SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT ON SALES PROMOTION, CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

IN BIG BAZAR GANGTOK, EAST SIKKIM

Submitted for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for awarding the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA) By Rahul Basumatary

Enrolment no-EIILMU/10/FO51 Under the esteemed guidance of

Miss. Malati Subba (Internal Guide) Lecturer of Management Deptt EIILM University Jorethang, South Sikkim

Mr. Bipen Sharma (ExternalGuide) Department Manager BIGBAZAR,GANGTOK East Sikkim

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STUDENT DECLARATION

I HERE BY DECLARE THAT THE PROJECT REPORTENTITLE STUDY ON SALES PROMOTION AND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT AT BIG BAZAR GANGTOK,EAST SIKKIM

Has been submitted by myself for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATON From EASTERN INSTITUTE OF INTREGRATED LEARNING IN MANAGEMENT Date: 1/08/2011 PLACE: JORETHANG RAHUL BASUMATARY(MBA 3rd sem). Reg. No. EIILMU/IO/FO51

PREFACE In this changing scenario of the dynamic and competitive world, it has become pertinent to excel and grow gaining competitive stage edge. There is a fierce competition among the corporate to gain competitive advantage from others. Analyzing and studying the function of Sale, as a support service to the revenue of an organization, as it become more necessity as organizations get an edge only with help of its sales promotion and marketing strategy. The sale alone makes or mark the revenue of the company. Choosing the topic of study i.e. sales promotion and marketing strategy, it is a prime activities of any organization. In the current scenario, sales promotion and marketing
strategy is an important function of the Marketing department of all companies. And it is no surprise that marketing is a major challenge for the companies. The sales promotion activity plays an important role

in organization, if the company success to choose the right marketing strategy at a right time they may flourish the company, if not it may lead the company into trouble. This study is intended to find out the marketing and sales promo tion process and customer relationship management at Big Bazar Gangtok,East Sikkim
Chapter 1 Introduction of the project work, attempts to clarify the objectives of the study, the scope of study, its limitations, and the methodology used in analyzing the problem.

Chapter 2 is deal with introduction of the company. Chapter 3 is deals with the survey conducted, the feedback received from the customer, the findings and the analysis of the study. Chapter 4 and chapter 5 deal with the recommendations and conclusion respectively I hope the investigation made during the study will surely help the organization.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. At the outset, I would like to thank the Management of EIILM University, Jorethang for helping and providing all the necessary support through out the course of the project. I am specially thankful to Mr. Bipen Sharma, for giving me the permission for doing this project in these prestigious organizations. It is indeed a great pleasure to express my profound and sincere gratitude to Mrs Malti Subba, senior lecturer of Management Department and Miss Reshmi Sharma lecturer of Management Department. I would like to express my gratitude to my project guide Mr. Piyush Kumar,ADM and Mr. Minmoy Banarjee,ADM for their continuous support and encouragement. I am also thankful to Mr. Wangduk,ADM, Mr.Chinmoy,ADM, Mr.Surjya,ADM and Miss Bingu Gurung,HR Manager for their support, valuable suggestion and guide without which the study would not been possible. My thanks are also to the entire staff of BigBazar. Without whom this study might be incomplete. At last thankful to my guardians without whom my project would not have been success .

RAHUL

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SUBMITTED TO: DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT, EIILM UNIVERSITY JORETHANG, SOUTH SIKKIM. SUBMITTED BY: RAHUL BASUMATARY MBA 3rd SEMISTER, EIILM UNIVERSITY TOPIC OF THE STUDY: A report on the SALES PROMOTION,MARKETING STRATEGY ,EFFECTIVENESS OF RETAILING MIX FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT on BIGBAZAR Gangtok OBJECTIVES: To find the sales promotion,marketing strategy,effetictiveness of retailing mix for customer satisfaction and customer relationship management at BigBazar Gangtok PLACE OF STUDY: BIGBAZAR GANGTOK,East Sikkim. PERIOD OF STUDY: 9th June to 3rd August 2011.

