Executive summary

In today’s competitive market survival of any firm has become significant to exist in
the market. Market is volatile, unpredictable and full of competition. Every firm is
trying to beat one another in such fierce competition by adopting different strategies.
To survive in the market understanding and assessment of market is very necessary.
Promotional strategy is a tool to understand market and get competitive advantages
over rival competitors. Promotional strategy is a way to disseminate information of
existing product in the market to consumers in a way that the product remains in the
memory of consumers for a long time.

“A REPORT ON A STUDY TO BRING ABOUT IMPROVEMENT IN THE

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES OF KALYANPUR CEMENTS LTD(KCL) IN
COMPARISON TO ITS COMPETITORS IN PATNA” helps to understand the
promotional strategies of Kalyanpur Cements Limited and its competitors in Patna.

Generally most cement companies follow the same type of promotional strategies but
it is the innovative promotional strategies which give competitive advantage to a firm
over another firm. This project is an effort to produce innovative strategies to enhance
the market share of KCL. The summer Internship Program commenced from 1st June
2008 to 31st July 2008.
 Chapter Name

S.NO Chapter’s Name Page No.

A. Introduction of the study

B. Scope of the study

C. Objective of the study

D. Research Methodology

E. Limitation
Introduction of the study

In today’s competitive market survival of any firm has become significant to exist in
the market. Market is volatile, unpredictable and full of competition. Every firm is
trying to beat one another in such fierce competition by adopting different strategies.
To survive in the market understanding and assessment of market is very necessary.
Promotional strategy is a tool to understand market and get competitive advantages
over rival competitors. Promotional strategy is a way to disseminate information of
existing product in the market to consumers in a way that the product remains in the
memory of consumers for a long time.
“A REPORT ON A STUDY TO BRING ABOUT IMPROVEMENT IN THE
PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES OF KALYANPUR CEMENTS LTD (KCL) IN
COMPARISON TO ITS COMPETITORS IN PATNA” helps to understand the
promotional strategies of Kalyanpur Cements Limited and its competitors in Patna.
Generally most cement companies follow the same type of promotional strategies but
it is the innovative promotional strategies which give competitive advantage to a firm
over another firm. This project is an effort to produce innovative strategies to enhance
the market share of KCL. The summer Internship Program commenced from 1st June
2008 to 31st July 2008.

B. Scope of the project

Scope of the project was limited for Patna. For this project 60 days duration was
taken.

There was an opportunity to meet mostly all types of retailers and interact with them
directly, which was good experience. Meeting the retailers, who helped us to
understand their needs and requirements regarding cements?

Interacting directly with people is very joyful experience. Talking with them,
understanding their problems helped to know what could be the promotional strategy
of Cements Company.
It was good opportunity to develop skills and acquire knowledge, which is required
for the field work.

KCL has installed so many hoardings of its cements in all over Patna.KCL has also
installed tube light hoardings in some region of Patna that illuminates at night.

C. Objective of the study

The cement industry has continued its growth trajectory over the past seven years.
Domestic cement demand growth has surpassed the economic growth rate of the
country for the past couple of years. The growth rate of cement demand over the past
five years at 8.37% was higher than the rate of growth of supply at 4.84% as also the
rate of growth of capacity addition during the same period. Demand for cement in the
country is expected to continue its buoyant ride on the bank of robust economic
growth and infrastructure development in the country. The market has number players
and all wants to expand rapidly; therefore they has to undergo continuous research and
development in order to come up with innovative ideas of products and services. To
popularized its product the company has to work on its positioning in the market, how
to make an impact of the product on the eyes and minds of the consumer.
 By keeping in the mind a detailed study is carried out by analyzing the
response of some consumers and some intermediaries at different localities of Patna
with the general objective listed below:

 To know the potential of cement market.

 Who are the major players in the cement sector?

 What is the share of different firms in the market?

 What position do they occupy in the minds of the target consumer

groups?

 How the KCL brands needs to be positioned?

 How the competitive brands are positioned?

 How the brand is perceived by the target consumer groups.

 To improve promotional strategy of KCL.

 To find out promotional strategies of its competitors.

 To compare promotional strategies of KCL with its competitors.

 To get the feedback from retailers and consumers for adoption of its
promotional strategy.

 To know what promotional strategy motivates prospective customers to

purchase Kalyanpur cements.
  To know the market status of KCL.

D. Research Methodology

Every project of the study should be followed by the, means to accomplish that
objective. The mean, which will be correct and comprehensive, which will give all of,
the information needed. That means, which will help to know about the loopholes of
other alternatives means. The means here is nothing but kind of methodology adopted
to carry out the study.

The marketing concept is a philosophy. It makes the customer, and the

satisfaction of his or her needs, the local point of all business activities. It is driven by
senior managers, passionate about delighting their customers.

A research design is a type of data related to cement companies prepared

depending on various types of data available for the collection, measurement and
analysis of data. It is overall operational pattern or framework of the project that
stipulates what information is to be collected from which source by what procedures.

Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialized activity
at all it encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point
of view of the final result, that is, from the customers point of view, Concern and
responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise.
TYPES OF RESEARCH
 Exploratory Research

 Descriptive Research

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

Exploratory research is in the nature of preliminary investigation. The objective of it is

to generate new ideas. To achieve this object, respondent should be given sufficient
freedom to express themselves. The primary focus of this is on the discovery of new
ideas. Exploratory research uses a different approach to the problem-solving than the
conclusive study.

DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

This type of research is undertaken in various circumstances. This research is very

useful to know the characteristics of certain groups such as age, sex, educational level,
occupation or income. The basic of descriptive research is to find out the answers the
questions relating to, “who, what, when, where and how” of the subject under
consideration.
Descriptive research is not always factual and simple; they can be complex also,
demanding high degree of scientific skill on the part of researcher.

Though the information present in the report is gathered through different activities
like:-

MARKET DESIGN

SURVEY: - It has helped a lot in understanding the need of the customers and what the
person who is involved in cement business thinks about different brands. Survey is
done in different areas of Patna and possible outlets are covered to collect information
regarding cement market.
QUESTIONNAIRE:- It is basically for knowing the satisfaction level of the
customer that what they want, what their requirement are? Back to top a set of written
questions, requiring written answers, which ask for information about an organization
or its constituents. A questionnaire might ask for information that may be statistically
useful, or it may be personal.

