Market Research On Paint Industry

Market Research Teacher-in-charge: Prof. Varalaxmi

Kansai Nerolac

Presented by: Rahul Asher – Roll No. Alafiya Attari – Roll No. Kshama Chappkhanawalla – Roll No. Rishabh Khicha – Roll No.34 Dikshita Shukla – Roll No.55

Research Objective The purpose of collecting the attached primary data has been to determine the capability of the company to streamline its communications with its sole/multi-brand dealers and its customers. Its ability to do so has been reflected in the congruence or lack of it in the response gathered from each of the above mentioned parties and the company. Similarly, we also intend to analyze the rapport and perception that the customer has formed with sole/mutli-brand dealers. Therefore the objective of the project is solely to measure the overall communication process of the company, its representatives and the end consumer on several parameters.

Company Vision & Strategy The company vision is very clearly spelt out to all its employees, however it has not have been communicated to the surveyed dealers “It is our vision to leverage global technology for serving our customers with superior coating systems built on innovative and superior products & world class solutions to strengthen our leadership in industrial coatings and propel leadership in architectural coatings to delight all our stake holders” -

Kansai Nerolac Company Vision

From the feedback obtained from the company they are following an umbrella branding strategy. As far as the interior decorative paints segment is concerned, they plan to target various price-points by providing a wide basket of products in the same segment. This can be illustrated from the range of products listed below: PRODUCT RANGE 1. Water-based Paints a. Emulsions i.

Nerolac Impressions – 24 carat

ii.

Nerolac Impressions - Metallic

iii.

Nerolac Impressions - Disney

iv.

Nerolac Beauty - Premium

v.

Nerolac Beauty – Silky Smooth

vi.

Nerolac Beauty – Beauty Finish

b. Distemper i.

Beauty Premium Acrylic Distemper

ii.

Beauty Acrylic Distemper

iii.

Beauty Oil Bound Distemper

2. Solvent-based Paints a. Lustre i.

Nerolac Pearls Lustre Finish

b. Enamel i.

Nerolac Synthetic Enamel

ii.

Nerolac Satin Enamel

iii.

Impressions Hi- Performance

iv.

Goody Synthetic Enamel

c. Flat Oil i.

Nerolac Synthetic Flat Oil Interior Paint

Methodology The questionnaires that have been drafted can be divided into 3 categories: 1. Corporate Questionnaire -1 It has been filled in by a group member on dictation by Mr.Virendra Gupta/Mr.Pinaki Bannerjee over a personal interview. 2. Dealer Questionnaire a. Exclusive Dealer – 2 Filled in by meeting dealer in person. b. Multi-Dealer – 3 Filled in by meeting the dealer in person. 3. Customer Questionnaire - 73 a. Customers b. Painters c. Architects A large number of category of persons have been contacted in-person and the remaining have been contacted over the telephone to receive their response.

NOTE: •

Highlighted

boxes

represents

the

response

obtained

from

the

company/dealer/customer. •

Surveys ranging from scale 1 to 7 can be interpreted as – 7 = Strongle Agree, 1 = Strongly Disagree

•

All data used in the surveys may be have been rounded off for convenience

•

Arithemtic mean has been calculated in case of most surveys.

Importance of Interior-Decorative Paints segment 50% of the total sales of the company can be attributed to this segment. Although, the company is largely dependent on this segment for a major chunk of its sales it is still far behind the leaders in terms of market share.

Market Share Break-up

30% Asian Paints Berger

70%

Product Differentiation 1. Service Offerings Company Perspective It is vital that the company increase its points of contact with the customer through value added services. Strongly Disagree

1

Strongly Agree

2

3

4

5

6

7

Value-added services are the best way to differentiate the company product from that of its competitors. Strongly Disagree

1

Strongly Agree

2

3

4

5

6

7

Kansai Nerolac has redesigned its website and is offering several online services to the customer which can be listed as follows: •

Color Therapy – It has been documented that colors have an impact on the way the body and the mind tends to think and function. This helps the customer make

decisions whether he would want a soothing green, stimulating yellow, energizing orange or relaxing red. •

Color your Home – Offers a 3-Dimensional room in which various color schemes can be used to decorate and view the room virtually

•

Color Wheel – Providing 12 color scheme combinations whether you want them the color scheme to be harmonious or contrasting

•

Vaastu Colors – Depending upon the direction of the wall and house certain colors are prescribed, this service help take those considerations into account and provide recommendations.