CONTENTS Student declaration Preface Acknowledgement Executive Summary Introduction Company profile Retail mix Marketing Strategy Research Methodology Limitation of study Data collection and analysis Observation and Finding Conclusion and Recommendation Reference and Bibliography

INTRODUCTION
Every business conducted for the purpose of selling or offering for sale any goods, wares, or merchandise, other than as a part of a "wholesale business" to the final consumer can be defined as retail business Retail is the second-largest industry in the United States both in number of establishments and number of employees. The U.S. retail industry generates $3.8 trillion in retail sales annually ($4.2 trillion if food service sales are included), approximately $11,993 per capita. The retail sector is also one of the largest worldwide. Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer and the world's largest company with more than $312 billion (USD) in sales annually. Wal-Mart employs 1.3 million associates in the United States and more than 400,000 internationally. The second largest retailer in the world is France's Carrefour. WHAT IS RETAILING? Retailing is all the activities involved in selling goods and services directly to final consumers for their personal, non-business use.
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The word retail is derived from the French word retailer, meaning to cut a piece off or to break bulk. A retailer buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells individual items or small quantities to the general public or end user customers, usually in a shop, also called store. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Marketers see retailing as part of their overall distribution strategy. Retailing is the most active and attractive sector of last decade. While the retailing industry itself has been present since ages in our country, it is only the recent past that it has witnessed so much dynamism. Indian retailing today is at an interesting crossroads. The retail sales are at the highest point in history and new technologies are improving retail productivity there are many opportunities to start a new retail business. There are just over a 6 million retail outlets operating across the Indian cities from north to south and from east to west. This large number of outlets, many of which are trying to serve and satisfy the same market segments, results in fierce competition and better value to shoppers.

INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY

Retailing in India is one of the significant contributors to the Indian economy and accounts for 35% of the GDP. However, this sector is in a fragmented state with over 12 million outlets operating in the country and only 4% of them being larger than 500 sq ft in size. This is in comparison to 0.9 million outlets in USA, catering to more than 13 times of the total retail market size. Thus, India has the highest number of outlets per capita in the world with a widely spread retail network but with the lowest per capita retail space (@ 2 sq ft per person as compared to 16 sq ft per person for USA). The Indian retailing industry is currently estimated at $205 b (Rs.930, 000 Crores) and is expected to grow at 5% p.a. The current size of the organized retailing market is $6 billion (Rs.28,000 Crores), thereby, a mere 3% of the total retailing market with a projected growth rate of 25 30% p.a. and is estimated to become $8 b (Rs.35,000 Crores) by 2005 and $24 b (Rs.100,000 Crores) by 2010, with its contribution to total retailing sales likely to rise to 9% by decade end.

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CompanyProfile Big Bazaar is both big and a bazaar. It is unlike, say, a Walmart or even a Food world. Big Bazaar is almost an air-conditioned version of any Indian bazaar. Big bazaar is the companys foray into the world of hypermarket discount stores, the first of its kind in India. Price and the wide array of products are the USPs in Big Bazaar. Close to two lakh products are available under one roof at prices lower by 2 to 60 per cent over the corresponding market prices. The high quality of service, good ambience, implicit guarantees and continuous discount programmes have helped in changing the face of the Indian retailing industry. A leading foreign broking house compared the rush at Big Bazaar to that of a local suburban train. Food Bazaars core concept is to create a blend of a typical Indian Bazaar and International supermarket atmosphere with the objective of giving the customer all the advantages of Quality, Range and Price associated with large format stores and also the comfort to See, Touch and Feel the products. The company has recently launched an aggressive private label programme with its own brands of tea, salt, spices, pulses, jams, ketchups etc. With unbeatable prices and vast variety (there are 42 varieties of rice on sale), Food Bazaar has proved to be a hit with customers all over the country.
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Outlet Parent group Owner Founded Head quarter

146 outlet,located in India Future group Kishore Biyani (CEO) 2001 Jogeswari,Mumbai
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Industry Website Tag line

Retail www.bigbazar.com Is se sasta aur achha kahi nahi.