INTERVIEW:- Interview is done with the customer those who are cement users and
non users that what are their expectation from cement manufactures, which cement
they rank first and why? Why they trust a specific brand etc. It has helped in
understanding the customers demand.

DATA COLLECTION METHOD

Collection of data is the first step in statistics. Data can be secondary or primary can
be collected using variety of tools.

 PRIMARY DATA
Primary data is the first hand information, which is collected personally through
interaction with respondents, in form of questionnaires. The data is obtained by using
various methods
They are:-
 Observation method

 Interview method

 Through Questionnaires

 SECONDARY DATA
Secondary data is the data, which is already in record for e.g. newspaper, Internet
books Reports published and Magazines. The secondary data is obtained through.
  Various publications of central, state and local government

 Various publication

 Office records

 Newspapers, Books, Magazines.

THE SEVEN MAJOR STEPS IN MARKET SURVEY:-

 Deciding the objectives

 Specify what information is needed

 Identify the source of the information

 Decide on the techniques for acquiring the information

 Process the gathered information

 Analyze and interpret the data

 Present the finding to the decision makers.

E. LIMITATION

Even though I have conducted the research sincerely, the research is subjected to few
limitations; due to practical difficulties encountered during the courses of conducting
research.
 This study is conducted in a limited geographical area. So, the finding

may not be applicable for other region.

 There are large amount of population who is said to be continuous

floting from one place to another. May be the people of other territory

have unduly got considerable participation in my research.

 Though every possible attempt was made to ensure correct results but

there may be chances of sampling error.

 The project was carried out over a span of two months hence time

duration was restrictive factor to understand and solve the competition

involved in the project.

 Primary data collected to survey was shaped according to perceptions of

respondents, so it could be biased.

 Respondents were often reluctant to give information.

 Sample was not representative of all population.

 Many of the times, the respondent did not disclose the requisite

information.

 Many people are not willing to fill the questionnaire, as they are busy in

their own work.

 Biased views of respondents. Sometimes respondents exhibited based

views towards particular provider.

 Few of the times, respondents has given answer which has no objectivity

i.e., the option taken is ridden with dubiousness.

 Time is the most important constraint. The detail study required to be

completed in a given time frame.

 The result is true for each time period and it may vary with time.

 To know the perception of people by such limited questions are not

sufficient.

 Another limitation of the project is that, I was unable to measure factors

like attitude and motivation etc.

 There is a chance of human error.

 Survey is done in summer season, so scorching heat sometimes makes it

very difficult to move deeper and collects the information.

Chapter 2.
S.NO Chapter’s Name Page No.

A. Organisational Profile

B. Cements Industry in India

C. Cements maker’s brand building

D. Marketing Network

E. Brand Positioning

F. Marketing & marketing Details

COMPANY PROFILE

Kalyanpur Cements Limited- At a glance:-

Group The Sinha Group

Company Kalyanpur Cements Limited

 Registered Office 2&3 Clive row, Kolkata-700001

Central Office Mourya Centre, 1 Fraser road, Patna

Collaborator Holder bank, Switzerland

Factory Banjari Rohtas, Bihar

Constitution Public Ltd. Company

Date of Registration 11th August, 1937

Operational Form 1946

Manufacturing Process Dry Process

Capacity 1 million ton per year

In the corporate division office preside the top authorities and manage the whole
Altair of the company like the Marketing and Sales problem and Personnel and
Technical at Banjari.
ORGANISATION STRUCTURE:

Organization structure is the back bone of management without organizational

structure no management can perform its function smoothly. Organization structure
refers to relationship among position job, which is created to obtain certain objective.

Actually the structure is the relationship among various function of the

organization on an established manner.

According to Chester Barn ad: “A system of co-operative activities of two or

more persons is called organization structure.”
 According to Mooney & Relay: “Organization structure is the form every
human association for the attainment of a common purpose.”

Thus structures are cohesive force that integrates different pairs of the enterprise
in to a co-ordinate whole for the attainment of a command purpose.

The “SINHA GROUP” presently managed by Mr. Satyadev Prakash Sinha and
Mr. Shailendra Prakash Sinha, one of the leadind industrial Groups in Eastern India
with diversified business activity covering paints, weigh feeders, load cells, financing,
cements consultancy, Hotel industry besides cement. The total group turnover is Rs.
225 Cores.

At the Apex of the company is a board of Directors consistency of

representatives of the state Government, the financial institution, the collaborators and
other individual with rich business experience for monitoring the performance of the
company and appraising company’s plans. The Chairman-cum-Managing Director of
the company is Mr. Satyadev Prakash Sinha who is a B.SC I in Economic from
London and has total business experience of 32 years, covering the business interest of
the group. He has been responsible for the diversified business interests of the group.

The second promoters Mr. Shailendra Prakash Sinha is the joint Managing
Director of the company. He is a B.COM and has obtained a certificate in Hotel
Management form Cornell University, U.S.A and has total business experience of 24
years. There are separate department to look after the different function.

The main departments are production, Maintain, Stores, Purchase, Sales,

Finance and personnel & Administration. Qualified and experienced persons head
each department.

In its management also included corporate division, which did concern

secretarial, Depot Manage. Bulk materials were in charge of legal section dealing with
the legal matters of the concern. There was proves icons for information system deptt.
Headed by D.G.M Information system. Company was earlier engaged in
manufacturing lime and it was known as Kalyanpur lime cement limited till 1988.
From 1946-1994 the company was engaged in manufacturing cement through wet
process and it was started in 1946 with annual capacity of 46,000 tons per annum. It
replaced its 4 lakh ton per annum wet process plant with a million ton per annum dry
process plant with assistance from World Bank, financial institution and Holder Bank
of Switzerland, now it is known as Holcim.
The ‘Sinha group ‘comprises of dozen companies in diverse activities with a
total turnover of approximately Rs.4 billion. The group employs over 5,000 people. A
brief profile of the major companies of the group is as follow:
Jenson &Nicholson(India Ltd):- Jenson &Nicholson (India Ltd) is one of the top
companies in India with a market share in excess of 6%.It manufactures paints,
synthetic resins, varnish enamel &distempers.

