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

5 Ps.

A SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT ON


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

PARAG PARMAR
13202027
MBA Batch ( 2013 - 15 )
13202027@ksom.ac.in
Mr. Rajesh Sinha

Prof. Ashutosh Kar

Head - Sales Unit, Asansol

School Of Management

ACC Ltd

KIIT UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT , KIIT UNIVERSITY


BHUBANESWAR - 751024

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 1

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


5 Ps.

( 07 / 07 / 2014 )

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

DATE: 05.07.2014

NAME: Parag Parmar

PLACE: ASANSOL

SIGNATURE:

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 2

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


5 Ps.

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

PARAG PARMAR

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 3

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


5 Ps.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sl. no.

Particulars

Page no.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

6-10

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

11

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

12

ACTION PLAN

13

PROJECT FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

14-27

SWOT ANALYSIS

28

RECOMMENDATIONS

29-30

LIMITATIONS

31

10

REFERENCES

32

11

CONCLUSION

33

12

ANNEXURE

34

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 4

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


5 Ps.

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

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

In these 8 weeks I have collected information on various tapped and untapped


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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 5

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


5 Ps.

INTRODUCTION
About the company:
ACC (ACC Limited) is India's foremost manufacturer of cement and concrete.
ACC's operations are spread throughout the country with 17 modern cement
factories, more than 40 Ready mix concrete plants, 21 sales offices, and several
zonal offices. It has a workforce of about 9,000 persons and a countrywide
distribution network of over 9,000 dealers.
Since inception in 1936, the company has been a trendsetter and important
benchmark for the cement industry in many areas of cement and concrete
technology. ACC has a unique track record of innovative research, product
development and specialized consultancy services. The company's various
manufacturing units are backed by a central technology support services Centre the only one of its kind in the country.
ACC is now a holding company of Holcim Cements Ltd since its 2004 takeover and
in 2006 its name was changed to ACC Ltd, as it is known today. The company is
one of the market leaders across India, but isn't doing that well in the Asansol, West
Bengal region. It faces stiff competition from cheaper cement brands and local
players alike which have tipped the premium brands to become market leaders in
this eastern industrial belt of small towns.
ACC Ltd has 7 sales units under its Kolkata regional office. Of these 7, Asansol is
one SU catering to Major parts of West Bengal and entire North East under its 2
Area Offices - Asansol and Siliguri. Having a blended mix and variety of Slag and
Fly Ash cement, ACC is one of those companies with high potential and high brand
equity. Whole team at Asansol was changed by Last quarter of 2012 and a new team
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 6

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


5 Ps.

was brought in to bring growth. It is one of the highest growing sales units under
east RO.
ACC has made significant contributions to the nation building process by way of
quality products, services and sharing expertise. Its commitment to sustainable
development, its high ethical standards in business dealings and its on-going efforts
in community welfare programmes have won it acclaim as a responsible corporate
citizen. ACCs brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a high level of
equity in the Indian market. It is the only cement company that figures in the list of
Consumer SuperBrands of India.

About the products:


ACC PSC Cement : ACC Plain cement or PSC Cement is made from slag.
Commonly known as Portland Slag Cement, Slag is mixed in normal Portland
cement to make a strong blend of fine PSC. This is the basic product offered by the
company and is used by masons across different work requirements which might
include plastering, brick laying or concrete making.
MRP in region: Rs 350/ACC Plus : ACC Plus cement is a black cement or PPC cement. Its normally called
Portland Pozzolan cement which is fly ash based, which gives the cement a black
color. This type of cement has a faster setting time and is used for various quick
fixes as well as complete construction jobs. The setting time is faster as compared to
PSC cement but its final strength can be slightly less than that of PSC Cement. This
comes in a premium paper pack as compared to ACC Plain cement and is poised as
a premium product
MRP in region: Rs 357/ACC F2R : A PSC cement, this is much finer grinded and is marketed as a premium
product of the slag cement. This cement can be used for the complete construction
activity with best results which includes laying of the foundation to the roof. Hence
the name, F2R - Foundation to Roof. This product is used extensively in laying of
foundations. It comes in a premium paper packing with augmented service offerings
of a company engineer visiting your site while the work goes on.
MRP in region: Rs 375/ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 7

