Furnitre mms-iv-marketing-pramod vishwakarma

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Specialization Project Report On

“Impact of Promotional Activity on the Sales of Furniture Project Products”

Submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management Studies (MMS)

Specialization: Marketing Management

(University of Mumbai)

[2013-2015]

By

PRAMOD KUMAR VISHWAKARMA (Roll No: 2013013)

Under the guidance of

Asst. Prof Shantanu Pawar

ROHIDAS PATIL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Mahavidyalaya Marg, Navghar, Bhayandar (East)

District Thane, Pin Code: 401105

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PREFACE The basic concept of the project titled “Impact of Promotional Activities on Sales

of Furniture Project Products” is based on sales promotion and in store selling.

Consumer retention is the key success factor for any competitive market. An

effort was made to ascertain and analyze customer views and preferences for the

product through process of brand recall. Also, a detailed study was made to

understand the performance pattern of major competitors of Furniture Republic

company. In doing so, it was possible to assess the competition in the market,

hence enabling the organization to position itself more effectively and strategize

and schedule the sales planning on a long term basis. During the course of this

project, the promotional campaigns carried out by the company have been

studied.

This report contains the findings arrived at after a detailed analysis of the data

received through the questionnaires. The study was also carried out to find out

how to increase sell of brands. Many promotional activities such as ATL, BTL or

TTL activity and visits to various societies, corporate offices and major metro

stations for creating brand awareness were initiated.

The promotional activities like canopy shows and broachers distribution were

carried out at Thane. In this activity live demonstrations of household furniture in

the company demo flat at Vasundhra Olive County to the end user i.e. the

customers have been organized in the Indirapuram.

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COMPANY INFORMATION

Name of the company – THE FURNITURE REPUBLIC

Address of the company – SHOP NO.11 OM SHANTI TOWER OPP

DCB, SHANTI PARK MIRA ROAD (EAST)

Phone no of company – (+91) 64174332

Date of commencement – 22th day of March 2013

Date of completion – 21th day of June 2013

Name of industry guide – Mr Aditya Gupta, Founder & CEO

Student’s name - Pramod Kumar Vishwakarma

Student’s roll no. – 2013013

Student’s e-mail id – [email protected]

Student’s GSM – 9967221394

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A specialization project is a golden opportunity for learning and self-

development. I consider myself very lucky and honored to have so many

wonderful people lead me through in the completion of this project.

I would like to thank my Director Dr.(Dr.) Chandrashekhar V. Joshi, Ph.D., DLitt,

for providing me with this opportunity of having such a wonderful company for

my specialization project.

My thanks are due to Mr. Ramji, CEO “THE FURNITURE REPUBLIC” who in

spite of being extraordinarily busy with his duties, took time out to hear, guide

and keep me on the correct path. I do not know where I would have been without

Mr. Ramji’s guidance.

A humble ‘thank you’ to Asst. Prof. Mr. Shantanu Pawar whose patience I have

probably tested to the limit. He was always involved in the entire process, shared

his knowledge, and encouraged me to think. Last but not the least there were so

many friends’ of mine who shared valuable information that helped in the

successful completion of this project.

Bhayander,March 07, 2015 Pramod Kumar Vishwakarma

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INDEX

Chapter 1 – Introduction .............................................................................................. 6

Chapter 2 – Review of Related Literature .................................................................. 10

Chapter 3 – Furniture Republic Profile ....................................................................... 38

Chapter 4 – Design of Research ................................................................................. 42

Chapter 5 – Analysis and Interpretation of Data ........................................................ 86

Chapter 6 – Findings and Conclusions ........................................................................ 93

Chapter 7 – Limitations .............................................................................................. 94

References .................................................................................................................. 95

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Chapter 1 –Introduction

1.1 Background

The Furniture Project is run by a team of committed staff and volunteers, who

are motivated by the need to provide good quality re-usable household items

to people and families in necessitous circumstances. In meeting this need the

project encourages that the actions also help in the reduction of items going to

landfill.The Furniture Project is a voluntary organisation that accepts

donations of unwanted furniture & good quality re-usable, household items,

from the general public and passes them on to families & individuals in times

of need.The Furniture Project is also open to the general public for the sale of

excess stock of used good quality furniture, beds, TV's, small electrical

appliances and household items at affordable prices.

There are numerous opportunities in India for business of furniture as the

household has increased its income while the economy is reaching to new

horizons of developments. There are opportunities like start upof a business or

work as an interior decorator of furniture, or the supplier of the furniture to the

local market from the national market. Minimum qualification is required for

any candidate to start up the job in this industry.

Now-a-days, even if we are at home, or on the street or in the cinema, we can

notice how many companies are speaking to us all the time. Information is

coming from numerous different sources, and it can reach us in our bed,

and which is so personal, even in the toilet. Tailored information always

reaches its target, and then everything will depend on the individual’s

decision. The goal is to make customers loyal once they have decided to

purchase one brand of the product. We can also observe ourselves as well

as others feeling some kind of satisfaction during shopping, which is

because of the ‘good decision’ we made about the purchased products.

What does this ‘good decision’ mean actually? Nobody can tell us what a

good decision exactly is. There are too many differentviewpoints, as

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everybody is different in the world. That is the same situation when

companies try to persuade people that they are the best possible choice in a

particular market. They use numerous ways of marketing communication,

by the help of Below the line (BTL) and Above the Line (ATL) tools, but

then they also have to decide which form of communication to choose,

which will be the most suitable for their target group.However, it is for

sure that in many cases BTL communication can establish personal

relationship between products and customers, so it can be more efficient.

The study objective is to find out what are the current advertising tendencies;

whether there are more companies using BTL today or there will be more

using in the future. The study is conducted for a BTL activity with the help

from The Furniture Republic project is based on the collected personal

experiences. The concept of BTL is analyzed andits effect on consumers is

examined with the help of some case studies experienced during the course

of study to understand the question: ‘What will be the future of BTL

marketing?’

1.2 What is BTL?

The expression Below-The-Line (BTL) is coming from practice. The world’s

biggest cosmetic, domesticchemicalproductsproducing company, Procter

and Gamble classified its costs in two different groups: for its traditional

mass media and for the non-traditional elements. In traditional mass media

agencies are receiving commission. Procter andGamble wanted to know how

much this commission was, so they wrote those costs for non-traditional

mediumsin a different column of the company’s bookkeeping and thus the

agencies’ commission started to be counted separately.

Therefore, every advertising and commercial tool, which does not

contain agency commission, is in the category of BTL. It has to be

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clarified what goes under the agency commission concept since it would not

be concrete.

The aim of BTL communication is to develop private relationship with the

customer, and to inspire them to speak to us. We can introduce novelties in a

very pleasant way, so we are able to present specific information to our

clients.

There are many definitions of BTL. Basically, these definitions can be

divided into two groups. According to the first one, every kind of non-classical

advertising tool, that is not press release, TV, cinema, radio-spot or public

advertisement, can be mentioned among BTL tools. The second one puts

the emphasis on agency commission, and declares that every kind of

marketing activity that does not contain commission is part of marketingbelow

the line. It is important to note that each explanation highlights those

marketing tools that are not part of the BTL group. However, the

characteristics of these definitions can easily picture the variety and great

number of possibilities of BTL marketing In this case, we can differentiate

three groups: ATL media, the applied media duringthe communication is

private property, meaning TV commercial, radio spots, press release,

billboards, and other public place tools, provisional media: the

advertising tool is publicproperty, meaning direct marketing (DM) and

below-the-line media: medium is the property ofthe advertiser, meaning point-

of-sales/point-of-purchase (POS/POP) tools, coupons, etc.

There are some cases, where the BTL tools are more effective than

thetraditional advertisements. Reasons for this can be: Easier selection, more

accurate reaching of the target group, more controllable hence cost effective,

creates opportunity to meet directly with the product/service (sampling, event

marketing), interactive, meaning that it makes customers act. Determining the

exact target group makes communication more personal. Effectiveness can be

measured easier by BTL, gives unique opportunities in making differences

from competitors’ brand-supporting in case of certain products (for e.g.,

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tobacco), the target market cannot be reached – or just partly – through

traditional media because of the law forbidding it. Then the importance of

tools below the line increases.

1.3 Position of BTL in Marketing Communication

Nowadays more advertisers are choosing mass media tools for their

products or services. They do not use below the line activities. However, it is

not always beneficial to use intense television, radio, newspapers or

billboards advertising in case of purpose of selling or introducing

products. Applying other marketing tools is only possible if the ATL

campaign has not used up all the available financial resources for advertising.

At the same time, many companies consider ATL tools a better option,

because they cannot reach the necessary advertising frequency required

for the desired effect. Lots of people think that another ‘advantage’ of ATL

communication is that more customers can be reached during a campaign

therefore the cost of one contact is absolutely less than that of a BTL

campaign. This can be true in general, but an important difference is that

ATL communication has bigger number of standard deviation while in the

case of BTL media the target is substantially more accurately reached. Also

at below-the-line the customer encounters the tools where the purchasing

decision is actually made. People can easily look through those advertisings

on TV, radio,press or in public area billboards, so tools appearing in

shops with reminding effects can highly contribute to making a positive

purchasing decision. At the same time, it is worth to mention that

patronizing a BTL campaign with traditional ones can make it even more

effective. Now-a-days in Hungary, companies spend only 3 per cent of their

marketing budget on BTL activities; this ratio in the US is more than 50 per

cent. The reason of this considerable difference is that the significance of

BTL marketing is not recognized yet, and the experienced experts are

missing as well.

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Chapter 2–Review of Related Literature

2.1 Brief Historyof IndianFurniture Industry

As of 2011, the Indian furniture market is estimated to be worth US$ 307,922

million. Of this, wooden furniture accounts for US$ 109,358 million. About

13.5 per cent (US$ 41569 million) of this (wooden furniture) is imported and

imports are growing at 60 to 70 per cent every year. India was the largest

furniture importer in the world in 2010-11, with a 27 percent share in the

furniture imports worldwide. A total of 1,15,476 importers shipped furniture to

India during this period, mainly from Italy, Germany, Spain, China, Korea,

Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan.

The furniture sector in India makes a marginal contribution to the Gross

Domestic Product (GDP), representing about 0.8 per cent of the total GDP. The

major part of this industry, approximately 85 per cent is in the unorganized

sector. The remaining 15 per cent comprises of large manufacturers, such as

Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., BP Ergo, Featherlite, Haworth, Style

Spa, Yantra, Renaissance, Millennium Lifestyles, Durian, Kian, Tangent,

Furniture Concepts, Furniturewala, Zuari, Truzo, N R Jasani& Company, V3

Engineers, PSL Modular Furniture etc.

The range of indigenous furniture available in India includes both residential

and contract system furniture. Manufacturers in India usually use a three-tier

selling and distribution structure, comprising of the distributor, wholesaler and

retailer. The market is mainly concentrated in tier A, B and C category cities

(the top 589 cities).Tier A and B type cities together constitute 43 per cent of

the total market.

2.2 Furniture

As with the global market, household furniture is the

Indian furniture market, accounting for about 65 percent of furniture sales.

This is followed by, the office furniture segment with a 20 percent share and

the contract segment, ac

Household Furniture

Household furniture in India is available in a wide range, to cater to different

customer needs. A typical middle class urban Indian home has five rooms

(including kitchen and bathroom). About 25 percent of the urban populations

live in homes with five roo

three rooms or less

homes. The rich and upper middle class is typically very attentive to design

and quality, so price is rarely a determining factor. In

furniture is only found in homes of the urban upper class. Demand for

Household furniture

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urniture Industry Composition

As with the global market, household furniture is the largest segment



the contract segment, accounting for the remaining15percent.

Source: KPMG Analysis of IBEF

Household Furniture




live in homes with five rooms or more, while 45 percent live in houses with

three rooms or less. About 16 percent is estimated to live in single


and quality, so price is rarely a determining factor. In general, European style


65%

20%

15%

Market Share

Household furniture Office furniture Contract Segment

largest segment in the






ms or more, while 45 percent live in houses with

About 16 percent is estimated to live in single-room


general, European style


15%

Contract Segment

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furniture of international standards is limited to the larger cities. It is also

estimated that the wealthier classes do not change furniture very frequently.

The average life of a piece of furniture is about 20 years and some craftsmen’s

pieces are used for as long as 50-70 years. Colonial furniture is still very

common in India.

The contract segment caters primarily to hotels and its growth is consequently

linked to growth in tourism and development of new hotels. There are around

1,400 hotels in India in the organized sector. More than 12 per cent of these

are in the 5-star and above categories.

