MarutiSuzuki_Orginal

P.D.C.S MINOR PROJECT REPORT ON

A BRIEF STUDY OF MARKETING MIX OFMaruti Suzuki

A Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for BBA in Management

SUBMITTED BYHarpreet Kaur

ENROLLMENT NO.:- 04519201709

STUDENT OFLINGAYA’S LALITA DEVI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT &

SCIENCESMANDI ROAD, NEW DELHI-110047

FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OFBACHELOR IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

UNDER THE SUPERVISIONOF

Mr. Manoj Kumar Sharma

SUBMITTED TO

GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPASTHA UNIVERSITYDELHI, INDIA

1

A BRIEF STUDY OF MARKETING MIX OF MARUTI SUZUKI

2

CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report “A BRIEF STUDY OF MARKETING MIX

(With Special Reference to Maruti Suzuki).” is the bonafide work of

“HARPREET KAUR” who carried out the project work under the supervision of

MR. MANOJ KUMAR SHARMA.

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT Project Incharge

(Dr. Rakesh Kumar Gupta) (Mr. Manoj Kumar Sharma)

Lingaya’s Lalita Devi Institute of Management and Sciences

(Approved By the GGSIPU University & Government of NCT Delhi)

Campus: Mandi Road, Mandi New Delhi-110062

Phone No. :- (011) – 26651112/3

Website: - www.ldims.org

BBA Department 2nd Floor.

3

DECLARATION

I an original work done by me under the guidance of MR. MANOJ KUMAR

SHARMA, Faculty Member, LINGAYA’S LALITA DEVI INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE, DELHI and this project work has not

performed the basis for the award of any Degree to the best of my knowledge.

Hereby declare that the project work entitled “A BRIEF STUDY OF

MARKETING MIX OF MARUTI SUZUKI.”” submitted to the GURU

GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY, is a record of

HARPREET KAUR

BBA-3RD SEMESTER

ENROLLMENT NO.-04519201709

4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me

during the writing of this report. My deepest thanks to Lecturer, MR. MANOJ

KUMAR SHARMA for correcting various documents of mine with attention and

care. He has taken pain to go through the project and make necessary correction as

and when needed.  I express my thanks to the DR. RAKESH KUMAR GUPTA

(H.O.D of BBA), for extending his support. My deep sense of gratitude to

MARUTI SUZUKI support and guidance. Thanks and appreciation to the helpful

people at MARUTI SUZUKI for their support. I would also like to thank my

Institute and my faculty members without whom this project would have been a

distant reality.

5

TABLE OF CONTENT

S.no Particulars Page no.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Introduction1.1 Marketing1.2 Types Of Marketing

Objectives

Marketing Mix3.1 Marketing Strategy3.2 Company Profile

History

Sales Of Maruti Suzuki4.1 Overview4.2 Unit Sales

Marketing Concept Used By Maruti Suzuki6.1 Various cars Launched By Maruti Suzuki

Latest C.N.G Models Launched By Maruti Suzuki7.1Maruti Alto k-10 7.2 Alto- K10 Drive7.3 Comparison

Comparison Of Other MNC’s Companies with Maruti Suzuki

Promotional strategies

8-108-910

11

12-2312-22

23

24-25

26-272627

28-2929

30-34323334

35-36

37

6

10.

11.

12.

12.

13.

14.

14.

14.

15.

Other Facilities provided by Maruti Suzuki10.1 Authorized service stations10.2 Maruti Insurance10.3 Maruti Finance10.4 Maruti True Value10.5 N2N Fleet management10.6 Accessories10.7 Maruti driving school10.8 Exports

Industrial Relations

Research and Methodology

SWOT Analysis

Analysis

Conclusions

Limitation Of Research

Questionnaire

Bibliography

383839404040

41-424242

43

44-46

47

48-52

53

54

55-56

57

Introduction

7

Marketing is the process of interesting potential customers and clients in your

products and/or services.

The key word in this marketing definition is "process"; marketing involves

researching, promoting, selling, and distributing your products or services.

It's a huge topic, which is why there are tomes written on marketing, and why you

can take a four-year marketing degree. But essentially marketing involves

everything you do to get your potential customers and your product or service

together.

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as the activity, set

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

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

large. The term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to

going to market, as in shopping, or going to a market to sell goods or services.

Marketing practice tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes

advertising, distribution and selling. It is also concerned with anticipating the

customers' future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market

research. Seen from a systems point of view, sales process engineering views

marketing as a set of processes that are interconnected and interdependent with

other functions, whose methods can be improved using a variety of relatively new

approaches.

Marketing is influenced by many of the social sciences, particularly psychology,

sociology, and economics. Anthropology and neuroscience are also small but

growing influences. Market research underpins these activities. Through

8

advertising, it is also related to many of the creative arts. The marketing literature

is also infamous for re-inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times

and the culture.

