The comparative study of cement brands in Asansol with respect to company's 5 Ps.

The comparative study of cement brands in Asansol with respect to company's 5 Ps.2014

A SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT ON The comparative study of cement brands in Asansol, with respect to company's 5 Ps of the Marketing mix.AT

PARAG PARMAR13202027MBA Batch ( 2013 - 15 )13202027@ksom.ac.inMr. Rajesh Sinha Prof. Ashutosh KarHead - Sales Unit, Asansol School Of Management ACC Ltd KIIT UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT , KIIT UNIVERSITY BHUBANESWAR - 751024( 07 / 07 / 2014 )

DECLARATION

I, Parag Parmar, hereby declare that this project report entitled The comparative study of cement brands in Asansol, with respect to company's 5 Ps Marketing mix. is an original piece of work and is the result of my work on behalf of ACC Ltd.This summer internship report has the requisite standard for the partial fulfillment of the MBA program at School of Management, KIIT University. To best of my knowledge and belief no part of this report has been reproduced from any other report and the contents are based on original research. This project has not been submitted to any other university/institute for the award of any degree/diploma.

DATE: 05.07.2014NAME: Parag ParmarPLACE: ASANSOLSIGNATURE:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI express my appreciation and thanks to all those with whom I had the opportunity to work and whose thoughts and insights have helped me in furthering my knowledge and understanding of the subject. My sincere gratitude goes to my corporate guide Mr. Rajesh Sinha, Head Sales Unit - Asansol, West Bengal for his valuable and continuous support and without his valued guidance and encouragement the completion of this project would have not been possible. I would like to express my thanks to Mr. Panna Lal Saha, Head of Sales for Asansol Area Office for his valuable guidance, support, suggestions and inspiration which helped me to do the project. I would also like to thank all the Sales and Customer Service Officers of the company, who in spite of their busy schedule have co-operated with me continuously and indeed their valuable contribution and guidance have been certainly indispensable for my project work. I express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Ashok Sar, Dean, School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, for providing me such an wonderful opportunity to explore the corporate environment.I would also like to express my profound sense of gratitude to, Prof. Ashutosh Kar, my faculty guide and mentor of KIIT School of Management for guiding me throughout the project.

PARAG PARMAR

TABLE OF CONTENTSSl. no.Particulars

Page no.

1EXECUTIVE SUMMARY5

2INTRODUCTION 6-10

3PROJECT OBJECTIVES11

4RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY12

5ACTION PLAN13

6PROJECT FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS14-27

7SWOT ANALYSIS28

8RECOMMENDATIONS29-30

9LIMITATIONS31

10REFERENCES32

11CONCLUSION

33

12ANNEXURE34

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe report is the compilation of work done at ACC Ltd. as an Intern Trainee wherein I undertook the project The comparative study of cement brands in Asansol, with respect to company's 5 Ps Marketing mix.. The need for this project is the requirement of more intelligence input for the Sales unit in order to keep the growth in sales high and bring about cost reduction as well to increase profits and contribution by getting better competitor insights.

The study based project was completed using primary data. It involved surveying various cement dealers across the Asansol market about the 7 top brands in the market right now. The focus of the study was to compare the marketing efforts of the companies based on the Marketing Mix of ACC Ltd which consists of 5 Ps, Product Quality, Promotions, Packaging, Price and Placement & Availability. These were the factors used as benchmarks to prepare the questionnaire and go ahead with a qualitative survey. The dealer perception was mapped, trying to keep myself as independent a surveyor, as possible.

In these 8 weeks I have collected information on various tapped and untapped outlets, which have their own perceptions about various cement brands. I tried to assess what the cement companies are doing in the market and what actually works for them. In Asansol ACC is not a market leader despite being one of the top 3 brands across India. I tried to analyze the reason behind this based on the collected data which referred to the efforts being made on the 5 Ps and how inter related they are to bring out the actual sales in the market.

