ASSIGNMENT 1

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES&PRACTICE

Submitted by: Sudheesh Kumar A submitted to: Dr.Kalpana

1st MBA “C” Professor in Mgt studies

Hindustan College of arts &science Hindustan College of arts&Science

TOPIC

“Chart out marketing plan to improve the sales of Tata Nano”

INTRODUCTION

 Business Marketing consists of the process of understanding, creating and

delivering value to targeted business markets and customers. Gaining an equitable

return on the value delivered and enhancing a supplier’s present and future

profitability is the essence of Business Marketing Strategy. Acquiring superior

knowledge of customer requirements and preferences and understanding what it is

worth to fulfill them, underscores everything a firm does in Business Marketing.

Tata Motors Limited is India's largest automobile company, with consolidated

revenues of Rs. 92,519 cores (USD 20 billion) in 2009-10. It is the leader in

commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top three in passenger

vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle

segments. The company is the world's fourth largest truck manufacturer, and the

world's second largest bus manufacturer.

The company's 24,000 employees are guided by the vision to be "best in the

manner in which we operate best in the products we deliver and best in our value

system and ethics."

So in this assignment I conduct a detailed study about TATA NANO and its

marketing plans to improve the sales volume.

Tata Nano Features, Specifications...

Tata Motors will commercially launch the Tata Nano on March 23, 2009. 

The official list of features and specifications are now released, so here they are.

Bookings for the Tata Nano will be accepted only through select SBI branches.

The booking forms, costing an estimated Rs 300, can be bought from SBI

branches, Westside, Croma Stores, and Tata dealerships, after the official launch

on March 23, 2009.

The Tata Nano will come in three variants, Standard, Deluxe and Luxury. The

small car is expected to be priced between Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 1.34 lakh. The dealer

price is still believed to be Rs 1 lakh, but on-road price could be as high as Rs 1.34

lakh.

Standard Tata Nano features

The Standard Tata Nano, its basic model, is likely to be priced at $2,500 (Rs

1.25 lakhs). This will be the most affordable version of the Nano.

The Standard Tata Nano will have a speedometer, odometer, folding rear seats, 2-

spoke steering wheel, and no airconditioning. It will come in colors such as Bright

Red, Ivory White, and Summer Blue.

There you have a super basic car. It is a car alright, but not bad if you compare it to

the bare basic Maruti 800, right

Luxury Tata Nano features

The Luxury variant of the Tata Nano will have alloy wheels, and fog lamps,

along with air conditioning, body-colored bumpers, tripmeter, front power

windows, 3-Spoke steering wheel, front and rear fog lamps, and central locking.

The Tata Nano luxury variant will come in Champagne Gold, Lunar Silver, and

Sunshine Silver.

This one will be the costliest Nano in the market.

For those who have been waiting for a Tata Nano automatic or one with airbags,

they are not part of the specifications of any Nano model which would be launched

now. As Tata would struggle to meet the demand, it is quite likely that those

features are not going to make their appearance till 2010.

Tata Nano: Dimensions

Tata Motors has said that the four-door Tata Nano can comfortably seat four

people, with more leg space and head room. That is entirely right – the design of

the Nano – especially interiors – is much superior to the Maruti 800 which is the

only car you can compare it to. And the Nano is miles ahead in the interior space

department.

The Tata Nano is 3.1 meters in length, 1.6 meters in height, and 1.5 meters in

width with a wheelbase of 2230 mm and ground clearance of 180 mm.

Tata Nano: Engine Specifications

The Tata Nano has  a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminum, two-cylinder, 623 cc,

33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol (MPFI) engine. This is the first time that a

two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft, the

company claims. This is true for India; abroad, I think there have been twin

cylinder cars before.

Rear wheel drive, rear engine configuration means that the front end is very light,

and you would not feel the need for power steeling.

As an aside, what does a twin-cylinder petrol engine sound like? Does it sound like

a motorcycle or a car? Guess we will have to wait and see.

