PROJECT REPORT On “A Study On Understanding Marketing ...

PROJECT REPORT

On

“A Study On Understanding Marketing Strategies Of

ITC Ltd. for Personal Care Category”

BY

MOHAMMAD YUSUF MAKANDAR

1NH19MBA80

Submitted to

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

NEW HORIZON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,

OUTER RING ROAD, MARATHALLI,

BENGALURU

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Under the guidance of

Ms. Saumi Roy

Asst. Professor

2019 - 2021

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that MOHAMMAD YUSUF MAKANDAR bearing USN 1NH19MBA80, is a

bonafide student of Master of Business Administration course of the Institute 2019-21,

autonomous program, affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum. The

project report on “A Study On Understanding Marketing Strategies Of ITC Ltd. for

Personal Care Category” is prepared by him under the guidance of Prof. Saumi Roy, in

partial fulfilment of requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Business

Administration of Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum Karnataka.

Signature of Internal Guide Signature of HOD Signature of principal

Name of the Examiners with affiliation Signature with date

1. External Examiner

2. Internal Examiner

PROJECT COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

DECLARATION

I, MOHAMMAD YUSUF MAKANDAR hereby declare that the project report on “A Study On

Understanding Marketing Strategies Of ITC Ltd. for Personal Care Category” with

reference to “ITC Ltd.” prepared by me under the guidance of Prof. Saumi Roy, faculty of M.B.A

Department, New Horizon College of Engineering.

I also declare that this project report is towards the partial fulfilment of the university

regulations for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration by Visvesvaraya

Technological University, Belgaum.

I have undergone an industry project for a period of Eight weeks. I further declare that this

report is based on the original study undertaken by me and has not been submitted for the award

of a degree/diploma from any other University / Institution.

Signature of Student

Place:

Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful completion of the project would not have been possible without

the guidance and support of many people. I express my sincere gratitude to

Dept. Of MBA, New Horizon College Of Engineering, Bangalore for allowing

to do my project at New Horizon College Of Engineering.

I thank the staff of New Horizon College Of Engineering, Bangalore for their

support and guidance and helping me in completion of the report.

I am thankful to my internal guide Prof. Saumi Roy, for her constant support

and inspiration throughout the project and invaluable suggestions, guidance and

also for providing valuable information.

Finally, I express my gratitude towards my parents and family for their

continuous support during the study.

MOHAMMAD YUSUF MAKANDAR

1NH19MBA80

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SL.

NUMBER

CONTENTS

PAGE

NUMBERS

1

Executive Summary

1

2 Chapter 1- Theoretical Background of The

Study

2 – 21

3

Chapter 2- Industry Profile &

Company Profile

22 – 38

4

Chapter 3- Research Methodology

39 – 49

5

Chapter 4- Data Analysis and Interpretation

50 – 60

6

Chapter 5 - Summary of Findings,

Suggestion and Conclusion

61 – 65

7

Bibliography

66

8

Annexure

67 – 69

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A marketing strategy refers to a business's overall game plan for reaching prospective

consumers and turning them into customers of their products or services. A marketing

strategy contains the company‟s value proposition, key brand messaging, data on target

customer demographics, and other high-level elements. A clear marketing strategy should

revolve around the company's value proposition, which communicates to consumers what the

company stands for, how it operates, and why it deserves their business. This provides

marketing teams with a template that should inform their initiatives across all of the

company's products and services.

This project gives a brief introduction to the ITC Ltd. also discuss the rapidly growing

personal care sector in India, and various other points of importance. In the introduction to

the company, the vision, mission, corporate governance of the company is discussed along

with recent developments as well as its importance in India.

This project titled “Marketing Strategies of ITC Limited” had detailed study. The first

chapter I have given in this project is Introduction to the Marketing Strategies. The second

chapter includes the Introduction about the industry and company. I have given brief of the

ITC Limited vision, mission, corporate governance and all about ITC Limited. In the third

chapter I have given in this project includes the Research Methodology in which I have

covered the objective of the project, Scope of the study, significance of the study, research

design, sample methodology and limitation of the project which i have faced. In the fourth

chapter I have included the major fact and findings of the project i.e. marketing strategies

adopted by ITC Limited. Major products of the ITC, product profile and descriptions which

ITC limited deals. Fifth chapter data analysis and interpretation I have covered the

diagrammatical data and conclusions derived from them. Lastly the recommendation and

conclusion describe the researcher‟s personal conclusions of the research.

The ultimate goal of a marketing strategy is to achieve and communicate a

sustainable competitive advantage over rival companies by understanding the needs and

wants of its consumers. Whether it's a print ad design, mass customization, or a social media

campaign, a marketing asset can be judged based on how effectively it communicates a

company's core value proposition.

CHAPTER 1

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

OF THE STUDY

CHAPTER 1 : THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

At the heart of any business strategy is a marketing strategy. A marketing strategy is

something that every single business; no matter how big or small, needs to have in place.

Businesses exist to deliver products that satisfy customers. Marketing is the process of

planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods,

and services. A marketing strategy is composed of several interrelated components called the

marketing mix. The Marketing mix consists of answers to a series of product and customer

related questions.

A marketing strategy is a written plan that includes marketing topics like product

development, promotion, distribution and pricing approach. It identifies company's marketing

goals and explains how company can achieve those goals. Marketing strategies help in

identifying strengths and weaknesses of the company and that of its competitors. Marketing

strategy helps to identify the areas on which the company has to focus its marketing tactics

A strategy is a long-term plan to achieve certain objectives. A marketing strategy is

therefore a marketing plan designed to achieve marketing objectives. For example, marketing

objective may relate to becoming the market leader by delighting customers. The strategic

plan therefore is the detailed planning involving marketing research, and then developing a

marketing mix to delight customers. Every organization‟s needs to have clear marketing

objectives, and the major route to achieving organizational goals will depend on strategy.

Developing a strategy involves establishing clear aims and objectives around which the

framework for a policy is created. Having established its strategy, an organization can then

work out its day-to-day tools and tactics to meet the objectives. Marketing can thus be seen as

the process of developing and implementing a strategy to plan and coordinate ways of

identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer demands, in such a way as to make profits.

It is this strategic planning process that lies at the heart of marketing.

A marketing strategy is a process or model to allow a company or organization to

focus limited resources on the best opportunities to increase sales and thereby achieve a

sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing strategy includes all basic and long-term

activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation

of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and

therefore contributes to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives.

Definitions:

1. “Strategy is a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.” -

Oxford Dictionary

2. “Marketing Strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources

on the optimal opportunities with the goals of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable

competitive advantage.” - David Aaker,

The term strategy can be defined in simple words as follows:

“Strategy is a broad long-term plan designed to achieve overall objectives of the firm.”

1.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF MARKETING STRATEGY

The effective marketing strategy plays a very important role in the business working

of the firm. Some of its important benefits are discussed as follows:

1. Strategic Planning

The most important aspect of marketing strategy is that it involves strategic planning.

Strategic planning is a concept that encompasses marketing, promotion, sales, and financial

goals and is essentially about developing goals for your business. Having a strategic plan for

the business means having a plan in place to deal with both expected and unexpected

situations. For example if company knows that its mortgage will increase by 5 percent next

year, then a strategic plan will outline how company will increase sales or decrease expenses

to meet this additional outflow.

2. Establishes Effective Distribution

With the effective marketing strategy company can establish an effective distribution

network to reach its customers. Once the strategy is finalized it is very easy to locate target

customers and also the market areas where it can sell product effectively. For example

younger customers will be more likely to shop using a smart phone or on a website. Older

customers might prefer to shop at retail outlets. If the market research shows that the

company‟s product need to be in retail stores but if the company doesn‟t have a sales force,

then it can use a wholesaler or distributor.

3. Streamlines Product Development

A marketing strategy helps the company to create products and services with the best

chances for making a profit. This is because marketing strategy starts with market place

research, taking into Consideration Company‟s optimal target customer, what your

competition is doing and what trends might be on the horizon. Using this information,

company can determine the benefit customers and clients want what they‟re willing to pay

and how company can differentiate its product or service from the competition.

4. Developing Financial Goals

Marketing strategies are also important for guiding the business into the development

of financial goals. Financial goals are two-fold: They are related to sales targets and also to

expenses budget. Sales targets are initially set as part of the marketing plan but might change

over time according to changing market conditions, increases in product price, or increases or

decreases in consumer demand. Monitoring expenses is also part of financial goal

development. If business tends to spend more than it brings in, it will have a serious problem

maintaining long-term business viability. However, if the business is able to closely monitor

its outflows, only spending what it absolutely needs to, then it will be better equipped to

increase the profit margins.

5. Preparation of marketing Plan

Marketing strategies are often first brainstormed and written as part of an

organization's marketing plan. Most marketing plans include the current or expected

strategies for your products, the price points of those products, how to distribute the products,

and also the advertising and marketing tools. A marketing plan is also important for

developing a promotional strategy as it helps the business to identify its target markets and to

set measurable goals. It is vital to the success of the organization that implements a marketing

plan that aims for growth and positive change in the bottom line.

6. Assists with Marketing Communications

Market research will help to create brand, or image it wants to establish about

business. It facilitates the company to communicate to its target customer. Marketing strategy

facilities the company to determine if a particular magazine, radio station or website fits

company‟s selling plans.

7. Understanding the customers

Marketing strategies can also assist the business in understanding and connecting with

clients and customers. If the marketing plan is loosely structured, company will not have

much success at targeting products to the "right" demographics. Effective marketing strategy

enables a business firm to identify market segments that it will serve and what product offers

it will make. A well defined marketing strategy clearly describes whom to serve and whom to

exclude.

8. Facilitates optimum use of resources

There can be optimum utilization of resources in order to achieve the desired

objectives. If there are no proper strategies, then the organization may not be able to make

arrangement of proper resources. There may be arrangement of fewer resources, in which

case, the organization may not be able to undertake its activities and there may be also

arrangement of more resources that what is actually required and as such it may lead to

wastage of resources.

9. Selection of the Right Communication Tactics

A clear understanding of the target audience and an idea of the desired goal will help

to drive the selection of appropriate media choices. For instance, if the target audience is

elderly, the Internet is not likely to represent a good communication tactic. Conversely, if the

target audience is college-age students, local newspapers are not likely to be a good choice.