•

Color Personality – Involves matching ones personality with the colors in the room

•

Kidz – Nerolac has tied up with Disney and offers various exclusive wallpapers that they can offer of several cartoon characters which can be put onto the wall.

•

Cost Calculator – Depending upon the dimensions of the wall and the intended paint which will be used this services provides the rough estimate of painting a certain surface area.

Apart from provision of online services, they also have a helpline number where customer care executives can be contacted. If requested will send an expert to provide onsite assistance, review the area to be painted, provide their expert opinion and after selection of color schemes and other minor details will provide painters to carry out the job. The primary reason for offering so many services on the company’s part is to get closer to the consumer and provide him exhaustive solutions and alternatives for any paintingrelated problems.

Dealer Perspective

Company offered services are popular amongst customers and help increase sales. Strongly Disagree

1

Strongly Agree

2

3

4

5

6

7

Customer Perspective I would be inclined to purchase Nerolac if they offered more and improved services. Strongly Disagree

1

Strongly Agree

2

3

4

5

6

7

Customers would readily accept and purchase certain brand of paint if additional services are offered along with the product.

Awareness of Company Service Offerings 20% Unaware Aware

80%

However, only 20% of the customers are aware of the services which speaks poorly of the company communication. Inference: The Company believes that offering services is the best way to differentiate the company; such services are not popular amongst customers from the dealer’s point of view. This is primarily due to lack of publicity and awareness being created regarding such services. Therefore, the company must strengthen its communication to the end consumer regarding the presence and utility of all its offered services. 2. Quality & Variety Company Perspective

The company also emphasizes on providing high-quality durable products. It also offers a 2-year warranty on a large number of its products. It strongly believes that product quality is its USP and differentiates itself from its competitors in this segment. As represented from the expansive product basket the company has in their opinion they seem to be satisfying these needs of the customer Dealer & Customer Perspective I/Customers are satisfied with the quality and variety of paint offered. Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7 6 5 4 Customer

3

Dealer

2 1 0

Quality

Variety

Customer

5.53

5.2

Dealer

5.75

6.5

Inference: All in all, the customer and the dealers are relatively satisfied with the quality and variety of products offered by the company. This indicates the company is well aware of its strengths and is attempting to leverage them. There is a congruence in what the company claims and what is eventually realized by the dealer and the customer.

3. Innovation Company Perspective

Kansai Nerolac invests heavily in research and development to constantly review and improve on existing products to provide the customer with constantly-improving products. Studying market trends in terms of colors (Nerolac Color Week) and preferences (new texture finishes) and reacting accordingly and introduce latest product offerings to provide the customer with value for money products Dealer & Customer Perspective The company is prompt and proactive in launching new & innovative products Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Innovativeness

Dealer

4.25

Customer

4.38

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Inference: Although the company claims that it invests heavily and has undertaken several measures to constantly innovate and improve its products. The consumer and dealers do not exhibit the same enthusiasm in agreeing with the company opinion. They are fairly indifferent to this view, and in all likelihood it maybe because they have not been informed through the company of the new changes in their products and services.

Marketing & Corporate Communication 1. Change in Corporate Identity

Recently, Goodlass Nerolac had changed its corporate identity to Kansai Nerolac on April 2006. This change in identity is not been made aware to most customers. A larger number of dealers have also not been informed behind the reason for changing the company name.

Survey Results

Please write the first thing that comes to your mind in relation to the above picture

Awareness of Change in Corporate Identity 1%

Unaware Aware

99%

Inference: Only 2 out of 73 respondents was able to correctly identify of the change in the company name. A few dealers were also unaware as to the change in the name of the company. This obviously shows a colossal gap in communication between the company and the customers/dealers. Reason for this can be attributed to poor marketing strategy on behalf of the company; this has also been reflected in the customers being unaware of their offered services. Insufficient levels of marketing have been undertaken by the company which reflects in their poor brand recall as well. 2. Brand Mascot Most of the big players in the industry had a marked similarity, that being the usage of a brand mascot to promote their products.