INTRODUCTION About the company:ACC(ACCLimited) is India's foremost manufacturer of cement and concrete. ACC's operations are spread throughout the country with 17 modern cement factories, more than 40 Ready mix concrete plants, 21 sales offices, and several zonal offices. It has a workforce of about 9,000 persons and a countrywide distribution network of over 9,000 dealers.Since inception in 1936, the company has been a trendsetter and important benchmark for the cement industry in many areas of cement and concrete technology. ACC has a unique track record of innovative research, product development and specialized consultancy services. The company's various manufacturing units are backed by a central technology support services Centre - the only one of its kind in the country.ACC is now a holding company of Holcim Cements Ltd since its 2004 takeover and in 2006 its name was changed to ACC Ltd, as it is known today. The company is one of the market leaders across India, but isn't doing that well in the Asansol, West Bengal region. It faces stiff competition from cheaper cement brands and local players alike which have tipped the premium brands to become market leaders in this eastern industrial belt of small towns.ACC Ltd has 7 sales units under its Kolkata regional office. Of these 7, Asansol is one SU catering to Major parts of West Bengal and entire North East under its 2 Area Offices - Asansol and Siliguri. Having a blended mix and variety of Slag and Fly Ash cement, ACC is one of those companies with high potential and high brand equity. Whole team at Asansol was changed by Last quarter of 2012 and a new team was brought in to bring growth. It is one of the highest growing sales units under east RO. ACC has made significant contributions to the nation building process by way of quality products, services and sharing expertise. Its commitment to sustainable development, its high ethical standards in business dealings and its on-going efforts in community welfare programmes have won it acclaim as a responsible corporate citizen. ACCs brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a high level of equity in the Indian market. It is the only cement company that figures in the list of Consumer SuperBrands of India. About the products: ACC PSC Cement : ACC Plain cement or PSC Cement is made from slag. Commonly known as Portland Slag Cement, Slag is mixed in normal Portland cement to make a strong blend of fine PSC. This is the basic product offered by the company and is used by masons across different work requirements which might include plastering, brick laying or concrete making. MRP in region: Rs 350/-ACC Plus : ACC Plus cement is a black cement or PPC cement. Its normally called Portland Pozzolan cement which is fly ash based, which gives the cement a black color. This type of cement has a faster setting time and is used for various quick fixes as well as complete construction jobs. The setting time is faster as compared to PSC cement but its final strength can be slightly less than that of PSC Cement. This comes in a premium paper pack as compared to ACC Plain cement and is poised as a premium productMRP in region: Rs 357/-ACC F2R : A PSC cement, this is much finer grinded and is marketed as a premium product of the slag cement. This cement can be used for the complete construction activity with best results which includes laying of the foundation to the roof. Hence the name, F2R - Foundation to Roof. This product is used extensively in laying of foundations. It comes in a premium paper packing with augmented service offerings of a company engineer visiting your site while the work goes on.MRP in region: Rs 375/-

SU Vision/ Key goals for 2014" To be the best sales unit under RO East known for giving highest growth in terms of sales volumes, EBITDA, exponential growth of premium product, best improver is DSO, best in people development and in career progression"

Goals and Objectives (Aspirations) Increase EBITDA from 40 Cr in 2013 to 59 Cr in 2014 Increase volume from 4.31 MT in 2013 to 5.04 MT in 2014 Increase NSP from Rs 4750 PMT in 2013 to Rs 5144 PMT in 2014 Increase CMN from Rs 3713 PMT in 2013 to Rs 4050 PMT in 2014. Increase F2R sales from 3589 PMT in 2013 to 7000 PMT in 2014. Increase ACC+ Sales from 1373 PMT in 2013 to 7000 PMT in 2014. Increase sales in high contribution markets from 45% in 2013 to 65% in 2014. Improve EFR Score from 4.0 to 4.8 in 2014. Improve BEI (brand equity index) from 4.6 in 2013 to 4.8 in 2014. Improve Institutionalizing excellence journey scores from 93% to 95%.

