A Report On

MARKETING STRATEGIES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

OF PUMA

A Project Report Submitted to the Department of Business Administration in partial fulfillment of

the requirement for the award of

the degree of
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION

Submitted by
G.JATIN
(Y176194009)
Under the Guidance of

Mr. M. Satyendra Kumar, M.Com., M.B.A

(Affiliated to KRISHNA UNVERSITY)Vijayawada Rd,

chalasani nagar,poranki,tarakaturu,Andhra Pradesh 521137

2019-2020
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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this project work entitled “ A REPORT ON MARKETING STRATEGIES AND
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF PUMA abonafide work of G.JATIN (RollNo.Y176194009 )
submitted to the department of business Administration in partial fulfillment of requirement for the
award of Degree of “Bachelor of Business Administration” by Krishna University.

Mr. M.SATYENDRAKUMAR Mr. Y. SAIKRISHNA

(Project guide)(Principal)

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel immense pleasure & proud to be a part of SRI KRISHNAVENI EDUCATIONAL

INSTITUTIONS that has nurtured to the present state and feel grateful towards it.

I express my sincere and hearful thanks to “PUMA DISTRIBUTER” For allowing me to

undertake a project in their company. I was under the continuous and valuable guidance of
managing director .

I would like to thank our college Director, MR. J. Siva Krishna garu and our principal MR.
Y. Sai Krishna garu for their immense support.

Lastly, I would like to thank my project guide Mr. M. SATYENDRA KUMAR sir, who was a
constant source of encouragement.

G. JATIN (Y176194009)

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 DECLERATION

I ‘G.JATIN’ here by declare that, project titled ‘MARKET STRATEGIES AND

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF PUMA has been prepared and submitted by me to the
department of Business Administration during the year in partial fulfillment of the requirement for
the award of Degree of BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, by SRI
KRISHNAVENI EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS on behalf of Krishna University.

I also declare that this project is my original and that it has not been submitted to any other
University for the award of any degree or diploma.

SIGNATURE
Place:VIJAYAWADA G.JATIN
Date:
(Y176194009)

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 INDEX
CHAPTER Table of content Page no.

1. INTRODUCTION 06-14

2. INDUSTRY PROFILE 15-48

COMPANY PROFILE
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 49-58

4. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 59-70

5. FINDINGS SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 71-79

6. BIBILOGRAPHY 80-81

7. QUESTIONNAIRE 82-85

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INTRODUCTION

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 What Is Marketing?
Marketing refers to activities undertaken by a company to promote the buying or selling of a product or
service. Marketing includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to consumers or other
businesses. Some marketing is done by affiliates on behalf of a company.

Professionals who work in a corporation's marketing and promotion departments seek to get the
attention of key potential audiences through advertising. Promotions are targeted to certain audiences
and may involve celebrity endorsements, catchy phrases or slogans, memorable packaging or graphic
designs and overall media exposure.

Understanding Marketing
Marketing as a discipline involves all the actions a company undertakes to draw in customers and
maintain relationships with them. Networking with potential or past clients is part of the work too,
including writing thank you emails, playing golf with a prospective client, returning calls and emails
quickly, and meeting with clients for coffee or a meal.

At its most basic, marketing seeks to match a company's products and services to customers who want
access to those products. The matching of product to customer ultimately ensures profitability.

[Important: Marketing refers to any activities undertaken by a company to promote the buying or
selling of a service.]

How Marketing Works

Product, price, place, and promotion are the Four Ps of marketing. The Four Ps collectively make up
the essential mix a company needs to market a product or service. Neil Borden popularized the idea of
the marketing mix and the concept of the Four Ps in the 1950s.

Product
Product refers to an item or items the business plans to offer to customers. The product should seek to
fulfill an absence in the market, or fulfill consumer demand for a greater amount of a product already
available. Before they can prepare an appropriate campaign, marketers need to understand what product
is being sold, how it stands out from its competitors, whether the product can also be paired with a
secondary product or product line, and whether there are substitute products in the market.

Price
Price refers to how much the company will sell the product for. When establishing a price, companies
must give considerations to the unit cost price, marketing costs and distribution expenses. Companies
must also consider the price of competing products in the marketplace and whether their proposed price
point is sufficient to represent a reasonable alternative for consumers.

Place
Place refers to the distribution of the product. Key considerations include whether the company will
sell the product through a physical storefront, online, or through both distribution channels. When it's
sold in a storefront, what kind of product placement does it get? When it's sold online, what kind of
digital product placement of sorts does it get?

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Promotion
Promotion, the fourth P, refers to the integrated marketing communications campaign. Promotion
includes a variety of activities such as advertising, selling, sales promotions, public relations, direct
marketing, sponsorship, and guerrilla marketing.

Promotions will vary depending on what stage of the product life cycle the product is in. Marketers
understand that consumers associate a product’s price and distribution with its quality, and they take
this into account when devising the overall marketing strategy.

Special Considerations
As of 2017, approximately 40% of U.S. Internet users buy several items online per month. Experts
expect online sales in the U.S. to increase from $504 billion in 2018 to over $735 billion by 2023.

Taking these statistics into consideration, it is vital for marketers to use online tools such as social
media and digital advertising, both on website and mobile device applications, and internet forums.
Considering an appropriate distribution channel for products purchased online is also an important step.
Online marketing is a critical element of a complete marketing strategy.

Key Takeaways

 Marketing refers to all activities a company takes to promote and sell products or services to
consumers.
 Marketing makes use of the "marketing mix," also known as the four Ps—product, price, place,
and promotion.
 At its core, marketing seeks to take a product or service, identify its ideal customers, and draw
the customers' attention to the product or service available.

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Marketing Strategy

Updated Oct 7, 2019

What Is Marketing Strategy?
A marketing strategy refers to a business' overall game plan for reaching prospective consumers and
turning them into customers of the products or services the business provides. A marketing strategy
contains the company’s value proposition, key brand messaging, data on target customer demographics,
and other high-level elements.

Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

The marketing strategy informs the marketing plan, which is a document that details the specific types
of marketing activities a company conducts and contains timetables for rolling out various marketing
initiatives.

Marketing strategies should ideally have longer lifespans than individual marketing plans because they
contain value propositions and other key elements of a company’s brand, which generally hold
consistent over the long haul. In other words, marketing strategies cover big-picture messaging, while
marketing plans delineate the logistical details of specific campaigns.

Academics continue to debate the precise meaning of marketing strategy, therefore multiple definitions
exist. The following quotes help crystallize the nuances of (modern) marketing strategy:

 "The sole purpose of marketing is to sell more to more people, more often and at higher prices."
(Sergio Zyman, marketing executive and former Coca-Cola and JC Penney marketer)
 "Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell." (Seth
Godin, former business executive and entrepreneur)
 "The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service
fits him and sells itself." (Peter Drucker, credited as founding modern management)
 “Marketing’s job is never done. It’s about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate
every day.” (former vice chair and chief marketing officer, GE)
 "Take two ideas and put them together to make one new idea. After all, what is a Snuggie but
the mutation of a blanket and a robe?" (Jim Kukral, speaker and author of "Attention!")

The Creation of Marketing Strategy

A carefully-cultivated marketing strategy should be fundamentally rooted in a company’s value
proposition, which summarizes the competitive advantage a company holds over rival businesses. For
example, Walmart is widely known as a discount retailer with “everyday low prices,” whose business
operations and marketing efforts revolve around that ideal.

Whether it's a print ad design, mass customization, or a social media campaign, a marketing asset can
be judged based on how effectively it communicates a company's core value proposition. Market
research can be helpful in charting the efficacy of a given campaign, and can help identify untapped
audiences, in order to achieve bottom-line goals and increase sales.

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Marketing strategy is the comprehensive plan formulated particularly for achieving the marketing
objectives of the organization. It provides a blueprint for attaining these marketing objectives. It is the
building block of a marketing plan. It is designed after detailed marketing research. A marketing
strategy helps an organization to concentrate it’s scarce resouces on the best possible opportunities so
as to increase the sales.