Figure : About Big Bazaar

Big Bazaar is a chain of shopping malls in India, owned by the Pantaloon Group and which work on Wal-Mart type economies of scale. They have had considerable success in many Indian cities and small towns. Big Bazaar provides quality items but at an affordable price. It is a very innovative idea and this hypermarket has almost anything under one roof Apparel, Footwear,Toys,Household Appliances and more. The ambience and customer care adds on to the shopping experience. Is Se Sasta Aur Accha Kahin Nahin ! Big Bazaar, Indias largest hypermarket chain, a part of the Future Group, launched their first store in Gangtok. The new Big Bazaar, a two-level 22,000 sq.ft. Store
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introduces the people of Gangtok to a unique, modern and convenient shopping experience for the entire family. With the opening of this store, the total count of Big Bazaar stores reached 146 nationally. Situated at Namnang Commercial Complex, Namnang Road, the store caters to a huge array of products from food, apparels, mobile phones, home crockery, utensils, plastics, personal care, home care and much more.

After having opened several stores in the north-east including Guwahati and Siliguri now venturing into Sikkim with a first store in Gangtok. This store will give customers an opportunity to shop for all their requirements right from food, essential items, apparels and others while offering the benefit of saving and enjoying the experience with their entire family. What's in store for you at Big Bazaar? 1,70,000 products at 6- 60 % discount. At Big Bazaar, you will get: A wide range of products at 6 60 % lower than

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the corresponding market price, international shopping experience.

coupled

with

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Products available in Big bazaar Apparel and Accessories for Men, Women and Children. Baby Accessories Cosmetics Crockery Dress Materials Suiting & Shirting Electrical Accessories Electronics Footwear Toys Home Textiles Home Needs Household Appliances Household Plastics Hardware Home Dcor Luggage Linens Sarees Stationery Utensils & Utilities

Food Bazaars core concept is to create a blend of a typical Indian Bazaar and International supermarket atmosphere with the objective of giving the customer all the advantages of quality, Range and Price associated with large format stores and also the comfort to See, Touch, and Feel the products. 'FOOD BAZAAR' a division of Pantaloon Retail India Ltd is a chain of large supermarkets with a difference. It was flagged off in
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April'02. With store sizes ranging from 8,000 sq ft to 15,000 sq. ft. in Mumbai (two stores), Kolkata, Bangalore & Hyderabad, it is opening more stores at Gurgaon (Delhi), New Bombay & Nagpur. It currently caters to over 1.2 million customers every day across 4 outlets in India and is soon set to expand and double this figure across 12 outlets all over the country by June 2009. Food Bazaar offers the Indian consumer the best of Western and Indian values. The western values of convenience, cleanliness and hygiene are offered through pre packed commodities and the Indian values of "See- Touch- Feel" are offered through the Mandi atmosphere created by displaying staples out in the open, all at very economical and affordable prices without any compromise on quality. This satisfies the Indian consumer and comforts her before making her final buying decision. At other super markets, the consumer is deprived of this factor. Truly the Indian consumer now agrees with Food Bazaar: "Ab Ghar Chalaana kitna Aasaan. This positioning platform of Food Bazaar is evident from the higher discounts and the wholesale price-points which are below MRP. Food Bazaar represents the companys entry into food retail and is targeted across all classes of population, tea, sugar, pulses, spices, rice wheat etc, besides fruits and vegetables. All products are sold below MRP and discounts range between 2% to 20%. Fruits and vegetables are sold at prices comparable to
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wholesale prices. Food Bazaar replicates a local mandi, to provide the much important touch & feel factor which Indian housewives are used to in the local bazaar. Food Bazaar has over 50,000 stock keeping units which cover grocery, FMCG products, milk products, juices, spices, ready to eat foods etc.

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GROUP VISION AND MISSION: Group Vision Future Group shall deliver Everything, Everywhere, Every time for Every Indian Consumer in the most profitable manner.

Group Mission We share the vision and belief that our customers and stakeholders shall be served only by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading to economic development. We will be the trendsetters in evolving delivery formats, creating retail realty, making consumption affordable for all customer segments for classes and for masses. We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and renewed ambition. We shall be efficient, cost- conscious and committed to quality in whatever we do. We shall ensure that our positive attitude, sincerity, humility and united determination shall be the driving force to make us successful.

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Core Values Indianness: confidence in ourselves. Leadership: to be a leader, both in thought and business. Respect & Humility: to respect every individual and be humble in our conduct. Introspection: leading to purposeful thinking. Openness: to be open and receptive to new ideas, knowledge and information. Valuing and Nurturing Relationships: to build long term relationships. Simplicity & Positivity: Simplicity and positivity in our thought, business and action. Adaptability: to be flexible and adaptable, to meet challenges. Flow: to respect and understand the universal laws of nature.