2.3 Market Capitalization

The Indian wooden furniture industry is able to generate approximately a

turnover of Rs 3,500 crore annually. The market of wooden furniture solely

Office Furniture The office furniture segment caters to the commercial and office space. This

segment has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, in line with the growth in

the Indian economy and subsequent demand for office space. The thrust on

real estate and office construction is expected to sustain in the near future,

indicating continued growth for the furniture industry.

Contract Segment

Household furniture comprises of

• Living Room Furniture

• Bedroom Furniture

• Kitchen Furniture

• Drawing Room Furniture

• Dining Room Furniture

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owns the share of nearly Rs 60 crore. And as per one of the survey done

recently, the industry is expected to grow by 20 percent in coming times.

2.4 Top leading Companies

Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

It is a part of the Godrej Group and was incorporated in 1932. The Godrej

Group recorded revenues of around US$ 813 million in the year 2011. It

mainly manufactures consumer products, office equipment, consumer

appliances, chemicals, agro products, security equipment, industrial products

and offer office automation and storage solutions. The company’s

manufacturing facility is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company has

exclusive showrooms and dealer outlets across India.

Featherlite

Featherlite is one of India’s largest furniture manufacturingcompanies and was

started in 1965. Featherlite has been retailing furniture for the past 20 years

and the first outlet was opened in Bangalore in 1987. The company has a state-

of-the-art manufacturing plant and is engaged in continuous R&D. The

company’s manufacturing plants are located in Bangalore and Hosur. It has

presence in 22 locations across India. It has around 25 exclusive showrooms in

Mumbai, Chennai,Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad. It

manufacturesaround 20,000 chairs and 3,400 workstations per month.35 per

cent of the total production is sold through retail outlets. The company has an

employee strength of 500 which includes architects, interior designers and

others.

Style Spa

Style Spa Furniture Limited is promoted by the Zuari-Chambal Group was

established in India in 1997, to manufacture and retail furniture, the company

is headquartered in Chennai. The US$ 15 million manufacturing facility at

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Kakkalur, nearChennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, is a sophisticated and fully

automated plant, which is one of Asia’s most modern and largest

manufacturing facilities. The ISO-certified plant produces around 0.2 million

furniture pieces annually. The company manufactures home and office

furniture that is retailed through about 92 exclusive retail outlets, spread across

the country. The company also provides after sales services throughits

showrooms.

Millennium Lifestyle

Millennium Lifestyle is a family owned enterprise incorporated in 1999. The

family had nearly 75 years of experience in retailing Indian art and antiques.

Millennium Lifestyle offers a one-stop solution to cater to the customers’

complete furniture requirements, as it offers a wide range of furniture from

around the world under one roof. A number of brands across various product

categories are sold from the company’s retail stores - ArteM, Divani,

Loddenkemper, RioArt, Sauder, Sherwood and Softplus. Millennium Lifestyle

has its showrooms spread across thetwo southern Indian cities of Bangalore

and Hyderabad. The company also provides the ‘designing your own interior

sitting at home’ service with the help of an online interactive room designer.

Durian

Durian is a major player in imported furniture, offering living, bedroom,

dining room and office furniture. The company has been set up by the

DokaniaGroup, which has been involved in plywood manufacturing for about

25 years. Durian has over 40 imported furniture showrooms in the country.

The company also offers free interior design consultancy and free delivery and

furniture installation.

Nilkamal

Nilkamal Group of Companies has a turnover of over US$ 125 million. It is

the leader in plastic moulded furniture. The company has diversified into the

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lifestyle furniture business by launching @home, which is complete home

solution store offering contemporary readymade wooden furniture. The

company has eight manufacturing locationsin India. It also has joint ventures

in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It provides services like design solutions,

professional guidance and interest free loans, besides furniture and

accessories. The main strengths of the NilkamalGroup are a 350-member wide

direct sales network, a 350-plus strong dealer network, 33 regional offices in

all major Indian industrial cities and 24 warehouses all over India and a

warehousing facility along with a marketing office in the UAE

2.5 Career Opportunities

There are numerous opportunities in India for business of Furniture as the

household has increased its income while the economy is reaching to new

horizons of developments.There are opportunities like start up a business or

work as an interior decorator of furniture, or the supplier of the furniture to the

local market from the national market. Minimum qualification is required for

any candidate to start up the job in this industry.

Parts of BTL

Classifying the areas and tools of below-the-line reflects its complexity and

variability and includes parts like public relation, direct marketing, sales

promotion, advertising in-store (POS, POP), fairs and exhibitions, event

marketing, sponsoring and personal selling.

Public Relation (PR)

PR is a planned and continuous set of activities, of which the target are

the customers of the company, its public opinion, the understanding between

its tighter and broader environment and building of trust. We can also talk

about company image and internal PR meaning the company’s internal

communication. In both cases, there is considerably much more than

marketing communication. In case of many companies PR concentrates on

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press-relations, is an important but not the only element. Good press

relationship can improve the situation of the company; can help change its

image. According to the direction of PRwe cantalk about internal and external

PR. The previous one means the information flows between leaders –

employees, organizations, while the latter one is about the

communicational relationship built with the outside business environment.

Characteristics of PR

• PR is prganizational, mostly corporate point of view, success is based on

good relationship with employees and the public.

• It is the tool of forming public opinion, indirect influence, nurtures trust.

• It endeavours mutual understanding, from acoordinating point of view,it

considers environmental problems.

• It is an overall group of activities,

• In PR employees of the company are the executives of PR activities.

• Informing of the public and feedback are done during the communication

process.

• It has an effect on various fields through the employees, like on lives,

ways of thinking, relations, market performance of the economy, demand

and supply and sometimes even on price policies.

• It enriching human resources and builds personal and human relations.

Direct Marketing (DM) according to the Broadest Expression

Direct marketing means all the possible tools of marketing and

communication are employed in setting up direct consumer relationship.

According to thetighter expression, direct marketing consists of tools of

marketing communication. According to the American Direct Marketing

Association, direct marketing is a kind of interactive method in the field of

marketing that can be used anywhere and which – by using one or more

advertising media – can have an effect which can be measured by replies

and number of purchases made.

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Characteristics of DM

• Puts human being in the centre.

• Can be measured by concrete enquiries and purchases.

• Fosters dialogue.

• Communication with the buyer can be more accurate and personalized.

• Addresses character, message is customized to the customer's needs and

wants: segments specific content, tailors to size according to the consumer's

profile.

• Feedback can be registered, directs measuring.

• Necessitates computerized database.

Advantage of DM

It enables:

• Handling a number of consumer groups and the segmentation of the market

• Identification of target markets, unlike segmentation and grouping of “niche-

product” of bidders on the mass market

• Improving relations with partners and with the supplier background,

• Regular and up-to-date information about needs, requirements and

about changes of demand,

• Elimination and dampening of the so called noises, the loss of

information by eliminating mediation

• Reducing ‘standard deviation’ of the applied communicational tools,

• Building brand loyalty,

• Reducing costs,

• Accelerates cash-flow,

• Comparison of expenditures and outputs, the concrete measurement of

effectiveness.

Sales Promotion (SP)

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Sales promotion refers to all the tools of whose objective is the immediate

increase of sales by providing price-incentives through a given period of time

to customers and retailers. According to the definition of the American

Marketing Association: ‘Sales Promotion refers to all the marketing activities

that stimulate customer purchase and the effectiveness of merchandising

activity, but does not relate to the concept of personal selling,

advertising nor to public relation, like for example: visits, exhibitions and

fairs, demonstrations and the various, not traditional activities and not

standardized sales efforts.’

The System of Sales Promotion

PUSH – instructions and its effects: producers stimulate wholesalers and

retailers to order.

PULL – instructions and its effects: demand of consumers is created by the

stimulation of producers, merchandisers and different advertisements.

Objectives of customer sales promotion are to:

• raise interest about products and services

• form direct relation between the customer and the product

• emphasize product characteristics

• exercise auxiliary inspiration.

Objectives of merchandise sales promotion are to:

• take business into focus

• lure the customer into the shop

• pass storing costs on to the customer

• increase turnover

• increase turnover speed

• clean-out the shelves.

Methods of stimulating customers are:

• presenting the product by assembling, sampling and try-out,

• rice reduction,

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• continuous sales discounts (POS)

• services during selling secure appropriate usage. Its tools are manuals, try-

out, delivery service, installation and tutorial

• gifts, free bags, prizes.

Gifts and prizes are subject to the purchase of a particular product or to a

particular sum of money spent. The easiest form of these is when customers

get some complimentary items besides the purchased product. A little more

difficult but also more stimulating is when customers have to send the receipt

of the purchase to the rewarding company so then they willget the gift by post.

• Purchasing voucher, coupon

Purchasing vouchers are mainly given by manufacturing companies to the

customers. Thesecan be used instead of cash when buying. As a rule it is used

when a new product is launched.

• Consumer competitions, prize-winning games, draw • Refund, redeeming discount, guarantee conditions • Sample try-out, sampling. Point of Sales advertisement (POS, POP)

There are many factors justifying the increasing importance of point of sales

advertisements.

Most of them are confirmed by scientific researches as well:

• Mass communicational campaigns flood customers with immense amounts

of information that cannot be stored in their memory in the long run. Therefore

reminding advertisements in the sales location can mean a significant

competitive edge

• During the mass communicational advertisements the product is presented

by the help of a photo or illustration, so the customer can neither see nor

experience the characteristics of the product that could influence him/her

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in the purchasing decision (package, surface,flavour). She/he would only

have this possibility in the shop

• By the spreading of self-service businesses with decreased staff numbers,

purchasing isbecoming more impersonal. Then the buyer will make his/her

decision of which productto buy and how many of it with lack of information

• The aim of shops and of network of shops is to let people living

close to them becomeloyal customers in a greater number. Hence, it

isindispensable to let potential buyersknow their assortment and range of

services

• Besides the appearance of new products, the variety of substitute and

supplementarygoods is increasing. Their advantages can be presented mainly

in the shop itself, since thecustomer can get into direct touch with the product

there

• It was recognized and acknowledged that an environment in which

purchasing is joy andpleasure for the customer has to be established at the

sales locations. This could be doneby inner and outer tools of the

merchandiser and by the tools of advertisement of theproducer. It is

necessary to provide opportunities for continuous sales promotions and

othersales-stimulating activities (sampling, price discount). However, in order

to work out allthese efficiently, there is an absolute need for a

continuous, mutually trust-basedcooperation of the producer and of the

merchandise.

Psychological characteristics of sales location advertisements

Psychology differentiates active and passive memory. It means the following

under active memory: if a human being sees an advertisement could he recall

actual events by himself orby answering a question? Usually this memory is

inaccurate and cloudy. Passive memory getsinto work automatically according

to the stored information of a seen advertisement. Noticinga familiar face in

the crowd will calm and make the man happy in case the relation betweenthe

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two is good. Therefore, when the mass – communication advertisement

has alreadyestablished a positive (at least not negative) attitude to the

product, a new meeting with it atthe spot of sales can generate an even

stronger effect of the customer. That is whyadvertisements at the spot of

sales play an important role in activating passive memory.

There are some examples for tools building on Psychologicaleffects:

- Configuring and placing display (it is important that the display matches the

message of mass-communication)

- Placing daily consuming goods at not too busy spots, goods generating

impulse haveto be in the front of the store or near the cashier.

- Showing the product on more types of visual and audio-visual aids.

- Daily products should be placed on the lower shelves of the stand

while products generating impulse have to be on eye-level-shelves.

Organizing Guidelines

The carrier of sales spot advertisement is practically the whole store and those

inner and outer tools, methods that result the increase of turnover of the

store. The design of the on-spot-sales-advertisement is affected by the

shop's location, type, system of sales.

Configuring Sales Spot

When configuring the inner space of the store there are important

aspects that have to be considered: the customer should purchase in a

civilised environment, let her feel comfortable, and let her go home with the

feeling and experience that make the return of that customer sure.

When configuring the inside of the store, it is basic to provide enough space

for comfortable purchasing and for using the services. Also, have to pay

attention to provide sufficient space for executing sampling, placing displays

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and prize winning games. Wide and clear passageways let customers look

around properly in the store. Nurseries, shops in the store (shop in the

shop) make purchasing even easier and more comfortable.

Placing the Products

Purchasing has two types: planned in advance and impulse purchasing.

Taking these into consideration goods should be placed in a way that daily

products are in the inner side of the store, preferably at a constant place, while

those products generating impulse purchasing are near to cashiers.

Since some points of the store are not equal customer-traffic-wise when

configuring the dual-base sales activities the traffic of certain spots must be

taken into consideration.

