1.

PRODUCT DECISION:
The product decision in the small industries made periodically and on the base of
order received by the customers. Once company will get the orders from the
customers, depends on their requirement will take decision on the product design.
2. MARKET SEGMENTATION:
We visited various kind of businesses and those are segmented their market
according to the products they are produced, for ex take tractor trailer industry, they
are segmented their market mainly on bases of rural areas in which more number of
formers are staying, the formers are the target customers and the rural areas are the
segmented marketing areas for the SSI unit, almost all SME’s are segmented their
markets towards rural areas some of those segmented in urban cities.
3. MARKETING RESEARCH
Marketing research plays an important role in the process of marketing. Starting with
market component of the total marketing talks. It helps the firm to acquire a better
understanding of the consumers, the competition and the marketing environment.
DEFINITION
“Marketing research is a systematic gathering, recording and analysis marketing
problem to facilitate decision making.”
-MAIN STEPS INVOLVED IN MARKETING RESEARCH
Defining the Marketing Problem to be tackled and identifying the market research
problem involved in the task.
(1) Define the problem and its objectives.
(2) Identify the problem.
(3) Determine the information needed.
(4) Determine the sources of information.
(5) Decide research methods.
(6) Tabulate, Analyze and interpret the data.
(7) Prepare research report.
(8) Follow-up the study.

(1) Define the problem and its objectives: - This includes an effective job in
planning and designing a research project that will provide the needed information.
It also includes the establishment of a general framework of major marketing
elements such as the industry elements, competitive elements, marketing elements
and company elements.

(2) Identify the problem: - Identifying the problem involves getting acquainted
with the company, its business, its products and market environment, advertising by
means of library consultation and extensive interviewing of company’s officials.
(3) Determining the specific Information needed:- In general the producer, the
manufacturer, the wholesaler and the retailer try to find out four things namely
:-(1) What to sell
(2) When to sell
(3) Where to sell
(4) How to sell
(4) Determine the sources of information:-
(a) Primary Data: - Primary data are those which are gathered specially for the
project at hand, directly – e.g. through questionnaires & interviews. Primary data
sources include company salesman, middleman, consumers, buyers, trade
association’s executives & other businessman & even competitors
(b) Secondary Data: - These are generally published sources, which have been
collected originally for some other purpose. Source are internal company records,
government publication, reports & publication, reports & journals, trade,
professional and business associations publications & reports.
(4) Decide Research methods for collecting data:- If it is Found that the secondary
data cannot be of much use, collection of Primary data become necessary. Three
widely used methods of gathering primary data are
A) Survey
B) Observation
C) Experimentation
A) Survey Method: - In this method, information gathered directly from individual
respondents, either through personal interviews or through mail questionnaires or
telephone interviews.
B) Observation Method: - The research data are gathered through observing and
recording their actions in a marketing situation. This technique is highly accurate. It
is rather an expensive technique.
C) Experimental Method: - This method involves carrying out a small scale trial
solution to a problem, while at the same time, attempting to control all factors
relevant to the problem. The main assumption here is that the test conditions are
essentially the same as those that will be encountered later when conclusions derived
from the experiment are applied to a broader marketing area.
D) The Panel Research: - In this technique the same group of respondents is
contacted for more then one occasion; and the information obtained to find out if
there has been any in their taste demand or they want any special quality, color, size,
packing in the product.
a) Preparation of questionnaire
b) Presetting of questionnaire
c) Planning of the sample
(5) Tabulate, Analysis and Interpret the Data:-
The report must give/contain the following information:-
a) The title of research
b) The name of the organization for which it has been
Conducted
c) The objectives of research
d) The methodology used
e) Organization and the planning of the report
f) A table of contents along with charts and diagrams used in the reports
g) The main report containing the findings
h) Conclusion arrived at end recommendations suggested
i) Appendices (containing questionnaire / forms used sample design, instructions.)
(6) Follow-up the study: - The researchers, in the last stage, should follow up this
study to find if his recommendation are being implemented and if not, why?