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SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths:EDLP [ Every Day Low Pricing] Experienced marketing team & executive staff. Strong culture, ethics and values are followed Emphasis on providing total customer satisfaction Point of purchase promotion to increase the purchase Variety of stuff under single roof Increase sales with the help of healthy competition between different department Maintains good employer-employee relation Cost control initiatives that is critical in a retail operations business Periodical reviews of the various operations have been done on regular basis to identify the any possible threat and address the same within time

Weakness:Unable to meet store opening targets. Unavailability of popular brand items with regard to clothing.

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Opportunities:Population of the country is growing where the scope of market is kept on increasing for the retail sector. Organized Retail less penetrated in India so it acts as a great opportunity to the organization for its growth. Evolving consumer preferences. Economy is developing as the employment opportunities are increasing and the income of the people is also increasing which increases life standards of people. Company has more scope of expansion in two and three tier cities. Threats:Competitors Strategies Advancement of technology day by day. Government policies. Unorganized Retail sector Foreign direct investment cause more problems in future because of that many mergers and acquisition are happening in Indian retail sector

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A layout chart of Big bazaar located at GANGTOK 1. HELP DESK 2. KIDS ACCESSORIES 3. BABA SUITS 4. JACKETS 5. LADIES TOPS 6. TRIAL ROOM 7. PILLARS USED FOR DISPLAYING INFORMATION (SIZE CHART, SECTION DESCRIPTION) 8. WOOLEN CLOTHS FOR KIDS 9. KIDS CASUAL WEAR 10. KIDS JEANS AND SHORTS 11. LADIES ETHINIC 12. LADIES ACCESSORIES LINGERIES 13. LADIES WESTERN 14. MEN FORMAL SHIRTS 15. MEN TROUSERS 16. MEN SUITS AND BLAZERS 17. MEN FABRICS 18. MEN ETHINICS 19. SOFT TOYS 20. MEN ACCESSORIES SUNGLASSES, WRIST WATCHES ETC 21. HOME DECORATIVE ITEMS 22. HOME FURNISHING (CURTAIN CLOTHS,CARPETS) 23. MUSIC COUNTER 24. LUGGAGE
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25. FOOTWEAR 26. SPORTS 27. SCHEME BASED PROMOTIONAL ITEMS 28. FURNITURE BAZAR 29. FOOD BAZAAR 30. CASH COUNTER

TARGET AUDIENCE: Big Bazaar targets higher and upper middle class customers The large and growing young working population is a preferred customer segment Targets specifically working women and home makers who are the primary decision makers

BIG BAZAAR-USP: Availability of Liquid Cash \Disposable Income among Young Generation Affordable man power Craze, Passion among Mr. Customer (Consumer) More products .Under ONE roof Affordable price Sentiments -To infuse confidence in Indian brands Schemes-Buy 01 gets one free, 20% dis...etc
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STRATEGIES: To minimize Retailing cost: Operating: Fewer staff on the floor-one person for every 500 sq ft Minimize the Furniture cost Sourcing: Cut Down 25-30 % Channel-Cut Down 15-20% Saving Shelf Space Way to deal unsold stock off Plans to have In-Store promotions as well slowmoving products off To ensure enough pull to snatch away customers from the neighborhood Todays Price:Everyday a chosen product is being sold at lower than usual price Big Bazaars New Marketing Strategy: Big Bazaar has launched new marketing strategy which is based on Guerrilla Marketing. Guerrilla marketing warfare strategies are a type of marketing warfare strategy designed to wear-down the enemy by a long series of minor attacks, using principles of surprise and hit-and-run tactics. Attack, retreat, hide, then do it again, and again, until the competitor moves on to other markets. Herein guerrilla force is divided into small groups that selectively attack the
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target at its weak points. Corporate like Coke, Pepsi, etc have been using the same for quite some time now and the latest entrant is Future Group- Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Future Bazaar, eZone are all part of this group and they are taking on the biggies like Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, and Tatas Westside. In order to do the same, Future Group have come up with 3 catchy/cocky and cheeky ad campaigns which surely do catch our eyes and surely one cant resist appreciating the same. Keep West-aSide. Make a smart choice! Shoppers! Stop. Make a smart choice! Change Your Lifestyle. Make a smart choice!