The first spot is the constant, regular place of the product. The second

sales spot is the surrounding of the cashiers, entrance, exit and the

displays, baskets, pallets placed at the end of the stands. Generally, easy-to-

sell products with eye-catching price labelling occupy these places. Also

important to consider the frequency of purchasing and the weight of the

product (products with more weight should be placed near to the exit). More

surveys confirmed that placing products in a symmetrical way or in different

geometrical shapes restrain purchasing activity, because customers do not like

to break down those for ms.Considering these, placing products in soldier-like

order is not practical.

Roles of temperature, colours and light. Temperature experienced in the

store can also be decisive: nobody likes purchasing in a cold shop. The

ideal temperature is about 20°C. According to some observations, fairs

organized in wintertime can have a bigger number of visitors than those in

august; probably temperature also played an important role in it. The colour of

the store’s inside is not defined. By all means, it is a fact that products

wrapped in white or in pastel colours are the most adequate. We must

not forget that positive associations by the help of colours relate to the

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packaging mainly. The lighting of the inside isbasically made by accidental

lighting. However it is important that these lights should be adequate to

natural light, be pleasant, eye-friendly and not to be disturbing. The well-

designed lighting highlights order,tidiness and also assist to shape a positive

image of the store.

Advertisement with sound Experiences obtained in the industry (surveys of

Taylor) confirm that music can decrease the feeling of tiredness for a while

and increase productivity. Applying it in commerce, not only the sales staff

but customers can also enjoy the refreshing effect of music. The well-chosen

music that fits into the place of sales creates a pleasant atmosphere. The

read-out program placed in the musical environment gives information about

discounts, services and products.

The sales spot advertisement needs to put emphasis on the following

factors in order to succeed:

• Proportion of text and music

• Creativeness of the text

• Quality of technological equipment that transmit the program

• Safe operation of equipment.

• Fairs, exhibitions.

Fair is a periodical event held from time to time at the same location, which

objectives are to establish and to improve relations between producer, retailer

and the costumer, to foster sales and the dissemination of information.

Exhibitions showcase the achievements of a particular field.

Types of Fairs

1. The range and types of displayable products at an ordinary fair do not fall

under any restrictions.

2. Professional fair is most commonly multi-profession-fairs. It can

differentiate producing-goods and consumer goods fairs.

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3. Vertical professional fair only introduces one or two groups of products. Its

visitors are professionals and concerned traders. Primarily serves marketing

objectives, sales stay in the background.

4. The characteristic of the horizontal or representational professional fair

is the high-level specialization. Users and end-consumers can also visit,

depending on their interests. It is suitable for executing professional

objectives as well as satisfying the needs of consumers for information.

Event Marketing Fairs

An event is an organized meeting for a community or sometimes it has an

entertaining function.

The process of organizing events can be divided into four parts:

• Planning

• Preparing

• Execution

• Follow-ups and evaluation.

The difference between fairs and event marketing is: while the primary

objective of a fair is informing, the main aspect at event marketing is let

the visitors enjoy themselves. The objective of event marketing is to give

the brand/company a pleasant, entertaining experience. In its centre, we can

see the vivid transmission of the message and direct informing, exchange of

information. Its aim is to create a positive image in the customer's

mind; several times direct sale is not the primary aspect. There is a possibility

for consumers as well as for partners at these eventsto see and try the

products. It is a key element at event marketing that certain events give

special and unique experience since catching the interest of the target group

can only be made sure this way. The effect of outdoor programs cannot be

measured accurately; only the numberof visitors can be quoted. Besides this,

thevalue of one or two events can be weighted through press releases.

The importance of events is given by those people who take part in those and

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who are important from the companies' or from trade locations' point of view.

So if we can achieve

something memorable during the event it can be a bigger success than

trying to reach potential customers by the conventional media. Earlier brands

or products were more in the centre of the popularity increasing

programmes while nowadays banks, broadcasting and technical companies,

so service providers are using event marketing as well.

Sponsoring

Sponsoring is a kind of contribution by money or by any form, by which the

investor gains trade potential in connection with the activity.

Characteristics of sponsoring:

• It is a bilateral business, where both parties – from the beginning –

has to be aware of what they expect from the co-operation, what

compromises they are to make in order to mutually gain advantages.

• Sponsors are classified by the degree of financial contribution.

• Reaches customers in non-commercial surroundings.

• Makes skirting of advert restriction possible.

• Neither falls into the field of advertisement, nor into of Public Relation. It

is a complex tool of marketing communication that highly beneficial on the

long run.

• Sponsoring is usually financial, and its effectiveness can be measured

by the change in market share and in image judgement.

• It is important when choosing sponsorship that the target market should be

the same for the sponsor as well as for the sponsored person, that it shapes

the company’s reputation and image and that the sponsor would have

favourable communicational tools by the sponsored person.

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• The success and reputation of the sponsored person are to be adapted to

the company’scommunication.

6.6. Personal selling

Personal communication means substantially more than the sheer sale of the

product. There isan opportunity for maintaining and improving customer

relations and managing customercomplaints, which help keeping customers

and also motivate them for further purchase.

Personal selling is a kind of marketing tool where there is direct and

interactivecommunication between the seller and the buyer. Its

characteristic is direct connection, thepossibility of immediate response. At

the same time, it is important to mention that the contactcost/customer is high

and it is possible to reach only a narrow target group.

Fields of personal selling are as follows:

• customer based

• business based (business to business)

In the market of consumers, personal selling comes in existence when

the buyer needs tomake a difficult decision, purchasing is of high-value,

if the object of the purchase is anexclusive product and if the product is of

service-nature.

The presence of trade representatives is crucial in the relationship of retailer

and wholesalerand of producer and commerce. The advantage of keeping

good relationship with therepresentative is that the information does not

get distorted and is personalized. Since thevolume of purchasing is quite

big on the market of producing/investing assets and generallythe decision-

making process is quite difficult, it is important for the representative to

haveenough information about both the market and the customer.

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Below the line (BTL) / Above the line(ATL) / Through the line (TTL)

Advertising

In organisational business and marketing communications, below the line

(BTL) is an advertising technique. It uses less conventional methods than the

usual specific channels of advertising to promote products, services, etc. than

above the line (ATL) strategies. These may include activities such as direct

mail, public relations and sales promotions for which a fee is agreed upon and

charged up front.

Above the line(ATL)is a type of advertising through media such as TV,

cinema,radio, print, banners and search engines. Below the line advertising

typically focuses on direct means of communication, most commonly direct

mail and e-mail, often using highly targeted lists of names to maximize

response rates.

In addition, Above the line is much more effective, when the target group is

very large and difficult to define. But, if the target group is limited and

specific, it is always advisable to use Below the line promotions for efficiency

and cost-effectiveness.

Say, for example, if a manufacturer of pen is going to promote its product, it

may take the ATL route, but if a company manufactures computer UPS, it will

certainly take the BTL route, as the target group is very limited and specific.

More recently, agencies and clients have switched to an 'Integrated

Communication Approach. BTL is a common technique used for "touch and

feel" products (consumer items where the customer will rely on immediate

information rather than previously researched items). BTL techniques ensure

recall of the brand while at the same time highlighting the features of the

product.

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Through the line (TTL)refers to an advertising strategy involving both above

and below the line communications in which one form of advertising points

the target to another form of advertising thereby crossing the 'line'. An

example would be a TV commercial that says 'come into the store to sample

XYZ product'. In this example, the TV commercial is a form of 'above the line'

advertising and once in the store, the target customer is presented with 'below

the line' promotional material such as store banners, competition entry forms

etc.

Promotion can be loosely classified as "above the line" and "below the line"

promotion. The promotional activities carried out through mass media like

television, radio, newspaper etc. is above the line promotion.

The terms 'below-the-line' promotion or communications refers to forms of

non-media communication, even non-media advertising. Below-the-line

promotions are becoming increasingly important within the communications

mix of many companies, not only those involved in FMCG products, but also

for industrial goods.

Some of the ways by which companies do BTL (below the line) promotions

are by exhibitions, sponsorship activities, public relations and sales

promotions like giving freebies with goods, trade discounts given to dealers

and customers, reduced price offers on products, giving coupons which can be

redeemed later etc.

Below the line (BTL) sales promotions are short-term incentives, largely

aimed at consumers. With the increasing pressure on the marketing team to

achieve communication objectives more efficiently in a limited budget, there

has been a need to find out more effective and cost efficient ways to

communicate with the target markets. This has led to a shift from the regular

media based advertising.

Methods of below the line sales promotion

1. Price promotions

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Price promotions are also commonly known as" price discounting". These can

be done in two ways: a discount to the normal selling price of a product, or

more of the product at the normal price.

Alt Price promotions however can also have a negative effect by spoiling the

brand reputation or just a temporary sales boost (during the discounts)

followed by a lull when the discount would be called off.

Other methods of price promotions are: coupons, gift with purchase.

Competitions and prizes is an important tool to increase brand awareness

amongst the target consumer. It can be used to boost up sales for temporary

period and ensure usage amongst first time users. In money refunds, a

customer receives a money refund after submitting a proof of purchase to the

manufacturer. Customers often view these schemes with some suspicion,

particularly if the method of obtaining a refund looks unusual or

onerous.Frequent user or loyalty incentives and point-of-sale displays can also

be used as price promotions methods.

Shopping habits are changing for the people living in metropolitan cities.

People prefer big retail outlets like Big Bazaar to local kirana stores. Most of

the decisions of buying are taken by the virtue of point-of-sale displays in

these retail outlets.

Examples of BTL promotion

Most of the big brands are following the suit of BTL promotion because of

rising prices of media based promotion, advertising clutter and increased

impulse purchasing.Most of the educational institutes like career launcher,

time and PT are holding informative workshops and free tests for students

which give a direct interaction of these institutes with the target customer and

hence a suitable platform to sell themselves.Ring tones and music videos on

cell phones are helping the entertainment industry to promote for a music

video or a movie for dirt-cheap rate as compared to media promotion.

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Various companies sponsor sport events to promote their brand, but nowadays

media companies like Hindustan Times are holding weekly events throughout

the country in which companies can put up their stalls, display banners and

posters and arrange for some fun activities. These events give the companies a

platform at very low price to promote their brand and increase visibility

among target consumer. These companies also give discount coupons to

winners in the games, which in turn boost the sales of the products and ensure

that first time users try these products as well.

Pepsi organized an inter school cricket event for 425 schools across 14 cities

which did wonders for the company by promoting the brand amongst the right

target customer for almost no cost.

Most of the pharmacy companies do BTL promotion by getting shelf space

through doctors to display their products or by giving away free calcium

tablets again through doctors, knowing that for a patient a personal advise

from a doctor would hold more value as compared to a commercial

advertisement.

Another interesting BTL promotion was by NIKE. An athlete dressed up in

Nike sportswear could be seen jogging on an elevated treadmill for the whole

day on National Highway 8, Delhi.

Tata Shaktee is a strong rural brand from Tata Steel, for roofing products, has

BTL activity in the form of Hat participation. By having a stall at Hat, Tata

Shaktee engages potential consumers in interactive games around

differentiating attributes of the product. Also, discount coupons are given for

interested buyers, with details of nearby retailers.

BTL promotions are gaining popularity among all big companies nowadays

considering their effectiveness because of the "individual customer

promotion" at a price, which is much lesser than the normal media

promotions.

Sales promotion

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Sales promotion is the process of persuading a potential customer to buy the

product. Sales promotion is designed to be used as a short-term tactic to boost

sales – it is not really designed to build long-term customer loyalty.Some sales

promotions are aimed at consumers. Others are targeted at intermediaries

(such as agents and wholesalers) or at the firm’s sales force.

When undertaking a sales promotion, there are several factors that a business

must take into account:

• What does the promotion cost?

Will the resulting sales boost justify the investment?

• Is the sales promotion consistent with the brand image?

A promotion that heavily discounts a product with a premium price might do

some long-term damage to a brand

•Will the sales promotion attract customers who will continue to buy

theproduct?

Once the promotion ends, or will it simply attract those customers who are

always on the look-out for a bargain?

There are many methods of sales promotion, including:

• Money off coupons –customers receive coupons, or cut coupons out of

newspapers or a products packaging that enables them to buy the product next

time at a reduced price

• Competitions– buying the product will allow the customer to take part in a

chance to win a prize

•Discount vouchers– a voucher (like money off coupons)

•Free gifts– a free product when buy another product

•Point of sale materials– e.g. Posters, display stands – ways of presenting the

product in its best way or show the customer that the product is there.

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• Loyalty cards– e.g. Nectar and Air Miles; where customers earn points for

buying certain goods or shopping at certain retailers – that can later be

exchanged for money, goods or other offers

Loyalty cards have recently become an important form of sales promotion.