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


5 Ps.

SU Vision/ Key goals for 2014


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

Goals and Objectives (Aspirations)

Increase EBITDA from 40 Cr in 2013 to 59 Cr in 2014


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

MARKETING EFFORTS
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 8

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


5 Ps.

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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 9

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


5 Ps.

CHANNEL OF SALES
1. Channel of distribution: Trade

Company

C&F
Agent

Wholesal
er

Retailer

Customer

OR

Company

C&F
Agent

Wholesal
er

Custome
r

2. Channel of distribution: Non-Trade

Company

C&F
Agent

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 10

Custom
er

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


5 Ps.

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

SCOPE OF PROJECT

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 11

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


5 Ps.

1. Geographical Market size limited to district area of Asansol which is of high


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

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY


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

Research Design :
The research undertaken was Qualitative and Analytical in nature. I had to visit the
various retailers and gain their opinion and subjective assessment of various cement
brands and their marketing mix. The comparative study required generating
underlying information through analyses of data received. These observations have
been plotted into various representative graphs and charts which correlate to each
other to various extents and bring out reasons for underlying performance
parameters of the marketing mix.

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 12

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


5 Ps.

Unstructured interview will also be used to build onto the recommendations by


identifying the requirement of dealers and using its utility to drive creative
solutions.
Sample Size :
The sample size for the purpose of this project was 46. Total retailers contacted
were 65, of which 46 agreed to be part of the research.
Data Sources : The nature of data collection was Primary.
Method of Data Collection: Primary Method of data collection was done by
visiting the outlets and observing the reason for them being untapped.

ACTION PLAN
Duration Of The Project : 07.05.2014 -30.06.2014 (8 weeks )
1) 07.05.2014 - 17.05.2014:

Finding about the company and its various products.


Finding about the cement industry in general and how the Trade sales function .
Selection of the topic of project as "The comparative study of cement brands in Asansol, with
respect to company's 5 Ps Marketing mix."
Preparation of questionnaire based on the factors in focus.
Meeting a few retailers to get to know what to look for in an interview and preparing
questionnaire based on the observations.
2) 18.05.2014-07.06.2014:

Visiting the outlets with the help of the respective Area Sales Officers or customer service officer
as per their daily route plan.
Interviewing various retailers apart from the ones which were visited with the ASOs.
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 13

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


5 Ps.

Organizing a customer awareness camp for a new dealer, interacting with customers and getting to
know their perspective also.
3) 08.06.2014 - 24.06.2014

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

4) 25.06.2014 - 30.06.2014

Compilation of all the reports in order to analyze them in MS Excel.


Preparation of the final report and presentation with respect to analysis and findings of the study.

PROJECT FINDINGS AND ANALYISIS


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

Retailer Count
28

30
25
20
15

25
21

20
13

10
5
0

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 14

18
11

No. Of Outlets

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


5 Ps.

Fig. 1 Total Retailer Count


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

Highest Demanded Brand


20
10
5

15

14

15

Highest Demanded
Brand No. Of Outlets

Fig 2. Highest Demanded Brand


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

Brand with Best Quality


16

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

12
7

Brand with Best


Quality No. Of
Outlets

Fig. 3 Brand with the Best Quality Cement


Finding 4. I asked the dealers about their knowledge about the various promotion
activities that are taking place. It was found that they have the maximum knowledge
about promotions being done by Ambuja and Lafarge alike, followed by Konark.
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 15

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


5 Ps.

Many dealers said they felt that Konark did not even need any promotion to drive
sales. Highest gap was found in promotion of Jaypee which might have something
to do with the selling off of the nearby plant and sales falling after that.
Different practices are also being done by Ambuja and Konark in terms of giving
mediclaim to dealer and their families, renovation of dealer's shops and offices, high
quality gifts, lavish meeting parties being organized in gaps of 4-5 months etc.
These efforts can be directly seen affecting sales as further in figure 11 we can see
that sales of Ambuja and Konark are the maximum as compared to others.
50
45
40
35