Bihar Hotels Ltd :- Bihar Hotels Ltd (BHL)owns Hotel Mourya Patna. The Hotel is
situated at a prime location in Patna.It has acquired a five star status with a capacity of
80 rooms & 3 banquet halls. The Hotel has an average occupancy rate of 60%-
70%.The Hotel is undergoing its second phase of modernization &expansion.

Holtec Engineers Private Limited:- Holtec Engineers Private Limited (Holtec) was
formed in 1967 in collaboration with holder bank consulting Ltd ,Canada. Holtec is
the only specialized technical and management consulting company for the cement
industry in India. Holtec is staffed with financial analysts, market specialist,
geologists, mining engineers, architects, civil engineers, process engineers,
mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, instrumentation and control engineers,
computer specialists and management consultants. They are highly qualified to
provide consulting services for the realization of various missions. It has successfully
designed and commissioned various cements plants. It has carried out various
assignments including abroad.
PHOTO OF FACTORY

KALAYANPUR CEMENTS LIMITED (Factory at Banjari; BIHAR)

Incorporation

KCL was originally incorporated as “KALYANPUR LIME & CEMENT WORKS

LTD.” on 11th August 1937 with its Registered Offices in Kolkata (West Bengal). The
name was changed to “KALYANPUR CEMENTS LIMITED” (KCL) on 9th March,
1988.

Plant Information

KCL set up its first wet process production unit in 1946 at Banjari, Dist. Rohtas
(Bihar) with an installed capacity of 46,000 tons per annum. Thereafter, the
production capacities were expanded in the following manner:

Year Description Capacity (MT)

st
1 1946 1 Cement Plant 46,000
2 1958 2nd Cement Plant 1,00,000
3 1968 3rd Cement Plant 2,00,000
4 1980 Capacity Expansion 1,34,000
Total 4,80,000

At the time of setting up of the first plant or during each expansion, KCL went in with
the best available contemporary technology. At the time of setting up the present New
Plant, KCL adopted Roller Press technology including for grinding raw material. This
technology was introduced for the first time in Indian cement industry.

Setting up of New Plant

All of the above capacity was of wet process technology. With the adoption of dry
process manufacturing technology in the industry, KCL decided to set up a state of art
one million ton dry process cement plant. The implementation of the project
commenced in 1991 and was commissioned in 1994.

The new plant was set up through an IBRD line of credit and in collaboration with the
world’s then largest cement manufacturers M/s. Holder bank (now Holcim),
Switzerland. KCL was the first company in Indian cement industry which received
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by way of Equity participation.

Key Features of Plant

KCL is using latest technology for its current manufacturing line which was set up
almost at the same time as Tata Steel (now Lafarge), Prism and DLF (now Gujarat
Ambuja).

KCL was adjudged the most fuel efficient plant among Holder bank group’s 80 plants
worldwide in 1997 both in terms of power and fuel consumption. The plant recorded a
specific power consumption of 78 kwh/ton and fuel consumption of 650 kcals per kg
clinker.

The plant continues to maintain fuel efficiency despite frequent/intermittent

stoppages. Fuel and power efficiencies continue to be comparable with the new plants
of reputed companies like Gujarat Ambuja, ACC etc.

SOURCES OF RAW MATERIALS:

 Lime stone from own quarries and from adjoining areas like, Murli
Banjari mines.

 Coal from CCL and ECL (Singrauli).

 Gypsum from Bikaner Mines (Rajasthan).

 Blue dust from Orissa and Chaibasa area mines.

  Slag from Bokaro and Durgapur Steel plants.

 Packaging material from different places.

TECHNOLOGY USED BY KCL:

 Double Grinding Technology:- KCL technology uses the DGT where

separate roller process from grinning clinker other material is used.

 Roller Press:- KCL has adopted high pressure “Roller press” tech for
grinding . This is new technology which was introduced in 1994. KCL
was one of the first few plants in the worlds that adopted this technology
for all its grinding.

 Five Stage Preheated Technology:- This technology was introduced in

earlier 90’s. These technologies provide slower fuel consumption and a
uniform and complete burning of clinker.
  Roll Ox System:- KCL has a “KHDROLLCOX” computerized system
that controls and maintain the quality of all the operation and ensure
uniformity of the product.

 X-ray Analyzer:- KCL has automatic devices at each stage of the

production process. KCL has purchased an x-ray analyzer from
Switzerland; which test the sample to provide accurate measurement of
the quality of cement at each stage of the production process.

B. Cement Industry in India:

Cement industry in India is on a roll at the movement. Driven by a booming real estate
sector, global demand and increased activity in infrastructure development such as
state and national highways, the cement industry has witnessed tremendous growth.
Production capacity has gone up and top cement companies of the world are vying to
enter the Indian market, thereby sparking off a spate of mergers and acquisitions.
Indian industry is currently ranked in the world.

The origin of Indian cement industry can be traced back to 1914 when the first
unit was set-up at Porbandar with a capacity of 1000 tones. Today cement industry
comprises of 125 large cement plant and more than 300 mini cement plants. The
cement corporation of India, which is a central public sector undertaking, has 10 units.
There are 10 large cement plants owned by various state governments. Cement
industry in India has also made tremendous strides in technological up gradation and
assimilation of latest technology. Presently, 93% of the total capacity in the industry is
based on modern and environment-friendly dry process technology. The introduction
of advanced technology has helped the industry immensely to conserve energy and
fuel and to save material substantially. Indian cement industry has acquired technical
capability to produce different types of cement like ordinary Portland cement (OPC),
Portland Pozzolana Cement(PPC), Portland Blast Furnace Sulphate Resisting
Portland cement, White cement etc. Some of the major clusters of cement industry in
India are: Satna (Madhyapradesh), Chandrapur (Maharashtra), Gulbarga(Karnataka),
Yerranguntla (Andhra Pradesh), Algona (Andhra Pradesh), Bilashpur (Chhattisgarh)
and Chandoria (Rajasthan).

