A Project Report On Market Research For DIC India Ltd

In Partial Fulfillment of Master s Degree in Business Administration, University of Pune. By Anand Pramod Kotasthane

Vishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune (2004 2006)

CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Mr. Anand Pramod Kotasthane is a student of Vishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune. He has successfully carried out summer internship titled Market Research for DIC India Ltd. from 1 June for 6 weeks. The project is submitted in partial fulfillment of MBA course of University of Pune, for academic year 2004-06.

Dr. Sharad Joshi Vhatkar Director Guide Vishwakarma Institute of Management. Pune.

Mr.Rajesh Project

CONTENTS

Executive Summary 1 Printing Industry a) History of Printing 3 b) Modern Printing Techniques 7 c) Introduction to Printing Inks 8 d) About the Company 12 e) Products 14

Theoretical &Methodical background a) Introduction 16 b) What is Research? 19 c) Marketing research 21 d) Scope of marketing research. 22 e) Sequential stages 24 f) Main steps in marketing research 25 g) Sampling design 30 h) Research tool A questionnaire 37 i) Interview 38

Introduction a) Introduction to project work 39 b) Methodology/technique 40 c) Scope and importance 41

Tabulation and Analysis 42

Conclusion 51

Recommendations 52

Bibliography 53

Acknowledgement

I have great pleasure to present the project report on Market Research for DIC India Ltd in Pune , in partial fulfillment of Master s Degree in Business Administration, University of Pune, at Vishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune.

I would like to place on records deepest sense of gratitude to Mr. Hendre, Area Sales Manager,Pune, for his inspiring and able guidance which made it possible to bring the best of my efforts on the project.

I am desirous of placing on record profound indebtedness to Mr. Vatkar, project guide, for valuable advice, guidance and support he offered.

I also acknowledge the gratitude to Dr. Sharad Joshi, Director of Vishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune, who motivated us a lot in carrying out this project.

Mr. Anand Pramod Kotasthane.

EXCECUTIVE SUMMARY: PROJECT TITLE: Market Research in DIC India Ltd. for Pune area Objectives:
1) The company wanted to know their market position with so many new ink companies coming in. 2) The company wanted to enter into two new segments i.e. blankets used in printing offset machines and the chemicals used while printing. 3) The company wanted to know if the customer is satisfied with their products as well as the after service.

Research Methodology:
Research Methodolgy: Basic Research. Research Tool: Questionnaire is our research tool. To carry out this research study, data collection (primary data) have been collected from thirty five different printing presses in Pune city,

Sample Size: 35 Printing presses. Scope of Project: Pune city

Conclusion 1) As far as printing ink is concerned the position of DIC Coates is very strong in the market. They enjoy the loyalty of the customers, as the

company is very old. The prices are also reasonable and competitive in the market.

2) Customers are satisfied with the performance of the Coates ink and expect the after sales service to be more efficient.

3) Customers were given three words, price, quality and service and were told to give their priorities, and around 80 % people gave quality as their first priority, service as the second priority and price as the third.

Recommendations

1) The Company should try and do some type of advertising in the market, to increase the sales and the share in the market.

2) The after sales service should be more prompt and fast. Complaints should be looked after immediately without any delay.

3) Entering into the chemicals market can be profitable. Quality should be maintained, compared to Technova, with reasonable price. The Company can use its brand image of printing inks in chemicals field.

Printing industry
History of printing
Printing was first conceived and developed in China. Primitive wood block printing was already in use from the sixth century. The oldest surviving book printed using the more sophisticated block printing, the Diamond Sutra dates from 868. Pi Sheng invented the movable type printer in 1040. The movable type metal printing press was invented in Korea between 1234 and

1241. By the 12 th and 13 th century many Chinese libraries contained thousands of printed books. There is little direct evidence, but it is highly probable that Chinese printing technology diffused into Europe through trade links that went through India, and on through the Arabic world. Johann Gutenberg, of the German city Mainz, developed European printing technology in 1440. Johan Fust and Peter Schoffer experimented with him in Mainz. Basing the design of his machine on a wine press, Gutenberg developed the use of raised and movable type, and from the start used oil-based inks. This development of printing press revolutionized the spread of knowledge and a printing press was built in Venice in 1469 and the city had 417 printers by 1500. In 1470 Johann Heynlin set up a printing press in Paris. In 1476, William Caxton developed a printing press in England. In 1539 the Italian Jaon Pablos set up an imported press in Mexico City. Stephen Day built the first printing press in North America at Massachusetts Bay in 1628, and helped establish the Cambridge Press.

At the end of eighteenth century there were several remarkable innovations in the graphic techniques and those that were utilized to make their materials. Bewick developed the method of using engraving tools at the end of the wood. Senefelder discovered lithography. Blake made relief etchings. Early in the nineteenth century Stanhope, George Clymer, Koenig and others introduced new kinds of type presses, which for strength surpassed anything that had previously been known. Slowly but surely the technologies developed according to the requirements and needs. Various different processes were introduced for printing on different surfaces. Various processes such as screen-printing, offset printing, gravure printing, flexography, letterpress etc were introduced to suit different surfaces and requirements. For example, Gravure and flexography are exclusively used for packaging printing i.e. on plastics, tins etc. Offset printing is used for commercial type of printing such as brochures, magazines. Screen and letterpress printing is usually used for small scale jobs such as letter heads, wedding cards, visiting cards etc. According to the requirement the process is chosen. The materials used for each process is different. For e.g. inks used in each process have some different characteristics from each other. Similarly other materials also vary. This project is done in DIC India Ltd, which is a printing ink manufacturing company, and in majority deals in offset printing process. So we will discuss the Offset printing process in detail.

Offset Printing
Offset Printing is a widely used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or offset ) from a plate first to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination of the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (Plano graphic) image carrier, on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non printed areas attract a film of water keeping the non printing areas ink free. Advantages of Offset Printing includeConsistent high image quality, sharper and cleaner than letterpress printing, because the rubber blanket conforms to the texture of the printing surface. Usability on a wide range of printing surfaces in addition to smooth paper (e.g. wood, cloth, metal, leather, rough paper) Quick and easy production of printing plates. Longer plate life than on direct litho presses because there is no direct contact between plates and printing surface.