A marketing strategy is designed by:

1. Choosing the target market: By target market we mean to whom the organization wants to sell
its products. Not all the market segments are fruitful to an organization. There are certain
market segments which guarantee quick profits, there are certain segments which may be
having great potential but there may be high barriers to entry. A careful choice has to be made
by the organization. An indepth marketing research has to be done of the traits of the buyers and
the particular needs of the buyers in the target market.
2. Gathering the marketing mix: By marketing mix we mean how the organization proposes to sell
its products. The organization has to gather the four P’s of marketing in appropriate
combination. Gathering the marketing mix is a crucial part of marketing task. Various decisions
have to be made such as -
 What is the most appropriate mix of the four P’s in a given situation
 What distribution channels are available and which one should be used
 What developmental strategy should be used in the target market
 How should the price structure be designed

Importance of Marketing Strategy

 Marketing strategy provides an organization an edge over it’s competitors.

 Strategy helps in developing goods and services with best profit making potential.
 Marketing strategy helps in discovering the areas affected by organizational growth and thereby
helps in creating an organizational plan to cater to the customer needs.
 It helps in fixing the right price for organization’s goods and services based on information
collected by market research.
 Strategy ensures effective departmental co-ordination.
 It helps an organization to make optimum utilization of its resources so as to provide a sales
message to it’s target market.
 A marketing strategy helps to fix the advertising budget in advance, and it also develops a
method which determines the scope of the plan, i.e., it determines the revenue generated by the
advertising plan.

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Analyzing Consumer’s Buying Behaviour
The core function of the marketing department is to understand and satisfy consumer need, wants and
desire. Consumer behaviour captures all the aspect of purchase, utility and disposal of products and
services. In groups and organization are considered within the framework of consumer. Failing to
understand consumer behaviour is the recipe for disaster as some companies have found it the hard
way. For example, Wal-Mart launched operations in Latin-America with store design replicating that of
US markets. However, Latin America consumer differs to US consumer in every aspect. Wal-Mart
suffered consequences and failed to create impact.

Social, cultural, individual and emotional forces play a big part in defining consumer buying behaviour.
Cultural, sub-culture and social class play an important is finalizing consumer behaviour. For example,
consumer growing up in US is exposed to individualism, freedom, achievement, choice, etc. On sub-
culture level influence of religion, race, geographic location and ethnicity define consumer behaviour.
Social class consists of consumer with the same level of income, education, taste, feeling of superiority
and inferiority. Over time consumer can move from one social level to another.

Culture alone cannot define consumer behaviour; social forces also play an important role. Social
forces consist of family, friends, peer groups, status and role in society. Groups which have direct or
indirect influence on consumer are referred to as reference groups. Primary groups consist of friends,
family and peers with whom consumer has direct contact for considerable time. Secondary groups are
association where interaction is at formal level and time devoted is less.

Consumer buying behaviour is influenced by individual’s own personality traits. These personality
traits do not remain the same but change with the life cycle. The choice of occupation and
corresponding income level also play part in determining consumer behaviour. A doctor and software
engineer both would have different buying pattern in apparel, food automobile etc. Consumers from
similar background, occupation and income levels may show a different lifestyle pattern.

An individual buying behaviour is influenced by motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitude.
These factors affect consumer at a psychological level and determine her overall buying behaviour.
Maslow’s hierarchy, Herzberg Theory and Freud Theory try and explain people different motivational
level in undertaking a buying decision. Perception is what consumer understands about a product
through their senses. Marketers have to pay attention to consumer’s perception about a brand rather
than true offering of the product. Learning comes from experience; consumer may respond to stimuli
and purchase a product. A favorable purchase will generate positive experience resulting in pleasant
learning. Belief is the pre-conceived notion a consumer has towards a brand. It is kind of influence a
brand exerts on consumer. For example, there is a strong belief product coming through German
engineering are quality products. Companies may take advantage of this belief and route their
production through Germany.

Companies need to think beyond buying behaviour and analyze the actual buying process. Complex
buying behaviour requires high involvement of buyers, as it is infrequent in nature, expensive, and they
11
are significant differences among the available choice e.g. automobile. Grocery buying is referred to as
habitual buying, which requires less involvement as few differences among brands, frequent and
inexpensive. Buying process involves purchase need, decision makers, information search, alternatives
evaluation, purchase decision and post purchase behaviour. Companies try hard to understand
consumer experience and expectation at every stage of buying process. Marketers need to figure the
right combinations which will initiate purchase need e.g. marketing programs. Companies should
ensure consumer have readily available information to take the decision e.g. internet, friends.
Consumers evaluate alternatives based on their brand perception and belief. Companies need to work
hard to develop products, which match this perception and belief every time. Final purchase decision is
taken looking other’s perception of the brand. Post purchase if expectations meet actual performance
consumer is satisfied and more likely to repurchase or recommend the brand to others.

Consumer markets are defined by various geographical, social and cultural factors. Furthermore,
consumer behaviour is influenced by psychological, personality, reference groups and demographic
reasons. Finally actual buying process involves complex process and cycle. Companies have to keep a
tab on all three factors in formulating strategy.

Types of Marketing

Where your marketing campaigns live depends entirely on where your customers spend their time. It's
up to you to conduct market research that determines which types of marketing -- and which mix of
tools within each type -- is best for building your brand. Here are several types of marketing that are
relevant today, some of which have stood the test of time:

 Internet marketing: Inspired by an Excedrin product campaign that took place online, the very
idea of having a presence on the internet for business reasons is a type of marketing in and of itself.
 Search engine optimization: Abbreviated "SEO," this is the process of optimizing content on a
website so that it appears in search engine results. It's used by marketers to attract people who perform
searches that imply they're interested in learning about a particular industry.
 Blog marketing: Blogs are no longer exclusive to the individual writer. Brands now publish
blogs to write about their industry and nurture the interest of potential customers who browse the
internet for information.
 Social media marketing: Businesses can use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and
similar social networks to create impressions on their audience over time.
 Print marketing: As newspapers and magazines get better at understanding who subscribes to
their print material, businesses continue to sponsor articles, photography, and similar content in the
publications their customers are reading.
 Search engine marketing: This type of marketing is a bit different than SEO, which is described
above. Businesses can now pay a search engine to place links on pages of its index that get high
exposure to their audience. (It's a concept called "pay-per-click" -- I'll show you an example of this in
the next section).
 Video marketing: While there were once just commercials, marketers now put money into
creating and publishing all kinds of videos that entertain and educate their core customers.
Marketing and Advertising

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If marketing is a wheel, advertising is one spoke of that wheel.

Marketing entails product development, market research, product distribution, sales strategy, public
relations, and customer support. Marketing is necessary in all stages of a business's selling journey, and
it can use numerous platforms, social media channels, and teams within their organization to identify
their audience, communicate to it, amplify its voice, and build brand loyalty over time.

On the other hand, advertising is just one component of marketing. It's a strategic effort, usually paid
for, to spread awareness of a product or service as a part of the more holistic goals outlined above. Put
simply, it's not the only method used by marketers to sell a product.

Here's an example (keep reading, there's a quiz at the end of it) ...

Let's say a business is rolling out a brand new product and wants to create a campaign promoting that
product to its customer base. This company's channels of choice are Facebook, Instagram, Google, and
its company website. It uses all of these spaces to support its various campaigns every quarter and
generate leads through those campaigns.

To broadcast its new product launch, it publishes a downloadable product guide to its website, posts a
video to Instagram demonstrating its new product, and invests in a series of sponsored search results on
Google directing traffic to a new product page on its website.

Now, which of the above decisions were marketing, and which were advertising?

...

The advertising took place on Instagram and Google. Instagram generally isn't an advertising channel,
but when used for branding, you can develop a base of followers that's primed for a gentle product
announcement every now and again. Google was definitely used for advertising in this example; the
company paid for space on Google -- a program known as pay-per-click (PPC) -- on which to drive
traffic to a specific page focused on its product. A classic online ad.
Where did the marketing take place? This was a bit of a trick question, as the marketing was the entire
process. By aligning Instagram, Google, and its own website around a customer-focused initiative, the
company ran a three-part marketing campaign that identified its audience, created a message for that
audience, and delivered it across the industry to maximize its impact.
The 4 Ps of Marketing
In the 1960's, E Jerome McCarthy came up with the 4 Ps of marketing: product, price, place,
promotion.

Essentially, these 4 Ps explain how marketing interacts with each stage of the business.

Product

Let's say you come up with an idea for a product you want your business to sell. What's next? You
probably won't be successful if you just start selling it.

Instead, you need your marketing team to do market research and answer some critical questions:
Who's your target audience? Is there market fit for this product? What messaging will increase product
sales, and on which platforms? How should your product developers modify the product to increase
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likelihood of success? What do focus groups think of the product, and what questions or hesitations do
they have?