Management process through which goods and services move from concept to the

customer. As a philosophy, it is based on thinking about the business in terms of

customer needs and their satisfaction. As a practice, it consists in coordination of

four elements called 4P's: (1) identification, selection, and development of a

product, (2) determination of its price, (3) selection of a distribution channel to

reach the customer's place, and (4) development and implementation of a

promotional strategy. Marketing differs from selling because (in the words of

Harvard Business School's emeritus professor of marketing Theodore C. Levitt)

"Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to

exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the

exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the

entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover,

create, arouse, and satisfy customer needs.

Types of Marketing

9

There are 3 main types of marketing: undifferentiated marketing, differentiated

marketing, and concentrated marketing.

Undifferentiated marketing assumes everyone is the same and aims a particular

product at everyone. Advantages: easy to plan, doesn't miss anyone.

Disadvantages: can be wasteful, ignores segmentation, can lead to disappointing

sales.

Differentiated marketing aims the product at specific segments in the market.

The company may be trying to sell exactly the same product to different segments

but it will change its promotional methods and the image it creates. Advantages:

separate mix can be developed for each segment, different markets can be easily

identified. Disadvantages: Can be costly, message may by-pass some customers.

Concentrated marketing is when the message is aimed at just one small market.

Advantages: Small firms can concentrate their marketing, allows a specific mix to

be developed. Disadvantages: Ignores other areas of the market, can cause

problems in future as may make it more difficult for company to expand.

OBJECTIVES

10

To study the history of MARUTI SUZUKI.

To study the marketing mix of MARUTI SUZUKI.

To study the product line of MARUTI SUZUKI

To conclude with the help of this study.

11

MARKETING MIX

Product, Place, Price and Promotion, Physical Environment, People, Process. The

7 P's can sometimes divert attention from the customer, but the framework they

offer can be very useful in building the action plans.

Price- The amount of money needed to buy products

Product- The actual product

Promotion (advertising)- Getting the product known

Place- Where the product is located

People- Represent the business

Physical environment- The ambiance, mood, or tone of the environment

Process- How do people obtain your product?

In principle, these strategies describe how the objectives will be achieved. The 7

P's are a useful framework for deciding how the company's resources will be

manipulated (strategically) to achieve the objectives. It should be noted, however,

that they are not the only framework, and may divert attention from the real issues.

The focus of the strategies must be the objectives to be achieved - not the process

of planning itself. Only if it fits the needs of these objectives should you choose, as

we have done, to use the framework of the 7 P's.

12

MARKETING MIX

Marketing mix is the set or marketing tools that firm uses to pursue its marketing

objectives in the target market.

McCarthy classified these tools into four broad groups that he called the four Ps of

marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. The particular marketing variables

under each p are shown in figure

13

The Four P components of the Market Mix

Marketing Mix

Product Product variety

Quality

Design

Features

Brand Name

Packaging

Sizes

Services

Market

PriceList Price

Discounts

AllowancesPayment Period

Credit Terms

Target

Promotion Sales Promotion

Advertising

Sales ForcePublic Relations

Direct

Marketing

Place Channels

Coverage

Assortments

Locations

Inventory

Transport

14

Marketing mix decisions must be made for influencing the trade channels as well

as the final consumers. The Figure above shows the company preparing an offering

mix of products, services, and prices, and utilizing a promotion mix of sales

promotion, advertising, sales force, public relations, direct mail, telemarketing, and

Internet to reach the trade channels and the targets customers.

Typically, the firm can change its price, sales force size, and advertising

expenditures in the short run. It can develop new products and modify its

distribution channels only in the long run.

Thus the firm typically makes fewer period-to-period marketing-mix changes in

the short run than the number of marketing –mix decision variables might suggest.

Note that the four Ps represent the sellers’ view of the marketing tools available for

influencing buyers. From a buyer’s point of view, each marketing tool is designed

to deliver a customer benefit.

15

Robert Lauterborn suggested that the sellers’ four Ps correspond to the customers’

four Cs.

Four Ps Four Cs

Product Customer solution

Price Customer cost

Place Convenience

Promotion Communication

The term "marketing mix" was first used in 1953 when Neil Borden, in his

American Marketing Association presidential address, took the recipe idea one step

further and coined the term "marketing-mix". A prominent marketer, E. Jerome

McCarthy, proposed a 4 P classification in 1960, which has seen wide use. The

four Ps concepts are explained in most marketing textbooks and classes.

Elements of the marketing mix are often referred to as 'the four Ps':

Product - A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or

manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible

products are service based like the tourism industry & the hotel industry or

codes-based products like cell phone load and credits. Typical examples of a

mass produced tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A

less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating

system. Packaging also needs to be taken into consideration.

16

Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is

determined by a number of factors including market share, competition,

material costs, product identity and the customer's perceived value of the

product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other

stores have the same product.