The power train of the Tata Nano is set in the rear. Maximum power and maximum

torque is  35 bhp @ 5500 rpm and 4.8 kgm @ 3000 rpm, respectively.

The Nano’s electronic engine management systems promise to take out every bit of

performance from the puny engine, and offer maximum fuel efficiency too.

In terms of performance, the Tata Nano can go from 0 to 60 kph in approximately

in 8 Seconds, hitting a top speed of 105 kph.

Tata Nano: Safety Features

The Tata Nano comes with crumple zones, all sheet-metal body, fuel cut-off

in case of collision, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats and

anchorages. The tyres of the Tata Nano are tubeless, and the rear tailgate glass is

bonded to the body, you can’t open it. The tubeless tyres are good, but they are

really small visually – ride comfort could be an issue. with small tyres on less-

than-perfect roads.

Tata Nano: Emission control and Environment Footprint

The Tata Nano promises lower pollution levels compared to two-

wheelers made in India, says the company. Tata claims that the Tata Nano offers a

high fuel efficiency of 20 km/liter, thereby ensuring low carbon dioxide emissions.

So that’s that with the spec list. Hang on, and visit us again for more on the Nano

launch.

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Tata nano has a two cylinder 623 cc, 33 horsepower rear mounted multi-

point fuel injection petrol engine.This is the first time a 2-cylinder gasoline engine

was used in a car with single balancer shaft. The Tata Nano is 3.1 meters in length,

1.6 meters in height, and 1.5 meters in width with a wheelbase of 2230 mm and

ground clearance of 180 mm. 2010 Tata Nano can comfortably seat 4 people with

spacious leg space and head room. Hope Tato Nano's  specifications and the great

set of features give the biggest bang for your buck.

Overview of Tata Nano

Tata Nano was launched on 23rd March in Mumbai with much fanfare. Over

100 media persons were present at the launch ceremony with over 1000 guests.

Tata Nano is a rear-engined, four-passenger city car aimed primarily at the Indian

market. It was first presented at the 9th annual Auto Expo on 10 January 2008, at

Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

Tata Nano has been priced with a starting rate of Rs.134000.00 for the Base

model and Rs.160000.00 & Rs.185000.00 for the CX & LX model respectively. It

is cheaper than the Maruti 800, its main competitor which is next cheapest Indian

car priced at 1, 84,600.00 Rupees. Nano is 8 percent smaller in exterior size and

has 23 percent larger interior space in comparison to Maruti 800. It is available in 6

shades and the top model LX comes fully loaded with AC, front power windows,

fog lights, central locking, tinted glass, body colored bumpers and digital tripmeter.

Design & Style of Tata Nano

Tata Nano has been designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger

compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four

persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy. With

a length of 3099mm, width of 1495mm, height of 1652mm and with adequate

ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in

rural areas.

Tata Nano's mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the power

train at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and maneuverability,

which sets a new benchmark among small cars. The main styling elements of Nano

are centre crease on the bonnet, side scoops which not only look sporty but also

help to keep the rear mounted engine cool.

Tata is also providing some add-ons like alloys, rear spoiler & sunroof to make

Tata Nano more stylish & attractive. From the rear it looks more or less like the

Indica Vista with vertical tail lamps. The centrally placed exhaust pipe looks very

cool. First look at the Tata Nano may not impress you in terms of dimensions but

even though the car looks tiny and miniscule in images but it is only when you

come up close to it that you can make out that its virtual length constitutes the very

cabin space!

Variants, Shades & Price of Tata Nano

Tata Nano is available in following 3 variants (Prices are Ex-Showroom Mumbai):

Nano Base/Standard/Basic - 134000.00

Nano CX - 160000.00

Nano LX - 185000.00

The Base model of Tata Nano features:

Seat Belts.

High mounted Rear Stop lamp.

Only Driver seat adjust-sliding and reclining.