The company‟s goals also provide insight into communication tactics. A goal of increasing

marketing share by 25 percent might require an extensive multi-media campaign; a goal of

adding 10 new customers might require only a news release and an ad in the local paper.

Marketers rarely benefit by over-reaching their goals and being unable to meet demand.

10. Enhances corporate image

Well defined strategies can generate corporate image of the firm. This is because

strategies when implemented properly bring good returns to the organization. The

organization is in a position to undertake its social responsibility towards customers,

employees, suppliers and others and as such the organization can earn goodwill in the market.

1.2 CONDITIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING STRATEGY

The strategy can be broadly classified into three levels:

1. Corporate Strategy - Defining what business the company is in Setting the overall

structure, systems and processes

2. Business Strategy - Deciding how to compete Identifying competitive advantage Selecting

key success factors

3. Functional Strategy - Coordination of company departments to business strategy

1. Corporate Strategy

Corporate level strategy occupies the highest level of strategic decision-making and

components dealing with the objective of the firm, acquisition and allocation of resources and

coordination of strategies of various SBUs for optimal performance. Top management of the

organization makes such decisions. The nature of strategic decisions tends to be value-

oriented, conceptual and less concrete than decisions at the business or functional level.

Single-business companies have the advantage of focus and rapid response but are vulnerable

to problems in their industry. Their corporate strategy must demonstrate the advantages of

remaining active in only one industry while evaluating business opportunities in areas with

complementary activities. With a goal of optimizing company operations, profitability and

growth, the corporate strategy must compare the return of a continuing investment in the

single business with the acquisition or starting up of complementary businesses.

At the corporate level, managers must coordinate the activities of multiple business

units. Attempts to develop and maintain distinctive competencies at the corporate level focus

on generating superior human, financial, and technological resources; designing effective

organization structures and processes; and seeking synergy among the firm‟s various

businesses. Synergy can provide a major competitive advantage for firms where related

businesses share R&D investments, product or production technologies, distribution

channels, a common sales force and/or promotional themes. Corporate strategy describes

company‟s overall direction in terms of its general attitude toward growth and the

management of its various businesses. The corporate strategy typically fits within the three

main categories - stability strategy, growth strategy and retrenchment strategy.

a) Stability strategy

The basic approach of stability strategy is to maintain present course and be steady as

it goes. In an effective stability strategy, companies will concentrate their resources where the

company presently has or can rapidly develop a meaningful competitive advantage in the

narrowest possible product-market scope consistent with the firm‟s resources and market

requirement's.

b) Growth strategy

Growth strategy is the means through which an organization plans to achieve its

objective to grow in turnover and volume. There are four broad growth strategies which

include; product development, diversification, market development and market penetration. It

is a style that seeks stock with future investment rates of return being great than the stocks.

A business growth strategy starts with market insights. The source of insights lies

within and across the market ecosystem. While research firms and strategic marketing

consultants can bring these insights to bear on an ad-hoc basis, companies committed to

growth will serve themselves well by developing systems and processes to ensure a

continuous flow of market insights into their business. This is a key strategy for developing

the demand side of the business.

Business growth strategies are unique in every business. However there are broad

categories of strategies for business growth: ƒ

New Product/Service Strategy Development ƒ

Market Expansion Strategy ƒ

Product Diversification Strategy ƒ

Market Opportunity Analysis ƒ

Competitive Market Analysis ƒ

Market Segmentation Strategy

c) Retrenchment strategy

A strategy used by corporations to reduce the diversity or the overall size of the

operations of the company. This strategy is often used in order to cut expenses with the goal

of becoming a more financial stable business.

Typically the strategy involves withdrawing from certain markets or the

discontinuation of selling certain products or service in order to make a beneficial turnaround.

Retrenchment is a corporate level strategy that aims to reduce the size or diversity of an

organization. Retrenchment is also reduction in expenditure to become financially stable.

Retrenchment strategy is a strategy used by corporate in order to reduce the diversity or to cut

the overall size of the operations of the company. This strategy is often used to cut down

expenses with the goal of becoming more financially stable business. Typically the strategy

involves withdrawing from certain markets or the discontinuation of selling certain products

or services in order to make a beneficial turn around.

2. Business Strategy

The business strategy of a single-business company is similar to that of a business unit

of a diversified company except that the business strategy must support corporate strategic

initiatives aimed at the single business. The business strategy sets goals for performance,

evaluates the actions of competitors and specifies actions the company must take to maintain

and improve its competitive advantages. Typical strategies are to become a lowprice leader,

to achieve differentiation in quality or other desirable features or to focus on promotion. How

a business unit competes within its industry is the critical focus of business-level strategy.

A major issue in a business strategy is that of sustainable competitive advantage.

What distinctive competencies can give the business unit a competitive advantage? And

which of those competencies best match the needs and wants of the customers in the

business‟s target segments? Another important issue a business-level strategy must address is

appropriate scope: how many and which market segments to compete in, and the overall

breadth of product offerings and marketing programs to appeal to these segments. Finally,

synergy should be sought across product-markets and across the functional departments of

the organization.

Business-level strategy is applicable in those organizations, which have different

businesses and each business is treated as strategic business unit (SBU). The fundamental

concept in SBU is to identify the discrete independent product/market segments served by an

organization. Since each product/market segment has a distinct environment, a SBU is

created for each such segment.

For example, Reliance Industries Limited operates in textile fabrics, yarns, fibers, and

a variety of petrochemical products. For each product group, the nature of market in terms of

customers, competition, and marketing channel differs. Therefore, it requires different

strategies for its different product groups. Thus, where SBU concept is applied, each SBU

sets its own strategies to make the best use of its resources (its strategic advantages) given the

environment it faces. At such a level, strategy is a comprehensive plan providing objectives

for SBUs, allocation of resources among functional areas and coordination between them for

making optimal contribution to the achievement of corporate-level objectives. Such strategies

operate within the overall strategies of the organization. The corporate strategy sets the long-

term objectives of the firm and the broad constraints and policies within which a SBU

operates. The corporate level will help the SBU define its scope of operations and also limit

or enhance the SBUs operations by the resources the corporate level assigns to it. There is a

difference between corporate-level and business-level strategies.

3. Functional Strategy

Functional strategy, as is suggested by the title, relates to a single functional operation

and the activities involved therein. Decisions at this level within the organization are often

described as tactical. Such decisions are guided and constrained by some overall strategic

considerations. Functional strategy deals with relatively restricted plan providing objectives

for specific function, allocation of resources among different operations within that functional

area and coordination between them for optimal contribution to the achievement of the SBU

and corporate level objectives. Below the functional-level strategy, there may be operations

level strategies as each function may be dividend into several sub functions. For example,

marketing strategy, a functional strategy, can be subdivided into promotion, sales,

distribution, pricing strategies with each sub function strategy contributing to functional

strategy.

a. Marketing Functional Strategy

In companies that are marketing oriented, the marketing strategy on a functional level

influences the other functions and their strategies. A typical marketing strategy is to

determine customer needs in an area where the company has a natural competitive advantage.

Such advantages might be in location, facilities, reputation or staffing.

Once the marketing strategy has identified the kind of product customers want, it

passes the information to operations to design and produce such a product at the required

cost. The advertising department must develop a promotional strategy, sales must sell the

product and customer service must support it. The marketing strategy forms the basis for the

strategies of these other departments. The primary focus of marketing strategy is to

effectively allocate and coordinate marketing resources and activities to accomplish the

firm‟s objectives within a specific product-market.

Therefore, the critical issue concerning the scope of a marketing strategy is specifying

the target market for a particular product or product line. Next, firms seek competitive

advantage and synergy through a well-integrated programme of marketing mix elements (the

4 Ps of product, price, place, promotion) tailored to the needs and wants of potential

customers in that target market.

b. Other Functional Strategies

The non-marketing functional strategies must support the marketing strategy that, in

turn, is a component of the overall business strategy. In a single-business company, those

strategies are tightly focused on one industry, but they must also deliver data that allows the

corporate strategy to examine possible diversification. Single-business companies are usually

either highly ranked in their single business or dominant in their niche. The strategies at the

functional level try to maintain such a position but also look for external danger signs. If

events outside the company's control lead to a deterioration of its position, strategic

components from a functional level must signal to the corporate level that an implementation

of alternative strategies is required.

The marketing strategy is the most important tool while framing the overall business

strategy of the organization. While designing the marketing strategy the firm has to consider

many factors like potential customers, market segmentation, unique selling proposition,

situations prevailing etc. Effective marketing strategy benefits the company in not only

knowing its customers but also delivering maximum customer satisfaction. Thus an effective

marketing strategy finally results into building corporate image of the company. The

functional strategy should be designed on the basis of business level strategy, whereas the

business level strategy should be derived from the corporate level strategy.

When a new product is being introduced in to a market, it normally undergoes a series

of step in the market; these steps are introduction growth, maturity and lastly the decline

stage. These steps follow each other chronologically and thus referred to as the product life

cycle (PLC. The PLC sequence or series is closely linked with the dynamics in the market

environment and has subsequent effects on the product marketing mix and marketing

strategies. A graph that is normally plotted of the revenue against the stages of product is

referred to as the product life cycle graph.

In the introduction stage of the PLC, the firms normally aim at creating the product

awareness in the market through the employment of the marketing mix. Initial stages involve

the establishment of quality and branding couples with the intellectual property protection

like the trade marks. The pricing strategy may be low to ease the entry into the market if there

are already established firms while it may be high if there are no competitors and this enables

fast recovery of the initial cost . Distribution is normally selective while the promotion targets

early adaptors and innovators at the growth stage of the PLC, the firms aim at increasing its

share market by offering additional features to its product quality while maintaining the

prices. Distribution is increased to meet the increased demand while the promotion aims a

bigger audience when your buyer says your brand is to be delisted; all you can hear is the

blood pulsing through your heart, and the taste of bile on your mouth…" The product can be

defined as goods, services or both; in the other words it's anything that satisfies customer

need. Each product has its own limited life, however it shares the same aspect and we define

the period that the product goes through as the "Product life cycle".