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History of Offset Printing ProcessThe first lithographic offset printing press was created in England in around 1875 and was designed for printing on metal. The offset cylinder was covered with specially treated cardboard that transferred the printed image from the litho stone to the surface of the metal. About five years later, the cardboard covering of the offset cylinder was changed to rubber, which is still the most commonly used material. The first person to use an offset press to print on paper was most likely American Ira Washington Rubel in 1903. He got the idea accidentally by noticing that whenever a sheet of paper was not fed into his lithographic press during operation, the stone printed its image to the rubber-covered impression cylinder, and the next impression had an image on both sides: direct litho on the front and an image from the rubber blanket on the back. Rubel then noticed that the image on the back of the sheet was much sharper and clearer than the direct litho image because the soft rubber was able to press the image onto the paper better than the hard stone. He soon decided to build a press which printed every image from the plate to the blanket and then to the paper. Brothers Charles and Albert Harris independently observed this process at about the same time and developed an offset press for the Harris Automatic Press Company soon after. Harris designed his offset press around a rotary letterpress machine. It used a metal plate bent around a cylinder at the top of the machine that pressed against ink and water rollers. A blanket cylinder was positioned directly below, and in contact with, the plate cylinder. The impression cylinder below pressed the paper to the blanket in order to transfer the image to the sheet (see diagram). While this basic process is still used today, refinements include twosided printing and web feeding (using rolls of paper rather than sheets).

During the 1950 s, offset printing became the most popular form of commercial printing as improvements were made in plates, inks and paper, maximizing the technique's superior production speed and plate durability. Today, the majority of printing, including newspapers, is done by the offset process, although digital printing has greatly increased in popularity due to demand and cost advantages for low quantity runs.

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Present day scenario

Offset printing is by far the most dominant form of commercial printing due to its quality in respect of volume and paper costs, with this market being split between sheet-fed offset for low to medium volume (any job too large to be economic for laser printers ordigital presses, but too small for web offset) and web offset for medium volume up to the 1-2 million copies market. (For high volume, a rotogravure press is often used.) The principal difference here is that sheet-fed litho machines are fed with sheets of paper whereas web offset machines (which are larger) are fed with reels of paper and run at higher speeds; the basic offset technology remains the same. Modern offset presses increasingly use computer to plate systems. Private or hobby presses, engaged in patient production of limited editions of fine quality books, often use letterpress as well as offset methods, some "purists" preferring the slightly embossed look resulting from the direct impression of inked type upon fine paper. These books are sometimes printed from hand-set foundry type (individual pieces of movable, lead-alloy type).flexography, a form of letterpress, is still used in the printing of highquality premium labels, in ticket printing, and in envelope manufacturing/printing, though is now no longer the dominant technology.

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Modern printing technology

Books and newspapers are usually printed today using the technique of offset printing. Other common printing techniques include relief print, (which is principally used for catalogues), screen printing, rotogravure, and digitalbased inkjet and laser printing. The largest commercial and industrial printer in the world is Montreal, Quebec-based Quebecor World. Digital printing primarily uses an electrical charge to transfer toner or liquid ink to the substrate that it is going down on. Digital printing quality has steadily improved through the years from color and black & white copiers to sophisticated color digital presses like the Xerox iGen3, the Kodak Nexpress and the HP Indigo series presses. The iGen3 and Nexpress use toner particles and the Indigo uses liquid ink. All three are made for small runs and variable data and rival offset in quality. Digital offset presses are called direct imaging presses; although these receive computer files and automatically turn them into print-ready plates, they cannot do variable data. Small press and fanzines generally use offset printing or xerography, but prior to the advent of cheap photocopying, the use of machines such as the spirit duplicator, hectograph, and mimeograph was common. There are two types of offset presses. One is sheet fed offset machine and other is web fed offset machine. As the name suggests in sheet fed offset machine, sheets are fed inside the machine i.e. paper is cut into required size and fed in. Sheet fed machines are widely used for printing brochures, magazines,books etc. Web offset machines use reel i.e. web or roll of paper which is fed into the machine. After printing, the roll is cut into required sizes.

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Introduction to Printing Inks

The quality of any printed matter depends mainly upon the quality of the ink used. There are many other factors that can affect the quality of the print, but if the quality of the ink itself is poor, the it directly affects the quality of the print. So now, we will discuss the formulation and properties of the printing ink used in lithography. Lithographic inks are formulated on three basic ingredients; pigment which gives colour, a vehicle which is semi transparent and serves to carry the pigment; and driers , which are substances added to promote drying of the printed ink film. Modern printing inks are formulated on often complex recipes which require additional ingredients to these basic properties. Pigments These are coloured substances which are finely divided and dispersed throughout the vehicle. Pigments are derived from a wide variety of sources and it is not unusual to find, therefore, that some inks perform better on the lithographic press than the others. Apart from giving colour to the ink, the pigment is combined in such proportions with the vehicle as to influence the performance of the ink. The pigment should be capable of reduction to a finely divided powder, and should possess colouring properties which are either transparent or opaque. It must form a homogenous paste when mixed with vehicle.

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Vehicles The main function of the vehicle is to transport the dispersed pigment from the press ink duct via the rollers, printing plate and blanket, to the paper where it must remain permanently.Suitable viscous liquids are chosen for this purpose and the ink manufacturer has to consider the vehicle characteristics, its flow tack etc. Drying Oils These are obtained from organic (animal and vegetable) sources and they are selected for their ability to flow and distribute well on the press, and form solid elastic films when exposed to the air. Drying oil such as linseed oil can be made more viscous by heating in the absence of air. Driers A drier is a compound which when mixed with the ink accelerates the drying time. The driers act as a catalyst by absorbing atmospheric oxygen and giving it up to the oxidising vehicle, thus speeding up the reaction of polymerisation. The percentage of the ingredients vary according to the requirements. For example high speed web offset printing makes extra demands upon printing inks. The transfer and flow of the ink must be good at high speed without having to reduce the ink viscosity. With press speeds four times that of sheet fed machines, the heat of rollers causes the lowering the ink viscosity.

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Process colour inks

CMYK refers to the printing inks used in four-color process printing. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black are the colors used to produce full-color photographs and designs. (An approximate representation of these colors is below.) These colors can be combined and printed to emulate a wide number of other colors. If you look carefully at a printed color photograph in any magazine or book, you'll see that it's made up of rows of tiny dots called a half tone screen. The dots work together, at different angles, to fool your eye into seeing a full spectrum of colors.