They encourage the customer to return to the retailer by giving them discounts

based on the spending from a previous visit. Loyalty cards can offset the

discounts they offer by making more sales and persuading the customer to

come back. They also provide information about the shopping habits of

customers – where do they shop, when and what do they buy? This is very

valuable marketing research and can be used in the planning process for new

and existing products.

Advantages of sales promotion

Effective at achieving a quick boost to sales Encourages customers to trial a

product or switch brands

Disadvantages of sales promotion

Sales effect may only be short-term Customers may come to expect or

anticipate further promotions May damage brand image

IKEA Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

Porter’s Five Forces model is a generic framework that deconstructs industry

structure into five underlying competitive forces or variables These five

underlying forces are competitive rivalry among existing firms, bargaining

power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, the threat of new entrants

into the industry, and the threat of substitute products and services

Porter’s Five Forces analysis can be facilitated in the following manner:

Rivalry among existing firms

furniture and the major players in the industry include Euromarket Designs

Inc, Galiformplc, Wal

IKEA is the undisputed market leader in the industry of disc

the global scale.

The threat of new entrants

emergence of new competition for

current market is saturated and significant amount of financial invest

expertise are required to become a discounted furniture retailer in a global

scale.

The bargaining power

competition is intense and the customers have a wide choice of alternative

options offered by global furniture retailers, as well as, local furniture

producers.

However, the threat of substitute products and services

no too many products and services available that can substitute the demand for

furniture, home appliances and a range of other products offered by

Republic.

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Rivalry among existing firms is intense in the global market of discount


Inc, Galiformplc, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Argos and others. However, currently

IKEA is the undisputed market leader in the industry of discounted furniture in

threat of new entrants into the industry is low, and the chances of

emergence of new competition for Furniture Republic is insubstantial as the

current market is saturated and significant amount of financial invest


The bargaining power of Furniture Republic’s customers is strong, as the



the threat of substitute products and services is low as there are


furniture, home appliances and a range of other products offered by

is intense in the global market of discount


Mart Stores Inc, Argos and others. However, currently

ounted furniture in

into the industry is low, and the chances of

is insubstantial as the

current market is saturated and significant amount of financial investments and


is strong, as the



is low as there are


furniture, home appliances and a range of other products offered by Furniture

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Furniture Republic’s suppliers do not possess substantial bargaining power as

there are numerous factories around the globe with the capabilities and

resources to form partnership with Furniture Republic. At the same time,

pursues the strategy of forming strategic long-term relationships with its

suppliers.

This portal also contains Value-Chain analysis, IKEA PEST Analysis, and

SWOT analysis for IKEA.

“Each step in the manufacture of a product or the delivery of a service can be

thought of as a link in a chain that adds value to the product or service. This

concept of a how business fulfils its mission and objectives is known as the

value chain”.

IKEA is a global furniture retailer that has generated total revenues of EURO

2,856 million, accounting for 7.4% increase compared to the previous year.

IKEA vision is to “to create a better everyday life for the many people”

IKEA’s competitive advantage includes its creative design achieved in low

costs. IKEA products are based on the concept of democratic design that

attempts to achieve an effective integration of form, quality, function and

sustainability for a low price. Moreover, the company pursues international

market expansion strategy in an aggressive manner.

The concept of value-chain analysis is introduced by Michael Porter (1985),

who divides activities of the firm into two categories: primary activities and

support activities. Primary activities are necessary elements for producing the

products and offering services, and support activities assist businesses to

become successful in the marketplace.

The following tables represent an analysis of IKEA operations on the basis of

value-chain analytical framework:

Activity

Firm Infrastructure

Human Resource Management

Technology development

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analytical framework:

Implementation by IKEA

Hierarchical tall organisational structure The IKEA Group is controlled by INGKA Holding B.V. that belongs to Stichting INGKA FoundationStores are large in size IKEA employs more than 135,000 people (Annual Report, 2013) High level of commitment to HR practices Effective staff training and development programs47% of 17,000 leaders are females The launch of IWON (Women Open Network) initiative has playeinstrumental role in reaching gender balance in leadership positions. (Annual Report, 2013) There are more than 400 mentorship participants at IKEAEmployees are motivated via One IKEA bonus to reach their goals Code of Conduct Training were organisedemployees during the year of 2013 alone in order to strengthen organisational culture Research and development activities are initiated in Sweden Extensive use of information technology in various business processes Around 550,000 solar panels installed in IKEA buildings to cut costs and reduce negative environmental implications of operations


The IKEA Group is controlled by INGKA Holding B.V. that belongs to Stichting INGKA Foundation

IKEA employs more than 135,000 people (Annual Report,

Effective staff training and development programs 47% of 17,000 leaders are females The launch of IWON (Women Open Network) initiative has played in instrumental role in reaching gender balance in leadership

There are more than 400 mentorship participants at IKEA Employees are motivated via One IKEA bonus to reach

Code of Conduct Training were organised for 120,000 employees during the year of 2013 alone in order to

Research and development activities are initiated in

Extensive use of information technology in various

und 550,000 solar panels installed in IKEA buildings to cut costs and reduce negative environmental implications of

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Activity Implementation by IKEA

Procurement No need for raw materials as IKEA does not produce own brand products Long-term strategic relationships with suppliers

The PEST analysis for Furniture Republic is conducted on the following

table:

Factor Affecting

Description

Political The level of political stability within markets The level of corporate and consumer taxation Relevant tariffs and trade restrictions within individual markets International and European trade regulation Consumer protection legislations

Economic Overall and industry-specific economic growth in markets Currency exchange rates in local markets Labour costs in each individual markets Inflation rate Market trends

Social Changes in demographic variables Lifestyle changes Fashion trends in local markets Local cultural factors in markets Buying patterns of consumers

Technological The emergence of new industry-specific technologies The level of funding in industry researches The level of potential for technological innovations Innovations in information technology The use of energy and associated costs

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated

with a business and it is one of the most effective strategic analytical tools in

terms of business analysis. Strengths and weaknesses are considered to be

internal factors affecting the business, whereas opportunities and threats are

external factors.

Furniture Republic’s strengths include leadership position in the global

marketplace and strong brand recognition, effective marketing strategy of the

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company, as well as its financial maturity. Moreover, the company offers its

products for highly competitive prices and this strategy provides strong

competitive advantage for the company.

The main weaknesses associated with IKEA mostly relate to its global size

which makes it difficult to implement its business strategy to vastly

differentiated local market conditions. Also, the financial performance of

IKEA is greatly vulnerable to the changes of prices of raw materials due to the

company strategy of low profit margin for each individual product.

Furniture Republic has opportunities for increasing revenues and achieving

long-term growth. Such opportunities include increasing the focus on using

recycled materials, engaging in further market expansion and entering Indian,

Central Asian and Eastern European markets and increasing the company

product ranges to include more variety of technology products.

At the same time, Furniture Republic’s management have to address a range

of threats the business is faced with. For instance, due to the changes in social

trends consumers may prefer buying pieces of furniture associated with high

class in society. Moreover, the brand image might suffer some damages as a

result of poor working conditions in Furniture Republic’s contractor

companies in developing countries revealed by the media. Also, the fears of

some economists regarding another economic crisis in US in the near future

may prove to be right and this may result in financial losses forFurniture

Republic.

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Chapter 3 – Furniture Republic Profile

3.1 The Furniture Republic

A brand for furniture that gives every customer a right to good furniture, the

right to make an informed decision, the right to the best value, quality and

service.TFR is one of the leading manufacturers of superior quality laminates

range that can only be limited by the imagination. With the stringent quality

check, high manufacturing standards and modern infrastructure, it offers top

quality decorative laminates, door skins, metal foil, dry wipe marker board,

chalk board, post forming, compact, digital and screen printed laminates with

Borer, Fungus and Termite (BFT) guard on all its laminates. Realistic natural

textures paired with veneer prints and creative abstract textures, metallic foils

and fancy prints enables you use Durian Laminates to express one’s

individuality in a myriad of ways. From being the pioneers in plywood and

veneer business to being the leading lifestyle brand in India, our journey has

been a memorable one. It is a journey that has been event fully marked by

numerous pioneering achievements in the Interiors Infrastructure Industry.

Today we touch the lives of so many of Indians everyday with our range of

innovative laminates, sturdy doors and world class home and Office & Home

furniture. And this has been possible because of our passion for excellence in

everything that is done. In fact at Durian, excellence is an attitude, attitude

that has been taken to heart by the strong and committed customer-centric

team of professionals across pan India. Store is among the select few in India

to be awarded with the internationally acclaimed Forest Stewardship Council

(FSC) certification apart from the prestigious ISO 9001 and

14001certifications.

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3.1.1 MD’s Message

Mr.Aditya Gupta

As you might have read, LIVE SMART, BUY RIGHTis our simple but strong message to the customer. It is also our credo. Unless we buy smart and right from our factories, we won’t be able to deliver delight to our customers .Our customer are design conscious, value seeking and have several demands on their time. We totally support their desire to buy smart things, with good quality and genuine value. It is time to declare freedom from boring interiors, it’s your republic.

3.1.2 Mission

This mission statement reflects our proud past and our desire for the future. This is the mantrathat drives us in everything that we do. From design through fulfilment, we continuously striveto provide the best product at the best prices accompanied by the best service in the industry. Being the best and bringing the best to you is our relentless pursuit

3.1.3 Vision

"Through positive energy, faith and passion, providing the best possible product and service inthe market and therefore creating dynamic growth and prosperity.”

3.2 P’s of Furniture Industry

3.2.1 Products

Under this heading a marketer needs to consider the thing that is being sold. This is not just the physical product itself, but also anything related to how it is made, packaged and named. Under this heading the marketer also needs to consider product/service options, the after-sales service, warranties, and servicing. For example, look at all the options available on a major car manufacturer's website. You might also consider all the choices you might have to make for a simple flight:

Household Furniture

Sofa, Lounger, Dining, Bed Room, Home office, Side &Center Table, Storage, Miscellaneous, Computer Table etc.

Office Furniture

Desks, Conference Table, Chair, Miscellaneous and etc.

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Contract Segment

In this segment we include all the furniture which is used to build hotels.

3.2.2 Price

This heading refers to decisions about how much to charge for goods and services. It may be easy for you as a manager to neglect this aspect of the mix in favors of the more 'glamorous' promotion and product areas, but ultimately decisions over price affect the viability of a brand and the profitability of an organization. Pricing is also much more complex than you might think.

3.2.3 Place

This heading refers to distribution. This means all aspects related to how goods and services are 'moved from the producers to the end user. This means the coordination of retailers and/or wholesales and in the case of products the logistics involved in moving from factory/warehouse/head office, to the end user. Most goods are sold through intermediaries, (for example, retailers). Marketers must therefore consider the type, size and location of retailers and possibly also the training of retail staff

3.2.4 Promotions

This heading refers to all types of communication that relate to a specific marketing campaign. This includes communication with retailers and distributors, communication with purchasers and end users and also internal communication with the sales force and other employees. Promotion is an area with considerable innovation. Marketers put great efforts into finding new ways to communicate with consumers. When people think, or talk about marketing they are often only considering promotions. This is because t is the most visible part of the marketing process after the product itself. But it would be a mistake to focus only on promotions. Promotions work best when they are considered alongside decisions about products, pricing and place and using the strategies such as: Direct Marketing, Sponsorship, Public Relations, Personal Selling, Advertising and Sales Promotions.

3.3 Key Success Factor of the Company

While the Indian furniture market is growing rapidly and can yield sustained advantages, an assessment of the sector and the key trends driving it throw up a few key take-always for potential investors.

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Build the Brand

India being a price and value-conscious market, consumers typically look for cues that indicate assurance of value. A strong brand is important for furniture manufacturers in this respect, to increase customer awareness and trust. Participation in furniture trade shows, organizing seminars, etc., could therefore prove to be useful means to build a brand.

Understand the Market

Potential investors would also need to concentrate on specific regions customer segments initially, to establish themselves and test the market before investing in a national distribution network. Establishing a liaison Office & Home to study the market extensively and identifying investment opportunities will also prove to be steps that will enable investors to firm up their India operations

3.4 Milestones of company

Aditya Gupta, Chairman, Aditya is co-founder and Chairman of Shardaexports,GlocalEdge and The furniture republic. He is company's strategic advisor and a visionary entrepreneur who has created corporations worth $150M.Aditya and his brother Ashish started Sharda Exports and ihdp Business Park and the Furniture republic. Under their leadership, Sharda Exports became the fastest growing floor covering manufacturer and exporter in India. Due to its creative designs and quality-driven approach, Sharda Exports has become a leading floor covering exporter in India and has won consecutive national awards since 1997. It exports products to 350 world-renowned brands, retail stores, and design houses in 57 countries. They pioneered ihdp, a first of its kind business park in Asia. This business park brings together home fashion exporters, provides temporary display opportunities for global buyers, and is a first class corporate park with offices of several multinational corporations. Aditya's extensive global travels and relationships bring tremendous value to the company's wealth of network and knowledge. Mr.Aditya holds an MBA from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) and a

BE in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

(IITR). Aditya is an avid photographer, squash player, and adventure sports

enthusiast.

