Bisleri Marketing Strategies - 77 Pages (1)

A PROJ ECT REPORT ON

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF BISLERI . PVT. LTD

Submitted to Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak In partial fulfillment of Master of Business Administration (M.B.A)

Submitted to:

Submitted by:

CONTROLER OF EXAMINATION

Praneet Singal 2K9-MRCE-MBA-40

Maharshi Dayanand University

Manav Rachna College of Engineering, Faridabad

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express gratitude and thanks to namely Rohit Gupta (Marketing Manager) for her support and guidance helping me shape my ideas about the project and mature them into a reality, for his priceless insights, tips and inputs without which my project would not have been possible. I thank him for educating me about the working and intricacies of the, the distribution network and innumerable other details. I hope this project serves the purpose for which it is intended.

I would also like to express my special thanks to the entire respondent and my friend who were regular source of hard work and inspiration.

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DECLARATION I Praneet Singal , Roll No. :-2k9 -MRCE- MBA-040 of the (Manav

Rachna College of engineering , Faridabad ) hereby declare that the

report entitled “Marketing Strategies of Bisleri PVT . Ltd” is an original

work and the same has not been submitted to any other institute for

the award of any other degree.

Signature of faculty ( Mrs. Yogita Sharma)

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PREFACE I have put my sincere efforts to accomplish my objectives within the stipulated time. Despite all the limitations, obstructs-hurdles, and hindrances, I have toiled and worked to my optimum potential to achieve the desired goal. Being neophytes in the highly competitive world of business. I come across some difficulties to make my objective a reality. I am presenting this hand carved effort is colored. I tried my level best to conduct a research to gain a through knowledge about the project in the topic "Marketing Strategies of Bisleri . Pvt. Ltd. " I have put the best of my efforts and have also tried to be justice with the available. Chapter 1 Aims at providing us with an overview of the water industry as a whole; it first tells us all about water and about its packaging. Then comes all about the Bisleri Industry i.e about its history and its products. Next it discusses about the various other companies which deals with packaging of water and in the last it tells us about the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Chapter 2 Provides us with the Objective and methodologies of the organization. Chapter 3 Aims at providing us with the Marketing Strategies of Bisleri as a whole. It tells us about the various environments present for marketing. Its position in market and its various ads campaign. Chapter 4 Gives us the various data that where the companies stands and are its best features as compared with other companies. Factors affecting brands and its awareness among the people.

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Chapter 5 Comprises of the various findings and recommendations being given to the organization so as to improve itself more and function properly. They are based on the analysis above. Conclusion of the whole project that what are the marketing strategies and Bisleri and other companies and how Bisleri is better than other companies.

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LIST OF CONTENTS CONTENTS

PAGE NO.

CHAPTER – 1 : INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5

Overview of Industry as a whole Profile of the organization Problems of the organization Competition Information S.W.O.T. Analysis of the Organization

CHAPTER – 2 : OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5

8-24

26-32

Significance of the study Managerial usefulness of the study Objectives of the study Scope of the study Methodology

CHAPTER – 3 : CONCEPTUAL DISCUSSION

34-56

CHAPTER – 4 : DATA ANALYSIS

58-65

CHAPTER – 5 : FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

67-73

ANNEXURE

75-76 Questionnaire

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION

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1.1

OVERVIEW OF INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE

The global bottled water industry reached 154 billion liters in 2007. Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing.

The total annual bottled water consumption has risen rapidly in recent times – it has tripled between 1999 & 2009.These is boom times for Indian bottled water industry.

Bisleri was the first entrant in this sector in India. It was bought from an Italian company Felice Bisleri in the year 1969. In its early years it faced many obstructions. Infact, Mr. Ramesh Chauhan thought that the idea of selling packaged water in India won’t work. But his patience & hard work paid off. Bisleri started progressing & now Bisleri is Pioneer of the industry.

India is the tenth largest bottled water consumer in the world. The industry has estimated a turnover of Rs. 10 billion. The Indian bottled water market grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% & the highest in the world.

The project deals in the market research on knowing Bisleri’s share in the corporate sector. The report further deals in seeing competitors of Bisleri from key players like kinley, kingfisher, Aquafina to local players like hello, prime, shudh, etc.

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The report further sees bisleri’s profile - its product mix, marketing mix, competitors, future plans, etc. The analysis part shows percentage of Bisleri users in the corporate sector, the preference of organizations to the factors that can lead to change in brand preference & about Bisleri’s sales promotion. The final part of report deals in the key findings that stupefies everybody because it deals with the fact that customer is price sensitive. The key findings also include the growth share matrix which clears bisleri’s position in the corporate sector. AT the fourth World Water Forum held in Mexico City in March 2007, the 120-nation assembly could not reach a consensus on declaring the right to safe and clean drinking water a human right. Millions of people the world over do not have access to potable water supply. But it is good times for the bottled-water industry, which is cashing in on the need for clean drinking water and the ability of the urban elite to pay an exorbitant price for this very basic human need. The fortunes of this more-than-$100-billion global industry are directly related to the human apathy towards the environment - the more we pollute our water bodies, the more the sales of bottled water. It is estimated that the global consumption of bottled water is nearing 200 billion litres - sufficient to satisfy the daily drinking water need of one-fourth of the Indian population or about 4.5 per cent of the global population. In India, the per capita bottled water consumption is still quite low - less than five litres a year as compared to the global average of 24 litres. However, the total annual bottled water consumption has risen rapidly in recent times . 9

Bottled water is drinking water packaged in bottles for individual consumption and retail sale. The water used may be from any source, including spring water , well water , purified water , municipal water , or even untreated or contaminated water . Many countries, particularly developed countries , regulate the quality of bottled water through government standards, typically used to ensure that water quality is safe and labels accurately reflect bottle contents. In many developing countries , however, such standards rarely exist, or are inconsistently applied.

1.1.1 Demand Worldwide sales of bottled water are estimated to be between $50 and $100 billion (US) annually and increasing approximately 7 to 10 percent annually. In 2007, total sales were approximately 154 billion litres (41 billion gallons). [Gleick 2007] In developed countries, the large demand is driven by factors including perceived convenience, perceived safety versus municipal water, and perceived potability or taste advantages over municipal water. Packaging and advertising work to foster these perceptions, and brand bottled water in ways similar to branded soft drinks . Though many municipalities, particularly in the United States, guarantee safe, potable water, others may be subject to groundwater contamination from commercial fertilizer , MTBE, or other contaminants. Violations of tap water standards tend to be highly publicized and widely reported, for example, a 1993

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Cryptosporidium outbreak which caused 400,000 people to get sick in Milwaukee, Wisconsin In developing countries, demand is driven by factors including the lack of potable groundwater in many areas, the lack of reliable or safe municipal water in many urban areas, chemical and organic pollution of ground and well water, and convenience relative to boiling or otherwise treating accessible but potentially contaminated water. Advertising also contributes to water sales in developing countries. Though bottled water may provide an alternative to unsafe drinking water, it does so only for those able to afford it; many of the world's poorest people cannot afford bottled water. Bottled-water consumption now reflects a certain way of life as the habit reaches around the world. The most promising markets for bottled water are in Asia and the Pacific, with an annual increase of 15 percent from 2006 to 2007. Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water. They think it tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality. They also look for security: food scandals in industrialized countries and water-borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumers’ attitudes. Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight. Bottled water is perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages. Moreover, increasing urbanization, causing declines in tap-water quality, can also explain the popularity. Because it is untreated, natural mineral water is perceived as

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"natural" by city dwellers looking for genuine products. Higher living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and heavier bottles of water. At the office, a bottle of water is now a common sight on the desk, next to the computer and the telephone. Drinking bottled water is a sign of a rise in the social scale. Above all, bottled water has become a huge marketing success.