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: 4Ps OF MARKETING "Marketing" is the promotion of products, especially advertising and branding. Marketing practice tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes advertising, distribution and selling. Marketing mix is a deciding factor in formulating marketing techniques for the success of a particular brand, commodity or company. The components of marketing mix are:

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Product Price Promotion Place PRODUCT: Big Bazaar offers the maximum variety for each category of product. The product is the same in every store in the city but the brand options are more in Big Bazaar. Also, the quantity for each product is not limited to large packs only. The commodities sold by the retail chain also includes its own products (Private Labels) which get a ready distribution network. The own products of Big Bazaar include My World fashion magazine which is not available anywhere else. So costs are low for such products. PRICE: Price is the critical point in a competitive industry. Big Bazaar works on a low cost model. It considers its discounted price as its USP. There is an average discount of 7-8% on all items in respect to their MRP. Prices of products are low because it is able to secure stock directly from the manufacturer. There are huge synergies in terms of bulk purchasing, central warehousing and
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transportation. These all factors help this retailer to keep low prices. Low margin, High sales volumes Low Interest Financing Centralized sourcing Discount pricing Value pricing Promotional pricing-Psychological discounting -Special event pricing (Republic day) Differentiated pricing-Time pricing Bundling PLACE: Place means the location of the business. Big Bazaar has always worked on low-cost locations. It targets semi-urban population with its placement. Its strategy is to find a cheap location and it never goes for hot spots in the city. It relied on promotional activities to make up for unattractive locations. Another strategy used by Big Bazaar to overcome location disadvantage is use of internet. It has launched a merchandise retailing website
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www.futurebazaar.com which targets high-end customers ready to use credit cards. The promotion of this website is done through advertisement on Google. The website is put as sponsored link. Initially identifies future/potential development areas Acquires such areas at an early phase before the real estate value booms designed to look crowded PROMOTION: Big Bazaar has huge promotion budgets. The biggest idea behind all advertisements is to make people do bulk shopping. There are 2 types of promotional strategies of big bazaar. One is the holistic advertisement which promotes the brand and creates awareness among people. It is not targeted at promoting each store but only creates an image of Big Bazaar as low-cost shopping option. The store has advertised through TV, road shows and also started reality show-typed promotional campaign The Big Bazaar Challenge. Promotions like Sabse Sasta Din are a very successful strategy to get footfall. In these products across categories such as apparels, furniture, electronics, utensils and food products at the lowest possible prices, coupled with attractive promotional schemes. Some of the most attractive offers being a 20litre branded microwave oven with grill for Rs 2,499, jeans and trousers for Rs 199 and HCL laptops for Rs 22,990.