For a graphics file to be printed in CMYK, it must be converted or created in that color mode. When film is produced, a different sheet of film is created for each color. For the computer to tell the machine that produces the film, an image setter, what to put on each sheet of film, the computer image must be in CMYK format. Colors in a page layout program must also be specified in percentages of the four colored inks. So, why do we refer to these four ink colors as CMYK and not CMYB? Well, quite simply, it's so that no one will be confused into thinking that the last color is Blue rather than Black. The principle of modern full colors reproduction is based on the premise that the subtractive primary colors, cyan yellow and magenta may be selective combination produce the range of colors in the spectrum.

Printing Ink Industry

As in any industry there is also a fierce competition in the printing inks industry. In Pune area itself there are more than hundred, big and small printing presses. So, the demand for printing inks is very high. With this number we can imagine the number of printing presses all over India. As new technologies are emerging regularly the printings inks also should be with par of the technologies. So, every ink manufacturing company tries to come up with something new and innovating. In India, there is huge competition of printing inks as new companies are coming up with new trends, which the earlier companies have to cope up with. The main players in printing inks industry are DIC India Ltd, which is having a good market share, and then there is United Inks, which is also used in Pune area. Another company is Micro Inks, which was earlier Hindustan Inks and has considerable market share compared to the others. Sicpa is also a printing ink company, which is striving to increase the market share. Other ink companies include Sakata, BSF etc.

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In Pune area, small printing presses generally use local manufactured printing inks, which are very cheap but low in quality. All the above companies provide good quality inks which are for medium and high scale jobs.

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About the company

Dainippon Inks and Chemicals, or DIC as it is increasingly known, changed the name of its two subsidiary Indian companies to DIC India Limited and DIC Coatings India Limited. DIC India was formerly know as Coates of India Limited and is a 65.76 per cent subsidiary of DIC through its wholly owned company in Singapore DIC Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd. DIC Coatings Limited was known as Coates Coating Limited before the name change and is a 100 per cent subsidiary of DIC. The DIC group together with its subsidiary Sun Chemical is the largest ink company in the world. Around US$ 5 billion (Rs 22000 crore) of the group s revenues of more than US$ 9 billion come from ink related business. DIC is the world s largest supplier of inks, organic pigments, varnishes, coatings, resins, and toners and ink jet inks. The focus in India remains on maintaining DIC s position as a leading supplier to the high technology and quality end of the market where new presses with full automation require rapid drying and coating with quick washups and make-readies. DIC India, 65.8% subsidiary of US $ 9 billion Dainippon Inks and Chemicals (DIC) of Japan, world leader (40%global market share) in printing inks, organic pigments and thermosetting resins, is set for quite good growing future driven by rising volumes following change in business composition better macro picture on the industry front and improved margins. Thus, top line would grow @ 10-12%, while PAT is expected to grow at accelerated pace of ~ 20% or so.

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DIC India enjoys strong market position (33% market share) in Rs. 1,500 crore printing and liquid ink market. There are three segments in printing ink, viz., publishing inks (covers newspapers, magazines & books), and packaging Inks (as covers FMCG sector, has tremendous potential to grow) and high quality emerging segment - Commercial printing inks (covers sales literature, leaflets, brochures, tourist literature, catalogues, etc). Company is the market leader in high volume low value publishing inks segment. DIC India has changed its business focus towards highly profitable publishing ink and commercial printing ink (growing ~ 12-15%), while simultaneously cutting down on sales of low margin packaging ink segment. It has introduced eco-friendly ink (water base) in FY 2004 in export market, which it will be launching in domestic market as well. Changed business composition and new product launches will be driving volume growth. Coates of India is a market leader in printing inks for the past fifty five years with client support among one lac printers in India. Today, Coates makes a variety of products to serve the printing and packaging needs of industries ranging from publishing, consumer packaging, paints, milk products, pesticides, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, footwear, etc. An ISO certified Company whose direct technical & management responsibility rests with DIC (Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Japan). DIC is World s No.1 in Printing Ink. DIC is also a leader in Graphic Arts Industries in the World. Coates brings the World s best technology from all the Group Companies e.g. Sun Chemicals, Coates Lorilleux & DIC.

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Products
The main products of DIC India Ltd. are liquid inks, screen printing inks and offset inks. In India they have a strong market share compared to other ink manufacturing companies. In Pune area, there are few large scale printing presses and many small scale printing presses. The main demand is for four color offset process set inks and also blacks which are used for publications. Some of the products are as follows Super chrome process set used mainly for maplitho type of paper.

Cash on process set- for economical purpose, used for duplex board and maplitho paper. Xtra process set- used for small scale, for art paper and maplitho. Xtra speed process set- for commercial use. Calibre process set. Eurospeed process set. Lancer- for economical purpose. Geos G process color- for high quality (imported) Values G-imported. Ramafix process set- for non-absorbent surface.

Web offset black- for web machines.

Kitab black- running jobs on maplitho.

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Koyal black

Buro black.

Excel black- Half tone jobs, for art paper, quick drying.

Atlantic black- used for maplitho paper.

Gloss varnish- high gloss over printing ink.

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Theoretical & Methodical Background

Introduction
At one time, business was small, customers were few, and markets were mostly local. Suppliers and customers were in daily, close personal contact. Bargaining was done face to face; the market place was the hub of economical and social life. Businesses were run not by corporate executives but by people who were similar to those whose customs they sought to attract. They shared the same culture, often they were kinsfolk and communication was direct and resonant with cultural values.

Today; technologies are dispersed over the world ; new centers of production have been setup for motor cars electronic equipments, and many other products that were once viewed as the prerogative of the western developed countries. Inevitably, the gap between producer and final consumer has widened; some firms are in danger of losing touch with the actual needs of the customers, particularly if they are thousands of miles away.

Without valid and reliable information, management decision-making would soon degenerate into some crazy game of chance. Hence, a systematic approach to the task of management is increasingly important in today s complex environment. One of the prime functions of management is to make decisions; marketing decisions are peculiarly difficult to make and their efforts are felt throughout the business and, indeed, entire industries, as in the case of British motorcycle industry whose products were once world famous are now no more. Good information is the raw materials used by world famous and are now no more. Good information is the raw material used by management in deciding a company s policy and day-to-day operations.