1.1.2 U.S. FDA "Standards of Identity" for Bottled Water The FDA has established "Standards of Identity" for bottled water products sold in the U.S. Note that other countries have different definitions and standards; some countries have no consistent labeling requirements. Some of the more common U.S. types of bottled water are listed below: •

Artesian Water - This type of water that originates from a confined aquifer that has been tapped and in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer.

•

Fluoridated Water - This type of water contains fluoride added within the limitations established in the FDA Code of Federal Regulations. This category includes water classified as "For Infants" or "Nursery."

•

Ground Water - This type of water is from an underground source that is under a pressure equal to or greater than atmospheric pressure.

•

Mineral Water - This type of water contains at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids (TDS). It comes from a source tapped at one or more bore holes or spring, and originates from a geologically and physically protected underground water source. No minerals may be added to this water. 12

•

Purified water - This type of water has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or other suitable processes. Purified water may also be referred to as "demineralized water." It meets the definition of "purified water" in the United States Pharmacopoeia.

•

Sparkling Water - This type of water contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at emergence from the source. The carbon dioxide may be removed and replenished after treatment.

•

Spring Water - This type of water comes from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the Earth's surface.

•

Sterile Water - This type of water meets the requirements under "sterility tests" in the United States Pharmacopoeia.

•

Well Water - This type of water is taken from a well.

1.2 PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION BISLERI was bought from the Italian company, Felice Bisleri, in 1969… and then the journey began. But the company had been unable to market bottled water and wanted to exit the market – they did not see any potential for the product at that time. But three decades ago, what could one say about a category that had no market? They didn't know their target group. Then, since bottled water is colorless, tasteless and odourless, it was not an easy product to advertise. Thus, the earlier brand building efforts focused on Bisleri being healthy with adequate minerals. The Italian name added a dash of class to it. The first print ad campaign 13

captured the international and showed a butler with a bow tie, holding two bottles of Bisleri. The punch line was, "Bisleri is very very extraordinary" (the spelling of the punch line was designed to capture the consumer's attention). The campaign was successful and bisleri was being noticed as someone who catered to the need for safe, healthy drinking water. However, the real boost to mineral water came in the early-to-mid-1980s when it switched to PVC packaging and later to PET bottles. The PET packaging did not just ensure better transparency – it could now show sparkling clear water to the consumers. It also meant better life for the water. Meanwhile, Bisleri soda was doing well but it had to discontinue production as it sold its soft drink brands to Coca-Cola in 1993. But Mr. Chuahan’s interest was in building brands and not in bottling soft drinks. That's when he started to concentrate on developing the Bisleri water brand. There was a clear opportunity of building a market for bottled water. The quality of water available in the country was bad. It was similar to what Europe faced before World War II. The quality of water in Europe was extremely poor, which created the bottled water industry there. In India, too, not only was water scarce, whatever was available was of bad quality. Initially, though bottled water was something only foreigners and non-resident Indians consumed, it still had to increase the distribution, which meant the dealer margins reduced. And because of limited sales, the dealer margin had to be kept high to compensate low sales. Now it had to push sales. 14

Though the brand building of Bisleri started in a small way in 1994-1995, it was only in the years 1999-2000 that the efforts really bore fruit. Mr.Chauhan claimed that Bisleri grew by 80 per cent in 1998 -1999 and by 150 % in 2005. "After 2006, we hope to do 400 per cent". Mr. Chauhan never anticipated that Bisleri would be this big a success. He feels that the launch of the half-litre (500ml) bottle was the beginning of a dramatic rise in volumes and business prospects. . The introduction of a comfortable-to-carry 500-ml bottle for just Rs. 5 not only answered the need, but also meant doing away with carrying the excess water or throwing it away if you were to buy a one-litre bottle. The idea was a success and gave the company a growth of 400 per cent. They also introduced the 1.2 litre bottle in 2000, which was aimed at those who share their water. This also gave bisleri the advantage of higher margins that a crate (12 bottles) generated. With other brands joining the fray, things were hotting up -- the bottled-water market was estimated at Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) and was growing at 50 per cent a year. Bisleri had captured 40 per cent of the market. Bisleri realized it was time to move to the next level -- the bulk segment. Several commercial establishments had no access to piped water. It tapped into this segment by introducing the 12-litre container, followed by the 20-litre can. The bulk segment also helped bring down the price per litre from Rs 10-12 a litre to about Rs 3 a litre. At present, the bulk segment constitutes 60 to 70 % of our sales and we intend to increase it to 80 % in the next two years. With water scarcity in several cities, even households are demanding bottled water now.

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The home pack was made more user-friendly by introducing pouring spouts and jars with dispensers. At the same time, it was constantly looking for new ways to tap the market. They noticed that during wedding receptions, the older guests (above 50 years of age) generally stayed away from ice cream, soft drinks and so on. Hence, they introduced free sampling of Bisleri at the tables where the elderly guests would sit. Soon customers were ordering bottled water on special occasions. Currently, the consumption of bottled water is far in excess of soft drinks on such occasions. The other major challenge was distribution. It still has the mindset of a soft drink seller. Soft drink sales are in glass bottles and the distribution model is built around picking up empty bottles and getting them back to the factory. That's not the case with the retail bottled water packs (below 2 litre). But a product that's not available where it's needed is useless. The number of outlets where Bisleri is available has increased from 50,000 in 1995 to 2,00,000 at present. But that is not enough -- we need to keep looking for different avenues. Take stationery shops and chemists, for instance. They don't keep soft drinks but sell Bisleri. That is the kind of exclusivity Bisleri look for to get ahead of the distribution network that soft drink companies talk of.

1.2.1 The journey till now (History of the Company)

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1969: Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company, Felice Bisleri. It was bottled in glass bottles then. Early-1980s: Shifts to PVC bottles. Sales surge Mid-1980s: Switches to PET bottles, which meant more transparency and life for water. 1993: Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up, Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore. 1995: Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent. 2000: Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre. 2000: Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal. 2002: BIS cancels Bisleri's license of water bottling in Delhi since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label; the license is restored one-and-a-half months later. 2005: Bisleri says it plans to venture out into Europe and America to sell bottled water

1.2.2 PRODUCT PROFILE:

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Bisleri is the pioneers in the bottled drinking water industry since 1967.bisleri has always put quality and service on top and for us customer satisfaction has always been a priority.