Place – Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is

often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store

as well as virtual stores on the Internet. Place is not exactly a physical store

where it is available Place is nothing but how the product takes place or

create image in the mind of customers. It depends upon the percievedness of

customers.

Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in

the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public

relations, personal selling and sales promotion. A certain amount of

crossover occurs when promotion uses the four principal elements together,

which is common in film promotion. Advertising covers any communication

that is paid for, from cinema commercials, radio and Internet adverts through

print media and billboards. Public relations are where the communication is

not directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals,

exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events. Word of mouth

is any apparently informal communication about the product by ordinary

individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically engaged to create

word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an important role in word

of mouth and Public Relations.

17

Some commentators will increase the marketing mix to the Five P's, to include

people. Others will increase the mix to Seven P's, to include physical evidence

(such as uniforms, facilities, or livery) and process (i.e. the whole customer

experience e.g. a visit the Disney World). The term was coined by Neil H. Borden

in his article The Concept of the Marketing Mix in 1965.

18

Price

There are many ways to price a product. Let's have a look at some of them and try

to understand the best policy/strategy in various situations.

Place

Another element of Neil H.Borden's Marketing Mix is Place. Place is also known

as channel, distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods

and/or services are moved from the manufacturer/ service provider to the user or

consumer.

Product

For many a product is simply the tangible, physical entity that they may be

buying or selling. You buy a new car and that's the product - simple! Or

maybe not. When you buy a car, is the product more complex than you first

thought? The Three Levels of a Product . . .

The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is based upon the biological life cycle. For

example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it

shoots out leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity);

after a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out

(decline).

The Customer Life Cycle (CLC) has obvious similarities with the Product

Life Cycle (PLC). However, CLC focuses upon the creation of and delivery

of lifetime value to the customer i.e. looks at the products or services that

customers NEED throughout their lives.

19

Promotion

Another one of the 4P's is promotion. This includes all of the tools available to the

marketer for 'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix,

marketing communications has its own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake

mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However if you vary the amounts

of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different.

Physical Evidence

Physical Evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no

physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There

are many examples of physical evidence, including some of the following:

People

People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services tend

to be produced and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer

experience are altered to meet the 'individual needs' of the person consuming it.

Process

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix, or 7P's.There are a

number of perceptions of the concept of process within the business and marketing

literature. Some see processes as a means to achieve an outcome, for example - to

achieve a 30% market share a company implements a marketing planning process

20

Once the company has obtained an adequate understanding of the customer base

and its own competitive position in the industry, marketing managers are able to

make key strategic decisions and develop a marketing strategy designed to

maximize the revenues and profits of the firm. The selected strategy may aim for

any of a variety of specific objectives, including optimizing short-term unit

margins, revenue growth, market share, long-term profitability, or other goals.

To achieve the desired objectives, marketers typically identify one or more target

customer segments which they intend to pursue. Customer segments are often

selected as targets because they score highly on two dimensions: 1) The segment is

attractive to serve because it is large, growing, makes frequent purchases, is not

price sensitive (i.e. is willing to pay high prices), or other factors; and 2) The

company has the resources and capabilities to compete for the segment's business,

can meet their needs better than the competition, and can do so profitably. In fact, a

commonly cited definition of marketing is simply "meeting needs profitably."

21

The implication of selecting target segments is that the business will subsequently

allocate more resources to acquire and retain customers in the target segment than

it will for other, non-targeted customers. In some cases, the firm may go so far as

to turn away customers that are not in its target segment. The doorman at a swanky

nightclub, for example, may deny entry to unfashionably dressed individuals

because the business has made a strategic decision to target the "high fashion"

segment of nightclub patrons.

In conjunction with targeting decisions, marketing managers will identify the

desired positioning they want the company, product, or brand to occupy in the

target customer's mind. This positioning is often an encapsulation of a key benefit

the company's product or service offers that is differentiated and superior to the

benefits offered by competitive products. For example, Volvo has traditionally

positioned its products in the automobile market in North America in order to be

perceived as the leader in "safety", whereas BMW has traditionally positioned its

brand to be perceived as the leader in "performance.

22

COMPANY PROFILE

TypePublic (BSE MARUTI, NSE MARUTI)

Founded 1981

Headquarters Gurgaon, Haryana, India

Key peopleMr. Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO

Industry Automotive

Products Cars

Revenue ▲US$3.5 billion (2009)

Employees 6,903

Parent Suzuki

Website MarutiSuzuki.com

Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a publicly listed automaker in India. It is a leading

four-wheeler automobile manufacturer in South Asia. Suzuki Motor Corporation of

Japan holds a majority stake in the company. It was the first company in India to

mass-produce and sell more than a million cars. It is largely credited for having

brought in an automobile revolution to India. It is the market leader in India and on

17 September 2007, Maruti Udyog was renamed Maruti Suzuki India Limited. The

company headquarter is in Gurgaon, Haryana (near Delhi).