MARKETING EFFORTS

The company is currently pushing up its marketing efforts to regain market share in this region which is critical for the growth of ACC. The marketing efforts of the company range from installing kiosks, hoardings, wall paintings to bringing about TV Ads in national as well as local channels. The company also does a lot of BTL marketing in terms of giving gifts and POP display items to dealers and masons, conducting meets for masons, dealers and contractors in regular intervals. Also various schemes have been launched by the company to cover various retailers and offer them higher margins over sales through cash and non cash benefits.ACC Upahar for dealers: This scheme runs from 1st March to 30th November based on the average sales of a dealer. Average per month sales scheme, where high value gifts are given in exchange for the points earned via average sales over the months at the end of November and calculated from the SAP system, itself.ACC Lakshya: It is a target scheme where dealers are set targets for sales and on achieving the sales and the growth in sales, they get extra cash credit @ Rs 1-3 per bag sold. EMLP electronic mason loyalty program: This is a scheme for the masons. Masons are the chief influencers for any buyer and when they influence a buyer to purchase a minimum of 20 bags of cement at least, then they get a scratch coupon, the points of which are enrolled electronically into the pre-made accounts of the masons. Later these points can be reimbursed for lucrative gifts which even include a motorbike.SAP is used as an ERP tool to manage the whole integrated operations of the business and bring out these various schemes effectively to the dealers and masons.

CHANNEL OF SALES1. Channel of distribution: Trade

OR

2. Channel of distribution: Non-Trade

PROJECT OBJECTIVES1. To analyze the marketing mix ( 5 Ps ) of the companies in the market of Asansol.2. To generate a comparative analysis of the various cement brands present in the market focusing on these 5 Ps.3. Find out the best practices being done by these companies which gives them an edge over ACC in the market.4. Find out the flaws in the marketing mix of ACC through experience sharing with dealers and retailers.5. Get in depth idea of frequency of activities being done by other companies.6. Suggest some innovative recommendation to provide better POP display material to dealers and improve marketing activity in the Sales region of Asansol to enhance the sales of the Sales Unit.

SCOPE OF PROJECT1. Geographical Market size limited to district area of Asansol which is of high focus under the sales unit of Asansol and has also giving a high growth rate of business.2. Time limited to 30th June.3. Would cover dealers selling cement for at least 2 months prior to the start of the study to get comprehensive data.4. Major comparison between top 7 brands in the market only, i.e. ACC Ltd, Ultratech, Ambuja, Lafarge, Konark, Birla and Jaypee Cement.5. Retailers not selling ACC would also be contacted.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology :The research will be primarily a qualitative research to bring out data which is underlying the market information in terms of sales and it is concerned with the subjective assessment of attitudes and opinions of dealers and retailers.

Research Design :The research undertaken was Qualitative and Analytical in nature. I had to visit the various retailers and gain their opinion and subjective assessment of various cement brands and their marketing mix. The comparative study required generating underlying information through analyses of data received. These observations have been plotted into various representative graphs and charts which correlate to each other to various extents and bring out reasons for underlying performance parameters of the marketing mix.Unstructured interview will also be used to build onto the recommendations by identifying the requirement of dealers and using its utility to drive creative solutions.Sample Size :The sample size for the purpose of this project was 46. Total retailers contacted were 65, of which 46 agreed to be part of the research.Data Sources : The nature of data collection was Primary.Method of Data Collection: Primary Method of data collection was done by visiting the outlets and observing the reason for them being untapped.

ACTION PLAN Duration Of The Project : 07.05.2014 -30.06.2014 (8 weeks )1) 07.05.2014 - 17.05.2014: Finding about the company and its various products. Finding about the cement industry in general and how the Trade sales function . Selection of the topic of project as "The comparative study of cement brands in Asansol, with respect to company's 5 Ps Marketing mix." Preparation of questionnaire based on the factors in focus. Meeting a few retailers to get to know what to look for in an interview and preparing questionnaire based on the observations.

2) 18.05.2014-07.06.2014:

Visiting the outlets with the help of the respective Area Sales Officers or customer service officer as per their daily route plan. Interviewing various retailers apart from the ones which were visited with the ASOs. Organizing a customer awareness camp for a new dealer, interacting with customers and getting to know their perspective also.

3) 08.06.2014 - 24.06.2014

Going for independent surveys and interviewing new outlets not covered earlier with the ASOs. Finding out requirement of dealers for potential POP display items through unstructured questionnaire.

4) 25.06.2014 - 30.06.2014 Compilation of all the reports in order to analyze them in MS Excel. Preparation of the final report and presentation with respect to analysis and findings of the study.