Goody – Goodlass Nerolac (now Kansai Nerolac) Asian Paints – Gattu Off late, both companies have discontinued their brand mascots. The reasoning behind discontinuing “Goody” was the evident aging of the mascot as suggested by a company conducted survey. Goody was loosing his ability to influence buyers and the company needed to change its look which is why the company adorned a new avatar and look Survey Results I would be able to relate to the product in a better manner through a brand mascot Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7 6 5 4 Company 3

Dealer Customer

2 1 0 Company Dealer Customer

Brand Mascot 4 5 4.9

Inference: The Company seems fairly indifferent to the presence of a brand mascot. However, in the eyes of the customer and the dealer the company would be better off with a brand mascot – who may not necessarily be “goody”. Once again this reflects on a

faulty feedback obtained by the company based on which it has made its decision to discontinue “goody” on the pretext that he had been ageing.

3. Marketing Avenues This is primarily required to educate the customers and make them aware of the advantages offered by Nerolac over other competing companies. It has been observed that off-late the company has reduced advertising on television to a large extent. However, the company is targeting other means such as: a) Print The company mainly publishes its advertisement in lifestyle magazines so that they can focus on the target customers. b) Word-of-mouth Networking with opinion leaders and influencers (architects, painters, contractors0 is the best and most effective way of targeting customers.

7 6 5 4 Company 3

Dealer Customer

2 1 0 Company

Word of mouth 5

Dealer

3.75

Customer

5.03

c) Point of purchase displays Dealer Perspective

The dealer’s response is varied with some suggesting that they receive adequate marketing assistance whereas the others suggesting that they have only been supplied with shade cards and company boards. Inference: It is evident that the marketing assistance offered by the company is not uniform through all territories with dealers located in popular location with a high number of interactions with customers are offered more assistance than the others. A biased dealer assistance policy is being followed which must be remedied to regain confidence of dealers.

4. Sales Exposure

Kansai Nerolac is a very conservative company when it comes to advertisements. They believe that a product will sell on its merit, as when asked for recommendation a dealer will naturally recommend a Nerolac product based on its quality. However, a glance at the market share of the company gives a clear indication that their strategy is flawed and their product is being overrun by that of Asian Paints who follow a very aggressive advertising policy by earmarking a large portion of their profits for it. The advertising or rather lack of it is extremely visible on the part of Kansai Nerolac paints. The new identity of its product has also not been communicated to its customers who still largely believe it to be Goodlass Nerolac based on the above results.

7 6 5 4 Company 3

Dealer Customer

2 1 0 Company

Sales Exposure 4

Dealer

5.5

Customer

5.2

Inference: The company believes that sales exposure is not directly related to level of sales which is why the follow a conservative strategy. This clearly explains why customers have a poor brand recall of Nerolac, are largely unaware of its services and new innovations and are unaware of their new corporate identity. The dealer and the customer opinion is that, greater the sales exposure higher the likelihood of the customer picking up a Nerolac product. 5. Brand Recall

Exercise 1 – Taglines/Jingles Customers were asked to identify which company had used the mentioned taglines and the brand recall used in the previous marketing campaigns under the company name Goodlass Nerolac was much stronger than the more recent marketing campaigns. Previous marketing campaigns During the previous marketing campaigns the company had used the jingle “Jab ghar ki raunak badhani ho, Jab deewaro ko sajhana ho … Nerolac! Nerolac!” with great success. The recall of that jingle can be exhibited below as compared to that of the present marketing campaign being used by the company. Present Advertising Campaign •

Nerolac Impressions – “Aapko Banaye Style Icon”

•

Nerolac – “Yeh rang hai jo har Jindagi ko choohta hai!”