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Other type of promotion is the particular store oriented promotion which includes speaking on the loudspeaker in nearby blocks. Leaflets are given in local newspaper. There are promotional efforts even inside the store. Buy 2 Get 1 Free types of promotions are very common. Original prices are cut down and new prices are shown, of which customer takes quick notice. There are loyalty schemes which reward regular clients. Promotion is also done through co-branded credit cards with ICICI bank. Monthly Bachat Offers (Offer available at Big Bazaar stores in all over India): Big Bazaar is offering monthly bachat offers and some of them are: - Hello Royal Basmati Rice + Fortune Sunflower Oil + 5 kgs of refined sugar, each worth Rs. 1080 - for Rs. 659 only - Tilda Khush Long Grain Rice (5 kgs) worth Rs. 440 - for Rs. 159 only - Fortune Sunflower Oil (5 litres) worth Rs. 450 - for Rs. 262 only - Cow Ghee worth Rs. 200 - For Rs. 189 only - Britannia Marie Gold (370 grams) Rs. 25 - Buy 1 get Rs. 3 off or Buy 2 get Rs. 8 off - Buy a Bournvita pouch pack (500 grams) worth Rs. 124 and get a free Britannia Good Day packet worth Rs. 12 - Buy Super Cup Tea (1 kg) worth Rs. 240 and get 500 kg worth Rs. 105 free
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- Buy Bambino Vermicelli (1 kg) worth Rs. 40 for Rs. 35; and get Bambino Macaroni (180 grams) worth Rs. 12 free - Buy onions (1 kg) worth Rs. 17 - for Rs. 14.90 only - Buy potatoes (1 kg) worth Rs. 9.50 - for Rs. 7.90 only - Buy Surf Excel (2 kg) worth Rs. 280 and get free Vim bar - Buy Head & Shoulders Shampoo (400 ml) worth Rs. 215 and get a free Head & Shoulders 90 ml men's shampoo worth Rs. 69 Future card (3% Discount) Baby registry and marriage registry-targeted towards married couple, waiting for marriage Shakti card Advertising (Print ads, TV ads, radio) Tying up with IPL targeting sports lovers Celebrity endorsements-Brand endorsement by M.S.Dhoni Exchange offers Weekend discounts Point of Purchase promotions Junk swap offer-Exchange anything old for something new OPPURTUNITIES: Early Entry in Indian Retail Organized retail Evolving consumer preferences
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Targeting area more prone to developments Global Expansion In-Store Experience improvements THREATS: Government policies like complex sales and excise policies. Unorganized retail. Large Foreign Competitors like Wal-Mart, Metro and Domestic player like Reliance. Burgeoning real estate prices which leads to high rentals. Economic Conditions Lowering Margins

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SALES PROMOTION OFFERS: MONTHLY BACHAT BAZAAR WEDNESDAY BAZAR(every Wednesday) PRICE CHALLENGE GREAT EXCHANGE OFFERS THE GREAT INDIAN KITCHEN FESTIVAL BIG DAY AMAR CHITRA CONTEST THE GREAT INDIAN SHOPPING FESTIVAL FESTIVAL OFFERS.

ACTIVITY DETAILS: Hoarding at deorali and opposite Vajra Ciinema Cinema Slide in Vajra and Denzong hall. Cable Scroll in local channel Nayuma and Flash in Nayuma news. Newspaper insertion. Maruti Van announcement in catchments Mahabachat stamp in bills for 5th August.
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Rally in ImmediateCatchments. Free home delivery for Mahabachat 6 days. Poster in local format. Human banner at Deorali Nam nang road divertion and MGMarg.

CHALLENGES: Waiting time in terms of Billing at Big Bazaar outlets is a concern and more so during the weekends. And during our personal observation while observing the operations(Though it was for 3-4 hours which is a short period of time),it was noted that few customers who had little to purchase, left their trolleys due to long queue at the counter. The store has too many things at the same place. The floor plan has to be structurally laid out so that merchandising can be efficiently handled and displayed. Availability of most exclusive brands under all categories Product Uniqueness- Offer merchandise of highest quality
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 After Sale Service Uniqueness Shopping Experience: The Store personnel should be more friendly and easy approachable, you should also offer drinking water, lime soda or tea to the customers once they enter in the store Introduce best Promotional campaigns which make sense and also understandable to attract distant city crowd. Introduce Best loyalty programs. Retail Mix The retail mix is the combination of factors retail used to satisfied customer needs and influences their purchase decision. Its include the type of merchandise and services offered, merchandise pricing, advertising, promotional programs store design merchandise display, assistance to customer provided by salespeople, and convenience of the stores location. Retail mix is the term used to describe the various elements and methods required to formulate and execute retail marketing strategy. Retail managers must determine the optimum mix of retailing activities and coordinate the elements of the mix. The aim of such coordination is for each store to have a distinct retail image in consumers mind.
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 The mix may vary greatly according to the type of the retailer is in, and the type of product/services. While many elements may make up a firms retail mix, the essential elements may include: Store location, merchandise assortments Store ambience, customer service, price, Communication with customer Personal selling Store image Store design Sales incentives People Process Physical evidence

Composition of retail mix Place Product Price Promotion People Process Physical Environment

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Key element Composition of Retail Mix 1) Place (store location) Target market Channel structure Channel management Retailer image Retail logistics Retail distribution 2) Product (merchandise) Product development Product management Product features and benefits Branding Packaging

3) Price Costs Profitability Value for money Competitiveness Incentives Quality Status After-sales services