HISTORY

23

Maruti Suzuki is one of India's leading automobile manufacturers and the market

leader in the car segment, both in terms of volume of vehicles sold and revenue

earned. Until recently, 18.28% of the company was owned by the Indian

government, and 54.2% by Suzuki of Japan. The Indian government held an initial

public offering of 25% of the company in June 2003. As of May 10, 2007, Govt. of

India sold its complete share to Indian financial institutions. With this, Govt. of

India no longer has stake in Maruti Udyog.

Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) was established in February 1981, though the actual

production commenced in 1983 with the Maruti 800, based on the Suzuki Alto kei

car which at the time was the only modern car available in India, its' only

competitors- the Hindustan Ambassador and Premier Padmini were both around 25

years out of date at that point. Through 2004, Maruti has produced over 5 Million

vehicles. Maruti are sold in India and various several other countries, depending

upon export orders. Cars similar to Marutis (but not manufactured by Maruti

Udyog) are sold by Suzuki and manufactured in Pakistan and other South Asian

countries. During 2007-08, Maruti Suzuki sold 764,842 cars, of which 53,024 were

exported. In all, over six million Maruti cars are on Indian roads since the first car

was rolled out on December 14, 1983

Initially R.C.Bhargava was the managing director of the company since the

inception of the joint venture. Till today he is regarded as instrumental for the

success of Maruti Udyog. Joining in 1982 he held several key positions in the

company before heading the company as Managing Director. Currently he is on the

Board of Directors. After completing his five year tenure, Mr. Bhargava later

assumed the office of Part-Time Chairman. The Government nominated Mr.

S.S.L.N. Bhaskarudu as the Managing Director on August 27, 1997. Mr.

Bhaskarudu had joined Maruti in 1983 after spending 21 years in the Public sector

24

undertaking Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited as General Manager. Later in 1987

he was promoted as Chief General Manager, 1998 as Director, Productions and

Projects, 1989 Director, Materials and in 1993 as Joint Managing Director.

25

SALES OF MARUTI SUZUKI

The company annually exports more than 50,000 cars and has an extremely large

domestic market in India selling over 730,000 cars annually. Maruti 800, till 2004,

was the India's largest selling compact car ever since it was launched in 1983.

More than a million units of this car have been sold worldwide so far. Currently,

Maruti Alto tops the sales charts and Maruti Swift is the largest selling in A2

segment.

Due to the large number of Maruti 800s sold in the Indian market, the term

"Maruti" is commonly used to refer to this compact car model. Till recently the

term "Maruti", in popular Indian culture, was associated to the Maruti 800 model.

The Board of Directors of Maruti Suzuki India Limited approved the financial

results for the first quarter of 2009-10 (April-June 2009) here today.

The Company registered Net Sales of Rs 6,340 crore during the first quarter of

2009-10, a growth of 34 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.

Net Profit during the first quarter of 2009-10 was Rs 583.5 crore as against Rs

465.9 crore during the same period of the last fiscal year, reflecting a growth of

25.3 percent.

26

Overview

During the quarter, the Company achieved strong volume growth in the domestic

as well as export markets. The positive response to new models and continued

focus on tapping new market segments enabled the Company to achieve near

double digit volume growth and enhanced market share.

In exports, the positive response to the A-star combined with scrap page incentives

offered by governments in Europe, led tosharpgrowth.

Further, the growing share of higher end models in total Company sales also

contributed to the growth in Net Sales during the quarter.

In addition to these factors, Net Profit growth was helped by an easing of

commodity prices, sales mix moving in favour of higher end models and

favourable foreign exchange realisations. The Company continued its focus on

Kaizen and cost reduction efforts.

UnitSales

Maruti Suzuki posted total sales of 226,729 units, representing 17.7 per cent

growth during the first quarter of 2009-10. This included export of a record 29,314

units, representing a 134.7 per cent growth over the same period of the last fiscal.

Since its first shipment in January 2009, the A-star has led Company's exports. A-

star's cumulative exports crossed 45,000 units mark in June 2009. The A-star has

received overwhelming customer response in European markets such as Germany,

United Kingdom, Netherlands, France and Belgium

Domestic sales volume grew by 9.6 per cent to 197,415 units, led by new models

A-star and Ritz as well as Alto, Swift, Swift DZire and WagonR. The Company

launched Ritz in Petrol and Diesel engine options during this

period. .

27

Marketing concept used by maruti Suzuki:

Maruti Suzuki works on the product concept of marketing.

The company follows this philosophy believes that by making superior products

and improving their quality overtime, they will able to attract more customers.

They follow the concept of marketing myopia.

According. to this concept marketer or manufacturer of product believe that by

adding certain benefits in to product he can beat the competition in the market for a

long time.

