Ruchi Kothari_162(Market Research Proposal)

8/3/2019 Ruchi Kothari_162(Market Research Proposal)

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SymbiosisInstituteofMediaand

Communication

Marketing Research II

Research Proposal for bank of Maharashtra

-Prof.AshutoshDutt

SubmittedBy: RuchiKothari162

MBA(PR)

2010-12



History

Between 2005-07 BOW carried out retail brand tracking-both periodically

and point in time. This entailed brand and ad awareness, benchmarkingagainst competition on 9 major attributes

Currently BOW is undertaking 2 major initiatives - A Strategic BusinessReview that reviews market position and tries to outline a path to increasedcustomers, revenue and profitability.

It is also re evaluating itʼs brand positioning-in a bid to make it morerelevant and differentiated and looking at a better visual manifestation ofthe same at its market place.

MarketResearchProposal

Project Bank of Maharashtra

Nov 2011

Prepared for: Bank of Maharashtra

Prepared by: Ruchi Kothari | 162 | MBA-PR |



Research Objectives: -

The overall objective is ʻto analyze the market position and examine the

brand positioning of BOM in a bid to make it more relevant anddifferentiated in order to have a better visual manifestation of the same atthe market place.

This has been broken into the following sub-objectives:

• Measure brand awareness and perception, with a particular focus onmarkets of interest and target audience.

• Evaluate brand performance vis-à-vis major competition.

• Track brand awareness and association with key attributes over period of

time-to observe changes before and after launch of refreshed positioning.

We have detailed further areas beneath each objective.

• Measure brand awareness and perception, with a particular focuson markets of interest and target audience.

This objective would seek to gauge the existing awareness level and theoverall perception of all the stakeholders of BOM. And also we need to

study the consumer behavior & Perception.

• Evaluate brand performance vis-à-vis major competition.

To analyze , the awareness levels of BOM in the Indian Banking Industry.

To study, competition density in banking industry.

Also we will need to study the market share of BOM

• Track brand awareness and association with key attributes over period oftime-to observe changes before and after launch of refreshed positioning.

To study the Brand Loyalty test.



LITERATURE REVIEW

BrandEquity

The issue of brand equity has emerged as one of the most crucial topics for marketing

managementsince1990s(Leuthesser,1988;Keller,1993;Cobb-Walgren,Ruble,&Dontu,1995:

Lassar,Mittal&Sharma,1995;Aaker,1996;Dyson,Farr,andHollis,1996;Fairclothetal.2001,

Eschetal,2006;Ramos&Francoetal.2005.

Brandequity has been considered inmany context: the valueaddedto the product (Jones,

1986; Lethesser 1988; Farquhar, 1990; Aaker,1991,1996,1999; Keller, 1993,1998, 1999;

Kapferer, 1997); value of the firm (Aaker, 1991; Kim & Kim, 2005); value of the

customer(Aaker1991; Martensen & Gronholt, 2003); brand preference, purchase intention

(Lattin, 1987; Zeithaml 1988; Hardie et al 1993; Cobb-Wagren 1995); brand loyalty, brand

awareness perceived quality, brand associations (Aaker, 1991; Keller,1993; Gralpois 1998,

Pappuetal, 2005;Atilganetal, 2005);differential effect ofbrand knowledge ofconsumerresponsetothemarketingofbrand(Keller,1993);incrementalutility(Simon&Sullivan,1993);

consequenceofmarketingefforts(Ramos&Franco,2005).

There have been three different perspectives for considering brand equity; The customer-

based perspectives, the financial perspectives and combined perspectives. While this study

focusonthecustomerbasedperspectives.

Customer-BasedBrandEquity.

TheadvantageofconceptualizingbrandequityfromtheCustomer-basedperspective

isthatitenablesmanagerstoconsiderspecificallyhowtheirmarketingprogramsimprovesthe

valueoftheirbrandsinthemindsofconsumers.Within themarketing literature, operationalization of customerbased-brand equity

usually fall into two groups (Cobb-Walgren et al. (1995); Yoo & Donthu (2001)): consumer

perception(brandawareness,brandassociations,perceivedquality)andconsumerbehaviour

(brandloyalty,willingnesstopayahighprice).