Cement industry in India is going through a consolidation phase. Some

example of consolidation in the cement industry are: Gujarat Ambuja taking a stake of
14% in Acc and taking over DLF cements and Modi cement; ACC taking over
IDCOL; India cement taking over Rossi cement and Sri Vishnu cement; and Grasim’s
acquisition of the cement business of L&T.

Indian Rayon’s cement divison and Sri Digvijay cement. Foreign cement
companies are also picking up stakes in large Indian cement companies.

Swiss cement major Holcim has picked up 14.8% of the promoters stake in
Gujarat Ambuja cement. Holcim acquisition has led to the emergence of two major
groups in the Indian cement industry, the Holcim-ACC-Gujarat Ambuja cements
combine and the Aditya Birla group through Grasim industries and Ultratech cement.
Lafarge, the French cement has acquired the cement plants of Raymond and Tesco.
Types of Cement manufactured:

Cement is available in the market in many varieties, for meeting special specification
for the purpose of construction.

Details of different types with their uses are given below:-

 Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)(33grade,43grade,53grade)

 Portland Slag Cement(PSC)

 Portland Pozzolana Cement(PPC)

 White Portland Cement(WPC)

 Sulphate Resisting Cement(SRC)

 Aluminous Cement(AC)

 Masonary Cement(MC)

 Oil Well Cement(OWC)

 Rapid Hardening Cement(RHC)

 Hydraulic Cement(HC)

 Natural Cement(NC)

 Moderate heat Portland cement(MHPC)

 Low heat port land cement(LHC)

 White Cement(WC)
  Blended Portland Cement(BPC)

 Portland blast furnace slag cement (PBFSC)

 Special cement(SC)

OPC 33grade slag cement and pozzolana is having low heat of Hydration, it is
also known as heat cement. It is being used where low heat of hydration is
required, used for building construction.
OPC 43 and 53grade is being used where high early strength is required. Used
this type of cement is generally used for railway sleeper and bridge
construction.
Sulphate resisting cement For use when high sulphate resistance is required.
Moderation heat of hydration cement For use in general concreto construction
exposed to moderate sulphate action or where moderation heat of hydration is
required.
Limiting the ferric oxide to such a value makes white cement that the product is
become white. Also cement for special purpose are made by modification in
composition of heat treatment such as oil well cement quick setting cement.
Aluminous of high Alumina cement It contains much higher percentage of
alumina than Portland. For that reason it cannot be made from limestone and
clay, but required bauxite to mix with the lime stone. The chemical
composition is quite different with Portland cement. The chemical composition
is quite different with Portland cement. The cement harden very fastly and
getting final maximum. The company also manufactured standard size cement
brick(15*16) as well as cement tiles on demand and for internal use.

Organization Chart:
Selling Arrangements

Company’s sales area covers the domestic markets of Bihar, Eastern U.P, West
Bengal, North- East states like Assam and export markets of Bangladesh and
Nepal. Kalyanpur Cements has strong network of sales promoters are the
 wholesalers of the company promoting the brand on its behalf further sales
promoters have their network of dealers in the market who push the material.

Kalyanpur has been able to build a strong relationship with its most
important customers, the sales promoters. Company representatives visit not
only the sales promoters but also dealers also on regular basis. In this process
they try solve whatever problem they face related to supply and sales of brand.
Sales promoters meet and dealers meet are organized by the company’s
marketing divisons from time to time to strength the relationship further.

CEMENT MAKERS STEP UP BRAND BUILDING

With competition getting intense, cement companies are fine tuning their strategies to
differentiate themselves with brand building measures. Cement producers are banking
on extensive coverage and celebrity endorsements to build top-of-the-mind recall
among users.

Binani Cements Ltd started by signing film personality Amitabh Bachhan as its brand
ambassador last year, JK Lakshmi signed on actor Om Puri and now cement
multinational Lafarge has signed on cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the brand
ambassador for their brand, Concreto.

Says CS Sadasivan, chief of marketing, JK Lakshmi Cement “Cement is no longer

just a commodity, and to ensure long term profitability, every company today has to
build its brand.”

Moreover, companies say they are witnessing more queries from their customers and
an increase in demand owing to such promotional methods. “This has helped us in
more sales realization, especially in the rural markets after we signed Bachhan as our
brand ambassador,” revealed Vinod Juneja, MD of Binani Cement Ltd.

Similarly, cement manufacturer Lafarge India announced its association with Dhoni
recently, in line with its strategy to be a leading cement brand in India.

On the other hand, UltraTech, rather than bringing in a celebrity to build its brand, has
promoted its phrase, ‘UltraTech, the engineers choice’ emphasizing that its cement is
most preferred by engineers in the country.

Declining to reveal any specific numbers on the amount paid to the brand
ambassadors or the sales increase as a result of the promotions, these companies see
the move as a nation building exercise along with brand building.

“The competition is getting more and tougher and to differentiate ourselves from
others, we need to strengthen our brand,” said Sadasivan.
Brand Positioning

Theoretical Perspective

The development of a brand’s position in the market by heightening customer

perception of the brand’s superiority over other brands of a similar nature. Brand
positioning relies on the nearest competitor and is easily communicated to the
consumer.
Positioning is how a product appers in relation to other products in the market.
Brands can be positioned against competing brands on a perceptual map.
A perceptual map defines the market in terms of the way buyers perceive key
characteristic of competing products.
The basis perceptual map that buyers use maps products in the terms of their price and
quality is given below:-

Low High
Main factors that go into defining a Brand Positioning:-

Brand Attributes:-
 What the brand delivers through features and benefits to consumers.
Consumer Expectation:-
 What consumers expect to receive from the brand.
Competitor Attributes:-
 What the oter brands in the market offer through feature and benefits to
consumers.
Price:-
 An easily quantifiable factor- your price vs. your competitors prices.
Consumer perception:-
 The perceived quality and value of your brand in consumer’s minds (i.e.,
does your brand offer the cheap solution, the good value for the money
solution, the high-end, high price tag solution, etc.? ).
Branding: -
 There is more to creating and promoting a brand than making a pretty
logo and tagline are just representations of the brand. Following are
several rules to help create, promote and maintain your brand.
RULES OF BRANDING:-

