Market Research For Scooter Segment

Identifying the Communication Strategy for the Scooter Segment

Conclusion Qualitative Analysis Stochastic Share Analysis SWOT Analysis Jaccard Analysis Respondents preference for metal bodied scooter Respondents keen to try a new TVS product Medium of Communication Role of Influencer Association with Brand Ambassador Brand Personification Perception of TVS Brand Awareness Comparative Analysis – TVS v/s Scooter Segment Socio-Economic Classification of the Respondents Factor Analysis Sample Statistics Data Collection Key Information Areas and Variables Research Objectives Marketing Objective

Contents

Marketing Objective

Identifying the communication strategy that appeals to the consumers of the scooter segment for the brand TVS

Research Objectives Can TVS leverage its brand identity in the scooter market by extending the Scooty Brand/ product portfolio? Evaluate customer expectations from scooters/ Scooteretts on certain parameters. Evaluating the possibility of success of a new scooter from TVS in relation to the competition.

Key Information Areas and Variables Product Performance – Mileage/efficiency, power , comfort and convenience

Brand Image – Reliability, Style (high/low), TVS vis-à-vis Honda, Hero Honda, Suzuki

Purchase Intention – Frequency of use, purpose of use

Key Information Areas and Variables SEC – Income, age, sex, education, profession

Awareness – spontaneous/top of mind, share of mind/share of heart

Product specs – luggage space, engine type, affordability, robustness

Role of influence – Peer/family pressure and celebrity endorsements/ advertisements

Data Collection Primary Research : via questionnaires from  Scooter/Scooterette owner  Individuals seeking to purchase a new scooter  Individuals who have driven scooters in last 1 year

Secondary Research • • • •

Newspaper Articles Literature Review SIAM Business Standard

Sample Statistics • Sample of 102 respondents (out of which 7 were rejected) • Both in person and online • The Demographic details of the respondents

Classification of the Respondents

All data in number of respondents

Preference for Scooters : Factor Analysis Factors Usefulness

Reliability, ease of use, mileage, utility, comfort, affordability

Appeal

Masculinity, youthfulness, style

Dependability

Power, Safety

Preference for Scooterettes : Factor Analysis

Factors Usefulness

Reliability, ease of use, utility, youthfulness, comfort, affordability, safety

Efficiency

Mileage, Style, Power

Macho Image

Masculinity

Preference for Bikes : Factor Analysis Factors Usefulness

Safety, ease of use, mileage, utility, comfort, affordability

Appeal

Power, youthfulness, style

Sturdiness

Reliability, masculinity

Purchase Decision of Scooters : Factor Analysis Factors Robustness

Power, Masculinity, Acceleration, Innovation, style, status symbol

Value for money

Maintenance cost, Working Life,, mileage, affordability, working life

Trust worthiness

Performance, reliability, safety, comfort, ease of use

After Sales service

Guarantee, spare parts availability, service network

Features

colors available, engine capacity, seating space, storage space

Brand TVS: Factor Analysis Factors Usefulness

Mileage, utility, comfort, style, reliability

Robustness

Power, Safety, Masculinity

Value for Money

Affordability, youthfulness

Simplicity

Ease of use

Comparative Analysis – TVS v/s Scooter Segment

Based on respondents’ perception of the Scooter segment vis-à-vis TVS on the given parameters. The data represents the mean score for scooter segment and TVS

Brand Awareness: Top of Mind (Overall)

All data in number of respondents

Brand Awareness: Top of Mind (Gender Classification)

All data in number of respondents

Brand Awareness: Spontaneous (Overall)

All data in number of respondents

Brand Awareness: Spontaneous (Gender Classification)

All data in number of respondents

Perception of TVS: Overall

1

1: Percentage of respondents associating a particular parameter +vely with TVS

Perception of TVS

1: Percentage of respondents associating a particular parameter +vely with TVS

Brand Personification

Brand Personification (Gender Classification)

Association with Brand Ambassador

The above graph is based on actual number of valid responses

Association with Brand Ambassador

Role of Influencer The influencing parameters considered in our survey were clubbed into two categories: family and friends

Medium of Communication The table below collates the data for the most reachable communication medium for respondents of different income groups

Income group <100000 100000250000 250000450000 >450000

Newspap Interne TV/Radio Billboard Others er t s 3 3

2 5

7 17

0 0

1 0

1

12

10

0

0

6

14

12

1

0

TV/Radio is a preferred medium across income groups, Internet is preferred in Higher Income Group Income Group: Annual Family Income, Based on number of valid responses (94 in this case)

Medium of Communication

Respondents keen to try a new TVS product

Respondents preference for Metal bodied scooters

Jaccard Analysis Parameters Performance

Value for money

Reliability

Working Life

Safety

Acceleration

Mileage

Masculinity

Power

Colors Available

Comfort

Engine Capacity

Style

Innovation

Maintenance Cost

Availability of Spare parts

Price

Service Network

Ease of Use

Status Symbol

Guarantee

Storage Space

Jaccard Analysis Category Drivers

Rank

Comfort

1

Value for Money

2

Ease of use

3

Brand Drivers (TVS) Value for Money Ease of Use Comfort

Category Driver, Jaccard Score >0.4

SWOT Analysis: TVS Strengths

Opportunities

Performance

Ease of use

Price

Value for money Storage Space

Colors Available

Safety

Working Life

Availability of Spare Parts

Mileage

Guarantee

Service Network Weaknesses

Maintenance Threats Cost

Power

Reliability

Innovation

Style

Status Symbol

Acceleration

Engine Capacity

Masculinity Comfort

le Used< -4= Weakness, -4 to 0 = Threat, 0 to 4 = Opportunity, >4 = Strength

Stochastic Share Analysis

Conclusions: •LML’s stochastic share is surprising since it is a defunct company •Bajaj as a brand is underperforming •Honda as a brand has lower stochastic share although it is the market leader. •TVS’s stochastic share and market share are quite similar but the company can leverage on its higher stochastic share as compared to its competitors.