Rural growth - Most FMCG categories are growing faster in rural as compared to

urban India. This growing importance of rural India will also mean that regional

players and categories with a strong regional franchise will influence marketing plans.

As these categories expand, they will influence the way adjacent categories and

emerging alternatives will seek to market themselves.

Innovation Imperative – Innovation is imperative in the FMCG category today.

Differentiation is the key. Product life cycles are getting shortened given the highly

competitive scenario. There is therefore a very strong thrust on innovation in the

FMCG space across various aspects ranging from brand proposition, packaging,

communication, consumer in sighting to pricing. We are constantly re-engineering our

offerings on the innovation plank with the objective of serving the evolving needs of

the consumer. Some of the examples in the innovation space include the launch of

Goodnight Advanced Activ+ and Good Knight Advanced Low Smoke Coil.

Shopper Marketing – With the growth in modern retail, the store is emerging as the

most potent medium in the marketing of brands. The Indian consumer is clearly

enjoying the modern trade shopping experience and is increasingly shopping there, as

is evident from the increased spending at modern stores. Shopper marketing has,

therefore, become an important tool for marketers driving brand choice inside the

stores.

Connecting and engaging with the Indian Digital consumer - With 50+ million

active social media users, Indians spend more time on social media than on any other

activity on the Internet, according to Nielsen. Increasingly marketers are focusing on

this medium, however what will be critical is how brands can effectively break away

from the pack in order to differentiate and improve social media engagement levels.

Some of our brand campaigns on social media including the HIT Kill Malaria‟

campaign have received an overwhelming response. We continue to be upbeat about

consumer demand in 2012. As India is one of the fastest growing economies, we will witness

significant play on innovation, leading to intensity of competition. We expect growth to be

driven on the back of new product launches and renovations of existing products. We will

invest significantly behind these launches and support our innovations

The Product life cycle consist of four stages starting from introduction stage, growth

stage, maturity stage and decline stage. At the introduction stage, the product is not popular

and can't really make a lot of profit. Its marketing cost may be high in order to test a market

and set up a distribution channel. At the growth stage, the product start making a profit, the

sales increase rapidly with some cost on marketing especially brand building. Competitors

enter the market, often in large number depending on how attractive the market is. When a

profit starts to decline, it's the sign of „Maturity stage'. At maturity stage, the sales continue to

increase but at the decreasing rate until become stable, because of price competition. The

product reaches its peak at this stage, most companies fight aggressively to maintain their

market share. The competition is very intense, unfortunately a small firms will die one by

one. During the decline stage, the profit start to drop gradually, each firm has to manage

carefully. There're not many choice to choose now; take the most out of it before exit or

expand the market by using marketing mix strategies in order to extend product life.

All products and services have certain life cycles. The life cycle refers to the period

from the product‟s first launch into the market until its final withdrawal and it is split up in

phases. Marketing and Information Systems are two different phenomena and which

individually and collaboratively influencing an organization‟s development in gaining

competitive advantage. The concept of Product Life Cycle (PLC) is very important and

playing a key role in determining the stages of the organization's products in every marketing

organizations. The theory of PLC was first introduced in the 1950s to explain the expected

Life cycle of a typical product from design to Obsolescence. Writing in Marketing Tools,

Carole Hedden observed that the Life cycle is represented by a curve that can be divided into

four phases: Introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The goal is to maximize the

product's value and profitability at each stage

1.3 Marketing Strategy Of FMCG Market Share Growth

Timely product development and cannibalization-free growth across your product

portfolio builds an impregnable defense against competitors. Sophisticated marketing strategy

management can secure fairer balance of power with channel partners.

Analysis of buyer readiness stages helps make better decisions for integrated

marketing communications strategy. In some industries IT is even capable of changing the

nature of the products and service or their production processes. According to the advocates

of Strategic weapon perspective, these unprecedented effects do not necessarily have the

relative competitive position of economic factors unchanged. Among these concepts, the

information Systems Strategic Grid (ISSG) of Mc Farlan and Me Kenney is one which stood

the test of time. The ISSG analyses the applicability of IT as a Strategic weapon on the

industry level.

This grid classifies the industries according to their present and medium range

affectedness by the Strategic impact of IT applications. During this period significant changes

are made in the way that the product is behaving into the market i.e. its reflection in respect

of sales to the company that introduced it into the market. Since an increase in profits is the

major goal of a company that introduces a product into a market, the product‟s life cycle

management is very important. Some companies use strategic planning and others follow the

basic rules of the different life cycle phase that are analyzed later. The understanding of a

product‟s life cycle, can help a company to understand and realize when it is time to

introduce and withdraw a product from a market, its position in the market compared to

competitors, and the product‟s success or failure. For a company to fully understand the

above and successfully manage a product‟s life cycle, needs to develop strategies and

methodologies.

1.4 Product Life Cycle Model Description

The product‟s life cycle - period usually consists of five major steps or phases:

Product development, Product introduction, Product growth, Product maturity and finally

Product decline. These phases exist and are applicable to all products or services from a

certain make of automobile to a multimillion-dollar lithography tool to a one-cent capacitor.

These phases can be split up into smaller ones depending on the product and must be

considered when a new product is to be introduced into a market since they dictate the

product‟s sales performance

The concept also applies to services, although the shape may be markedly different. It

can also apply to product categories and the market as a whole. It should be noted that the

product life cycle is not necessarily a good 'predictor' of product behavior. Rather it can aid

the marketer in understanding the market. For example, a product may have gone through a

period of rapid growth and sales may have begun to level off. This does not necessarily mean

that the product is maturing; it could just be a temporary slowdown that culminates in the

product sales beginning to grow rapidly. With living beings it is possible to have a very

shrewd idea of where they are in their life span, how long they are likely to live and

consequently the sort of issues that are going to occur at any given time, it is more difficult to

gain this level of understanding with products. The following chart gives an indication of

how sales will vary as a product goes through the various stages of its lifecycle.

Product Life Cycle Graph

1. Introduction

It takes time of a new product to begin selling in volume. There may be

manufacturing or logistics issues to contend with. The marketplace may be unfamiliar with

the product and creating awareness takes time. Consequently product sales show a slow

growth during the introduction phase. The FMCG adjust price, place (where the product is

sold) and promotion to meet his marketing objectives. For example, in markets that are large

with high potential competition it would make sense to invest heavily in promotion and to

start with low prices. This strategy would also apply for a product for which production cost

would decline quickly with economies of scale. Using this strategy, the FMCG penetrates

quickly before competitors has a chance to introduce competing products.

2. Growth

The growth space is characterized by a rapid increase in sales volume. This is created

by increased product demand. The FMCG and logistics issues are likely resolved and the

market is far more aware of the product. Since economies of scale have started to take effect

the marketer should be able to increase promotional activities. At the same time competition

will begin to stiffen and so the marketer should make necessary adjustments to the 4 Ps of

marketing. For example, it may be appropriate to tweak the products by adding new features.

In this way the competition may be fended off. It may also make sense to reduce prices a

little to bring in more price sensitive consumers.

3. Maturity

The maturity phase is characterized by sales volumes leveling off. At this point

competition is strong and margins may begin to suffer. Signs of getting to this stage are that

competitors may start advertising more strongly or using other promotional means to increase

sales.

4. Decline

Finally product sales begin to decrease and it is at this point that some serious

marketing decisions need to be made. It may be possible to extend the life of a product by

changing some of its product attributes, repositioning it or by packaging it with other

products. On the other hand it may make sense to delete the product from your portfolio.

1.5 Product portfolio management

The idea behind product portfolio management is that, inevitably, products will

eventually reach maturity and decline. Although it may be possible to extend their lives and

some products have an extremely long product life cycle, it makes sense to manage a

program of continually introducing new products. In this way, as some product revenues

level off or decline, other product revenues increase. This is illustrated in below figure

1.6 Product Development Phases

The FMCG Product development phase begins when a company finds and develops a

new product idea. This involves translating various pieces of information and incorporating

them into a new product. A product is usually undergoing several changes involving a lot of

money and time during development, before it is exposed to target customers via test

markets. Those products that survive the test market are then introduced into a real

marketplace and the introduction phase of the product begins. During the product

development phase, sales are zero and revenues are negative. It is the time of spending with

absolute no return.

1. INTRODUCTION PHASE

The introduction phase of a product the FMCG includes the product launch with its

requirements to getting it launch in such a way so that it will have maximum impact at the

moment of sale. A good example of such a launch is the launch of “Windows XP” by

Microsoft Corporation. This period can be described as a money sinkhole compared to the

maturity phase of a product. Large expenditure on promotion and advertising is common, and

quick but costly service requirements are introduced. The FMCG must be prepared to spend a

lot of money and get only a small proportion of that back. In this phase distribution

arrangements of FMCG are introduced. Having the product in every counter is very important

and is regarded as an impossible challenge. Some companies avoid this stress by hiring

external contractors or outsourcing the entire distribution arrangement. This has the benefit of

testing an important marketing tool such as outsourcing.

Pricing is something else for a company to consider during this phase. Product pricing

usually follows one or two well structured strategies. Early customers will pay a lot for

something new and this will help a bit to minimize that sinkhole that was mentioned earlier.

Later the pricing policy should be more aggressive so that the product can become

competitive. Another strategy is that of a pre-set price believed to be the right one to

maximize sales. This however demands a very good knowledge of the market and of what a

customer is willing to pay for a newly introduced product. A successful product introduction

phase may also result from actions taken by the company prior to the introduction of the

product to the market. These actions are included in the formulation of the marketing

strategy.

This is accomplished during product development by the use of market research.

Customer requirements on design, pricing, servicing and packaging are invaluable to the

formation of a product design. A customer can tell a company what features of the product

are appealing and what are the characteristics that should not appear on the product. He will

describe the ways of how the product will become handy and useful. So in this way a

company will know before its product is introduced to a market what to expect from the

customers and competitors. A marketing mix may also help in terms of defining the targeted

audience during promotion and advertising of the product in the introduction phase.