The company also focuses on the marketing concept

Marketing concept: Marketing concept focuses on the satisfaction of customer’s

needs wants and requirements. The philosophy of marketing needs to be owned by

everyone from within the organization

Maruti Suzuki offers 13 models, Maruti 800, Omni, Alto, Versa, Ritz, Gypsy, A

Star, Wagon R, Zen Estilo, Swift, Swift Dzire, SX4, and Grand Vitara. Swift, Swift

dzire, A star and SX4 are manufactured in Manesar, Grand Vitara is imported from

Japan as a completely built unit (CBU), remaining all models are manufactured in

Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon Plant.

28

VARIOUS CARS LAUNCHED BY MARUTI:-

1. Maruti 800 : Launched - 1983

2. Maruti Omni : Launched - 1984

3. Maruti Gypsy : Launched - 1985

4. Maruti Alto : Launched - 2000

5. Maruti Wagon-R : Launched - 2002

6. Maruti Versa : Launched - 2003

7. Maruti Grand Vitara: Launched - 2004

8. Maruti Suzuki Swift : Launched - 2005

9. Maruti Zen Estilo : Launched - 2006

10.Maruti Suzuki SX4 : Launched - 2007

11.Maruti Swift Dzire : Launched - 2008

12.Maruti A-Star : Launched - 2008

13.Maruti suzuki Ritz : Launched - 2009

14.Maruti Alto K10 Launched – 2010

29

LATEST CNG MODELS LAUNCHED BY MARUTI SUZUKI:

While sedan SX4 Vxi is priced at Rs. 7.47 lakh, WagonR Lxi comes with a price

tag of Rs. 4.11 lakh. Prices of other models are: Estilo Lxi Rs. 4.05 lakh, Eeco 5-

seater AC Rs. 3.64 lakh and Alto Lxi Rs. 3.23 lakh.

“With this initiative, the CNG footprint of the company spreads across entry-level

cars, compact cars, sedans and MPV segments. We are confident that customers

would value our i-GPI technology that is safe, reliable, clean and environment-

friendly. Adapting the CNG technology in our vehicles is another step to keep low

cost of ownership for our customers,” said Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R. C.

Bhargava.

30

According to Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India,

“This is the first instance when a car manufacturer has developed and launched

factory-fitted technologically superior CNG engines in India. CNG is environment-

friendly and also reduce country's dependence on imported fuels. The company's

big ticket entry into the CNG fuel segment augurs well for the environment.” The

i-GPI bi-fuel technology engine offers an intelligent ride as it ensures more power

vis-à-vis retro-fitted CNG vehicles and offers a peppier ride experience on a par

with that of a petrol-fuelled engine, while achieving high fuel efficiency at the

same time. The factory fitted CNG vehicles score high on safety and reliability vis-

à-vis the aftermarket retro-fitted options, he said.

Mr. Nakanishi further said that as the CNG technology was factory-fitted,

customers would enjoy the full warranty benefits, including extended warranty. To

top it all, the CNG vehicles from Maruti Suzuki would enjoy the nationwide back

up of over 2,700 Maruti service stations,

MARUTI ALTO-K10

New era, new power and a capacity to lure old and new customers! This is what

Maruti Suzuki India Limited has kept in mind when it launched the new powerful

31

variant of its best selling model Maruti Alto. The model now comes with more

powerful engine with improved styling cues. Maruti holds nearly 50 percent

market share and new entrants in the market pose a threat to its market supremacy.

With the launch of newer models every day, it shows that it intends to give a tough

fight to its competitors in coming next few decades.

Today we take a look at the new Maruti Alto K-10.

The earlier version of the Maruti Alto featured a 797 cc engine delivering power of

45 BHP, and the car proved to be India’s best selling small car. Still, cars like

Santro, Wagon R, and Indica which all deliver power above 60 BHP, certainly had

an edge over Alto in terms of power and comfort. Nevertheless, the Alto did

achieve universal acknowledgement for reliability and lower maintenance cost.

Now Marui Suzuki has introduced its new Alto K-10 in which it has implemented

its new k-series 998 cc engine which already has proven good performance in

Estillo, A-Star, and New Wagon R.

Maruti Alto Drive

The new engine speaks of performance through and through. Even at 100kmph,

you do not feel that engine is strained. A test drive on highway was a pleasure and

32

the car accelerated from 0-100kmph in around 15 seconds although Maruti claims

it to be 13.3 seconds. Power to weight ratios plays an important role in maximum

utilization of power developed, and the Alto with gross vehicle weight of 1185 KG

clearly has an advantage in this regard.

As can be expected, a small car is economic in nature. In our drive, we achieved a

mileage of 18 KMPL against Maruti’s claimed 20.2 kmpl.

The new Maruti Alto K10 has 155/65 R13 tubeless radials whereas the older F-

series model had 145/80 R 12s. Moreover, the brakes and suspensions have also

been beefed up which means better drivability and a smoother ride. The larger

wheels are well-supported by enlarged brakes and gas-filled shock absorbers.