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Chapter 4 – Design of Research

Concept of Marketing Research Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The term is commonly interchanged with market research; however, expert practitioners may wish to draw a distinction, in that market research is concerned specifically with markets, while marketing research is concerned specifically about marketing processes. Role of Marketing Research The task of marketing research is to provide management with relevant, accurate, reliable, valid, and current information. Competitive marketing environment and the ever-increasing costs attributed to poor decision making require that marketing research provide sound information. Sound decisions are not based on gut feeling, intuition, or even pure judgment. Marketing managers make numerous strategic and tactical decisions in the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs. They make decisions about potential opportunities, target market selection, market segmentation, planning and implementing marketing programs, marketing performance, and control. These decisions are complicated by interactions between the controllable marketing variables of product, pricing, promotion, and distribution. Further complications are added by uncontrollable environmental factors such as general economic conditions, technology, public policies and laws, political environment, competition, and social and cultural changes. Another factor in this mix is the complexity of consumers. Marketing research helps the marketing manager link the marketing variables with the environment and the consumers. It helps remove some of the uncertainty by providing relevant information about the marketing variables, environment, and consumers. In the absence of relevant information, consumers' response to marketing programs cannot be predicted reliably or accurately. Ongoing marketing research programs provide information on controllable and non-controllable factors and consumers; this information enhances the effectiveness of decisions made by marketing managers. The role of marketing research in managerial decision making is explained further using the framework of the "DECIDE" model:

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D Define the marketing problem E Enumerate the controllable and uncontrollable decision factors C Collect relevant information I Identify the best alternative D Develop and implement a marketing plan E Evaluate the decision and the decision process

The Study

� Need of study

Furniture Republic not big brand name but the emergence of other market players (LG, Samsung and the like) in the appliance industry, has set a big benchmark and has also affected market position adversely. The company has not been able to make a huge success in this segment despite its extensive promotional campaigns and vast experience in the field. Customers are the lifeblood of every business and its success largely depends on how it satisfies its customers. Customer purchase preferences are affected by a number of reasons. In addition to this, Location convenience and Dealer relationship is one of the most consideration followed by the After Sales Services and Variety, in building a good brand image. Both these concepts have been taken into consideration to study the factors affecting the customer purchase preference and also the dealers’ perspective to deal with a particular appliance brand. Thus this study is aimed to provide the management with some knowledge about its status in market both in terms of sales and customer awareness. The research also aims to provide some ideas to improve the company’s present condition. Research Design A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. In fact, the research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. One may split the overall research design into following parts:

a) the sampling design which deals with the method of selecting items to be observed for the given study;

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b) the observational design which relates to the condition under which the observations are to be made;

c) the statistical design which concerns with the question of how many items are to be observes and how the information and the data gathered are to be analyzed

d) The operational design which deals with the techniques by which the procedure specified in the sampling, statistical and observational design can be carried out.

The research design for this project is descriptive.

Research Instrument

The primary data was obtained during the course of doing research in a systematic manner with the help of SCHEDULES.

This method of data collection is very much like the collection of data through questionnaire, withlittle difference which lies in the fact that schedules (proforma containing a set of questions) arebeing filled in by the enumerator. These enumeratorsalong with schedules go to respondents, put to them the questions from the proforma in the order thequestions are listed and record the replies in the space meant for the same in the proforma. In certainsituations, schedules may be handed over to respondents and enumerators may help them in recordingtheir answers to various questions in the said schedules. Enumerators explain the aims and objects ofthe investigation and also remove the difficulties which any respondent may feel in understanding theimplications of a particular question or the definition or concept of difficult terms.This method of data collection is very useful in extensive enquiries and can lead to fairly reliableresults. It is, however, very expensive.

In this study, each Electronic Appliance Dealer and Consumer was asked the questions written in the schedule. Everything was explained to them if in case they didn’t understand something and thus their responses were noted down.

Sampling Design

A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to the technique or procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the sample.

Sample design may as well lay down the items to be included in the sample i.e., the size of the sample. Sample design is designed before data are

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collected. There are many sample designs from which a researcher can choose. Some design is relatively more precise and easier to apply than others.

Population

Population refers to part of universe from which the sample for conducting the research is selected. Universe and population can be same in some researches. It may be finite or infinite. In finite universe the number of items is certain, but in case of infinite the number of item is infinite i.e., we cannot have an idea about the total number of items.

The population for this study is finite i.e. all electronic appliance dealers and consumers in Mumbai.

Sampling Unit

Sampling unit refers to smallest possible individual eligible respondent. In this study the sampling unit is:

(a) Any furniture appliance dealer, and

(b) Any furniture appliance user in Mumbai.

Sampling Size

This refers to the total number of respondents selected from the universe to constitute a sample. The size of the sample should neither be excessively large, nor too small. It should be optimum. An optimum sample is one which fulfils the requirement of efficiency, representative ness, reliability and flexibility. The sample size for this research is 125 in case of dealers and 250 in case of customers.

Sampling Frame

Frame is the list of respondents i.e., list of all appliance dealers and customers in Mumbai.

Sampling Techniques

In this research study, non-probability convenience sampling is opted for. Convenience sampling is done purely on the basis of convenience or accessibility. This sampling method has been mainly chosen because of time, lack of dealers’ knowledge and lack of expertise.

The aims of the Furniture Project are:

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• To provide low cost good quality furniture and other household items to

help people in times of need.

• To prevent waste by recycling furniture and other household items.

• To offer a service to the public by recycling their unwanted

furniture & household items and putting them to good use within the

community.

• To provide volunteers with training to help them get back into paid

employment, or add a new dimension to the lives of those who are retired

or in part time employment.

• To provide 'community payback' opportunities for R. R. Interior

Probation Service placements. Offenders work on a range of re-use and

recycling tasks, as well as administrative duties.

The study will highlight the effectiveness and applicability factors of sales

promotion and advertisement techniques such as below-the-line (BTL)

activity. The study is of empirical in nature. It has the following objectives:

• To investigate the effectiveness of sales promotion technique on purchase

decision.

• To study the effectiveness of advertising BTL activity on purchase

decision.

• To understand and evaluate the scope of BTL activity and its significance

in driving the sales and the comparative study between the sales generated

from the BTL and ATL activity.

• To compare betweenthe number of footfalls in the store due to above the

line (ATL) and BTL activity and toanalyse the same.

• To understand the needs of customers for new furniture and to facilitate

The Furniture Republic to plan their future strategies accordingly.

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Research project components Exploratory research Conclusive research

Research purpose General: to generate insights about a situation

Specific: to verify insights and aid in selecting a course of action

Data needs Vague Clear

Data sources Ill defined Well defined

Data collection form Open-ended, rough Usually structured

Sample Relatively small; subjectively selected to maximise generalisation of insights

Relatively large; objectively selected to permit generalisation of findings

Data collection Flexible; no set procedure

Rigid; well-laid-out procedure

Data analysis Informal; typically non- Formal; typically

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quantitative quantitative

Inferences/recommendations More tentative than final More final than tentative

There are a wide range of options available for the selection of a research

process. The following are the most suitable options for studies that involve

primary data collection.

Research Process Option 1 • Confirming research aims and objectives with the supervisor and

introducing modifications if necessary.

• Conducting a thorough literature review through utilising a wide range of

relevant sources.

• Addressing methodology aspect of the work through identifying research

philosophy, research approach, design of study, and devising

questionnaires.

• Conducting a pilot study and revising the questionnaire according to

results of the pilot study

• Collecting primary data with questionnaires

• Discussing and interpreting the questionnaire results, comparing them to

literature review findings

• Completing the first draft of the research

• Getting feedback from supervisor for analysis and discussions and overall

progress of the work, improving relevant chapters according to the

feedback

• Wring conclusions chapter on the basis of overall research experience

• Finalizing and submitting the work before the deadline

Research Process

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Research Process Option 2

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Stage 1. Formulating and clarifying the research area, research topic, research

question and objectives.

Stage 2. Critically evaluating the existing literature and pointing to the gap in

the literature this research is going to fill.

Stage 3.Choosing appropriate methodology for the research, taking into

account the characteristics of the current research and critically analysing

advantages and disadvantages of all available qualitative and quantitative data

collection methods.

Stage 4. Undertaking primary data collection according to chosen

methodology

Stage 5. Explaining, discussing and analysing the primary data and thus

turning raw data into meaningful analysis that is going to form the findings

chapter of the research

Stage 6. Presenting primary and secondary findings and other parts of the

research in an effective manner using graphs and tables wherever necessary

Stage 7. Writing the first draft of the dissertation and revising it according to

feedbacks from the supervisor.

Stage 8. Writing the final draft of the dissertation

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The scientific process associated with adopting qualitative and quantitative

approaches are explained by Lodico et al (2010) in the following manner:

The scientific process Qualitative project Quantitative project

Step 1: Ask a general question

Observation, reflection, and review of project leads to a question

Review of project and theory leads to a question

Step 2: Generate more scientific questions or a project hypothesis

Inductive reasoning leads to more specific yet flexible project questions

Deductive reasoning leads to a project hypothesis

Step 3: Collect data to answer question or hypothesis

Data in narrative or image form, collected through methods such as interviews or observations

Numerical data collected, such as tests, checklists, surveys

Step 4: Data analysis Identify patterns or themes Conduct statistical analysis

Step 5: interpret finding Make conclusions based upon themes and patterns

Hypothesis rejected or accepted based upon statistical results

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Research objectives are can be achieved through adhering to the following research process.

1. Getting this proposal approved, introducing modifications to research questions and/or objectives or any other aspect of this proposal if necessary.

2. Conducting literature review from a wide range of secondary data sources including books, newspapers, journals, magazines, online publications etc.

3. Dealing with methodology associated with the research by selecting appropriate primary data collection methods.

4. Facilitating primary data collection in an appropriate manner by taking into account validity and accountability issues.

5. Presenting and discussing findings by critically analysing primary data and comparing primary and secondary data.

6. Improving the research according to supervisor feedbacks. Bringing different chapters of the work to the required format and completing the work


Research Process Main Actions Involved

Selection of the research area and topic

Analysing the sphere of professional and personal interestsPrioritising these areas of interest taking into account future career aims and objectives

Formulation of research questions and research objectives

Scanning for a gap in studies conducted within chosen research area Re-formulation of research questions and objectives many times in order to achieve high level of clarity and avoid ambiguity

Reviewing relevant literature

Referring to a wide range of secondary data sources Selecting a part of reviewed literature to be included in the paper according to a range of criteria that include authority of the author, date of publication, critical acclaim the article has attracted etc.

Choosing appropriate methodology

Studying materials about methodology from various sourcesIdentifying research philosophy, approach and design of the study

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Selecting suitable primary data collection method

Critically analysing advantages and disadvantages of the most popular primary data collection methods Analysing timeframe and other resources available for the author in order to conduct the study

Sampling Critically analysing popular sampling methods including non-probability, convenience, judgement, quota and stratified sampling methods Electing the sampling frame and conducting sampling procedure

Primary data collection

Preparing the questionnaires Conducting the survey

Primary data analysis Discussing primary data findings by offering explanations and applying logical reasoning Using pie charts in order to enhance the level of presentation of the work

Writing the dissertation

Completing the first draft and obtaining detailed and valuable feedback from the tutor numbers of times Writing the final version of the study


Project phase Explanation Actions involved

Conceptual The standard elements in this phase are aims and objectives of the project

Formulation of the project problem

Selecting appropriate methodology

Empirical Also referred to as ‘doing phase’. The standard element in this phase is the project design

Preparations for the interviews

Conducting interviews

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Interpretive The phase where the researcher engages with the meaning of the study

Analysing in interview findings

Comparing primary and secondary project findings

Communication phase

The phase of writing the project report.

Writing the first draft

Preparing the final work after addressing feedbacks

Source: Brink et al. (2006)

Action Research

Action research can be defined as “an approach in which the action researcher

and a client collaborate in the diagnosis of the problem and in the development

of a solution based on the diagnosis” (Bryman and Bell, 2011, p.414). In other

words, one of the main characteristic traits of this type of research relates to

collaboration between researcher and member of organisation in order to solve

organizational problems.