Fixed front passenger seat.

Folding Rear Seats.

2-Spoke Steering wheel.

Grey bumpers and interiors.

Driver side outside rear view mirror.

In addition to above features the mid variant Tata Nano CX features:

AC.

Tinted glasses.

Metallic paint.

In addition to above features the top variant Tata Nano LX features:

Tripmeter.

Front Power windows.

Central Locking.

Front and Rear fog lamps.

3-Spoke Steering wheel.

Moulded door trim with fabric inserts.

Floor console with glass holder.

Anti-Glare inside rear view mirror.

Sunvisors on both sides.

All the models of Tata Nano come with 18 Months or 24,000 kms warranty -

whichever is earlier

Marketing the NANO

The world’s media has chronicled every bit of the Nano’s birth, from labour

pangs panning over three years to a safe delivery. So, will marketing the car be

child’s play after all.

Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Motors, said, “I must say thank god it is over because

what I went through few hours ago was for me pretty traumatic. I am a reasonably

shy person and at the same time our challenge has just begun. We have to deliver

on our promise and have to deliver a reliable vehicle to the country. The nation has

to accept that it would be the final verdict. In a way, what we have done today is to

just put a stick in the ground and disclose what we have achieved, but we have a

long way to go.”

The closest any brand launch has come to rivaling the launch of the Apple iPhone

in June 2007, has to be this one and Ratan Tata’s Nano is not even for sale yet!

While the Rs 1 lakh showroom price tag will be its biggest lure, the breakthrough it

signifies for the global auto industry and the emotional investment in the project by

the Tata Motors’ team has created a brand that is almost an overnight icon. But

with the commercial launch of the Nano a good eight maybe even 12 months away

and with nobody getting a chance to actually drive the car yet, the goodwill,

interest, and fire to buy will have to be stoked carefully.

Is it going to be a case of matching rate expectations or riding on momentum,

which this kind of a launch can give a brand?

Rajiv Dube, President-Passenger Cars, Tata Motors, said, “If we were launching

this car as of tomorrow, there would have been a phase where we would have been

riding the momentum. For what I have seen and what people have told me, I think

it has got a welcome reception and that momentum would have carried this

forward to some extent. But since the commercial launch is still some time away,

we would have to work towards keeping their interest going until the car comes on

the roads. And beyond a period of time, may be two-three years if we have done it,

somebody else will try to do it. It is going to be a great effort in terms of keeping

the brand appealing to consumers when others are around.

While the day after the launch saw the Nano get full page real ads which it did not

really need as a full blown ad campaign is still a while away.

Dube: If you look at Unilever, their per piece prices are very small but they sell in

volumes, so their advertising budget is huge. I cannot comment whether in relation

to the Indica it will be small or big, but what this car deserves it will get. In terms

of volumes, we have said that we would like to use some innovative means of

reaching out, which are not conventional because this car in terms of its concept is

not conventional.

Not surprisingly, Tata Motors is keeping the Nano’s marketing plans close to its

chest. It is clear though that it is looking to adopt unconventional ways and is

looking for models outside the car industry to distribute this high volume, low

margin car but service centers and dealers will also be integral to the new

paradigm. It expects the Nano to have universal appeal that cuts across geographies

and demographics.

One day the world’s cheapest car used the people’s medium to get in touch. It was

looking to engage chat and even set a date.

That snazzy launch event and the launch print campaign was handled by Showdiff

and Rediffusion DY&R. But contrary to reports that say that Rediffusion has

bagged the Nano account, it’s not yet a done deal. Though don’t be surprised if it

does end up getting the Nano in addition to the commercial vehicles business it

already handles for Tata Motors. After all they were chosen to handle the launch

and Ratan Tata and Arun Nanda are known to be friends. Other roster agencies for

the company are FCB Ulka and Ogilvy.

DETERMINANTS

1. Product, Branding, and Advertising

Every business started from 0, from no one knows it until everyone know it.