Marketers use the answers to these questions to help businesses understand the demand for the product
and increase product quality by mentioning concerns stemming from focus group or survey
participants.

Price

Your marketing team will check out competitors' product prices, or use focus groups and surveys, to
estimate how much your ideal customer is willing to pay. Price it too high, and you'll lose out on a solid
customer base. Price it too low, and you might lose more money than you gain. Fortunately, marketers
can use industry research and consumer analysis to gauge a good price range.

Place

It's critical that your marketing department uses their understanding and analysis of your business's
consumers to offer suggestions for how and where to sell your product. Perhaps they believe an
ecommerce site works better than a retail location, or vice versa. Or, maybe they can offer insights into
which locations would be most viable to sell your product, either nationally and internationally.

Promotion

This P is likely the one you expected from the get-go: promotion entails any online or print
advertisement, event, or discount your marketing team creates to increase awareness and interest in
your product, and, ultimately, lead to more sales. During this stage, you'll likely see methods like
public relations campaigns, advertisements, or social media promotions.

Hopefully, our definition and the four Ps help you understand marketing's purpose and how to define it.
Marketing intersects with all areas of a business, so it's important you understand how to use marketing
to increase your business's efficiency and success.

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

15
 INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN FOOTWARE INDUSTRY

Indian leather industry is the core strength of the Indian footwear industry. It is the engine
of growth for the entire Indian leather industry and India is the second largest global
producer of footwear after China.

Reputed global brands like Florsheim, Nunn Bush, Stacy Adams, Gabor, Clarks, Nike,
Reebok, Ecco, Deichmann, Elefanten, St Michaels, Hasley, Salamander and Colehaan are
manufactured under license in India. Besides, many global retail chains seeking quality
products at competitive prices are actively sourcing footwear from India.

While leather shoes and uppers are produced inmediumtolarge-scale units, the sandals
and chappals are produced in the household and cottage sector. The industry is poised for
adopting the modern and state-of-the-art technology to suit the exactinginternational

16
requirements and standards. India produces more of gent’s footwear while the world’s
major production is in ladies footwear. In the case of chapels and sandals, use of non-
leather material is prevalent in the domestic market.

Leather footwear exported from India are dress shoes, casuals, moccasins, sport shoes,
horrachies, sandals, ballerinas, boots. Non- leather footwear exported from India are
Shoes, Sandals and Chappals made of rubber, plastic, P.V.C. and other materials.
With changing lifestyles and increasing affluence, domestic demand for footwear is
projected to grow at a faster rate than has been seen. There are already many new
domestic brands of footwear and many foreign brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma,
Reebok, Florsheim, Rockport, etc. have also been able to enter the market.

The footwear sector has matured from the level of manual footwear manufacturing
methods to automated footwear manufacturing systems. Many units are equipped with In-
house Design Studios incorporating state-of-the-art CAD systems having 3D Shoe
Design packages that are intuitive and easy to use. Many Indian footwear factories have
also acquired the ISO 9000, ISO 14000 as well as the SA 8000 certifications. Excellent
facilities for Physical and Chemical testing exist with the laboratories having tie-ups with
leading international agencies like SATRA, UK and PFI, Germany.

One of the major factors for success in niche international fashion markets is the ability to
cater them with the latest designs, and in

17
accordance with the latest trends. India, has gained international prominence in the area
of Colours& Leather Texture forecasting through its outstanding success in
MODEUROP. Design and Retail information is regularly made available to footwear
manufacturers to help them suitably address the season's requirement.

The Indian Footwear Industry is gearing up to leverage its strengths towards maximizing
benefits.
Strength of India in the footwear sector originates from its command on reliable supply of
resources in the form of raw hides and skins, quality finished leather, large installed
capacities for production of finished leather & footwear, large human capital with
expertise and technology base, skilled manpower and relatively low cost labor, proven
strength to produce footwear for global brand leaders and acquired technology
competence, particularly for mid and high priced footwear segments .Resources trength
of India in the form of materials and skilled manpower is a comparative advantage for the
country.

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Theexporttargetsfrom2014-15to2018-19astabulatedbelowreflects the fact that footwear
sector is the most significant segment of the Leather Industry in India.

The export targets from 2014-15 to 2018-19

In Million US$

Product 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

Leather 688.05 726.85 785.00 847.80 915.63

Footwear 1212.25 1967.88 2597.60 3428.83 4526.05
Garments 308.98 358.53 372.87 387.78 403.30
Leather Goods 690.66 733.34 798.69 870.06 948.04
Saddlery & 81.85 105.66 127.85 154.70 187.19
Harness
Total 2981.79 3892.26 4682.01 5689.17 6980.21

India has emerged in recent years as a relatively sophisticated low to medium cost
supplier to world markets –The leather industry in India has been targeted by the Central
Government as an engine for economic growth. Progressively, the Government has
prodded and legislated a reluctant industry to modernise. India was noted as a supplier of
rawhides and skins semi processed leather and some shoes.

In the 1970’s, the Government initially banned the export of raw hides and skins,
followed this by limiting, then stopping the export of semi processed leather and
encouraging local tanneries to manufacture finished leather themselves. Despite
protestations from the

19
industrialists, this has resulted in a marked improvement in the shoe manufacturing
industry. India is now a major supplier of leather footwear to world markets and has the
potential to rival China in the future (60% of Chinese exports are synthetic shoes).

India is often referred to as the sleeping giant in footwear terms. It as an installed capacity
of 1,800 million pairs, second only to China. The bulk of production is in men ’s leather
shoes and leather uppers for both men and ladies. It has over 100 fully mechanized,
modern shoe a king plants, as good as anywhere in the world (including Europe). It
makes for some up market brands including Florsheim (US) ,LloydGermany), Clarks
(UK), Marks and Spencer(UK).

Indiahashadmixedfortunesinitsrecentexportperformance.In2000,
exportsofshoeswereUS$651million;in2001 the seincreasedto663 million but declined in
2002 to 623 million dollars (See Statistics).

The main markets for Indian leather shoes are UK and USA, which between them take
about 55% of total exports. India has not yet reached its full potential interms of a world
supplier .This is due mainly to local cow leather that although plentiful, has a maximum
thickness of 1.4 – 1.6mm, and the socio / political / infrastructure of the country.
However, India is an excellent supplier of leather uppers. Importation of uppers from
India does not infringe FTA with Europe or the USA.

20
The potential is set to change albeit slowly, but with a population rivalling China for size
,there is no doubt the tussle for world domination in footwear supply is between these
two countries.

Few Interesting Facts:

 The Indian foot wear retail market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 20%
for the period spanning from2015-16.
 Footwear is expected to comprise about 60% of the to tall eather exports by 2011
from over 38% in20014-15.
 Presently, the Indian footwear market is dominated by Men's footwear market that
accounts for nearly 58% of the total Indian footwear retail market.
 By products, the Indian footwear market is dominated by casual footwear market
that makes up for nearly two-third of the total footwear retail market.
 As footwear retailing in India remain focused on men's shoes, there exists a
plethora of opportunities in the exclusive ladies' and kids' footwear segment with
no organized retailing chain having a national presence in either of these
categories.
 The Indian footwear market scores over other footwear markets as it gives
benefits like low cost of production, abundant raw material, and has huge
consumption market.
 The footwear component industry also has enormous opportunity for growth to
cater to increasing production of footwear of various types, both for export and
domestic market.

21
In a Nutshell:
There are nearly 4000 units engaged in manufacturing footwear in India. The industry is
dominated by small scale units with the total
productionof55%.Thetotalturnoverofthefootwearindustryincluding leather and non-
leather footwear is estimated at Rs.8500-9500 crore (Euro551.3-
1723.1Million)includingRs.1200-1400crore(Euro217.6-
253.9 Million) in the household segment.

India's share in global leather footwear imports is around 1.4% Major Competitors in the
export market for leather foot wear are China(14%), Spain (6%) and Italy(21%).

The footwear industry exist both in the traditional and modern sector. While the
traditional sector is spread throughout the country with pockets of concentration catering
largely to the domestic market, the modern sector is largely confined to select centres like
Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Agra, Kanpur and Delhi with most of their production for
export.

Assembly line production is organized, and about 90% of the workforces in the
mechanized sector in South India consist of women. In fact, this sector has opened up
plenty of employment opportunities for women who have no previous experience. They
are trained to perform a particular function in the factory itself.