Mahajan,Rao, and Srivastava (1991) claimed that a customer-based brandequity

couldbemeasuredbythelevelofcustomer’sperception.AlsooperationalizedbyLassaretal.

(1995)asanenhancementoftheperceivedutilityanddesirabilitythatabrandnameconfers

on a product. According to them, costumer- based brand equity indicates only perceptual

dimensions,notincludingbehavioralorattitudinalsuchasloyaltyorusageintention,which

differsfromAaker’s(1991)whosuggestedtomeasurebrandequityincludingbehaviouralandattitudinal dimensions. Farquhar (1990) maintained that brand equity is reflected by the

change of consumer attitude while purchasing a product. Aaker (1991) incorporated

definitions,thefourdimensionsofbrandequitynamelybrandawareness,brandassociation

perceivedquality,andbrandloyalty.

Customer- BasedBrand Equity isdefinedas “asetofBrandassetsand liabilitieslinked toa

brand,itsnameandsymbolthataddtoorsubtractfromthevalueprovidedbyaproductor

servicetoafirm’sconsumers(Aaker,1991)”.

On the other hand, some researcher related the customerbased brand equitywith

otherconstruct,e.g.FarquharandIjiri(1991)proposedamodel byjudgingthecorporation’s

marketing efforts on its brand directly. While Lassar et al (1995) focused on relationship



betweencustomerbasedandfinancial/marketbasedbrandequitymeasurement.Customer-

basedbrandequity inthisrespect, isthedriving force for incrementalfinancialgainsto the

firm.

Table1.Maindifferentconcepts:

Main

contributor

Concept

Mahajan Rao

(1991)

Measure customerbasedbrandequity by the levelofcustomer’s

perception

Farquhar

(1990)

-Brand equity is reflected by the change of consumer

attitudewhilepurchasingaproduct.

Aaker(1991) Measuringthe fourdimensionsof brandequity:brandawareness,

brandassociationperceivedquality,andbrandloyalty.

Keller(1993) Adopted twobasicapproaches (directand indirect )tomeasure

customerbased brand equity emphasizing two constructs: brand

awareness and brand image. The indirect approach to identify

potential sources of costumer- based brand equities The direct

approachfocusesonconsumerresponsetodifferentelementsof

firm’smarketingprogram.

Farquhar&Ijiri

(1991)

Judgingthecorporation’smarketingeffortsonitsbranddirectly.

Lassar et al,

1995

Relationshipbetweencustomerbasedandfinancial/marketbased

brand equity measurement. Customer-based brand equity in this

respect, is the driving force for incremental financial gains to the

firm.

Hypothesis

RelationshipsbetweenBrandAwarenessandBrandAssociations.

Aaker (1991,1996) argued that brand equity is a multidimensional construct, which

consistsofbrandloyalty,

Customer based brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty and brand

awarenessandbrandassociations.brandequityoccurswhentheconsumerhasahighlevelof

awarenessandfamiliaritywiththebrandandholdssomestrong,favourable,anduniquebrand

associationmemory.

Fiske and Taylor (1995) contended that brand associations could be recalled in

customer’s mindas emotional impressions. Brand awareness influences consumerdecisions

making by affecting the strengthof the brandassociations in theirmind.(Keller,1993,1997).

Pitta and Katsanis ( 1995) also pointed out that there are several dimensions of brand

awareness with brand associations . They further indicated that brand associations of the



productcanbestoredinconsumer’smindsafterbrandawarenessoftheproductarealreadyin

theirmemory.

Brandawareness and brandassociations were foundtobecorrelated (Atilganetal

2005;andPappuetal2005).Moreover,highlevelsofbrandawarenesspositivelyaffectthe

formationoftheproduct’sbrandimage(association)(RamosandFranco,2005).Eschetal(

2006) also found that brandawareness affects brand image ( association). These literature

reviewleadstohypothesesH1

H1:BrandAwarenesshasapositivedirecteffecttoBrandAssociations.