2
19

17
28

44
27

20

30
25
20
15
10

26

44

Knowledge about
Promotion No response

38
29
18

Knowledge about
Promotion Responses
count

5
0

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


Finding 5. I asked the dealers about the knowledge over schemes available to them
or in the market. The finding was that maximum dealers were aware about the
channel partner schemes offered by Konark which was evident from its maximum
reach to dealers. The schemes being offered by Konark range from cash credit, gifts
points scheme, Luxury tours (Foreign as well as domestic), Gold scheme and tours
for small dealers as well. It also has schemes for masons which includes points that
can be redeemed for gifts as well as different scratch coupon based schemes which
are seasonal. It offered one customer scheme in the last monsoon which was a
scratch coupon scheme.
This is followed by the outreach of Ambuja and Birla who are offering similar
schemes but not many tours to dealers. Also, ACC which has all these schemes is
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 16

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


5 Ps.

lacking in tour schemes and the feedback also came that realization of these scheme
is not done on time and is delayed for months.
Overall the schemes show that sales is driven by such dealer oriented schemes the
most and mason schemes are there but not as effective as dealer schemes, that is
why the market leaders are not applying as much of them as dealer schemes.
70
60
37

50
40
30

10

10

4
18

Knowledge about Influencer


Scheme

10

20
10

Knowledge about Customer


Scheme

23

2
11

3
22

15
2

Knowledge about Channel


Partner Scheme

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


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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 17

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


5 Ps.

Best Customer Service No. Of Responses in favour


ACC

UltraTech

1
6

Ambuja

10

Lafarge
Konark

Birla
None

10

Fig 6. Best Customer Service responses


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

Importance of Price as a decision making factor No. Of Responses


35

32

30
25
20
15
10
5

8
1

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 18

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


5 Ps.

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


Finding 8. The respondents were asked which brand they perceive is the best value
for money for a customer. Konark due to its low price and good quality stood out as
the best brand in terms of value for money. This is one essential thing that the
customer requires and it reflects in the sales data as well because Konark is the
market leader in terms of sales.
Other brands that follow are Ambuja and Birla after that, as dealers perceive them to
be having a somewhat good value for money with a good quality offering for
customers. Even though respondents said Lafarge is the cement with the best
quality, its slightly high price doesn't make it a good value for money for the
cusomers.

Brand with best value for money No. Of Responses


16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

15

9
4

Brand with best


value for money No.
Of Responses

Fig 8. Brand with the best value for money.


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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 19

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


5 Ps.
30
25

20
15

19
13

10
5

21

9
9

12

15
8

Satisfaction with
Margin Not Satisfied
Satisfaction with
Margin Satisfied

Fig 9. Dealer Satisfaction level with margins of brands they sell.


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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 20

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


5 Ps.

Table 1.
of
for

Brand
ACC
UltraTe
ch
Ambuj
a
Lafarg
e
Konark
Birla
Jaypee

Packaging Quality
Aesthet Safe Durabil Reliabil Over Ra
ics
ty
ity
ity
all
nk
3.76 3.78
3.94
4
3.94
2
3.21

3.43

3.39

3.41

3.48

3.89

4.15

3.97

4.2

4.15

3.82
2.93
3.41
3.62

3.7
2.95
3.52
3.74

3.9
3.37
3.44
3.76

3.91
3.07
3.5
3.64

3.94
3.2
3.47
3.79

2
7
6
4

Ratings
Brands

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

Finding 12. The respondents were asked whether customers would switch their
brands in case a product isn't available. Most of the dealers felt that yes they were
highly likely to switch to another brand and more than 60% believed that customers
will switch to either to some extent or to a very high extent as their need was time
based and they would have to do with another brand as their construction activity
cannot be delayed. Hence if there is a supply shortfall then brands will lose out on
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 21

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


5 Ps.

potential sales fast as the customers are switchers. Hence it becomes important for
brands to make their product available in good time.

If desired brand is not available, will customer switch?


16
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

10

10

10
No of Responses

Fig 10. Likeness of customers to switch in case desired brand isn't available
Finding 13. The respondents were asked to state their monthly average sales of the
brands they sell out of the 7 brands in the survey. It was tried to ascertain that the
data is as accurate as possible, but the responses showed more of an average
monthly sale from that outlet.
It was seen that of the outlets surveyed, Ambuja and Konark were market leaders in
terms of average monthly sales. This is corroborative of the finding that customers
demand these two brands at the outlets the most. Also Ambuja's demand being so
high is due to a wider product offering than that of Konark. Other brands that follow
close by are Birla and Lafarge. Sales totaling 10767 Tons was recorded from the
surveyed outlets among the 7 brands being surveyed.