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As the widely read text

In search of Excellence showed that keeping close

to customers was one of the critical factors identified during research.

To be successful in new competitive atmosphere, the needs of the customer have to be satisfied. This reorientation of business activities demanded a more analytical and systematic approach, founded on an assessment of customer requirements, with the objective of maximizing net profits by providing customers with products and services that really fulfill their particular need.

The essence of marketing is that a firm will make what it ca sell, rather than sell what it can make. Marketing therefore requires an assessment of consumer needs through market research and the orientation of all the firms activities towards the satisfaction of the needs. The technique of marketing is that of marketing research.

Identification of customer needs entails, therefore, some systematic investigation into the markets, either those currently being supplied or new market areas of potential interest. This is the role of marketing research, which is the foundation of sound marketing strategies and their associated tactics.

Marketing research is not a substitute for management decisions but it is an aid to making better decisions by providing additional information relative to specific marketing problems. Marketing research is a fact-finding process, logical and essential for successful marketing and adaptable to the requirements of the firm and other types of organizations that aim to attract the support of the customers, clients, patrons, patients or donors.

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To survive, every organization has to be able to offer acceptable goods and services, which satisfy the identified needs of specific kinds of people, industries and firms. Value in exchange lies at the root of the business and

personal negotiations, perceived value if not necessarily dependant on objective assessment; people buy with their hearts as well as their heads. Motivations may be myriad; attractive new values can be built into products to make them stand out from their competitors.

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What is Research?

Research always starts with a question or a problem. Its purpose is to find answers to questions through the application of scientific methods. It is a systematic and intensive study directed towards a more complete knowledge of the subject studied.

Research can be classified into two broad categories: a) Basic research b) Applied research

a) Basic research:

It is sometimes called

fundamental research, theoretical research

or pure research. It aims at expanding the frontiers of knowledge and does not directly involve pragmatic problems. The essence of basic research is that it addresses itself to more fundamental questions and not to problems with immediate commercial potential.

b) Applied research:

Applied research is also called as

decisional

research by some

authors. On the other hand, with a certain problem, and it specifies alternative solutions and possible outcomes of each alternative. Unlike basic research, it is promoted by commercial consideration. Though usually, one may be able to distinguish basic research from applied research, the distinction between the two sometimes gets blurred. Several firms may be engaged in basic research, which do not have any immediate commercial use. However, it may be potentially commercial or else firms will not undertake it at all.

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Applied research can be divided into two categories:

Problem solving research: Problem solving research as the name implies is concerned with a particular issue or a problem and is usually proprietary in character.

Problem oriented research: Problem oriented research indicates that such a research is undertaken within a firm or by an outside consultant on its behalf. Problem oriented research, on the other hand is concerned with a class of issues or problems in which several firms may be interested. Research of this type is usually concerned with conceptual aspect but is oriented to applied problems.

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Marketing Research

Marketing is a specialized function of management generally interpreted today as including all those activities concerned with the development production and distribution of products to identifiable markets where they will provide satisfaction to those who buy them. Marketing research is therefore far ranging in its inquiries it covers product development identifying in the market and suitable methods of selling distribution promotion and sales/service facilities. In fact every aspect of business activity from the idea stage to eventual consumer satisfaction.

Definition- by Marketing Research Society:

Market research is the means used by those who provide goods and services to keep themselves in touch with the needs and wants of those who buy and use those goods and services. Marketing research should be viewed as a form of applied research that while imposing on its practitioners the rigors and discipline of scientific enquiry has a pragmatic purpose. Without this scientific orientation marketing research would have little validity it would deteriorate into subjective and biased assessment of market behavior. Hence an objective posture and systematic methods of enquiry are vital constituents of marketing research. It has been observed that marketing research is scientific in the sense that science may be at least partly defined in terms of the attitude of disinterest and impersonality one must take towards the outcomes of scientific investigation. Science deals with the unembroidered fact rather than with opinion and belief.

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Scope of Marketing Research

The area of marketing decision is wide it covers product design pricing distribution and promotion. It acknowledges the fact that there are many variables affecting marketing activities, which cannot be controlled by suppliers to a market. These environmental variables such as the demographic structure of the population, economic condition, legal restrictions, competitors activities and the shifting tastes dictated by fashion can cause marketing decisions to be complex and difficult to make. Every organization must take marketing decisions of some kind of frequency; these involve large capital expenditure on the building and equipping the new building of a new plant. Marketing decisions may result in the redirection of the resources of a business into entirely new markets or in exploiting new technologies, which have been developed by research laboratories.

Sir Douglas Was in his presidential address to the conference of the market research society in 1990 commented that market research enables producers of goods and services to design and deliver their products according to the informed preferences of the final consumer and so reduces the rise of costly production mistakes being made through poor market intelligence. He also stressed that market research can help policy makers in both central and local government to design their programs in a way that takes into account the views of the consumers. For example social security beneficiaries might be surveyed to find out whether they would prefer cash payments to assistance in kind as with subsidized travel or housings.

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Information for marketing decision-making may be broadly classified as

a) Strategic b) Tactical c) Data bank

The first type refers to information needed for strategic decisions e.g. whether to enter a specific overseas market or to diversify into new markets. The second type relates to information for tactical decisions such as the planning of sales territories. The third type provides essential background knowledge about, for example, competitors activities, market trends, VAT requirements etc. Marketing management information has two-way flow from the organization to the environment (i.e. market) and from the market to the organization. The principle feedback is an essential element. See fig. In rapidly changing market conditions it is imperative for management to have an up to date knowledge to be aware of the entry of new competitive products and services and to be able to plan ahead for emerging trends in taste, systematic enquiry is far preferable to hunch.

Marketing Management

Environment

Problems and Decisions

Market needs related to specific supplies.

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Sequential stages of Marketing Research

Five logical steps can be identified in the survey process. These apply irrespective of the nature of the market. Stage 1 Research Brief

Stage 2 Research proposal

Stage 3 Data collection

Stage 4 Data analysis and evaluation

Stage 5 Preparation and presentation of report.