Bisleri was the first to market 0bottled water in a totally virgin market and naturally people associate the brand with bottled water. Bisleri is already ten steps ahead of its competitors and will always endeavor to widen the gap in times to come.

Bisleri is also introducing natural mineral water i.e. bisleri natural mountain water. Our mineral water will shortly be launched in the market as our plants in baddi and uttaranchal are expected to be commissioned by mid 2006.

Bisleri is available in a wide range of packages ranging from 250 ml glasses and in PET bottles/jars namely; 250 ml, 500 ml, 1 ltr, 1.5 ltr, 2 ltr, 5 ltr and 20 ltr catering to the needs of all kinds of segments as per their requirements. Bisleri product is packaged only in PET bottles/jars, which are approved and accepted world wide as food grade packaging materials.

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Since people have become more health conscious and are diverting from carbonated soft drinks into water; recognizing the potential of packaged drinking water in the market, bisleri today, is the top selling brand in India.

Last but not the least; we are always striving to provide the highest quality product, keeping in mind all aspects including freshness, purity, and safety.

Bisleri is produced by a painstaking rigorous process. Source water is put through a 7 – stage purification process. It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with our unique’ breakaway seal’. And all this is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches to consumers perfectly pure and safe.

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CHLORINATION Kills microorganisms. Removes organic matter.

SAND FILTER Removes suspended matter and turbidity.

CARBON FILTER Removes residual chlorine and odours.

ULTRAFILTRATION Removes bacteria and makes water sparkling clean.

MICRON FILTERS Additional safety measure of filtration.

REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM Controls total dissolved solids [TDS]

OZONATION Ensures water remains bacteria free for longer shelf life.

Perfectly pure water shipped to your office in 20L packs.

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1.3 COMPETITION INFORMATION 1.3.1. AQUAFINA

Aquafina is a non- carborated bottled waterproduced by PepsiCo.It was first distributed in Wichita, Kansas in 1994, was distributed across the United States by 1997, and as of 2006, had become the United States' top-selling bottled water brand in measured retail channels. The water is mainly driven from municipal tap water that goes through an extensive purification process that includes charcoal filtration, reverse osmosis and ozonation. Aquafina touts their water is "Pure" because of their "state-of-the-art" HydRO-7 purification system used to remove substances that “most other”bottled water leave in. In India, Aquafina, manufactured by PepsiCo. India Holdings Private Ltd, is the most popular bottled water brand. PepsiCo produces several other products under the Aquafina label: •

Aquafina Esentials , bottled water with various vitamins added, available in five different flavors: Tangerine Pineapple,etc.

•

Aqua fina Sparkling, carbonated flavoured water , avialable in Berry Blast and Citrus Twist.

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1.3.2. KINLEY

Kinley water comes with the assurance of safety from the Coca-Cola Company. That is why they introduced Kinley with reverse-osmosis along with the latest technology to ensure the purity of our product. They go through rigorous testing procedures at each and every location where Kinley is produced .Kinley is being manufactured in 15 bottling plants across the country and according to Coca-Cola India President and CEO Alex von Behr, Coke had invested Rs. 4,000 crore in India before entering the market in 1993 and December 2006.

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1.4 S.W.O.T ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANISATION

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT (OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS)

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT (STRENTHS & WEAKNESSES)

1.4.1 STRENGTHS •

Bisleri was the first entrant in this virgin industry.

•

Highest market share.

•

Bisleri is a name for portable water, Bisleri is a generic brand.

•

Bisleri has a brand image.

•

It has a strong distribution network.

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1.4.2 WEAKNESS •

Bisleri is not promoting its brand i.e. since last year we have not seen any advertisement.

•

As we know that customer is price sensitive but Bisleri is following skimming price strategy.

1.4.3 OPPORTUNITIES •

As Indian bottled water industry is still progressing & the consumption level is increasing. This is an opportunity to capture markets where quality is top priority.

•

As Bisleri knows market trends, than its competitors like kinley, Aquafina, etc. who have just joined the race so Bisleri has competitive edge over other players.

•

Every now and then there are opening of malls. So, bisleri should try and grab this opportunity and have tie–ups.

1.4.4 THREATS

•

Bisleri faces tough competition from local brands.

•

Entry of new players who have low pricing strategies.

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CHAPTER-2 SIGNIFICANCE ,OBJECTIVE AND METHADOLOGY

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2.1

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY For any business venture, Marketing Strategy go hand in hand. Opportunities

come and go but business comes from the ones, which are handled properly in terms of leads. Leads for any new opportunity are very important for it to turn out a profitable venture.

2.2

MANAGERIAL USEFULNESS OF THE STUDY •

Helps to have sale experience

•

Helps to deal with different customers

•

Helps to overcome the objections of the customers

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Helps to understand the problems of agents in a broader prospect

2.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY •

To study the market share of bisleri in corporate sector

•

To study the factors that can lead to change in brand preference like quality, price, service, etc.

•

Knowing brand equity of Bisleri in the corporate sector.

•

To study marketing strategies adopted by Bisleri’s.

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To study the level of customer satisfaction in Bisleri’s.

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To study the impact of Bisleri’s promotional schemes.

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To Assess brand loyalty of consumers.

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2.4

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

1. Deep insights would give me the clear knowledge of strategies adopted and which would make me a better marketing professional. 2. Important from a consultant prospective finding loopholes in marketing strategy of the company if any. 3. Contribution to the institute and my fellow collagues and a unique piece of work.

2.5

METHODOLOGY

Bisleri is pioneer in the packaged water industry & is even the first entrant in this sector. The organization wanted to know its share & its popularity in the corporate sector. The purpose of methodology section in the report making is to describe the research process that is followed while doing the main part. This would however include the research design, the sampling procedure, and the data collection method. This section is perhaps difficult to write as it would also involve some technical terms and may be much of the audience will nor be able to understand the terminology used. The methodology followed by the researcher, during the preparation of the report was:

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RESEARCH DESIGN The research is based on the information collected by the help of the questionnaires filled. The first three questions aim at the basic introductory information of the organization and the person being interviewed thus rendering the follow up work easier. The fourth question is about the financial standing of an organization, it gives an idea about the financial status of the society being approached. The fifth question aims at generating information about the various sources of funds of the societies. The sixth and seventh questions deal about the financial performance of the societies. The eighth question is to find out about what a society does with the surplus amount generated by them. The ninth question is meant to gather information about the people who are instrumental in advising and putting to action the investment plans for the society. The tenth question is about what kind of investments are preferred by the society, on the basis of the organization or on the basis of the time period. The eleventh question talks about the institutions in which the societies make their investments in, say the banks or other institutes. The twelfth question tries to assess what is it exactly that the societies look for, while investing. For example do they prefer a high rate of interest, or safety, or location, etc.. Thus the research is based only on the basis of the information gathered with the help of the questionnaires.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT For doing the survey research, structured questionnaire closed-ended questions was used.

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with both open-ended and

MODE OF SURVEY The mode of survey was personal interview with the respondents during the filling up of the questionnaires.