Advertising is one of the most common ways to make car buyer or car enthusiast

aware of the new car with special promotion price. Another more important way of

advertising is to create an image or brand image. Take BMW Z3 for example, it

was introduced in 1996 and shortly the car has been used in the famous James

Bond movie. This is similar to Nissan 350 Fairlady Z in the recent 2007 Fast and

the Furious 3 – Tokyo Drift. Over the years Tata Motors have been successful in

creating their brand image especially they use some famous stars as their

spokesman.

Other important marketing strategies are such as the packaging, innovations, and

quality control. Tata Motors provide many innovative features to attract car lover.

One of these innovations is the Tata Safari 4X4Dicor that has “Reverse Guide

System”. A weather-proof camera is fixed to the rear car to help the driver while

reversing the car.

2. Pricing Strategy

There are various factors to determine a price of a car. These factors are such as

market condition (it can’t be too low or too high with the prices of same vehicle

from competitors, it has to be at par), cost incurred to build a car, profit by

company, dealer profit.

Giving discount every month and special promotion for certain type of vehicle also

one of the strong strategy use by Tata Motors. Discount can be made from

Company’s profit or from dealer’s profit at certain range.

3. Place

Place of dealership does play an important role. The channel of distribution,

physical location, and dealership method of distribution and sales is generally

adopted. The distribution of vehicle must be in a very systematic way, from the

plant to dealership and to end user. This is not only in India itself but also to the

world-wide dealership. (See also Ford Motor Company SWOT analysis)

4. Maintenance and Support

After sales service is also another important marketing strategy for most of the car

buyer to choose for the right car. End user will not want to spend a lot of time to

travel to a far place just to service the car such as change engine oil, oil filter and

some simple checking. Parts and accessories must also easy to access when it is

needed to keep the customer satisfy from buying Tata cars until maintaining the car

or even until they sell the car and change to a newer Tata model.

DRAWBACKS OF TATA NANO

Finally nano has launched and bookings are started.

The people's car Nano is cheapest car in the World.

Nano is five seater, mileage is also good as it is said that it'll offer 23 km/l,

But there is always two side of a coin. Nano is made of light weighing steel

and as the front side of the car is not too long there may maximum damage and its

top speed is 90km/hr and there is no power steering. But such a small car will not

require power steering. There is no AC , cassette player and power windows in the

basic model .It has only 4 gears which are manual and the fuel tank capacity is

30lts

Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile company, is planning to offer its

customers with a new variant of its Nano known as Nano Plus, by launching the

improved version car in 2011. 

While Nano with Rs. 1 lac price tag was failed to give good target to Tata

Motors, Nano Plus is expected to fill and make up the gap with its great up

gradation. 

The improved version Nano Plus will come with a powerful engine-1000 cc

engine as against the older 623 cc engine, ABS, alloy wheel, integrated music

system and improved interiors. 

Nano Plus seems to be on the lines of Nano europa and is likely to compete

with the Maruti Alto and Chevrolet Spark. However, the details about the price

and features are yet to be revealed. The company said that Tata Nano Plus will

hit the market in 2011.The main drawbacks are:-

No Hand Brake.

Engine at the rear. So no protection at the front in case of accident.

Top speed - 90 Kmph (Kilometer per hour). Thats why it would be just

a city car more or less, no long drives! Pity!!. So, it would not be

popular among youth who need speed which they get in Bikes.

Made up of low grade metal – Aluminium

Mileage: 20 Kmpl in spite of being light weight

Low Quality interiors - Seat cover are made up of leather.

No spare Tire.

Small sized Dashboard which can't safeguard against collision from

front.

Low Priced gearbox from Kinetic Scooter Company.

Very ugly interiors.

Seats uncomfortable much like a Three-Wheeler.

Emission norms not followed properly.

