MARKETING ASSIGNMENT PHASE-1SUBMITTED TO - Prof. Bidyanand Jha

SUBMITTED BY - BHARAT SHARMA ROLL NO. – 11 SECTION -A

The Product chosen by me is Wagon-R Company is Maruti Suzuki India Limited.

Company Profile

Maruti Suzuki India Limited commonly referred to as Maruti, is a subsidiary company of Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation It was the first company in India to mass- produce and sell more than a million cars. It has a market share of 44.9% of the Indian passenger car market as of March 2011. Maruti Suzuki offers a complete range of cars from entry level Maruti 800 and Alto, to hatchback Ritz, A-Star, Swift, Wagon-R, Estillo and sedans DZire, SX4, in the 'C' segment Maruti Eeco, Multi-Purpose vehicle Ertiga and Sports Utility vehicle Grand Vitara.

It was the first company in India to mass-produce and sell more than a million cars. It is largely credited for having brought in an automobile revolution to India. It is the market leader in India, and on 17 September 2007, Maruti Udyog Limited was renamed as Maruti Suzuki India Limited. The company's headquarters are on Nelson Mandella Rd, New Delhi.In February 2012, the company sold its 10th million vehicle in India.

The company exports more than 50,000 cars annually and has an extremely large domestic market in India selling over 730,000 cars annually. Maruti 800, till 2004, was the India's largest selling compact car ever since it was launched in 1983. More than a million units of this car have been sold worldwide so far. Currently, Maruti Suzuki Alto tops the sales charts but Maruti Suzuki's Swift has taken over this titles by 19000 models in April 2012.The company imports diesel engines for all maruti Suzuki cars from the fiat motors the great Italian company .The German car company Volkswagen has a 19.9% non-controlling shareholding in Suzuki Motor Corporation

Product profileWagon-R

The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R is a made-for-India version of Suzuki Wagon R. The Wagon R was launched in December 1999, and has since undergone three upgrades (one in 2003, another in 2006 and another in 2010). When the second-generation Wagon R was launched in 2010, the car was built on a newer platform, and claimed more interior space, and new features such as an under-seat tray below the front passenger seat (top-end only). Its looks were also revamped, shedding the boxy look at the back. It was now less van-like, becoming simply another affordable hatchback, albeit with somewhat taller styling. It is one of the best selling models of Maruti Suzuki in India and continues to be the second best seller of the company after Alto every month.

Originally all Indian Wagon Rs received Suzuki's 1.1 L F10D petrol engine producing 64 bhp (48 kW) at 6,200 rpm and 84 Nm (62 lb·ft) of torque at 3,500 rpm. The newly launched Wagon Rs are powered by the company's well known K series engine. This K10B petrol engine benefits from a 5 speed manual transmission gearbox. The aluminum K10B engine of Maruti is very light and produces a power of 68 PS (50 kW; 67 hp) at 6,200 rpm and a torque of 90 N·m (66 lb·ft) at 3,200 rpm. Also, a new LPG version called DUO has been introduced lately for the F10D engined variants, which runs either on petrol and LPG.

A 3-cylinder diesel version is expected in late 2012 according to numerous strong rumors on the internet. This will make the Wagon R the cheapest diesel car in India -

Product Segmentation

Segmentation can be done by the following methods

1) Price based Segmentation

Segment A - Under Rs. 3 Lakhs

Segment B - Rs. 3-5 Lakhs

Segment C - Rs. 5-10 Lakhs

Segment D - Rs. 10-15 Lakhs

My product falls in SEGMENT B

2) Capacity of the car

4-seater

5-seater

8-seater

My Product Falls in 5 seater

3) Design of cars

Hatchback

Sedan

Suv

My Product falls in HATCHBACK SEGMENT

4) Depending Upon Fuel Consumption

PETROL

LPG

CNG

Product Lifecycle

My Product – Wagon-R is in the Maturity Stage

Competition is most intense as companies fight to maintain their market share.