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 22

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


5 Ps.

Total Sales of Respondents (Tons)


ACC
UltraTech

607 1122
1875
521

Ambuja
Lafarge
Konark

2887

2171

Birla
Jaypee

1584

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


Finding 14. The respondents were asked how they push a product to the customers
based on the 5Ps being surveyed upon. The maximum respondents said they try to
give the customer the best quality product followed by high margin products.
One thing was evident, dealers never push products with the lowest prices. They
either take care of their goodwill by selling good quality product or take care of
their profits by selling high margin products.

How the Dealers push a Product sales


16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

13

16

11
6
No. Of responses

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 23

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


5 Ps.

Fig 12. How the respondents push a product


Finding 15. The respondents were asked to rank the 5 factors constituting the
marketing mix where 1 was the highest rank and 5 the lowest. As per the average
rankings, the Product Quality was ranked as the number 1 factor followed by Price,
Placement & Availability, Packaging and then lastly Promotions. For a customer
Promotions were the least important in the purchase of cement, and this explains
why so few customer schemes are available in the market as it would only be a
waste of money and marketing effort by the companies to woo customers this way.
The product quality forms the base of any cement purchase closely followed by the
Price which means only a good product with a suitable price that gives the best
value to the customer will be the one to get the most out of the market, which
Konark is doing as per the findings.

5 P's Average Rank


4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5 1.37
1
0.5
0

4.24
3.7

3.54
2.15

Avg Rank

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


Finding 16. The dealers were asked to suggest a product based on their own
judgment of the product. Most dealers suggested ACC Plain and Konark Plain as
their choice of product to be taken by a customer. Reasons ranged from previous
experience of use to current market trend. Next was Lafarge Concreto which they
suggested for use in laying of foundations etc.
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 24

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


5 Ps.

Product Suggested by Dealer

9
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

No. Of responses

Fig 14. Product suggested by Dealers.


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

Exclusive Brand
14

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

8
4

Exclusive Brand

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 25

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


5 Ps.

Fig 15. Exclusive brand preference of Dealers.


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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 26

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


5 Ps.
12
12

11

10

Highest Demand

Best Value

4 4

3
2

0
ACC

UltraTech Ambuja

Lafarge

Konark

Birla

0
Jaypee

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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 27

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


5 Ps.

Finding 19. Dealers dissatisfied with ACC's profit margin.


A total of 13 dealers were dissatisfied with the profit margin of ACC.
This is a threat for ACC.
Sl No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Dissatisfied
Dealers
New Jaipur Marble
House
Martian Traders
Keshav Hardware
Anand Cement
Centre
Poddar Enterprises
Noorie Hardware
F S Trading
Sanchari Enterprises
G C Mondal
Chowdhury
Construction
Samir Gorai
M/S Dutta & Co
Royal Hardware

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


Finding 20. Dealers Dissatisfied with competitors.
It was found that in the premium segment, 13 dealers selling Ambuja, 9 selling
Lafarge and 9 Selling UltraTech were dissatisfied with the profit margins. This is an
opportunity.
Dissatisfied Dealers of Competitors
Sl
No
.

Ambuja

1 Keshav Hardware
Anand Cement
2 Centre
Manik Chandra
3 Rooj
4 Navgopal Majhi

UltraTech
Martian Traders
Anand Cement
Centre

Lafarge
Anand Cement
Centre
Manik Chandra
Rooj

Navgopal Majhi
Neha Enterprises

Navgopal Majhi
Asif Hardware

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 28

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


5 Ps.
5 Poddar Enterprises
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

Noorie Hardware
Bachu Roy
AP Traders
M S Roy & Sons
Irfan Hardware
G C Mondal
M B Enterprises
Shila Enterprises
Sipra Enterprises
MMC Enterprices
Subrata Dawn
Samir Gorai
S K Sanyal
Royal Hardware

Ganguly Hardware
Shri Durga
Hardware
Modern Builders
Samir Gorai
S K Sanyal

Shila Enterprises
Shri Durga
Hardware
Titli Roy
Srihari Enterprises
S K Sanyal

Table 3. Dissatisfied dealers of competitors in premium segment.


