PROJECT REPORT

ON
MARKETING STRATEGIES OF
HP IN INDIA

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Under the Guidance of: Submitted By:

Ms. Archana Deshpande YASH JAIN
Associate Professor
G.N.I.M

Guru Nanak Institute of Management studies

Punjabi bagh West
 STUDENT’S DECLARATION

This is to certify that I have completed this Project titled

“Marketing Strategies of HP in India” under the guidance of
“Ms. Archana Deshpande” in partial fulfillment of the
requirement of the award of degree of B.com (hons.) at Guru
Nanak Institute Of Management Studies, Delhi. This is an
original piece of work and I have not submitted it earlier
elsewhere.
 CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE
This is to certify that the project titled “Marketing Strategies of Hp in
India” is an academic work done by “YASH JAIN” submitted in the
partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of
B.COM(HONS.) from Guru Nanak Institute Of ManagementStudies,
Delhi, under my guidance & direction. To the best of my knowledge and
belief the data & information presented by him in the project has not
been submitted earlier.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to express my thanks to Ms. Archana

Deshpandey for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to widen the
horizons of my knowledge.

In no small measures, I would also like to gratefully thank to all those

who gave me constructive suggestions for the improvement of all the
aspect related to this project.

I also owe a deep sense of gratitude to other faculty members for their
continuous encouragement.

Despite all efforts, I have no doubt that error and obscurities remain that
seen to afflict all research project and for which I am culpable.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE

STUDENT’S DECLARATION I

CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT III

INTRODUCTION 1

ABOUT HP 2

HP FAST FACTS 3

HP’S SHARED VALUES 4

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP 6

MARKETING MIX 10

COMPETETIONS 23

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 26

RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS 45

FINDINGS AND OBSERATIONS 46

CONCLUSION 47

QUESTIONNAIRE 48

BIBLOGRAPHY 51
 CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION

About HP:
Hp is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the
world. It explores how technology and services can help people and companies
address their problems and challenges, and realize their possibilities, aspirations
and dreams. It applies new thinking and ideas to create more simple, valuable and
trusted experiences with technology, continuously improving the way our
customers live and work.
No other company offers as complete a technology product portfolio as HP. It
provides infrastructure and business offerings that span from handheld some of
the world's most powerful supercomputer installations. It offers consumers a wide
range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment
and from computing to home printing. This comprehensive portfolio helps us
match the right products, services and solutions to our customer's specific needs.

MISSION
Hp’s mission is to invent technologies and services that drive business values,
create social benefit and improve the lives of customers – with a focus on affecting
the greatest number of people possible.
 HP FAST FACTS

1. HP was founded in1939.

2. Corporate headquarters are in Palo Alto, California.
3. Meg Whitman is president and CEO.
4. Hp is the world’s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $127.2 billion
for fiscal 2011.
5. Hp’s 2011 fortune 500 ranking is no. 11.
6. Hp serves more than one billion customers in more than 170 countries on six
continents.
7. Hp has approximately 324,600 employees worldwide.
8. Hp’s revenue for the four fiscal quarters ended October 31, 2011: $127.2
billion.
9. Hp dedicates $3.6 billion annually to its research and development of
products, solutions and new technologies.

TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP

Hp’s three business group drives industry leadership in core technology areas:
1. The personal system group: business and consumers pc’s, mobiles
computing devices and workstations.
2. The imaging and printing group: inkjet, laser jet and commercial printing,
printing supplies, digital photography and entertainment.
3. The technology solutions group: business products including storage and
servers, EDS, managed services and software.
 CONTRIBUTION
Global citizenship encompasses our commitment to align our business goals
with our impact on society and the planet. It is one of our seven corporate
objectives, rooted in hp’s founding values and key to success. For more than
70 years, global citizenship has influenced how it runs our business, holding
us to higher standards of integrity, contribution and accountability in
everything it do.
It focuses our energies and expertise in five areas:
1. Ethics and compliances
2. Human right and labor practices
3. Environmental sustainability
4. Privacy
5. Social investment

Hp’s shared values

1. Passion for customers
It put our customers first in everything it does.

2. Trust and respect for individuals

It work together to create a culture of inclusion built on trust, respect and
dignity for all.