PROJECT FINDINGS AND ANALYISIS

Finding 1. I asked the respondent about which brands they sell. As per their responses Ambuja has the highest penetration amongst the dealers with maximum counters selling Ambuja. Konark, Lafarge and ACC fall in close behind. This can be attributed to the good conversion of retailers done by these brands.

Fig. 1 Total Retailer Count

Finding 2. The respondents were asked which brand has the highest demand at their counter. Konark and Ambuja both were close and see the highest demand. Some pockets are dominated by demand for Ambuja and some by demand for Konark.

Fig 2. Highest Demanded BrandFinding 3. I asked the respondents which brand has the best quality amongst the 7 brands being considered in this survey. It was found that Lafarge has the best quality as per the perception of the dealers. ACC comes in second.

Fig. 3 Brand with the Best Quality Cement

Finding 4. I asked the dealers about their knowledge about the various promotion activities that are taking place. It was found that they have the maximum knowledge about promotions being done by Ambuja and Lafarge alike, followed by Konark. Many dealers said they felt that Konark did not even need any promotion to drive sales. Highest gap was found in promotion of Jaypee which might have something to do with the selling off of the nearby plant and sales falling after that.

Different practices are also being done by Ambuja and Konark in terms of giving mediclaim to dealer and their families, renovation of dealer's shops and offices, high quality gifts, lavish meeting parties being organized in gaps of 4-5 months etc. These efforts can be directly seen affecting sales as further in figure 11 we can see that sales of Ambuja and Konark are the maximum as compared to others.

Fig 4. Knowledge of dealers about Promotion activities in the market.

Finding 5. I asked the dealers about the knowledge over schemes available to them or in the market. The finding was that maximum dealers were aware about the channel partner schemes offered by Konark which was evident from its maximum reach to dealers. The schemes being offered by Konark range from cash credit, gifts points scheme, Luxury tours (Foreign as well as domestic), Gold scheme and tours for small dealers as well. It also has schemes for masons which includes points that can be redeemed for gifts as well as different scratch coupon based schemes which are seasonal. It offered one customer scheme in the last monsoon which was a scratch coupon scheme.

This is followed by the outreach of Ambuja and Birla who are offering similar schemes but not many tours to dealers. Also, ACC which has all these schemes is lacking in tour schemes and the feedback also came that realization of these scheme is not done on time and is delayed for months.

Overall the schemes show that sales is driven by such dealer oriented schemes the most and mason schemes are there but not as effective as dealer schemes, that is why the market leaders are not applying as much of them as dealer schemes.

Fig 5. Knowledge about schemes for Channel partners, Influencers and Customers.

Finding 6. The respondents were asked about the brand which they think offers the best customer service in terms of technical support to customers. There were equal responses for ACC and Ambuja. Apart from this UltraTech, Lafarge and Konark are also closely following. This shows that there is still scope for ACC to get a competitive advantage in this field although till now things look good as far as technical services are concerned. Many dealers also felt none of the companies give good service and this is an opportunity to develop.

Fig 6. Best Customer Service responses

Finding 7. The respondents were asked to rate the importance of price as a decision making factor for the customers. The maximum dealers said that they strongly agree with the statement that Price is the most important factor while making a decision of purchase. Later we can see that when all factors of the product mix are ranked together Price takes the 2nd Rank. This shows that definitely the market is price sensitive and for a product to sell it is important to sell at the right price which the customers are willing to pay.

Fig 7. Responses rating Importance of Price as a decision making factor.

Finding 8. The respondents were asked which brand they perceive is the best value for money for a customer. Konark due to its low price and good quality stood out as the best brand in terms of value for money. This is one essential thing that the customer requires and it reflects in the sales data as well because Konark is the market leader in terms of sales.

Other brands that follow are Ambuja and Birla after that, as dealers perceive them to be having a somewhat good value for money with a good quality offering for customers. Even though respondents said Lafarge is the cement with the best quality, its slightly high price doesn't make it a good value for money for the cusomers.

Fig 8. Brand with the best value for money.