Qualitative Analysis

Approach to Qualitative Research

Division of Qualitative Analysis

The research is divided into two parts: –

Focus Group Discussions  Objective: To how do they relate to the scooter segment and to analyze consumer preferences and tastes so as to formulate the communication strategy which is most appealing to them.  Sampling method: Non-probabilistic sampling – Judgment sampling  Sample size: Focus groups of 8 members each  Respondent profile: Representation was from people of similar age group and educational qualification with different family income levels.  Moderator: Researcher

Division of Qualitative Analysis (Contd.) – In Depth personal interviews • Objective: To analyze consumer preferences and tastes so as to formulate the communication strategy which is most appealing to them.. • Sampling method: Non-probabilistic sampling – Judgment sampling • Sample size: Ten personal interviews • Respondent profile: Representation of various agegroups, income-groups, education-level-groups. SEC A & SEC B will be accommodated. • Interviewer: Researcher

FGD Topic

2.5 lpa to 4.5 lpa

>4.5 lpa

Identifying with scooter segment

A scooter is an A scooter is easy to economic mode of drive and easily transport which can be manoeuvrable used by almost everyone in the family

Advantages of scooter Enough leg space so Easy to drive as there over bikes the kids can also travel is no need to change along with parents. gears. Can beat rush Luggage carrying hour traffic. Safety is capacity so easy for more for scooters. shopping Preferred communication channel

Internet and TV is TV is more accessible equally accessible but and hence is the an ad on TV has more preferred channel impact than one on the ahead of newspapers internet also

FGD Topic

2.5 lpa to 4.5 lpa

>4.5 lpa

Initiator and Influencer Largely a family decision based on utility

Largely a family decision but also influenced by promotional offers and free test drives

Future of the scooter segment

Not just ladies, people who are a bit old or some one who has back pain find scooters more comfortable. Also age group 16-18 who can’t get a license.

Ladies find scooters convenient and affordable so they should be the target

FGD Topic

2.5 lpa to 4.5 lpa

>4.5 lpa

Attributes

Safety, Affordability, Service Centre, Stability

Light weight, Maneuverability, Looks, Service centers

Dilemmas

Maintenance costs and Choosing between the low mileage. Presence brands and also of Public Transport choosing between a scooter and a bike.

Preferred Brand Ambassador

A person who stands for stability and consistency some one like Rahul Dravid

A celebrity like Sharukh Khan who gave more glamour to a scooter in Chak de India

In-depth Interviews – Important Factors For Scooter / Scooterette Segment Factor

Importance

Comfort

High

Reliability

High

Performance

High

Colors

Medium

Factor

Importance

Style

Less

Among both males and females

Masculinity

Less

Among females, neutral among male respondents

Among both males and females – Important attribute associated with segment

High among females, neutral to low among males

In-depth Interviews – Brand Awareness • Top Of Mind Recall – Bajaj enjoys the highest Top Of Mind Recall( 6 out of 10) – Second is TVS(2) – Agrees with the survey results found

• INTERESTING FACTS – 2 TVS users have BAJAJ occupying their top of mind share for the scooter / scooterette segment

• TVS has a high spontaneous brand recall. • People associate comfort level, ease of use and reliability with brand TVS. • High levels of brand loyalty were seen, sometimes causing a visible halo effect – One of the BAJAJ users rated BAJAJ high on each and every attribute and was not at all open to other brands```

In-depth Interviews – Category Awareness

• Females are generally not biased against 2 stroke scooters whereas males prefer 4 stroke • High power is in general preferred(8 on 10)

In-depth Interviews – TVS Communication Strategy • Very little recall of recent TVS advertisements • Sportspersons are everyone’s preferred brand ambassadors because they associate youth and energetic look with Scooterette and sportspersons are able to carry that look very well but they themselves don’t associate with the brand ambassadors. • Celebrities are preferred as they make good advertisements

In-depth Interviews – Communication Strategy

• Accessible Medium – TV / Radio - ease of access – Billboards • Sample Response: “If I am sitting in a bus at a red-light and I see a Scooterette advertisement on a billboard, I can imagine myself undergoing a transformation from being in the crowd to the independent Scooterette owner.”

Conclusions The ideal communication strategy should focus on the following factors: – Usefulness – Appeal – Efficiency

From the Purchase Decision POV: – Robustness – Trustworthiness – Value for Money

TVS is already associated with – Usefulness – Robustness – Value for Money

So communication strategy should continue its focus on these attributes

Conclusions • General Perception of TVS on given parameters was better than that of scooters • Female TOMA slightly higher for TVS than male TOMA probably due to the Scooty effect • Male TOMA lower probably due to Bajaj Pulsar’s domination of the Bike segment • The communication strategy cannot be used to leverage TVS as a macho product and a power machine, since the perception of both parameters is both low but should focus on reliability, ease of use and comfort

Conclusions • Respondents prefer Sportspersons as Brand Ambassador, but it can be seen that they are neutral when asked if they relate to the same. • Interviews and FGD’s have shown that brand ambassadors can make the ad look good but have little else utility. Market Leader Honda does not use brand ambassadors. The communication strategy of TVS should be changed to one which focuses on the product rather than celebrity endorsements. • Family influence is seen to play a major role and inputs of FGD and interviews show that the scooter / scooterette can be positioned as a family vehicle.