RESEARCH DESIGN
“Advertising is a paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas,
goods or services by an identified sponsor.”

1. RESEARCH PROBLEM
Increase the awareness level of Metro Metal Industries Seek the general perception
of consumer towards Metro Metal Industries To find the performance of Metro
Metal Industries vis-à-vis other Brands. To know the consumer psyche and their
behavior towards Metro Metal Industries
2. Research Objectives & related sub objectives
 To know the relationship of sales with the advertisement.
 To know awareness of people towards Metro Metal Industries
  To know in which segment furniture are mostly like/preferred.
 To know which advertisement tool is mostly preferred by people.
 To know the preference of Metro Metal Industries with comparison to other
competitive brands.
 To know the factors which affects consumer’s buying behavior to purchase
Furniture
3. Information requirement
 • First, I had to know about all the competitors present in the furniture
Segment (Reputed and well established brands as well as Local brands).
 • Before going for the survey I had to know the comparative stile and Prices of
all the competitors existing in the market.
 • As furniture is different product, the main information needed is the various
types of furniture’s available in the market, their calorific value and various
other stile. They can be termed as :
 • As Metro metal advertisements are mainly done through hoardings but on
News pepar the advertisement METRO METAL PRODUCT is made from
Steel, Wood, MDF wood,
 4. Choice of research design – alternatives & choice Despite the difficulty of
establishing an entirely satisfactory classification system, it is helpful to
classify marketing research on the basis of the fundamental objectives of the
research. Consideration of the different types, their applicability, their
strengths, and their weakness will help the student to select the type best
suited to a specific problem.
6. Pricing Policy:
In the Small industries there are different pricing policies are adopted by the
different companies depends on the product they are producing. The 1st boundary
 of fix the price is the cost of the product, and the 2nd boundary of the pricing is the
price for comparable pricing with similar goods. the small industrial Companies
set prices with objective of maximising short-term sales revenue. For doing this,
it is required to forcast the company sales over a period of time. They believe,
that by maximising sales revenue the companies will have growth in market share
& also have profit maximization. And they are practicing this strategy only to fix
the price for products.
4. DEMAND FORECASTING:
Depends on the sales and orders from the customers the Small industries wil fore
cast the demand, and also the demand of the previous year will consider here to
forecast the demand for present n upcoming year.

5. NATURE OF DEMAND:
Nature of demand if quite moderate compared to the big industries, the demand
will be high in some seasons and time, and in some particular point of time there is
no demand for the products, for example OIL manufacturing industry, the demand
for the oil will be very high in the marriage season in the summer, and its less in
some other time, like wise the demand will be vary according many criteria.

6. PRICING POLICY AND PRACTICE:

In the Small industries there are different pricing policies are adopted by the
different companies depends on the product they are producing. The 1st boundary
of fix the price is the cost of the product, and the 2nd boundary of the pricing is the
price for comparable pricing with similar goods. the small industrial Companies
set prices with objective of maximising short-term sales revenue. For doing this,
it is required to forcast the company sales over a period of time. They believe,
that by maximising sales revenue the companies will have growth in market share
 & also have profit maximization. And they are practicing this strategy only to fix
the price for products.

7 and 8. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION:

The new product development and innovation is less compared to big industries
because of the low technologies and skills, they’ll not concern much about the
innovation and new product development rather than they’ll adopt for the old and
traditional products as earlier they are producing, and suppose if the specific target
customer group wants new type of product then according to that order base they’ll
produce the innovative products.