Be Specific:-
 Know what your stands for, and know what your promises. Your brand
promises should be precise and attainable, and you should be able to
stands for quality. That’s a broad statement that any company can make.
How does your brand specifically live and breathe quality? Those
specific are what will make your brand stand out from your competition.
Be Authoritative:-
 Once you know what your brand stands for and promises don’t be afraid
to flaunt it. You need to make everyone else believe you’re the leader
and authority in your area of expertise and specialization. Don’t meekly
communicate your message. Say it with powerful words and conviction.
Be Consistent:-
 Get your brand message out there and don’t waiver on it. I’ve read
statistics in the past that state as soon as you’re tired of your message;
your customer are just starting to recognize it. A consistent message and
customer experience are critical elements to building your brand.
Be Honest:-
 In today’s world, people welcome honestly and your business will be
rewarded for it. Don’t offer promotions or guarantees you can’t deliver.
Instead, admit your fallibility and deliver on your promises. Integrity
goes a long way.
Be Relentless;-
  Get your brand message out there. Then get it out again and again.
People are inundated with a myriad of messages each day. It’s not only
critical that you try to stand out from the competition but it’s equally
important that you are not forgotten. Don’t drop the ball on
communicating your brand promise and building your brand image.
Your effort will be rewarded in time.

These rules apply to company, product and personal branding.

They are simple, basic rules that critical to your brand’s overall success.

MARKETING & MARKETING DETAILS

Marketing research is a perpetual task, which a company needs to take guage effort
and feedback for the the desire information regarding various activities undertaken,
needless to say, today is the era of tough competition. Marketing is said to be a war,
which is not played in the battle fields. Surprisingly, this war is not played in the
showrooms shops, shopping, malls, and consumes storage, super markets but its
played in the heart or the mind of the consumers.
So to survive in such a competition the company must try to keep in touch with
the market and consumers along with the markets and consumers along with
competitors activities. Marketing and Marketing Details are controlled by corporate
office Patna. So I can’t give more information about it. Some information is given
below which I have occurred from sales & purchase office:-
Company appoints sales promoters and directs dealer, both for
sales. Company mostly appointed sales promoter. Then sales promoter appointed
dealer in their allotted market for sales.

Hierarchy of Marketing is given below:-

E
R
I
D
M
P
O
C
E
L
A
S T
C
A
N
Y
P
M
O
R
L
A
E
D T
R
E
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Market: - Especially in central and north Bihar and exports nearby states and
Bangladesh.

Marketing Overview (KCL):-

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Marketing Network:-

KCL sells over 80% of its cement production in Bihar. It operates depots at:

i. Dehri-on -Sone

ii. Gaya

iii. Biharshariff

iv. Arrah

v. Buxar

vi. Chapra
vii. Siwan

viii. Muzaffarpur

ix. Chakia

x. Darbhanga

xi. Patna

xii. Begusarai

The company also operates depots outside Bihar in the following location:

i. Varansi

ii. Mau

iii. Lucknow (Sahara India)

iv. Ranchi

v. Koderma .

vi. Daltonganj

vii. Hazaribagh

viii. Giridih

ix. Bokaro

The government of Bihar is a major customer with the following departments being
the major consumer of cement being manufactured by KCL.

 Irrigation department

 Deputy Development Commissioners

 Agriculture Marketing Boards
Chapter 3.
Promotional strategy of Lafarge

Lafarge Cements: -

Lafarge India is a subsidiary of the French Building Materials major Lafarge. Lafarge
is the world leader in building materials, with top-ranking positions in all of its
businesses: Cement, Aggregates & Concrete and Gypsum. Lafarge entered the Indian
market in 1999, with the acquisition of the cement business of Tata Steel. This
acquisition was followed by the purchase of the Raymond Cement facility in
2001.Lafarge currently has three cement plants in India: two integrated plants in the
state of Chhattisgarh and a grinding station in Jharkhand.

Total cement production capacity of Lafarge in the Indian market currently stands at
around 5.5 million tons. Lafarge India produces different types cements like Portland
Slag Cement, Portland Pozzolana Cement. Lafarge Cement is famous all over the
world for its premium quality and has been used to build many landmark buildings
globally. The company is a leading cement player in Eastern India. Its brands Lafarge
Cement and Lafarge Concreto Cement enjoy high brand equity here and are amongst
the highest priced brands.

Strategies

Lafarge announces its association with ace cricketer and India Captain, Mahendra
Singh Dhoni as its Brand ambassador.
The company launched a “Home Building Made Easy” guide, which provides
potential homebuilders with detailed information on how to plan, finance and
construct a home. In addition, Lafarge started the” Lafarge Home Building Centre”
the first of its kind in India that provides information concerning the process of home
building, home buying and home improvement.

The company has also undertaken several customer orientated initiatives like starting
a newsletter for customers, organizing customer days in plants and market visits by
managers to interact with customers.

Lafarge cements sometimes introduces traffic awareness programmes especially

among schools and colleges students carrying placards regarding traffic rules with
Lafarge cement written on placards and caps put on by students.

Chhath & Durga Pooja is the sacred and famous festival in Bihar. Lafarge cements
sponsors or contributes money with local-lites to decorate large and impressive
Pandals. These pandals are spread all over the Patna in festive seasons. Lafarge
displays its posters all over in Patna and enjoys promotional strategy.

Lafarge cements has introduced LAFARGE Help Centre at Toll free no. 1800 345
6666 (available to the customers from all of our core markets) regarding all queries on
Home Building.

Promotional Strategies of J P Buland cements

J P Buland cements: -

Jaypee group is the 4th largest cement producer in the country. The groups cement
facilities are located in the Satna Cluster (U.P), which has one of the highest cement
production growth rates in India. The group produces Ordinary Portland cement and
Pozzolana Portland cement under the brand names “Buland” and “Buniyad”. Its
cement division has three modern, computerized process control cement plants
namely, Jaypee Rewa Cement Plant (JRCP), Jaypee Bella Cement Plant (JBCP) with
an aggregate capacity of 7.0 MTPA. With its plans of adding capacities in different
regions of the country, the Group is poised to be a 25 MTPA cement producer by the
year 2010 and 30.5 MTPA by 2011. Thus, it is likely to be third largest cement
producer in the country.