TheRelationshipbetweenBrandAwareness,BrandAssociationandBrandLoyalty

Yoo, Donthu and Lee, (2000) researched about brand awareness with brand

associationsandbrandequity.Theseresearchersindicatedthatbrandawarenesswithbrand

associationhasasignificantpositiveeffectonbrandequity.

Whilebrandloyaltycanbedefinedascombinationofelementsincludingthedegreeof

customer satisfaction and the positive of brand associations. Thus it can be seen that if

customershadhigherbrandassociationsandbrandawareness,brandloyaltywouldincrease.

SimilarlyinAtilgan’s(2005)study,themorefavourableassociationsconsumershavetowardsa

brand,themoretheirloyaltyandviceversa.

TheseliteraturereviewleadstohypothesesH2,H3

H2:BrandAwarenesshasapositivedirecteffecttoBrandloyalty

H3:BrandAssociationhasapositivedirecteffecttoBrandLoyalty

TheRelationshipbetweenbrandawareness,brandassociationandperceivedquality.

AsstudiedbyAaker(1991),Keller(1993)andPappuetal(2005),consumerwhohold

favourableassociationstowardsabrandarealsolikelytodevelopfavourableperceptionsof

qualityandviceversa.Brandawarenessintheirstudyhasbeendefinedasconsumer’sabilityto

recallthatabrandisamemberofproductcategory.Consumersbrandawarenessislikelytobe

highwhentheyhavestrongassociationsforthebrandandwhentheyperceivedthequalityof

thebrandtobehighandviceaversa.

TheseliteraturereviewleadstohypothesesH4andH5:

H4:BrandAwarenesshasapositivedirecteffecttoPerceivedQuality.

H5:BrandAssociationshasapositivedirecteffecttoPerceivedQuality.

TheRelationshipbetweenPerceivedQualityandBrandLoyalty.



For several studies found that brand loyalty is related perceived quality ( Mc

Connel,1968,Shapiro,1970SzybilooandJacoby,1974)asreviewedbyLauandLee(1999).

Atilganetal.(2005)studiedtherelationshipbetweenthedimensionsofbrandequity

andbrandequityitself.Theyconcludedthatbrandloyaltyisthemostinfluencedimensionof

brandequity.Eventheirstudydidnotgiveenoughsupportto theexistenceofadirectcausal

relationship between the three dimensions brand awareness, brand association, and

perceivedquality andbrandequity However,observedpair-wisecomparisonsuggestedthat

thereisacorrelationbetweenbrandloyalty,brandawareness,andperceivedquality.Asa

result they suggested that concentrating brand loyalty, should not undervalue the effect of

brandawarenessandperceivedqualitytobrandloyalty.

AsPappuetal’sstudy(2005)isenvisagedthatconsumer’sperceptionofqualitywill

beassociatedwiththeirbrandloyalty.Themorebrandloyalaconsumeris,themoreheorshe

islikelytoperceivedthebrandasofferingsuperiorqualityandviceaversa.

TheseliteraturereviewleadstohypothesesH6

H6:PerceivedQualityhasapositivedirecteffecttoBrandLoyalty

TheMediatingEffectofPerceivedQuality

Brand awareness has been define as consumer’s ability to recall that a brand is a

member ofproduct category(Aaker,1991). Consumers brandawareness is likely tobehigh

whentheyhavestrongassociationsforthebrandandwhentheyperceivedthequalityofthe

brandtobehighandviceaversa.Similarly,consumers’perceptionofqualityofabrandislikely

tobehighwhentheyhavestrongassociationwiththebrandandviceversaPappuetal.(2005).

According toAaker (1991) whilebrandawareness builds the familiarity liking sightand isa

signalofsubstance/commitment,perceivedqualityactsasadifferentiationtools.

TheseliteraturereviewleadstohypothesesH7,H8

H7:PerceiveQualityismediatingtherelationshipbetweenBrandAwarenessand

BrandEquity.

H8:PerceivedQualityismediatingtherelationshipbetweenBrandAssociationand

Brandloyalty.