9. PACKAGING PRACTICES:
There are different types of packaging practices are adopted by the small scale
industries in the Dharwad Hubli region. We came to know that 4 major types of
packaging services adopted by the Small and medium enterprises. Viz,
 Boxes packaging
 Bubble Wrap packaging(smoothening effect to product)
 Stretch film packaging(thin coating)
 Tape binding
And some of the special packaging types are under practices especially for the
export oriented good, they are Corrugated boxed with sticky woods, Poly bag
packing, Tiles, fastener and Adhesives etc. these are the different packaging
practices of the small and medium enterprises.

10 and 11. ADVERTISEMENT AND PROMOTION PRACTICES:

Here are some guidelines on planning and managing advertising and promotion
activities for small businesses. The principles are obviously transferable to very large
businesses, and it's common for very large organisations to forget these basics,
which is why I make no apology for this information to 'STBO' (state the bleeding
obvious).

Choose methods according to cost, targeting and response

Any advertisement of the small industries can be broken down in terms of the cost
per thousand, and depends on the target customers. It should be monitored according
to cost per response. Advertising cost includes cost of design, production (printing)
and media such as TV radio and News papers. Generally the enterprises have to pay
higher cost for better targeted methods, but in return you should expect a higher
response rate.
Organisations selling advertising are able to provide a lot of information about their
readership/audience, and you can look at other advertisers that repeatedly using
various media to gauge how effectively it's working for them, which will provide
some clues as to how well it might work for you.

Advertise to build awareness and to generate response

Within the advertising purpose you should define whether you seek to create
awareness or to generate a direct response. Effective marketing generally demands
that each is employed, but on a limited budget you may be restricted to concentrating
on one or the other, so think carefully about what will help most. Different media
and methods are better suited to one or the other. Direct Mail is very good at
generating a direct response, as are magazine and newspaper adverts, and inserts.
Posters, TV, radio and press editorial are all much better at creating awareness and
building credibility.
Use language that your customers understand
In all of your advertising material take care to see things and hear things form your
customers' viewpoint. As a knowledgeable supplier there is always a tendency to
write copy and present information from a technical and 'product/service' standpoint.
Remember that your customers are people without good technical or detailed
understanding of your products and services. You need to help them understand
things in terms that really mean something to the reader - as it relates to their needs
and priorities and challenges. Focus on what your propositions do for them, not what
your propositions are in technical detail. You should spell things out, using clear
simple language.

Translate your product/service offer into meaningful customer benefits

Having decided through the processes described above to focus your message on a
few key strengths of your business (your 'service offer' or 'proposition') you must
now express these in terms of benefits to your customers. What does it all mean to
them? Give them something to relate to, so that you explain more than simply what
you do or provide - explain what your proposition means to your customers.
Advertising must be costed and linked to measurable response
Because advertising is such a complex science the only real way to be sure that
something will work before you try it is to refer to previous indicators, and if you've
no previous statistics or reliable data then run 'pilot' or trial first. Start measuring the
effectiveness of your advertising from the very beginning. Keep detailed records of
what you did, when, to whom, for how much, and what resulted.

Types of advertising media and marketing methods

Prior to considering methods of advertising and marketing it is important to ensure
that you understand and adhere to local country laws relating to data protection and
customer rights concerning privacy and opt-out of various marketing methods. This
especially relates to maintaining and using lists and people's personal details, to the
use of telemarketing, direct mail, fax-marketing, and email. Generally private
consumers enjoy more protection than business-to business customers. See the notes
about laws relating to direct marketing and advertising. Small local businesses who
target their local community often overlook some very simple easy and cost effective
ways of advertising. These low-cost methods are not generally so suitable for big
corporations with big budgets, but these ideas can be very effective (and very
inexpensive) for small businesses and self-employed people targeting the local area
with small advertising budgets.