Any significant moves are likely to be copied by competitors.

Any expenditure on research and development is likely to improve production

efficiency and quality .

Here maturity stage is made up of 2 stages

a) Growth Maturity – 1) sales growth starts declining.

2) laggard buyers enter into market

3) no new channels are left to fill.

b) Decaying Maturity – 1) absolute sales volume decrease.

2) Customer start switching to other substitutes.

BCG Matrix

STAR QUESTION MARK ?

CASH COWS

WAGON-R

DOGS

MARKETING ASSIGNMENT PHASE-1SUBMITTED TO - Prof. Bidyanand Jha

SUBMITTED BY - BHARAT SHARMA ROLL NO. – 11 SECTION -A

Pricing Strategies, Channel Strategies, and Communication Strategies with the nearest

competitor

Current Strategy Of Maruti Suzuki India Limited

Pricing Strategy – catering to all segments.

Offering one stop shop to customers.

Repositioning of Maruti products

Customer centric approach.

Committed to motorizing India.

Realization of importance of vehicles maintenance services market.

Playing on cost leadership

Pricing Strategy

Pricing objective :- Market Share & Cost Leadership.

Pricing method :- Markup Pricing (Cost plus pricing)

Pricing Strategy :- Economical Pricing

Current price of Maruti Wagon R VXI BSIV WITH ABS :- Rs. 4,40,900

The price of the Maruti car is between Rs2,10,000 to Rs15,00,000 . Maruti -800 is the lowest

price car of the company. Alto ,Omni Wagon-r , are also the low price cars of the company. Zen

and esteem are the mid price cars of the company , but the Grand Vitara is the high price car of

the company. The price of the ccare is decided according to the product variety, quality,

design ,etc.

Maruti caters to all segment and has product offering to all price points. It has a ccare priced at

Rs 1,87,000 which the lowest offer on road.Maruti gets 70% of the business from the repeat

buyers who earlier had owned a Maruti car. Their pricing strategy is to provide an option to

every customer looking for upgradation in his car.

What all features are included in this price ? ? ? ?They are providing the following features in this pricing range :-

Features

Cup holder Standard

Tachometer Standard

Fuel indicator yes

Rear parcel tray yes

clock yes

Front fog lights Standards

External features

Rear defogger Standard

Body coloured bumper Yes

Body coloured side door handle Yes

Driver air bags Standard

Child safety locks Standard

Seat belt rear and front yes

Central locking Standard

Comfort and convenience

Feature

Air conditioner Standard

Power window front and rear yes

Power door locks Standard

Power steering Standard

Remote boot/ fuel lid standard

Roof antenna/ power antenna yes

Entertainment

Feature

Car stereo Yes

Radio Yes

Cd player Standard

Major competitors are :-

Chevrolet - Spark 1.0

Hyundai - i10 Magna 1.2 Kappa2

Tata - Indica eV2 L BS-III

Comparing with the competitors

Wagon –R Chevrolet- spark Hyundai i-10 Tata indicaAlloy wheels Steel rims Air-con Fog lights

Fog lights Air-con Child safety lock Child safety lock

Power windows Child safety lock Tachometer Steel rims

Electric mirror Tachometer Power windows

Remote boot release Remote boot release Remote boot release

ABS Cup holders Power Steering

Ex showroom price –Rs 4,40,900

Ex showroom price3,26,365

Ex showroom priceRs. 4,32,709

Ex showroom priceRs. 4,22,452

Channel strategy

Maruti dealer’s/ showroom in India

Andaman Nicobar ,Andhra Pradesh , Assam, Bihar , Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh ,Delhi ,Goa ,Gujarat ,Manipur , Meghalaya , Mizoram, Nagaland ,Orissa ,Pondicherry ,Punjab , Rajasthan ,Sikkim, Tamil- Nadu ,Tripura, Uttar Pradesh , Uttaranchal ,Haryana ,Himachal Pradesh ,Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala ,Madhya Pradesh ,Maharashtra

Maruti Suzuki sells cars through 444 dealerships in 241 cities across India.

