers to rank the factor which lured him to purchase the car, the following parameters were taken: Price Discount Mileage Resale Looks After sale service References Advertising Features Brand image Repeat purchase The interviewees were asked to rank the top 6 factors which helped him to
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choose the brand he has chosen. For this we have done a model based study wherein we have taken those models which have a sampl For the ease of understanding we took ranking in percentage form, also because of unequal sample sizes it became necessary to take figures in percentages so that the study is not biased. STEPS of computation of ranks: 1. Calculating how many people gave what ranks to the factors which were taken under consideration and summing them up.

Maruti800

sample size=33

Resale Discoun Mileag Ranks Price 1 2 3 4 5 6 21 3 3 0 0 0 t 1 4 1 0 2 3 e 2 11 7 2 3 2

After Referenc e 0 2 1 0 4 4

AdverFeatur tising 0 0 1 1 1 2 es 0 1 1 1 4 8

Brand Repeat Image purchase 5 1 1 8 6 5 1 0 0 0 3 1

value Looks sales 2 5 5 3 4 2 1 3 8 8 3 2 0 3 5 10 3 4

In the figure above 21 people gave price as its first preference followed by 3 people each who gave 2nd and 3rd rank to price. Similarly for mileage 2 people had ranked it 1st and so on
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2. Percentage representation of the same out of the sample size of customers.

33

Adver Resale Discoun Mileag Ranks Price 1 2 3 4 5 6 0.64 0.09 0.09 0 0 0 t 0.03 0.12 0.03 0 0.06 0.09 e 0.06 0.33 0.21 0.06 0.09 0.06 value Looks Sales e 0.06 0.15 0.15 0.09 0.12 0.06 0.03 0 0 0.06 0.03 0 0.12 0.12 0 0 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.06 0 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.12 0.24 0.15 0.03 0.03 0.24 0.18 0.15 0.09 0.09 0.24 0.15 0.24 0.3 0.09 0.09 0.06 0.12 0.03 0 0 0 0.09 0.03 After Referenc Tising Features Image purchase Brand Repeat

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3. Taking weights for the ranks so that all the figures come on a common platform

Ranks 1 2 . 3 4 5 6

Weights 30% 25% 20% 12.50% 7.50% 5%

Rank 1st have been given a 30 percentage weigh because this is driving factor i.e. it is the first and foremost thing that comes to a consumers mind when he goes for a purchase, likewise rank 6th which is somewhere in the mind of customers but doesn't make an impact on the purchase decision.

4. Multiplying the percentages found in step 2 with their respective ranks to get a cumulative score. Adver Resale Discoun Mileag Ranks Price 1 2 3 t 0.192 0.009 0.023 0.03 0.018 0.006 value Looks sales Reference tising Features Image purchase e 0.018 0.018 0.009 0 0.083 0.038 0.023 0.023 0.042 0.03 0.048 0.03
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After -

Brand Repeat

0 0.015 0.006

0 0 0.045 0.009 0 0.008 0.008 0 0.006 0.006 0.006 0

4 5 6 TOTA L

0 0 0

0 0.005 0.005

0.008 0.011 0.03 0.038 0.007 0.009 0.007 0.007 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.006 0.161 0.109 0.12 0.104

0 0.009 0.006 0.036

0.004 0.004 0.03 0 0.002 0.009 0.014 0.007 0.003 0.012 0.008 0.001 0.015 0.039 0.111 0.017

0.233 0.055

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5. Graphical representation of the total scores

RANKING ANALYSIS MARUTI 800 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0

M ile ag e Lo ok s Im ag e ou nt e va lu e es ad ve rti si -n gt isi ng Re fe re nc e Fe at ur D isc ha se pu rc Pr ic ale s

INTERPRETATION The above figure clearly depicts that the customer base of Maruti 800 is much more price cautious and mileage is the next best thing that they want. But they do give importance to the looks, after sales service and resale value of the car. These people are also inclined towards the brand image of Maruti 800. That is probably the most important reason that 800 is called the bread and butter car and still the highest selling car in its segment. Similarly we can do it for the all segment This analysis helps us knowing what customer want in the segment of the
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R es al e

Af te rs

car industry irrespective of the car, model, and company. It can be attributed as follows: Firstly looks are the most important thing that the consumers prefer. Secondly they want the vehicle to deliver mileage. Price, feature and brand image is the next check that the customer employs while deciding for the best buy. Resale value and after sales services are also an important consideration. Hence it is important to know what the customers want before introducing a product.

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FINDOUT STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITY&THREAT OF MARUTI.

2. A SWOT analysis of the company.

SWOT analysis which would be helpful in determining what are its strength, its weakness, the opportunities, and threats from its rivals. Here is a very small SWOT analysis that has been made after listening to the customer's perspective.