While returning to the city, the car could be maneuvered easily and the rear was

not dancing away at the turns. The car gives a contended sense of driving and

maneuverability under tough urban traffic conditions. The cable actuated

transmission is a bonus to the drivers.

Comparison of Maruti Alto

In its segment, the Alto competes mostly with the Spark and a number of other cars

from the Maruti stable. The table below shows the comparative overview.

33

  Maruti Suzuki Chevrolet Maruti Suzuki

  Alto Spark A-Star Estillo Wagon R

Varient Lxi 1.0 PS Lxi Lxi Lxi

Engine Capacity (l) 1 1 1 1 1

Power (BHP) 68 63 68 68 68

Torque (NM) 90 92 90 90 90

Gears 5/M 5/M 5/M 5/M 5/M

Power Steering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Power windows No No No No No

Central locking No No No No No

A/C Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Music system No No No No No

Fog Lamps No No No No No

Rear wind shield washer No No No No No

Defogger No No No No No

ABS No No No No No

Average fuel efficiency 20 17 17 17 17

Ex showroom Price Mumbai 3.1 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.7

Comparative of other MNC companies with maruti suzuki on the basis of seven P’s of marketing

What are seven P’s?

Product

34

A product is an object which is developed, produced, delivered and consumed. In service there is no or a little tangible elements therefore the services are considered to be as benefits which are offered to the target market.

“A service is a bundle of features and benefits and the benefits and features have relevance for a specific target market “

Pricing

Service pricing basically follows the principle and practices of pricing of goods

and, therefore, they are either cost based or market based. With in these categories

prices may be profit oriented, government controlled, competitive or customer

oriented.

For services the pricing strategy should be such that demand fluctuations should be

successfully handled.

Place

As services are intangible and inseparable the distribution channels available for

product marketing cannot be used. Because of intangibility, services can’t be

stored, transported, inventoried, traditional wholesales and other intermarries, and

there fore can’t be used. Even the retailing can’t be an independent activity. In case

of services production can’t be separated from selling, services must be created and

sold at the same time.

Promotion

While we are defining the objective of our communication campaign, one should

also be clear about the target audience. In service sectors there is a direct contact

35

between the person who provide the service and the customer. Therefore some

amount of promotion should be targeted at the employees so as to motivate them to

service the customer better.

People

In a service organization employees are essentially the contact personnel with the

customer. Therefore an employee plays an important role in the marketing

operations of a service organization. The employer should apply market research,

market segmentation and marketing activities like advertising in order to attract

employees and make them perform in the desired way. Such tradition marketing

efforts should be used internally.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES

Press Publicity:

36

Paper inserts

Advertisements in newspapers (local and national)

Outdoor Publicity:

Banners in commercial areas and prime cities

Media:

Sending e-mails to various people about its product and offers.

Local channel advertisement (cable TV scrolls)

Advertisements in news channels, business channels, and radio.

Event sponsoring in local clubs and social gathering.

Commercial places and market establishments:

Personal visits by executives.

Other facilities provided by maruti Suzuki

37

Authorized service stations

Maruti is one of the companies in India which has unparalleled service network.

To ensure the vehicles sold by them are serviced properly, Maruti has 2628 listed

Authorized service stations and 30 Express Service Stations on 30 highways across

India.

Service is a major revenue generator of the company. Most of the service stations

are managed on franchise basis, where Maruti trains the local staff. Other

automobile companies have not been able to match this benchmark set by Maruti.

The Express Service stations help many stranded vehicles on the highways by

sending across their repair man to the vehicle

Maruti insurance

Launched in 2002 Maruti provides vehicle insurance to its customers with the help

of the National Insurance Company, Bajaj Allianz, New India Assurance and

Royal Sundaram. The service was set up the company with the inception of two

subsidiaries Maruti Insurance Distributors Services Pvt. Ltd and Maruti Insurance

Brokers Pvt. Limited

This service started as a benefit or value addition to customers and was able to

ramp up easily. By December 2005 they were able to sell more than two million

insurance policies since its inception.

Maruti Finance

To promote its bottom line growth, Maruti launched Maruti Finance in January

2002. Prior to the start of this service Maruti had started two joint ventures Citicorp

38

Maruti and Maruti Countrywide with City Group and GE Countrywide

respectively to assist its client in securing loan.Maruti tied up with ABN Amro

Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Limited, Kotak Mahindra, Standard Chartered Bank,

and Sundaram to start this venture including its strategic partners in car finance.

Again the company entered into a strategic partnership with SBI in March 2003

Since March 2003, Maruti has sold over 12,000 vehicles through SBI-Maruti

Finance. SBI-Maruti Finance is currently available in 166 cities across India.

"Maruti Finance marks the coming together of the biggest players in the car

finance business. They are the benchmarks in quality and efficiency. Combined

with Maruti volumes and networked dealerships, this will enable Maruti Finance to

offer superior service and competitive rates in the marketplace".