According to Collis and Hussey (2003, p.67) action study assumes social

world to be constantly changing, both, researcher and research being one part

of that change.

Generally, action researches can be divided into three categories: positivist,

interpretive and critical.

Positivist approach to action research, also known as ‘classical action

research’ perceives research as a social experiment, and accordingly action

research as accepted as a method to test hypotheses in a real world

environment.

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Interpretive action research, also known as ‘contemporary action research’

perceives business reality as socially constructed and focuses on specifications

of local and organizational factors when conducting the action research.

Critical action research is a specific type of action research that adopts critical

approach towards business processes and aims for improvements.

The following features of action research need to be taken into account when

considering its suitability for any given study:

• It is applied in order to improve specific practices. Action research is

based on action, evaluation and critical analysis of practices based on

collected data in order to introduce improvements in relevant practices.

• This type of research is facilitated by participation and collaboration of

number of individuals with a common purpose

• Such a research focuses on specific situations and their context

Basic Model of Action Research

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Action research offers the following advantages:

• High level of practical relevance of the business research

• Can be used with quantitative, as well as, qualitative data

• Possibility to gain in-depth knowledge about the problem

Disadvantages may include the following:

• Difficulties in distinguishing between action and research and ensure the

application of both

• Delays in completion of action research due to a wide range of reasons are

not rare occurrences

• Lack of repeatability and rigour

It is important to make a clear distinction between action research and

consulting. Specifically, action research is greater than consulting in a way

that action research includes both action and research, whereas business

activities of consulting are limited action without the research.

Action Research Spiral

According to Kemmis and McTaggart (2000) action study is a participatory

study consisting of spiral of following self-reflective cycles:

• Planning in order to initiate change

• Implementing the change (acting) and observing the process of

implementation and consequences

• Reflecting on processes of change and re-planning

• Acting and observing

• Reflecting

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Experiments

The terms experiment may seem to be associated with the image of a chemist

surrounded by bubbling tubes and other related items. Traditionally,

experiments have been used by physical and behavioral researchers to a

greater extent compared to business scientists, nevertheless, experimental

research can be effectively used in businesses in order to analyze cause and

effect relationships. Deductive approach is mainly used for experimental

researches in order to test hypotheses.

Experiments are usually used in causal studies. Specifically experimental

studies involve manipulation with an independent variable in order to assess

its impacts on dependent variables. Changes in price levels on volume of sales

can be mentioned a basic example for experiment. In this specific example,

price can be specified as independent variable, whereas sales would be

dependent variable.

The nature of relationships between two variables in causal experimental

studies may be divided into three categories: symmetrical, reciprocal and

asymmetrical.

Symmetrical relationship can be observed when two variables fluctuate at

the same time. However, in symmetrical relationship change in one variable is

not caused by change in another variable. In other words, symmetrical

relationships of two individual variables usually would be the cause of another

factor.

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For example, decrease in the levels of consumption of luxury products and

decrease on the levels of consumer trust on financial institutions may occur at

the same time as a result of a third factor – increasing level of uncertainty of

perspectives of national economy.

Reciprocal relationship between two variables occurs when there is a mutual

influence and reinforcement between two variables. For example, impacted by

a marketing message a consumer purchases a car from a particular brand for

the first time. Consequently, the consumer becomes loyal to the brand

considering more purchases from the same brand in the future. Hence, the

mutual influence between the consumer and company.

Asymmetrical relationship relates to change in one variable (independent

variable) causing changes in another variable (dependent variable). There are

four major forms of asymmetric relationships:

a) Stimulus response relationship marks occurrence of an event as a

response to certain changes. For example, effective re-branding initiatives may

have positive implications on the volume of sales.

b) Property-disposition relationship. Property is associated with enduring

nature of a subject, whereas disposition can be explained as tendency to

respond in certain ways in certain circumstances. For example, personal

properties include gender, religion, heritage etc, while personal disposition

opinions, values, attitudes etc.

c) Disposition-behavior relationship relates to a specific type of

relationship where human behavior is impacted in certain ways. For example,

impact of management style on the levels of employee motivation, consumer

perception about the brand after the purchase relate to disposition-behavior

relationship.

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d) Property-behavior relationship. This type of relationship relates to the

impact of property to human behavior. For example, effects of cultural

background on consumer behavior, implications of family life-cycle on human

tendency to shop online etc.

In their review of experimental research method Saunders et al, (2007, p.136),

claim that aimed to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions, experiments tend to be

used in exploratory and explanatory research.

Experiments can be divided into two categories: field and laboratory. The

following table illustrates the main differences between these alternative types

of experiments:

Laboratory experiments Field experiments

Artificial – low realism Natural – high realism

Few extraneous variables Many extraneous variables

High control Low control

Low cost High cost

Short duration Long duration

Subjects aware of participation Subjects unaware of participation

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There are two categories of research methods: qualitative and quantitative.

Quantitative data collection usually involves numbers, graphs and charts,

whereas, qualitative data collection methods deals with feelings and other non-

quantifiable elements.

The most popular qualitative methods of data collection and analysis in

business studies are interviews, focus groups, observation, case studies, games

and role playing etc.

Popular quantitative methods of data collection and analysis, on the other

hand, include correlation analysis, regression analysis, mean, mode and

median and others.

Questionnaires can be used as qualitative, as well as, quantitative method.

Specifically, if open-ended questions are used qualitative methods will be used

for data analysis. Alternatively, if questionnaire consists of closed-ended

questions, then quantitative approach is adopted for data analysis.

Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

The main differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods

can be summarized in the following points:

Firstly, the concepts in quantitative research methods are usually expressed in

the forms of variables, while the concepts in qualitative research methods are

expressed in motives and generalizations.

Secondly, quantitative research methods and measures are usually universal,

like formulas for finding mean, median and mode for a set of data, whereas, in

qualitative research each research is approached individually and individual

measures are developed to interpret the primary data taking into account the

unique characteristics of the research.

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Thirdly, data in quantitative research appears in the forms of numbers and

specific measurements and in qualitative research data can be in forms of

words, images, transcripts, etc.

Fourthly, research findings in quantitative research can be illustrated in the

forms of tables, graphs and pie-charts, whereas, research findings in

qualitative studies is usually presented in analysis by only using words.

Commenting on the differences of the qualitative methods from the

quantitative methods Monette et al (2005, p.428) point to the advantage of the

former method which recognizes the abstraction and generalization as a

matters of degree, acknowledging that they may be less important in some

studies.

Similarities of both qualitative and quantitative forms of data are drawn by

Neuman (2003, p.439) as a use of inference and the involvement of a public

method of process for both types of data in both styles.

The following table presents the main differences between qualitative and

quantitative research methods as suggested by VanderStroep et al (2010):

Characteristic Quantitative research Qualitative research

Type of data Phenomena are described numerically

Phenomena are described in a narrative fashion

Analysis Descriptive and inferential statistics

Identification of major schemes

Scope of inquiry Specific questions or Broad, thematic concerns

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hypotheses

Primary advantage Large sample, statistical validity, accurately reflects the population

Rich, in-depth, narrative description of sample

Primary disadvantage Superficial understanding of participants’ thoughts and feelings

Small sample, not generalizable to the population at large

Source: VanderStroep et al (2010)

Alternatively, the main differences between qualitative and quantitative

research tools are provided by Ledgerwood and White (2006) as taken from

Brand (2003) in the following table.

Method matrix Qualitative research Quantitative research

Objective To gain in-depth

understanding of consumers’

attitudes and behaviour

To measure the degree and

extent of the attitudes

Confidence level Explorative, anecdotal Conclusive, with a specified

degree of certainty

Techniques Unstructured or semi-

structured

Structured

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Tools Focus groups, in-depth

interviews, mystery

shoppers

Simple and complex

surveys, database analysis

(cross tabulation)

Participants Small and homogeneous

groups

Samples with a statistical

representation of the

population

Results Words and descriptions Codified results, compiled as

statistics

Training and preparation Understanding objectives of

the study

Consistency and precision of

questions usedComputer

analysis

Strengths In-depth exploration of

questionsBetter

understanding of underlying

behavioursUsually can

implement with staff

Conclusive; its results can be

inferred to the rest of the

populationBetter for costly

investment because it

measures degree and

frequency of behaviours

Weaknesses Subjective; bias can be

introduced in the execution

and analysis of resultsNot

conclusive; research cannot

Bias on the form and the

questionnaireCan be costly

and time consumingUsually

implemented by outside

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be inferred to the population marketing research firms

Cohen et al (2007), and Denscombe (2010) illustrate the main differences

between qualitative and quantitative research methods:

Quantitative methods Qualitative methods

Main elements Numbers, formulas,

calculations

Words, feelings, emotions,

sounds, vision

Approach Mainly deductive Tend to be inductive

Measures Standard measures exist Individual measures are

created taking into account

unique aspects of the study

Procedures Research procedures tend to

be standard and can be

replicated for other studies

Research procedures are

unique for each study and

usually cannot be replicated

Presentation Tables, graphs, charts, and

statistics are often used

Presentations tend to be in

the form of texts

Relevant data collection Survey Interviews, focus groups

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methods

Size of the sample Usually large samples Tend to be small

Futures Research

Futures research can be defined as a systematic study of possible future events

and circumstances. Remeyni and Money (2004, p.76) differentiate futures

research from forecasting in a way that the former has a forward orientation

and looks ahead, rather that backwards, and is not as mathematical as

forecasting.

Disadvantages of futures research are straightforward – no event or situation

can be forecasted in an accurate and complete manner. Nevertheless, futures

studies may offer a substantial advantage. Specifically, although futures

studies are not able to produce totally accurate and complete information

about the future, some researched information about the future is better than

no information at all when engaging in decision making for long-term

perspective.

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There is wide range of techniques available that can be used to conduct futures

studies. The following table illustrates types and techniques of the most

popular futures techniques.

Method Quantitative Qualitative Normative Exploratory

Agent Modeling ü ü

Complexity based models

ü ü

Cross Impact Analysis ü ü

Decision Models ü ü

Delphi ü ü ü

Econometrics ü ü

Environmental Scanning

ü ü

Futures Wheel ü ü ü

Genius Forecasting ü ü ü

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Morphological Analysis ü ü

Participatory Methods ü ü

Regression ü ü

Relevance Trees ü ü

Scenarios ü ü ü ü

Science Road Maps ü ü

System Dynamics ü ü

Tech Sequence Analysis

ü ü ü

Time Series Forecasts ü ü

Trend Impact Analysis ü ü

Source: Millenium Project

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The nature of decision-making using the results of futures studies can be

approached from four alternative perspectives:

• Values perspectivecategorizes forecasted outcome of events and

occurrences as good or bad. Accordingly, value perspective tends to be

highly subjective due to value differences of amongst individuals.

• Rational perspective relates to selection of an alternative amongst

decision options guided by the extent to which each alternative meets

certain criteria.

• Judgment heuristics is associated with tendency towards risk taking and

relying on intuition when engaging in decision making.

• Cognitive science perspective to decision making relies on inductive

process of thought and taking decisions as a result of inductive analysis by

individuals, as well as, related computer programs.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research methods are interpretative and aim to provide a depth of

understanding. Qualitative methods are based on words, perceptions, feelings

etc. rather than numbers and they include experiments, interviews, focus

groups, and questionnaires with open-ended questions.

Monette et al (2005, p.428) credit qualitative methods with the

acknowledgement of abstraction and generalization, and Polonsky and Waller

(2005, p.126) categorize vision, images, forms and structures in various

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media, as well as spoken and printed word and recorded sound into qualitative

data collection methods.

According to William (2005, p.85) qualitative data collection methods

emerged after it has become known that traditional quantitative data collection

methods were unable to express human feelings and emotions.

It is noted that “qualitative methods are often regarded as providing rich data

about real life people and situations and being more able to make sense of

behavior and to understand behavior within its wider context. However,

qualitative research is often criticized for lacking generalizability, being too

reliant on the subjective interpretations of researchers and being incapable of

replication by subsequent researchers” (Vaus, 2002, p.5)

The most popular qualitative research methods include interviews, case

studies, observation, focus groups and questionnaires with open ended-

questions.

The main sources and procedures associated with the most popular qualitative

methods are presented on the following table as proposed by Yamagata-Lynch

(2010)

Methodology Sources Procedure

Document analysis Reports, newsletters,

publications

Read all materials and

documented and

descriptive statistics related

to the research issue

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Interviews Primary

participantsSecondary

participants

Tape recorded semi-

structured interviews, then

transcribed the interviews

for the participants to

review

Observations Observed participants’

interactions

Took notes and videotaped

the observations

Exit interviews

Primary

participantsSecondary

participants

Presented findings to

participants during

individual or group

interview sessions

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research methods describe and measure the level of occurrences

on the basis of numbers and calculations. Moreover, the questions of “how

many?” and “how often?” are often asked in quantitative studies.

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Quantitative research is defined by Bryman and Bell (2005, p. 154) that

‘entailing the collection of numerical data and exhibiting the view of

relationship between theory and research as deductive, a predilection for

natural science approach, and as having an objectivist conception of social

reality’. So this specific form of research uses the quantitative data to analysis.

The most popular research methods from this category are closed-ended

questionnaires, experiments, correlation and regression analysis methods and

others.

Survey Method

The essence of survey method can be explained as “questioning individuals on

a topic or topics and then describing their responses” (Jackson, 2011, p.17).

In business studies survey method of primary data collection is used in order

to test concepts, reflect attitude of people, establish the level of customer

satisfaction, and conduct segmentation research and a set of other purposes.

Survey method pursues two main purposes:

• Describing certain aspects or characteristics of population and/or

• Testing hypotheses about nature of relationships within a population.

Survey method can be broadly divided into three categories: mail survey,

telephone survey and personal interview. The descriptions of each of these

methods are briefly explained on the following table as proposed by Jackson

(2011).

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Survey method Description

Mail survey A written survey that is self-administered

Telephone survey A survey conducted by telephone in which the questions are

read to the respondents

Personal interview A face-to-face interview of the respondent

Source: Jackson (2011)

Alternatively, According to Neuman (2005) from the viewpoint of practicality

the most popular variations of surveys include questionnaires, interviews and

documentation review. The main advantages and disadvantages associated

with these primary data collection methods are explained by Denscombe

(2004) in the following manner:

Method Purpose Advantages Disadvantages

Questionnaires Conducted

in order to

gather large

size of

information

in a short

period of

Members of the sample

group can remain

anonymousConsiderably

cheaper than most of the

other primary data

collection methods

Possibility of generating

Difficulties of ensuring

greater depth for the

researchThe problem of

the ‘first choice selection’

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time large amount of data

Interviews Conducted

in order to

reflect

emotions

and

experiences,

and explore

issues with a

greater

focus

The possibility to direct

the process of data

collectionThe possibility

to collect the specific

type of information

required

Great amount of time

required in order to

arrange and conduct

interviews and primary

data collection.Additional

costs might be incurred

associated with arranging

and conducting

interviews, travelling etc.

Potential for interviewee

bias

Documentation

review

Conducted

in order to

study issues

that have

developed

over a

specific

period of

time

Possibility to retrieve

comprehensive

information

Challenges associated

with access to

documentationInflexibility

of the research process

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Questionnaires

Questionnaires is one of the most popular primary data collection methods that

involve respondents giving answers to the set questions by choosing an option

from the set of possible answers or providing their own answers for each

questions. Questionnaires can also ask respondents to rate or rank any given

answers on the basis of provided measures.

According to Monette et al. (2005, p.164), the distinctive feature of

questionnaires from other data collection methods is that due to their design,

questionnaires can be answered without assistance. Referring to

questionnaires, Collis and Hussey (2003, p.173) state, that when using

quantitative approach closed-ended questions have to be used, and similarly,

open-ended questions have to be used for qualitative approach.

Questionnaires can be written in various formats and can be based upon

different circumstances as well. Questionnaire can be in two formats: self-

completion questionnaires and questionnaires questions of which are asked by

someone.

Brace (2008) defines questionnaire as a medium of communication between

researcher and respondent, i.e. interviewee. Questionnaire writing is

considered to be a vital part of the survey process, due to the fact that they

represent most of the time a part of the survey process. Questionnaires can be

in following types:

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Computer questionnaire. Respondents are asked to answer the questionnaire

which is sent by mail. The advantages of the computer questionnaires include

their inexpensive price, time can be saved, and respondents do not feel

pressured, therefore can answer when they have time, giving more accurate

answers. However, the main shortcoming of the mail questionnaires is that

sometimes respondents do not bother answering them and they can just ignore

the questionnaire.

Telephone questionnaire. Researcher may choose to call potential respondents

with the aim of getting them to answer the questionnaire. The advantage of the

telephone questionnaire is that, it can be completed during the short amount of

time. The main disadvantage of the phone questionnaire is that it is expensive

most of the time. Moreover, most people do not feel comfortable to answer

many questions asked through the phone and it is difficult to get sample group

to answer questionnaire over the phone.

In house survey. This type of questionnaire involves for the researcher visiting

respondents in their house or workplaces. The advantage of in house survey is

that more focus towards the questions can be gained from respondents.

However, in house surveys also have a range of disadvantages which include

its being time consuming, more expensive and respondents may not wish to

have the researcher in their houses or workplaces for various reasons.

Mail Questionnaire. This sort of questionnaires include for the researcher to

send the questionnaire list to respondents through post, often attaching pre-

paid envelope. Mail questionnaires have an advantage of providing more

accurate answer, because respondents can answer the questionnaire in their

spare time. The disadvantages associated with mail questionnaires include

them being expensive, time consuming and sometimes they end up in the bin

put by respondents.

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Computer questionnaire was used to gather the primary data for this paper,

where the questionnaire forms were sent to respondents via internet, and

completed questionnaires were received via the same medium.Questionnaires

can include the following types of questions:

Open question questionnaires. Open questions differ from other types of

questions used in questionnaires in a way that open questions may produce

unexpected results, which can make the research more original and valuable.

However, it is difficult to analyze the results of the findings when the data is

obtained through the questionnaire with open questions.

Multiple choice question- respondents are offered a set of answers they have to

choose from. The downsize of questionnaire with multiple choice questions is

that, if there are too many answers to choose from, it makes the questionnaire,

confusing and boring, and discourages the respondent to answer the

questionnaire.

Dichotomous Questions. This type of questions within questionnaire gives two

options to the respondent – yes or no, to choose from and is the easiest form of

questionnaire for the respondent in terms of responding it.

Scaling Questions. Also referred to as ranking questions, they present an

option for respondents to rank the available answers to the questions on the

scale of given range of values (for example from 1 to 10).

Cluster Sampling

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Cluster sampling is a technique in which clusters of participants that represent

the population are identified and included in the sample (Jackson,

2011). Cluster involves cluster of participants that represent the population are

identified and included in the sample. This is popular in conducting marketing

researches.

The main aim of cluster sampling can be specified as cost reduction and

increasing the levels of efficiency of sampling. This specific technique can

also be applied in integration with multi-stage sampling.

A major difference between cluster and stratified sampling relates to the fact

that in cluster sampling a cluster is perceived as a sampling unit, whereas in

stratified only specific elements of strata are accepted as sampling unit.

Area or geographical sampling can be specified as the most popular version of

cluster sampling. Specifically, a specific area can be divided into clusters and

primary data can be collected from each cluster to represent the viewpoint of

the whole area.

The nature of cluster analysis depends on comparative size of separate

clusters. If there are not major differences between sizes of clusters, then

analysis can be facilitated by combining clusters. Alternatively, if there are

vast differences in sizes of clusters probability proportionate to sample size

can be applied to conduct the analysis.

Advantages

• Is the most time-efficient and cost-efficient probability design for large

geographical areas

• This method is easy to be used from practicality viewpoint

• Larger sample size can be used due to increased level of accessibility of

perspective sample group members

Disadvantages

• Requires group

• Commonly has higher sampling

Convenience sampling

Convenience sampling, as the name implies is a specific type of non

probability sampling method that relies on data collection from population

members who are conveniently available to partic

Convenience sampling is a type of sampling where the first available primary

data source will be used for the research without additional requirements. In

other words, this sampling method involves getting participants wherever you

can find them and typically wherever is convenient. In convenience sampling

no inclusion criteria identified prior to selection of subjects.

invited to participate.

In its basic form, convenience sampling method can be applied by stopping

random people on the street and asking questionnaire questions. ‘Pepsi

Challenge’ marketing campaign can be referred to as another effecting

Page 79 of 95

Requires group-level information to be known

Commonly has higher sampling error than alternative sampling techniques

Convenience sampling

Convenience sampling, as the name implies is a specific type of non


members who are conveniently available to participate in study.




them and typically wherever is convenient. In convenience sampling

no inclusion criteria identified prior to selection of subjects. All subjects are

invited to participate.




error than alternative sampling techniques

Convenience sampling, as the name implies is a specific type of non-


ipate in study.




them and typically wherever is convenient. In convenience sampling

All subjects are




Page 80 of 95

example for this sampling method. ‘Pepsi Challenge’ is occasionally held in

large shopping centers and other crowded locations and all members of

population are invited to participate in the contest without any discrimination.

In business studies this method can be applied in order to gain initial primary

data regarding specific issues such as perception of image of a particular brand

or collecting opinions of perspective customers in relation to a new design of a

product.

However, the use of this sampling technique is discouraged by many

dissertation supervisors due to inability to generalize research findings, along

with other disadvantages mentioned further below.

This sampling technique may prove to be effective during exploration stage of

the research area, and when conducting pilot data collection in order to

identify and address shortcomings associated with questionnaire design.

Advantages of Convenience Sampling

• Simplicity of sampling and ease of research

• Helpful for pilot studies and for hypothesis generation

• Data collection can be facilitated in short duration of time

• Cost effectiveness

Disadvantages of Convenience Sampling

• Highly vulnerable to selection bias

• Generalizability unclear

• High level of sampling error

Judgment Sampling

In judgment sampling researcher relies on his or her own

choosing members of population to participate in the study.

Judgment sampling is a non

“elements selected for the sample are chosen by the

researcher. Researchers often believe that they can obtain a representative

sample by using a sound

money” (Black, 2010, p.225).

TV reporters stopping certain individuals on the street in order to ask th

opinions about certain political changes constitutes the most popular example

of this sampling method. However, it is important to specify that the TV

reporter has to apply certain

to ask questions; othe

technique.

Alternatively, judgment

only limited numbers of people can serve as primary data sources due to the

nature of research design and aims and objectives. For example, for a research

analyzingeffects of personal tragedy such as family b

performance of senior level managers the researcher may use his/her own

judgment in order to choose senior level managers who could particulate in in

depth interviews.

Page 81 of 95

Sampling

sampling researcher relies on his or her own judgment

choosing members of population to participate in the study.

sampling is a non-probability sampling method and it occurs when

“elements selected for the sample are chosen by the judgment


sample by using a sound judgment, which will result in saving time and

money” (Black, 2010, p.225).

TV reporters stopping certain individuals on the street in order to ask th



reporter has to apply certain judgment when deciding who to stop on the street

to ask questions; otherwise it would be the case of random sampling

judgment sampling method may prove to be effective when



of personal tragedy such as family bereavement on


in order to choose senior level managers who could particulate in in

judgment when

probability sampling method and it occurs when

judgment of the


, which will result in saving time and

TV reporters stopping certain individuals on the street in order to ask their



when deciding who to stop on the street

random sampling

sampling method may prove to be effective when



ereavement on


in order to choose senior level managers who could particulate in in-

Page 82 of 95

Advantages of judgment sampling include low costs and less time needed to

select perspective sampling group members compared to many other

alternative methods.

Disadvantages of judgment sampling include its low level of reliability and

high levels of bias. Because of these disadvantages this sampling method is

not very popular in business studies, and the majority of dissertation

supervisors usually do advice selecting alternative sampling methods with

higher levels of reliability and low bias such as quota, cluster, and systematic

sampling methods.

Multi-stage sampling

Multi-stage sampling is a complex form of cluster sampling which contains

two or more stages in sample selection. In simple terms, in multi-stage

sampling large clusters of population are divided into smaller clusters in

several stages in order to make primary data collection more manageable. It

has to be acknowledged that multi-stage sampling is not as effective as true

random sampling; however, it addresses certain disadvantages associated with

true random sampling such as being overly expensive and time-consuming.

Contrary to its name, multi-stage sampling can be easy to apply in business

studies.The following is an example of implementation of multi-stage

sampling method once a state has been chosen as cluster sampling:

• Random number of districts within the state needs to be selected as

primary clusters.

• Random number of villages within district needs to be selected as

secondary clusters.

• Ultimately a number of houses need to be selected as sampling unit to be

used in the study.

Multi-stage sampling offers the following advantages:

• Simplification of random sampling method

• Cost-effectiveness

• Time-effectiveness

• High level of flexibility

The following points represent disadvantages of this sampling method:

• High level of subjectivity

• Research findings can never be 100% representative of population

Purposive sampling

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stage sampling offers the following advantages:

Simplification of random sampling method

effectiveness

effectiveness

flexibility .


High level of subjectivity

Research findings can never be 100% representative of population

Purposive sampling


Research findings can never be 100% representative of population

Page 84 of 95

Purposive sampling, also referred to as judgment, selective or subjective

sampling is a non-probability sampling method that is characterized by a

deliberate effort to gain representative samples by including groups or typical

areas in a sample. The researcher relies on his/her own judgment to select

sample group members. Purposive sampling is mainly popular in qualitative

studies.

In purposive sampling researcher has sufficient knowledge of topic to select

sample of experts and subjects are chosen in this sampling method according

to the type of the topic. Therefore, skills and capabilities of the researcher to

find appropriate individuals to contribute to the achievement of research

objectives play important role on the outcome of studies using this sampling

technique.

Theoretical saturation plays an instrumental role in determining sample size in

purposive sampling. Theoretical saturation can be explained as a point where

no more new data can add additional insights into the research questions.

Patton (1990) specifies the following cases for purposive sampling:

a) Typical case - Explains cases that are average and normal

b) Extreme or deviant case - Deriving samples from cases that are perceived

as unusual or rare such as exploring the reasons for corporate failure by

interviewing executives that have been fired by shareholders.

c) Convenience- The choice of purposive sampling only due to its

convenience in terms of saving time, money and efforts. This specific case is

naturally associated with lower research validity and credibility.

This sampling technique can prove to be highly effective in following

circumstances:

• Data review and data analysis need to be done in a simultaneous manner

Page 85 of 95

• Primary data needs to be obtained from a very specific group of

respondents

• Only representatives of certain professions can contribute to the study.

This sampling method offers the following advantages:

• Less time consuming compared to many other sampling methods because

only suitable candidates are targeted

• Results of purposive sampling are usually more representative of target

population compared to other sampling methods

• Purposive sampling can be the only way to recruit the members of rare or

much sought after groups.

Purposive sampling may be associated with the following disadvantages:

• Very high level of subjectivity by the researcher

• Limited representation of wider population

Chapter 5

• What is your perception about promotional schemes of (FR)?

Interpretation: The sample size is 100. Data collected by these people

indicate the perception about sales promotion in the real consumer mind and

finally it’s reflecting in its purchasing behavior. According to data, 53%

confirm the geniuses of sales promotion scheme. 3

15% are not sure about sales promotion scheme. The total percentage which is

around 47% of consumer are either not confirm or sure that this sales

promotion scheme actually fooling and misleading the consumer.

• Are you intereste

32%

15%

11

40

Page 86 of 95

5 – Analysis and Interpretation of Data

What is your perception about promotional schemes of Furniture Republic

The sample size is 100. Data collected by these people



confirm the geniuses of sales promotion scheme. 32% goes other way and rest




Are you interested in promotional schemes of FR?

53%

15%

perception

genuin

e

49

Interest

yes

no

Analysis and Interpretation of Data

Furniture Republic

The sample size is 100. Data collected by these people



2% goes other way and rest




Interpretation: Promotional scheme are made for creating interest in

consumer mind to attract attention of consumer and generate new consumer.

This data show that 49% are attracted and 40% are dependent on the nature of

scheme. This indicates that if you give fair deal to consumer they are ready to

increase their purchase. Only 11% are against to the scheme, which is very

less in number and does not effect to analysis.

• Which is beneficial for you?

Interpretation: According to most of the consumer cash discount is more

beneficial than free gift. 63% goes with cash discount and rest with gift. Cash

discount gives direct saving option to consumer, but whether gift is useful to

particular consumer or not it’s a big que

• Whether promotional schemes will be recommended?

37

Page 87 of 95

Promotional scheme are made for creating interest in





less in number and does not effect to analysis.

Which is beneficial for you?

According to most of the consumer cash discount is more



particular consumer or not it’s a big question?

Whether promotional schemes will be recommended?

63

beneficial

76

24

recommendation

Promotional scheme are made for creating interest in





According to most of the consumer cash discount is more



cash

discount

yes

no

Interpretation: The main purpose of promotional scheme is to generate

awareness and interest in consumer. And recommendation is the best tool for

this, and this is proved by this survey in which 76%

the promotional scheme.

• What is reason for not recommending FR?

Interpretation: Promotional scheme can go either way. So better, we find

main reason for not getting that amount of recommendation. According to

data, credibility of scheme and product quality is the highest factor which

force for recommendation. After sale service and d

of the factors which force the recommendation.

• Will you go to other brand with promotional schemes or your regular brand without scheme?

36

Page 88 of 95

The main purpose of promotional scheme is to generate


this, and this is proved by this survey in which 76% are agree to recommend

the promotional scheme.

What is reason for not recommending FR?

Promotional scheme can go either way. So better, we find



force for recommendation. After sale service and durability of product are one

of the factors which force the recommendation.

Will you go to other brand with promotional schemes or your regular brand without scheme?

34

17

13

reasons for not recommending

36

43

21

switching

The main purpose of promotional scheme is to generate


are agree to recommend

Promotional scheme can go either way. So better, we find



urability of product are one

Will you go to other brand with promotional schemes or your regular

reasons for not recommending

product quality

sfter sales service

genuineness

durability

regular brand

depend on scheme

other brand

Interpretation: This data indicate that switching to other brand is highly

depending on the nature of scheme. 43% and 21% are ready to change their

brand preference. Only 36% are brand loyal.

• Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing products and services for your household?

Interpretation: For household items as expected, almost half of population

i.e. 48% is donot wait for promotional scheme. 34% decision is depend on the

scheme and only 18% can wait.

• Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing luxunecessity products and services?

34

9

wait for promotional schemes for luxury iten

Page 89 of 95

This data indicate that switching to other brand is highly


brand preference. Only 36% are brand loyal.

Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing products and your household?

For household items as expected, almost half of population

not wait for promotional scheme. 34% decision is depend on the

scheme and only 18% can wait.

Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing luxunecessity products and services?

18

48

wait for promotional scheme

65

26


This data indicate that switching to other brand is highly


Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing products and

For household items as expected, almost half of population

not wait for promotional scheme. 34% decision is depend on the

Do you wait for promotional schemes for purchasing luxury and non-

wait for promotional scheme

yes

no

depend on scheme


yes

no

depend on scheme

Interpretation: Some data show exact opposite result, 65% are going to wait

for purchasing luxury item. Only 9% can’t wait rest 26% will depend on

scheme.

• Reasons for purchasing the products

Interpretation: the data show the actual reason for buying the products.

Promotion and product satisfaction are the main reasons for buying behavior.

Advertisement also plays a part in deciding consumer buying behavior.

• Considering your consumption of the product and the

product due to promotional scheme, which sentence best dyour purchase decision?

27

17

05

10152025303540

3934

Page 90 of 95

Some data show exact opposite result, 65% are going to wait


ons for purchasing the products

the data show the actual reason for buying the products.



Considering your consumption of the product and the purchase of the product due to promotional scheme, which sentence best dyour purchase decision?

3

53

170

purchase decision

more than needed

somewhat more than needae

same smount

less than needed

much less than needed

34

50

13 11

0 0

29

reason for purchasing

Some data show exact opposite result, 65% are going to wait


the data show the actual reason for buying the products.



purchase of the product due to promotional scheme, which sentence best describes

more than needed

somewhat more than needae

same smount

less than needed

much less than needed



Interpretation: according to this data, more than half agree with increase in the consumption. 27% say that their consumption is as same as before scheme.

17% their demand decreases with promotional schemes

• Given below are some common types of promotions that are used bmarketers to sell their products. Considering everything, can you please rank these in the order of your preference? Give a rank of 1 to the most preferred, 2 to next most preferred and so on.

Interpretation: according to the data, consumer prefer direct price discount then getting two product for the price of one and warrantee is third largest acc. to the sample.

• Considering the product that you have purchased, can you tell how do you come to know about the

0

5

10

15

20

25

25

05

101520253035

13

Page 91 of 95

according to this data, more than half agree with increase in the consumption. 27% say that their consumption is as same as before scheme.

17% their demand decreases with promotional schemes.

Given below are some common types of promotions that are used bmarketers to sell their products. Considering everything, can you please rank these in the order of your preference? Give a rank of 1 to the most preferred, 2 to next most preferred and so on.

according to the data, consumer prefer direct price discount then getting two product for the price of one and warrantee is third largest acc.

Considering the product that you have purchased, can you tell how do you come to know about the promotional scheme?

25

20

15

0 0

10

18

rank

13

34

1613

17

8

0

promotional medium

according to this data, more than half agree with increase in the consumption. 27% say that their consumption is as same as before scheme.

Given below are some common types of promotions that are used by marketers to sell their products. Considering everything, can you please rank these in the order of your preference? Give a rank of 1 to

according to the data, consumer prefer direct price discount then getting two product for the price of one and warrantee is third largest acc.

Considering the product that you have purchased, can you tell how do

75

rank

promotional medium

Interpretation: a television ad is the most effective medium for sales promotion. Other mediums accepted by consumer are newspaper, radio advertisement.

• Can you tell the reasons for purchasing the same brand again?

Interpretation: according to the data for repurchasing of any brand product is the most demanding aspect in any purchasing decision by consumers. Other aspects are promotion and advertisement.

01020304050607080

17

72

Page 92 of 95

a television ad is the most effective medium for sales promotion. Other mediums accepted by consumer are newspaper, radio

Can you tell the reasons for purchasing the same brand again?

according to the data for repurchasing of any brand product is the most demanding aspect in any purchasing decision by consumers. Other aspects are promotion and advertisement.

07

0 0 0 0 4

reasons for repurchasing

a television ad is the most effective medium for sales promotion. Other mediums accepted by consumer are newspaper, radio

Can you tell the reasons for purchasing the same brand again?

according to the data for repurchasing of any brand product is the most demanding aspect in any purchasing decision by consumers. Other



Page 93 of 95

Chapter 6 – Findings and Conclusions

• Most of the consumers give green signal to the sales promotional

activities. Majority of consumer believe the genuineness of sales promotional scheme.

• Consumer is interested in promotional scheme and if companies provide quality scheme which is suited for consumer, they will go for their product. Means type of promotional scheme is important for generating interest.

• Consumer prefers cash discount more rather than gift.

• Most of the consumers are ready for recommending the scheme. Product quality and genuineness of scheme is the main reason for recommending any promotional scheme.

• Promotional scheme if presented in beneficial form can change the brand preference of the consumer.

• For household items, consumers are not going to wait for promotional scheme but for luxury item they are ready to wait. Therefore companies have to focus more on luxury item promotional scheme.

• Promotional schemes are given on the cost of quality. Quality of the product must be maintained for gaining more customer confidence. And if it is maintained then the volume of the purchase will increase at very fast rate.

• Consumer purchasing decision is most influenced by promotional activities, product quality and advertisement for first time purchasing. For repurchasing of products, promotional activities go to the back seat. Only product quality and genuineness can result in repurchasing. So companies have to focus in the quality as well as genuinenesspromotional schemes increase the volume of purchase.

• Direct price discount, warranty and buy 1 get 1 offers are the most accepted sales promotion by consumers. In addition, contest and discount coupons are the least trusted sales promotion scheme.

• Television advertisement is the most effective medium of sales promotion along with radio and newspaper advertisement. Advertisement material displayed outside store is the last influential medium of sales promotion.

Page 94 of 95

Chapter 7 – Limitations

In every project work there is some kind of limitations which affect the

accuracy of work. Same in this project work has been carried out under the

following limitations:

TIME CONSTARINTS: time has been a major limitation while undergoing

the study.

AREA BOUND: since the study was conducted only in NCR so accurate

result was not obtained.

COST CONSTRAINTS: costs involved for the study was also a major

limitation for the project.

BIASED APPROACH: the result obtained might be based on the biased

approach of the respondents.

UNAWARENESS AMONG THE INVESTORS: unawareness among the

respondents about the contemporary investment options and their relative

benefits of different brands acted as a major limitation for the project.

Page 95 of 95

References

• Brink, H., Walt, V. & Rensburg, G.V. (2006) “Fundamentals of Research

Methodology for Health-care Professionals” Juta& Co

• Saunders, M, Lewis, P, Thornhill, A, 2007, Research Methods for

Business Students, 4th edition, Prentice Hall

• Kotler Philip, Marketing Management, 11th edition. Pearson Education

• Kothari C.R. Research Methodology, Edition 2005 New Age International

(p) ltd. New Delhi

• www.google.com

• www.marketresearce.com

• http://www.economywatch.com/business-and-economy/furniture-

industry.html

• http://www.furniture-republic.com

• http://www.ihdp-india.com