Strategies

J P Cements provides professional training in masonry to the illiterate and

unemployed youth making them employable. The course consists of theory and
practical sessions. The candidates are required to build a low-cost house upon
completion of the program. Certificates of qualification are awarded after candidates
successfully clear an evaluation process based on a grading system. The masons after
being trained go to different sites and recommends J P Buland Cements.
Sales office of the J P Cements provides money to dealer in Patna and the dealer
provides the same to retailers under him. These retailers in their own localities
advertise Buland cements through cable operator in different areas.

J P Buland cement uses electronic media as promotional strategy.

Buland Cement
Agency:

   

   
A proud couple is excited
about their
son's home coming. He is
received in all due pomp
and splendour.
...and the father too
nahin, saare gaon ka naksha Kal aaj aur kal buland rahe
changes his mind and helps
in the process. Soon the  
house stands renovated as
good as new.
He promptly suggests a
renovation of their
bungalow which is
scoffed at by his annoyed
father.
Teri neki se is haveli ka hi
badal gaya hai. Hum sab
buland hain", asserts his
doting father. The MVO pehli baar 55MPa ki shakti
adds
He however summons the
labourers and gets to
work over the dilapidated
building. His household
finds itself
goaded into a scurry of
activity...
sapnon
ka mahal. Bharat mein
laaya JP ka Buland
Cement."
J P cement uses old lot of cements for renovation of old temples, other schools and
hospital buildings in Patna and the adjoining areas. This promotional strategy helps it
in using deteriorating cements in renovation work and getting public acclaim.
Construction/renovation of ten temples has already been completed in various parts of
Patna.

Literacy Campaign

Special attention is given to young girls [8 – 14 years] who have never attended
school. A pilot project with 42 girls is progressing, which would enable these girls to
become literate. First batch of 6 students have appeared in Class-V examination.

Conduct adult education campaign.

To help the ladies of Patna to become self-reliant, tailoring classes are organized by
the Sansthan. Qualified lady teachers who are paid for their services by the Sansthan
conduct these classes. On successful completion of the training course, each lady was
is given one Sewing Machine free of cost. 19 such classes were conducted and 361
ladies had been put through this training successfully. A group of selected village
women were trained in making Papads and Wadis.

Health & Hygiene Awareness Camps Through these camps a regular interaction
with Patna ties by way of lecture / demo by co-opting Govt. Health Workers is
undertaken Topics for interaction range from:
Eradication of Malaria
House hold remedies for insect bites
Control of House Fly
Waste disposal
Pre-natal & post natal care
Vaccination & its importance

Health care initiatives help these people living in the Patna to avail medical facilities
which in other cases would be a financial drain on their already meager resources.

J P Cements regularly conduct Customer Perception &Satisfaction Measurement

surveys to align itself with the needs and expectations of our customers and the market
realities (competition, trade dynamics, etc.).

Customer relationship management is a critical success factor in cement business

which is highly competitive. People from top to bottom have been trained and
sensitized to forge better relationships with customers.

Promotional Strategies of Ultratech cements

ULTRATECH CEMENTS: - UltraTech Cement Limited has an annual capacity of 17
million tonnes. It manufactures and markets ordinary Portland cement, Portland blast
furnace slag cement and portland pozzalana cement.

UltraTech Cement Limited has five integrated plants, five grinding units and three
terminals - two in India and one in Sri Lanka.

UltraTech Cement is the country’s largest exporter of cement clinker. The export
markets span countries around the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Ready Mix Concrete is likely to see substantial growth in the coming years.
Recognising the opportunities that this business will offer, UltraTech has commenced
setting up of Ready Mix Concrete Plants at various places in the country.

Ultra Tech’s subsidiaries are Dakshin Cement Limited and UltraTech Ceylinco (P)
Ltd.

Promotional strategies of Ultratech

India, the world's largest producer of movies in as many as 10-12 different

languages, provides a great opportunity for advertisers to reach the masses.
Films are a great entertainment platform for most Indians. Ultratech to pull the
 attention of audiences display its ad on film screen of the hall in Patna. This
way of promotional strategy helps retain the ad in the mind of audience for
long time.

Although cement is said to be a low-involvement category, the brand awareness in this

category is very high. Major brands like ACC, Ambuja and some strong regional
brands have been fighting for mind space. Says Mr. Puranmalka: "Brand awareness is
the category driver. We wanted to be different and were constantly on the lookout for
high visibility media. We found that cricket has a great following in our country and
we wanted to explore the possibility of associating with this sport. Ultratech organizes
intercollegiate and district level cricket matches on Mohinul haq stadium Patna and
sticks the logo of Ultratech on player’s helmets and bats.

Sales office of the ultratech confers with dealers, retailers, stockiest and distributors
and according to their advice it uses hoardings as promotional strategy. Ultratech has
used hoardings all over Patna.
Promotional strategy of KCL

With the help of dealers KCL reaches those area in Patna which is not thickly
populated but the construction work is on war footing stage. These dealers help
retailers in getting their shops opened on those localities with sufficient stock of
cements to cater to the needs of people. The main focus of the KCL here is to reduce
the transportation cost of people in cement. Retailers have opened so many shops that
people generally buy cements from them.

KCL takes help of painters who are spread on various region of Patna. These painters
paint whole walls of city with the product of KCL being displayed on it. While
painting these painters take consent of the concerned owner of the walls and for that
they are given some amount of money for this by KCL.
Time to time KCL advertises about its company and product with capturing two pages
of newspaper. Hindustan Hindi newspaper &The Times of India generally publish its
advertisement.
 Chapter 4. SWOT ANALYSIS OF KCL

STRENGTH:-
 One of the best technologies in the world.
 Quality of cement comparable of world standard.
 Large limestone deposits and adequate coal reserves.
 No threat of cement import due to uneconomical freight cost.

WEAKNESS:-
 Inadequate infrastructure.
 Poor quality coal and erratic power supply.
 Low per capita consumption of cement.
 High and differential excise.
 Irregular supply.

OPPERTUNITIES:-
 Backlog of housing units.
 Privatization of road and infrastructure projects.
 Immense export opportunities in neighboring countries and west Asia.