Maruti Finance Limited is a joint venture between Citicorp Finance India and

Maruti Udyog Limited its primary business stated by the company is "hire-

purchase financing of Maruti vehicles". City Finance India Limited is a wholly

owned subsidiary of Citibank Overseas Investment Corporation, Delaware, which

in turn is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Citibank N.A. City Finance India

Limited holds 74% of the stake and Maruti Udyog holds the remaining 26%. GE

Capital, HDFC and Maruti Udyog Limited came together in 1995 to form Maruti

Countrywide. Maruti claims that its finance program offers most competitive

interest rates to its customers, which are lower by 0.25% to 0.5% from the market

rates.maruti is the best car in the world

Maruti True Value

Maruti True service offered by Maruti Udyog to its customers. It is a market place

used Maruti Vehicles. One can buy, sell or exchange used Maruti vehicles with the

help of this service in India for

39

N2N Fleet Management

N2N is the short form of End to End Fleet Management and provides lease and

fleet management solution to corporate. Their impressive lists of clients who have

signed up of this service include Gas Authority of India Ltd, DuPont, Reckitt

Benckiser, Sona Steering, Doordarshan, Singer India, National Stock Exchange

and Transworld. This fleet management service includes end-to-end solutions

across the vehicle's life, which includes Leasing, Maintenance, Convenience

services and Remarketing.

Accessories

India's Corps of Military Police personnel patrolling the Wagah border crossing in

the Punjab in a Muruti Gypsy.

Many of the auto component companies other than Maruti Udyog started to offer

components and accessories that were compatible. This caused a serious threat and

loss of revenue to Maruti. Maruti started a new initiative under the brand name

Maruti Genuine Accessories to offer accessories like alloy wheels, body cover,

carpets, door visors, fog lamps, stereo systems, seat covers and other car care

products. These products are sold through dealer outlets and authorized service

stations throughout India.

40

Maruti Driving School

A Maruti Driving School in Chennai

As part of its corporate social responsibility Maruti Udyog launched the Maruti

Driving School in Delhi. Later the services were extended to other cities of India as

well. These schools are modelled on international standards, where learners go

through classroom and practical sessions. Many international practices like road

behaviour and attitudes are also taught in these schools. Before driving actual

vehicles participants are trained on simulators.

"We are very concerned about mounting deaths on Indian roads. These can be

brought down if government, industry and the voluntary sector work together in an

integrated manner. But we felt that Maruti should first do something in this regard

and hence this initiative of Maruti Driving Schools."

EXPORTS

Maruti Suzuki has helped India emerge as the fourth largest exporter of automobiles in Asia. Shown here is Maruti Gypsy in Malta.

41

Maruti Exports Limited is the subsidiary of Maruti Udyog Limited with its major

focus on exports and it does not operate in the domestic Indian market. The first

commercial consignments of 480 cars were sent to Hungary. By sending a

consignment of 571 cars to the same country Maruti crossed the benchmark of

300,000 cars. Since its inception export was one of the aspects government was

keen to encourage. Every political party expected Maruti to earn foreign currency.

Angola, Benin, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Europe, Kenya, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Uganda,

Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador are some of the markets served by

Maruti Export.

Industrial Relations

For most of its history, Maruti Udyog had relatively few problems with its labor

force. Its emphasis of a Japanese work culture and the modern manufacturing

process, first instituted in Japan in the 1970s, was accepted by the workforce of the

company without any difficulty. But with the change in management in 1997,

42

when it became predominantly government controlled for a while, and the conflict

between the United Front Government and Suzuki may have been the cause of

unrest among employees. A major row broke out in September 2000 when

employees of Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) went on an indefinite strike, demanding

among other things, revision of the incentive scheme offered and implementation

of a pension scheme. Employees struck work for six hours in October 2000, irked

over the suspension of nine employees, going on a six-hour tools-down strike at its

Gurgaon plant, demanding revision of the incentive-linked pay and threatened to

fast to death if the suspended employees were not reinstated. About this time, the

NDA government, following a disinvestments policy, proposed to sell part of its

stake in Maruti in a public offering. The Staff union opposed this sell-off plan on

the grounds that the company will lose a major business advantage of being

subsidized by the Government

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

METHODOLOGY

Types of Research:-

Exploratory Research:

43

Exploratory research provides insights into and comprehension of an issue or

situation. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution.

Exploratory research is a type of research conducted because a problem has not

been clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research

design, data collection method and selection of subjects. Given its fundamental

nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not

actually exist.

In well-established fields of study, hypotheses usually are drawn from the ideas

developed in previous research studies or are derived from theory. “Hypotheses are

tentative answers to questions that serve as guides for most of the research.”

DESIGN OF EXPLORATORY STUDY

Study of Secondary Data: The quickest and the most economical way from

researchers is to find possible hypothesis is to take the advantage of the work

done earlier and thus utilize their efforts.