2. GROWTH PHASE

The growth phase the FMCG offers the satisfaction of seeing the product take-off in

the marketplace. This is the appropriate timing to focus on increasing the market share. If the

product has been introduced first into the market, (introduction into a “virgin” market or into

an existing market) then it is in a position to gain market share relatively easily. A new

growing market alerts the competition‟s attention. The company must show all the products

offerings and try to differentiate them from the competitor‟s ones. A frequent modification

process of the product is an effective policy to discourage competitors from gaining market

share by copying or offering similar products. Other barriers are licenses and copyrights,

product complexity and low availability of product components. Promotion and advertising

continues, but not in the extent that was in the introductory phase and it is oriented to the task

of market leadership and not in raising product awareness. A good practice is the use of

external promotional contractors.

This period is the time to develop efficiencies and improve product availability and

service. Cost efficiency and time-to-market and pricing and discount policy are major factors

in gaining customer confidence. Good coverage in all marketplaces is worthwhile goal

throughout the growth phase. Managing the growth stage is essential. Companies sometimes

are consuming much more effort into the production process, overestimating their market

position. Accurate estimations in forecasting customer needs will provide essential input into

production planning process. It is pointless to increase customer expectations and product

demand without having arranged for relative production capacity. A company must not make

the mistake of over committing. This will result into losing customers not finding the product

“on the self”.

3. MATURITY PHASE

When the market becomes saturated with variations of the basic product, and all

competitors are represented in terms of an alternative product, the maturity phase arrives. In

this phase market share growth is at the expense of someone else‟s business, rather than the

growth of the market itself. This period is the period of the highest returns from the product.

A company that has achieved its market share goal enjoys the most profitable period, while a

company that falls behind its market share goal, must reconsider its marketing positioning

into the marketplace. During this period new brands are introduced even when they compete

with the company‟s existing product and model changes are more frequent (product, brand,

and model). This is the time to extend the product‟s life.

Pricing and discount policies are often changed in relation to the competition policies

i.e. pricing moves up and down accordingly with the competitors‟ one and sales and coupons

are introduced in the case of consumer products. Promotion and advertising relocates from

the scope of getting new customers, to the scope of product differentiation in terms of quality

and reliability. The battle of distribution continues using multi distribution channels. A

successful product maturity phase is extended beyond anyone‟s timely expectations. A good

example of this is “Tide” washing powder, which has grown old, and it is still growing. The

decision for withdrawing a product seems to be a complex task and there a lot of issues to be

resolved before with decide to move it out of the market. Dilemmas such as maintenance,

spare part availability, service competitions reaction in filling the market gap are some issues

that increase the complexity of the decision process to withdraw a product from the market.

Often companies retain a high price policy for the declining products that increase the profit

margin and gradually discourage the “few” loyal remaining customers from buying it. Such

an example is telegraph submission over facsimile or email. Dr. M. Avlonitis from the

Economic University of Athens has developed a methodology, rather complex one that takes

under consideration all the attributes and the subsequences of product withdrawal process.

Sometimes it is difficult for a company to conceptualize the decline signals of a

product. Usually a product decline is accompanied with a decline of market sales. Its

recognition is sometimes hard to be realized, since marketing departments are usually too

optimistic due to big product success coming from the maturity phase. This is the time to start

withdrawing variations of the product from the market that are weak in their market position.

This must be done carefully since it is not often apparent which product variation

brings in the revenues. The prices must be kept competitive and promotion should be pulled

back at a level that will make the product presence visible and at the same time retain the

“loyal” customer. Distribution is narrowed. The basic channel is should be kept efficient but

alternative channels should be abandoned. For an example, a 0800 telephone line with

shipment by a reliable delivery company, paid by the customer is worth keeping.

1.7 Strategies of each product life cycle phase of The FMCG

Strategies that are applied as soon as the phase of product life cycle is recognized are

given in the table below.

CHAPTER 2

INDUSTRY PROFILE AND

COMPANY PROFILE

CHAPTER 2 : INDUSTRY PROFILE AND COMPANY PROFILE

2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE

The Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is the 4th

largest sector of the Indian

economy. It is characterised by high turnover consumer packaged goods, i.e. goods that are

produced, distributed, marketed and consumed within a short span of time. FMCG products

that dominate the market today are detergents, toiletries, tooth cleaning products, cosmetics,

etc. The FMCG sector in India also includes pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, soft

drinks packaged food products and chocolates. Since the sector encompasses a diverse range

of products, different companies dominate the market in various sub-sectors. However, some

of the top FMCG companies in India are- Dabur (60%), Colgate (54.7%), Hindustan Unilever

(54%).

The fast-moving-consumer-goods industry has a long history of generating reliable

growth through mass brands. But the model that fueled industry success now faces great

pressure as consumer behaviors shift and the channel landscape changes. To win in the

coming decades, FMCGs need to reduce their reliance on mass brands and offline mass

channels and embrace an agile operating model focused on brand relevance rather than

synergies.

The FMCG Value-Creation Model

This success owed much to a widely used five-part model for creating value.

Pioneered just after World War II, the model has seen little change since then. FMCG

companies did the following:

Perfected mass-market brand building and product innovation. This capability

achieved reliable growth and gross margins that are typically 25 percent above

nonbranded players

Built relationships with grocers and other mass retailers that provide advantaged

access to consumers. By partnering on innovation and in-store execution and tightly

aligning their supply chains, FMCG companies secured broad distribution as their

partners grew. Small competitors lacked such access.

Entered developing markets early and actively cultivated their categories as

consumers became wealthier. This proved a tremendous source of growth generating

75 percent of revenue growth in the sector over the past decade

Designed their operating models for consistent execution and cost reduction. Most

have increased centralization in order to continue pushing costs down. This synergy-

based model has kept general and administrative expenses at 4 to 6 percent of revenue

Used M&A to consolidate markets and create a basis for organic growth post

acquisition. After updating their portfolios with new brands and categories, these

companies applied their superior distribution and business practices to grow those

brands and categories.

In today‟s fast running world, FMCG Products are becoming the basic needs of the

human life. One can‟t even think to lead a life without the use of them. These products make

their life a little better, everyday. India has 113,000-crore FMCG market. This figure in itself

shows the potential and size of the FMCG Market India have. Now question arises What is

FMCG. WE regularly talk about things like butter, potato chips, toothpastes, razors,

household care products, packaged food and beverages, etc. They are called FMCGs. FMCG

is an acronym for “Fast Moving Consumer Goods” which refers to things that we buy from

local markets on daily basis, the things that have high turnover and are relatively easy to

purchase.

2.1.1 FMCG PRODUCT & CATEGORIES

Personal Care, Oral Care, Hair care, Skin care, Personal Wash (soaps);

Cosmetics and toiletries, deodorants, perfumes, feminine hygiene, paper products;

Household care fabric wash including laundry soaps and synthetic detergents;

2.1.2 SECTOR OUTLOOK

FMCG is the fourth largest sector in the Indian Economy with a total market size of

Rs. 60,000 crores. FMCG sector generates 5% of total factory employment in the country and

is creating employment for three million people, especially in small towns and rural India.

2.1.3 ANALYSIS OF FMCG SECTOR

Strengths

1. Low operational costs

2. Presence of established distribution networks in both urban and rural areas

3. Presence of well-known brands in FMCG sector

Weaknesses

1. Lacking in distribution channel.

2. Not stable in price policy.

Opportunities

1. Untapped rural market

2. Rising income levels, i.e. increase in purchasing power of consumers

3. Large domestic market – a population of over one billion.

4. Export potential

5. High consumer goods spending

Threats

1. Removal of import restrictions resulting in replacing of domestic brands

2. Cut throat competition in this segment.

2.1.4 INDIAN FMCG MARKET

The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total

market size in excess of US$ 13.1 billion. It has a strong MNC presence and is characterised

by a well established distribution network, intense competition between the organised and

unorganised segments and low operational cost.

Availability of key raw materials, cheaper labour costs and presence across the entire

value chain gives India a competitive advantage.

The FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4 billion

in 2015. Penetration level as well as per capita consumption in most products categories like

jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low indicating the untapped market

potential. Burgeoning Indian population, particularly the middle class and the rural segments,

presents an opportunity to makers of branded to convert consumers to branded products.

Growth is also likely to come from consumer 'upgrading' in the matured product

categories. With 200 million people expected to shift to processed and packaged food by

2010, India needs around US$ 28 billion of investment in the food-processing industry.

2.1.5 FMCG INDUSTRY SET FOR 20-30% GROWTH ON INCREASED

RURAL DEMAND

The FMCG industry is set to grow 20-30 per cent in 2009-10,up from 10-20 per cent

in 2008- 09. The growth would be driven by the launch of new products and increasing rural

consumption, according to industry experts

The beverage industry in India is being estimated to grow at 17% this year according

to experts. “Food and beverages segment has not suffered despite the slowdown in the

economy. Coca Cola India Ltd, for instance, continued to report growth for an eleventh

straight quarter. E.g. Coca-cola in india reported solid first quarter 2009 results despite a

challenging economic environment, with unit case volume increasing 31 per cent with eight

quarters out of the 11 quarters delivering double-digit growth. There has not been any drop in

demand for consumer products at popular price points. However, there may have been some

narrowing in demand at the top-end of the market; in the mass market, demand continues to

be strong, both from rural and urban markets.

Company is looking at penetrating deeper into rural and semi-urban markets. New

launches and geographical extensions of various brands will add impetus to growth.

2.1.6 TOP 10 FMCG COMPANY

1. Hindustan Unilever ltd.

2. ITC India Ltd.

3. Nestlé India

4. GCMMF (AMUL)

5. Dabur India

6. Asian Paints (India)

7. Cadbury India

8. Britannia Industries

9. Procter & Gamble

10. Marico Industries

2.1.7 SCOPE OF THE SECTOR

The Indian FMCG sector with a market size of US$13.1 billion is the fourth largest

sector in the economy. A well-established distribution network, intense competition between

the organized and unorganized segment characterize the sector. FMCG sector will translate

into an annual growth of 10% over a 5-year period. It has been estimated that the FMCG

sector will rise from around Rs 56,500 crores in 2005 to Rs 92,100 crores in 2010. Hair care,

household care, male grooming, female hygiene and the chocolates and confectionary

categories are estimated to the fastest growing segments, according to HSBC report.