THREATS:-
 Possibility of oversupply.
 Regional imbalance.
 Lack of government found

SUGGESTION
On the basic of my survey I have extracted some information, regarding that I want to
give some suggestion to the management of KCL.

The company should open a C&F office in every administrative divison which
exercise jurisdiction over company warehouse operation. This will ensure
maximum avaibility of product in the market at short notice. For example: if a
C&F office is established in Patna, then it was control all warehouse/s and
thereby ensure supplies of entire Patna divison.
The management should change a little bit of the packaging of KCL products.
The company should give more cash discount to the dealers and also gifts to
them.
There are number of complaints of irregular supply of KCL cement particularly
in rainy season, and this season is ideal for roofing. So any shortage of supply
in this duration will give other a chance to consolidate his position.
Manufacturing quality cement and supplying it on a regular basis.
Company should try grip the local market and then urban areas.
Direct marketing efforts through field meeting with small groups of Masons &
customers.
Regional local press to reach opinion leaders viz. Architects, Engineers,
Contractors etc.
To magnetize the end users, it is advised to give free gifts; Discounts. The
Company can arrange public meeting to educate them on cement properties,
through these meetings company can have a good public relationship.
Advertisement of KCC through electronic media and an eminent personality as
a Brand Ambassador would help entice customers.
Outdoor for continuous brand awareness.
Introduce KCC help-line number.
Radio – as a reminder medium.
Doing performance appraisal of each dealer and find out reason for decrease in
sales.
 Fulfillment of social obligations at the time of local religious occasions and
festivals like contribution in sacred festival Chhath & Durga- pooja with its
banner & hoardings being displayed all over the Pandal in Patna.
KCL can advertise its product inside the cinema during intermission.

CONCLUSION
Different companies have distinct way of promotional strategies for different product.
Cement is a product that requires a different kind of promotional strategy. With the
help of information collected by retailers in Patna one can conclude that whether it is
Kalyanpur cements limited or its competitors for them main promotional strategies
would be to meet with dealers, stockiest, retailers, individual house builders,
engineers, architects, masons and contractors to assure them that they get right quality
of cement. In addition, a brand new television commercial, an innovative press
campaign and creative usage of outdoor media will also be helping spread awareness
about the cement product.

Apart from these usual promotional strategies some companies use innovative ideas
such as Ultratech cements uses its advertisement in most cinema hall of Patna during
the interval of the movies to be for a long time in the retention of customer’s mind. So
many examples of unusual type of promotional strategies have been cited in this
project which should be followed by KCL to improve its promotional strategy.

There are lots of competitors in the market. At present there are number of brands of
different companies circulating in the market of Bihar viz ACC, Lafarge, JP, Birla and
L&T etc. The consumer of KCL are however looks satisfied but there is an
expectation of further improvement

After the interaction/interview/survey at different localities of Patna, I have come to

following conclusion:

 KCL has good brand image in the consumers mind but the considerable
chunk of market is eaten up by the KC Vajra.

 KCL lags because of two reasons viz; KC Vajra and irregular supply.

 The two major competitors of KCL are Lafarge and Birla; followed by
ACC and L&T, among them Lafarge is the major competitor because of
its better performance and penetration in the market.

 The degree of grievances with the brand KCL is comparatively lesser.

 The customer looked little bit satisfied with the brands of KCL.

 The biggest grievance from the side of consumer is irregular supply.

 Advertising is not very much satisfying. It needs some improvement.

 Commercial usage i.e. institutional usage of KCL brand is

comparatively lesser.

 There was uneasiness for unavaibility of KCL brands in particular

season.

 There is enough loyalty for KCL brands from the side of customer.
 Chapter 5.

DATA ANALYSIS

1. What is the market share of KCC and its competitors?

KCC Ultra tech ACC Lafarge J P Buland

15 10 8 20 7
 12% 25%
KCL
Ultra tech
33%
17% ACC
13% Lafarg
J.P. Buland

INTERPRETATION: The above pie chart depicts that in the present situation
Lafarge has greater market share than KCC and other competitors.

2. Which media do retailers &consumers prefer to improve promotional

strategy of KCL can be improved?

Hoardings Print Media Electronic Media

20 15 25
 38% 39%
Hordings
Print Media
23% Electronic Media

INTERPRETATION: This pie chart portrays the opinion of retailers 60 taken as

sample size for improving the promotional strategy of KCC. 38% of them have
advised for advertisement through electronic media and 39% & 23% through
hoardings and print media respectively.
 3. Will advertisement through electronic media help enhance the sale of KCC?

YES No

45 15

50

40

30

20

10

0
Yes
No

INTERPRETATION: 45 retailers during asking question suggested that

advertisement through electronic media will help boost the sale of KCL and15
retailers had adverse opinion. They advocated quality of cements.

4. Does current lot of cement help in promotional strategy of any company?

YES NO
50 10
 50

40

30

20

10

0
Yes
No

INTERPRETATION: Current lot means cements are produced weekly and it should
not be used for later use. 50 retailers expressed that procurement of current lot cement
enhances brand building image of the company and others 10 had opposite opinion.

5. While purchasing cements which cements strike in your mind?

KCL Ultra tech Lafarge J P Buland ACC

12 10 20 10 8
 13%
20%
KCC
17% Ultra tech
Lafarge
17% J P Buland
ACC

33%

INTERPRETATION: In retailers retention of mind KCL is known because of its

quality but sometimes brand image of its competitors doesn’t let it strike first in the
memory of retailers. This is why KCL strikes 20% in the mind of retailers.

6. Which company gives you maximum margin for selling cements?

KCL Ultra tech Lafarge ACC J.P. Buland

15 10 20 8 7
 25

20
20

15
15

10
10 8
7
5

0
KCL Ultra tech Lafarge ACC J P Buland

INTERPRETATION: - For enhancing the sell of cements each and every company
gives margin to retailers for sell of cements. Lafarge gives maximum margin and
J.P.Buland gives minimum margin.KCL gives reasonable margin.

7. Does KCL remain readily available in the market?

YES NO
45 15
 25%

YES
NO

75%

INTERPRETATION: KCL being local cements company in Bihar remains readily

available as expressed by 45 retailer’s .Some of the retailers also sells the product of
other competitors so 15 of them said it is not readily available in the market.