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Main steps involved in marketing research:

In applying marketing research for solving any marketing problem the researcher has to go through several steps or stages and each step has its own decisive role in the total research process right from defining the problem to the preparation of the report, the researcher has to proceed like a scientist in a laboratory. Following are the major steps involved in marketing research process:

Defining the problem.

Problem analyst.

Developing the research design.

Data collection.

Analyzing and interpreting the data.

Summarizing the findings.

Preparing the research project.

Defining the problem:

Defining the problem is the most important part of the marketing research process. Normally there is nothing like a marketing research problem in a business. The problem may belong to any area of marketing The marketing research problem is a derivative of marketing problem therefore in the first instance the marketing problem involved should be clearly identified, defined and conceptualized.

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Problem analysis: Apart from defining the problem correctly it is also essential to analyze the problem in depth. This helps the collection of relevant data. Sometimes more than the researcher, marketing executive by virtue of their experience may be able to give useful directions in this regard. A consultative approach may therefore be required.

There must be complete agreement between the researcher and the marketing executive regarding the nature of the marketing problem and the consequent marketing research problems that are tackled. Otherwise research effort, time and money will be wasted.

Developing the research design:

Development of research design is the next step in marketing research process after problem definition and problem analysis.

The choice of research design depends mainly on the purpose for which the research is conducted. The depth and extent of data required, the cost and benefits of the research, the urgency of the work and the time available for completing it, will decide the research design.

Research design provides the blueprint of the research work. Research design is actually the blue print of the research project and when implemented must bring out the information required for solving the identified marketing problem.

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The research design indicates the method of research (i.e. the method of data collection) the instruments of the research, the method of sampling etc. Again it is the research design that will largely determine whether the information finally collected by the whole process will be collected in an objective and scientific way and whether it will be collected at a reasonable cost.

Developing the research procedure Research procedure springs from research design. It spells out the plan for securing the data. The market survey is an example of research procedure. In every case a detailed market survey may not be necessary, simpler research procedures may be enough for generating the required data.

The research instruments mean the instruments employed in the research for gathering the data response. The questionnaire is an example of research instrument. In an observation base study the instrument of research can be a person trained in observation. The instrument can also be mechanical or electronic device of observation (e.g. tape recorder, camera) In a survey type of research usually the instrument of research is the questionnaire. In a experiment type of research sometimes an observational device is used and sometimes a questionnaire is used.

Data collection Data is he foundation of all marketing research. A few aspects of data sources and methods of collecting data are described in the succeeding paragraphs. Thereafter sampling is discussed, as sampling is an integral part of data collection process.

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Primary and Secondary data

Data or facts are the raw materials with which a market researcher functions. These facts are derived from several sources. Data can be classified as primary data, which is gathered for the first time by the researcher, and secondary data, which is borrowed by the researcher from other secondary sources.

Secondary data Secondary data (whether internal or external) is the data already collected by others, for the purposes other than the solution of the problem at hand. The researcher must thoroughly search secondary data sources before commissioning any efforts for collecting the data. There are many advantages in searching for and analyzing secondary data before attempting the collection of the primary data. In the first place, in some cases the secondary data itself can be sufficient to solve the problem. Usually, the cost of searching the secondary data is much lower than the cost of organizing primary data. Moreover , secondary data has several supplementary uses. It also helps to plan the collection of the primary data, if primary data becomes necessary.

Sources of secondary data In most firms, secondary data (internal) of enormous magnitude is often available. The sales records constitute by far the most important part of secondary data on marketing which the researcher uses extensively. Since this data is readily available, the researcher gets it with very little effort, time and money. In addition to sales records, publication of a wide variety provide a good deal of external data on any subject such as newspapers, magazines, technical journals, directories, committee reports etc.

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Other examples of secondary data are company reports, research reports, by various agencies, reference book. Secondary data can also be purchased from commercial marketing services.

Only when secondary data, internal data and external published data is insufficient for the purpose of the given marketing research job, an original research project, including a market survey, is launched for collecting primary data.

Primary data or data for respondents The person of the firm that gives primary data is usually referred to as the respondent. A respondent may give information passively or actively. When information is gathered through the mere observation of the respondents behavior, he is said to provide information passively. When he gives information through written or spoken response, he is said to provide information actively.

There are different means of obtaining data from respondents. The most important means is the interview. There are several types of interviews, such as personal interview, telephonic interview and interview by mail.

The interview may be structured or unstructured, direct or indirect. Sometimes a depth interview, or a qualitative interview is also employed for illicit information.

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Sampling design

Making the census of the entire universe will be out of the question in many marketing research projects, on account of limitations of time and money. Hence, sampling becomes inevitable.

Sampling is used to collect primary data when the sources of data are far too many to be exhaustively handled. Sampling is an integral part of the data collection process; we are discussing subject in length. Obviously, a sample is only a portion of the universe or the population. The success of sampling depends on the extent to which the characteristics of the sample truly represent those of the universe.

According to Yule, a famous statistician, the object of sampling is to get the maximum information about the parent population with the minimum effort. Often, people who are not familiar with the scientific basis of sampling have an impression that data collected through sampling is less reliable than data generated by exhaustively covering the entire population. This impression is erroneous. If properly done, sampling produces representative data on the entire population.

Advantages of sampling Sampling reduces cost, saves time, enables collection of information that is good enough for the given purpose, enables more thorough

investigation, enables better supervision of the survey, enables better presentation of the data and enables the required degree of precision.

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Developing the sample design

The following are the basic components of a sample design

Choosing the sample unit (who are to be surveyed) Choosing the sample size (how many to be surveyed) Choosing the sample procedure (how to ensure those who are included in the sample) Choosing the sample media (how to reach the respondents in the sample- through mail interview, personal interview or telephonic interview.

Sampling Methods

Different methods can be employed to select the sample units. These methods, termed as sampling methods, fall under two broad categories Probability sampling methods Non-probability sampling methods.

Probability/ Random sampling In probability sampling method, the sample units are selected at random. At random should not be understood as haphazard or arbitrary manner, they are full of bias. Almost all human beings are biased in selecting. Sometimes, they are biased deliberately, but often they are unaware that they are biased. Random sampling follows a precisely specified system where there is no scope for any biased selection of the sample units. Randomness ensures that the selection of the units takes place by sheer chance. It means that every member of population has an equal chance of being selected.