PRIMARY DATA Primary data is that kind of data which is collected directly by the investigator himself for the purpose of the specific study. Primary Data is collected by the investigator through interviews of company employees, vendors, distributor etc. Data such collected is original in character. The advantage of this method of collection is the authentic. A questionnaire of about 50 questions was made and it was given to the dealers to fill it up for our research. The research was a kind of conclusive research as it helps in the testing of hypothesis. The method of sampling was the Random method as it is unbiased.

SECONDARY DATA When an investigator uses the data that has been already collected by others, is called secondary data. The secondary data could be collected from Journals, Reports, libraries, magazines, fair & conference and other publications. The advantages of the secondary data can be –It is economical, both in terms of money and time spent .The researcher of the report also did the same and collected secondary data from various internet sites like www.google.com, www.airtel.com, www.hutch.co.in and many more. The researcher of the report also visited various libraries for collection of the introduction part.

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QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN We make questionnaire to know which category of people opts for which kind of plans. In this category the factors included are such as income, background, age, etc. This includes 2 types of questions 1. open ended 2. closed ended 1. open ended : In this respondents are not bounded to answer within a set of choices and can give their own views 2. Close-ended: in this respondents are bounded to answer within a set of choices. I have designed my questionnaire on the basis of close-ended questions as it is more feasible to calculate data from it.

SAMPLE DESIGN: While developing a sample design, following points should be kept in mind: •

Sampling unit: A decision has to be taken concerning a sampling unit before selecting sample. Sampling unit may be a geographical one such as state, district, village etc or a construction unit such as house, flat etc. or it ,may be as social unit such as family, club, school etc or it may be an individual . the researcher will have to decide one or more of such units that he has to select for his study

•

Size of the sample: This refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute a sample. This is a major problem before a researcher. The size of the sample should be neither is excessively large, nor too small. it should be optimum

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An optimum sample is one which fulfills the requirements of efficiency, representatives, reliability and flexibility Sample element and sample unit 45 people have been interviewed to know their opinion about insurance and finance Extent Delhi (sample unit) Time frame: 8weeks Sampling technique: Average method technique.

Sampling Technique: How should the respondent be chosen? In the Project sampling is done on basis of Probability sampling . Among the probability sampling design the sampling design chosen is stratified random sampling. Because in this survey I had stratified the sample in different age group, different gender and different proffesion Sampling frame: 45-50 People.

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LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH Due to the following unavoidable and uncontrollable factors the results might not be accurate. Some of the problems might face while conducting the survey are as follows: 1.

Certain open-ended questions have been put in the questionnaire to give respondents freedom to express their perception.

2.

Time and cost constraints were also there

3.

Chances of some biasness couldn’t be eliminated.

4.

A sample size of 100 has been used due to time limitations.

5.

The data has been collected from Delhi(North) and there the perception of the people from the smaller towns could not be judged

6.

Al the data has been collected at random but it is always liable fro biasness.

7.

The primary data has been collected from the middle and upper section of the society.

8.

Less availability of potential respondents i.e. the concerned person who takes care of the Administrative department.

9.

The response rate use to be poor at times because of the time constraints with the respondents.

10.

Though, Bisleri is pioneer in the packaged water industry but it use to create problem because Bisleri is a generic brand.

11.

The response in public sector was not very encouraging.

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CHAPTER-3 CONCEPTUAL DICUSSION

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PURIFIED BISLERI PACKAGING

Kotler defines packaging as "all the activities of designing and producing the container for a product." Packaging can be important to both sellers and consumers; sometimes, a package can make the important difference to a marketing strategy by meeting customers' needs better. It can make a product more convenient to use or store, easier to identify or promote or to send out a message. In fact, categories such as perfumes and other fragrance products spend far more on their packaging than on the product. The big reasons why packaging is now such an important marketing tool lie in certain demographic, behavioral and technological trends. Increasing income and paucity of time means that consumers are now willing to pay more for packaging which provides `convenience' value to products; an increase in self-service supermarkets and related impulse buying means that packages must be distinctive

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and eye-catching as well as scream their brands; and improvements and innovations in technology have come as a boon for industries such as food, especially `ready to eat,' which have really come into their own now. It is obvious that reach holds the key to the market. With 16 plants at 14 locations across the country (except the east), he is planning double capacities at all of them to 200 million cases a day. At the same time he is pursuing a multi-pack and multi-price strategy. Today Bisleri offers 7 packaging options; a 250-ml cup and bottles in 500 ml, 1-litre, 1.5-litre, 2litre, 5-litre and 20-litre packs. The 1-litre bottle accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the sales, with the 2-litre bottle taking up 20 per cent of the sales. The remaining sizes share the balance. Not only does he plan to make the basic pack-sizes available all over the country, he has also decided to create greater variety in packaging. With innovation in packaging being a key, the company has introduced a new category, the 12-litre pack in water-scarce city of Chennai and this has proved tremendously popular. While on the one hand he feels that the 500ml and the 250ml packs are the growth area of the future, he is also targeting the household segment with the large pack sizes. Households, he says, in certain parts of the country spend a huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify water. For instance, in the water-scarce south, people spend large sums of money to buy water and still more to purify it. With the runaway hit of its new 12-litre product in some cities of the south, the company is finding it difficult to meet the demands of these markets.

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CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) Bisleri’s traditional marketing theory and practice have focused on attracting new customers rather than retaining existing ones. Today, however, although attracting new customers remains an important marketing task, the emphasis has shifted toward relationships with customers and other stakeholders. Beyond designing strategies to attract new customers and create transactions with them, Bisleri is going all out to retain current customers and build profitable, long-term relationships with them. The new view is that marketing is the science and art of finding, retaining, and growing profitable customers. Bisleri has also realized that losing a customer means losing more than a single sale. It means losing the entire stream of purchases that the customer would make over a lifetime of patronage.

Thus, working to retain and grow customers makes good

economic sense. A Company can lose money on a specific transaction but still benefit greatly from a long-term relationship.

CRM INCLUDE Attracting, Retaining, and Growing customers: In Bisleri, the key to building lasting relationships is the creation of superior customer value and satisfaction. Satisfied customers are more likely to be loyal customers, and loyal customers are more likely to give the company a lasting share of their business.

37

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING BLOCKS: Customer value and satisfaction Attracting and retaining customers can be a difficult task. Today’s customers face a vast array of product and brand choices, prices, and suppliers. The company must answer a key question: How do customers make their choices? The answer is that customers choose the marketing offer that their believe will give them the most value.

They are satisfied with and continue to buy offers that

consistently meet or exceed their value expectations.