Finding 9. The respondents were asked to identify how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with the margin of a brand. It was found that Konark and Birla offer the best margin to the dealers even though they have low prices. This motivates them to sell more. In terms of dissatisfied dealers the most were with Ambuja and ACC, both similar brands selling in the same price band. This shows that margins by lower priced bands are more satisfying for dealers and it makes it easier to sell as well for them as customers are price sensitive and demand lesser priced products more.

Fig 9. Dealer Satisfaction level with margins of brands they sell.Finding 10. The respondents were asked to rate the packaging quality of the 7 brands out of 5, where 5 was the highest and 1 the lowest. Different parameters were taken like the aesthetic quality, the safety, the durability and the reliability of the packaging, and an overall rating was also taken.The findings rank Ambuja as the best brand in terms of packing, closely followed by ACC and Lafarge. All these brands offer paper packing in premium products which are liked by the dealers and customers alike, save on wastage as well as are well designed for a good feel. Konark loses out on an advantage here due to its poor packaging and handling which create wastage for customers and problems.

Packaging Quality

BrandAestheticsSafetyDurabilityReliabilityOverallRank

ACC3.763.783.9443.942

UltraTech3.213.433.393.413.485

Ambuja3.894.153.974.24.151

Lafarge3.823.73.93.913.942

Konark2.932.953.373.073.27

Birla3.413.523.443.53.476

Jaypee3.623.743.763.643.794

Table 1. Ratings of Brands for Packaging Quality

Finding 11. The respondents were asked how long it takes for the goods to be delivered to them from the time of ordering. As the dumps of all brands are nearby most of the dealers get their deliveries within 24 hours. Only in some exceptional cases were delays found in terms of places far away from Raniganj and some brands like ACC, Ambuja and Lafarge take 2-3 days to deliver in times of crisis and demand cannot be met the dealers during this time. This operational delay should be minimized to offer best availability of goods in the market for the brand.The market leader Konark doesn't face this kind of availability crunch and is always available at counters for the customer to purchase.

Finding 12. The respondents were asked whether customers would switch their brands in case a product isn't available. Most of the dealers felt that yes they were highly likely to switch to another brand and more than 60% believed that customers will switch to either to some extent or to a very high extent as their need was time based and they would have to do with another brand as their construction activity cannot be delayed. Hence if there is a supply shortfall then brands will lose out on potential sales fast as the customers are switchers. Hence it becomes important for brands to make their product available in good time.

Fig 10. Likeness of customers to switch in case desired brand isn't available

Finding 13. The respondents were asked to state their monthly average sales of the brands they sell out of the 7 brands in the survey. It was tried to ascertain that the data is as accurate as possible, but the responses showed more of an average monthly sale from that outlet.It was seen that of the outlets surveyed, Ambuja and Konark were market leaders in terms of average monthly sales. This is corroborative of the finding that customers demand these two brands at the outlets the most. Also Ambuja's demand being so high is due to a wider product offering than that of Konark. Other brands that follow close by are Birla and Lafarge. Sales totaling 10767 Tons was recorded from the surveyed outlets among the 7 brands being surveyed.

Fig 11. Total of Average Monthly sales of surveyed brands at outlets.

Finding 14. The respondents were asked how they push a product to the customers based on the 5Ps being surveyed upon. The maximum respondents said they try to give the customer the best quality product followed by high margin products.

One thing was evident, dealers never push products with the lowest prices. They either take care of their goodwill by selling good quality product or take care of their profits by selling high margin products.

Fig 12. How the respondents push a productFinding 15. The respondents were asked to rank the 5 factors constituting the marketing mix where 1 was the highest rank and 5 the lowest. As per the average rankings, the Product Quality was ranked as the number 1 factor followed by Price, Placement & Availability, Packaging and then lastly Promotions. For a customer Promotions were the least important in the purchase of cement, and this explains why so few customer schemes are available in the market as it would only be a waste of money and marketing effort by the companies to woo customers this way.

The product quality forms the base of any cement purchase closely followed by the Price which means only a good product with a suitable price that gives the best value to the customer will be the one to get the most out of the market, which Konark is doing as per the findings.

Fig 13. Average Ranks of 5 Ps of the Marketing Mix

Finding 16. The dealers were asked to suggest a product based on their own judgment of the product. Most dealers suggested ACC Plain and Konark Plain as their choice of product to be taken by a customer. Reasons ranged from previous experience of use to current market trend. Next was Lafarge Concreto which they suggested for use in laying of foundations etc.