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Non-profitability/ non-random Sampling

In non-probability sampling methods, the sample units are selected in a non-random manner. The selection may be opportunist or purposive, it may be based on the convenience or the judgment of the researcher, the choice is deliberate, not random. As a general observation, it can be stated that probability-sampling methods are more scientific and capable of yielding more representative samples than non-profitability sampling methods. They are more scientific because in their case, the sample error could be estimated mathematically. However, the non-profitability methods too are used extensively despite the fact that they lack the precision of probability sampling.

Different methods of probability sampling There are many methods of probability sampling. The commonly used methods are as follows

Simple random sampling. Systematic random sampling. Stratified sampling. Area sampling.

Simple random sampling A simple random sample is a sample wherein any item of the population is as likely to be selected in the sample as any other item. In other words, all items of the population have equal chances of being selected in a sample. Lottery is one method of selecting a simple random sample. In fact, the method is commonly known by the name lottery sampling .

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Systematic sampling

There is only a small difference between simple random sampling and systematic sampling. Systematic sampling involves selecting every n th unit from the population after the beginning unit is selected at random. The interval n is fixed by dividing the population by sample size. For example, if the population consists of 500 elements and a sample of 50 elements is required, the sample interval would be fixed as 500/50 = 10. Every tenth unit from the previously ordered population can be taken to get the systematic sample of 50.

Stratified sampling In this case, the population is divided into a few strata according to certain characteristics that are common to members within the strata. From each stratum, a specified number of units are picked up by random means. These units together constitute a stratified sample. While resorting to stratified sampling, it is essential that the criteria used to stratify the population is directly associated with what the study is going to measure. In other words, stratification of a population should be done only if a direct correlation exists between the criteria for stratifying and the data sought by the study. Within stratified samples there are two different kinds; the proportional sample and the disproportional sample. In some cases, the number of sample units selected from each stratum may be proportional to the stratum s share in the total population. In these cases, the samples are proportional samples. In certain marketing situations, sample units from each stratum may be taken based on certain assigned priorities and not on the basis of stratum s share in the total population. The samples in these cases are disproportional samples.

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Area Sampling

Area sampling is also a form of stratified sampling. In this case, the stratification is based on the criterion of locations. This method selects the sample units in several stages. At each stage, a series of intermediary geographical blocks are selected on random basis. Finally, from within these blocks, the sample units are selected at random. The area and sub area selections at each stage have to be validated to ensure randomness in the sample finally selected.

Different methods under non-profitability sampling The sampling methods mentioned below fall under the category of non-profitability methods of sampling

Convenience sampling. Quota sampling. Judgment sampling. Panel sampling.

Convenience sampling In this method, selection of the sample units is based on the convenience of the researcher. Quite often, accessibility decides the selection of sample. Convenience sampling is normally used only in retesting phases of studies. It is not resorted in situations where the researcher has to estimate values of the target population for descriptive research studies. This is so because, with convenience samples, there is no way of deciding the representative ness of the sample.

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Quota sampling

The researcher prescribes certain parameters and assigns sample quotas to the field workers. Each field worker selects the unit to be interviewed, based on the parameters indicated and fills the quota assigned to him. Quota sampling is often resorted to in marketing research studies to save the work and time associated with probability sampling.

Judgment sampling Judgment sampling is a deliberate choice of a sample by the researcher based on his judgment about the population members. The selection of the sample is deliberate and purposeful; it is not random. The researcher or the person nominated by him would be well acquainted with the members of the population and he exercises his judgment in selecting the sample.

Panel sampling In this method, members are selected to a panel and they become an almost permanent sample for drawing specific information on selected subjects. There can be many kinds of panels such as consumer panel, expert panel etc. Panel members are approached either personally or through mail. Panel members are recruited with prior knowledge; they are not selected at random.

The different sampling methods/procedures have their respective advantages. Depending on the nature of the marketing research problem, the type of data required, the extent of reliability required, the budget and time available etc, the marketing researcher can choose the method that is best suited for his particular research project.

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Similarly, the researcher can also choose the desired sample size based on theses factors. Understandably the margin of error will vary depending on the sample size. But all marketing research situations do not depend on highly accurate data/findings. Many of them can tolerate varying degrees of margins of errors. So, the market research has a choice in sampling procedure, sample size, etc. He can go in for the appropriate ones and not necessarily the perfect ones, which will depend disproportionately large amounts of time and money.

Market Survey Market survey is one of the widely used MR techniques. Market survey is at times viewed as synonymous with market research. This is erroneous. It has to be understood clearly that market survey is just one of the techniques of market research and is not synonymous with market survey. It is just one method of collecting the marketing information required for carrying out a given marketing research task. It is used if the required data is not available from the company s internal records and from external published sources. It amounts to original research work/field research work for the purpose of collecting raw data. There are two types of market survey, the census survey and the sample survey.

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Research Tool- a questionnaire

Questionnaire development is an important part of the market survey job. It is an art that calls for a lot of expertise and resourcefulness on the part of the researcher. The questionnaire should be structured so as to collect all relevant information. It often sets the framework as well as the tone of the survey. The research data is build up on the framework of the questionnaire. If the questionnaire is faulty, it will generate incorrect information and no amount of analysis and interpretation can set it right. The choice of words in the questionnaire should also be appropriate and should be easily understood by all respondents.

Nuances of questionnaire development As a general principle, the questionnaire should be as simple as the subject of the survey permits. It should be brief and to the point, forming a logical sequence. Questions should be broken into component parts so as to cover a single idea. Leading and misleading questions should be avoided. Questions, which respondents cannot answer properly, should be avoided. The questions in a survey questionnaire usually belong to one or the other of the following types.

Open ended questions. Close ended questions.

A step-by-step approach in questionnaire development List all relevant points exhaustively Do some informal, trial interview Draft the questionnaire based on the above Put the questionnaire through a pilot survey Develop the final questionnaire based on the pilot survey.