4) Promotion Developing promotional mixes Advertising management Sales promotion Sales management Public relations Direct marketing

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5) People element Staff capability Efficiency Availability Effectiveness Customer interaction Internal marketing

6) Process element Order processing Database management Service delivery Queuing system Standardization

Retail mix planning Retail mix plan consists of: Setting objectives Systematic way of identifying a range of options. Formulation of plans for achieving goals Logical sequence of retailing activities. Importance of Retail mix planning Hostile and complex retail environment External and internal retail organization factors interact for Maximising revenue Maximising profit Maximising return on investment Minimising costs
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 Each element has conflicting needs All these variables interact All these variables result in optimum compromise.

Retailing Retailing is the sale of goods and services to ultimate consumers for personal, non-business use. Any institution may engage in retailing, but a firm engage primarily in retailing is called a retailer. Retailers serve as purchasing agents for consumer and as sales specialists for producers and wholesaling middleman. They perform many specific activities such as anticipating consumers wants, developing product assortments and financing. Retailers may be classified by form of ownership and key marketing strategies. Also, types of retailers distinguished according to product assortment, price and customer service levels. Mature institutions such as department stores, discount houses and super markets face strong challenges from new competitors, particularly chain stores or multiple shops in various product categories. Five major forms of non store retailing are Direct selling, Telemarketing, Automatic vending, On line retailing and Direct marketing .Each type has advantages as well as drawbacks. Retail Marketing Mix
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Whatever is from of ownership, a retailer must develop marketing mix strategies to succeed in its chosen target markets. In retailing, the marketing mix emphasizes product assortment, price, location, promotion and customer services designed to aid in the sale of a product. They include credit, delivery, gift wrapping, product installation, merchandise returns, store hours, parking and very important personal service. Stores of different sizes face distinct challenges and opportunities. Buying, Promotion, Staffing and expense control are influenced significantly by whether store's sales volume is large or small. Size of a retail business creates certain merits and demerits. Considering these factors, large stores ordinarily but not always have a competitive advantage over small stores.

Marketing Strategy Many authors have attempted to explain the concept of strategy. At the retail level, a marketing strategy can be thought of three major components: target selection of customers, core strategy (i.e. positioning and differential advantage), and implementation (i.e. supporting marketing mix). The first major component is the description of the market segment(s) to which competing brands are being marketed. Market segments can be described in various
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ways. Since few brands are truly mass marketed, the key is to determine which group each competitor has targeted. The second strategy component is what is called the core strategy. This is the basis on which the rival is competing, that is its key claimed differential advantage(s).Differential advantage is a critical component of strategy because it usually forms the basic selling proposition around which the brand's communications are formed. It is also called the brand's positioning. The final strategy component of competitors must be assessed in the supporting marketing mix. The mix provides insight into the basic strategy of the competitor and specific tactical decisions. These decisions are what customers actually see in the market place. In fact, customers are exposed to price, advertising, promotion and other marketing mix elements.

Research title: The title of the research project is: Effectiveness of Retailing Mix for Customer Satisfaction,Sales promotion,Marketing Mix and Customer Relationship at Big Bazar Gangtok. Research Problem:

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What is effectiveness of Retailing Mix at Big Bazaar leading to Customer Satisfaction? Research Objective: Primary objectives: To identify performance of store operations. To analyze how the merchandising mix influence the customer satisfaction level. Secondary objectives: To understand the quality of service maintained in the store. To determine the performance of sales persons in the store. To find out reasons of dis-satisfaction. To find out which means of communication plays a vital role to persuade customer. Scope of study The study makes an effort to ascertain the satisfaction level of customers from the store environment and analyze the impact of retailing mix on the customer satisfaction level, and to improve the store environment to increase the sales and to attract the customers. The company can come up to the expectation only by finding out the problem that customers are facing during their purchase from the store. The subject has been taken for the research as it plays key role in success of retail sector. As long as the company is able to satisfy its customer, customer will remain in the bracket of loyal customer. This study helps to improve the environment of
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the store to reach the customer satisfaction level and improve the merchandising in Big Bazaar. Objectives of Research: The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet. Though each research study has its own specific purpose, we may think of research objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings: To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (studies with this object in view are termed as exploratory or formulative research studies); To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group (studies with this object in view are known as descriptive research studies About the Survey: Survey Title : Effectiveness of Retailing Mix for Customer Satisfaction at Big Bazaar,Sales promotion, marketing Mix and customer relationship. Sample Universe: Big Bazaar Store Sampling Method: Non-probability sampling was used .Non-probability sampling is that sampling procedure which does not afford any basis for estimating probability
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that each item in population has being included in the sample. Under non-probability sampling organizers of enquiry purposely select particular unit of universe for constituting a sample on the basis of the small mass that they so select out of huge one will be typical or representative of the whole. Adequate consideration was taken to bring a heterogeneous group in terms of age, income, occupation etc. to make the results credible.