DIFFERENTIATION A clear differentiation is happening among the medley of water brands in terms of both pricing and positioning. While Bisleri is touting itself as ''pure and safe,'' brands like Shudh, Prime, and Hello are trying to ride the mineral water wave. And Evian, launched by French transnational Dan one sells itself as ''water from the French Alps'' competing with premium soft drinks. The fact however remains that almost all players in this category are positioning themselves on the purity and hygiene platforms since the very raison d'κtre of bottled drinking water is the bad quality of tap water in the country. In this scenario how will Mr. Chauhan differentiate Bisleri from the others and, more importantly, for how long? Mr. Chauhan has been trying to differentiate Bisleri by its breakaway seal as an assurance of purity. As he says almost 76 per cent of consumption of bottled drinking water happens in transit. Market research conducted by Bisleri revealed

38

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the seal and the reuse of bottles. Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations. So when a consumer buys mineral water, he would like to be assured that the water has not been tampered with. At the same time Bisleri is promoted by an aggressive print-and-TV backed by hoardings and point-of-sale material. Every interface with the consumer is being used as an opportunity to reinforce the message. For instance, all vehicles used for supply have been painted in bright blue, bear the Bisleri logo and sport catchy baselines like ‘drink and drive’.

MARKETING STRATEGIES Bisleri’s marketing concept holds that the company should determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets. It should then deliver superior value to customers in a way that maintains or improves the society’s well being.

The societal marketing concept is the newest of the marketing management philosophies and it has now been adopted by the company.

The societal marketing concept questions whether the pure marketing concept is adequate in an age of environmental problems, resource shortages, rapid population growth, world wide economic problems, and neglected social services. It asks if the firm that senses, serves, and satisfies individual wants is always doing what’s best for consumers and society in the long run. Acc to the societal marketing concept, the pure

39

marketing concept overlooks possible conflicts b/w consumer short run wants and consumer long run welfare. Such concerns and conflicts led to the societal marketing concept which calls on marketers to balance three considerations in setting their marketing policies: company profits, consumer wants and society’s interests. Originally, Bisleri based their marketing decisions largely on short run co. profit. Eventually, they began to recognize the long run importance of satisfying consumer wants and had adopted this marketing concept.

CONNECTIONS WITH MARKETING PARTNERS: 1. Connecting inside the company Traditionally, marketers have played the role of intermediary, charged with understanding consumer needs and representing the customer to different co. departments, which then acted upon these needs. The old thinking was that marketing is done only by marketing sales, and customer support people.

However, in toady’s

connected world, every functional area can interact with customers, especially electronically. Marketing no longer has sole ownership of customer interactions. The new thinking is that every employee must be customer focused. Today Bisleri recognize its operations to align them better with customer needs. Rather than letting each department pursue its own objectives, firms are linking all departments in the cause of creating customer value. Rather than assigning only sales and marketing people to customers, they are forming cross functional customers teams. For ex, Bisleri New Delhi assigns “customer development teams” to each of its major retailer accounts. These teams- consisting of sales and marketing people, operations and logistics

40

specialists, market and financial analysts, and others- coordinate the efforts of many Bisleri departments towards serving the retailer and helping it to be more successful.

2. Connecting with outside partners through supply chain management As we know that marketing channels consists of distributors, retailers, and others who connect the company to its buyers.

However, the supply chain describes a longer

channel, stretching from raw materials to components to final products that are carried to final buyers. For example the supply chain for Bisleri consists of suppliers of plastics, computers and other components, the product manufacturer, and the distributors, retailers and others who sell the mineral water to businesses and final customers. Each member of the supply chain creates and captures only a portion of the total value generated by the supply chain.

Through supply chain management, Bisleri ltd. Today are strengthening their connections with partners all along the supply chain. They know that their fortunes rest not only on how well their entire supply chain performs against competitors supply chains. Rather than treating suppliers as vendors and distributors as customers, it treats both as partners in delivering value to consumers. In this direction Bisleri works with its suppliers to streamline logistics and reduce joint distribution costs, resulting in lower prices to.

Bisleri’s new marketing stategies includes: 41

•

be market and customer centered

•

Target selected market segments or individuals

•

Focus on customer satisfaction and value

•

Develop customer relationships

•

Keep old customers

•

Grow share of customer

•

Serve profitable customers, “fire “ losing ones

•

Connect with customers directly or through retailers or distributors

•

Develop customized products

•

Enlist all departments in the cause of customer satisfaction and value

•

Partners with other firms

•

Market locally and globally

•

Assume social and environmental responsibility

PLANNING: The process of planning may be as important as the plans that emerge.

Planning

encourages management to think systematically about what has happened, what is happening, and what might happen.

It forces the co. to sharpen its objectives and

policies, leads to better coordination of co. efforts, and provides clearer performance standards for control. The argument that planning is less useful in a fast – changing environment makes little sense. In fact, the opposite is true: sound planning helps the

42

co. to anticipate and respond quickly to changes, and to prepare better for sudden developments. Thus planning turns out to be an essential part of good management. Bisleri, usually prepare annual plans, long range plans, and strategic plans.

Broad marketing logic Outlines the broad marketing logic by which the business unit hopes to achieve its marketing objectives and the specifics of target markets, positioning and marketing expenditure levels. It outlines specific strategies for each marketing mix element and explains how each respond to the threats, opportunities, and critical issues spelled out earlier in the plan.

Major marketing strategy : 1. Rural strategy 2. Costumer relationship strategy 3. Differentiation strategy 4. Communication strategy

Executive summary: Presents a brief summary of the main goals and recommendations of the plan for management review, helping top management to find the plans major points quickly. A table of contents follows the executive summary.

43

Current marketing situation: Describes the target market and cos. Position in it, including information about the market, product performance, competition, and distributors. This includes: 

Market description that defines the market and major segments then reviews customer needs and factors in the marketing environment that may affect customer purchasing.



Product review that shows sales, prices, and gross margins of the major products in the product line.



A review of competition, which identifies major competitors and assesses their market positions and strategies for product quality, pricing, distribution, and promotion.



A review of distribution, which evaluates recent sales trends and other developments in major distribution channels.

Action programs: Spells out how marketing strategies will be turned into specific action programs that answer the following questions: what will be done? Who is responsible for doing it? How much will it cost?

44

Budgets: Details a supporting marketing budget that is essentially a projected profit-and-loss statement. It shows expected revenues (forecasted number of units sold and the average net price) and expected costs (of production, distribution, and marketing).

The

difference is the projected profit. Once approved by higher management, the budget becomes the basis for materials buying, production scheduling, personal planning, and marketing operations.

Controls: Outlines the control that will be used to monitor progress and allow higher management to review implementation results and spot products that are not meeting their goals. Strategic control involves looking at whether the cos. Basic strategies are well matched to its opportunities. A major tool for such strategic control is a marketing audit. The marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a cos. Environment, objectives, strategies, and activities to determine problem areas and opportunities. The audit provides good input for a plan of action to improve the cos. Marketing performance. Bisleri's marketing audit covers all major marketing areas of a business, not just a few trouble spots.

It assesses the marketing environment, marketing strategy, marketing

45

organization, marketing systems, marketing mix, and marketing productivity and profitability.

BISLERI’S MARKETING ENVIRONMENT: A company’s marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing management’s ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers. The marketing environment offers both opportunities and threats successful companies like Bisleri know the vital importance of constantly watching and adapting to the changing environment. Changing pictures of future give marketers of Bisleri, plenty to think about.