44 45 40 35 30 25 10

20 15 10 5 0

Brand Recall

Previous Marketing Campaign

44

Recent Marketing Campaign

10

Previous Marketing Campaign

Exercise 2 – Picture Assosciation

Recent Marketing Campaign

Under this exercise the customers were shown a number of pictures which were closely related to the brand and would often elicit the company name as a response. The pictures used were; 1. Picture 1 - Paint Bucket with Paint brush 2. Picture 2 -Amitabh Bachchan with “Goody” 3. Picture 3 - Kansai Nerolac design Survey Results Total Sample size = 73

73 63 53 43 33 23 13 3 -7

Number of persons offering desired answer

Picture 1

21

Picture 2

13

Picture 3

12

Distribution Network

Factory (5)

Regional Warehouses (8)

Regional Warehouses (8)

Local Depots (3)

Dealers (15,000+ in India)

Local Depots (3)

Customers

1. Dealer Appointment

Company Perspective In the interior decorative paint segment all consumer level purchases are made from dealers. Therefore, they play a critical role in determining the success of a particular brand of paint. From a company viewpoint the objective of appointing dealers is as follows: 1. Increase market penetration 2. Market Development & Education of the customer 3. Increase availability/visibility of the brand 4. Leverage dealer skill set and personal contacts 5. Secure payments Multi-Brand Dealer v/s Exclusive Dealer When asked about the composition of multi-brand and sole dealers, the interviewee responded saying that in this segment only those dealers who lack capital resources tend to become sole dealers. With larger financial resources at their disposal they would have opted to become multi-brand dealers. Another aspect which dampens the success prospects of Sole Nerolac Dealer would be the fact that they do not have the strongest foothold in the market. While, Asian Paints has cornered almost half the market it is noticeably easier to find an Asian Paints exclusive dealer than a Nerolac one. Dealer Composition 10% Sole Dealer Multi-brand Dealers

90%

The only real advantage that an exclusive dealer has over a multi-brand dealer is that of a higher margin at its disposal as the company offers products at a marginally lower rate to exclusive dealers. Such cost benefits are often passed onto the end consumer by the exclusive dealer to entice customers with lower prices. Multi-brand dealers have the advantage of offering a variety of brands and therefore are a one-stop shop for customers who will be able to choose the best product in a segment from a number of principal manufacturers. Survey Results I am more comfortable purchasing paint from a multi-brand dealer as they offer a variety of products. Strongly Disagree

1

Strongly Agree

2

3

4

5

6

7

Arithmetic Mean = 5.39 Inference: As suggested by the company, the customers prefer going to a dealer stocking multiple brands of paint rather than just Nerolac, as he would have an idea of the quality of all the paints he stocks rather than just Nerolac. In turn, would be able to offer a well grounded advice of which brand of paint is suited to the customers needs. Types of Dealers

Dealers Wholesale

Retail

Industrial

Special Services

•

Wholesale Dealers – They serve as feeder dealer to retailers

•

Retail – Direct contact with the customer and are the last link in the distribution pipeline.

•

Industrial – Cater product offerings strictly to institutional buyers.

•

Special Services – Offer special services to customers on behalf of the company such as wall-care consultancy, helpline, painting assistance etc.

Pre-requisites to become a Nerolac Dealers It is the company policy to appoint dealers by invitation rather than application. They do not want to disturb their existing network by over-concentrating dealers in a particular region. Demand and supply of the product is assessed in a particular region, in the event of there being a mismatch a dealer is appointed. The following considerations are taken into account before appointment of a dealer: 1. Strategically Located 2. Financially sound 3. Relation with influencers (contractors, architects, painters0 in final purchase decision 4. Market Knowledge 5. Product Knowledge Dealer Perspective The dealer opinion is at a complete contrast to that of the company with regard to appointment of dealers, as they have undergone no such rigorous screening process before being appointed as dealers of Nerolac. In fact, it is fairly easy to become a stockist of Nerolac products. It requires a simple application which can be made without any invitation and superficial survey of the site after which appointment as the dealer is confirmed by the company. Inference: This reflects very poorly on the company policy and communication. On one hand they believe the dealers to be the most critical part of the functional distribution chain. Whereas, on the other hand they fail to protect the interest of such dealers by appointing other dealers irrespective of they are capable enough adding value to the company.