2.1.8 GROWTH PROSPECTS

With the presence of 12.2% of the world population in the villages of India, the Indian

rural FMCG market is something no one can overlook. Increased focus on farm sector will

boost rural incomes, hence providing better growth prospects to the FMCG companies.

Because of the low per capita consumption for almost all the products in the country, FMCG

companies have immense possibilities for growth. And if the companies are able to change

the mindset of the consumers, i.e. if they are able to take the consumers to branded products

and offer new generation products, they would be able to generate higher growth in the near

future. However, the demand in urban areas would be the key growth driver over the long

term. Also, increase in the urban population, along with increase in income levels and the

availability of new categories, would help the urban areas maintain their position in terms of

consumption. At present, urban India accounts for 66% of total FMCG consumption, with

rural India accounting for the remaining 34%.

2.1.9 INDIAN COMPETITIVENESS AND COMPARISON WITH THE

WORLD MARKETS

The following factors make India a competitive player in FMCG sector:

Availability of raw materials

Presence across value chain

For example Amul supplies milk as well as dairy products like cheese, butter, etc.

Labour cost comparison – India‟s labour cost is amongst the lowest in the world, after

China & Indonesia. Low labour costs give the advantage of low cost of production.

2.1.10 INDIAN CONSUMER CLASS

India has a population of over 1 billion and 4 climatic zones, several religious and

personal beliefs, 15 official languages; different social custom and foods habits characterize

Indian consumer class. Besides, India is also different in culture as compared to the other

countries. Therefore, India has high distinctiveness in demand and the companies in India can

get a lot of market opportunities for the various classes of consumers. Consumer goods

marketer experience that dealing India is like dealing with many small markets at the same

time. Indian consumer goods markets is expected to reach $400 billion by the 2010. India has

the youngest population; there are lots of young people with different income category.

Consumer goods marketers are often faced with a dilemma regarding the choice of

appropriate market segment. But in India they do not have to face this dilemma largely

because rapid urbanization, increase in demand, presence of large number of young

population, any number of opportunities is available. The bottom line is that Indian market is

changing rapidly and is showing unprecedented consumer business opportunity.

Indian consumer class can be classified according to the following criteria:

1. Income

2. Socio-Economic status.

3. Age demographics

4. Geographical dispersion

With the liberalization and growth of the Indian economy since the early 1990s, the

Indian customer witnessed an increasing exposure to new domestic and foreign products

through different media, such as television and the Internet. Apart from this, social changes

such as increase in the number of nuclear families and the growing number of working

couples resulting in increased spending power also contributed to the increase in the Indian

consumer‟s personal consumption. As a whole, these changes have the positive impact,

leading to rapid growth in the retailing industry, and created a huge potential for the FMCG

markets.

2.2 COMPANY PROFILE

ITC Limited Type : Public (BSE: 500875)

Industry : Conglomerate

Founded : 24 August 1910

Headquarters : Kolkata, India

Key people : Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, Chairman

K. Vaidyanath, Director,

Kurush Grant, Director,

Rajiv Tandon (CFO)

Products : Cigarettes, Hotels, Apparel, Tobacco, Foods, Stationery, Personal Care,

Paperboard and specialty papers, Printing and packaging, Matches and Agarbattis, Infotech

Revenue : US$6 billion (2009)

Employees : 26,000 (2009)

Website : ITCportal.com

“ITC believes that large corporations which employ a vast quantum of societal

resources should ensure that these resources are utilised in a manner that meets stakeholders‟

aspirations and societal expectations. This belief is reflected in the Company‟s deep

commitment to contribute to the “triple bottom line”, namely the development, nurture and

regeneration of the nation‟s economic, social and environmental capital.”

ITC Ltd is one of India's premier private sector companies with diversified presence

in businesses such as Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging,

AgriBusiness, Packaged Foods & Confectionery ,Stationery, Information Technology,

Branded Apparel, Greeting Cards, Safety Matches and other FMCG products. Presently, ITC

has a market capitalization of nearly US $ 15 billion and a turnover of over US $ 6 billion. It

employs over 25,000 people at more than 60 locations across India. ITC has been rated

among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Forbes 50' and the World's Most Reputable

Companies by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected Companies by Business

World and among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today

As one of India's most valuable and respected corporations, ITC is widely perceived

to be dedicatedly nation-oriented. Chairman Y C Deveshwar calls this source of inspiration

"a commitment beyond the market". In his own words: "ITC believes that its aspiration to

create enduring value for the nation provides the motive force to sustain growing shareholder

value. ITC practices this philosophy by not only driving each of its businesses towards

international competitiveness but by also consciously contributing to enhancing the

competitiveness of the larger value chain of which it is a part."

2.2.1 VISION AND MISSION OF THE COMPANY

VISION

Sustain ITC's position as one of India's most valuable corporations through world

class performance, creating growing value for the Indian economy and the Company‟s

stakeholders.

MISSION

To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a globalising

environment, delivering superior and sustainable stakeholder value.

2.2.2 ITC’s CORE VALUES

ITC's Core Values are aimed at developing a customer-focused, high-performance

organisation which creates value for all its stakeholders:

1. Trusteeship

As professional managers, we are conscious that ITC has been given to us in "trust" by all

their stakeholders. ITC actualise stakeholder value and interest on a long-term sustainable

basis.

2. Customer Focus

ITC is always customer focused and will deliver what the customer needs in terms of

value, quality and satisfaction.

3. Respect For People

ITC is result oriented, setting high performance standards as individuals and teams. ITC

simultaneously respect and value people and uphold humanness and human dignity. ITC

acknowledge every individual brings different perspectives and capabilities to the team and

that a strong team is founded on a variety of perspectives. ITC want individuals to dream,

value differences, create and experiment in pursuit of opportunities and achieve leadership

through teamwork.

4. Excellence

ITC does what is right, do it well and win. ITC will strive for excellence in whatever they

do.

5. Innovation

ITC will constantly pursue newer and better processes, products, services and

management practices.

6. Nation Orientation

ITC is aware of their responsibility to generate economic value for the Nation. In pursuit

of their goals, ITC will make no compromise in complying with applicable laws and

regulations at all levels.

2.2.3 THE ITC WAY

ITC is a board-managed professional company, committed to creating enduring value

for the shareholder and for the nation. It has a rich organizational culture rooted in its core

values of respect for people and belief in empowerment. Its philosophy of all-round value

creation is backed by strong corporate governance policies and systems.

ITC‟s corporate strategies are :

Create multiple drivers of growth by developing a portfolio of world class businesses

that best matches organizational capability with opportunities in domestic and export

markets

Continue to focus on the chosen portfolio of FMCG, Hotels, Paper, Paperboards &

Packaging, Agro Business and Information Technology

Benchmark the health of each business comprehensively across the criteria of Market

Standing, Profitability and Internal Vitality

Ensure that each of its businesses is world class and internationally competitive.

Enhance the competitive power of the portfolio through synergies derived by blending

the diverse skills and capabilities residing in ITC‟s various businesses

Create distributed leadership within the organisation by nurturing talented and

focused top management teams for each of the businesses.

Continuously strengthen and refine Corporate Governance processes and systems to

catalyse the entrepreneurial energies of management by striking the golden balance

between executive freedom and the need for effective control and accountability.

2.2.4 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Preamble

Over the years, ITC has evolved from a single product company to a multi-business

corporation. Its businesses are spread over a wide spectrum, ranging from cigarettes and

tobacco to hotels, packaging, paper and paperboards and international commodities trading.

Each of these businesses is vastly different from the others in its type, the state of its

evolution and the basic nature of its activity, all of which influence the choice of the form of

governance.

The challenge of governance for ITC therefore lies in fashioning a model that

addresses the uniqueness of each of its businesses and yet strengthens the unity of purpose of

the Company as a whole

Since the commencement of the liberalisation process, India's economic scenario has

begun to alter radically. Globalisation will not only significantly heighten business risks, but

will also compel Indian companies to adopt international norms of transparency and good

governance. Equally, in the resultant competitive context, freedom of executive management

and its ability to respond to the dynamics of a fast changing business environment will be the

new success factors. ITC's governance policy recognises the challenge of this new business

reality in India.

Definition and Purpose

ITC defines Corporate Governance as a systemic process by which companies are

directed and controlled to enhance their wealth generating capacity. Since large corporations

employ vast quantum of societal resources, we believe that the governance process should

ensure that these companies are managed in a manner that meets stakeholder‟s aspirations

and societal expectations.

Core Principles

ITC's Corporate Governance initiative is based on two core principles. These are:

i. Management must have the executive freedom to drive the enterprise forward without

undue restraints; and

ii. This freedom of management should be exercised within a framework of effective

accountability.

ITC believes that any meaningful policy on Corporate Governance must provide

empowerment to the executive management of the Company, and simultaneously create a

mechanism of checks and balances which ensures that the decision making powers vested in

the executive management is not only not misused, but is used with care and responsibility to

meet stakeholder aspirations and societal expectations.

Cornerstones

From the above definition and core principles of Corporate Governance emerge the

cornerstones of ITC's governance philosophy, namely trusteeship, transparency,

empowerment and accountability, control and ethical corporate citizenship. ITC believes that

the practice of each of these leads to the creation of the right corporate culture in which the

company is managed in a manner that fulfils the purpose of Corporate Governance.

Trusteeship

ITC believes that large corporations like itself have both a social and economic

purpose. They represent a coalition of interests, namely those of the shareholders, other

providers of capital, business associates and employees. This belief therefore casts a

responsibility of trusteeship on the Company's Board of Directors. They are to act as trustees

to protect and enhance shareholder value, as well as to ensure that the Company fulfills its

obligations and responsibilities to its other stakeholders. Inherent in the concept of trusteeship

is the responsibility to ensure equity, namely, that the rights of all shareholders, large or

small, are protected.

Transparency

ITC believes that transparency means explaining Company's policies and actions to

those to whom it has responsibilities. Therefore transparency must lead to maximum

appropriate disclosures without jeopardizing the Company's strategic interests. Internally,

transparency means openness in Company's relationship with its employees, as well as the

conduct of its business in a manner that will bear scrutiny. We believe transparency enhances

accountability.