22
Setting the Product and Branding Strategy
Marketing strategy of a company revolves around 4Ps - Product, Price, Place and
Promotion.Companies devise a strategy by mixing the four. The most important among is the product.
All the marketing push and promotion will go waste if the product is not able to deliver. To come out
with winner product, companies have to understand target customers needs and requirements.

Product Classifications and Strategy

Anything which companies produce to satisfy particular needs and demands is referred to as a product.
Product is a broad category ranging from physical goods, tourism to managing a celebrity.

A product can be classified as to be made of five levels as shown in the figure below:-

The core benefit is the underlying segment product is offering. For example, customer is buying
commuting power when she purchases a car. Cars are fitted with comfortable seats, seat cover, and
have desired color, converting a core product into the basic product. Companies are in business of
providing value to products. At the expected level companies offer music system, child lock system and
temperature control features. An augmented product provides more than customer expectation like a
chrome wheels or sun/moon roof. However, augmentation increases the price of the product and
customers have to pay extra. An augmented product gets converted into an expected. At potential level
companies provides products considering all the possible augmentation.

The product itself is arranged in a hierarchy like need family, product family, product class, product
line, product type and item based on needs it satisfies. Further product can be classified on durability,
tangibility and usage. Durability comprises of durable and non-durable goods. Non-durable goods
comprises of product like soap and beer, which are of frequent purchase and usually consumed quickly.
These goods are available at many locations and require more allocation for advertising. Durable goods
include TV, washing machines and music system. These goods require more personal touch for selling
as the customer would like to understand all features and functions. Intangible products are in the form
of services, like haircutting and car repair.

Product usage divides the product into industrial goods and consumer goods. Convenience goods are
consumer goods, which can be bought by the customer without much fuss, for example, soaps, beer and
newspaper. Shopping goods are type of consumer goods where in customer compare characteristics
23
with other products in same category bases on price, quality and appearance, for example, clothing,
furniture and used car. Specialty goods are type of consumer goods where consumers need to make
extra efforts in purchasing them, for example, yacht or luxury car. Unsought goods are consumer
goods, which are not part of daily life and routine, for example, smoke detectors and cemetery plots.

Industrial goods can be further classified into capital goods and regular business supply. Capital goods
are type of industrial goods, which are required for production of final products, for example, plant and
machinery. Business goods are type of industrial goods, which are required for day to day functioning
as well as on special occasion, for example, office supplies, lubricants and spare parts.

Branding Strategy

Another important aspect of product strategy is branding. Branding is process of giving identity and
image to the product as to create an impression in the mind of consumer. Branding is a long process
involves lots of investments in terms of money and time from the company. Building brand identity
involves designing name, symbol and logo for the product. Branding involves developing strategy to
create a point of differentiation from competitors as well point of similarity with product class. Brand
which reaches a high level of awareness and enjoys the loyalty from customer develops brand equity.
Packaging of the products also forms part of branding strategy.

Creating a unique product identity and branding strategy is important in formulating success of the
company. Customer’s purchase decision will be based on attractive product and branding strategy.

24
Distribution Channels - Meaning and Their Significance
Various marketing intermediaries are used in transferring the products from the hands of producers to
the final consumers or industrial users. These marketing intermediaries carry alternate names such as
wholesalers, distributors, retailers, franchised dealers, jobbers, authorised dealers and agents. Such
marketing intermediaries compromise the distribution channel. These distribution channels minimize
the gap between point of production and point of consumption, and thereby create place, time and
possession utilities.

Role and Significance/Importance of Distribution Channels

Dristribution Channels perform a crucial role in the successful distribution and marketing of all
products. They have various contacts, expertise and wider knowledge of the products. The rapidly
growing markets and increasing complexities of distribution have increased the demand and
requirement of the distribution channels.

The role of distribution channels can be summarised as follows:

1. Distribution channels offer salesmanship: The distribution channels offer pivotal role of a sales
agent. They help in creating new products in market. They specialize in word of mouth selling
and promotion of products. They assure pre-sale and post-sale service to the consumers. Since
these channels are in direct and regular contact with the consumers, they do salesmanship very
well and at the same time provide true and valuable feedback to the producers.
2. Distribution channels increase distributional efficiency: The intermediary channels ease the
sales process as they are in direct contact with the customers. They narrow down the gap
between producers and consumers both ecoomically and efficiently. These intermediaries
reduce the number of transactions involved in making products available from producers to
consumers. For instance, there are four producers who are targeting to sell their products to four
customers . If there is no distribution channel involved, then there will be sixteen transactions
involved. But if the producers use distribution channels, then the number of transactions
involved will be reduced to eight( four from producer to intermediary and four from
intermediary to customer), and thereby the transportation costs and efforts will also be reduced.
3. The channels offer products in required assortments: Just like the producers have expertise in
manufacturing products, similarly the intermediaries have their own expertise. The wholesalers
specialize in moving and transferring products from various producers to greater number of
retailers. Similarly, the retailers have expertise in selling a wide assortment of goods in less
quantity to a greater number of final customers. Due to the presence of distribution
channels(wholesalers and retailers), it is possible for a consumer to buy the required products at
right time from a store conveniently located(geographically closer) rather than ordering from a
far located factory. Thus, these intermediaries break the bulk and meet the less quantity demand
of the customers.
4. They assist in product merchandising: It is actually the merchandising by intermediaries which
fastens the product movement from the retail shop desk to the customer’s basket. When a
customer goes to a retail shop, he may be fascinated by the attractive display of some new
product, may get curious about that new product, and he may switch over to that new product
leaving his regular product. Thus merchandising activities of the intermediaries serve as a quiet
seller at a retail store.

25
5. The channels assist in executing the price mechanism between the firm and the final
customers: The intermediaries help in reaching a price level which is acceptable both to the
producers as well to the consumers.
6. Distribution channels assist in stock holding: The intermediaries perform various other
functions like financing the products, storing the products, bearing of risks and providing
required warehouse space.

26
COMPANY PROFILE

27
 INTRODUCTION TO THE ORGANIZATION

Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that
produces athletic shoes, footwear, and other sportswear. The company was formed in
1924 as GebrüderDasslerSchuhfabrikby Adolf and Rudolf Dassler. The relationship
between the two brothers deteriorated until the two agreed to split in 1948, forming two
separate entities, Adidasand Puma. Both companies are currently based in
Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Puma is known for its football shoes and has sponsored acclaimed footballers, including
Pelé, Eusébio, Johan Cruijff, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona, LotharMatthäus, Kenny
Dalglish, DidierDeschamps, Robert Pires, Radamel Falcao, Marco Reus, and Gianluigi
Buffon. Puma is the sponsor of the Jamaican track athlete Usain Bolt. In the United
States, the company is known for the suedebasketball shoe it introduced in 1968, which
eventually bore the name

28
ofNew York Knicks basketball star Walt "Clyde" Frazier, and for its endorsement
partnership with Joe Namath.

Followingthesplitfromhisbrother,RudolfDassleroriginallyregistered the new-established

company as Ruda, but later changed to Puma. Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square
and beast jumping through a D, which was registered, along with the company's name, in
1948. Puma'sshoedesignsfeaturethedistinctive"Formstripe",with clothing and other
products having the logo printed on them.

The company offers lines of shoes and sports clothing designed by Lamine Kouyate,
Amy Garbers, and others. Since 1996 Puma has intensified its activities in the United
States. Puma owns 25% of American brand sports clothing maker Logo Athletic, which
is licensed by American professional basketball and association football leagues. Since
2007 Puma SE has been part of the French luxury group PPR.

29
Background

Christoph von Wilhelm Dassler was a worker in a shoe factory, while his wife Pauline
ran a small laundry in the Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach, 20 km (12.4 mi) from the
city of Nuremberg. After leaving school, their son, Rudolf Dassler, joined his father at the
shoe factory. When here turned from fighting in World War I, Rudolf received a
management position at a porcelain factory, and later in a leather wholesale business in
Nuremberg.

RudolfreturnedtoHerzogenaurachin1924tojoinhisyoungerbrother, Adolf, nicknamed

"Adi", who had founded his own shoe factory. They named the new business "Gebrüder
DasslerSchuhfabrik" (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).The pair started their venture in
their mother's laundry. At the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and
the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their
equipment.

Adi drove from Bavaria to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with a suitcase full of
spike sand persuaded United States sprinter Jesse.