2. Company Assistance The company considers dealers a critical element in the machinery without which their sales would plummet, which is it believes it needs to take adequate care of them and providing them with necessary facilities to function becomes quintessential. Listed below are the ways through which the company provides assistance to dealers: 1. Training New Dealers are provided training to familiarize them with the existing range of products their applications and other details. The launch of a new product is accompanied with training of all dealers regarding its details. It is the company belief that dealers play a large role in educating the customers regarding the application and brand of paint to be used. Dealer recommendations are a significant influencing factor while making the purchase decision. Thus, the dealers must be equipped with adequate knowledge to make the right recommendation. Customer Perspective: 7 6 5

4.3

4.17

4 3 2 1 0 Customer Opinion

Dealers have been successful in educating and guiding me to make the right purchase Dealers have adequate product knowledge and are effective in troubleshooting problems

Inference: Customers are unsure about the kind of advice they receive from the dealers and how effective it really is in solving problems. This reflects that the dealers are not performing their job at the desired level, which in turn proves that the company is not providing proper training to the dealers. This problem can be traced

back to its roots which could be either, improper appointment of dealers who are not capable in satisfying customer anxieties or due to improper training of dealers by the company.

2. Growth Planning All dealers are informed of the annual growth targets set by the company and on achieving the set targets are rewarded with monetary or non-monetary bonus. Several monthly or special schemes e.g. Diwali scheme, are introduced by the company to spur dealers into increasing sales. The top 3-5% dealers based on sales are inducted into the CDC – Core Dealer Club. This club is offered special privileges on behalf of the company such as: •

Attending exhibition abroad

•

Sending family-members of the dealer on an international vacation

•

Dealer names mentioned during promotional campaigns.

Dealer Perspective On the basis of the survey, the average rating for dealers believing the growth targets set by the company are over-demanding is a 5.75. Inference: This clearly indicates that the company is setting unreasonable targets for dealers to achieve which might lead to dealers being de-motivated in promoting their products. The company policy needs to be changed regarding dealer growth targets and such targets must be set after consultation with the dealers which would require an improvement in the corporate communication between the company and the dealers.

3. Availability The company has been successful in developing an expansive dealer network of over 15,000 dealers across the country. Availability of the product for this reason is not a major issue. However, this intensifies the competition between dealers and has resulted in overcrowding of certain spaces which has de-motivated dealers. Customer perspective I am unable to find a dealer who stocks Nerolac brand of paints. Strongly Disagree

1

Strongly Agree

2

3

4

5

6

7

Arithmetic Mean = 2.3 Inference: This suggests that although customers have no evident difficulty in locating Nerolac dealers there is an obvious dissatisfaction amongst dealers as they feel too many dealers are being inducted which is leading to over-crowding. Two mutual contrasting goals must be met by the company by striking a balance. 4. Commission Substantially large orders secured by dealers are forwarded directly to the company and the dealers receive a commission on the transaction. Dealer Perspective: Some dealers are of the opinion that they receive commission in the form of rebates, whereas the others receive direct cash commission. 5. Conferences After networking with several dealers through local/regional/national conferences they pool in the contacts of architects/painters/contractors. Subsequently, they organize conferences with each of the major influencers namely – architects, painters and contractors. Survey Results

However, only 1 of 16 painters and none of the interior designers we interviewed have ever been involved in any of the above mentioned conferences. Inference: This indicates that the company has not targeted all existing painters, dealers and architects and therefore needs to network with customer influencer in a better manner. 6. Grievance –redressal mechanism The dealers often direct their problems to the company representative who visits them within the week. If any problems have been encountered by customers with the paint, the company representative will send the technical engineer on the site and attempt to address the situation. Dealers and customers believe that they are able to tackle most problems through this format of redressing any problems. 7. Marketing Assistance The company claims that it provides sufficient marketing assistance to the dealers by providing them with brochures, shade-cards, pamphlets, company signboards and point of purchase displays. Dealer survey results Dealers receive adequate marketing assistance from the company Strongly Disagree

1

Strongly Agree

2

3

4

5

6

7

Mean = 2.75 This reflects that the dealers are very disappointed in the kind of marketing assistance they receive from the company. The dealers said they only receive shade cards and a company board from Nerolac and nothing else. Inference: The Company claims at offering a wide variety of tools as a part of their marketing assistance program to dealers however, in truth the dealers are starved of

necessary tools required to invite and educate the customer with. Complaints filed by the dealers regarding the lack of marketing assistance have not been taken into consideration while formulation of the new marketing strategy. On the whole, the communication between dealer and company seems very disjointed.