Other Findings:
Schemes Offered By The Competitors:

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

Suggested Scheme:
1.

Trade allowances: short term incentive offered to induce a retailer to stock up on a


product.

2.

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

3.

Trade contest: A contest to reward retailers that sell the most product.
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 29

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


5 Ps.
4.

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

5.

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

SWOT ANALYSIS

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 30

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


5 Ps.

Weaknesses
Strengths
1. Quality perception is good in
the market.
2. Supply has improved and less
complaints by dealers.
3. Customers prefer the best
quality cement.
4. Customer service is one of the
best in the market.
5. Premium packing is highly
liked in the market.

1. Price is high as compared to


similar brands in a price
sensitive market.
2. Schemes and POP are
conventional and lack
innovation.
3. Majority of dealers are
dissatisfied with profit margin.
4. Lack of a brand ambassador
face.
5. Marketing efforts and scheme
benefits reaching the dealers in
delayed fashion.

Opportunities
1. Fall in market share of
UltraTech and Jaypee.
2. Dissatisfied dealers of other
competitor premium brands.
3. Scope for price revision with a
lower product in low income-price
sensitive markets.
4. Key account management
practices can be introduced for
dealers selling 100+ Tons in a
month for doing better business.
(New in the industry)
5. Lack of schemes knowledge
amogst most dealers can be used
as an advantage to go and push
ACC's schemes.

Threats
1. New entrants like Star and
Reliance already started
entering the clustered market.
2. Konark improving packaging
and handling along with
introduction of paper packs.
3. Birla doing lots of marketing
activity as compared to previous
years in order to capture market
share.
4. Untimely delivery of schemes
and marketing support can force
dealers to reduce purchase.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE


PRODUCTIVITY

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 31

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


5 Ps.

1. The company has the scope for going in for key account
management, something followed in large corporates mostly in
Services marketing, to enhance its outreach to dealers and nontrade markets. This can be done for dealers having sales of 100+
Tons per month. It will help stay connected to the key stakeholders
as well as derive plans to offer highest benefits. As a pilot project it
can be started for dealers having 50+ Tons of sales for 3-4 months
starting this Monsoon in order to drive some sales in monsoon and
post monsoon.
2. Change in design of marketing material to suit the dealers needs
should be done to provide more utility to dealers. Dealers look for
one time good investments in terms of marketing material rather
than giving small items throughout the year. Target time of 6
months should be taken to consolidate the marketing spend and
create at least 10 model dealers in these 6 months with model
display counters of ACC. From renovating the dealers counter to
make it suit ACC, high product information display area should be
there.
3. The schemes employed by the company are not as effective nor
as competitive as the other brands. Provide more of tour based
schemes and instead of spreading cash benefit to 3-4 schemes
extend it through one single channel that will consolidate the
benefits being received by the dealers. Consolidation of benefits
over the next 6 months should be taken as a target.
4. Engage in more customer engagement activities like camps,
lucky draws at malls, product description at weekly 'haats', and
maybe sponsor real estate expos. A target of 5-6 customer camps
in a month should be taken in Asansol market to engage customers.
5. Let display items, wall paintings, hoardings reach on time. There
are lots of delays in comparison to other companies who are more
proactive.
ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 32

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


5 Ps.

6. Also, customer service team should conduct more local camps


and meets to match the competition and stay on their toes.
Customer service should be extended to non premium products as
well instead of only marketing it for ACC F2R.
7. Price revisions should be considered for this market to the extent
of Rs 3-4 per bag to match the price sensitivity in the market.
8. Target the dissatisfied dealers of ACC to change them into
satisfied dealers within the next 6 months for the 13 dealers.
9. Latch on to dissatisfied dealers of other competitors and try to
convert 5 non ACC selling dealers in the next 3 months.

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 33

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


5 Ps.

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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 34

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


5 Ps.

REFERENCES
1. http://www.acclimited.com/newsite/index.asp
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACC_Limited
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader
4. Marketing brochures of ACC Limited.