30
Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. Owens won four gold
medals. Business boomed; the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes annually
before World War II.

Company split and creation of Puma

Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party.A growing
rift between the brothers reached a breaking point during an Allied bomb attack in 1943.
Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family was already in.
"Here are the bloody bastards again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war
planes,but Rudo lf was convinced his brother mean the man his family. When Rudolf was
later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS,
he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.

The brothers splitthe businessin1948.Rudolfmovedtotheotherside of the Aurach River to

start his own company. Adolf started his own sportswear company using a name he
formed using his nickname— Adi—and the first three letters of his last name—Das—to
establish Adidas. Rudolf created a new firm that he called "Ruda", from "Ru" in Rudolf
and "Da" in Dassler. Rudolf's company changed its name to Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf
Dassler in1948.

31
Early years and rivalry with Adidas
Puma and Adidas entered a fierce and bitter rivalry after the split. The town of
Herzogenaurach was divided on the issue, leading to the nickname" thet own of
bentnecks"—people looked down to see which shoes strangers wore .Even the town's
two football clubs were divided: ASV Herzogenaurach club supported Adidas, while 1
FC Herzogenaurach endorsed Rudolf's footwear. When handymen were called to Rudolf's
home, they would deliberately wear Adidas shoes. Rudolf would tell them to go to the
basement and pick out a pair offree Pumas. The two brothers never reconciled, and
although both are buried in the same cemetery, they are spaced a part as far as possible.

In1948,the first foot ball match after WorldWarII, several membersof the West German
national football team wore Puma boots, including the scorer of West Germany's first
post-war goal, Herbert Burdenski. Four years later, at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1500
metresrunner JosyBarthel of Luxembourg won Puma's first Olympic gold in Helsinki,
Finland.

32
At the 1960Summer Olympics Puma paid German sprinter Armin Hary to wear Pumas in
the 100 metre sprint final. Hary had worn Adidas before and asked Adolf for payment,
but Adidas rejected this request. The German won gold in Pumas, but then laced up
Adidas for the medals ceremony, to the shock of the two Dassler brothers. Hary hoped to
cash in from both, but Adi was so enraged he banned the Olympic champion.

The Pelé pact and subsequent affairs

A few months prior to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Armin Dassler (Rudolf's son) and his
cousin, Horst Dassler (Adi's son), sealed an agreement which was dubbed "The Pelé
pact". This agreement dictated that Pelé would be out of bounds for both Adidas and
Puma. However, Pelécomplied with are quest by Puma's representative Hans Henningsen
to increase the awareness and profile of Puma after he received $120,000 to wear the
Form stripes. At the opening whistle of a 1970 World Cup finals match, Pelé stopped the
referee with a last- second request to tie his shoelaces before kneeling down to give
millions of television viewers a close-up of his Pumas. This outraged Horst, and future
peace agreements were called off.

Two years later, during the 1972 Summer Olympics, Puma provided shoes for the
Ugandan 400 metres hurdles champion, John Akii-Bua. After Akii-Bua was forced out of
Uganda by its military government, Puma employed him in Germany. Eventually Akii-
Bua returned to Uganda.

33
InMay1989,Rudolf's sons Arminand Gerd Dasaslera greed to sell their 72 percent stake in
Puma to Swiss business Cosa Liebermann SA.

Puma became a public company in 1986, and thereafter was listed on the Börse München
and Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

34
Timeline
 1920: Rudolf Dassler and his brother Adolf start making sports shoes.
 1924:Foundation of Gebrüder D assler Schuhfabrik, Herzogenaurach,Germany.
 1948: Foundation of Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler (1 October),
Introduction of the ATOM, Puma's first foot ball shoe
 1949: Rudolf Dassler has the idea of football shoes with removable studs. He
begins working on their development and production. Many football experts, like
Sepp Herberger, are involved.
 1952: Introduction of the SUPERATOM
 1953: Development of ATOM's successor: the BRASIL
 1958: Introduction of Puma's signature "Form stripe" at the FIFA World Cup
inSweden
 1959: The company is transformed into a limited partnership named Puma-Sports
chuh fabriken Rudolf Dassler KG
 1960: Introduction of the technologically advanced vulcanization production
technique
 1966:LaunchoftheWEMBLEY,the predecessor mode l to the
Puma King
 1968: Launch of the legendary KING. Puma is the first
manufacturer to offer sports shoes with Velcro fasteners
 1968: Launch of the SUEDE
 1973: Launch of the CLYDE. Designed for basket player Walt "Clyde" Fraizer, as
a wider-fitting version of suede model

35
 1974: Rudolf Dasslerdies. His sons Armin and Gerd take over the company's
management
 1976: Introduction of the S.P.A.-Technology
 1986: Transformation into a stock corporation
 1989: Launch of the TRINOMIC sport shoe system
 1990: Introduction of INSPECTOR, a growth control system for children's shoes
 1991: Launch of the DISC SYSTEM sports shoe
 1992: Capital increase by DM 20 million, share capital reaches DM 70million
 1993:Jochen Zeitz is appointed Chairman and CEO, Proventus/Aritmos B.V.
becomes majority share holder
 1994: The first profit since the company's IPO in 1986 is registered
 1996:PumaislistedintheGermanM-DAXindex;introductionof the CELL
technology, the first foam-free midsole
 1997: Launch of the CELLERATOR
 1998: Puma starts a cooperation with designer JilSander
 1999: Puma becomes an official on-field supplier of the U.S. National Football
League (NFL), a legacy reflected in the numeral font of the Tennessee Titans
jersey which still uses the original Puma design .Puma is the uniform
manufacturer for both Super Bowl teams that year: the Titans and St. Louis Rams.
 2000: Production of fireproof footwear in partnership with Porsche and
Sparco
 2001: Acquisition of the Scandinavian Tretorn Group

36
 2002: Puma ends tenure as an on-field supplier for the NFL, when Reebok is
announced as the league's sole official uniform and apparel sponsor for 10
years(2002-2011)
 2002: Launch of the SHUDOH
 2003: Majority shareholder Monarchy/Regency sells its shareholdings to a broad
base of institutional investors
 2004: Collaborative partnership with world-renowned designer Philippe Starck
 2005: Mayfair Vermögensver waltungs sells chaftmbh acquires a total of
16.91%shareholding
 2006: The company is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index; Introduction
of the S.A.F.E. concept, a specific tool developed to continuously improve social
and environmental standards. Shoe collection in cooperation with Alexander
McQueen. Italy would go on to win the 2006 World Cup. Due to Puma's
sponsorship of the Italian national team, many of the teams' players wore Puma
boots
 2007: Voluntary public take-over by Pinault-Printemps Redoute; Prolongation of
the contract with Jochen Zeitz by five years
 2008: Melody Harris-Jensbach is appointed Deputy CEO; Designer and artist
Hussein Chalayan becomes Creative Director, Puma also acquires a majority
stake in Chalayan's business and Hussein Chalayan
 2010:SignstwoyeardealstomakethekitsofNewcastleUnited,Motherwell, Hibernian,
Burnley&Preston from the 2010–11 season

37
 2011:SignsadealtomakekitsofGNKDinamoZagrebfromthe 2011–12 season. Signs

a three year deal with A-League champions Brisbane Roar[40]

 2012: Signs a four year deal to make kits of Barrow from the 2012–13season.

38
Sponsership

Pumaisasponsor of sporting events

and identities in Germany and
internationally. The company
sponsors numerous footballers and
national football teams; the
"Formstripe" especially has a heavy
presence inAfrica.
Puma is the sponsor of a number of Bundesliga clubs, most notably Borussia Dortmund
and VfB Stuttgart. In Scotland, Hibernian FC kits are made by Puma.

In Australian Rules Football, Puma has long-standing marketing relationships with the
Hawthorn Hawk sand West Coast Eagles . Puma has been Hawthorn 'sapparel sponsors
in cethe1980s,theclub'smost successfulera.

In cricket ,Puma is the official apparel sponsor for the Deccan Chargers (representing the
city of Hyderabad), and Rajasthan Royals (representing the city of Jaipur) in the Indian

Premier League.[41][42]International cricketers such as Yuvraj Singh (India), Craig

Kieswetter (England), Adam Gilchrist (Australia) and Brendon McCullum (NewZealand)
endorse the brand, and use the brand's cricket gear.