Sai service is one of the major dealer of the Maruti Suzuki .

Sai Service

Sai Service Station Limited, is considered as among the 'premiere' automobile dealerships in India. The dealership operations is spread over the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, run by Professional Managers ably assisted by over 3,250 qualified and committed personnel. A Financially Sound, Process & Systems driven company, committed to quality with leadership positions in markets of operation, operating State of the Art Workshops & Body and Repair Shops. The organization has been appointed as an authorised dealer for Maruti Suzuki India Limited in Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, Goa, Cochin and Hyderabad & Bajaj Auto limited in Mumbai, Pune & Kolhapur. Our endeavor is to achieve Customer Satisfaction through adherence to systems and procedures, continuous up gradation of skills through training and constructive interaction.

Chevrolet Channel Strategy

Andaman Nicobar ,Andhra Pradesh , Assam, Bihar , Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh ,Delhi ,Goa ,Gujarat ,Manipur , Meghalaya , Mizoram, Nagaland ,Orissa ,Pondicherry ,Punjab , Rajasthan ,Sikkim, Tamil- Nadu ,Tripura, Uttar Pradesh , Uttaranchal ,Haryana ,Himachal Pradesh ,Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala ,Madhya Pradesh ,Maharashtra

Chevrolet sells cars through 247 dealerships in 181 cities across India.

An initiative taken by Chevrolet is Chevrolet Certified

Chevrolet Certified

Chevrolet Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles is an initiative of Chevrolet in India to take care of all your worries, problems and requirements of used cars under one roof. Under this program, you can Buy, Sell, Exchange used cars with confidence, trust and peace of mind in customer friendly environment.

We have designed our used cars program keeping in mind the customer’s expectations and concerns on Quality, Safety, Reliability, Transparency, value for money , peace of mind and experience at par with new car buyers.

When you are willing to Sell/Exchange your used car, we offer free evaluations of your used car. We have a fair and transparent evaluation process to ensure that you get right price of your used car. You can choose to take payment of your car in cash or buy a brand new Chevy car or “Chevrolet Certified Pre-Owned car” in exchange.Cars meeting vehicle history checks and stringent certification norms of “Chevrolet Certified” are taken into our state of the art Chevrolet workshop where they go through extensive inspection and refurbishment process. These are refurbished by Chevrolet approved highly skilled technicians with Genuine Spare Parts.

To further add to your confidence and peace of mind, every car is inspected and certified by company appointed “Chevrolet Certified“ engineer. Certified cars are offered with 1 Year/15000km (whichever is earlier) warranty and 3 labor free services backed by Chevrolet and available at authorized dealer network of Chevrolet all across India.

So do not take chances and allow us to provide you the best used car solutions under one roof.

Hyundai Channel strategy

Andaman Nicobar ,Andhra Pradesh , Assam, Bihar , Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh ,Delhi ,Goa ,Gujarat ,Manipur , Meghalaya , Mizoram, Nagaland ,Orissa ,Pondicherry ,Punjab , Rajasthan ,Sikkim, Tamil- Nadu ,Tripura, Uttar Pradesh , Uttaranchal ,Haryana ,Himachal Pradesh ,Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala ,Madhya Pradesh ,Maharashtra

Hyundai sells cars through 382 dealerships in 239 cities across India.

Hyundai started Hyundai Advantage.

Hyundai Advantage

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. has started its certified used car program under the brand name “Advantage” to give good quality used cars to Indian Customers. Vehicle are certified by Hyundai Engineer using 147 check points and comes with Hyundai Warranty upto 1 year/20,000Km (whichever earlier from the date of delivery) & two free services  Through this program customer is assured of Trust, Transparency, Convenience and Peace of Mind.