Empowerment and Accountability

Empowerment is an essential concomitant of ITC's first core principle of governance

that management must have the freedom to drive the enterprise forward. ITC believes that

empowerment is a process of actualizing the potential of its employees. Empowerment

unleashes creativity and innovation throughout the organization by truly vesting decision-

making powers at the most appropriate levels in the organizational hierarchy

ITC believes that the Board of Directors are accountable to the shareholders, and the

management is accountable to the Board of Directors. We believe that empowerment,

combined with accountability, provides an impetus to performance and improves

effectiveness, thereby enhancing shareholder value.

Control

ITC believes that control is a necessary concomitant of its second core principle of

governance that the freedom of management should be exercised within a framework of

appropriate checks and balances. Control should prevent misuse of power, facilitate timely

management response to change, and ensure that business risks are pre-emotively and

effectively managed

Ethical Corporate Citizenship

ITC believes that corporations like itself have a responsibility to set exemplary standards of

ethical behavior, both internally within the organization, as well as in their external

relationships. We believe that unethical behavior corrupts organizational culture and

undermines stakeholder value.

2.2.5 PRODUCTS OF ITC LTD.

Personal care products are generally used for personal health and hygiene. It includes

products like body talc, body scrub, tooth paste, tooth brush, tongue cleaner, tooth powder,

bathing salts, bathing gel, essential oils, moisturizer, skin creams, face wash, hair oil, hair

shampoo, hair conditioner, soap, nail and cuticle care products. The personal care product

market was a success on all counts in 2005- 2006 with good performances from each of the

Big 5 markets. In recent years, consumer health awareness has slowly been increasing and

this has led people trying to take better care of themselves.

The major demand is for the products that are of basic need for the consumers like

soap, shampoo, hair oil etc. The personal care products industry consists of four major sub-

sectors manufacturing a range of products. These sub-sectors and their products are

highlighted below

1. Face Care Products

Face is the reflection of an individual‟s physical appearance. Generally,

the beauty beauty of a person is described described by the look of one‟s face. Thus, to

enhance the beauty of the face people use face care products whose market is growing at

double digits. The industry manufactures products like astringent, face cream, face scrub,

face toner, moisturizer, cleanser, etc. Some of these products are used for clarification and

purification of the facial skin from dust and harmful rays of the sun while others are used for

toning.

2. Hand and Foot Care Products

As the name suggest these products are used to enhance the beauty of hands and feet.

The hand and foot care product market segment, grew 5.9% in 2005 to a total of 338.2

million dollars, and included many successful product introductions. These included herbal

and organic products, as well as products for youthful skin. Men are also starting to take

better care of themselves, resulting in growth in the men‟s foot care products market

segment. Hand and foot care products can be broadly categorised into cuticle care products,

foot scrub, hand and foot cream, nail care products etc. The diagram below shows the various

market segments

3. Hair Care Products

Hair care was the largest market segment, both in 2004 and in 2005 with sales

reaching 350 million dollars. The price war has had its impact on the shampoo and styling

categories. Sales in hair coloring products has stabilized while hair conditioners and hair

repair products, showed significant growth. Consumers are willing to buy special, more

costly, products because these products are used for many purposes like hair cleansing, hair

conditioning and hair coloring.

Some important hair care products are mentioned below:

Hair Shampoo

Hair Conditioner

Hair Oil

Hair Styling Gel

Hair Glaze

Hair Spray

Hair Colors

4. Cosmetics

The global cosmetics market continues to benefit from a combination of strong

macroeconomic trends creating opportunities for new product niches. The strongest growth in

the global cosmetics market in 2005 was derived from developing regions such as Eastern

Europe and Latin America and key markets in Asia-Pacific, with expansion linked to large

populations, rising disposable incomes, modernizing retail and distribution networks and

increased industry awareness amongst consumers. Cosmetics are items to enhance or protect

the appearance or odor of the human body.

The products included in this category are,

Eye makeup products

Face makeup products

Lip makeup products

Personal Care industry witnessed 23 per cent rise in TV advertising during 2007 compared to

2006 in India

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Literature Survey

“A Study on Impact of Marketing Strategies on Consumer Behaviour

towards FMCG sector with reference to ITC Ltd.”, S Moses, C Ambrose -

Sumedha Journal of Management, 2020

Innovation always drives people and intrigues an individual in the choices of

consumer products they use; we live in a competitive world where FMCG brands come up

with different marketing strategies in order to satisfy customers, and, make them relate better

with regard to their products. Marketing strategies play a vital role in the consumers' decision

making process, as the strategies are designed particularly in achieving the organisational

goals. Different companies follow different strategies to meet their objectives, and the

strategies which companies implement have a greater impact on consumer behaviour towards

the product. The organisations forecast the future while implementing the marketing

strategies, and, also analyse the areas in which they need to improve, and the changes which

have to be taken into consideration. The organisation cannot enjoy success unless they come

up with strategies which will help them in meeting their objectives. FMCG companies mainly

concentrate on product innovation, and use strategies like Multi brand strategy, new product

development etc. This paper studies the marketing strategies used by Nestle India Ltd &

Britannia Industries Ltd, furthermore examines the impact of these strategies on consumer

behaviour and suggests the measures to be taken to improve their marketing strategies.

“New Rural Marketing Strategies of FMCG Companies in India:

a study of selected rural Markets”, JS Arora, P Arora - CHIEF

PATRON CHIEF PATRON, 2019

As we know that there is wave to cut down the cost in this era of global pressure.

Companies are looking to increase their sales through different marketing strategies in

existing markets. But the companies are continuously facing huge crises in changing the

overall functioning as per urban markets now in this scenario there is an urgent need of the

companies to look for New Pastures (markets) to grow. This is where the role of rural

markets comes. With household in middle and higher group in the Rural areas are going

overtake become double in few years there is an utmost requirement of the FMCG companies

to capture this market and survive. But the during last 10-15 years it has been experienced by

no. of companies that it is not so easy to tap this market. The Reach, Requirement, Resources,

Re-strategies, Re-branding, Re-pricing is what is in demand. This paper attempts to uncover

the strategies of those companies which have done fairly well in Rural markets and also an

attempt to give the companies the strategies to focus before entering the Rural markets in

India.

“Branding strategies of FMCG companies:A case study”, M Afreen -

Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 2018

The study on review of literatures show that, many studies have been concentrated on

the Branding Strategies pertaining to Non-durable goods, very few studies have concentrated

on FMCG companies in general and no study has been specifically concentrated on bating

soap segment in FMCG Companies. Despite the scenario that, very less relevant studies have

focused on marketing and branding strategies of bathing soaps, the present study fulfills the

research gap pertaining to studies on branding strategies. Further, the study focuses on the top

3 selling FMCG brands pertaining to bating soaps in India. The study will help the companies

to understand the ground realties on efficiency of branding strategies adopted by the FMCG

companies. Further, the study will also make an attempt to undertake critical dimensions in

branding strategies such as Brand Association, Brand Loyalty, perceptions of Marketers

towards select FMCG brands.

“Factors influencing purchase of FMCG by rural consumers in South

India: an empirical study”, MA Ali, VRR Thumiki, NA Khan -Journal

of Business Research, 2019

With more than six hundred thousand villages and more than 70% of the population,

rural India has become a massive consumer goods market. FMCG has emerged as a major

product category in rural consumption. Companies marketing FMCG to rural consumers

cannot merely extend their general marketing strategies to rural markets. Instead, they need to

devise rural specific strategies. In this process, they need to understand crucial issues relating

to rural consumer behavior and more specifically relating to different geographic regions of

the country. This paper focuses on understanding factors that affect the rural purchase of

FMCG in South India. Empirical study was conducted in 8 districts of South India to identify

the key influencing variables. Factor analysis was used to form 24 key variables into five

groups (influencing factors). Influence of retailers‟ recommendations has emerged as the

most significant variable in the trust factor. According to the study, rural consumers in South

India consider that usage of FMCG contributes to their lifestyle.

“Product strategies of companies in the FMCG industry: A Review of

the Literature”, B Acikgöz - Open Journal of Business and

Management, 2020

Deciding on the right products to offer to the target market is a demanding and crucial

task that requires understanding and insight into the customer‟s needs, wants and demands.

Therefore, the continuous development of new product strategies can be an important

determinant of sustained company performance. Product strategies involve - apart from

product mix decisions - product life-cycle strategies and market introduction of new-product

developments (NPD). Since product strategies are an essential part of companies‟ marketing

mix, there has been undertaken a lot of conceptual and empirical research to identify the

proper product strategies for critical success of industrial products. This paper reviews the

findings of empirical work into the strategies developed for and by industrial FMCG

companies for their products. It is the prime objective of this work to summarize the most

important findings in a compact and structured way and also to provide theoretical insight as

to how these product strategies are planned, implemented and controlled.

“Theory of Constraints for Managing Downstream Supply Chain in

Indian FMCG Sector: A Literature Review”, K Singh, S Misra - Journal of

Supply Chain Management Systems, 2018

Many firms have benefited from Theory of constraints implementation helping them in

achieving ambitious goals. Theory of constraints uses inherent potential in supply to

turnaround businesses. This paper uses case study approach to explore the existing

implementation model of Theory of constraints especially in downstream supply chain and

uncovers the associated challenges involved in the implementation. As a novel contribution

to the already existing body of knowledge of Theory of constraints, a robust new model of

implementation of Theory of constraints is presented, which can be of great help for supply

chains of consumer products companies in performing sustainably.

“Exploring branding strategies of FMCG, services and durables brands:

evidence from India”, KB Saji, BJS Mann, M Kaur - Journal of Product

& Brand , 2017

Based on the literature review, a more comprehensive list of branding strategies is

proposed. A content analysis of 600 randomly selected brands, 200 from each sector, is

performed. The branding strategies used in the three sectors are explained and MANOVA is

conducted to test the hypotheses about differences in the branding strategies across the three

sectors. The results reveal that the branding strategies vary across the three sectors. Single

corporate brand strategy is predominantly used for durables and credence services. On the

other hand, in case of FMCG and experience services, individual brand type endorsed by the

corporate brand type is the most frequently used branding strategy. Thus, there is a trend

towards corporate branding as corporate brand type is popular in all the sectors. Also, other

than the single corporate brand strategy, as in case of durables and credence services, single

brand type strategy is rarely used. For FMCG brands and experience services brands,

companies are trying to leverage brand equity of two or more brand types.