TheMediatingEffectofBrandAssociation.

Brandawareness influences consumerdecisionsmakingbyaffecting thestrengthof

thebrandassociationsintheirmind.(Keller,1993,1997).PittaandKatsanis(1995)alsoindicated

that brand associations of the product can be stored in consumer’s minds after brand

awareness of the product are already in theirmemory.LaterAtilganetal; and Pappuet al



(2005)foundthatbrandawarenessandbrandassociationswerecorrelated.Theseliterature

reviewleadstohypothesesH9

H9: Brand Association is mediating the relationship between Brand Awareness and Brand

Loyalty.

METHOD.

This research examined the relationship among the four most important dimensional

constructsofbrandequitywhich is includesbrandawareness,brand associations,perceived

qualityandbrandloyalty

ResearchFramework

Basedonliteraturereviewandresearchhypothesesasillustratedinthelastchapter,thisstudy

developtheconceptualframeworkofthisresearchasshowninFigure3

FIGURE2:TheResearchFramework

The proposed research framework present the relationship between four construct of

customerbased brand equity namelyBrand awareness, brand association,perceived quality

andbrandloyalty.



Measures

Measuresofbrandequityconsistofthe fourconstructofcustomerbasedbrandequity.This study employed a five point Likert scale anchored from 1 (strongly disagreed) to 5

(stronglyagreed)whichwereadoptedfromAtilgan(2005)andKimandKim(2005).

Brandawareness.

Sample responded to four itemsdesignedtoassess theirability to recognize and recall the

brandasamember ofa certainproject category. The itemsfromAtilgan’s questionnaires(

Atilganetal,2005)whichincluding“Iamawareofthisrestaurant”(BAW1),“Icanrecognize

this restaurant among other restaurants”(BAW2), “I know what this restaurant looks like”(

BAW3),“SomecharacteristicofMcDonaldcometomymindquickly”(BAW4).

BrandAssociations

FourteenitemsbyKimandKim(2005)wereadoptedtomeasureanythinglinkedinmemoryto

thebrand:“Itiscrowded”(BA1),“Itisnoisy”(BA2),“Thepriceisreasonable”(BA3),“Serviceis

prompt” (BA4). ‘It is conveniently located” (BA5), “It has a differentiated image from other

restaurant brands”(BA6). “ It tastes good compare with price” (BA7), ”Employees are very

kind(BA8),“It has a very clean image”( BA9),“It has cheerfuland enchanting atmosphere”

(BA10),“Therearemanyevent”(BA11)Ifeelcomfortabletovisitalone”(BA12),“Ithasalong

history”(BA13),“Itsbrandisfamiliartome”(BA14).

PerceivedQuality

TenitemsbyKimandKim(2005)wereadoptedtomeasurecustomerperceptionof

overallqualityorsuperiorityofaproductorservicewithrespecttoitsintendedpurpose

relativetoalternativesincluding,“Thephysicalfacilities(e.gbuilding,sign,roomdécor,

illumination)arevisuallyappealing”(PQ1),“Therestaurantstaffgivescustomers

individualattention”(PQ2),“Theappearanceofstaffmembersareclean,neat,

appropriatelydressed”(PQ3),“Therestauranthasoperatinghoursconvenienttoalltheir

customers”(PQ4),“Thestaffprovidespromptserviceatpromisedtimes”(PQ5).“The

staffhandlescustomers’complaintseffectively”(PQ6).“Thestaffisalwayswillingto

customers”(PQ7),“Theknowledgeandconfidenceofthestaffaregood”(PQ8),“The



foodqualityoftherestaurantisgood”(PQ9),and“Therestaurantinsistsonerror-free

service”(PQ10).

BrandLoyalty

FiveitemsbyKimandKim(2005)wereadoptedtomeasuretheattachmentthatcustomerhas

toabrandincluding:“Iregularlyvisitthisrestaurant”(BL1),“Iintendtovisitthisrestaurant

again”( BL2), “I usually use this restaurant as my first choice compared to other

restaurants”(BL3),“Iam satisfiedwiththevisittothisrestaurant”(BL4),“Iwouldrecommend

this restaurant toothers” (BL5), and “Iwouldnot switch toanother restaurant for the next

time”(BL6).



