market research for scooter segment

Identifying the Communication Strategy for the Scooter Segment

Contents

Factor AnalysisSocio-Economic Classification of the Respondents

Sample StatisticsData Collection

Key Information Areas and VariablesResearch Objectives

Marketing Objective

Role of InfluencerAssociation with Brand Ambassador

Brand PersonificationPerception of TVS

Brand AwarenessComparative Analysis – TVS v/s Scooter Segment

Respondents keen to try a new TVS productMedium of Communication

Stochastic Share AnalysisSWOT Analysis

Jaccard AnalysisRespondents preference for metal bodied scooter

Qualitative AnalysisConclusion

Marketing Objective

Identifying the communication strategy that appeals to the consumers of the scooter segment

for the brand TVS

Research Objectives

Can TVS leverage its brand identity in the scooter market by extending the Scooty Brand/ product portfolio?

Evaluate customer expectations from scooters/ Scooteretts on certain parameters.

Evaluating the possibility of success of a new scooter from TVS in relation to the competition.

Product Performance – Mileage/efficiency, power , comfort and

convenienceBrand Image– Reliability, Style (high/low), TVS vis-à-vis Honda,

Hero Honda, SuzukiPurchase Intention– Frequency of use, purpose of use

Key Information Areas and Variables

SEC– Income, age, sex, education, profession

Awareness– spontaneous/top of mind, share of mind/share of heart

Product specs– luggage space, engine type, affordability, robustness

Role of influence– Peer/family pressure and celebrity endorsements/

advertisements

Key Information Areas and Variables

Primary Research : via questionnaires from Scooter/Scooterette owner Individuals seeking to purchase a new scooter Individuals who have driven scooters in last 1 year

Secondary Research• Newspaper Articles• Literature Review• SIAM• Business Standard

Data Collection

• Sample of 102 respondents (out of which 7 were rejected)

• Both in person and online• The Demographic details of the respondents

Sample Statistics

Classification of the Respondents

All data in number of respondents

Preference for Scooters : Factor Analysis

FactorsUsefulness Reliability, ease of use, mileage, utility, comfort, affordability

Appeal Masculinity, youthfulness, style

Dependability Power, Safety

Preference for Scooterettes : Factor Analysis

FactorsUsefulness Reliability, ease of use, utility, youthfulness, comfort,

affordability, safety

Efficiency Mileage, Style, Power

Macho Image Masculinity

Preference for Bikes : Factor Analysis

FactorsUsefulness Safety, ease of use, mileage, utility, comfort, affordability

Appeal Power, youthfulness, style

Sturdiness Reliability, masculinity

Purchase Decision of Scooters : Factor Analysis

FactorsRobustness Power, Masculinity, Acceleration, Innovation, style, status

symbol

Value for money Maintenance cost, Working Life,, mileage, affordability, working life

Trust worthiness Performance, reliability, safety, comfort, ease of use

After Sales service Guarantee, spare parts availability, service network

Features colors available, engine capacity, seating space, storage space

Brand TVS: Factor Analysis

FactorsUsefulness Mileage, utility, comfort, style, reliability

Robustness Power, Safety, Masculinity

Value for Money Affordability, youthfulness

Simplicity Ease of use

Comparative Analysis – TVS v/s Scooter Segment

Based on respondents’ perception of the Scooter segment vis-à-vis TVS on the given parameters.The data represents the mean score for scooter segment and TVS

Brand Awareness: Top of Mind (Overall)


Brand Awareness: Top of Mind (Gender Classification)


Brand Awareness: Spontaneous (Overall)


Brand Awareness: Spontaneous (Gender Classification)


Perception of TVS: Overall 1

1: Percentage of respondents associating a particular parameter +vely with TVS

Perception of TVS

1: Percentage of respondents associating a particular parameter +vely with TVS

Brand Personification

Brand Personification (Gender Classification)

Association with Brand Ambassador

The above graph is based on actual number of valid responses

Association with Brand Ambassador

Role of Influencer

The influencing parameters considered in our survey were clubbed into two categories: family and friends

Medium of Communication

Income group Newspaper Internet TV/Radio Billboards Others<100000 3 2 7 0 1

100000-250000 3 5 17 0 0

250000-450000 1 12 10 0 0

>450000 6 14 12 1 0

Income Group: Annual Family Income, Based on number of valid responses (94 in this case)

The table below collates the data for the most reachable communication medium for respondents of different income groups

TV/Radio is a preferred medium across income groups, Internet is preferred in Higher Income Group

Medium of Communication

Respondents keen to try a new TVS product

Respondents preference for Metal bodied scooters

Jaccard Analysis

ParametersPerformance Value for money

Reliability Working Life

Safety Acceleration

Mileage Masculinity

Power Colors Available

Comfort Engine Capacity

Style Innovation

Maintenance Cost Availability of Spare parts

Price Service Network

Ease of Use Status Symbol

Guarantee Storage Space

Jaccard Analysis

Category Drivers RankComfort 1

Value for Money 2

Ease of use 3

Brand Drivers (TVS)Value for Money

Ease of Use

Comfort

Category Driver, Jaccard Score >0.4

SWOT Analysis: TVS

Strengths Opportunities

Performance Ease of use Engine Capacity

Price Value for money Storage Space

Colors Available Safety Working Life

Availability of Spare Parts Mileage Guarantee

Service Network Maintenance Cost

Weaknesses Threats

Power Reliability

Innovation Style

Status Symbol Acceleration

Masculinity

Comfort

Scale Used< -4= Weakness, -4 to 0 = Threat, 0 to 4 = Opportunity, >4 = Strength

Stochastic Share Analysis

Conclusions: •LML’s stochastic share is surprising since it is a defunct company•Bajaj as a brand is underperforming•Honda as a brand has lower stochastic share although it is the market leader.•TVS’s stochastic share and market share are quite similar but the company can leverage on its higher stochastic share as compared to its competitors.