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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 35

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


5 Ps.

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

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 36

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


5 Ps.

ANNEXURES
Annexure - I Questionnaire

(with coding mentioned for entry into tracker)

Questionnaire on Cement Industry


*Organisation Name: ___________________ *Location: ________________
*Type :

Retail Wholesale

Phone No. : ______________________

*Shop Address: ____________________________________________


1. Which cement brands do you deal in? (can be more than one)
A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5)
F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)
2. Which brand has the highest demand at your shop?
A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5)
F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)
3. According to you, which brand has the best quality of cement?
A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5)
F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)
4. Of the following companies, which 'above the line' and 'below the line'
promotional efforts are you aware of?
Above the Line
Below the Line
1 ACC 2 Ultratech 3 Ambuja 4 Lafarge 5 Konark -

_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 37

_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________

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


5 Ps.

6 Birla 7 Jaypee -

_____________
_____________

_________________
_________________

5. The following companies would be providing some kind of scheme to the


retailers/ wholesalers. Which type of schemes are being given by them?
Channel Partners

Influencers

Customers

1 ACC 2 Ultratech 3 Ambuja 4 Lafarge 5 Konark 6 Birla 7 Jaypee 6. According to you which brand offers the best technical customer services?
A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5)
F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)
7. Price is the most important factor for a customer while purchasing cement.
You agree?
A. Strongly Agree. (1)

B. Agree. (2) C. Maybe (3) D. Disagree. (4)

E. Strongly Disagree (5)


8. Which brand has the best value for money for its products?
A. ACC (1) B. Ultratech (2) C. Ambuja (3) D. Lafarge (4) E. Konark (5)
F. Birla (6) G. Jaypee (7)
9. Are you satisfied by the margin you get by selling the following cement
brands? Yes (1), No (2) & Can't say (3)
ACC Ultratech Ambuja -

A. Yes
A. Yes
A. Yes

B. No.
B. No.
B. No.

C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand


C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand
C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 38

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


5 Ps.

Lafarge Konark Birla Jaypee -

A. Yes
A. Yes
A. Yes
A. Yes

B. No.
B. No.
B. No.
B. No.

C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand


C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand
C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand
C. Can't say as I don't sell this brand

10. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, how do you rate
companys packaging of products based on aesthetics, safety, durability,
reliability overall quality etc?
aesthetics
quality
ACC Ultratech Ambuja Lafarge Konark Birla Jaypee -

safety

durability

reliability

overall

_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________
_________

11. On an average , what is the lead time between ordering and receiving of
stock for the following brands?
ACC _____________
Ultratech - _____________
Ambuja _____________
Lafarge _____________
Konark _____________
Birla _____________
Jaypee _____________
12. If stock of desired brand of customer is not available, then how likely is the
customer to switch brands for his purchase?
A. Highly likely. (1)

B. Somewhat likely. (2)

D. Highly unlikely. (4)

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 39

C. Somewhat unlikely (3)

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


5 Ps.

13. On an average , what is the stock you maintain for the following brands?
ACC _____________
Ultratech - _____________
Ambuja _____________
Lafarge _____________
Konark _____________
Birla _____________
Jaypee _____________
14. Which product will you suggest to the customer?
1. Product which gives you higher margin.
2. It is of best quality. 3. Product
with lowest price
4. Product which is always in stock. 5. Whatever the customer
demands.
15. Of the given factors that influence a customer's purchase, rank them from 15 according to the highest importance in influencing purchase, as 1, and lowest
importance in influencing purchase, as 5.
Product Quality _____________
Promotions _____________
Packaging Quality _____________
Price _____________
Placement & Availability -_____________
16. At time of purchase, which brand would you suggest to the customer? Under
that brand which product?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
17. If you had to take exclusive dealership of one brand, which brand would it
be and why?
____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 40

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


5 Ps.

Thank you for your valuable time. Your confidentiality will be maintained and
the data used for academic purpose only. Survey conducted by Parag Parmar.

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

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

Mr Rajesh Sinha
Sales Head, Asansol
ACC LIMITED

ACC Ltd / KIIT School of Management Page 41

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