Customer Behavior On the basis of the survey most customers seek the following qualities in their brand of paint: 1. Good Quality 2. Long-lasting 3. Reliable 4. No color fading 5. No paint-sweating 6. Wide range of colors 7. Different textures and designs 8. Value for money Expectations from the company are fairly limited. They expect the company to be honest in their approach, transparent, develop new and improved products, price their products correctly, educate customers regarding usage through marketing material and most importantly make the product easily available. Customers would appreciate it if they received expert assistance in terms of selection of color schemes, application of paint and other related services. Since these services already exist all that needs to be done from the company viewpoint is increase awareness. Another trend noticed is that customers usually get their houses painted before Diwali.

Influencers Company Perspective The company is of the opinion that the influencers can be represented in a diagrammatic fashion as below;

Depending on where the customer is located, his cultural background, budget and other variables the size of each size of the triangle varies. Therefore, one cannot generalize by saying that the architect is the largest influencer.

Customer Perspective: Sample Size = 73

36 40 35 25

30 25 20

12

15 10 5 0

Influencer

Architect

36

Dealer

12

Painter

25 Architect

Dealer

Painter

Inference: The largest influence is that of the architect, however due to the profile of respondents restricted to a certain category it is necessary that equal importance be given to all categories as in some form or the other each one of them influences the customer to a certain extent.

Loyalty I am loyal to the dealer I purchase my paints from. Strongly Disagree

1

Strongly Agree

2

3

4

5

6

7

Arithmetic Mean = 4.44 Inference: It indicates that, the customer is rather indifferent to where they purchase their paint from. The common trend is to match the quotations received from 2-3 dealers and then make the final decision.

Hypothesis On the basis of the collected data and exhaustive quantative and qualitative analysis the following conclusions can be drawn. 1. Change in corporate identity has gone unnoticed customers; 2. The company is lagging behind in terms of market share because of its lackadaisical marketing strategy. 3. The customers are happy with the company products quality and variety however, due to fading brand recall and awareness the customers are drifting away from the company products. 4. Although “goody’ and “gattu” as brand mascots have been ageing it is necessary to replace them with new mascots or ambassadors who reflect the company values and principles so that the customer/dealers can identify with the product. 5. The company-consumer communication channel is almost non-existent as the company is spending vast amounts of money on R&D and surveys to identify emerging trends and accordingly release new products. However, these new product launches are not effectively communicated with the customer. 6. Heavy investments have been made in establishing online services, helpline numbers and special service dealers but their existence has not been communicated to the end-customer or dealer, due to which they are not being utilized. This has lead to increased expenditure which is not accompanied by an increase in market capitalization. 7. The company has been successful in identifying how and why it needs to differentiate itself from its competitors but has not been able to act upon it. 8. Previous marketing campaigns were more successful than recent ones as they were successfully marketed.s 9. Word-of-mouth publicity on its own will not suffice in entices customers, it must be used in tandom with other avenues of marketing to have a desirable effect. 10. Due to lack of substantial benefits being offered to exclusive dealers most of them chose to be multi-brand dealers.

11. The company employs a double-standard policy in granting commission to some of its dealers depending on variables such as sales and location. This has in a way lead to demotivation of dealers. 12. Due to lack of screening while induction and poor training of dealers some of them lack ability, financial grounding and adequate market knowledge to satisfy customer queries and requirements. This projects a negative image on part of the company. 13. The company does not obtain its feedback from customers or dealers regarding any improvements it can make to its products, company policy or strategies which is why it occasionally remains distant from reality and is operating under unrealistic beliefs. E.g. Customer is indifferent to sales-promotion exposure. 14. Networking capabilities of the company is poor which is why they have not been able to target a large number of contractors, painters and architects to involve them in local meets and educate them about benefits of Nerolac and seek their feedback. This has lead to the company moving slower than its competitors in making changes. 15. Inadequate marketing assistance has lead to disgruntled dealers. 16. Brand recall of the company is poor, which is why when the need to purchase interior decorative paints arises the names of competitor products occurs before that of Nerolac and may eventually lead to the loss of sale. 17. Although the Nerolac Impressions brand is the best paint in its segment as suggested by all dealers, few customers are aware of its tagline. This could be one of the reasons behind why despite have the most technically sophisticated products the company is 3rd in terms of market share.