“To study talent acquisition strategies in fmcg industry with respect to

itc, dabur india ltd. And mother dairy”, B Garg, RC Khandelwal -

globusjournal.com-2019

Talent Acquisition involves all the sub-processes around finding, attracting and engaging

highly talented individuals into your organization. FMCG industry alternatively called as

CPG (Consumer packaged goods) industry primarily deals with the production, distribution

and marketing of consumer-packaged goods. The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is

those consumables, which are normally consumed by the consumers at a regular interval.

Some of the prime activities of FMCG industry are selling, marketing, financing, purchasing,

etc. The industry also engaged in operations, supply chain, production and general

management. Researcher aim to study the present Talent Acquisition Strategies being

operational in FMCG Industry with special reference to DS Group, Mother Dairy and Dabur

India Ltd. Researcher has collected various facts and figures and tries to correlate and

develop relationship between the various variables and the strategies adopted by FMCG

Industry.

“A content analysis study of ITC's marketing strategy adopted in

India”, KPI JIMS- 2016

The fast moving consumer goods industry is moving forward. Products are changing

drastically. FMCG industry is able to beat recession which means these products will always

be needed by the consumers. The urban and rural population has a huge potential to FMCG

products. One of the leading FMCG companies. Their strategies are based on the fact that the

company lays strong emphasis in developing markets like India with the motive of

strengthening its core market business, build strong innovations through technology and go

for cost reducing and improvement in productivity. ITC makes sure that the products

developed by it are available in everywhere in the country. This helps in increasing the

customer touch points. They are known for their diverse brand portfolio, consumer centric

marketing approach. Distribution is their critical mission. The purpose of this paper is to

explore the marketing strategies of ITC. This is a conceptual paper and secondary source of

data has been used. The paper reveals the marketing strategies and the problem which

company has faced and how they have overcome from it.

“Marketing Strategies of FMCG Companies-A Study on Factors

Influencing Buying Food, Health and Personal Care products”, C

Somashekar, A Kaboor - International Journal of Engineering and

Management, 2017

Business organization reaches to the customers through their goods or services. To sell

the products to the customers a number of activities are being performed. This is called

marketing and it is an important function. Marketing is the performance of business activities

that directs the flow of goods and services from producer to the customer. It is the activity

that directs to satisfy the human needs through exchange process. Marketing starts with the

identification of a specific need of customers and ends with satisfaction of that need. The

customer is found in the beginning and end of marketing process. In marketing a large

number of activities are performed. For easy understanding these activities are divided in 4

groups for products and 7 groups for services. These elements are product, price promotion,

placement for products and three additional elements for services are process, people and

physical evidence. These are called elements of marketing mix. India is a growing nation

with 125 crore population with wide opportunities for business and FMCG service sector has

many leading player in the market for all segments. The present study reviews the marketing

aspects of FMCG in indiaand analyses the factors influencing buying of food, health and

beverages in mysore District.

“A Study on Marketing Strategies Adopted by ITC Ltd.”, S

Shenoy - Andrean Research Journal- 2020

The Indian retail sector is going through a transformation and this emerging market is

witnessing a significant change in its growth and investment pattern. In contemporary

society, marketing and advertising has become an inseparable part of the everyday lives of

millions of people all over the world. It is strongly believed by marketers that it has an

immense manipulative power, influencing consumer beliefs, attitudes, decisions and actions

through different types of media. The objective of this research paper is to find out how ITC

has adopted various and aggressive marketing strategies to make consumers loyal to their

brand. ITC considered this point as an opportunity and thought of playing with consumer‟s

psychology in order to increase their profits. Also it is observed from past 4 years as to how

ITC are patient and slowly and has steadily started having strong distribution network and

excellent supply chain Management team and continuously like a vicious circle, implemented

excellent sales promotion techniques and various marketing strategies to push their sales and

enhance their market share and goodwill parallel.

“Marketing Mix Strategies for FMCG Companies in India”, S

Sharma, P Sharma - Journal of Commerce and Management, 2019

Marketing strategy is outlined by David Aaker as a method that may enable a

company to concentrate its resources on the optimum opportunities with the goals of

accelerating sales and achieving a property competitive advantage. Promoting methods

includes all basic and long-run activities within the field of selling that subsume the analysis

of the strategic initial scenario of a corporation and also the formulation, analysis and choice

of market-oriented methods and thus contribute to the goals of the corporate and its

promoting objectives. Whereas ways could is a tool to achieve the goals set beneath strategy.

Now, a lot of aggressive mode of selling methods is utilized by all the FMCG corporations in

India, particularly in country because it remains an untapped marketplace for all the

businesses in India. This analysis is additionally supported the promoting methods of ITC and

HUL. This paper is that the outcome of a secondary knowledge and investigator observation

on FMCG corporations with special respect to ITC and HUL. To complete this, annual

reports, numerous books, journals and periodicals are consulted, many reports on this specific

space are thought-about, and net looking has additionally been done.

“Digital marketing strategies of companies in FMCG market”, T Denis

- 2018

Main goal of this thesis is to analyze the utilization of digital marketing tools in FMCG

companies in contemporary market. In order to achieve this goal, secondary data analysis and

case studies analysis (sample of 50 cases) were conducted. The results showed which digital

marketing tools are effective, what success factors of those digital tools and the comparison

of top companies in FMCG market was conducted. Thus, this thesis shall prove to be usefull

for practicioners in FMCG market. Main aim of this paper is to find out different approaches

and methods towards digital marketing and to evaluate which of them prove to be the most

efficient. Also, there will be different cases from real practices, where it shall be analyzed

why one digital marketing strategy might be efficient, while the other one might not.

“Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development for

creating value for FMCG sector enterprises”, K Liczmańska-

Kopcewicz, K Mizera, P Pypłacz - Sustainability, 2019

In recent years, attention has been increasingly paid to social-, environmental-, and

ecology-related issues in the areas of diverse business operations. The concept of sustainable

development of enterprises is an attempt to integrate a diverse set of requirements for the

development of companies in the long-term future. The concept, which is set in a

contradictory context of economic, social, and environmental aspects, is an attempt to

balance fundamentally divergent requirements and aspirations. Sustainable enterprise

development can be a source of competitiveness, provided the opportunities related to it are

identified and implemented in a proper way. The research objective of this study is to

diagnose the relationship between the company‟s orientation towards the implementation of

sustainability assumptions, the degree of implementation of the objectives of the corporate

social responsibility (CSR) strategy, as well as the creation of value in a sustainable

enterprise. The survey was conducted on a sample of 165 FMCG (fast-moving consumer

goods) sector enterprises. The results indicate the existence of a positive correlation between

the variables analysed in the surveyed enterprises. Entrepreneurs guided by sustainable

development pursue economic and non-economic values and have a more comprehensive set

of appropriate measures necessary to create value in a sustainable enterprise, which consists

of achieving economic, ecological, and social goals.

“A focused review of literature on fmcg marketing in rural and urban

markets”, RA Shaikh - viirj.org-2017

FMCG sector always remain a vibrant, bubbling and a live-wire candidate when it comes

to research in marketing. Researchers from academia and from the industry are curious to

find out what is the new that is happening in FMCG marketing. With features like stiff

competition and all, FMCG marketing requires a solid theoretical and conceptual update.

This paper presents a focused review of literature on FMCG marketing in the context of rural

and urban markets. The concept thus is FMCG marketing while the context is rural and urban

markets. The research gap is quite evident in that in recent times no such study on FMCG

sector with reference to both urban and rural markets is on record. A study that will not only

present a comparative perspective between the two types of markets but will also factor in

views of supply chain partners to generate robust and practical piece of knowledge that will

be useful for both academicians and marketers

.

3.2 Objectives Of the Study

The main objectives of the study are as follows :-

Objective One: To analyze the marketing strategies of ITC Limited used to market their

personal care products in extremely competitive environment of industry.

Objective Two: To study and analyse the factors influencing a customer to buy personal

care products in competitive environment of industry.

Objective Three: To identify the customer perception with respect to features required in

their personal care products.

3.3 Scope Of the Study

The study will be limited to ITC personal care product, marketing strategy and also

consumer survey about the personal care products. The survey was limited to the

geographical area of Bangalore. The sample size was limited to 50 respondents.

3.4 Significance of the Study

(i) Significance of the Industry

The study can benchmark the factors behind the success of ITC Limited in the Indian

FMCG market. This will help them achieve sales volume and higher market share in the

Indian personal care products

(ii) Significance of the Researcher

I have gained lot of experience while doing this project. The project had helped me

to study the marketing strategies of the ITC Limited and to interact with the Managers and

Executive of the ITC Limited. To interact with the customers of the different religions while

filling questionnaire for my study. This will help me in my future career.

3.5 Research Design

The research was probability based exploratory research.

Primary Data

Internal data from companies offices and employees

Interviews of Marketing Managers

Secondary Data

Organization Website

Internet Data Collection Tools

Data Collection Tools

Questionnaires (Open-ended and Close-ended)

Personal Interviews

3.6 SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

(i) Sampling Unit: Customers and Employees of ITC Limited

(ii) Sampling Technique: Random Sampling

(iii) Sampling Area: Bangalore

(iv) Sample Size: 50 Customers

3.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The sample size was limited to 50 customers

The survey was limited to Bangalore

Biased opinions of the customers are limiting factors for the research.

CHAPTER- 4

DATA ANALYSIS

AND

INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Data Analysis and Interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to the collected

information and determining the conclusions, significance, and implications of the findings.

In this study, the collected data is analyzed using Graphs and the Interpretation is

done from the obtained results

Sample Size: 50 Respondents

Sex

Male Female

8 42

Findings,

Out of the 50 respondents taken 84% are female and rest 16% are male.

Age Group

18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 Above 55

27 13 7 2 1

Findings,

Out of the 50 respondents maximum 54% are from the age group of 18- 25 followed

by 26% 26-35, 14% 36-45, 4% 44-55 and only 2% above 55.