In Rugby Union, Puma entered an eight-year contract as official apparel sponsor of the
Irish Rug by team since the beginning of season

39
2009–10. Puma supplies the team kit, replica kit, and training equipment. Puma also
sponsor English premiership side Bath Rugby.

In track and field Puma is best known as the sponsor of Usain Bolt. Puma is also a
sponsor of the web show The Legion of ExtraordinaryDancers

40
41
MARKETING STRATEGY & CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited
resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable
competitive advantage. Marketingstrategyincludesallbasicandlong-
termactivitiesinthefield of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial
situation of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection ofmarket- oriented
strategies and therefore contribute to the goals of the company and its marketing
objectives.

Developing a marketing strategy

Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed
to fill market needs and reach marketing objectives. Plans and objectives are generally
tested for measurable results. Commonly, marketing strategies are developed as multi-
year plans,with atactical plan detailing specificactions to be accomplished in the current
year. Time horizons covered by the marketing plan vary by company, by industry, and by
nation, however, time horizons are becoming shorter as the speed of change in the
environment increases. Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive. They are
partially planned and partially unplanned. See strategy dynamics.

Marketing strategy involves careful scanning of the internal and external environments.
Internal environmental factors include the marketing mix, plus performance analysis and
strategic constraints. External environmental factors include customer analysis,
competitor

42
analysis, target market analysis, as well as evaluation of any elements of the
technological, economic, cultural or political/legal environment likely to impact success.
A key component of marketing strategy is often to keep marketing in line with a
company's overarching mission statement.

Once a thorough environmental scan is complete, a strategic plan can be constructed to

identify business alternatives, establish challenging goals, determine the optimal
marketing mix to attain these goals, and detail implementation. A final step in developing
a marketing strategy is to create a plan to monitor progress and a set of contingencies if
problems arise in the implementation of the plan.

Types of strategies
Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the individual
business. However there are a number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies. A
brief description of the most common categorizing schemes is presented below:

Strategies based on market dominance - In this scheme, firms are classified based on their
market share or dominance of an industry. Typically there are four types of market
dominance strategies:
 Leader
 Challenger
 Follower
 Nicher

43
Porter generic strategies - strategy on the dimensions of strategic scope and strategic
strength. Strategic scope refers to the market penetration while strategic strength refers to
the firm’s sustainable competitive advantage. The generic strategy framework (porter
1984) comprises two alternatives each with two alternative scopes. These are
Differentiation and low-cost leadership each with a dimension of Focus-broad or narrow.
** Product differentiation ** Cost leadership ** Market segmentation * Innovation
strategies — This deals with the firm's rate of the new product development and business
model innovation. It asks whether the company is on the cutting edge of technology and
business innovation. There are three types: ** Pioneers ** Close followers ** Late
followers * Growth strategies — In this scheme we ask the question, “How should the
firm grow?”. There are a number of different way so fans wering that question ,but the
most common gives four answers:
 Horizontal integration
 Vertical integration
 Diversification
 Intensification
A more detailed scheme uses the categories Miles, Raymond (2003). Organizational
Strategy, Structure, and Process. Stanford: Stanford University Press..:
 Prospector
 Analyzer
 Defender
 Reactor

44
  Marketing warfare strategies - This scheme draws parallels between marketing
strategies and military strategies.

Strategic models
Marketing participants often employ strategic models and tools to analyze marketing
decisions .When beginning a strategic analysis ,the 3Cs can be employed to get a broad
understanding of the strategic environment. An Ansoff Matrix is also often used to
convey an organization'sstrategicpositioningoftheirmarketingmix.The4Pscan then be
utilized to form a marketing plan to pursue a defined strategy.

There are many companiese specially those in the Consumer Package Goods (CPG)
market that adopt the theory of running their business centered around Consumer,
Shopper & Retailer needs. Their Marketing departments spend quality time looking for
"Growth Opportunities" in their categories by identifying relevant insights (both mindsets
and behaviors) on their target Consumers, Shoppers and retail partners. These Growth
Opportunities emerge from changes in market trends, segment dynamics changing and
also internal brandor operational business challenges.The Marketing team can then
prioritize these Growth Opportunities and begin to develop strategies to explo it the
opportunities that could include new or adapted products, services as well as changes to
the7Ps.
Real-life marketing
Real-life marketing primarily revolves around the application of a great deal of common-
sense; dealing with a limited number of factors, in an environment of imperfect
information and limited resources

45
complicated by uncertainty and tight timescales. Use of classical marketing techniques, in
these circumstances, is inevitably partial and uneven.

Thus, for example, many new products will emerge from irrational processes and the
rational development process may be used (if at all) to screen out the worst non-runners
.The design of the advertising ,and the packaging ,will be the out put of the creative
minds employed ;which management will then screen, often by 'gut-reaction', to ensure
that it is reasonable.

For most of their time, marketing managers use intuition and experience to analyze and
handle the complex, and unique ,situations being faced; without easy reference to theory.
This will often be 'flying by the seat of the pants', or 'gut-reaction'; where the overall
strategy, coupled with the knowledge of the customer which has been absorbed almost by
a process of osmosis, will determine the quality of the marketing employed. This, almost
instinctive management, is what is sometimes called 'coarse marketing'; to distinguish it
from the refined, aesthetically pleasing, form favored by the theorists.

46
 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction, a term frequently used in marketing, is a measure of how products

and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer
satisfaction is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers,
whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds
specified satisfaction goals." In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 71
percent responded that they found a customer satisfaction metric very useful in managing
and monitoring their businesses.

It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is often part of a Balanced
Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers
,customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key
element of business strategy.

"Within organizations, customer satisfaction ratings can have powerful effects. They
focus employees on the importance of fulfilling customers’ expectations. Furthermore,
when these ratings dip, they warn of problems that can affect sales and profitability. . . .
These metrics quantify an important dynamic. When a brand has loyal customers, it gains
positive word-of-mouth marketing, which is both free and highly effective."

47
Therefore, it is essential for businesses to effectively manage customer satisfaction. To be
able do this, firms need reliable and representative measures of satisfaction.

"In researching satisfaction, firms generally ask customers whether their product or
service has met or exceeded expectations. Thus, expectations are a key factor behind
satisfaction. When customers have high expectations and the reality falls short, they will
be disappointedandwilllikelyratetheirexperienceaslessthansatisfying. For this reason, a
luxury resort, for example, might receive a lower satisfaction rating than a budget
motel—even though its facilities and service would be deemed superior in 'absolute'
terms."
The importance of customer satisfaction diminishes when a firm has increased bargaining
power. For example, cell phone plan providers, such as AT&T and Verizon, participate in
an industry that is an oligopoly, where only a few suppliers of a certain product or service
exist. As such, many cell phone plan contracts have a lot of fine print with provisions that
they would never get away if there were, say, a hundred cell phone plan providers,
because customer satisfaction would be way too low, and customers would easily have
the option of leaving for a better contract offer.

There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of customer
satisfaction for firms.

48
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

49
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Title of the Project :

Marketing Strategy and Customer Satisfaction.

Duration of the Project :

45 days.

Type of Survey :
 Survey was questionnaire based.
 Respondents were given a sheet of questions toanswer.
 According to the answers given by the respondents the research was
done.

Sample size :
 Questionnaire was filled by 100respondents.

Research Universe :
 Survey was done in Jaipur city.
 Respondents were from different age groups eg. Students, Professionals,
Kids, families etc.

Data Collection Method :

 There are two Sources for the collection of data:
o Primary Source for the data was the questionnaire which was filled by the
respondents that was the main part of the survey.

50
 o Secondary source for the data was from Website and Newspapers which
gives the idea about the company’s history, product range and other
profile.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and all the activities
associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services, including the consumer's
emotional, mental and behavioural responses that precede or follow these activities. Consumer
behaviour emerged in the 1940s and 50s as a distinct sub-discipline in the marketing area.
Consumer behaviour is an inter-disciplinary social science that blends elements from psychology,
sociology, socialanthropology, anthropology, ethnography,
marketing and economics, especially behavioural economics. It examines how emotions, attitudes
and preferences affect buying behaviour. Characteristics of individual consumers such as
demographics, personality lifestyles and behavioural variables such as usage rates, usage occasion,
loyalty, brand advocacy, willingness to provide referrals, in an attempt to understand people's wants
and consumption are all investigated in formal studies of consumer behaviour. The study of
consumer behaviour also investigates the influences, on the consumer, from groups such as family,
friends, sports, reference groups, and society in general.
The study of consumer behaviour is concerned with all aspects of purchasing behaviour – from pre-
purchase activities through to post-purchase consumption, evaluation and disposal activities. It is
also concerned with all persons involved, either directly or indirectly, in purchasing decisions and
consumption activities including brand-influencers and opinion leaders. Research has shown that
consumer behaviour is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field. However, new research
methods such as ethnography and consumer neuroscience are shedding new light on how consumers
make decisions.