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Interview A conversation directed to a definite purpose other than satisfaction in the conversation itself, if it is concerned with a purposeful exchange of meanings and it is this interaction between the interviewer and the respondent, which contributes so much to the success of the interview. This give and take and free exchange of communication lie at the root of a successful interview. The psychological atmosphere of an interview is important in the interviewing process for effective interviewing it requires insight into the dynamics of interaction. If this interaction is treated with skill and sensitivity the data collected during the interview depends largely on the interviewer developing a relationship with the respondent, which will encourage good communication. This is a two way process to which both the interviewer and the respondent subscribe in fulfilling the particular role. The distinctive role of the interviewer is concerned with securing valid information about a particular problem, which has been carefully defined in the objectives of the survey.

The interview must therefore be directed and controlled by the interviewer if it is to fulfill its eventual function of a conversation with a purpose. The techniques used should be those that are most likely to result in data, which will satisfy these objectives. Flexibility is therefore an important attribute of the interviewing process and there is no ideal method, which can be applied generally. These are some techniques, which are more appropriate than others. In particular cases the success of the survey rests on the skill with which the interview has been devised.

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Introduction to the Project work

Marketing indeed is an ancient art; it has been practiced in one form or the other since the days of Adam and Eve. Its emergence as a management discipline, however, is of relatively recent origin. And within this relatively short period, it has gained so much importance and stature that today most management thinkers and practitioners throughout the world, view it as the most important of all management functions in any business.

The project undertaken as a summer project was in DIC India Ltd., which is into printing inks and related products. The topic assigned was to analyze the market i.e. all the main printing presses in Pune area. Another topic was to calculate the total requirement of printing inks. The company also wanted to enter into a new segment i.e. chemicals required on the machine while printing, and the blankets used in offset machines.

To carry out the project, survey was conducted in 35 main printing presses in Pune city. The survey included the current ink they are using, their monthly consumption, the chemicals and their monthly consumption, and requirements of the blankets.

The summer project was for 6 weeks as a part of the M.B.A. curriculum at the completion of the first year of the course.

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Methodology

Measurability of the data gathered from the respondents is one of the important requirements in any research study. Measurement may be easy, if the answers are totally based on qualitative data. But in any marketing situation, responses sought from the respondents are qualitative in nature, relating to perception, feelings, likes and dislikes, inclinations and preferences.

To carry out this research study, data collection (primary data) have been collected from thirty five different printing presses in Pune city, to know the actual facts and the market position of the company. The company also wanted to enter into a new segment i.e. chemicals and blankets used in printing industry.

To experience the primary data, sampling procedure is implemented in research study. Sampling is the function of an expert, should possess adequate knowledge of the statistical theory of probability and also have considerable experience in survey work relating to marketing problems. The quality of statistical sample is not a matter of luck. It is the result of the scientific application of the right research approach. To get the complete data, nonprobability sampling has been undertaken.

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Scope and importance

Marketing starts with market research and ends with market research. To start any new business, first we should check if there is demand of the product, we are offering. Who are our competitors? What is the position of the competitors? What is the financial position? What are the strategies of the competitors and what are our strategies? For all theses answers and many more, market research is very important. Before investing any amount of money in the market, market research is a must. With every increase in the complexities, marketing in business activity carrying out research relating to customers, products and market also becomes equally complex, necessating specialized skill and sophisticated techniques. This resulted in emergence of market research as a specialized subject of marketing management.

Market research plays a key role in the entire marketing process. It helps the firm in marketing measurement, assessment of market potential and development of sales and forecast. It also helps the firm acquire a better understanding of the customer and the marketing environment. It aids the formulation of marketing mix. As a matter of fact, decision making of each element of marketing mix, like products and services mix, distribution mix, promotion mix and pricing policy relies heavily on market research findings.

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Data Tabulation and Analysis

Tabulation is the process of summarizing the raw data and displaying the same in the compact form for further analysis. The tabulation can be simplified in columns and rows. It conserves space and minimizes exploratory and descriptive statements. Tabulation facilitates the process of comparison. Tabulation helps in summation of items and error defection. It assist in various statistical computations. When large volume of inquiry is being used the researcher can use mechanical or computer tabulation. It simplifies complex data, gives identity to the data and reveals the pattern.

Analysis of any data depends on what is the basic purpose of the research. Depending the basic purpose the type of tools should be used for the analysis. The analysis is done in accordance with the acceptable relevant scientific methods. The main characteristics of a good analysis are that it should be easily understood by others and should be based on all items, and should be rigidly defined.

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Name of the Company Rich Prints Kalyani Printers Unique Offset Replica Packaging Super Computers Mudrankan Delight Printers Mirror Art Vinayaka Stationary Prakash Offset Vikram Printers Anurup Printers Sri J Runa Graphics Mandar Traders Raj printers Blue Bird India Ltd Jangam Offset Sri Om Kalpana Graphics Mudra Sri Om Offset Sri Ram Offset Amol Associates K. Joshi Spectrum Offset Pratima Sangam Press Ashish Advt. Shantadurga Pratiroop Sidhkala Process Prabhat Printing Press Zaware Graphics Poonam Offset 50

Ink used United United BSF Coates Coates Micro Micro Coates Coates Coates Coates Micro United Coates United Coates United Coates Coates Coates Coates United United Micro Sicpa Toyo King Coates NIK Micro Coates Sicpa Coates Coates Coates Coates

Name of the Company Rich Prints Kalyani Printers Unique Offset Replica Packaging Super Computers Mudrankan Delight Printers Mirror Art Vinayaka Stationary Prakash Offset Vikram Printers Anurup Printers Sri J Runa Graphics Mandar Traders Raj printers Blue Bird India Ltd Jangam Offset Sri Om Kalpana Graphics Mudra Sri Om Offset Sri Ram Offset Amol Associates K. Joshi Spectrum Offset Pratima Sangam Press Ashish Advt. Shantadurga Pratiroop Sidhkala Process Prabhat Pinting Press Zaware Graphics Poonam Offset 51

Monthly Req. of Inks 60 kg 600 kg 60 kg 30 kg 70 kg 30 kg 30 kg 50 kg 40 kg 60 kg 50 kg 100 kg 40 kg 40 kg 50 kg 50 kg 1100 kg 60 kg 200 kg 30 kg 30 kg 30 kg 40 kg 50 kg 60 kg 50 kg 40 kg 100 kg 240 kg 100 kg 200 kg 40 kg 120 kg 50 kg 40 kg