Fig 14. Product suggested by Dealers.

Finding 17. The respondents were asked that if they had to take the exclusive dealership of any brand then which brand would they choose. The maximum responses came for Konark and the reasons stated were good demand in area, high profit margin and customers don't need to be convinced to purchase this brand.Next in line were Lafarge, Ambuja and ACC which had similar level of responses stating good quality as the reason for taking the brand. One dealer despite many attempts, said he will never take any exclusive dealership.

Fig 15. Exclusive brand preference of Dealers.

Finding 18. Sensitivity of Price- Highest Demand - Best Value RelationshipThe responses of those having given a "Strongly Agree" rating to price being the most important factor while making a purchase were taken and their responses were related with the highest demanded brand as well as their perception of the best valued product.The finding clearly showed that the highest demand as well as the brand with the Best value of money was Konark. The low price level of a branded product along with a good quality and good brand recall among customers makes this brand the highest demanded and best value product. This shows that since Asansol is a price sensitive market a lower priced product is doing well.Even in the premium segment Ambuja has the higher demand as its price is lesser than its other competitors in the same segment.

Fig 16. Sensitivity of Price- Highest Demand - Best Value Relationship graph

Finding 19. Dealers dissatisfied with ACC's profit margin.A total of 13 dealers were dissatisfied with the profit margin of ACC.This is a threat for ACC.Sl No.Dissatisfied Dealers

1New Jaipur Marble House

2Martian Traders

3Keshav Hardware

4Anand Cement Centre

5Poddar Enterprises

6Noorie Hardware

7F S Trading

8Sanchari Enterprises

9G C Mondal

10Chowdhury Construction

11Samir Gorai

12M/S Dutta & Co

13Royal Hardware

Table 2. Dealers Dissatisfied with ACC's profit margin.

Finding 20. Dealers Dissatisfied with competitors.It was found that in the premium segment, 13 dealers selling Ambuja, 9 selling Lafarge and 9 Selling UltraTech were dissatisfied with the profit margins. This is an opportunity. Dissatisfied Dealers of Competitors

Sl No.AmbujaUltraTechLafarge

1Keshav HardwareMartian TradersAnand Cement Centre

2Anand Cement CentreAnand Cement CentreManik Chandra Rooj

3Manik Chandra RoojNavgopal MajhiNavgopal Majhi

4Navgopal MajhiNeha EnterprisesAsif Hardware

5Poddar EnterprisesGanguly HardwareShila Enterprises

6Noorie HardwareShri Durga HardwareShri Durga Hardware

7Bachu RoyModern BuildersTitli Roy

8AP TradersSamir GoraiSrihari Enterprises

9M S Roy & SonsS K SanyalS K Sanyal

10Irfan Hardware

11G C Mondal

12M B Enterprises

13Shila Enterprises

14Sipra Enterprises

15MMC Enterprices

16Subrata Dawn

17Samir Gorai

18S K Sanyal

19Royal Hardware

Table 3. Dissatisfied dealers of competitors in premium segment.

Other Findings:Schemes Offered By The Competitors:

Gold Schemes being offered on premium as well as non premium products by Ambuja, Lafarge, Konark, Birla. Tours being offered by all brands. Konark offering domestic tours to small dealers as well at lower budget. Cash back scheme being offered to dealers by Konark, Birla. Points- purchase scheme being offered by all brands. Mason schemes being offered by Ambuja, UltraTech, Lafarge, Konark, Birla similar to eMLP. Customer scheme, "Khushiyo ki barish", being offered by Konark in Monsoon. Other customer schemes offered are best house scheme by Lafarge and UltraTech, where customers house enters the contest for the best home.

Suggested Scheme:1. Trade allowances: short term incentive offered to induce a retailer to stock up on a product.

2. Dealer loader: An incentive given to induce a retailer to purchase and display a product.

3. Trade contest: A contest to reward retailers that sell the most product.

4. Push money: also known as "spiffs". An extra commission paid to retail employees to push products.

5. Festive discount - Get x% of discount on Holy days like Eid, etc. for customers. This will best utilize the intended marketing spend.