Consumer orientation stems from the company’s adoption and implementation of the marketing
concept – a philosophy of every business unit which has triple implications namely :

1) The victory of any business unit rests on consumers who are willing to accept and play for the
product or services.

2) The firm must be aware of what the market want well in advance of production and

3) Consumer wants must be monitored continuously for assured success over competitors .

The consumer are the arbiters of fortune

51
Professor walter C.G and professor paul G.W it is “ the process where by individual decide whether
, what , when , where , how and from whom to purchase goods and services.”

Consumer behaviour entails "all activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods
and services, including the consumer's emotional, mental and behavioural responses that precede or
follow these activities.” The term, consumer can refer to individual consumers as well as
organisational consumers, and more specifically, "an end user, and not necessarily a purchaser, in
the distribution chain of a good or service." Consumer behaviour is concerned with:

in business in highly competitive Economics system , the success , survival and growth of firm
warrants accurate knowledge about – the consumer is the crucial task of every marketing manager.

DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION:

• purchase activities: the purchase of goods or services; how consumers acquire products and
services, and all the activities leading up to a purchase decision, including information search,
evaluating goods and services and payment methods including the purchase experience
• use or consumption activities: concerns the who, where, when and how of consumption and the
usage experience, including the symbolic associations and the way that goods are distributed within
families or consumption units
• disposal activities: concerns the way that consumers dispose of products and packaging; may
also include reselling activities such as eBay and second-hand markets

Consumer responses may be:

• emotional (or affective) responses: refer to emotions such as feelings or moods,
• mental (or cognitive) responses: refer to the consumer's thought processes, their
• behavioural (or conative) responses: refer to the consumer's observable responses in relation to
the purchase and disposal of goods or services.
As a field of study, consumer behaviour is an applied social science. Consumer behaviour analysis is
the "use of behaviour principles, usually gained experimentally, to interpret human economic
consumption." As a discipline, consumer behaviour stands at the intersection of economic
psychology and marketing science.

STEPS IN CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

The following are the five steps generally followed by the consumer while buying a product .

1) Need recognition :

52
Need recognition is the awareness of the want or a desire or a consumption problem with out whose
satisfaction the consumer feels restless and tension – charged .

2) Information search :

Consumer interested is indicated in the consumer’s willingness to speak further information about
the product or service . since there are varieties of product and he seeks to have maximum
satisfaction , he searches relevant information .

3) Evaluation and intension :

The evaluation stage is the stage of mental trial of the produce or a service.

4) Purchase Decision :

decision to purchase implies consumer commitment for a produce or a service . practically , it is the
last stage in the buying process because , it completes the exchange process.

5) Post Purchasing Reaction :

The post purchase experience may be a set of positive or negative feeling. Positive feeling or
satisfaction will result is repeat sales or at least recommending the product or services to others : on
the other hand , dissatisfaction or negative feeling creating anxiety and doubts

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1) To know consumer’s behaviour towards puma.

2) To find out level of satisfaction of the consumer towards puma.
3) To know the consumers perception regarding the price of puma.
4) To understand the stimulus puma as a brand on consumer mind set .
5) To understand the perception of the people about puma.

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NEED OF THE STUDY

From the days of industrial revolution when goods & services were produced to the present day, the
emphasis has shifted from the producers to the consumer and his needs, and with the consumer
becoming more involved, in the marketing process there is greater need for information regarding
the consumer needs. Preferences and making them satisfied of the products & services, has led to a
constant but increasing need to conduct marketing research.

This research is an insight into the mind of the consumer, with the help of which the organizations
will become aware of their pitfalls and in turn can also make improvements in the product regarding
the level of satisfaction of the consumers towards their offerings in the market place. The basic need
of this project is to know the “Satisfaction” amongst the respondents, with regard to “PUMA”
services and its products.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Puma is having different branches in Vijayawada. The scope of the study is to identify the Consumer
behaviour towards puma. It is aimed at enlightening the company about different steps to be taken
up to increase the share of puma with regard other competitors and also to make the company to
provide better customer services.
The scope of the study is only confined to the area covered under Vijayawada and only confined in
studying about the Consumer Behaviour towards puma.
The scope of the study mainly to know the current level of customer satisfaction from the services of
puma. It gives the suggestion regarding the improvement of performance standard of puma .It helps
the management to get informed about the current level of performance of puma.
The study helps us to understand customers preference and their needs expected from the owners.
This study of customers behaviour helps not only the company but also to the common people at
large.

The study of customers behaviour helps us in following ways:

To understand different facilities provided by puma.
To do the careful study of steps which puma takes to attract the customers.
To study how puma is working for the development of the population and the economy.
The study is also useful to the puma to formulate systematic structure for providing facilities to
the customers.
It informs to customers about puma progression attitude towards customers.
To understand the overall performance and progress of puma.

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.Limitation of the Study
 The training was only for few days so couldn’t cover the entire market.
 People were hesitating answering the questions.
 Survey was done only in some part of Jaipur city so might not apply to the entire
population of Indian Market.
 Sample size was 100 so might not be accurate with respect to the entire
population of Jaipur city.
 Survey was done outside shopping malls, college and officesso can’t guess the
mind of customers living in interior colonies which are newly developed.

55
56
Marketing mix is a broad concept which includes several aspects of marketing which related
to creating awareness and customer loyalty. The term is often summarized as referring to the
"four P's": price, promotion, product, and placement.
“when these are effectively blended, they form a marketing program that provides want-
satisfying goods and services for the company’s market."

Elements of the marketing mix are often referred to as the "Four 'P's", a phrase used since
the 1960's
 Product- It is a tangible good or an intangible service that is mass produced or
manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products
are service based like the tourism industry& the hotel industry or codes-based
products like cellphone load and credits. Typical examples of a mass produced
tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but
ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating system. Packaging also
needs to be taken into consideration. Every product is subject to a life-cycle
including a growth phase followed by an eventual period of decline as the product
approaches market saturation. To retain its competitiveness in the market, product
differentiation is required and is one of the strategies to differentiate a product
from its competitors and Puma has wide range of products.
 Price–The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The business may
increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same product.
Puma has launched New

57
 products in Indian Market with a resionable price and margin so most of the
people can buy and enjoy the quality of world’s best foot ware.
 Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the
marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, publicrelations,
personal selling and sales promotion. A certain amount of crossover occurs when
promotion uses the four principal elements together, which is common in film
promotion. Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from cinema
commercials, radio and Internet adverts through print media and billboards.
Public relations are where the communication is not directly paid for and includes
press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs
and events. Word of mouth is any apparently informal communication about the
product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically
engaged to create word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an important
role in word of mouth and Public Relations. Puma should put conscious efforst to
promote its products within Indians. Company has used various media sources to
advertise about the same and now the customers are asking for the product up
front.
 Place–A way of getting the product to the consumer and/ or how easily accessible
it is to consumers. Company has good retailer and out lets network and they are
well capable to reach the target population easily.

58
DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION

59
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Q. 1 Where would you prefer buying your shoes from?

A) Brand Outlet
B)Mixed Store with various brands

C)Internet

D)All of them

Preferredlocationofbuyingshoes?

20% 20%
Brand
Outlet
MixedStore
20% Internet
40% All of them

Interpretation
According to the survey most of the people (40%) now a days started buying the brand
through Internet, 20% people said they visit brand outlet, 20% said they go to mixed store
and the rest said they used all those options.

60
 Q2.Which advertising media can make up your mind?

A)Television Advertising
B)Hoardings
C)Pamphlets

D)Bages or Polybags

Effective Advertising Media

60%
50%
50%

40%
30%
30% Series1

20%
10% 10%
10%

0%
Television Hoardings Pamphlets Bagsand
Advertising Polybags

Interpretation
Survey shows that most of the people (50%) out of surveyed population said that
television is most effective source of advertising
whichcanmakeuptheirmind,30%saidthisabouthourdings,10%said
pamphletsandtherest10%answeredasattractivebagsandpolybags with company’s name
and logo make up their mind to remember the brand.