Name of the Company

Monthly Req. of Chemicals

Rich Prints Kalyani Printers Unique Offset Replica Packaging Super Computers Mudrankan Delight Printers Mirror Art Vinayaka Stationary Prakash Offset Vikram Printers Anurup Printers Sri J Runa Graphics Mandar Traders Raj printers Blue Bird India Ltd Jangam Offset Sri Om Kalpana Graphics Mudra Sri Om Offset Sri Ram Offset Amol Associates K. Joshi Spectrum Offset Pratima Sangam Press Ashish Advt. Shantadurga Pratiroop Sidhkala Process Prabhat Pinting Press Zaware Graphics Poonam Offset 52 40 lit 60 lit 50 lit 50 lit 50 lit 30 lit 30 lit 50 lit 40 lit 300 lit 60 lit 30 lit 50 lit 45 lit 30 lit 25 lit 400 lit 150 lit 50 lit 25 lit 75 lit 50 lit 20 lit 20 lit 30 lit 110 lit 50 lit 450 lit 120 lit 30 lit 50 lit 30 lit 30 lit 75 lit 50

Name of the Company Rich Prints Kalyani Printers Unique Offset Replica Packaging Super Computers Mudrankan Delight Printers Mirror Art Vinayaka Stationary Prakash Offset Vikram Printers Anurup Printers Sri J Runa Graphics Mandar Traders Raj printers Blue Bird India Ltd Jangam Offset Sri Om Kalpana Graphics Mudra Sri Om Offset Sri Ram Offset Amol Associates K. Joshi Spectrum Offset Pratima Sangam Press Ashish Advt. Shantadurga Pratiroop Sidhkala Process Prabhat Pinting Press Zaware Graphics Poonam Offset

Blankets Used Cow Cow Phoenix Day Cow Phoenix Cow Cow Cow Day Phoenix Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Day Conti Air Phoenix Meiji Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow Cow 53 Cow

Others Micro 11% 14% Sicpa 6% United 20%

Coates 49%

Coates United Sicpa Micro Others

The above pie chart is of the total market share of printing inks in Pune area. As we can see Coates is having around 49 % of the market share, which is the highest. United inks is having a market share of 20%, whereas Sicpa and Micro inks are having 6% and 14% respectively. So we can say that in Pune area Coates is the market leader.

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Market share of Blankets

Meiji Day 6% 9% Phoenix 11%

Cow 74%

Cow Phoenix Meiji Day

As shown in the above Pie Chart, Cow Company of blankets are having approximately 74 % of the market share. The other companies such as Phoenix, Meiji, and Day are having a very less share. Cow is the leader in the market as far as blankets in Pune area is concerned.

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Distribution of Chemicals

30

25

No of Companies

20

15

Series1

10

0 <50 60 70
Qty

80

90

100 and more

All the above data was collected by visiting the various printing presses in Pune city. A questionnaire was prepared to obtain the data in a systematic manner. The questionnaire contained many questions regarding the ink used, the monthly requirement, and the company of blankets used, chemicals used and their monthly requirement.

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DIC India Ltd. is a printing ink manufacturing company and the main reasons for this research were 4) The company wanted to know their market position with so many new ink companies coming in. 5) The company wanted to enter into two new segments i.e. blankets used in printing offset machines and the chemicals used while printing. 6) The company wanted to know if the customer is satisfied with their products as well as the after service.

For the above purpose, thirty five main printing presses were selected from Pune city who were medium or large scale, and information was obtained using questionnaires. Each printing press was visited personally and information was obtained from the owner as well as the workers. The questionnaire was so prepared that it would be very easy for the respondent to answer the questions without any stress and also without consuming more time.

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Analysis

1) The first chart is of the different manufacturers from which the press owners buy the ink. The main players are Coates, Micro inks, United inks, Sicpa etc. As we can understand from the Pie chart Coates inks is having 49 % share, United inks is having 20 % share whereas Micro inks is having 14 % share in the market. As we can see the main competition is between these three companies. Coates is relatively older company and has loyal customers.

2) The total ink consumption monthly of all these thirty-five printing presses is 3940 kg. Each company has given the average monthly requirement as ink requirement depends on the jobs available for printing.

3) The total consumption of chemicals is 2755 lit monthly, which is also given as average, as requirement of chemicals depend on the availability of the job.

4) Round 75 % of the printing presses use blankets from Cow Company. This company is old and has loyal customers. People using this product are quite satisfied with its performance.

Conclusion

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4) As far as printing ink is concerned the position of DIC Coates is very strong in the market. They enjoy the loyalty of the customers, as the company is very old. The prices are also reasonable and competitive in the market.

5) Customers are satisfied with the performance of the Coates ink and expect the after sales service to be more efficient.

6) Customers were given three words, price, quality and service and were told to give their priorities, and around 80 % people gave quality as their first priority, service as the second priority and price as the third.

7) Around 75 % of the customers do the color matching on the machine itself, and only for high quality jobs color matching is done from outside.

8) The monthly requirements of the blankets is very less, i.e. very few presses change their blankets every month. The wear and tear of the blanket depends on the frequency of the job and at the speed at which the machine is normally run.

9) Technova is the only competitor in the chemicals field. Many printers use local made chemicals for economical purpose. Chemicals with good quality and reasonable prices will be welcomed in the market.

10) Entering the Blanket segment will be a bit difficult as Cow is having a very strong position in the market. Right now there is no direct threat to Cow Company.

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Recommendation

4) The Company should try and do some type of advertising in the market, to increase the sales and the share in the market.

5) The after sales service should be more prompt and fast. Complaints should be looked after immediately without any delay.

6) Entering into the chemicals market can be profitable. Quality should be maintained, compared to Technova, with reasonable price. The Company can use its brand image of printing inks in chemicals field.

7) The Company should enter the Blanket segment very slowly, with less investment at first. People should know the brand before giving serious competition to Cow.

8) The distribution service should be improved and the supplies should be regular for the convenience of the customer.

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Questionnaire: 1) Name of the company? 2) Address? 3) Which ink do you use? 4) What is your monthly requirement of ink? 5) Which blankets do you use? 6) What is your monthly requirement of blankets? 7) What are your monthly requirements of chemicals? 8) Are you satisfied with the performance of your ink?

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Bibliography

1) Modern Lithography by Ian Faux. 2) Handbook of print media. 3) Company brochures.

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