8. Does Lafarge cements surpass both in promotional strategy and quality?

YES NO
40 20
 Column1

33%
YES
NO
67%

INTERPRETATION: - Lafarge being French based company for being deep rooted
in Bihar it emphasizes on quality product and adopts promotional strategies according
to regions and prevailing circumstances of these regions. 67% retailers exude
confidence that Lafarge do really surpass in quality and promotional strategies but
other 33% think other companies pose good competition before Lafarge.

9. Does KCL lag behind in Quality?

YES NO
10 50
 Column1
60

50

40

30
50 Column1
20

10
10
0
YES NO

INTERPRETATION: - 50 retailers commend the quality of KCL which is generally

used in wall construction but not have a impact in piling and ceiling construction.10
retailers feel it of lower quality because being lacking in pilling & ceiling
construction.

10.
Companies Market Share (%) Ranking
Lafarge 33.44 1
Birla 21.43 2
JP 19.42 3
ACC 15.55 4
KCL 8.03 5
Ambuja 2.13` 6
 11.

Companies Penetration Of Cement Brand (%)

Lafarge 40
ACC 27
KCL 18
SATNA 11
Prism 4

12.

Companies Penetration Of Cement Brand (%)

KCL 36
ACC 24
SATNA 20
PRISM 15
LAFARGE 5
13.
14.
15.
16.
Chapter 6.
 LISTS OF OUTLETS COVERED

 P. C Stores
Saidpura colony, Danapur.
 Devi Traders
Khaugal thana, Danapur.
 S. K. Traders
Gandhi school road, Danapur.
 Tiwari cements
Gandhi school road , Danapur.
 Phulwari Enterprises
Main road, phulwarishariff.
 National Enterprises
Main road, phulwarishariff.
 Ashiyana Traders
Main road, phulwarishariff.
 R. K Enterprises
Kurji mode, Patna.
 Vikash cement stores
Vijay nagar, kankarbagh, Patna.
 Bharat Traders
Mahendru, Patna.
 Hari om chauhan Traders
Dargah road, sanichara more, Patna.
 Deepa Traders
Shahganj chowk, Dargah road, Patna.
 Ma Bhawani Enterprises
Shahganj chowk, Patna.
 Ma Ganga Trading company
Shahganj chowk, Patna.
 Veena cement
 Postal park, Patna.
 Vinay Traders
Nehru nagar, Patna.
 Ma kali cement store
Rajiv nagar, Patna.
 Baba Vaidhnath Enterprises
Ashiyana, digha road, Patna.
 Shyam cement store
Ambedkar path, Patna.
 Shankar cement store
Nitibagh, bailey road, Patna.
 Ravi cement store
Saguna more, Patna.
 Ajay cement stores
Jai prakash nagar, Patna

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:-

Marketing management Philip Kotler

Marketing research S. R. Bajpai, C. R. Kothari

NEWSPAPERS:-
The economic times
The times of India
The Hindustan times

MAGAZINES:-

Business today
Business world
India today

WEBSITES:-

Website of Kalyanpur Cement (www.kalyanpurcementsltd.com)

Questionnaire of Kalyanpur Cements Limited

1. Name: - …………………………………………………………………

2. Address: - ……………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………..

3. Contact No: - ………………………………………………….………..

4. Year of Experience: - …………………………………………….……..

5. Education: - ………………………………………………….………….

6. Monthly Income: - ……………………………………………………...

7. Which cement will you prefer to use? (0-10)

Ranking Rating
a. Acc
 b. Jaypee

c. BirlaGold

d. Kcl

e. Prism

8. Which is the popular brand in the market? (0-10)

Ranking Rating
a. Acc

b. Jaypee

c. BirlaGold

d. Kcl

e. Satna

9. Which company rank quality in the selling in market?(0-10)

Ranking Rating
a. Acc

b. Jaypee

c. BirlaGold

d. Kcl

e. Prism

10. How do you rank these cement brands?(Better)

Supply Quality Packaging Quantity

a. Acc

b. Jaypee

c. Birla Gold

d. Kcl
 e. Satna

11. How do you rank the suppliers of these cements brand?

Rank 1. Rank 2. Rank 3. Rank 4.

a. Acc

b. Jaypee

c. Birla Gold

d. Kcl

e. Prism

12.What the different discount you normally get from the companies?(Company)

Acc Kcl Prism Jaypee Satna

a. Quantity discount

b. Cash discount

c. Quarterly discount

d. Yearly discount

e. Tax discount

13. How much discount you normally get from companies?

Rs.8 Rs.10 Rs.15 Rs.20

a. Acc

b. Jaypee

c. Birla Gold

d. Kcl

e. Prism

14. When you normally get discount from companies?

Acc Kcl Prism Jaypee Satna

 a. Jan-Feb

b. Mar-Apr

c. May-June

d. Aug-Sep

e. Oct-Nov

15. Which schemes is the most popular other than conventional schemes?

a. Yearly discount

b. Tax discount

c. Gold scheme

d. Foreign Tour

e. Gift offers

16. What problem you normally face dealing with company?

a. Irregular supply

b. Different rates in same market

c. Slow setting

d. Packaging

e. Any other

17. Do you like to companies give any cash discount or quantity discount?

a. Always

b. Time to time

c. Peak season

d. Any other
 18. What is reason for the rate gap of different brands in?

a. Quality

b. Brand value

c. Brand price

d. Cost difference

e. Any other

19. How much retail price you normally get from companies given below on their

retail price?

Company Name Gain

a. 270-290

b. 285-300

c. 295-310

d. 310-325

e. 325-345

20. What is your overall satisfaction in cements brands?(0-10)

Rank
a. Acc

b. Jaypee

c. Kcl

d. Birla gold

e. Satna

21. How many customer satisfied uses these cement?(0-10)

Rank
a. Acc

b. Birla Gold
 c. Kcl

d. Jaypee

e. Prism

22. How would you compare kcl brand cements with other cements brands?

a. Much better……………………………………………………………

b. Better…………………………………………………………………..

c. Same……………………………………………………………………

23. What improvement do you want in kcl?

…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
……………
24. What you expect from kcl cements?
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
……………………