SWOT ANALYSIS

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY

1. The company has the scope for going in for key account management, something followed in large corporates mostly in Services marketing, to enhance its outreach to dealers and non-trade markets. This can be done for dealers having sales of 100+ Tons per month. It will help stay connected to the key stakeholders as well as derive plans to offer highest benefits. As a pilot project it can be started for dealers having 50+ Tons of sales for 3-4 months starting this Monsoon in order to drive some sales in monsoon and post monsoon.2. Change in design of marketing material to suit the dealers needs should be done to provide more utility to dealers. Dealers look for one time good investments in terms of marketing material rather than giving small items throughout the year. Target time of 6 months should be taken to consolidate the marketing spend and create at least 10 model dealers in these 6 months with model display counters of ACC. From renovating the dealers counter to make it suit ACC, high product information display area should be there.3. The schemes employed by the company are not as effective nor as competitive as the other brands. Provide more of tour based schemes and instead of spreading cash benefit to 3-4 schemes extend it through one single channel that will consolidate the benefits being received by the dealers. Consolidation of benefits over the next 6 months should be taken as a target.4. Engage in more customer engagement activities like camps, lucky draws at malls, product description at weekly 'haats', and maybe sponsor real estate expos. A target of 5-6 customer camps in a month should be taken in Asansol market to engage customers.5. Let display items, wall paintings, hoardings reach on time. There are lots of delays in comparison to other companies who are more proactive.6. Also, customer service team should conduct more local camps and meets to match the competition and stay on their toes. Customer service should be extended to non premium products as well instead of only marketing it for ACC F2R.7. Price revisions should be considered for this market to the extent of Rs 3-4 per bag to match the price sensitivity in the market.8. Target the dissatisfied dealers of ACC to change them into satisfied dealers within the next 6 months for the 13 dealers.9. Latch on to dissatisfied dealers of other competitors and try to convert 5 non ACC selling dealers in the next 3 months.

LIMITATIONS The duration of the project was 8 weeks and there are many more outlets in Asansol that could have been covered , so to study all of them was not possible as they were not clustered in any particular place but spread around the entire vicinity and travel was a constraint without any travelling allocation being provided. The entire project study was limited to the sales district of Asansol only. Language barrier was one of the most difficult problem faced as the local language Bengali was not known by me and there were a few proprietors who did not know Hindi or English, so communicating with them became a difficult task . Many proprietors of the outlets hesitated to provide the required information as they felt it to be a confidential matter. Visiting the outlets during customer hours was the only way possible, during summers most outlets remained closed from 12-5pm. So, revisits to the same outlets consumed a lot of time in the entire process. I was new to the region of Asansol and getting to know the area took a lot of time.

REFERENCES1. http://www.acclimited.com/newsite/index.asp2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACC_Limited3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader4. Marketing brochures of ACC Limited.

The above mentioned links were used to borrow some reference materials for the purpose of project study .

CONCLUSIONThe project study for 2 months in ACC Limited was a live experience where I got to the real feel of the market and how dealer and customer perception is. I also got to know what drives this perception and how varied as well as similar the Marketing mix of cement companies are. The cement industry as a whole is full of challenges which need to be overcome on a day to day basis to stay alive and afloat in these cluttered market where each brand is fighting for its own space. From the visit to different outlets it can be concluded that though ACC has a very brand equity and a decent penetration in the Asansol market, but the market is so price sensitive that a brand like ACC which is a premium brand is fighting for survival and growth against brands like Konark and Ambuja which have created a high brand recall amongst the customers and the dealers alike. The marketing mix is good but with small improvements it can turn around the fortunes in the Asansol market for ACC which has been showing good growth in the last 18 months.Time bound implementations are a must and a Loss Leader strategy might work well for a brand like ACC which has deeper pockets. By introducing this strategy a price sensitive market can be championed.ACC Limited also has to bring about more flexibility in policies for dealers in order to keep them satisfied and the company should keep the dealers interests in mind as well. Overall the experience has been wholesome and has given me a lot of insights, which shall definitely help me increase my business knowledge and help me in the future to become an effective Marketing professional.