The other methods to promote products:

 websites, the internet, email, cd-rom's,
 dvd's, etc
 press and public relations (PR)
 seminars
 telemarketing
 direct mail
 display advertising
 directories - local directories, Yellow
 Pages, Thomsons, etc
 brochures, leaflets and printed material
 posters sites (hoardings, taxi-cabs,
 buses, roadside fields)
  open days and exhibitions

12.DISTRIBUTION AND LOGISTIC PRACTICES:

We’ll found the poor distribution channels in the SSI units in Dharwad as we
surveyed some of the Small industries here, they all complained that there is no good
transportation service(logistics) to distribute the produced goods, due to poor
distribution channels, its difficult to deliver the goods to the vendors, retailers and
customers in time with lack of transportation facility. This is also one of the big
problem they are facing.

13. SALES PERMONCE-5 YEARS:

The sales performance of the last year is quite good compared to last 3 years, the
sales go down fully 2 years back and almost industries are at the position to close the
business due to the recession, the prices were felt down so there is no demand for the
products, but last year the all industries are regained the confidence and in a good
position to earn profit.

15.TRAINING:
Training means giving the instructions and methodology and suggestions about the
particular job which they are like to work. Normally in the Small and medium
enterprises there is no specific team will be appointed for training. They will not
give much concentration towards the training because of less investment and less
number of employees. As we surveyed some enterprises they said that there is no
much fund available with us to spend amount in training and also less number of
employees are working under the organization. They also said there is no need of
training because at the time of recruitment only they’ll select the employees with
skilled persons.
And in some of the small enterprises, there is a specific team are established for the
purpose of training to train the semi-skilled or unskilled workers with less
technology. There is specific period of time will be given to them to train some
kind of experts, and also brain storming sessions are also conducted regularly. Some
mentorers are also working for train them. These are the some training practices
adopted by the SME’s.

16. Branding:
There are no special programmers offered by the small and medium enterprises to
promote its brand and the branding the products, they are still using old and
traditional methods to promote their nrand by giving some special offers
discounting, and sponsoring small games, and contests and all. And the SME’s in
Hubli-Dharwad region will conduct some special entertaining functions and events
to attract its customer, and by advertisement and promotional techniques they’ll
promote their brands.

17. Online Marketing:

The industries which we are visited are of less capital investment and producing indo
genius goods so they are not able to sell the products through online, and they are
willing to sell products either directly or through retailer or company’s authorized
dealers. So they are not having any online marketing practices, according their
opinion there is no scope for the online marketing as these are small scale
enterprises.
But there are good opportunities for the Small industries to use online marketing
such as Duct Tape marketing, by this the company can attract all the clients the small
business can handle, this will significantly increase what the company charge for
services.
18. WEBPAGE:
The industries which we visited all are not having online marketing practices, so
that they are not concentrated on the web page and all, even some the small
industries are not having computer system in the company, so there are websites or
web pages available for these industries.
19 and 20. Market Structure and Nature of competition:
in case of the small and medium enterprises the market structure is having number of
range of products with number of competitors and different pricing policies. There
will be comparison between various products and their prices. So always there will
be stiff competition. But the nature of competition is depends upon the type of the
business the company is doing.
21. Areas Of Competition:
 Quality of the product
 Innovative products
 Price
 Demand
 Market share
 Selling and Distribution

MARKET PROBLEMS

With intensifying competition many SMEs especially in the consumer goods sector
would find it difficult to survive. Items reserved for SSIs will now face competition
from similar products produced by large scale global manufacturers, imported freely
at low tariffs. When the domestic market is fully open to global competition, the low
labour cost advantage that our SMEs claim to enjoy may not work beyond a point.
Low end products will also face competition from export oriented developing
countries.
In the current economic slowdown SME sector has been hit very hard due to raising
interest rates and financial crunch. The small size and capacity of the firms and their
lack of awareness have bred many hindrances to their growth

 Under-utilization of capacity,
 Inadequate and untimely credit flows,
 Inability in technology up gradation,
 Insufficient raw-material procurement
 Inability to market finished goods and
 Ineffective monitoring and feedback mechanism.