Research Design: -

A research design is purely and simply the work or plan for a study that

guides the collection and analysis of the data. I have chosen descriptiveresearch design for study.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:-

The methodology used to analyze the project is mainly based on survey

method and this survey was conducted through Questionnaires and it alsoinclude direct contact with the management and the managerial staff of the

bank.

SAMPLE DESIGN

Population definition

A population can be defined as including all people or items with thecharacteristic one wish to understand. Because there is very rarely enough

time or money to gather information from everyone or everything in apopulation, the goal becomes finding a representative sample (or subset)of that population.

So therefore for our research purpose our population would consist of thefollowing sample-

• Existing Users Of BOM-Database of all the consumers who avail

services of BOM• Any Users who avail Banking Services from any bank.

So to summarize our population would comprise of the USERS & NON-

Users of BOM. But will comprise of all the people who use bankingservices.

Sampling Technique-

Simple random sampling as a technique would be used in order to get

clear and unbiased results, as random people would be chosen among the



sample.

SIZE OF SAMPLE

BOM Customer 50, Non BOM Customers 25

Sample Frame

The database of the existing consumers at BOM

And the database for other bank users would be obtained form secondary

sources in the form of published records of this information.

Sample Profile

The sample profile for Bank of Maharashtra would be based on thefollowing things-

• Geographic Location-

Metropolitan & Semi Metropolitan cities

• Occupation-

Working Professionals

• Age Group-

Above 21

Observational Design-

METHODOLOGY

Primary method: - From Users & Non-Users

Secondary method: - From Internet, Journals, Magazines and Newspapersand published Papers



The unit of analysis is bank consumers sampled through university staff offour public universities in India.

To proceed the formal data collection, we first explain the purpose of this studyand show respondents how to fill in the questionnaires. If respondents have

problems in filling in the questionnaires, they can directly ask us . It takes ten to

fifteen minutes to complete the formal questionnaires. Survey questionnaires were hand distributed to the 75 respondents, and

retrievedwiththeaidofundergraduateandgraduateuniversitystudents.

Atotalof73usablequestionnaires,or98.82percentresponserate.Fromthe

retrieved questionnaires we separate into the frequent and less frequent

consumers data.We conducted our analysis on 73 valid data of frequentconsumers.

Beforetheprocessofquantitativedataanalysisbegan,weemployedhuman

efforts in dealing with retrieved questionnaires, using SPSS 13.00 for

Windows toanalyze thedataofquestionnaires. Incompletequestionnaires

were regarded as invalid. We enlisted the code for the retrieved

questionnairesandenteredthemintothetable

ANALYTICAL TOOLS

Survey Method, which will be administered through Questionnaire

Statistical Tools-

Factor Analysis and or Cluster Analysis

Operational Design-

Timing-

The table below indicates our suggested timeframe for the project. This

meets the deadlines set out in the brief. When the project is underway, wewill send weekly progress reports in the form of emails at 12 noon every



Friday.

This allows us to summarise the weekʼs work and gives us the opportunity

of the weekend to put into place any modifications you might suggest.

Please note that there are overlapping periods; these have been carefully

studied to ensure that your deadlines are respected. Week

Activity Days

Client Interactions 1–8

Literature study 4 days

Develop Proposal 2days

Questionnaire development 3 days

Field study 10 days

Coding and data Analysis 4 days

Report Writing 2 days

Presentation 1 day

TotalNumberofdays:34days

Milestones:

–ProposalApproval

–DataCollectionCompletion

–FinalReport



FEESTotal- 5 lakhs INR

The fees quoted below are exclusive of VAT and are subject to thestandard terms and conditions, which are appended. The fees are subjectto the assumptions contained in these proposals and we reserve the rightto make adjustments should any assumptions prove to be incorrect.

Ruchi Kothari_162(Market Research Proposal)

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