Qualitative Analysis

Approach to Qualitative Research

The research is divided into two parts:– Focus Group Discussions

Objective: To how do they relate to the scooter segment and to analyze consumer preferences and tastes so as to formulate the communication strategy which is most appealing to them.

Sampling method: Non-probabilistic sampling – Judgment sampling

Sample size: Focus groups of 8 members each Respondent profile: Representation was from people of similar

age group and educational qualification with different family income levels.

Moderator: Researcher

Division of Qualitative Analysis

– In Depth personal interviews• Objective: To analyze consumer preferences and tastes so as to formulate

the communication strategy which is most appealing to them.. • Sampling method: Non-probabilistic sampling – Judgment sampling• Sample size: Ten personal interviews • Respondent profile: Representation of various age-groups, income-

groups, education-level-groups. SEC A & SEC B will be accommodated. • Interviewer: Researcher

Division of Qualitative Analysis (Contd.)

FGD

Topic 2.5 lpa to 4.5 lpa >4.5 lpa

Identifying with scooter segment

A scooter is an economic mode of transport which can be used by almost everyone in the family

A scooter is easy to drive and easily manoeuvrable

Advantages of scooter over bikes

Enough leg space so the kids can also travel along with parents. Luggage carrying capacity so easy for shopping

Easy to drive as there is no need to change gears. Can beat rush hour traffic. Safety is more for scooters.

Preferred communication channel

Internet and TV is equally accessible but an ad on TV has more impact than one on the internet

TV is more accessible and hence is the preferred channel ahead of newspapers also


Initiator and Influencer Largely a family decision based on utility

Largely a family decision but also influenced by promotional offers and free test drives

Future of the scooter segment

Ladies find scooters convenient and affordable so they should be the target

Not just ladies, people who are a bit old or some one who has back pain find scooters more comfortable. Also age group 16-18 who can’t get a license.

FGD


Attributes Safety, Affordability, Service Centre, Stability

Light weight, Maneuverability, Looks, Service centers

Dilemmas Maintenance costs and low mileage. Presence of Public Transport

Choosing between the brands and also choosing between a scooter and a bike.

Preferred Brand Ambassador

A person who stands for stability and consistency some one like Rahul Dravid

A celebrity like Sharukh Khan who gave more glamour to a scooter in Chak de India

FGD

Factor Importance

Comfort High Among both males and females – Important attribute associated with segment

Reliability High

Performance High

Colors Medium High among females, neutral to low among males

Factor Importance

Style Less Among both males and females

Masculinity Less Among females, neutral among male respondents

In-depth Interviews – Important Factors For Scooter / Scooterette Segment

• Top Of Mind Recall– Bajaj enjoys the highest Top Of Mind Recall( 6 out of 10) – Second is TVS(2)– Agrees with the survey results found

• INTERESTING FACTS– 2 TVS users have BAJAJ occupying their top of mind share for

the scooter / scooterette segment• TVS has a high spontaneous brand recall.• People associate comfort level, ease of use and reliability

with brand TVS.• High levels of brand loyalty were seen, sometimes causing

a visible halo effect– One of the BAJAJ users rated BAJAJ high on each and every

attribute and was not at all open to other brands```

In-depth Interviews – Brand Awareness

• Females are generally not biased against 2 stroke scooters whereas males prefer 4 stroke

• High power is in general preferred(8 on 10)

In-depth Interviews – Category Awareness

• Very little recall of recent TVS advertisements• Sportspersons are everyone’s preferred brand

ambassadors because they associate youth and energetic look with Scooterette and sportspersons are able to carry that look very well but they themselves don’t associate with the brand ambassadors.

• Celebrities are preferred as they make good advertisements

In-depth Interviews – TVS Communication Strategy

• Accessible Medium– TV / Radio - ease of access– Billboards• Sample Response: “If I am sitting in a bus at a red-light

and I see a Scooterette advertisement on a billboard, I can imagine myself undergoing a transformation from being in the crowd to the independent Scooterette owner.”

In-depth Interviews – Communication Strategy

The ideal communication strategy should focus on the following factors:– Usefulness– Appeal– Efficiency

From the Purchase Decision POV:– Robustness– Trustworthiness– Value for Money

TVS is already associated with – Usefulness– Robustness– Value for Money

So communication strategy should continue its focus on these attributes

Conclusions

• General Perception of TVS on given parameters was better than that of scooters

• Female TOMA slightly higher for TVS than male TOMA probably due to the Scooty effect

• Male TOMA lower probably due to Bajaj Pulsar’s domination of the Bike segment

• The communication strategy cannot be used to leverage TVS as a macho product and a power machine, since the perception of both parameters is both low but should focus on reliability, ease of use and comfort

Conclusions

• Respondents prefer Sportspersons as Brand Ambassador, but it can be seen that they are neutral when asked if they relate to the same.

• Interviews and FGD’s have shown that brand ambassadors can make the ad look good but have little else utility. Market Leader Honda does not use brand ambassadors. The communication strategy of TVS should be changed to one which focuses on the product rather than celebrity endorsements.

• Family influence is seen to play a major role and inputs of FGD and interviews show that the scooter / scooterette can be positioned as a family vehicle.

Conclusions

market research for scooter segment

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