ANNEXURESAnnexure - I Questionnaire (with coding mentioned for entry into tracker)Questionnaire on Cement Industry*Organisation Name: ___________________ *Location: ________________*Type : RetailWholesalePhone No. : ______________________*Shop Address: ____________________________________________1. Which cement brands do you deal in? (can be more than one)A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5) F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)

2. Which brand has the highest demand at your shop?A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5) F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)

3. According to you, which brand has the best quality of cement?A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5) F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)

4. Of the following companies, which 'above the line' and 'below the line' promotional efforts are you aware of? Above the Line Below the Line 1 ACC -______________________________2 Ultratech -______________________________3 Ambuja -______________________________4 Lafarge -______________________________5 Konark -______________________________6 Birla -______________________________ 7 Jaypee -______________________________5. The following companies would be providing some kind of scheme to the retailers/ wholesalers. Which type of schemes are being given by them?Channel Partners InfluencersCustomers1 ACC -2 Ultratech -3 Ambuja -4 Lafarge -5 Konark -6 Birla - 7 Jaypee - 6. According to you which brand offers the best technical customer services?A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5) F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)7. Price is the most important factor for a customer while purchasing cement. You agree?A. Strongly Agree. (1) B. Agree. (2) C. Maybe (3) D. Disagree. (4)E. Strongly Disagree (5)8. Which brand has the best value for money for its products?A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5) F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)

9. Are you satisfied by the margin you get by selling the following cement brands? Yes (1), No (2) & Can't say (3)ACC -A. Yes B. No. C. Can't say as I don't sell this brandUltratech -A. Yes B. No. C. Can't say as I don't sell this brandAmbuja -A. Yes B. No. C. Can't say as I don't sell this brandLafarge -A. Yes B. No. C. Can't say as I don't sell this brandKonark -A. Yes B. No. C. Can't say as I don't sell this brandBirla -A. Yes B. No. C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand Jaypee - A. Yes B. No. C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand10. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, how do you rate companys packaging of products based on aesthetics, safety, durability, reliability overall quality etc? aesthetics safety durability reliability overall qualityACC -_________Ultratech -_________Ambuja -_________Lafarge -_________Konark -_________Birla -_________ Jaypee -_________11. On an average , what is the lead time between ordering and receiving of stock for the following brands?ACC -_____________Ultratech -_____________Ambuja -_____________Lafarge -_____________Konark -_____________Birla -_____________ Jaypee -_____________12. If stock of desired brand of customer is not available, then how likely is the customer to switch brands for his purchase?A. Highly likely. (1) B. Somewhat likely. (2) C. Somewhat unlikely (3) D. Highly unlikely. (4)

13. On an average , what is the stock you maintain for the following brands?ACC -_____________Ultratech -_____________Ambuja -_____________Lafarge -_____________Konark -_____________Birla -_____________ Jaypee -_____________ 14. Which product will you suggest to the customer?1. Product which gives you higher margin. 2. It is of best quality. 3. Product with lowest price 4. Product which is always in stock. 5. Whatever the customer demands.

15. Of the given factors that influence a customer's purchase, rank them from 1-5 according to the highest importance in influencing purchase, as 1, and lowest importance in influencing purchase, as 5.Product Quality -_____________Promotions -_____________Packaging Quality -_____________Price -_____________Placement & Availability -_____________

16. At time of purchase, which brand would you suggest to the customer? Under that brand which product?________________________________________________________________________________________________________17. If you had to take exclusive dealership of one brand, which brand would it be and why? _________________________________________________________________________________________________Thank you for your valuable time. Your confidentiality will be maintained and the data used for academic purpose only. Survey conducted by Parag Parmar.

Certificate of Completion

This is to certify that, Mr Parag Parmar, has successfully completed his organizational study and submitted his report entitled "The comparative study of cement brands in Asansol, with respect to company's 5 Ps of the Marketing mix of ACC Limited".

The duration of his summer internship project at our organization has been 8 weeks from 7th May, 2014 to 7th July, 2014, under the partial fulfillment for the awarding of the MBA degree at the KIIT School of Management, Bhubaneswar.

Mr Rajesh SinhaSales Head, AsansolACC LIMITED

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 1