61
 Q3.Do you find brand outlet easily in your locality?

A)Yes
B)No

Easily found brand outlets in the locality

10%

Yes
No

90%

Interpretation
According to the survey 90% people said they it is very easy to find brand outlets in
their locality where in 10% answered No.

62
 Q4.Which is the most easily found brand store according to you?

A)Reliance Trendz
B)Nike
C)Puma

D)Adidas

Easily accessiblestore

10% 20%
20% Reliance
TrendzNike
Puma
Adidas
50%

Interpretation
50% respondents said they find Nike store easily to their locality, 20% said Puma, 20%
said Reliance Trendz and the rest 10% answered as adidas.

63
 Q5.Have you heard of Puma?

A)Yes
B)No

Awareness about brand

0%

Yes
No

100%

Interpretation
According to the survey all the respondents answered that they do know about Puma
or they have at least heard about the brand.

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 Q6.Have you ever visited Puma Store nearest to you?

A)Yes
B)No

Visited the store

20%

Yes
No

80%

Interpretation
Research shows that 80% people out of surveyed population have visited the brand outlet
near to them where in 20% never visited the store.

65
 Q7.What stops you from buying products from Puma?

A)Price
B)Quality
C)Comfort

D)Brand Image

Reason for not buying the stuff from the store

Ssssssyukis,lstor sstore

5% 5%
10%
Price
Quality
Comfort
Brand Image
80%

Interpretation
Research shows that 80% people feel that Puma shoes are of high price, 10% said that
quality is not too good, 5% said they are not comfortable and the rest 5% are not
convinced with the brand image.

66
 Q8.What do you think company should do to increase sales of the brand?

A)Reduce the price

B)Increase the number of retail outlets

C)Provide better comfortable products

D)Provide better quality products

Ways to increase sales

Reduce the price

10%
10%
Increase the number of
stores
10% Provide better
comfortable products
70%
Provide better quality
products

Interpretation
Surveyshowsthat70%respondentsoutofsurveyedfeelthatreduced price would increase
company’s sales, 10% said company should open more number of stores, 10% said
company should improve the comfortness of the products and 10% believe that quality
should be improved.

67
 Q9.Are you satisfied buying Puma?

A)Yes
B)No

Satisfaction with brand

10%

Yes
No

90%

Interpretation
Survey concludes that 90% people are satisfied with the brand where in the rest 10% are
not for various reasons.

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 Q10.Who affects your purchasing decision the most?

A)Family
B)Friends

C)Colleagues

Who affects your purchasing decision the most?

20%

Family
Friend
10%
s
70% Colleagues

Interpretation
According to the survey 70% people out of surveyed get affected by their family the most
in terms of buying the stuff, 20% said they get
inspiredormotivatedforbuyingbytheircolleaguesand10%answered as friends.

69
 Q11.Would you suggest the brand to your family and friends?

A)Yes, Surely will

B)No

Will you suggest the brand to your family and

friends?

10%

Yes,Surely will
No

90%

Interpretation
Survey shows that 90% people are very well satisfied with the brand and they will surely
recommend brand to their family and friends where in the rest 10% said no.

70
FINDINGS SUGGESTIONS
& CONCLUSIONS

71
FINDINGS SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSIONS

According to the survey most of the people (40%) now a days started buying the
brand through Internet, 20% people said they visit brand outlet, 20% said they go
to mixed store and the rest said they used all those options.
Survey shows that most of the people (50%) out of surveyed population said that
television is most effective source of advertising which can make up their mind,
30% said this about hourdings, 10% said pamphlets and the rest 10% answered as
attractive bags and polybags with company’s name and logo make up their mind
to remember the brand.
According to the survey 90% people said they it is very easy to find brand outlets
in their locality where in 10% answered No.
50%respondentssaidtheyfindNikestoreeasilytotheirlocality, 20% said Puma, 20%
said Reliance Trendz and the rest 10% answered as adidas.
According to the survey all the respondents answered that they do know about
Puma or they have at least heard about the brand.
Research shows that 80% people out of surveyed population have visited the
brand outlet near to them where in 20% never visited the store.
Research shows that 80% people feel that Puma shoes are of high price, 10% said
that quality is not too good, 5% said they are not comfortable and the rest 5% are
not convinced with the brand image.

72
Survey shows that 70% respondents out of surveyed feel that reduced price would
increase company’s sales, 10% said company should open more number of stores,
10% said company should improve the comfortness of the products and 10%
believe that quality should be improved.
Survey concludes that 90% people are satisfied with the brand where in the rest
10% are not for various reasons.
Accordingtothesurvey70%peopleoutofsurveyedgetaffected by their family the
most in terms of buying the stuff, 20% said they get inspired or motivated for
buying by their colleagues and 10% answered as friends.
Survey shows that 90% people are very well satisfied with the brand and they will
surely recommend brand to their family and friends where in the rest 10% said no

73
74
SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths:
Company has a good network of stores and outlets.
Company is a very well know brand in Indian Market.
Company has a very good reputation with in customers.
Company already have a customer base in Indian Market.

Weaknesses:
Puma is not in reach of small towns.
Company has not put the entire efforts to promote the new products.

Opportunities:
12000 Crore rupees worth Indian Foot ware Industry.
Easily assible market through exisiting stores and outlets.

Threats :
Increasing competitions with Market leaders like Nike , Adidas and Reebok.
New to foot ware Industry in Indian Market.
Company has experiences in western market but it might be tough with
reference to Indian Customers.

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CONCLUSION

After this research, I conclude :

People do buy the stuff through internet now days.
Television is most effective source of advertising but hourdings also play a vital
role interms to inspire or motivate the customers.
Multi national brands are easily found or accessible now days in India.
Nike is the best known brand in India and their retail outlets are most easily
found.
Puma is also becoming a popular brand in India.
Most of the surveyd population visited Puma stores at least once.
Puma has high priced products so they stops customer from buying the stuff.
Most of the customers are satisfied with the brand.
People mostly get inspired or motivated to buy a product through their family.
Puma customers are very satisfied with the products and they said they will surely
recommend the brand too thers.

76
RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTION

77
 RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTION

Company should put some conscious efforts to promote the brand in India.
Company should take care of the quality and comforenss of the products.
Company should reduce the price slightly low, that can enhance the sale and
attract the customers.
Company should run some kind of discounts on buying, so customers get
motivated to buy the product.
Company should increase the number of franchisees so the brand will be easily
accessible to the customers.
Company should open new brand outlets.
Company should run more and more advertisements on the television and also
consider hourdings as their promotional stuff.
Company should take feedback from their unhappy customers and try to eradicate
those mistakes.
Company should take care of the brand image and introduce some new products
which are competititve enough with the competitors like Nike and adidas.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

79
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Websites:
www.wikipedia.orgwww.p
uma.in
http://eyuva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/puma-
india.pngwww.ibmashoes.in/footware-industry-profile.html

Books :
Marketing Management: “Philip Kotler”
Marketing Management: C.R. Kothari
Others:
Questionnaire filled by the respondents.

80
QUESTIONNAIRE

81
 QUESTIONNAIRE

Q. 1 Where would you prefer buying your shoes from?

A)Brand Outlet
B)Mixed Store with various brands

C)Internet

D)All of them

Q.2 Which advertising media can make up your mind?

A)Television Advertising
B)Hoardings
C)Pamphlets

D)Bages or Polybags

Q.3 Do you find brand outlet easily in your locality?

Yes
No

Q.4 Which is the most easily found brand store according to you?

A)Reliance Trendz
B)Nike

C)Puma

D)Adidas

Q.5 Have you heard of Puma?

A)Yes
B)No

82
Q.6 Have you ever visited Puma Store nearest to you?

A) Yes
B)No

Q.7 What stops you from buying products from Puma?

A)Price
B)Quality
C)Comfort

D)Brand Image

Q.8 What do you think company should do to increase sales of the brand?
A)Reduce the price
B)Increase the number of retail outlets
C)Provide better comfortable products

D)Provide better quality products

Q.9 Are you satisfied buying Puma?

A) Yes
B)No

Q.10 Who affects your purchasing decision the most?

A)Family
B)Friends

C)Colleagues

83
Q.11 Would you suggest the brand to your family and friends?

A)Yes, Surely will

B)No

Suggestions, If Any
_
_
_
_

84