Project under Prof N B Kanagal,IIM Bangalore

Marketing Research Proposal

To address the problem of low sales of ITCs Fiama Di Wills and suggest a repositioning strategy
Tanveer

2013
Ezhilmalar 1211017
Vinoth Kumar R 1211064 Satish Kokate 1211107 Tanveer Mohd 1211151 R Prem Kumar 1211212 Anupam Francis 1211328

Introduction and Rationale

ITC Limited is one of India's leading FMCG companies. It was one of the eight Indian companies to feature in the Forbes A-List for 2004, which comprised 400 of the best big companies in the world. ITC has also earned its place among Asia's Fab-50 and the World's Most Reputed Companies, other rankings that Forbes has created. ITC's range of FMCG products is wide. They have Cigarettes & Cigars, Foods, Lifestyle Retailing, Education & Stationery, Agarbattis, Safety matches and Personal Care. It has quoted segment revenue growth of 38% CAGR over the last five years. In the second quarter of 2012, the FMCG giant posted a 21% increase in net profits over the same period the preceding year. Its growth is now threatening the established segment leaders. In the biscuits segment, it is on par with Brittania. In the noodles segment, it is challenging Maggi. In such a backdrop, ITC's performance in the personal care segment seems lacking. Though there is no doubt that they have grown from when they entered the market, they will still take a couple of years to break even. The personal care market has players who have been involved in the segment for far longer. To grow further in this segment, it is critical for ITC to crack the established customer base of its competitors. This could be achieved by more fine-tuned positioning of its offerings, since this segment is extremely sensitive to how the company portrays its products

Objective
To increase the sales of ITC's Fiama Dil Wills

Marketing decision problem

To address the problem of low sales of ITCs Fiama Di Wills and suggest a repositioning strategy for the same.

Research problems
1) To determine the effectiveness of current advertising campaign, communication and distribution channels. 2) To study the impact of currently offered features, and Points of Differentiation on the sales 3) To determine the consumer preferences and the purchase intentions of the products offered 4) To study the impact of current pricing strategy of Fiama Di Wills offered on their sales, determine the impact of price level changes on the sales and profits.

Methodology
We would start our research with the systematic gathering, recording and analysing of data about ITCs current strategy regarding their personal care category, the market, the customers and their preferences and the competitors strategies and features offered vis--vis ITCs. Our focus will be mainly on the following questions:

Who are the customers? Where are they located and how can they be contacted? What quantity and quality do they want?

What are the features they value most in the personal care products? What are the advertising channels used by ITC and are they effective? What are the other competitors offering in terms of features like pricing, packaging, advertising, choice of celebrities for promotion etc.?

Selecting and Establishing research design

We will carry out the following research designs: a. Exploratory Research: We will get opinions from experts from the industry. We would also give away pilot surveys so that once we formulate the actual questionnaire for our survey to get primary data, we have a clear idea of what exactly we want. b. Descriptive Research: Then we would look to go a bit deeper into the some or all of the following : i. ii. iii. iv. Characteristics of the users of Fiama Di Wills Features in Fiama Di Wills which are desirable and undesirable for the consumers Distribution studies of the suppliers and the distributors Product usage studies to determine consumer use Fiama Di Wills

c. Quantitative Research: Once we get the data from the above researches, we will assign numerical values to the qualitative data to make it measurable and comparable. d. Causal Research: It would be the most important part as we would determine what factors actually contribute to the declining sales.

Collecting and Analysing Data

Using techniques, including but not limited to, Cluster Analysis, Multidimensional Scaling, Factor Analysis and Regression we would convert the raw data into meaningful information.

Deliverables and Timelines

Deliverable Expected Timeline

Mid Term Report Problem Definition, Research Design, 28-Jan-2013 Secondary study, Exploratory study, Checklist prior to Questionnaire Final Report Questionnaire, Primary Study, Data analysis- 07-Mar-2013 Factor analysis and Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) analysis, Findings and Recommendations Powerpoint Presentation for the Final project Report 07-Mar-2013

Scope and Limitations

The project study is primarily focussed on the market for Fiama Di Wills products in Bangalore. Since Fiama Di Wills products are predominantly targeted at the young generation of the population the survey will focus on that demographic section of the society. Also, since Fiama Di Wills is positioned as a premium brand presently, the survey is limited to the respondents that represent this specific psychographic profile. However, because of the limited time factor and the focus of the study on Bangalore city alone, the results of the survey might not be the accurate reflector of the whole Indian market, which is not homogenous to Bangalore market.