Communication strategy

Maruti Suzuki

Through these dealers eg the major dealer Sai Service communication/ promotional strategies are being formed these dealers provide the end user/ customers with special offers in order to attract them.Example – by giving huge discounts to customers, giving gifts to them on every purchase

Maruti Wagon R has a new brand ambassador – South Indian actor Madhavan who is also quite popular in Hindi cinema. “R Madhavan is a true personification of the WagonR brand. Brand WagonR stands for being Contemporary, Pragmatic, Intelligent, Leader-like, Balanced and Caring. All will agree that the same attributes stand true for Madhavan as well. He will refresh WagonR’s values, strengthen the Brand further, and at the same time add youthfulness to the Brand. Madhavan will be the Brand Face for WagonR. We welcome him to the Maruti Suzuki family,” says Maruti Suzuki.

Wagon R is the market leader in its segment and clocks average monthly sales of 12000 units. Maruti conducted a comprehensive market study before signing the actor to evaluate his appointment as a brand ambassador. Maruti specifically intends to rope in more sales from South India where Madhavan is quite a hot-selling proposition.

Maruti is adopting a new regional approach for marketing and advertising its cars in various parts of the country. It will focus more on regional communication strategy by having local language dialogues to reach out to the masses. It had earlier adopted specific marketing strategy for rural markets to clock sales for its model M800.

Current promotion Strategy-

Advertising Tv adds Print adds Radio adds

Advertising Strategy

Persuasion advertising

“Ghar Aa Gaya Hindustan”

“India comes Home in Maruti Suzuki”

Information Advertising Alternative advertising options Tv shows Sales promotions

Wagon R is one of the largest selling brands in the Indian car market. The brand is currently in its maturity stage and Maruti is all set to put Wagon R again into the growth path. The brand has roped in Madhavan as the brand ambassador . The brand hopes that the endorsement from the star will create a new growth path for it.

Wagon R is a highly relevant product for Indian consumers. I have spoken to many Wagon R users and all of them have high regards for this vehicle. Even though the product is a globally " Outdated" vehicle, for Indian consumers the brand has remained very useful. One of the major factors that drive this brand's sales is its usability. The car is easy to drive and extremely comfortable and is virtually trouble-free thanks to the Maruti Reliability.

When the product reaches the maturity stage, marketers change its marketing mix elements to rev up the sales. In the case of Wagon R, Maruti chose to change its promotions. The choice of Madhavan as the brand ambassador will give an added thrust to the brand equity of Wagon R. The brand is feeling that it is not realizing its potential fully in the southern market. Madhavan is expected to boost the brand sales in the southern markets.

It is also interesting to see how the brand has used Madhavan in its communication. Madhavan is being used as a model in the TVC rather than as an endorser. Here Madhavan is being used as a character in the TVC plot. He is being cast as an entrepreneur in the ad.One of the reasons cane be that if Madhavan acts as an endorser, no one will believe that he uses a Wagon R. So it makes sense to cast him as a character rather than as an endorser.

Wagon R retains its core positioning as a smart choice car and has a new slogan " Smart Ideas lead the world " . The brand retains its tagline " For a Smarter Race ".The new campaign is pushing the idea that Wagon R is a smart choice for the consumers. Indian consumers seems to like that idea.

Hyundai

Hyundai succeed in India because their official carried a complete market research, they talked

to dealers vendors and customers. Detailed survey was carried out

They had : -

Innovative and attractive features and designs.

Attractive and intelligent advertising strategy.

Customer satisfaction campaign was started

Following were the promotional Strategies :-

The Indian economy liberealized and Indian Government De-licensed the automobile industry.

In order to promote their brand more they tied up with PNB for financing of their cars

They used celebrity like shahruk khan for the promotions

In order to develop a better image it launched innovative marketing strategies positioning at

better safety ,better features and better products.

The dealer selection was done with great care they regularly interacted with the dealers

They positioned itself in stages as company having as accompany having cars for the entire

market segment.