Here

marketers take the major responsibility for identifying and predicting significant changes in the environment. More than any other group in the co, marketers are trend trackers and opportunity seekers. Although every manager in the company observes the outside environment, marketers have two important aptitudes. They have disciplined methodsmarketing intelligence and marketing research-for-collecting information about the marketing environment. They also spend more time in the customer and competitor environment. By conducting systematic environmental scanning, marketers are able to revise and adapt marketing strategies to meet new challenges and opportunities in the market place.

Bisleri’s marketing environment is made up of a microenvironment and a macro environment.

46

MICRO ENVIRONMENT: Consists of the forces close to the co. that affect its ability to serve its customers – The company, suppliers, marketing channel firms, customer markets, competitors, and publics.

1. COMPANY: In designing marketing plans, marketing management takes other co. groups into a/c—groups such as top management, finance, research and development (R&D), purchasing, manufacturing, and accounting. All these interrelated groups form the internal environment. Together, all of these departments have an impact on the marketing department’s plans and actions. Under the cos. Concept, all of these functions must “think customer,” and they should work in harmony to provide superior customer value and satisfaction .

2. SUPPLIERS: Suppliers are an important link in the company. Overall customer value delivery system. They provide the resources needed by the co. to produce its goods and services.

3. MARKETING INTERMEDIARIES: They help the co. to promote, sell and distribute its goods to final buyers.

They include resellers, physical distribution

firms, marketing services agencies, and financial intermediaries.

4. CUSTOMERS: The co. needs to study its customer markets closely. In Bisleri, there are 5 types of customer markets. Consumer markets consists of individuals and 47

households that buy goods and services for further processing or for use in their production process, whereas reseller markets buy goods and services to resell at a profit. Government markets are made up of government agencies that buy goods and services to produce public services or transfer the goods and services to others who need them.

Finally, international markets consist of these buyers in other countries

including consumers, producers, resellers and governments. Each market type has special characteristics that call for careful study by the seller.

5. COMPETITORS: Bisleri’s marketing concept States that to be successful, they must provide greater customer value and satisfaction than their competitors do. Thus, marketers must do more than simply adapt to the needs of target consumers. They also must gain strategic advantage by positioning their offering strongly against competitor offerings in the minds of consumers.

6. PUBLICS: A public is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an organization ability to achieve its objectives.

Bisleri has seven types of

publics. 

Financial publics- it influences the cos. Ability to obtain funds. Banks, investment house, and stockholders are the major financial publics.



Media publics carry news, features, and editorial opinion. They include newspapers, magazines, and radio& television Stations.

48



Government publics- management must take government developments into A/C. Marketers must consult the co’s. Lawyer on issues of product safety, truth in advertising and other matters.



Citizen action publics- here co’s. Marketing decisions may be questioned by consumer organizations, environmental groups, and others.

Its public relations

department can help it stay in touch with consumer and citizen groups. 

Local publics include neighborhood residents and community organizations.



General public- Bisleri always take into consideration the general publics attitude toward its products and activities because the publics image of the co. affects its buying.



Internal publics- include workers, managers, volunteers, and the board of directors.

MACRO ENVIRONMENT: Consists of the larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment—demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces.

Major forces in the companies’ macro environment:

1. Demographic environment:

Is the study of human populations in terms of size,

density, location, age, gender, race, occupation and other statics. The demographic environment is of major interest to Bisleri’s marketers because it involves people, and people make up markets.

49

2. Economic environment: Consists of factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns.

3. Natural environment: Involves the natural resources that are needed as inputs like water by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities.

1. Technological environment: Consists of the forces that create new technologies, creating new and better products and market opportunities.

2. Political environment: Consists of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals in a given society.

3. Cultural environment: Is made up of institutions and other forces that affect a society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. Culture, indeed, is a very important factor for marketers because people grow up in a particular society that shapes their basic beliefs and values and defines their relationships with the co.

In order to produce superior value and satisfaction for customers, companies need information at almost every turn. As the new Bisleri’s story highlights good products and marketing programs begin with a thorough understanding of consumer needs and wants. Companies also need an abundance of information on competitors, resellers, and other actors and forces in the market place because for a co. information is not just input for making better decisions but also as an important strategic aspect and marketing tool.

50

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF BISLERI Distribution' is one of the four aspects of marketing. A distribution business is the middleman between the manufacturer and retailer or (usually) in commercial or industrial the business customer. After a product is manufactured by a supplier/factory, it is typically stored in a distribution company's warehouse. The product is then sold to retailers or customers.

Frequently there may be a chain of intermediaries, each passing the product down the chain to the next organization, before it finally reaches the consumer or enduser. This process is known as the 'distribution chain' or, rather more exotically, as the 'channel'. Each of the elements in these chains will have their own specific needs; which the producer must take into account, along with those of the allimportant end-user.

Channel members Distribution channels can thus have a number of levels. Kotler defined the simplest level, that of direct contact with no intermediaries involved, as the 'zero-level' channel. The next level, the 'one-level' channel, features just one intermediary; in consumer goods a retailer, for industrial goods a distributor, say. In recent years this has been the level which, together with the zero-level, has accounted for the greatest percentage of the overall volumes distributed

51

Channel management The channel decision is very important. In theory at least, there is a form of tradeoff: the cost of using intermediaries to achieve wider distribution is supposedly lower. Indeed, most consumer goods manufacturers could never justify the cost of selling direct to their consumers, except by mail order. In practice, if the producer is large enough, the use of intermediaries (particularly at the agent and wholesaler level) can sometimes cost more than going direct. However, many suppliers seem to assume that once their product has been sold into the channel, into the beginning of the distribution chain, their job is finished. Yet that distribution chain is merely assuming a part of the supplier's responsibility; and, if he has any aspirations to be market-oriented, his job should really be extended to managing, albeit very indirectly, all the processes involved in that chain, until the product or service arrives with the end-user. This may involve a number of decisions on the part of the supplier:



Channel membership



Channel motivation



Monitoring and managing channels

Channel membership 1. Intensive distribution - Where the majority of resellers stock the `product' (with convenience products, for example, and particularly the brand leaders in consumer goods markets) price competition may be evident. 52

2. Selective distribution - This is the normal pattern (in both consumer and industrial markets) where `suitable' resellers stock the product. 3. Exclusive distribution - Only specially selected resellers (typically only one per geographical area) are allowed to sell the `product'.

No. of users reached

Selection of No. of Intermediaries

High

Intensive Distribution

Selective Distribution

Exclusive Distribution

Low Low

High

No. Of Intermediaries

BISLERI’S DISTRIBUTION CHART:

BISLERI

DISTRIBUTOR

DEALERS

CORPORATES

RETAILERS

DEALERS

HOUSEHOLD

HOUSEHOLD

RETAILERS

RETAILERS

CORPORATES

HOUSEHOLDS

CORPORATES

CORPORATES

It’s obvious that availability holds the key to the market. For any product to be successful the distribution system has to be really good. 53

Channels for our Household customers ONE DISTRIBUTORS DEALERS LEVEL

ZERO LEVEL

COMPANY

LEVEL

DEALERS

HOUSEHOLD CONSUMER

Channels for our Corporate customers

ZERO LEVEL

ONE

COMPANY

LEVEL

DEALERS

CORPORATE CONSUMER

Distribution will ultimately drive brand success, at least for national level brands. Also, currently local/regional brands seem to be moving off the shelves. With Bisleri becoming a generic name for bottled drinking water, if it can manage the

54

distribution of the product to make it available where the consumer needs it the most, it may well succeed in his gamble with water.