STRENGTH
1. Tried and tested. 2. Wider service network. 3. Easy availability of spares. 4. Low maintenance cost. 5. 16-Bit ECM as Compared to 8-Bit in other cars. 6. EPS as Compare to hydraulic.

WEAKNESSES 1. Outdated looks.

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2. Advertising or promotional schemes. 3. Low ground clearance.

OPPORTUNITY
1. Japenese Technology. 2. True' Value. 3. Maruti insurance. 4. Wide sales and service network. 5. Offers many variants in segment B with price difference of 3.5/7 lack. Lower price car for every segment.

THREATS
1. Hyundai's aggressive marketing. 2. Hyundai's new offering Xing & i10 . 3. Other car companies have also started offering variants in almost all the segment 4. Inadequate supply which means loss of customers.

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FINDINGS

Maruti800 LPG is upgrade version of Maruti800 petrol it is a product improvement in Indian market.

The cost of Maruti800 LPG is more then Maruti800 petrol after that demand of Maruti800 LPG car is more then petrol Maruti800.

Maruti800 LPG has good pick up and speed in long drive.

Maruti800 petrol running fast in cities as well as in long drive.

The mileage of Maruti800 LPG more than Maruti800.

Maruti800 LPG is good for both personal and commercial purpose.

LPG is more economic then petrol, so the demand of Maruti800 LPG is more.

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CONCLUSION

In the above research I found that the demand for Maruti800 LPG car is more than Petrol of maruti800. The mileage of Maruti800 LPG car is more than Maruti800. All the price of Maruti800 LPG is more than Petrol Maruti800; Inspite of that LPG Car is more popular. Maruti800 LPG car pickup is lees than Petrol Maruti800 but in the long drive Maruti800 LPG can provide more speed than Maruti800 Petrol about 140 km. per hour. Maruti800 Petrol car is easy to drive in the city because the pick-up of petrol Maruti800 is to good. In the above research I found that most of the customer of Maruti800 have Maruti800 to be LPG Car.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Maruti should come out with cars that are attractive and appeals to the masses. The Maruti 800 with a 5 speed transmission was a very impressive car in terms of economy as well as drive comfort, customers feel that the 800 model should again be launched with an overdrive 5th gear. The ground clearance of the cars especially Zen should be increased. The back seat divider should not be there due to uncomfortable sitting position due to it. Supply should meet demand of the car; this is due to long waiting period in most of the air-conditioned models. The boot space of the car can be increased, especially in the Zen. Dealers should deliver the vehicle on the day it has been promised.

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 Frequency of advertisements should be increased. A brand ambassador can create hype in the customers mind. Maruti must focus on retaining its customers and the True Value is a good step towards attaining it.

In the end one can say that a good marketing mix is all that is needed to sell the Maruti vehicles because they are still the best on the Indian road and definitely Maruti has got some advantages over its rival which are hard to beat.

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LIMITATIONS:
The sales person of Maruti Dealer have given a target of financing a particular amount by the banks and the target of that loan should be given within month and they have to fulfill that condition every month to gain extra income for dealership.

Dealer provide some extra incentive to the sales person to fulfill the target of financing which are given by banks to them ,this personal profit is of 1% to 4% of the car loan financed by them to the customers.

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ANNEXURE
QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Which car have you purchased? _____________________ 2. What was the purchase mode? b) Cash c) Finance, which company ICICI HDFC SBI M&MFSL

ANY OTHER __________

3. This is your: d) First car, you had a two wheeler earlier e) First car, but you never had a two wheeler earlier f) Replacement car (if yes, please specify the previous car and the model) ____________ g) Additional car

4. This car primarily would be driven by _____________________

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5. You choose this brand because : Please rank in order of importance (1 being most important) Price Schemes Mileage Resale value Looks [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

After sales services [ ] Reference Advertisement Features Brand image Repeat purchase [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

6. Which are the three brand (companies) that come to your mind when you think of a car? h) __________________ i) __________________ j) __________________
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7. Which two TV car commercials (Ads) can you recall right now? k) _______________________________________ l) _______________________________________ 8. What were the sources of information when you purchase the car? Sports channels Star sports ESPN Ten sports Any other ____________________

News channels Aaj Tak Zee news Star News Any other __________________

Entertainment channels News papers

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Star Zee Any other ____________________

 Magazines

Times of India Economic Times Bainik Bhaskar

Hindustan Times Amar Ujala Navbharat Times

Any other _____________________

Business World India Today Auto car India

Overdrive Outlook Business Today

Any other _________________________

9. Are there any suggestions that you want the company to implement?

Thank you for your kind cooperation ame ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Profession Age

Contact No. ___________________________________

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