3. Achievement and contribution

It strives for excellence in all it does; each person's contribution is critical to
our success.

4. Results through teamwork

It effectively collaborates, always looking for more efficient ways to serve
our customers.

5. Speed and agility

It is resourceful and adaptable, and we achieve results faster than our
competitors.
6. Meaningful innovation
It is the technology company that invents the useful and the significant.

HP’S CORPORATE OBJECTIVES:

1. Customers loyalty
It earns customers respect and loyalty by consistently providing the highest
quality and value.
2. Profit
It achieves sufficient profit to finance growth, create value for our
shareholders and achieve our corporate objectives.
3. Growth
It recognizes and seized opportunities for growth that builds upon our
strengths and competencies.
4. Market leadership
It leads in the marketplace by developing and delivering useful innovative
products, services and solutions.
5. Commitment to employees
It demonstrates our commitment to employees by promoting and rewarding
based on performance and by creating a work environment that reflects our
values.
6. Leadership capabilities
It develops leaders at all levels that achieve business results, exemplify our
values and lead us to grow and win.
7. Global citizenship
It fulfills our responsibilities to society by being an economic, intellectual
and social asset to each country and community where it does business.
 Global citizenship

Global citizenship is hp’s commitment to hold ourselves to a higher standard of

integrity, transparency and accountability. The values that have been present
since hp was founded in 1939 remain integral to our work today, helping us
balance our business goals with our impact on society and the planet. It has five
global citizenship priority areas: ethics and compliance, environmental
sustainability, human rights and labor practices, privacy and social investment.
Its efforts in these areas help differentiate hp, reduce costs and drive innovation
as they respond to growing market opportunities and stakeholders expectations.
They continue to focus on enriching people and communities around the world,
striving to be a force for positive and lasting change. At hp, practicing good
global citizenship includes supporting human and labor rights, making strategic
social investments- particularly to advance student achievement and entrepreneur
success and protecting the privacy of customers and employee information.

Serving enterprises
At hp, it continually explores how technology and services can create new and
better way for people to live, work and to transform their current play. Every day it
partner with our largest customer IT environment into business assets. It
recognizes that CIO’s are now business managers who specialize in technology. It
work hard to help them create more manageable IT environments that costs less to
operate their IT infrastructures, speeding access to information, enabling faster
communication between branch offices and headquarters or helping them deal with
obsolete IT equipments. HP solutions leverage our broad portfolio- from servers
and storage to software and services, imaging and printing, and personal
computing technology-to help companies drive growth, lower business risk, and
cut costs.
 DRIVING TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION

With the volume of data today increasing faster than our abilities to capture and
use it, the industry is rapidly shifting to a model where everything can be delivered
as a service. People want instantaneous access to content and information that they
care about. Meeting this worldwide demand for information and rich digital
content will require dynamic, compelling services. The fundamental building
blocks of this model will be smarter, more intelligent networks, next generation
data centers; and perhaps most importantly, software that blinds all the disparate
elements together. Over the next five years, hp will invest $20 billion in research &
development. It believes that the power to propel the industry forward and improve
the ways our customers live and work.

HP Retains Leadership

2009 PC Shipments (Desktop PCs + 2010 PC Shipments (Desktop PCs + Notebook

Notebook PCs) PCs)

Vendor Market Share Vendor Market Share

Hewlett-Packard 15.6% Hewlett-Packard 18.2%

Dell 11.0% HCL Info systems 9.8%

HCL Info systems 9.6% Dell 9.7%

Acer 7.7% Acer 7.3%

Lenovo 6.6% Lenovo 4.7%

 IT in India over the Years:

1. In 1991, new economic policies were introduced.

2. Foreign multinationals such as Coca Cola, Mercedes, IBM, HP flooded into
3. India, eager to take advantage of the cheap professional labor and the
opening up of one of the world's biggest markets.
4. Adoption of Globalization and liberalization principles brought tremendous
success BPO, IT, ITES, