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SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON
"STUDY OF MARKETING STRATEGIES OF MARUTI
SUZUKI"

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT


FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Session -

SUBMITTED TO :

SUBMITTED BY:

.................................

DEEPANKTI SEN

(LECTURER )

ROLL NO: 3
MBA- IIIrd Semester

UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW, LUCKNOW

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I owe my sincere thanks and gratitude to MS who inspired me by his able


guidance and was a constant guiding light during the course of
project study.
The support and knowledge provided by him has been a great value
addition for me and will go a long way in building a promising career.
Last but not least, I am also thankful to all the respondents of my survey
without whom the project would not have been completed successfully.

INDEX
INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMPANY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

LIMITATIONS

CONCLUSION

BIBILIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION OF THE COMAPANY


MARUTI UDYOG LIMITED
Maruti is India's largest automobile company. The company, a joint venture with Suzuki of
Japan, has been a success story like no other in the annals of the Indian automobile industry.
Today, Maruti is India's largest automobile company. This feat was achieved by the
missionary zeal of our employees across the line and the far-sighted vision of our
management.
The Company Mission:
To provide a wide range of modern, high quality fuel efficient vehicles in order to meet the
need of different customers, both in domestic and export markets.
The Company Vision:
We must be an internationally competitive company in terms of our products and services.
We must retain our leadership in India and should also aspire to be among the global players.
Their focus is on:

Building a continuously improving organisation adaptable to quick changes

Providing value and satisfaction to the customer

Aligning and fully involving all our employees, suppliers and dealers to face
competition

Maximising Shareholder's value

Being a responsible corporate citizen

At Maruti, they have a clear perspective on manpower. They see it as a unique resource, in
the sense that optimal productivity of other resources depends largely on the way human
resources are utilised. The basic philosophy of management that underlies the Maruti culture
is that all employees of the company should be moulded into a team which then strives as

one, to achieve commonly shared company goals and objectives. To make this philosophy
tenable, the Company takes several initiatives. Inputs are sought from employees at all levels.
They believe that everyone should contribute to the formulation of company policies, goals
and objectives. Secondly, at Maruti, they encourage leadership in the best sense of the word.
According to us, a leader is one who must be impartial, must have the ability to rise above his
own subjectivity, and, most importantly, must practice what he preaches.
They understand that the process of creating a sense of belonging that all employees can
identify with is a lengthy one. To ensure that this translates into concrete reality, they have
taken several simple but specific and well thought out measures. The first step in this
direction has been the introduction of a common uniform for all employees. Another measure
is the creation of a common canteen where all employees have lunch, stand in common
queues, and sit on the same table. Common toilets, common transport and similar facilities
for all levels of employees are other measures that reinforce their emphasis on genuine
equality in the workplace.
At Maruti They do not believe in the notion of organisational hierarchies. As a matter of fact,
the management structure and systems in Maruti have been designed to promote
decentralisation of authority. Maruti has a horizontal management structure with only four
functional levels of responsibility to facilitate quicker decision making.
Another focus area of the Maruti culture is the maintenance of a smoothly functioning
communication network. Maruti believes that communication channels between labour and
management cannot simply consist of having a labour representative on the Board of the
Company. They have faith in the ability of labour to effectively participate in management
and make constructive suggestions. To encourage this, they ensure that there is a thorough
dissemination of information at all levels, through newsletters or via a letter from the Chief
Executive to all employees. Meetings with the Union are held regularly, and programmes
being contemplated by the Company are discussed with the Union. The Sahyog Samiti, a
collection of representatives of non-unionised employees, training programmes in Japan,
Quality Circles, productivity-linked incentive schemes, and an ethos of discipline and
teamwork, all contribute to the Maruti culture.
Several measures of performance have made amply clear that Maruti has established a truly
healthy work culture. They have met all project and performance targets since inception.
Their productivity levels are constantly improving. The Company has had good labour

relations with employees from the very beginning, and they have been successful in the
export market. Yet, the Maruti culture is one that does not believe in resting on its laurels.
They adhere to the spirit of Kaizen, which states that constant improvement is always
possible. The most basic tenet of productivity that they hold dear is that " Today should be
better than Yesterday and Tomorrow should be better than Today".
Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) was established in Feb 1981 through an Act of Parliament, to
meet the growing demand of a personal mode of transport caused by the lack of an efficient
public transport system.
Suzuki Motor Company was chosen from seven prospective partners worldwide. This was
due not only to their undisputed leadership in small cars but also to their commitment to
actively bring to MUL contemporary technology and Japanese management practices (which
had catapulted Japan over USA to the status of the top auto manufacturing country in the
world).
A licence and a Joint Venture agreement was signed between Government of India and
Suzuki Motor Company (now Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan) in Oct 1982.
The objectives of MUL then were:

Modernization of the Indian Automobile Industry.

Production of fuel-efficient vehicles to conserve scarce resources.

Production of large number of motor vehicles, which was necessary for economic
growth.

Core Value

Customer Obsession

Fast, Flexible and First Mover

Innovation and Creativity

Networking and Partnership

Openness and Learning

Vision
The leader in the India Automobile Industry, Creating Customer Delight and Shareholders
Wealth; A pride of India
Technological Advantage
We have introduced the superior 16 * 4 Hypertech engines across the entire Maruti Suzuki
range. This new technology harnesses the power of a brainy 16-bit computer to a fuelefficient 4-valve engine to create optimum engine delivery. This means every Maruti Suzuki
owner gets the ideal combination of power and performance from his car.
Our other innovation has been the introduction of Electronic Power Steering (EPS) in select
models. This results in better and greater maneuverability. In other words, our cars have
become even more pleasurable to drive.
Production/R&D
Spread over a sprawling 297 acres with 3 fully-integrated production facilities, the Maruti
Udyog Plant has already rolled out over 4.3 million vehicles. In fact, on an average, two
vehicles roll out of the factory every minute. And it takes on an average, just 14 hours to
make a car. More importantly, with an incredible range of 11 models available in 50 variants,
there's a Maruti Suzuki made here to fit every car-buyer's budget. And dream.
Production Milestones
1st vehicle produced, December 1983
1,00,000 vehicles produced by August, 1986
5,00,000 vehicles produced by June, 1990
10,00,000 vehicles produced by March, 1994
15,00,000 vehicles produced by April, 1996
20,00,000 vehicles produced by October, 1997
25,00,000 vehicles produced by March, 1999
30,00,000 vehicles produced by June, 2000

35,00,000 vehicles produced by December 2001


40,00,000 vehicles produced by April, 2003
45,00,000 vehicles produced by April, 2004

AWARDS
2005
Number one in JD Power SSI for the second consecutive year
Number one in JD Power CSI for the sixth time in a row - the only
car to win
it so many times
M800, WagonR and Swift topped their segments in the TNS Total
Customer Satisfaction Study
Leadership in the JD Power Initial Quality Study - Alto number one
in its
segment for the 2nd time in a row, Esteem number one in its
segment for
the 3rd year in a row, Swift number one in the premium compact
segment
WagonR and Esteem top their segments in the JD Power APEAL
study
TNS ranks Maruti 4th in the Corporate Reputation Strength (CSR)
study
(#1 in Auto sector)-Feb 05
Maruti bagged the "Manufacturer of the year" award from AutocarCNBC
( 2nd time in a row)-Feb 05
First Indian car manufacturer to reach 5 million vehicles sales
Business World ranks Maruti among top five most respected
companies in
India-Oct 04
Maruti ranked among top ten (Rank7) greenest companies in India
by
Business Today - Sep '04
2004
Maruti Suzuki was No. 1 in Customer atisfaction, No. 1 in Sales
Satisfaction No.1 in Product Quality (Esteem and Alto) and No. 1

in Product Appeal (Esteem and Wagon R)


No. 1 in Total Customer Satisfaction (Maruti 800, Zen and Alto)
Business World ranked us among the country's five most respected
companies
Business World ranked us the country's most respected automobile
company
Voted Manufacturer of the year by CNBC
Voted one of India's Greenest Companies by Business Today-AC
Nielson ORG-MARG
2003
Maruti 800, Maruti Zen and Maruti Esteem make it to the top 10
automotive brands in "Most Trusted Brand survey 2003"
J D Power ranked 3 models of Maruti on top: Wagonr, Zen and
Esteem
Maruti 800 and Wagonr top in NFO Total Customer Satisfaction
Study 2003.
MUL tops in J D Power CSI (2001) for 4th time in a row
2001
MUL tops in J D Power CSI (2001) for 2nd time in a row: another
international first
2000
Maruti bags JD Power CSI - 1st rank; unique achievement by
market leader anywhere in the world
1999
MSM launched as model workshop in India; achieves highest CSI
rating.
Central Board of Excise & Customs awards Maruti with "Samman
Patra", for contribution to exchequer and being an ideal tax
assessee
1998
CII's Business Excellence Award
1996
Maruti wins INSSAN award for "Excellence in Suggestion
Scheme"
Awarded the Star Trading House status by Ministry of Commerce
1994-95
Engineering Exports Promotion Council's award for export

performance
1994
Best Canteen award among Haryana Industries as part of employee
welfare
1992-93
Engineering Exports Promotion Council's award for export
performance
1991-92
Engineering Exports Promotion Council's award for export
performance

WHY MARUTI SUZUKI


The Quality Advantage
A car is an engineering product, only as good as the technology used to make it.
Actual users of our technology are saying something very clearly Maruti Suzuki is
No.1 in quality:
Maruti Suzuki owners experience fewer problems with their vehicles than any other can
manufacturer in India (J.D. Power IQS Study 2004). The Alto was chosen No.1 in the
premium compact car segment and the Esteem in the entry level mid-size car segment across
9 parameters.
The J.D. Power APEAL Study 2004 proclaimed the Wagon R. No. 1 in the premium
compact car segment and the Esteem No.1 in the entry level mid-size car segment.
This study measures owner delight in terms of design, content, layout and
performance of vehicles across 8 parameters.
Maruti Suzuki has a sales network of 307 state-of-the-art showrooms across 189
cities*, with a workforce of over 6000 trained sales personnel to guide our customers
in finding the right car. Our high sales and customer care standards led us to achieve
the No.1 nameplate in the J.D. Power SSI study 2004. The SSI study measures sales
satisfaction across 6 parameters: deal received, paperwork, dealer facility, salesperson,
delivery timing and delivery process. Maruti Suzuki has not only got the No.1
nameplate in the J.D. Power SSI study 2004, but also ranked way above the industry
average (Maruti Suzuki was at 784 while industry average was at 760). What is
significant is that it was ranked above Skoda, Ford, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and
Hyundai.
To be really happy with the car you own, it should have a reliable service network at
hand and within easy reach. Their 1036 city strong service network is equipped to
service 20,000 vehicles a day. No wonder Maruti Suzuki has been awarded the No.1
nameplate in customer satisfaction in India for the fifth year in a row, a feat
unprecedented for any automobile market leader in the world.

In the J.D. Power CSI study 2004, Maruti Suzuki scored the highest across all 7
parameters: least problems experienced with vehicle serviced, highest service quality,
best in-service experience, best service delivery, best in-service experience, most userfriendly service and best service initiation experience.
In fact, 92% of Maruti Suzuki owners feel that work gets done right the first time during
service. The J.D. Power CSI study 2004 also reveals that 97% of Maruti Suzuki owners
would probable recommend the same make of vehicle, while 90% owners would probable
repurchase the same make of vehicle.
A Buying Experience Like No Other
Maruti Suzuki has a sales network of 307 state-of -the-art showrooms across 189 cities, with
a workforce of over 6000 trained sales personnel to guide our customers in finding the right
car. Our high sales and customer care standards led us to achieve the No.1 nameplate in the
J.D. Power SSI Study 2004.
Quality Service Across 1036 Cities
In the J.D. Power CSI Study 2004, Maruti Suzuki scored the highest across all 7 parameters:
least problems experienced with vehicle serviced, highest service quality, best in-service
experience, best service delivery, best service advisor experience, most user-friendly service
and best service initiation experience.
92% of Maruti Suzuki owners feel that work gets done right the first time during service. The
J.D. Power CSI study 2004 also reveals that 97% of Maruti Suzuki owners would probably
recommend the same make of vehicle, while 90% owners would probably repurchase the
same make of vehicle.
One Stop Shop
At Maruti Suzuki, you will find all your car related needs met under one roof. Whether it is
easy finance, insurance, fleet management services, exchange- Maruti Suzuki is set to
provide a single-window solution for all your car related needs.
The Low Cost Maintenance Advantage

The acquisition cost is unfortunately not the only cost you face when buying a car.
Although a car may be affordable to buy, it may not necessarily be affordable to
maintain, as some of its regularly used spare parts may be priced quite steeply. Not so
in the case of a Maruti Suzuki. It is in the economy segment that the affordability of
spares is most competitive, and it is here where Maruti Suzuki shines. The recent Auto
car Survey conducted in August 2004 bears testimony to this fact. In the Maruti
Suzuki stable, the Omni has the lowest aggregate cost of spares followed by the
Maruti-800. The Maruti-800 has the cheapest spares of any Indian car with a basket of
just Rs. 23,422. In the Lower Mid-size segment as well, price-consciousness is very
high, where the cars have to be not only affordable on purchase price but also need to
combine quality, drivability and have comfortable interiors. In this segment, the
Maruti Suzuki Versa has scored particularly well with the lowest cost of spares in the
segment. In the Upper Mid-size segment, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno has the segment's
lowest prices on a majority of the spares.
Lowest Cost of Ownership
To be really happy with the car one owns, it should be easy on the pocket to buy and
to run-which is why the cost of ownership is so important. And here again, a Maruti
Suzuki is a clear winner, as shown by the recent J.D.Power CSI study 2004. It is clear
that a Maruti Suzuki delights you even when you run it for years. The 6 highest
satisfaction ratings with regard to cost of ownership among all models are all Maruti
Suzuki vehicles: Zen, Wagon R, Esteem, Maruti 800, Alto and Omni. They are proud
to have the lowest cost of operation / km (among petrol vehicles) - the top 5 models
are all Maruti Suzuki models: Maruti 800, Alto, Zen, Omni and Wagon R.
Employee Quality Measures
Kaizen is based on the concept of making incremental improvements in our products. It
incorporates a series of continuous small and simple improvements, which aim at involving
employees at all levels.
The Suggestion Scheme is based on the same principle. Under this scheme, employees are
encouraged to make suggestions for improvement in any area of our operation. Over 50,000
suggestions are received from employees every year.

Maruti has won the First place in "Excellence in Suggestion Scheme Contest 2003", which
is the 6th consecutive award won in as many years. This contest is organized by Indian
National Suggestion Schemes Association (INSSAN). Since 1998 Maruti has won this award
10 times.
"Quality Circles" are groups of five to eight members from a particular work area who work
as a team to identify priorities and solve work related problems in the area.
We believe that it is this unwavering commitment to quality that will lead to the further
growth of the organization as competition increases.
ISO 9001:2000
At Maruti, our approach to quality is in keeping with the Japanese practice--"build it into the
product". Technicians themselves inspect the quality of work. Supervisors educate and
instruct technicians to continually improve productivity and quality. The movement of quality
indicators is reviewed in weekly meetings by the top management.
In 2001, Maruti Udyog Ltd became one of the first automobile companies anywhere in
the world to get an ISO 9000:2000 certification. AV Belgium, global auditors for
International Organization for Standardisation(ISO), certified Maruti after a four day long
audit, covering varied parameters like Customer Focussed organisation, Leadership,
Involvement of people, Process approach, System approach to Management, Continual
improvement, etc.

In May 1995, Maruti got ISO 9002 certification. The audit for this covered quality
assurance in production, installation, marketing and sales as well as after sales services. We
were also one of the first companies in the world to pioneer ISO 9000 certification for our
dealers.
In October 1993, MUL passed the Conformity Of Production (COP) Audit, which is
based on a European Union Directive. This authenticated our quality systems and testing
facilities for export to Europe.
Their emphasis on total quality has meant that today they are in a position to guide vendors
and dealers in establishing and consolidating their individual quality systems. This
commitment to quality has ensured a consistently satisfying product and world-class sales
and after-sales services.
TS16949:2002 -

A new feather was added recently in Marutis cap in the field of

quality when the Quality Management System of its Press Shop & associated functions
(collectively termed as Press Function) got certification for conformance to the requirements
of TS16949:2002 standard.

The need for TS certification of Press Function had its genesis in the prestigious project that
Maruti earned for the supply of stamped panels to General Motors India for one of its
forthcoming models.
As a part of Quality system requirements, GM requires all its suppliers to be certified to
either ISO TS 16949 or QS 9000.
These standards address Quality System requirements, which are particularly specific to the
automotive industry and requires an organization to be in compliance with ISO 9000 systems
as a basic requirement. However, whereas QS 9000 would become defunct and cease to exist
after Dec 2006, TS 16949 is going to be the standard of the future.
The TS 16949 standard, brought out by ISO in the year 1999, is an extension of the ISO
9001:2000 standard that prescribes Quality management system requirements that are
specifically applicable to the automotive industry.
TS 16949 has gained high popularity and almost all major automobile players across the
globe including GM, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, Nissan, Honda are embracing & promoting it.

ISO
9001:2000

THEORITICAL PERSPECTIVE

Consumer is strictly, the ultimate consumer of a product, the ultimate user of a product; the
person who derives the satisfaction or the benefit offered. The 'consumer' is not necessarily
the customer, since there are often 'customers' in the buying/ distribution chain; moreover, the
consumer is frequently not the person who makes the buying decision; for instance, in the
case of many household products, where the housewife may make the purchase but
consumption or use is by the whole family. 'Consumer' is not normally applied to the
purchase of industrial goods and services where the customer is usually a corporate body.
Nevertheless, consumable goods are sold to industry for corporate purposes and the
consumers of these goods can be identified for marketing practice.
Consumer behavior is the study of buying habits or patterns of behaviour of consuming
public either in general or in specific groups.
THE BUYING PROCESS
The complexity inherent in understanding consumer behaviour has led to the
construction of models of the buying process which indicate the stages through which
the consumer passes from the time he or she first becomes aware of a need for a
product or service to the time when a product is purchased, a brand selected, and the
consumer evaluates the success of his purchase decides whether to buy that particular
product and / or brand again. It the same time, such models usually indicate the social
and psychological forces which shape the potential buyer's action at each stage in the
process. The two principal aims of such model building are the prediction of future
behavior based on measurement of relevant variable and the explanation of this
behavior in terms of theoretically relevant constructs.

The starting point for understanding the buyer is the stimulus-response model shown
below
Marketin
g stimuli

Other
stimuli

Buyer's
Characterist
ics

Product

Economic

Cultural

Price

Technologic
al

Social

Place
Promotion

Political
Cultural

Buyer's
decision
process

Buyer's
decisions

Problem
recognition

Personal
Psychological

Product choice
Brand choice

Information
search

Dealer choice
Purchase timing

Evaluation
decision

Purchase
amount

Post-purchase
behavior

Stages in Buying Decision Process


Need

Informat

Evaluation

Purchas

Post-

recogniti

ion

of

purchase

on

search

alternative

decision

behavior

The consumer passes through five stages : Problem recognition information search,
evaluation of alternatives purchase decision and post-purchase behavior. Clearly the
buying process starts long before the actual purchase and has consequences long after
the purchase.
This model implies that consumers pass through all five stages in buying a product.
But this is not the case, especially in low-involvement purchase. Consumers may skip
or rreverse some stages. Thus a woman buying her regular brand of toothpaste goes
directly from the need for toothpaste to the purchase decision, skipping information
search and evaluation. However, we have already used the model in above, because it
captures the full range of consideration that arise when a consumer facer a highly
involving new purchase. We will allude again to Linda Brown and try to understand

how she became interested in buying a laptop computer and the try to understand how
she became interested in buying a laptop computer and stages she went through to
make her final choice.

MAJOR FACTORS INFLUENCING BUYING


BEHAVIOR
Cultural
Social
Culture

Reference group

Subculture

Family

Social Class

Roles and
statuses

Personal
Age and lifecycle stage

Psychological

Occupation

Motivation

Economic
circumstances

Perception

Lifestyle

Beliefs and
attitudes

Personality and
self-concept

Learning

Rogers model for the adoption and diffusion of innovations


CURVE

Buyer

Innovation Adoption

The innovation adoption curve of Rogers is a model that classifies adopters of innovations into various
categories, based on the idea that certain individuals are inevitably more open to adaptation than others. Is is also
referred to as Multi-Step Flow Theory or Diffusion of Innovations Theory.
Innovators
Brave people, puling the change. Innovators are very important communication.
Early Adopters
Respectable people, opinion leaders, try out new ideas, but in a careful way.
Early Majority
Thoughtful people, careful but accepting change more quickly than the average.
Late Majority
Skeptic people, will use new ideas or products only when the majority is using it.
Laggards
Traditional people, caring for the "old ways", are critical towards new ideas and will only accept it if the new idea
has become mainstream or even tradition.
The diffusion of innovations curve (innovation adoption curve) of Rogers is useful to remember that trying to
quickly and massively convince the mass of a new controversial idea is useless. It makes more sense in these
circumstances to start with convincing innovators and early adopters first. Also the categories and percentages can
be used as a first draft to estimate target groups for communication purposes.
Diffusion research focus was on five elements: 1) the characteristics of an innovation which
may influence its adoption; 2) the decision-making process that occurs when individuals
consider adopting a new idea, product or practice; 3) the characteristics of individuals that
make them likely to adopt an innovation.

TARGET MARKETING
Target Marketing involves breaking a market into segments and then concentrating your
marketing efforts on one or a few key segments.
The beauty of target marketing is that it makes the promotion, pricing and distribution of your
products and/or services easier and more cost-effective. Target marketing is the selection of
customers you wish to service. The decisions involved in it are

Which segments to target

How many products to offer

Which products to offer in which segments

There are three steps to targeting:

Market segmentation

Target choice

Product positioning

One of the first things you need to do is to refine your product or service so that you are NOT
trying to be 'all things to all people.
Next, you need to understand that people purchase products or services for three basic
reasons:

To satisfy basic needs.

To solve problems.

To make themselves feel good.

The next step in creating an effective marketing strategy is to zero in on your target market.

Target marketing is one of corporate America's most effective business strategies. The idea is
to increase sales by first identifying, and then targeting smaller, yet more profitable customer
groups within the total market.
Four Ways to Identify Target Markets
1. Geographic: The location, size of the area, density, and climate zone of your
customers.
2. Demographics: The age, gender, income, family composition and size,
occupation, and education of your customers.
3. Psychographics: The general personality, behavior, life-style, rate of use,
repetition of need, benefits sought, and loyalty characteristics of your
customers.
4. Behaviors: The needs they seek to fulfill, the level of knowledge, information
sources, attitude, use or response to a product of your customers.
One of the best ways to identify your target market is to look at your existing customer base.
Who are your ideal clients? What do they have in common? If you do not have an existing
customer base, or if you are targeting a completely new audience, speculate on who they
might be, based on their needs and the benefits they will receive. Investigate competitors or
similar businesses in other markets to gain insight.
TARGET MARKETING

Who are your best customers? Where should you direct your marketing activities?

Where and how should you allocate your advertising and promotional efforts?

Target Marketing, provides Focus for your business. It helps to establish critical
Operational goals and defines what must be done to achieve them
What Customers Want

Marketing is more than an activity, it is an attitude

Instead of trying to get customers to buy what the firm likes to make, or
happens to have on hand, the marketing oriented firm tries to produce or sell
what its customers want which can be sold at a profit.

Do not simply throw out everything that you now have and replace goods or
production machinery with completely new items.

HOWEVER, AS YOU ANALYZE YOUR MARKET AND CUSTOMER


PROFILES, AND SO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR WANTS,
DESIRES, AND PERCEIVED NEEDS, YOU CAN BEGIN TO REORIENT
YOUR BUSINESS OVER TIME TO TAKE BEST ADVANTAGE OF THESE
NEW INSIGHTS. CONSIDER BOTH THE SHORT TERM AND LONG-TERM
IMPLICATIONS OF DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT
TARGET MARKETING STRATEGY FOR YOUR BUSINESS.

Customer Attitudes

For a long time, people have believed that advertising can be used to change people's
minds about what they want. This is an incredibly difficult process at best, and an
extremely expensive one. Because of these two factors, it is a process that smaller
firms simply cannot afford to pursue. Instead, it is much more productive for any size
firm to tune in to target customer attitudes as they currently exist. Once they have
identified the actual prevailing attitudes, they can begin to organize company
resources needed to constructively address and satisfy these attitudes the key
question is,
"What are the existing customer attitudes?"

With this as an objective, developing an understanding of existing customer attitudes


becomes essential, and their identification becomes an important part of the marketing
process. Once these customer attitudes, needs or preferences are identified, the entire
firm can then organize itself to satisfy these needs as completely and efficiently as
possible.

Target Marketing

Comparison of Automobile And Consumer


Durable
At Dealership Level
S.No

Attributes

Automobile

Consumer Durables

Turnover

High

Low

Margin

8%-12%

2%-4%

Penetration
Level

More in small or large


towns or cities

More in Rural areas


or in cities also

Training of
Sales
Executives

Executives get Training


after every specific
period

As such no training

Supply-Chain

Co->Dealer->Customer

Co->Distributor>Dealer >Customer

Discount
Margin

Cartel

Depends on Dealer
To Dealer

CSR

Proper well organized

Only Sales man is


there to serve the
customer

ASS

Customer get 3free


service

Customer have to go
at manufactured
level

Brand
Association

Customer first choice is


more pertinent

Customer can
change his or her
choice

Instantaneous Payment

More focus on
Finance &
Installment

10

Payment

11

Post-Sales
Follow UP

12

Buying
Procedure

13

Database

Large

Few

14

Brand
Transition

Single-Tier

Multi-Tier

More
Customer can wait for
new model

Very Less

Instant buying

Parent Company &


dealer both give
advertisement

Only from Parent


Company

15

Advertisement

16

Loyality
Programs

17

Customer
Satisfaction
Index

Well- Defined &


Organized

None

18

Promotion

Free Service Camps

None

19

Customer
Retention

20

Maintenance

Yes

More
Only free service which
customer can extend
upto 4 years(first 2yr are
free)

No

Very Less

Annual Maintenance
Contract (AMC)

MARUTI CULTURE
Their employees are their greatest strength and asset. It is this underlying philosophy that has
moulded their workforce into a team with common goals and objectives. Their EmployeeManagement relationship is therefore characterized by:

Participative Management.

Team work & Kaizen.

Communication and information sharing.

Open office culture for easy accessibility

To implement this philosophy, they have taken several measures like a flat organizational
structure. There are only three levels of responsibilities ranging from the Board Of Directors,
Division Heads to Department Heads. Other visible features of this philosophy are an open
office, common uniforms (at all levels), and a common canteen for all.
This structure ensures better communication and speedy decision making processes. It also
creates an environment that builds trust, transparency and a sense of belonging amongst
employees.
For Investors:
Maruti Udyog Limited, a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, has been the
leader of the Indian car market for about two decades. Its manufacturing plant, located some
25 km south of New Delhi in Gurgaon, has an installed capacity of 3,50,000 units per annum,
with a capability to produce about half a million vehicles.
The company has a portfolio of 11 brands, including Maruti 800, Omni, premium small car
Zen, international brands Alto and WagonR, off-roader Gypsy, mid size Esteem, luxury car
Baleno, the MPV, Versa, Swift and Luxury SUV Grand Vitara XL7.
In recent years, Maruti has made major strides towards its goal of becoming Suzuki Motor
Corporation's R and D hub for Asia. It has introduced upgraded versions of WagonR Zen and
Esteem, completely designed and styled in-house.

Maruti's contribution as the engine of growth of the Indian auto industry, indeed its impact on
the lifestyle and psyche of an entire generation of Indian middle class, is widely
acknowledged. Its emotional connect with the customer continues.
Maruti tops customer satisfaction again for sixth year in a row according to the J.D. Power
Asia Pacific 2005 India Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study.
The company has also ranked highest in India Sales Satisfaction Study.
The company's quality systems and practices have been rated as a "benchmark for the
automotive industry world-wide" by A V Belgium, global auditors for International
Organisation for Standardisation.
In keeping with its leadership position, Maruti supports safe driving and traffic management
through mass media messages and a state-of-the art driving training and research institute that
it manages for the Delhi Government.
The company's service businesses including sale and purchase of pre owned cars (TrueValue),
lease and fleet management service for corporates (N2N), Maruti Insurance and Maruti
Finance are now fully operational.. These initiatives, besides providing total mobility
solutions to customers in a convenient and transparent manner, have helped improve
economic viability of The company's dealerships.
The company is listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.
MUL is a Board-managed company. Currently the directors on the Board are:

Mr Shinzo Nakanishi, Chairman

Mr Jagdish Khattar, Managing Director

Mr Hirofumi Nagao, Joint Managing Director

Mr Shinichi Takeuchi, Joint Managing Director

Mr Kinji Saito, Director (Marketing and Sales)

Mr Osamu Suzuki, Director

Mr R C Bhargava, Director

Mr S V Bhave, Director

Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Director

Mr Amal Ganguli, Director

Ms Pallavi Shroff, Director

Mr Manvinder Singh Banga, Director

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMPANY


Marutis marketing objective is to continually offer the customer new products and
services that:

Reduce the customers cost of ownership of their cars; and

a nticipate and address the customers needs and preferences in all aspects and
stages of car ownership, to provide what they refer to as the 360 degree
customer experience.

They sell ten models with more than 50 variants in segments A, B, C, and utility
vehicle segment of the Indian passenger car market. Of these, they manufacture nine
models and import the Grand Vitara as a completely built unit from Suzuki in Japan.
Their models and variants are designed to address the changing demands of the market
and are periodically upgraded in technology, styling and features. To take advantage of
the brand recognition associated with their products, they retain the brand name of the
product through various stages of product upgrades over time. For example, the
version of the Maruti 800 brand currently sold in the market is a significantly
upgraded version, in terms of technology, design and styling, of the Maruti 800
launched in 1983.

Maruti 800

OMNI

Zen

Wagon R

Alto

Esteem

Baleno

Versa

SWIFT

Utility Vehicle

GYPSY KING

Utility Vehicle

GRAND VITARA

BALENO

WAGON R

ESTEEM

MARUTI 800

NEW ALTO

OMNI

SWIFT

VERSA

ZEN

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The nature of the project work has been exploratory as no hypothesis, is taken to be
tested. Though the conclusions drawn could be taken as the hypothesis and further
tested by the research work undertaken in the relevant field. The reason for
choosing the exploratory research design is the fact the project report has been
primarily based upon the secondary sources of data and whose authenticity could
be assured of.
The reluctance of the company's personnel in parting with much of information led
the project report to be based substantially on the secondary source of data. The
sources of data used in data collection are the following:

Primary sources
In order to gather information about the various products, I personally visited a
number of retail markets and collected data pertaining to the prices of the products
offered. The market visits were useful in knowing the comparative prices and
quality of the offered brands vis--vis the competitive brands. Detail regarding the
packaging of the products were collected were collected and I also inquired about
the various sales promotion schemes followed by the three companies.
By interviewing these retailers valuable information was collected. I inquired from
them about their marketing advertising and distribution strategies.

Secondary sources
Information was collected from secondary sources such as public libraries,
newspapers, business magazines.
Beside these the use of Internet was also made in collecting relevant information.
The data collected from the above mentioned sources has been adequately
structured and used at appropriate places in the report. This particular way of data
collection was used because of its low cost (except data collected through surfing
the internet) and less time consumption.
The information gathered included:

Their annual reports (Procter & Gamble and Johnson and Johnson).

Pamphlets.

Posters.

Press clippings.

News releases.

Newsletters.

Pictures.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

PRICES OF MARUTI PRODUCTS


Car market leader Maruti Udyog Limited has announced a marginal increase in price of
certain models. The increase, which comes into effect from today, varies from 0.17 percent to
1.47 percent.
The price increase is due to rise in input costs and freight costs, which increased
following the rise in oil prices. In this phase, the company has decided to pass on
only a part of the increase in costs to the customers. There is no change in the prices
of Swift, Zen, Baleno (Vxi) and WagonR (Petrol).
Ex-Showroom Prices in Delhi (in Rs)

Model

New

Old

Change
Increase
%

M800 Std

191646 191146

500

0.26%

M800 Std Ac

213062 212562

500

0.24%

Alto Std

231585 231085

500

0.22%

Alto Lx

265262 264762

500

0.19%

Alto Lxi

283878 283378

500

0.18%

Omni Cargo LPG

194725 192725

2000

1.04%

Omni Cargo

213706 213206

500

0.23%

Omni (Eight Seater)

221268 220768

500

0.23%

Omni LPG

230388 227388

3000

1.32%

Esteem Lx

445968 444968

1000

0.22%

Esteem Lxi

476223 475223

1000

0.21%

Esteem Vxi

511520 510520

1000

0.20%

Baleno Lxi

576173 575173

1000

0.17%

Versa Dx

433575 432575

1000

0.23%

Versa Dx2

471779 470779

1000

0.21%

Versa Std

360182 359182

1000

0.28%

WagonR Lx LPG

345106 340106

5000

1.47%

WagonR Lxi LPG

373160 368160

5000

1.36%

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE AT MUL


Maruti Udyog ltd. Has a flat organisation structure with a maximum of three levels.

Head office
MD
MFG

DIRECTOR

GM/ DGMS

FIN

N CONTROLLER

OTHER

GM

DGMSAGMS

AGMS

MGRS/AMS

MGRS/AMS

MGRS/AM

ENGINEERS(EX)

SR. EX./EX

J.E. (TRAINEES)

DGMS

SR GM/EX

TRAINEES

THE PRODUCTION PROCESS AT MARUTI


STEEL COILS

BLANKING

PRESSING

WELDING

PAINTING

FROM
VENDOR
S

ASSEMBLY

VEHICLE
INSPECTION
TEST RUN

SUPPLY &
DISPATCH

FROM
VENDOR
S
FROM
VENDOR
S

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
In August, 2003 Maruti crossed a milestone of exporting 300,000 vehicles since its first
export in 1986. Europe is the largest destination of Marutis exports and coincidentally after
the first commercial shipment of 480 units to Hungary in 1987, the 300,00 mark was crossed
by the shipment of 571 units to the same country. The top ten destinations of the cumulative
exports have been Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Chile, U.K., Hungary, Nepal, Greece, France
and Poland in that order.
The Alto, which meets the Euro-3 norms, has been very popular in Europe where a landmark
200,000 vehicle were exported till March 2003. Even in the highly developed and
competitive markets of Netherlands, UK, Germany, France and Italy Maruti vehicles have
made a mark. Though the main market for the Maruti vehicles is Europe, where it is selling
over 70% of its exported quantity, it is exporting in over 70 countries.
Maruti has entered some unconventional markets like Angola, Benin, Djibouti, Ethiopia,
Morocco, Uganda, Chile, Costa Rica and El Salvador. The Middle-East region has also
opened up and is showing good potential for growth. Some markets in this region where
Maruti is, are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and UAE.
The markets outside of Europe that have large quantities, in the current year, are Algeria,
Saudi Arabia, Srilanka and Bangladesh. Maruti exported more than 51,000 vehicles in 200304 which was 59% higher than last year. In the financial year 2003-04 Maruti exports
contributed to more than 10% of total Maruti sales.

MARUTI ALL INDIA SALES 3 YR TREND


Segment
A1 (Mini - Hatchback)

2003- Growth 2004-05 Growt 2005-06 Growt


04
h
h
167,561
17% 116,262 -31% 89,223
-23%

A2 (Compact - Hatchback)

176,132

47%

271,280

14,173

28%

29,637

NA

NA

NA

C (Van Type)

59,526

15%

65,019

Passenger Cars - MUL

417,39
2

Passenger Cars - Total


Industry

54% 335,136

24%

109%

31,939

8%

NA

NA

NA

9%

66,366

2%

28% 482,198

16% 522,664

8%

758,12
3
3,555

26% 885,029

17% 948,669

7%

12%

46%

Passenger Vehicles - MUL

420,94
7

Passenger Vehicles - Total


Industry

901,15
0

24%

A3 (Mid Size)
A4/A5/A6
(Exec./Prem./Luxury)

MUV (Utility Vehicles)

4,374

-16%

28% 487,402

16% 527,038

8%

1,050,2
46

17% 1,129,3
16

8%

5,204

MARKET SHARE

2005-06 Market Share-Segment A2


TATA
20%

HYUNDAI
21%

MARUTI
59%

2005-06 Market Share-Segment A3


HYUNDAI
16%

TATA
20%

MARUTI
17%
FORD
14%
OTHERS
7%

HONDA
20%

GM
6%

2005-06 Market Share-Passenger Cars


HYUNDAI
17%

TATA
16%

HONDA
4%

FORD
3%
GM
1%
TOYOTA
1%

MARUTI
55%

OTHERS
3%

COMPETITION MODELS
SEGMENT

Maruti

Competition

A1 (Mini - Hatchback)

M800

A2 (Compact Hatchback)

Zen, WagonR,
Alto, Swift

Hyundai - Santro & Getz; Tata Indica & Palio; GM - Corsa Sail

A3 (Mid Size)

Esteem, Baleno

Hyundai - Accent; Tata - Indigo &


Petra; Honda - City; GM - Corsa,
Optra, & Aveo; Ford - Ikon, Fusion, &
Fiesta
Hyundai - Elantra & Sonata; Honda Accord; GM - Vectra; Ford - Mondeo;
Skoda - Octavia & Superb; Toyota Corolla & Camry; Daimler Chrysler C,E, & S Class;

A4/A5/A6
(Exec./Prem./Luxury)

C (Van Type)

Omni, Versa

MUV (Utility
Vehicles)

Gypsy, Grand
Vitara

Mitsubishi - Pajero; Hyundai Terracan & Tucson; Ford - Endeavor;


Toyota - Prado & Innova; Nissan - X
Trail; Honda - CRV; GM - Forrester &
Tavera; Tata - Sumo & Safari;
Mahindra - Jeeps, Scorpio, & Bolero

COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS

MUL believes that they are well positioned to maintain and enhance their leadership position
in the small car segment in India, while continuing to offer products in most segments of the
Indian market, on account of their competitive strengths, which include the following:
Expertise in small car technology: As a subsidiary of Suzuki, they have access to
globally respected technology in the small car segment. They have the advantage of
Suzukis expertise in all aspects of small car technology and design, with respect to
their products, their manufacturing processes and business practices, the development
of their supply chain and the training of their personnel.
Extensive product portfolio: Their diverse product range includes cars in segments
A, B and C, and utility vehicles. They manufactured five out of the ten models that
were sold in the combined A and B segments in India in fiscal 2002. They are the only
manufacturer of cars in segment A (priced below Rs.300,000) where they have two
models, the Maruti 800 and the Omni. The Maruti 800 has been the largest selling car
in India for several years, and continued to have the highest sales volumes of any
model, with a market share of 25.3%. The Omni, a versatile vehicle that can seat more
passengers than the Maruti 800 or be used as an ambulance or cargo vehicle, had a
market share of 10.5% in fiscal 2002. They are also the only manufacturer to sell three
distinct models, the Zen, the Alto and the Wagon R, in segment B (priced between
Rs.300,000 and Rs.500,000). They believe that theirdominance in segment A and
extensive product range in segment B enables us to offer the customer a wider choice
in the small car segment than any of their competitors. In addition, the absence of
other manufacturers in segments A gives their dealers greater flexibility in promoting
models in segment B.
Quality products: In November 2001, they were one of the first automobile
manufacturers in the world to receive the ISO 9001:2000 certification. They began to
export products in 1988, primarily in order to benchmark our products against
international quality standards. They have exported products to approximately 70

countries, including countries in Western Europe. Their products for export are
manufactured using the same assembly line as our products for the domestic market.
Extensive sales and service network: They believe that they have the largest network
of dealers and service centers amongst car manufacturers in India. As of March 31,
2003, we had 178 authorized dealers with 243 sales outlets in 161 cities. They
estimate their car parc to be in excess of 3.5 million vehicles. To service this car parc,
at March 31, 2003, they had 342 dealer workshops and 1,545 Maruti Authorized
Service Stations, or MASSs, which covered 898 cities in India backed by Express
Service Centers on 30 highways across the country. In addition to the distribution of
their cars, their dealership network is a critical resource in our efforts to provide
customers with a one-stop shop for automobiles and automobile related products
and services such as automobile finance, automobile insurance, Maruti-certified preowned cars available for purchase, and leasing and fleet management, in order to
promote customer loyalty.
Brand strength: They have been present in the Indian market for almost twenty years
and have built their brand on the basis of the values of trust and reliability. Most of
their principal competitors have been present in the Indian passenger car market for a
significantly shorter period. Certain manufacturers have ceased to manufacture certain
products shortly after introducing them, or have left the market altogether. In contrast,
they continue to support the maintenance of their products. This has contributed to the
strength of their brand. In 2000, 2001 and 2002, J. D. Power Asia Pacific, Inc. ranked
us No. 1 in the India Customer Satisfaction Index, which assesses customer
satisfaction with product quality and dealer service. They believe that this was the first
time that a volume leader in the automobile industry anywhere in the world was
ranked first on the JD Power Customer Satisfaction Index. NFO Automotives 2002
Total Customer Satisfaction Survey ranked Maruti products as No. 1 in the
Economy, Premium Compact and Entry Midsize segments respectively, for
2002.
Integrated manufacturing facility: Their manufacturing facility comprises three
integrated plants with flexible assembly lines located at Gurgaon in the northern state
of Haryana. Their facility has advanced engineering capability and each plant is
upgraded on an ongoing basis to improve productivity and quality. As a result, their
first plant set up in fiscal 1984 is technologically at par with their newer plants and is

also used in the production of their new models. They believe that they are one of the
most efficient among the vehicle manufacturing facilities of Suzukis subsidiaries
outside Japan in terms of productivity measured as the ratio of number of vehicles
produced to number of employees. They have an installed capacity of 350,000
vehicles per year, which is the highest among passenger car manufacturers in India
and among the passenger car manufacturing facilities of Suzukis subsidiaries outside
Japan. They have consistently produced in excess of their installed capacity in the five
fiscal years ended March 31, 002.
They believe that they would be able to expand their production to 500,000 cars per
year with minimal additional capital expenditure. This would enable them to benefit
from significant economies of scale.
Strong vendor base and higher rates of localization: They work closely with their
vendor base for the supply of raw materials, components and spare parts of their
products. In order to improve quality and generate economies of scale, they have
reduced the number of their vendors of components in India from 370 as of March 31,
2000 to 299 as of March 31, 2003, and intend to continue to reduce the number of our
vendors. 113 of their vendors at March 31, 2003 were in technical collaboration with
foreign entities. As of the same date, we had strategic equity interests through joint
venture agreements in 13 of their vendors, who together supply a substantial portion
of their purchases of components. A number of their vendors are their dedicated
suppliers in that they account for a majority of their turnover. Vendors located within a
radius of 100 kilometers from their facility supply the majority of their components.
The production systems of their vendors are generally aligned to their need for a
reliable and timely supply of components that meet their quality requirements. This
has enabled them to increase the proportion of locally sourced, lower cost components
in their models, a concept they refer to as localisation. They have been able, in
collaboration with their vendors, to increase the rate at which they are able to localise
production of their new models over time. This has helped them reduce the cost of
their components.
Skilled labour and experienced management : Thei highly skilled labour force has
become increasingly productive in terms of vehicles produced per employee and
receives training on an ongoing basis, including training by Suzuki. As of March 31,
2003, 1,900 of their employees had been trained at Suzukis facilities in Japan. They

have been present in the Indian passenger car market for a significantly longer period
than most of their principal competitors. As a result, they have been able to build a
highly experienced management team that is familiar with conditions in the Indian
passenger car market. For instance, their managing director has almost ten years of
experience with them, and most of the heads of their divisions have more than 15
years of experience with them.
Capital resources: They have cash and bank balances and current investments
amounting to Rs.9,992 million. As of the same date, they had relatively low levels of
outstanding indebtedness, in the amount of Rs.4,555 million. As a result, they have
relatively low interest expense and flexibility to raise funds, if necessary, for their
working capital and capital expenditure in the future.

BUSINESS STRATEGY
They intend to continue to focus on the small car segment, while offering products in
most segments of the Indian passenger car market. They aim to achieve their principal
objectives by pursuing the following business strategies:
Maintain and enhance their product range: They intend to utilize Suzukis expertise
in small car technology to produce new variants of their existing models and to
upgrade their products with contemporary technology and features.
Increase reach and penetration: They plan to continue to utilize their extensive sales
and service network to increase the reach, in terms of geographical spread, and
penetration, in terms of sales volumes, of their products across India.
Increased availability of automobile finance: They continue to seek opportunities to
expand the size of the Indian passenger car market, especially in the small car
segment, through facilitating easy availability of automobile finance. To that end, they
have recently entered into an agreement with the State Bank of India.
Secure repeat purchases by offering a 360 degree customer experience : On the
basis of their belief that securing repeat purchases from an existing customer requires
less expenditure than acquiring a new customer, they aim to provide customers with a
one-stop shop for automobiles and automobile-related products and services.
Continue to benchmark their manufacturing capabilities: They plan to continue to
benchmark our manufacturing capabilities with the most efficient car manufacturing
facilities of Suzuki and its subsidiaries.
Continue to reduce costs to offer more competitive products:
Cost competitiveness has been, and continues to be, central to their strategy as the
leading manufacturer in the small car segment to expand the size of the market by
offering competitively priced, high quality products. The components of this strategy
are:

Higher levels of localization

Vendor participation in cost reduction

Cost reduction on warranties

Reduction in initial investment cost

Reduction in number of vehicle platforms

Achieve further cost reduction through higher productivity

Lower cost of ownership:


Through their business strategies, they seek to reduce the consumers cost of
ownership of their cars, which comprises the cost of purchase, the cost of fuel and
maintenance, including spare parts and repairs, during the life of the vehicle,
insurance, and resale value.

SALES NETWORK
Dealers: They offer their products to the customer through a network of 178
authorized dealers with 243 sales outlets across 161 cities. They believe that this is the
largest network of dealers amongst car manufacturers in India. Their dealers employed
more than 3,500 sales executives. They are linked to their sales network through their
secure extranet-based information network. The sales of their spares, accessories and
automobile-related services such as insurance and finance serve as additional sources
of revenue for our dealers. They believe that the availability of these related products
and services at sales outlets also helps to attract customers to the outlets and promotes
sales of their cars.
Agreements with dealers: They generally appoint a limited number of dealers for a
certain geographical territory. Their dealers provide services to customers such as predelivery inspection of vehicles, sales of cars, after sales service, supply of spare parts
and other services that promote sales of cars within the territory for which they are
appointed. They have the right to sell their products and services through other dealers
or intermediaries in any territory, whether or not one of their dealers is already
established in that territory. Their dealers are required to maintain their outlets in
accordance with their specifications and employ well-trained sales staff.
Their agreements with their dealers usually have terms of five years. These
agreements are generally renewable for successive terms of three years, by mutual
agreement. The agreements typically permit termination by either the dealer or them
with six months prior notice.
Enhancing dealer performance: Their central office in Delhi, their regional offices and
their area offices monitor and assist their dealer network. They have nine regional
offices, five area offices and 187 sales and marketing personnel. They follow the
performance of their dealers and frequently suggest improvements. In order to assist
their dealers in enhancing their performance and capabilities, they have introduced a
concept of Balanced Scorecard. Using this tool, they seek to measure the
performance of a dealership in several areas of operations, including sales, service,
spares and accessories, financial management and management systems. They reward
dealers who perform well on the Balanced Scorecard with a cash payment at the end

of the fiscal year. They believe that the Balanced Scorecard serves as an effective
incentive for dealers to enhance their performance.
Dealer training: They have established standard operating procedures, showroom
ambience and service quality standards for dealerships. They provide periodic training
through their training centres located at their manufacturing facility and at Chennai,
Kolkata, Guwahati and Pune. They have trained more than 2,600 and 3,400 dealer
sales personnel. Their subsidiary, True Value Solutions Ltd., provides value-added
services, such as manpower recruitment and training, to their dealers.

AFTER-SALES SERVICE
Network
As on date there are 342 Maruti dealer workshops and 1,545 Maruti Authorised
Service Stations, or MASSs, covering 898 cities in India. In addition, 24-hour mobile
service is offered in 38 cities under the brand Maruti On-road Service. They intend
to extend this service to an additional 25 cities over the next three years. As a
benchmark for dealers with respect to service quality and infrastructure facilities, they
have launched service stations under the brand Maruti Service Masters, or MSMs, in
three locations in India. They have service stations on 30 highways in India under the
brand Express Service Stations.
To promote sales of their spare parts and the availability of high quality, reliable spare
parts for their products, they sell spares under the brand name Maruti Genuine Parts,
or MGP. These are distributed through their dealer network and through authorised
sellers of their spare parts, to whom they refer as stockists.
Many of their MASSs are at remote locations where they do not have dealers. In order
to increase the penetration, in terms of sales volumes, of their products in these remote
areas, they are exploring opportunities to integrate some of the MASSs into the sales
process in order to increase sales of their cars and related products and services such
as spares and accessories, insurance and financing.
Genuine Accessories
They have also entered the business of marketing car accessories under the brand
name Maruti Genuine Accessories, or MGA, through their dealership network. They
seek to provide customers with the opportunity to customize their vehicles with

accessories such as music systems, security systems, car-care products and utility
products.
Warranty and Extended Warranty Program
They offer a two-year warranty on all their vehicles at the time of sale. Their dealers
are required to address any claim made by a customer, in accordance with practices
and procedures prescribed by them, under the provisions of the warranty in force at
that time. The dealers subsequently claim the warranty cost from them. They analyse
warranty claims from dealers and either claim the cost from vendors, in the case of
defective components, or bear the cost ourselves, in the case of manufacturing defects.
They offer an extended paid-warranty program marketed under the brand, Forever
Yours for the third and fourth year after purchase. They have entered into
arrangements with insurance companies to cover the costs of warranties offered under
this program. The extended warranty program is intended to maintain the dealers
contact with the customer and increase the revenue generated from sale of spares,
accessories and automobile-related services. An effort is made during the period of the
extended warranty to encourage the customer to exchange his existing Maruti car for a
new Maruti car, or upgrade to a new Maruti car.

NEW BUSINESS INITIATIVES


As the largest manufacturer and leader in the small car segment, they continually seek new
ways to utilize their vast car parc, range of products and extensive sales and service network
to expand the size of the passenger car market in India. They have recently launched new
initiatives to develop the market for automobile insurance, automobile finance, leasing and
fleet management, and pre-owned cars. They aim to provide customers with a one-stop
shop for automobiles and automobile-related products and services, and build on their wide
customer base and extensive sales and service network to make available to their customers a
wide range of Maruti-branded services at different stages of ownership, which they refer to as
the 360 degree customer experience.
Atithi Devo Bhava: One-stop shop
Inspired by the spirit of India. Atithi Devo Bhava, in Sanskirit, means a guest is like God. It
captures the Indian tradition of honouring guests. It's also the inspiration for the welcome
youll receive at a Maruti Suzuki dealership, and the caring relationship they share with those
who drive their cars. At Maruti Suzuki, you will find all your car related needs met under one
roof. Whether it is easy finance, insurance, fleet management. services, exchange Maruti
Suzuki is set to provide a single window solution for all your car related needs.
That's why they have Maruti True Value, the best place to buy and sell reliable used
cars. Maruti Finance an agglomeration of the biggest finance companies in India
brought together by Maruti Suzuki to ensure that the dream car is within everyone's
reach. Similarly, Maruti Insurance brings together some of the biggest names in the
car insurance industry to provide insurance solutions to every type of car consumer.
Then, finally, there is N2N, which offers fleet related solutions.

THE PLAYERS IN THE INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Hyundai Motor India Ltd


Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor
Company, South Korea and is the second largest and the fastest growing car manufacturer in
India. HMIL presently markets 31 variants of passenger cars in six segments. The Santro in
the B segment, Getz in the B+ segment, the Accent in the C segment, the Elantra in the D
segment, the Sonata Embera in the E segment and the Tucson and Terracan in the SUV
segment.
The company recorded combined sales of 252,851 during calendar year 2005 with a growth
of 17.26% over year 2004. HMIL is India's fastest growing car company having rolled-out
over 970,000 cars in just over 80 months since its inception and is the largest exporter of
passenger cars with exports of over Rs. 1,800 crores. HMIL has recorded a growth of 27.2%
in exports over the year 2004.
HMILs fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts some of the
most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. In continuation of
its investment in providing the Indian customer global technology, HMIL has announced
plans for its second plant, which will produce 300,000 units per annum, raising HMILs total
production capacity to 600,000 per annum by 2007. The plant will be built on a 2.1 million
square meter site adjacent to the existing facility .HMIL is investing to expand capacity in
line with its positioning as HMCs global export hub for compact cars. Apart from expansion
of production capacity, HMIL plans to expand its dealer network, which will be increased
from 157 to 200 this year. And with the companys greater focus on the quality of its aftersales service, HMILs service network will be expanded to over 1,000 in 2006.
The year 2005 has been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. It achieved a significant
milestone by rolling out the fastest 200,000th export car. HMIL exports to around 60
countries globally and recently made a foray into the highly competitive UK market by
exporting its first shipment of 820 cars.

Propelled by the strong performance in year 2005, Hyundai Motor India is on the threshold of
yet another grand milestone of rolling out its One millionth car which is expected soon.

Tata Motors
Tata Motors is one of the largest companies in the Tata Group with a total income of
US$ 2.35 billion. More than 3 million Tata vehicles ply on Indian roads making Tata a
dominant force in the Indian automobile industry.
Tata Motors is India's only fully integrated automobile manufacturer with a portfolio
that covers trucks, buses, utility vehicles and passenger cars. It would be no
exaggeration to say that Tata Motors provides the wheels for India's growth.
Tata Motors has the unique distinction of giving India its first and only indigenously built
passenger car - The Tata Indica and the premium feature sedan - The Tata Indigo. The Indica,
launched in 1998, reached the 2,50,000 sales mark within 52 months of launch.
Tata Motors owes its leading position in the Indian automobile industry to its strong focus on
indigenisation. This focus has driven the Company to set up world-class manufacturing units
with state-of-the-art technology. Every stage of product evolution-design, development,
manufacturing, assembly and quality control, is carried out meticulously. Their
manufacturing plants are situated at Jamshedpur in the East, Pune in the West and Lucknow
in the North.

Ford India Limited


The Ford Motor Company has a rich legacy of translating better motoring ideas to the roads.
It has manufactured notable brands such as the Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and the Jaguar. It is
among the top five industrial corporations in the world and is available in more than 200
countries around the world.

Ford has entered the Indian market through a tie - up with Mahindra Motors to manufacture
the Ford Escort. A project that has been set up with a investment of Rs.1700 crore. Ford India
Limited is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, currently Ford has a 78% stake, which is
going up to 92% soon. The Maraimalai Nagar Plant of Ford India Limited, located roughly
45k.m.from Chennai, provides employment to over 20000 people.The plant has the capacity
to manufacture 1,00,000 vehicles per annum, equipped with state-of-the-art vehicle
manufacturing

technology

from

Ford.

Presently offering seven different models, Ford India Limited (FIL) is catching up fast with
the Indian consumer. This is secured through a quality check program based on the principles
of NOVA - C (New Overall Vehicle Audit - Customer) wherein daily random checks are
conducted from a customer's point of view. To be doubly sure, routine calls are made to
dealerships to check the quality of cars delivered to them.
At Mahindra's dealerships are present trained professionals who provide the best
levels of service in India. Its intensive manpower training, advanced service
equipment and dedicated consumer satisfaction are the are its plus points which is
being followed by the entire industry.
Acknowledgement has come in the form of the J D power 1997 India Initial Quality and
Customer Satisfaction Awards. These internationally acclaimed and recognized awards voted
the Ford Escort as the Best Quality car and the Mahindra Ford and its dealerships were rated
the highest in Customer Satisfaction. This is an honour as it its only the second time in
automotive history that the same brand/manufacturer has received both the awards in the
same year.

General Motors India


General Motors India, incorporated in 1994 as a 50-50 joint venture company with the C.K.
Birla Group of Companies, became a fully owned subsidiary of GM in 1999 when GMOC
bought the remaining shares. The company was restructured in 1999 and was converted from
a Public Limited company to a Private Limited company. GM APH LLC currently holds 86
percent of voting shares, and Holden (Australia) holds 14 percent. The SPO business was
integrated with the main business in the same company in 2000.

In India, GM strengthened its presence with new product launches Chevrolet Optra in 2003
and Chevrolet Tavera (Multi Utility Vehicle) in 2004. Similarly in 2004, GM India is
expected to register a growth of 90% over 2003. With sales volume going up, the market
share of GM India has gone to nearly 2%. The sales volume in 2003 was 15,155 units while
2004 figure is expected to be around 27,000 units. In 2004, the company sold a total of
26,166 cars as against 15,155 cars in 2003 registering a growth of 73% while overall
passenger car growth during the year was only around 23-24%. These included 9191 Chevy
Optras in Entry 'D' Luxury sedan segment, 8369 Opel Corsas and 8417 units of the new
generation premium multi-utility vehicle (MUV) Chevrolet Tavera.
The existing GM India plant was originally built by Hindustan Motors. In 1994, GM India
entered into a 50% Joint Venture partnership with Hindustan Motors and modernized the
45,000-square-meter plant near Halol, 45 kilometers northwest of Vadodara, in the western
state of Gujarat. In February, 1999, GM bought the holdings of Hindutan Motors and GM
India became a 100% subsidiary of General Motors Corporation of USA. The plant produces
the Opel Corsa, Corsa Sail, Chevrolet Optra, and Chevrolet Tavera. The Chevrolet Forester
and Opel Vectra are sold as CBUs (Completely Built in Units) and as imported from Japan
and Germany respectively.
Toyota Motor Corporation is the third largest automaker in the world. They have 34
dealers in India and in Delhi they have 2 dealers, first one is South Delhi Toyota and
second one is in Moti Nagar in which I have visited during my survey. Dealer in Moti
Nagar which is Galaxy Toyota have predetermined mission that-Customer comes
first and everything they do is to meet their customer needs, basically they work for
creating a lifetime customer.
They work by dividing their work like in one showroom they have separate teams for
every product like relating to Corolla it comprises of 7 or 8 executives who handle all
the work weather it is of sale or any enquiry or telemarketing call that team must have
some specific target to achieve. They reach to the customers either by distributing
Leaflets, Brochures to the customers. They collect customer database from Directory
(Yellow Pages) or through customer references even they solve customers query
online and give information through e-mails. Recently they organized one drawing
competition between the kids of their existing customers just to interact with the
customer and build loyalty of their company products. They judge their customer

satisfaction by analyzing that repeat buyers are more or not & moreover they have
customer feedback form in which they can analyze customers background and can
forecast customer future demands. They target only high profile customers.
They build customer loyalty by giving happy calls to the customer after sale of every
1,3,7 month. They provide Periodic maintenance schedule, which will ensure that
vehicle, is kept in best able-bodied at all times. The maintenance schedule may
include periodic inspection, adjustment and lubrication that will keep vehicle in the
safest and most efficient condition, they provide one booklet in which they give
simple and useful tips for maintenance of the car. They offer good schemes like
providing free Test Drive worth Rs 250 petrol at the time of sale of any car. They do
road shows to attract customers. To promote their product they organize exchange
mela, events, various cash discounts like currently they are running one discount
scheme on purchase of any of their car (Innova, Toyota) they are giving free
accessories worth Rs15000. They provide 4 free services after sale and with full clean
diesel.
All employees of Galaxy Toyota shall consider how they should act and how they
might change their ways to benefit the company. They launch one Co Branded Credit
Card to provide additional benefits and services to the Toyota customers. This Credit
Card will give Toyota customers a better payment flexibility and convenience, like
Customer gets free service voucher with the card, Special Invite to co-sponsored
events, Personal accident insurance coverage: Up to 20 lakhs etc. They have one Guest
Book in which they store valuable comments of customers, which they think are very
important for them, which will help them to improve their service.

HONDA
Honda is one of the leading manufacturers of automobiles and power products and the largest
manufacture of motorcycles in the world. They have 20 dealers in 42 different cities around
India. In New Delhi they have 6 dealers, I have visited one of them, which is in Najafgarh
Road.
They do surveys to know customers need. They target either existing or their perspective
customers by giving advertisement in the newspaper or through there satisfied customers

which give references. They dont believe on targeting competitors customers because by not
doing so they have such a brand reputation with good quality products, only through this they
are able to make good sales.
They display their models in 8th Auto Expo, which held in New Delhi. They are now
focusing on their new model Civic. Honda's Civic perhaps drew the maximum
attention. The reason is simple: Civic is a new car from the house of Honda. During
my survey I get to know that Honda City Model is the second largest selling car in the
C segment. They have a good superiority with superior brand name in the country.
They prefer to have mode of communication with the customer through mail,
telephone and sometimes by letter. Customers who dont have time even to see the
model or to call the dealer to make inquiries about their reservation they desire to
solve their query online itself.
To judge customer satisfaction they some times invite their customers to have a get together,
to have interaction with customer in a minute to know that are they satisfied with their
services and what they are expecting from them in the near future. They make maximum of
their sales from the fresh customers rather than their repeat purchasers. To increase their sales
they try to extort surreptitious information from the customers and on their end they aim to
ensure that the product quality and product quantity should be available in required quantity
in their dealership.
They have Feedback form in which they take feedback of the customer as well as their
salesperson because through this they are able to get the information of both the customer &
their salesperson that are they giving the full information to the customer. This Dealership
even provide technical skills and techniques to their employees that how to deal with the
customer thoughtfully every after 6 months.

NEED FOR CRM IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY


The global automotive industry exhibits most of the characteristics of mature industries and
closely follows their business cycles. While vehicle industry sales have been strong for the
past several years, they have started to slow recently due to the current global economic
slowdown. Deteriorating economic conditions result in a drop in consumer confidence, which
quickly impacts automotive sales due to their big-ticket status and the relative low cost of
extending the life of an existing vehicle through maintenance and repair.
The advent of the Internet as a research tool (75 to 80 percent of auto consumers research
using the Internet) has shifted power to consumers, further increasing pressure on prices. At
the same time, government regulation and consumer demands for sophisticated features have
increased development, production, and marketing costs. Regional economic fluctuations
favor consolidation among car companies, suppliers, and retailers -resulting in fewer, larger
companies that have more complete product lines targeted at existing and new markets.
Consolidation has heightened competition in all vehicle segments. Low-cost manufacturers
are expanding beyond their home markets with entry level vehicles, traditional passenger car
manufacturers are expanding into the light truck markets, and luxury manufacturers are
moving down market with passenger cars and SUVs. As a result of these product and market
extensions, consumers find it difficult to exhibit brand loyalty because vehicles have unclear
brand identities, similar features, and comparable prices. In addition, an overpopulation of
dealers has resulted in local and regional competition among same make dealers. This further
reduces margins and damages the brand images the car companies spend large amounts of
money to build.
Relations between the car companies and their suppliers traditionally have been difficult. In
response to competitive pressure, suppliers have been forced by the car companies to provide
higher-quality components at constantly lower costs. The resulting decrease in margins and
the reduction in volume due to slowing sales have increased the pressure to consolidate and
forced some suppliers to the brink of bankruptcy. Dealers too have a long history of
adversarial relationships with the car companies. Independent entrepreneurs who view some
of the car companies with skepticism or serious mistrust, dealers believe that many
manufacturer-sponsored customer satisfaction programs are actually designed to force

smaller dealers out of business or to gain control of customer relationships that the retailers
believe they "own."
These difficult relationships have prevented car companies and dealers from maximizing the
lifetime value of their combined customers. There are few incentives or efficient methods for
dealers and car companies to share critical data, resulting in ineffective management of
product, service, and household information. In addition, consumers receive conflicting
marketing communications from the two groups, which results in reduced brand value.

KEY INDUSTRY PAIN POINTS

Decreasing sales and market share - The long-term battle for market share
continues to intensify. In the mature automotive industry, where business cycles
drive sales fluctuations, market share is critical to survival. Consumers are less
brand-loyal than in the past, and every market segment has an increasing
number of vehicle choices. To increase sales and gain ground in the market
share battle, companies must improve their ability both to acquire first-time
customers and to develop customer loyalty to their current brands. To achieve
these related objectives, companies must set an aggressive goal -deliver the
best customer experience in the automotive industry.

Difficult dealer relationships and a lack of dealer collaboration - As the


consumer 's primary touch point ,the dealer network is a critical component of
customer-facing operations. Therefore, the integration of the dealer network is
absolutely essential to improving the quality of the customer experience. Only
with an infrastructure that enables the effective flow of information to and from
dealers can companies create a complete view of their customers. Car
companies must take the initiative in understanding the customer 's perspective
throughout the buying cycle.

Lack of multichannel capabilities - With the advent of the Internet as a


research tool, the majority of customers are accessing the automotive
enterprises through several different channels. Many times, the switch between

channels happens very rapidly as a prospect or customer can view a Web site,
make a phone inquiry, and visit a retail store within days or even hours of an
initial contact. To improve customer satisfaction and secure customer lifetime
value, companies must be able to capture these multiple interactions, provide
seamless management between channels, and leverage shared customer
information to create rewarding experiences and to develop and execute highly
targeted marketing campaigns.

Inefficient demand chain planning and high associated IT cost - Cost


reduction is an ongoing competitive requirement. Just as supply chain
management must be supported by a sophisticated information infrastructure,
effective demand chain management also requires the right supporting
infrastructure, enabling car companies to fully leverage each customer
relationship through exceptional customer service, efficient lead generation and
management, and effective promotions and campaigns. In addition, global
automotive enterprises operate a wide variety of IT systems in their various
business units and functional groups. Rationalizing these systems offers
significant cost savings.

Lack of effective information sharing - Car companies must integrate global


operations in order to achieve the benefits of consolidation -cost reduction,
effective communication, and true integration of core competencies. In
addition, internal alignment between business units and functional groups is
required to create a unified view of consumers, products, and services.
Currently, each business unit, functional group, and brand operates through
independent systems, programs, and touch points. As a result, there is limited
synergy across the ecosystem, leading to significant inefficiencies, lack of
coordination, and most important, an inability to maximize "share of wallet
"from every customer through well-targeted marketing and cross-selling.
Synergy between traditionally independent business units such as captive
finance companies and between functional groups such as sales, service, and
marketing is more critical now than ever before. Only by sharing customer
information can customer lifetime value be maximized among different groups.

Complex data governance requirements - Global automotive enterprises have


large,

complex

information

technology

ecosystems.

While

customer

information must be shared within this ecosystem in order to fully maximize


global operations, it must also be protected. Proper management of customer
information requires a sophisticated capability to manage a variety of access
rules and to accommodate legal restrictions that can change very quickly. The
trust required for successful collaboration between groups in the automotive
enterprise must be built by demonstrating that customer information can be
shared while observing these complex requirements.

Difficulty managing employee relationships - In today 's fast-paced business


environment, automotive companies need to ensure that their most valuable
asset -their employees -have immediate access to the critical information,
services, and applications required to be productive. Organizations must enable
employees to make better decisions, work collaboratively, enhance customer
relationships, and maximize productive time. Global automotive enterprises
must be able to enact and enforce consistent policies across business units,
instill a common corporate culture across a geographically dispersed and
diverse workforce, equip employees with effective search tools to access
corporate knowledge bases, and provide employees with the training necessary
to service customers in a volatile and demanding market.

Target Marketing Procedure Of Various Companies


TARGET SEGMENT
To reach to rural and lower middle class consumers. They begin with small
concentrated markets appealing to local culture and aspirations of the targeted
area

STRATEGY
THEIR STRATEGY IS TO CAPTURE THE RURAL MARKET BY EMPLOYING
WOMEN WHO BELONG TO THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY THROUGH
WHICH THEIR PRODUCT CAN REACH TO LOCAL CONSUMERS. THEIR
STRATEGY IS TO PROVIDE WORK FOR WOMEN TO CREATE
AWARENESS AMONG CONFINED CONSUMERS

Process
They started with Project Shakti in which their basic aim is to educate a rural person about their
products through women who belongs to their own local community and who can communicate
well in their language with them. In this way many educated women get work in rural sector and
on the other hand HLL Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) also increases towards society by
introducing educative programs for the benefit of the rural sector

Mode of Communication
They reach to customers by giving advertisements in the T.V. or through radio, through wall
painting, or through promotional activities like weakly haats, mela or local bazaars and most
importantly, their policies were flexible and they could adapt to fast changing marketing
situations.
Through Internet, E-mail usage, communication media like telephone and mail facility this
mode of communication is possible to a great extent. ITCs extensive India-wide distribution
network enables its greeting cards reach over 12,000 multi brand outlets in over 700 cities
across the country. In the last three years, 10,000 greeting card designs have reached these
outlets with the help of ITC's web-enabled e-commerce model Communication Model ITC
markets

Opportunity

These days consumers are looking for convenience and instant gratification.
Communication media like the telephone and e-mail facilitate communication to a
great extent. But many greeting card sites are moving from a 'free' to a 'pay' mode.
This could be an emerging revenue earning opportunity for content providers.

Threats
'Expressions' which is a competitor of ITC in this segment is currently the second biggest
greeting card brand in India with a market share of 20 per cent. ITC has a five per cent share
in the stationery market. The greeting card market in India is estimated to be around Rs. 250
crore in terms of yearly consumer spent. The unorganized sector in the greeting card market
will be close to 40 per cent. The organized sector, controlling 60 per cent of the market, is
divided between ITC, Archies and Hallmark. While Archies has licensing agreements with
international greetings brands

FINDINGS FROM SURVEY


Total Number of Respondents: 15 Officials
Number of Respondents
5
2
2
5
1

Maruti Udyog Limited


Hyundai Motors India Ltd
General Motors
Tata Motors
Ford India Limited

Do you face problems in maintaining good and effective


relationships with customers?

Maruti
Udyog
Limited
Hyundai Motors
India Ltd
General Motors
Tata Motors
Ford
India
Limited

Quite
Frequently
2

Frequently

Average

Rarely

3
-

2
2
1

Rarely
0%

Frequently
67%

Average
0%

Quite
Frequently
33%

Findings: According to the responses of the respondents it can be concluded that all the
respondents face problems in maintaining good and effective relationships with customers.
With changing customer needs its quite obvious that maintaining good relations with
customers need an effort on part of the Dealers and Manufacturers.

How well can your company identify its end user


customers?

Maruti Udyog Limited: According to the officials of MUL, the companys


endeavor is to be close to the customer, to anticipate and fulfill their needs. They
believe that the new business initiatives taken by MUL have expanded the scope of
this relationship. Maruti offers auto insurance, auto finance, corporate lease and
fleet management and resale of pre-owned cars in partnership with its dealers. For
the first time, car customers in India are able to access these services through a
one-stop shop, backed by the leader brand. The way they look at it is that this will
provide complete mobility solutions to the Maruti customer. This also enables
them to extend their relationship with the customer beyond the point of purchase
to the entire ownership life cycle. Since these services play a vital role in the car
customer's ownership experience, the new initiatives enable them to offer Maruti
owners greater value, assurance and convenience.
Hyundai Motors India Ltd: According to the officials of Hyundai Motor India is at
a very exciting stage in India today. They are experiencing tremendous growth which is a true sign of enjoying customer confidence. In order to strengthen their
position further in the Indian market, they need to continuously work on building
their corporate reputation while aggressively positioning their products. For HMI's
focus and commitment to the Indian automobile customers is of critical
importance. Its been their continuous endeavor to fulfill the entire spectrum of
customer needs and desires, across all socio-economic & lifestyle groups. They
have therefore, in just 6 years of HMI's young life, established nationwide sales &
service network, scaled up state-of-the-art manufacturing capacity, launched
global-standard cars in rapid succession and exported cars made-in-India across the
globe. Getz, a much admired lifestyle brand in Europe and elsewhere, is a step in

the same direction and is a cutting-edge, addition to HMI's extensive product


portfolio.
General Motors: According to the officials at General Motors is positioned as a
mature and responsible car manufacturer, which offers great value-for-money
products to its customers. The company leverages its global expertise to
manufacture and market well engineered and safe products through its wellestablished retail network that provide an excellent ownership experience to its
customers.
Tata Motors: According to the officials of Tata Motors the foundation of the
companys growth over the last 50 years is a deep understanding of economic
stimuli and customer needs, and the ability to translate them into customer-desired
offerings through leading edge R&D.
Ford India Limited: According to the officials of Ford India has reaffirmed its
commitment to enhancing the purchase and ownership experience for its customers
with the rollout of Ford Brand@Retail concept across the country. Ford India has
been revamping all dealerships under the Ford Brand@ Retail, a global corporate
identity program to offer a world-class purchase experience to the customer. Ford
India continues to expand its distribution network and will grow to 115 dealer
outlets in 79 locations by the end of 2005. The officials also mentioned that Ford
India provides training support to dealers in areas including customer satisfaction,
sales, technical and non-technical aspects of the business and in the financial
management of the dealership.

Can your company differentiate its customers based on their


value to you and their needs from you?
Maruti Udyog Limited
Hyundai Motors India
Ltd
General Motors
Tata Motors
Ford India Limited

Yes
5
2

No
-

2
5
1

No
0%

Yes
100%

Findings: According to the respondents (officials) at all the Five Automobile Majors their
company was able to differentiate its customers based on their value to them and their needs
from the company. This is important for the automobile industry because the dynamics of
selling cars is changing and manufacturers and dealers who fail to meet the rising needs and
expectations of their customers will lose out to those who can. Buying a new car is an
experience customer will remember for a long time and ensuring that this experience is a
satisfactory one is essential in building brand loyalty and customer advocacy.

How well do you interact with your customers?


Maruti Udyog Limited: According to the officials of MUL, their overall strength lies in
building an organization that is sharply focused on the voice of the customer. Maruti's
consistent performance over the past several years has resulted in a steady increase in the
percentage of its customers who say they intend to remain loyal to the brand. n order to be
closer to the customers, it is essential that we should have multiple avenues of one-to-one
interaction with our customers. As a major step in this direction they have started Call
Center service with toll-free number for the people of National Capital Region in year
2000. This service, named Anytime Maruti, is now available nation-wide. Customers in
over 700 cities/towns across India can contact them any time during the day and all days
of the week. The toll-free service is 1800 1800 180, it is accessible from any fixed-line or
mobile phone of BSNL/MTNL network across the nation. The Anytime Maruti Callcenter can also be accessed using telephones on other networks by dialing 09811801515

(not toll-free). The objective of this service is to ensure that customers have quick and
easy access to all information on their models, prices, dealers, value added services,
finance options, and the locations of our numerous service stations. Anytime Maruti helps
customers to learn more about their Maruti Cars and also about other services offered by
Maruti. For prospective buyers, Anytime Maruti can help them deciding amongst various
Maruti Models and benefits of buying from Maruti.
Hyundai Motors India Ltd: According to the officials at HMI The Company has set
up more than 70 dealer workshops that are equipped with the latest technology,
machinery, and international quality press, body and paint shops, across the
country, thereby providing a one-stop shop for a Hyundai customer. Hyundai also
has a fleet of 78 emergency road service cars - specially equipped Santro that can
provide emergency service to all its customers anytime, anywhere. The customers
can also call on 1800-11-4645 (Toll Free - Only from MTNL & BSNL numbers)
011- 26924645 (For all GSM Connections / Landline other than MTNL & BSNL
numbers) for any queries & customer complaints.
General Motors: According to the official at GM, to bring greater value and service
to customers, they have introduced the GM Service Plus a unique cluster of
services, designed to compliment every aspect of owning a car and ensuring
complete peace of mind. So be it emergency assistance, an urgent car servicing or
even sourcing genuine accessories, Customers can be assured of yet another great
moment from General Motors. For any car related query or emergency
requirement, customers can call 24-hour assistance at 30308080. The unique 3hour service programme comes with a promise of servicing your car in just 3
hours, or you get the service free. With their 24-hour workshops, customers can
now conveniently get their car serviced, when they use it the least. Widespread
sales and service outlets across the country ensure that you have the assurance of
great service wherever you travel in India.
Tata Motors: according to the officials of Tata Motors the company has
strengthened its distribution and customer care network and today has 77 dealers
and 230 authorized service outlets spread across 119 locations in India.
Ford India Limited: According to the officials at Ford solutions aims to provide
quality, peace-of-mind products for the customer and embodies a brand

synonymous with its ability to provide products that can be tailored to suit one's
individual needs. Ford Solutions serve to develop products for Ford and the Dealer
body that enhance customer satisfaction. When your vehicle needs a repair or a
component replaced, you need Quality Care service. Your Ford Dealership is
simply the best place to have your vehicle serviced. Brakes, shocks, batteries or
anything your vehicle may need, your dealership is the place to get it. Customers
can place a online service request at Ford.

How well does your company customize its products and services based on
what it knows about its customers?

Maruti Udyog
Limited
Hyundai
Motors India
Ltd
General
Motors
Tata Motors
Ford
Limited

India

Highly
Customer
centric
5

Somewhat
Customer
centric
-

Not Customer
centric

Not Customer
centric
0%

Somewhat
Customer centric
0%

Highly Customer
centric
100%

Findings: All the officials of the Automobile Majors agree that all products and services are
highly customer centric and based on the information they know about

the

customers.

Does the company have established quality assurance processes?


Maruti Udyog Limited
Hyundai Motors India
Ltd
General Motors
Tata Motors
Ford India Limited

Yes
5
2

No
-

2
5
1

No
0%

Yes
100%

Findings: According to all the respondents their respective companies have established
quality assurance processes.

Does the company take customers' needs into consideration when selecting
and implementing technology?
Maruti Udyog Limited
Hyundai Motors India
Ltd
General Motors
Tata Motors
Ford India Limited

Yes
5
2

No
-

2
5
1

No
0%

Yes
100%

Findings: According to all the respondents their respective companies take customers' needs
into consideration when selecting and implementing technology.
As per officials of GM the Tavera is a classic case of an India-specific product. Though it is
an international product, the car has been totally re-engineered for Indian market
requirements.
At Hyundai Segment-needs and budgets are specific and a suitable variant strategy is
inevitably required to meet different segment-needs and to be a volume player in the
segment. The variants are decided after considerable research. They have been
targeted at different segments and they presently witness a healthy mix. As this
segment evolves they rationalise the variant strategy and add or delete variants to meet
market requirements. They have put in place a customer contact programme where
they interact with customers in groups as well at an individual level at regular
intervals to assess their needs and overall experience with their product.

The typical Indian consumer looks for value and does not mind paying a little more
for it. Fuel efficiency, airconditioning and reliability along with ease of service and
low cost of ownership are major considerations during the purchase process in India.

Does the company provide its employees with technology that enables
them to help customers?
Maruti Udyog Limited
Hyundai Motors India
Ltd
General Motors
Tata Motors
Ford India Limited

Yes
5
2

No
-

2
5
1

No
0%

Yes
100%

Findings: According to all the respondents the company provides its employees with
technology that enables them to help customers. Employee and Dealer Training is a
part of every company Customer Service Initiative. This enables them to provide the
customers with state of art products and service to customers.

Does the company maintain a strategy for collecting and


using information about customers?
Maruti Udyog Limited

Yes
5

No
-

Hyundai Motors India


Ltd
General Motors
Tata Motors
Ford India Limited

2
5
1

No
0%

Yes
100%

Findings: According to all the respondents they have proper information about their most
profitable customers.

Companies use Informal Meetings, Sales Interaction and calls to

collect relevant information needed to maintain good customer relationship. The most
effective companies like Tata Motors use all the above while most of other track the data
during sales interaction. All the Automobile majors surveyed used CRM software for tracking
Customer Information. According to the officials Customer and Supplier Feedback are
gathered through Call Centers, Mails and Direct Interviews. There are other methods too but
the above three are the most cost effective.
How effectively does the company combine information on
customers with its experiences to generate knowledge about its
customers?
Highly Effective
Maruti Udyog
Limited
Hyundai
Motors India

Not Effective

Somewhat
Effective
1

Ltd
General
Motors
Tata Motors

Ford
Limited

India

Somewhat effective
20%

Not Effective
0%

Highly Effective
80%

Findings: All the 80% officials of the Automobile Majors their company highly
effective in combining information on customers with its experiences to generate
knowledge about its customers while 20% said that the company was somewhat
effective.

What steps has the company taken to improve the total experience of its
customers?

According to the Maruti Udyog Limited Officials: Sales experience is the most
important factor, accounting for 37 per cent of the SSI score, and includes issues
such as fulfillment of commitments and lack of hassles during the sales process,
overall honesty and integrity of the dealership personnel and sufficient time to
make the decision. Maruti entered the Indian car market, to provide fuel efficient,
low-cost vehicles, which were reliable and of high quality. It also offered
customers a friendly sales and after sales service. With high customer satisfaction
ratio and Total automobile value these objectives shaped Maruti as big Giant in the
field of automobiles.
According to Hyundai Motors (India) Officials: Hyundai's big hit was its compact
family car named Santro which became a huge hit with its launch and capture
hearts of millions with increasing satisfied customers day by day. When Hyundai
forayed into the Indian market it moved quickly to set up a network of dealers and
service stations - it has close to 260 of the latter. Service was identified as a
powerful differentiator to the way things were done and word of mouth did the
rest. It was one of the ways to keep the Hyundai customer within our fold. Also,
these are advanced cars, which can't be repaired by a corner mechanic. Hyundai
offers service for less, it's easily reachable and allows flexibility and customers
appreciate that. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) launched Achieve Q1P1
quality campaign on March 24, 2006 primarily focusing on achieving the Global
No.1 Quality & Brand image. The campaign has been initiated across the Hyundai
vendor fraternity. This new initiative will strengthen the Vendor quality
organisation and will ensure the major part quality improvement such as Six Sigma
Activity, training and improve the Tier 2 suppliers. The campaign will also help the
suppliers to improve their 3C5S (3C Correct Container, Correct Quantity &
Correct Location and 5S Sorting, Systematizing, Shining, Standardizing & SelfDiscipline), TPM (Total Productivity Maintenance), benchmarking activities and
upgrade quality systems.

According to Ford India Limited officials: Presently Ford is offering seven different
models, Ford India Limited (FIL) is catching up fast with the Indian consumer. FIL
was the first subsidiary of a multinational car manufacturer in India to launch a car
designed specifically for India. They have consistently adapted the specification of the
Ikon to ensure it meets the needs of Indian consumers. They have improved the horn
and the steering column switch so that they are more robust; the new combination
switch has proved so effective that it is used worldwide. They have also developed a
hydraulically activated clutch system, improved ground clearance and upgraded air
conditioning to satisfy the specific needs of the Indian customer. This is part of a
continuous improvement process. Satisfying our customers They have introduced
initiatives to assess customer satisfaction and to act on their concerns. The Intensified
Customer Concern Definition (ICCD) is a telephone survey of customers conducted to
assess problems in three areas:
They recognise the need for additional products. They are working towards
introducing products to match our customers dynamic lifestyle, products which have
progressive styling and are great to drive.
Vehicle quality concern Design and general comments Negative sales and service
According to GM officials: General Motors target is to offer a choice of products
to their customers to match their different needs and budgets. Being the worlds
largest car manufacturer, they have access to a range of products through their
global alliances. They are already present in most segments and will shortly have
products in additional segments. However, they are focusing on the fast growing
MPV segment with the Chevrolet Tavera and have invested substantially in this
product line. They look for customers for life who will have a choice of products
to buy from their stable. Sustained brand building efforts coupled with intensive
ground-level activity has ensured that Optra has remained among the top two
players in its segment. They have refreshed the product through continuous
product improvements and have emerged as segment leader in fuel efficiency. They
have recently launched a limited edition of 150 cars, which has received a very
positive response and given us rich dividend in terms of brand building and
imagery. A product refreshment plan ensures that they remain competitive and are
ready to meet future challenges in this segment. They also have a regular Customer

Relation Management programme whereby existing customers are offered loyalty


programmes and great offers. So far, they have organised six Optra Max Mileage
Rally meets where Optra customers compete to extract the best fuel efficiency out
of their cars and all participants are treated to an overnight stay at an exotic locale
with an evening of entertainment. The winners of these rallies are given healthy
cash rewards. These vents go a long way in building goodwill and brand loyalty.
According to Tata Motors Officials: TATA Motors is India's foremost, and the only
fully integrated automobile manufacturer. Established in 1945 as TATA
Engineering & Locomotive Company (TELCO), to manufacture locomotives and
other engineering products, the company is today among the world's top 10
producers of commercial vehicles. TATA Motors was also previously known as
TATA Engineering. It is today one of the biggest and most prominent companies in
the TATA group, with an annual revenue of $1.8 billion in 2001-02. Today TATA
motors' vehicles run in more than 70 countries. TATA Motors use a manual dealer
management system, where every dealer managed details. With legacy-based
systems, the environment produced inconsistent data, making interpretations
difficult and resulting in inefficient planning for capacity and spare parts. TATA
Motors required a standardised solution that would provide them with:

Increase in sales and profitability by easy management.

Improved accuracy of dealer-captured information.

Collaboration between vehicle manufacturers and dealers.

1. A strong feedback mechanism and interface for communicating with customers. TATA
Motors chose IBM as its partner to provide an infrastructure solution. IBM created a
Siebel solution to provide a DMS solution for TATA Motors and then provided a
reliable and scalable IT infrastructure for developing and deploying its DMS
application. The IBM solution has simplified the IT infrastructure for TATA Motors.
The benefits include - low total cost of ownership, a more comprehensive view of
customers, enhanced customer experiences and improved loyalty. With reengineered
business process, the company can also analyse customer interactions and other
information more accurately, improve capacity planning and increase profitability.
Faced with increasing competition from abroad, a cyclical business environment, and
the challenge of a widely dispersed dealer network, Tata Motors implemented Siebel
Automotive, a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) solution

designed specifically for companies in the automotive industry. Seamlessly integrated


with Tata Motors dealer management system and SAP back-office applications,
Siebel Automotive has delivered significant benefits across the extended organization,
including improved customer satisfaction, increased revenue and productivity, and
reduced costs. Apart from providing its customers with high performance
automobiles, Tata Motors strongly believes in customer safety. Several cases have
been cited where passengers driving Tata vehicles have been saved after terrible
accidents. Tata Motors established a crash-testing facility, the only one of its kind in
the country, in Pune in 1996. The small workforce of 21 members including engineers
aims to control the serious risks and intrusions in accidents. The company believes
that this factor has been vital to the success of the Indica and other products under the
companys passenger car unit. The key things that the critical people spend time on 1.
Commitment to quality manufacturing standards 2. Developing new products 3.
Customer Safety and satisfaction 4. Global expansion Norms.

How much 'influence do customers' needs have on the company's products


and services?
Maruti
Udyog
Limited
Hyundai Motors
India Ltd
General Motors
Tata Motors
Ford
Limited

India

Very High
3

Substantial
2

Very Low
-

--

Very Low
13%

Very High
67%

Substantial
20%

Findings: All the 67%(10) responding officials of the Automobile Majors customer
needs have a very high influence on companys products and services while 20%(3)
respondents said that it had substantial influence while 13%(2) respondents said that
customer needs had very low influence on companys product and services.

ANALYSIS
Corporates, don't talk about exceeding customer satisfaction - that's passe - the time has come
to `dazzle the customer'. But to do that, first you must get customer relationship management
(CRM) in place. In the context of India, this is very crucial as the recent World Economic
Forum Report on Global Competitiveness has ranked India 43 out of 49 nations surveyed, on
`customer orientation'.
Managing customer relationships is not only complex but is also multi-faceted and thus calls
for an inter-disciplinary approach. Particularly, as in the New Economy, the customer has
become very demanding and the emphasis needs to be on being consumer-centric.
Technology solutions as applied to various front-end functions could aid in building a viable
link between the organisations and customers irrespective of geographical separation. This

has to be backed with appropriate systems and processes to mine the right type of data by the
right function in an organisation.
Besides technology, systems and processes, another important link is human resource, If
CRM is the key, HR would be the nerve centre for any CRM activity.
At Maruti Udyog Ltd the first step for a company to enhance value through CRM was to
identify its target base. At Maruti, the categories which emerged were:
* Two-wheeler owners;
* Customers taken away from the competition;
* Services sector.
After identifying the target, the next stage was to build on customer relationships. Maruti,
therefore, began evaluating the current database of consumers to identify those who wanted
Maruti service or better still, wanted to upgrade up the value chain in Maruti products. Third,
it began working in tandem with the oil industry to get data feedback on two-wheeler
consumers-and identify those ready to move into four-wheeler purchases. Ultimately, CRM is
all about value enhancement for the organisation.
Faced with increasing competition from abroad, a cyclical business environment, and the
challenge of a widely dispersed dealer network, Tata Motors implemented Siebel Automotive,
a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) solution designed specifically
for companies in the automotive industry. Seamlessly integrated with Tata Motors dealer
management system and SAP back-office applications, Siebel Automotive has delivered
significant benefits across the extended organization, including improved customer
satisfaction, increased revenue and productivity, and reduced costs.
The Siebel CRM solution enables Tata Motors to gather feedback on products to improve
design or manufacturing quality as well as measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns
and programmes. The automaker selected Siebel Automotive because of its partner
management capabilities to handle its large dealer network, the solution's zero-footprint webbased architecture and user-friendly interface-critical to support thousands of salespeople
with various skill levels.

Improved demand forecasting, planning, logistics management, and inventory


management

Overall reduction in quality-related costs due to faster product performance


feedback

Improved workflow and escalation of customer grievances for faster resolution

Increased revenue growth from both higher vehicle sales and a rise in the
company's after-sales parts business

Limitations of the Study


Since the road to improvement is never ending, so this study also suffers from certain
limitations. Some of them are as follows:
Because of illiteracy, it was a time consuming method in which continuous
guidance was required.
Questionnaire method involves some uncertainty of response. Co-operation on
the part of informants, in some cases, was difficult to presume.
It is possible that the information supplied by the informants may be incorrect.
So, the study may lack accuracy.

CONCLUSION
The price of a car is just one-third of what it cost you over its lifetime. Running and
maintaining it make up the other two-thirds. Take into account resale value and its real cost
becomes clear. Maruti Suzuki stands for value as much as it stands for performance. In spite
of rising input costs, we try our best to keep prices down. Their running costs and resale
values are unbeatable too. Nothing matches the delight their cars deliver. In the JD Power
CSI study 2005, 85% of Maruti Suzuki owners stated that they would definitely recommend
the car they drive to someone else. Infact, you dont buy a Maruti Suzuki. You invest in it.
After the rash of new cars launches the past two years, the relative lull in the auto industry is
showing up in the customer satisfaction indices. According to the 2005 four-wheeler Total
Customer Satisfaction (TCS) study conducted by the specialist division of TNS Automotive,
the automobile ownership experience or customer ownership experience has declined in all
areas compared to 2004. The study is one of the largest syndicated automotive studies in
India, representing the responses of more than 7,000 new car buyers. The comprehensive
study covers over 50 models with customer evaluations taken in the key areas of sales
satisfaction, product quality, vehicle performance and design, after-sales service, brand
image, and cost-of-ownership. The TCS index score provides a measure of satisfaction and
loyalty a given model enjoys with its customers. According to TNS Automotive, the decline
is predominantly for older, small and entry mid-size car models. The ageing of these models
seems to be posing a stiffer challenge for manufacturers to sustain past performance levels at
a time when customer expectations are rising sharply.

The study reveals a significant increase in the importance of sales satisfaction, product
quality (both performance and design) and brand image since 2003, indicating rising
customer expectations over the years. This year's study shows the Maruti Suzuki Swift and
the Toyota Innova as the winners, with the two vehicles achieving segment-best ratings by
performing well in areas of greater relevance, particularly product and brand image. Sales
satisfaction is weak in both these models, largely because of the longer waiting time for new
deliveries.

TNS Automotive's TCS Study has, since its inception in 2002, surveyed over 25,000 car
buyers and hasbuilt a sizeable sample base. Some of the key findings, indicators and
inferences from the 2005 study are:
Progressive reduction in car ownership cycle-time from an average of 61 months in 2002 to
53 months in 2005: This shortened cycle-time is bringing these owners for repeat purchases
sooner and will, therefore, further fuel the growth of the four-wheeler market. This trend is
already visible in the growing additional/replacement purchases. Growth in additional (multicar households) and replacement purchases up from 51 per cent in 2002 to 65 per cent in
2005: This will impact the volume growth in higher-end segments as the current car owners
show upward mobility.

Increasing budget for future purchases: Future intenders with a budget of Rs 6 lakh plus have
increased from 44 per cent in 2002 to 58 per cent in 2005. While first-time buyers are
declining as a composition of total volumes, the figure in absolute terms is high, fuelled by
the up-gradation by two-wheeler owners The study also throws up the question as to whether
it is also possible that the first-time car buyer who is generally a two-wheeler owner, is
getting more fuel efficiency conscious and tending towards postponing the car purchase
decision due to the high cost of fuel. Of course a shift in composition is also to be expected
with the upper premium compact and mid-size segments projected to grow at a much faster
rate than rest of the industry. The TCS study was conducted from August through October
across 21 cities. Small sample models have not been featured in the charts. These include the
Fiat Petra Diesel, Ford Fusion, Ford Mondeo, Hyundai Terracan, Maruti Esteem Diesel,
Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Maruti Zen Diesel, and Opel Corsa Sail. TNS has a global
network spanning 70 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Maruti Udyog Ltd is one of India 's leading automobile manufacturers and the
market leader in the car segment, both in terms of volume of vehicles sold and
revenue.
Good Technology
Uniform Pricing
Good Strength
More Coverage Area
Frequent /Regular Product Launch
Market Leader (with 47% share)
Oriented Driven Company
More Product Offering
Healthy Annual Report
Brand Image

Maximum Dealership as compared to other brands


Good Sale Service
Spare parts are cheap as compared to any other brand
Cheap & reliable quality
AREAS FOR IMPOVEMENT / RECOMMENDATION

Facade/Quality of Dealership should be improve


Uniform of Sales Executives
Proper visiting cards should be available to the executives
Mostly dealers dont have their specific website
All Japanese 5s concept (Seiro, Sieton, Sciso, Seioetse, Shitsuke) should be
put into practice at Dealership
Maruti should regard as generous discount offers during Festival Season like
Navratra, Dusshera, and Diwali to gear-up their sales
Maruti should advertise in Sports because sports are increasingly cutting into
the share of mass entertainment channels
Maruti can start Money Bond Scheme instead of giving Cash Discount with
more value. Customers eligible for an income bond, encashable after a 15year
period.

BIBLOGRAPHY

Reference Books, Journals, Newspaper, Web Sites, Reports, etc are to be listed, out
here
Books
Kotler Philips, Marketing Management Analysis, Planning Implementation & Control
Edition 1998. Prentice hall of India Ltd. New Delhi
Magazines Jourals & Newapaper
Name of the articles, Business Today: 15-22May 2000
Name of the articles, The times of India . Mumbai: 21st May 2000

www.google.com
www.yahoo.com
www.maruti.com

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