Not power full ,Pick up

Little Advantage in Hot Places: It has an AC (Air Conditioner)

The marketing strategies of Tata Motors

Tata Motors has said that the Nano's marketing strategy in particular is to use

conventional media outlets, but use them in unconventional ways. The Nano will

have no television campaigns, instead relying on innovative use of printed media,

radio spots and other media such as the Internet. Marketing strategies of Tata

Motors include the usual boring stuff like incorporating Tata Nano news intrpret

newspapers and creating Nano newsbreaks on the radio.

Some of the more interesting marketing strategies of Tata Motors includes Tata

Nano news crawling across as ticker messages at the bottom of your TV as well as

new online Tata Nano games, Tata Nano Internet chat rooms, irritating Tata Nano

pop-ups on major websites and even some in-depth Tata Nano conversations for

users to join in on Facebook, Orkut and other blogspaces.

Ad industry know-it-alls say the marketing strategies of Tata Motors will be

"cost-effective and innovative so that the Tata Nano becomes synonymous with

anything “small, cute and brief.”

“The idea is to make the Nano part of our everyday lingo like, 'see you after a

nano.' It’s a totally word-of-mouth campaign,” said some guy who claims he is

very familiar with the marketing strategies of Tata Motors.

Tata Motors has appointed Rediffusion DY&R with creative content design for

the Tata Nano campaign. The Economic Times has quoted Mahesh Chauhan,

Group CEO, Rediffusion DY&R as saying, “The Nano is a collective dream of the

Tata Motors team and millions of Indians. We feel privileged that Tata Motors has

selected us to partner this dream and share it with India. It is one of the most

exciting brands in the country to be associated with.”

By looking at the Marketing strategies of TATA motors, the SWOT analysis (the

Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) can clearly tells why Tata Motors

marketing strategies is one of the successful stories in automobile industry

nowadays

Tata Motors is an Automobile Company in India and is a very high earning

company. Its revenues reportedly in the year 2008-2009, are 14 billion. But it's

achievements do not stop there. It is among the world's top automobile companies,

reportedly the 4th largest truck manufacturer. 

The question that many may ask is, “What can we learn from such a large

company, with such great profits?” The age old statement, “Success often leaves

traces” may be appropriate to add in this junction. 

With 23,000 employees what is notable in Tata Motors approach is the fact that

it's marketing approach is novel and founded on clear cut internet marketing

guidelines.  One only has to go to the Tata Motors website to find that it integrates

multiple media outlets in it's marketing approach. From its use of flash to its sleak

website design, the comapny uses what is essential to great profits,- innovation. 

Innovation is simply the process by which companies increase their

profitability in the marketplace by staking out a position that other companies in

the market can't do.  It clears out space in their prospect's mind as to what their

company is able to offer them that no other company can. 

For Tata Motors- excellence in service and presentation- is the perception that

comes to the prospect’s mind, for others it may understanding a customer's family

needs for a car. 

Essentially what Tata Motors has done is they've brought a new range of value

to their market by bringing media and technology that have not been

overemphasized by their competitors so that they could carve out an unshakable

space in the minds of their customers and thus lead to increased sales. 

Marketing strategies of TATA motors is one of the most successful marketing

strategies in automobile industry. By looking at the SWOT analysis of Ta Motors

ta , you will know why Tata Motors Company is able to produce more than 4

million different types of vehicles such as cars, trucks, commercial vehicles, 4×4…

etc since the company began in 1945. Meanwhile, Tata Motors Limited has also

become the largest automobile producer in India market.

IMPROVEMENTS

Need for airbag is essential.

Now the price is more than Rs.1,00,000/-so try to fix in that price.

Include hand brake, it reduces accident.

Improve power pickup.

Try to use quality(hard) metals in body.

CONCLUSION

Tata nano is one of the important cars introduced by Tata motors.The people’s

car is cheapest car in the world.so the nano catch the market easily.

But now I find out some drawbacks of tata nano.so they must care about this

problem.I expecting that after eliminating these drawbacks they come back soon.

-END-