55

Bisleri’s esteemed clientele include large institutions and prestigious outlets, a few of which have been listed as per the annexure:

•

President house

•

PM house

•

Jet airways

•

Air India

•

Ashok hotel

•

Maurya Sheraton

•

Hotel metropolitan

•

Hotel Radisson

•

NSCI club

•

Officers club

•

ICICI Lombard

•

ICICI prudential

•

Oriental bank of commerce

•

Punjab national bank

•

UTI

•

Corporation bank

•

Russian embassy

•

Times of India

•

World health organization

•

Ministry of health and family welfare

•

Reliance industries limited

56

57

Bisleri’s major segmentation variables for consumer markets.

Size of the bottle

Price per bottle

Target consumers

250 ml cups

Rs. 3

Marriages, parties, Indian airlines

Rs. 8

travellers. Teenagers , college students and

1 litre

Rs. 12

Roadside consumers. General consumers and travellers.

1.5 litres

Rs. 15

Consumers demanding a little more

Rs. 20

water at just a little more price. Small offices, shopkeepers,

Rs. 30

Households. Households, institutes, offices,

Rs. 60

Retail, shops, showrooms. Households, institutes, offices,

500 ml

2 litres 5 litres 20 litres

Schools and colleges.

58

CHAPTER-4 DATA ANALYSIS

Ques 1: Do you prefer packaged drinking water? 59

Ans

: Packaged:

73 corporate

Non – Packaged: 27 corporate

Preference of Packaged water 80 60 No. of 40 Corporate

73

20 0

27 packaged

non-packaged

The above bar chart, according to the analysis depicts that there is high demand of packaged drinking water in the corporate sector.73% of the corporate are preferring packaged drinking water while 27% of them are preferring non-packaged drinking water like: aqua guard, own R.O. system, municipality water. Hence corporate world is opting packaged water rather then non – packaged one. Packaged water market has a good scope in corporate world.

60

Ques 2:

Which brand of packaged drinking water you are currently consuming?

Ans:

Bisleri:

14

Aquafina:

2

Paras:

0 Hello:

11 Kinley:

4

Kingfisher:

4

Prime: Aqua guard/R.O.:

8 27

Others [Glacier, Shudh, Mckinsey, Ganga etc.]: 30

30

27

prime

hello

others

8

4 kingfisher

2

4 kinley

11

aquaguard/ro

14

aquafina

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

bisleri

no. of corporate

Share of Bisleri in corporate sector

brands of water

The above figure shows the share of bisleri water in corporate sector i.e. only 14% and other branded water like aquafina, kingfisher, kinley holds only 2 – 4 % share. Basically corporate market has been ruled by local players like hello, prime and other brands which hold 50% of the sector. And rest by aqua guard and own purified systems. Hence local brands are more preferable then branded one like BISLERI.

61

Ques 3:

How long your organization has been associated with this brand? b/w

4-6

above

b/w 0-3 months

months

b/w 7-12 months

months

13

22

24

14

12

Ans:

No. of Corporates

Loyality towards brand 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

24

22

14

13

b/w 0-3

b/w 4-6

b/w 7-12

above 12

Months

The above diagram shows that how loyal an organization is towards one particular brand. Maximum corporate i.e. 24% stick to one brand for 7 to 12 months, then 22 % for 4 to 6 months only 14 % are associated for more then a year. So this brings out the uncertain behavior of the corporate sector towards one brand. Corporate sector is demanding more innovations and more price discounts schemes etc. The

62

one who is providing all that they immediately shifts to that advantageous brand. Hence, corporate are more demanding and less loyal towards the brand.

63

Ques 4:

Do you feel that packaged drinking water has a seasonality effect?

Ans:

Yes:

60

No:

13

Not available:

27

seasonality effect n.a. 27% yes 60%

no 13%

Above pie chart shows that 60% of the corporate feel that water has seasonality effect which means that during summer season water is demanded more then in winters. While 30% don’t feel like this. Hence bisleri should try to create its awareness more among consumers through advertisements, publicity, banners in summer season which will help it to increase its sales.

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Ques 5: Which factor can change your brand preference? Ans: RO/AQUAGUARD Q 27 3 S+Q 5

PX+S 9

Q+PX+S 4

PX 11

PX+Q 34

Q+PX+P 3

S 1

S+P+Q 1

Q+PX+S+P 2

Where: Q

=

Quality

S

=

Service

PX

=

Price

P

=

Packaging

FACTORS AFFECTING BRAND PREFERENCE

RO/AQUAGUARD Q PX PX+Q

12 4 3 9

S S+Q

27

PX+S Q+PX+S

5 1

Q+PX+P

3

S+P+Q Q+PX+S+P

11 34

65

According to the above study price and quality combination is the most preferable one among the corporate sector i.e. 34% corporate are opting it. Then 11% of the corporate prefer price as the most important factor.9% of the corporate opt for price and service combo. Hence through this it is concluded that price is one of the most important factor which can change the brand preference of the corporate sector. This is the only reason why organizations are opting more local brands like hello, prime, shudh etc. as they are offering their product at less price like Rs. 25 – 40 for one 20 litre jar well branded packaged water are at Rs. 50- 60 for 20 litre jar. Quality is also the one of the factor but organizations are not ready to compromise over the price, they want quality but at the minimum price. So BISLERI should concentrate over their cost minimization factor.

66

Ques 6: How do you rate bisleri with other players in the market? Ans: VERY GOOD GOOD

STANDARD BAD

5

11

57

0

BISLERI'S PERFORMANCE AGAINST IT'S COMPETITORS

15%

0% 7%

VERY GOOD GOOD STANDARD BAD

78%

According to the above diagram Bisleri’s position in corporate market is almost satisfactory as 78 % rate bisleri performance as good and 7% as very good. While 15% think bisleri as standard brand in front of other bottled water players. Nobody rate bisleri as poor brand. Hence through this we can conclude Bisleri’s performance as up to the mark but the only problem is bisleri price which is Rs. 60 per 20 litres which is the main obstacle due to which organizations are opting other local packaged water brands.

67

Ques 7:

Are you satisfied with bisleri’s awareness programmes, sales campaigns, advertising, and publicity?

Ans:

YES

NO

N.A.

8

65

27

SATISFACTION WITH BISLERI'S PROMOTIONAL METHODS YES 8%

N.A. 27%

NO 65% The above survey shows the satisfaction among organizations regarding the bisleri’s sales promotion methods. And the results are like this 65% of them are not at all satisfied with bisleri campaigns, advertising, and publicity. according to them bisleri should more focus on its promotional activities like advertising, awareness among people, also put their banners, should provide more consumers benefit schemes. Hence bisleri is required to concentrate on its promotional activities to increase its corporate market share.