Occupation

Working Non- Working

47 3

Findings,

Out of the 50 respondents maximum 94% respondents are working while 6% are not

working.

Income Group

10,000 – 15,000 15,001-20,000 20,001-25,000 Above 25,000

8 9 15 18

Findings,

Out of the 50 respondents 36% respondents are from above 25,000 income group

followed by 30% 20,001-25,000, 18% 15,001-20,000 and 16% 10,000-15,000.

Q1. Do you use Personal Care Products?

Yes No

50 0

Findings,

Above chart depict maximum 100% respondents are using Personal Care Products

Q.2 When you think of Personal Care Products, which brands come to your mind?

HLL P&G J&J Reckitt B ITC L‟Oreal Any Other

18 8 4 2 8 4 6

Findings,

36% respondents had ticked on HLL while they think of Personal Care Products

followed by 16% each P&G and ITC, Johnson & Johnson and L‟oreal ticked 8% and any

other ticked 12%

Q.3 Do you use personal care product according to your skin type?

Yes No

35 15

Findings,

Most of the respondents 70% does not use personal care product according to their

skin type

Q.4 Are you a brand loyal customer?

Yes No

18 32

Findings,

Most of the respondents 64% are not brand loyal customers. But 36% respondent said

they are very brand loyal.

Q.5 If not, then which out of following factors fluctuates you to other brands.

Discounted Price Promotional

Schemes

Strong

Advertisement

Any other

13 15 4 0

Findings,

Most of the respondents 46% fluctuates to other brands because of good promotional

schemes offered by other company and 41% said good discounted price can change their

view 13% said strong advertisement can change their view point.

Q.6 Are you aware of personal care products by ITC?

Yes No

42 8

Findings,

Above chart depict that most of the respondents 84% are aware of personal care

products by ITC.

Q.7 Have you used ITC personal care products?

Yes No

32 28

Findings,

Above chart depict that 53% respondents have used ITC personal care products and

rest 47% have not yet used the ITC products.

Q.8 Which of the following personal care product you have been used of ITC?

A B C D E

Essenza Di

Wills Perfumes

Inizio Femme

(for women)

Essenza Di

Wills Perfumes

Inizio Homme

(for men)

Essenza Di

Wills Perfumes

Aqua Homme

(for men After-

Shave Lotion, a

Deodorant, a

Hair & Body

Shampoo and a

Bathing Bar)

Fiama Di Wills

(Shampoos,

Conditioner,

Shower Gels &

Soap)

Vivel Di Wills

(Shampoos and

Soap)

4 3 5 12 9

Findings,

Above chart depict that majority of the respondents 37% have used Fiama Di Wills

(Shampoos, Conditioner, Shower Gels & Soap) followed by 27% used Vivel Di Vivel Di

Wills (Shampoos and Wills (Shampoos and Soap), 15% have Soap), 15% have used Essenza

Di Wills Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Perfumes Aqua Homme (for men After-Shave Lotion, a

Deodorant, a Hair & Body Shampoo and a Bathing Bar), 12% are using Essenza Di Wills

Perfumes Inizio Femme (for women) and 9% using Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Inizio

Homme (for men) of ITC Personal Care Product.

Q.9 Are you satisfied with the personal care product of ITC you are using / used?

Yes No

39 11

Findings,

Above chart depict that most of the respondents 79% are satisfied with the personal

care product of ITC they are using rest 21% are not satisfied.

Q.10 What motivates you to buy ITC personal care product?

Advertisement Celebrities Quality & Packing Any Other

26 12 9 3

Findings,

52% respondents are motivate to buy ITC personal care product through advertisement

24% celebrity endorsement, 18% Quality & Packaging of the product and 6% ticked over any

other reason.

Q.11 Will you recommend the ITC Product to your friends and family members?

Yes No

50 0

Findings,

100% respondents said they will recommend the ITC Product to their friend and family

members.

CHAPTER-5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

SUGGESTIONS

AND

CONCLUSION

5.1 FINDINGS

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF ITC LIMITED

Marketing has been defined in various ways, but it can be defined as: A social and

managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through

Creating, Offering, Exchanging Products of value with others. There are certain elements on

which marketing and this particular definition of marketing rests. They are linked to each

other and they are complimentary one giving rise to the other. Their relationship is shown in

a diagrammatic form below.

Marketing is indeed an ancient art; it has been practiced in one form or the other.

Marketing is considered to be most important of all management functions in any business.

The basic task of marketing is the delivery of a total offer to the consumer in such a manner

that:-

a) The other fulfills the needs of the consumer.

b) The terms and attributes of the offer are acceptable.

c) All the organizational goals, including profits, are achieved in the process.

Firstly, place, it chooses the product that would meet the identified needs of the

chosen consumer/consumer group. Secondly, it performs various distribution functions like

transportation, warehousing, channel management, etc. so that the product can conveniently

reach the consumer. Thirdly, the firm carries out a number of promotion measures like

personal selling, advertising and sales promotional programmes with a view to

communicating with the consumer and promoting the product. Lastly, the firm uses the

pricing mechanism to achieve the consummation of the marketing process, striking the level

of price that is acceptable to the firm as wall as to the consumer. All activities and

programmes which a business firm designs and carries out in its effort towards winning

customers, relate to one or the other of the four elements -product, distribution, pricing and

promotion. These four elements constitute the Marketing Mix of the firm.

5.2 SUGGESTIONS

On the basis of above findings, a few recommendations can be put forward:

1. It is necessary to have a high level of advertisement during the phase when a

consumer actually purchases a personal care product. For instance during the last

week of the month, just before purchase of monthly quota of their personal care

products in most houses. Such a pulsed advertisement would be sufficient.

2. In order to attract a consumer through advertisements, it is benefits that have to be

highlighted in the advertisements. This is necessary because consumers do not go

through an extensive evaluation process for personal care products.

3. Any promotional scheme is to be displayed at the point of purchase prominently

rather than through advertisements

5.3 CONCLUSION

In today‟s dynamic and competitive business environment, marketers should

understand the changing perceptions and needs of consumers. These perceptions keep on

changing with time. As the competition is so tough that marketers keeps on increasing

customer expectations by providing them better quality products. Once consumer experience

a particular set of level, he/she does not want to move below that level.

The personal care product market has low involvement purchase decision. The

consumers are not brand loyal. They keep on changing their brands frequently. So it is

important for a marketer to keep his product alive in the market, otherwise the company will

be kicked out of the market. We can take the example of the Camay, which could not catch

the market pulse, and today it is out of the market.

The following attributes are essential for the personal product segment:

Fragrance and freshness are two most important attributes for the soap. So the

manufactures should lay their main emphasis on these two attributes. Some soap is

not doing well because they don‟t possess these qualities in their soaps. We can take

the example of Denim, which is unsuccessful soap, as it does not fulfill these two

essentialities.

Price is another important attribute as the market looks for the value for money.

People are price conscious. Not much people go for the premium range.

The consumers also consider foam and deodorant. Consumers have a psychology

towards foam. The foam gives a feeling of cleaning the body well. Lot of people

doesn‟t like lifebuoy, because it doesn‟t generate foam. Now a day‟s people are also

looking for deodorant in the soap. The flow of lot of deodorant sprays has also

encouraged the peoples to look for deodorant in the soaps.

Apart from these attributes we find that promotional schemes are very important in

catching the attention of consumers. That is why we are seeing that lots of companies coming

with new promotional schemes. In survey also lot of people have said that promotional

schemes tends to fluctuate from one brand to other brand. It has been revealed during the

survey that advertisement plays an important role in positioning of personal care products. It

helps in creating brand awareness among the consumers. This is advertisement, which makes

consumers aware of free offers and discounted price.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

- Marketing Management, Philips Kotler, The Millennium Edition, Prentice Hall of India

Private Limited, New Delhi.

- Sales and Distribution Management, T.K. Panda, Sunil Sahadev, Oxford University Press,

New Delhi, 2005.

Magazines

- India Today

- The Week

- Business Today

Newspapers

- Economics Times

- Times of India

- Financial Express

Websites

- www.google.com

- www.itcportal.com

- www.fashionproducts.com/personal-care-overview.html

- www.indiantelevision.com

ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

Personal Details:

Name : ____________________________________

Sex:

o Male

o Female

Age group:

o 18-25

o 26-35

o 36-45

o 46-55

o Above 55

Occupation:

o Working

o Non-Working

Income Group:

o 10,000-15,000

o 15,001-20,000

o 20,001-25,000

o Above 25,000

Q1. Do you use Personal Care Products?

o Yes

o No

Q.2 When you think of Personal Care Products, which brands come to your mind?

o HLL

o P&G

o Johnson & Johnson

o Reckitt Benckiser

o ITC Ltd.

o L‟Oreal

o Any Other, Plz. Specify _________________

Q.3 Do you use personal care product according to your skin type?

o Yes

o No

Q.4 Are you a brand loyal customer?

o Yes

o No

Q.5 If not, then which out of following factors fluctuates you to other brands

o Discounted Price

o Promotional Schemes

o Strong Advertisement

o Any Other, Plz. Specify ______________

Q.6 Are you aware of personal care products by ITC?

o Yes

o No

Q.7 Have you used ITC personal care products?

o Yes

o No

Q.8 Which of the following personal care product you have been u have been used of ITC?

o Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Inizio Femme (for women)

o Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Inizio Homme (for men)

o Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Aqua Homme (for men After-Shave Lotion, a Deodorant, a

Hair & Body Shampoo and a Bathing Bar)

o Fiama Di Wills (Shampoos, Conditioner, Shower Gels & Soap)

o

Q.9 Are you satisfied with the personal care product of ITC you are using / used?

o Yes

o No

Q.10 What motivates you to buy ITC personal care product?

o Advertisement

o Celebrities

o Quality & Packing

o Any Other, Plz. Specify ____________________________

Q.11 Will you recommend the ITC Product to your friend and family members?

o Yes

o No

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Md. Naimul Islam Suvon, Riasat Khan,Mehebuba Ferdous. "Real Time BanglaNumber Plate Recognition using ComputerVision and Convolutional Neural Network",2020 IEEE 2nd International Conference onArtificial Intelligence in Engineering andTechnology (IICAIET), 2020Publication