In-depth Interviews: We used in-depth interviews because it attempts to

influence respondents to talk freely about their subject of interest. No formal

questionnaire was used in depth interviews. The interview was conducted with

an outline “ co-relation between employee commitment and organizational

performance” in mind.

44

Basic Methods of Collecting Primary Data:

1. Questionnaire Method: The questionnaire used by us for the purpose of data

collection was of structured type.

2. Contact Method: In order to derive information from the intended

organization, it was elementary for us to search for a link, which could enable

us to conduct a research in that organization. The personal contact of one of the

group members in the aforesaid organization helped us in getting an

appointment soon.

45

SWOT ANALYSIS OF MARUTI SUZUKI

Strengths

Strong market position

Shareholder’s return had grown more than 7 times.

One of the most profitable MNC in India

Improved product proposition

Weakness

Service delivery perception is week

Fewer locations as compared to other MNC companies

Product mix is not up to the mark

Opportunities

Branch expansion for rapid growth

Improved shareholder’s return

Built market share in consumer satisfaction

Tie up with master card networks

Integrated sales

Threats

Other upcoming companies are pitching quite aggressively

Competitive products are being offered by other MNC

46

Analysis

1. Which car are you currently using ?

Companies No. of

users

Maruti 40

Hyundai 35

Tata 22

Daewoo 9

Rest 52

47

2. Which factor influences your decision the most while purchasing the cars ?

S.No. Features No. of respondents

1 Location of the Branch 48

2 Charges of the services 20

3 Facilities provided by the

company.

30

4 Features 10

5 Goodwill of the Company 12

6 Budget 30

Influencing features

48

2030

10 12

30

0

20

40

60

1 2 3 4 5 6

Features

No

. o

f re

sp

on

den

ts

No. ofrespondents

48

3. What is your perception about the services of maruti suzuki?

S.NO. Criteria No. of respondents

1 Excellent 48

2 Very good 65

3 Average 18

4 Poor 5

5 Very poor 3

No. of respondents

48

65

185 3

0

20

40

60

80

1 2 3 4 5

Attributes

No

. o

f re

spo

nd

ents

No. ofrespondents

49

4. What are your suggestions to Maruti Suzuki?

S.No. Features Respondents

1 More branches 9

2 No. of service

centers

41

3 Fair dealing 4

4 More satisfaction 14

5 Low budget cars 9

50

Features on which company should Improve

9

41

414 9

020406080

1 2 3 4 5 6

Features

No

. of

Res

po

nd

ents

Respondents

5. Which services of the maruti Suzuki are you aware of?

S.No. Services No. of respondents

1 True value 71

2 Door step service 9

3 Internet shopping 30

4 Finance facility 11

51

Known services of SCB

71

9

30

11 13

0

20

40

60

80

1 2 3 4

Services

No

. of

resp

on

den

ts

Respondents

CONCLUSION

The project report has been very transparent and decisive to conclude. With all

certainty it can be concluded that Maruti Suzuki has yet to come to their market

expectations but is moving consistently and aggressively with a very strong service

and facility base. The service which Maruti Suzuki is providing is quite improvised

and better in comparison to the other companie’s services. Maruti Suzuki has the

largest coverage as compared to the other automobile companies in India. As

Maruti Suzuki is present in India for longer time than any other automobile

company in India, it has an edge of knowing Indian customers in a better way.

52

LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH

Every work has some limitations. The main reasons were Lack Of time and the most

often people are not that much interested in giving the answers especially from rural

areas. These are extent to which the process should not exceed. In this project,

following limitations can be considered.

In a rapidly changing industry, analysis on one day or in one segment can

change very quickly. The environmental changes are vital to be considered in

order to assimilate the findings.

I was having the time limitation which was fixed by the company itself.

All the above mentioned statements are the limitations of this project. The study has

been done by taking and keeping all the limitations in mind. The project is completed in

the given period of time. As understanding and analyzing the consumer purchasing

pattern in this span of time was a big task to accomplish

53

Questionnaire

1. Which car are you currently using?

Maruti Suzuki

Hyundai

Tata

Daewoo

Chevrolet

2. Which factor influences your decision the most while purchasing the cars ?

Location of the branch

Charges of the company

Facilities provided by the company

Features

Goodwill of the company

Budget

54

3. What is your perception about the services of Maruti suzuki?

Excellent

Very good

Average

Poor

Very poor

4. What are your suggestions to Maruti Suzuki?

More branches

No. of service centers

Fair dealing

More satisfaction

Low budget cars

5. Which services of the Maruti Suzuki are you aware of ?

True Value

Doorstep Service

Internet shopping

Finance facility

55

Bibliography

o Catalogues of following companies has been used

Tata motor

Honda

Hyundai

Chevrolet

o Magazines

Business Today

India Today

o Internet website

www.marutiSuzuki.com

o Book

Marketing Management by Philips Kotler (13th edition 2009)

56