Sample Size : 100 Respondents. Analysis Techniques: Time: The survey of 100 respondents was finished in one month. Response Format : The questions are a mix of open-ended, close-ended questions, binary, ranking and multiple choice questions. They have been so inserted into the questionnaire, to get the appropriate response for a
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particular situation. Limitations of the study: Time Constraint : Analysis pertaining to project title and the field survey has to be done in a span of two months. This may limit the scope of the survey. Biasness: The respondents may give a biased view. Some respondents refuse to co-operate. Some respondents replied half heartedly.

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 Some respondents gave incomplete information. Observations & Finding Store is performing well in attracting the customers. Most of the people who visit to the stores are of age group between 22-45 yrs. People usually visit the store once in a week i.e. in weekends They have different variety of product in food bazaar and house hold utensils The main dissatisfaction for the customer is in the billing section and at parking space. Discounts and offers are doing well in the store. Most of the customers who visit stores are having annual income between Rs.1.5-3 lac. Inside the store, employees interaction is very less with customers. Location of Big Bazaar is outstanding. Cleanliness and hygiene maintained in the store is not up to mark. Big Bazaar provides value added service like home delivery, alteration, helpline etc. but very few customers go for it. Electronic and print media has high reach in consumer and plays a major role in communication about promotional scheme and offers where as word
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of mouth make significant impact in decision making than any other means of communication. Customers dont find brands they expect in Big Bazaar especially in apparels section. Conclusions Big Bazaar offers a wide variety of products of different prices and different qualities satisfying most of its customers. Prices and offers in Big Bazaar have been one of the main attractions and reasons for its popularity. The price ranges and the products offered are very satisfying to the customers. Considering the fact that there are huge middle class families in India, Big bazaar has had a huge impact on the middle class section of India, the prices, variety and sales strategy has helped in getting the middle income groups getting attracted towards Big Bazaar. The store layout and the assortment of goods is not the best at Big Bazaar, Customers find it hard to find what they require; this leads to dissatisfaction of customers. Big Bazaar is not acclaimed for high class service. The staffs recruited is not very well trained and the billing queues take a long time to move, this irritates

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customers which makes them visit the store more seldom. The customer get all kind of products in the Big Bazaar, i.e. they are following good merchandising mix, but in some section like apparels they have to keep different brands in order to attract more customer. Word of mouth publicity played major role in making Big Bazaar so popular where as media is used to communicate new offers at the store. Customers are not aware and hence dont avail value added services provided by the store. Customers are more satisfied with the merchandising present in the food bazaar and household utensils section. Recommendations The following suggestion can be given to Big Bazaar Keep brands like Koutons, Cotton County which is well known for offers. Cleanliness and hygiene should be maintained regularly. External environment like parking area should be increase as most of customers face problem of parking specifically during rush hour. The billing time should be reduced by increasing no. of cash counter keeping in view customer traffic intensity.
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 During rush hour, can make provision of less paying counter so customer who want to purchase single product need not to give up because of long queue. Store layout needs to be improved. Proper signage should be there so that customer can locate the products easily. Value added services have to be improved so that most of customers will avail those services.

References & Bibliography Books 1. Principles of Marketing Philip Kotler and Gery Armstrong 2. How to Prepare for a Summer Project- Dr. Dilip M. Sarawate 3. Research Methodology - M.V. Kulkarni Magazines: Business Today Websites: www.wikipedia.com www.pantaloon.com www.Futuregroup.com www.Scribd.com a. www.ibef.org
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