The nature of marketing is ever changing so does the problems associated with the
marketing. The Indian SMEs are facing a lot of problems related to marketing in the
national and international arenas. This is mainly due to the fact that these
organizations belong to rural or semi urban areas where the resources are easily
available to them and cheap labour is associated with . But when it comes to selling
of these products the SMEs have to face a difficulty in creating an impression and
awareness in the minds of urban and other potential buyers about the quality and
related aspects of their products and services. The main marketing problems of the
SMEs in marketing their products and services.

Most of the SMES established in the developing nations provide products and
services with moderate quality largely applying outdated technologies. Thus they are
faced with tough competition with the high quality products of the MNCs at lesser
price. With the increasing globalization the situation is further worsened.
Reduced protection has already lowered the SMEs competitive strength. The sector
may face dumping by foreign competitors like China . The cost of anti dumping
investigations may be prohibitive for SMEs.

 Most of the times the SME sector end up with wrong marketing strategies and

irrelevant strategies applicable to the segment or the total market. Majority of

these are not aware of the modern techniques like supply chain management,
just in time inventory, kanban and other logistics associated marketing.
 These organizations also have a problem of customer awareness as they do not

adopt any publicity and advertisement strategies. Most of their products are
sold through word of mouth publicity and direct selling. Sometimes the
government in association with the local authorities organizes exhibitions to
promote the products of these units. Still the small enterprises are unable to
utilize this opportunity because of the low levels of literacy and shortage of
working capital needs.

 It was often complained that the host country distributors that despite

providing the SMEs with full actual samples of the product at free of cost,
they fail to give result as required. They have a tendency to export what they
manufactured without even having matching of the quality, timing, or
presentation of the product. They learn only when the importer chokes them
up in terms of the nonpayment due to inferior stuff or other related things.
 individual SSI units are scattered throughout the country and their resources
are limited. They find it difficult to participate in Government stores purchase
 programmes even if certain items are reserved to them to supply.
 SMEs also encounter a problem in expanding markets due to lack of

marketing arrangements with other bodies. An important factor contributing to

this problem is the interdependence of different strata of the industries ( large,
medium and small) has not been fully realized.

 The cost of production of these units is relatively high because these units tend

to purchse the raw materials in small lots and through middlemen, which
results in high pricing of the goods. By, contrast large organizations are
offered raw materials at lower cost under economies of scale and bulk
manufacturing.

 The emerging challenges to the small scale sector are to come from the impact

the of the agreements under WTO> The agreements under TRIPS calls for
tighter patent laws through regulation of intellectual property rights which is
becoming a costly affair to the SMEs.
 Majority of the SMEs are unable to participate in the Industrial exhibitions

and Expos organized nationally and internationally. This is due to the high
cost
 Some Suggestions for improvement
 At times, when major markets are shrinking down consistently, each and

every SME should have a marketing strategy not only to show-case their
products, but also to easily get inquiries form other markets. Some suggestions
have have been proposed in this regard to find solutions to the marketing
difficulties faced by the SME sector.
 There must be some programme on making these organisations aware of the
modern business tools. SMEs can be greatly benefit if they recognize the
power of internet for exploring and managing the market online.
 They should develop their websites in English language for spreading their
reach beyond India. Bodies such as CII, Trade India can take up awareness
programmes for them in systematic way and monitor the changes.
 SMEs cannot do conventional marketing because of the limitation of

resources. They need to think beyond conventional marketing practices of

large companies and search for alternative marketing approaches such as
personal contact networks, social networks, B2B portals, E-Commerce tools,
Business Networks and Industry and Marketing networks.
 SMEs should realize that on the Internet, a big company will have the same
chances as an SME to make an impact on the buyer. With the correct
techniques any SME can make it to the top leaving behind even the biggest of
the companies.
 Indian SMEs have to take note of technical barriers to trade(TBT) in view of
technical standards set by developed countries.
 Good planned strategic approach, if adopted by SMEs can help them to
overcome many of the barriers and obstacles that they face now.