68

CHAPTER-5 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION

69

FINDINGS •

People live with the notion that Bisleri is a generic brand.

•

Bisleri’s sales promotion is stagnant since last 1 or 2 years.

•

Bisleri’s competition has also increased since last 3- 4 years.

•

Bisleri being a pioneer should face competition with other key players as kinley, Aquafina but bisleri is quite ahead with these key players. Now, bisleri is facing competition with local players like Hello, Prime because percentage of local players is increasing.

•

There should be differentiation in order to make your product different; either it is product

differentiation,

service

differentiation,

packaging

or

quality

differentiation. In case of bisleri product differentiation is very difficult but to sell their product they can create service differentiation, but bisleri is not focusing on these points. •

It’s difficult for marketer to get the customer say yes because customer is price sensitive.Bisleri being pioneers are following the skimming pricing strategy. So, Bisleri faces problem where price is important.

•

The leader position which bisleri was enjoying is fading away.

•

Analysis of my study shows that it’s true that bisleri perform better in respect of aquafina and kinley, the MNC’s brand but can’t able to undermine the local brands position.

70

•

Local players play a very important role particularly after price increase by bisleri, as they are available for Rs. 25-35 per 20 litre jar. Retailers at the end of the day prefer a product where there is maximum margin.

•

According to my survey bisleri share is only 15-20% in corporate sector, and the main reason behind it was its high price due to which consumers are shifting to other local and low priced packaged water.

•

In the highly commercialized area like cannaught place the problem of duplication of bisleri packaged water was encountered, suppliers are distributing local water in bisleri bottle. This duplicity is ultimately consumed by innocent consumers.

•

It was also surveyed that bisleri distribution was not appropriate in some areas like green park, Mr. Singh who used to be a bisleri consumer complaint that he didn’t get the water supply for 2 days due to which he shifted to mount kailash as they provided the fast service. Hence bisleri suffers from poor distribution channel.

•

In my survey I concluded that consumers are brand loyal but only when they are getting right quality at low price. It means if they are offered high price their brand loyalty shatters and they shifts to other brand.

•

In my survey I faced many complaints related to quality and packaging by bisleri.consumers are not satisfied with bisleri taste, they sometimes found water sour as well as mixed with dust particles. About packaging they complaint jars to be full of scratches and dirt.

71

•

According to my survey water has a seasonality effect. As I conducted my survey during the summer season and it was found that there is high demand of packaged water in this season so anything available sells and sells well.

40% Bisleri 30%

20%

10%

MARKETING LEADER

MARKET CHALLENGER MARKET FOLLOWER MARKET NICHERS

72

RECOMMENDATIONS As we know bisleri is pioneer of the industry how can one give recommendations but there are some suggestions so that bisleri can compete with the local players in the corporate sector.

•

Bisleri’s should think over marketing its product because customers need a recalled.

•

It should bring out advertisement because nobody remembers when they last saw Bisleri’s ad.

•

Though Bisleri has a brand image but it should try to reduce its prices as it is facing tough competition from local players.

•

Bisleri should create service differentiation

•

Bisleri should have tie-ups.

73

•

It should have contracts with offices that are yet to be opened.

•

Though Bisleri has a brand image but it should try to reduce its prices as it is facing tough competition from local players.

•

Bisleri should create service differentiation

•

Bisleri should have tie-ups.

•

It should have contracts with offices that are yet to be opened.

•

The biggest reason due to which bisleri is loosing its grip in packaged water market is its high price, so bisleri should try to adopt low price strategy by optimization of resources and economies of scale.

•

Bisleri should concentrate on increasing its awareness programmes by more advertisements, road shows, hoardings etc.; which will build the brand image that will provide the required ground to establish the authenticity to the product.

•

Bisleri should widen its distribution channel, more delivery trucks and more distributors should be appointed so that consumers can find bisleri at right time, right place and in right quantity.

•

Some new strategies should be planned by the company to outplay the competitors.

•

Bisleri should appoint the “checkers team” for different areas where they will check out and control the pirated bisleri water in that particular area. This will help in improving the company’s image. 74

•

Bisleri should also try to focus on its quality of water as sometimes people find its taste not up to the mark and also dust particles in the water. So bisleri can add some new more processes in its purification process or more scrutinization should be there.

•

Bisleri should also take some steps for providing hot and cold dispensers with their water supply. As in corporate offices they need this machine which is being provided by other players like kinley, Aquafina, Prime. If bisleri follow this strategy of providing dispensers then there sales will increase.

•

Each salesman should be encouraged to carry maximum possible stock with him. Targets for weeks, for fortnights can be set for different routes and contests can be organized between salesmen.

•

The biggest reason due to which bisleri is loosing its grip in packaged water market is its high price, so bisleri should try to adopt low price strategy by optimization of resources and economies of scale.

CONCLUSION 1. Local players are taking away large chunk of market share and are giving a threatening competition to bisleri by adopting low price strategy. gone are those days when consumers used to be quality conscious, when they was ready to sacrifice any amount of money for the sake of best quality but now days consumers are becoming more and more price sensitive i.e. they want satisfactorily quality but only at a low price. 75

2. People are not ready to compromise with the price anymore. And only this is the reason why bisleri who was once the pioneer in packaged water is now fading away. 3. Hence to be a market leader once again bisleri has to cut down its prices as in my study I have concluded that the only that player can survive in this market who has a low price package. Also bisleri has to focus on its promotional activities as well as advertisements to reposition its brand and to create brand awareness among the consumers. 4. Last but not the least bisleri should try to reframe its strategies and should adopt a low price strategy to achieve a leading position once again.

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ANNEXTURE

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Questionnaire Ques 1: Do you prefer packaged drinking water? Packaged: Non – Packaged:

Ques 2:

Which brand of packaged drinking water you are currently consuming? Bisleri:

Paras:

Aquafina:

Ques 3:

Hello:

Kinley:

Prime:

Kingfisher:

Aqua guard/R.O.:

How long your organization has been associated with this brand?

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b/w 0-3 months b/w 4-6 months b/w 7-12 months above 12 months

Ques 4:

Do you feel that packaged drinking water has a seasonality effect? Yes: No: Not available:

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Ques 5: Which factor can change your brand preference?

Ques 6: How do you rate bisleri with other players in the market? Very Good Good Standard Bad

Ques 7:

Are you satisfied with Bisleri’s awareness programmes, sales campaigns, advertising, and publicity?

YES NO N.A. Ques 8:

How long are the organizations associated with the brand they are using?

Ques 9: Which factors can lead to shift in Brand Preference?

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BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS  Marketing Management by Philip Kotler, Pearson Education  Consumer Behavior by G.Schiffman Leon, Prentice-Hall India  “Marketing Management” by Kotler Philip & Kevin Lane Keller.

NEWS PAPERS  Economic Times  Financial Express  Times of India  Indian Express

MAGAZINES  Business Today  Business India  Business World,  Business Standard

INTERNET  http://www.bisleri.com  http://www.science&environment.com  http://www.blonnet.com  http://www.infochangeindia.org

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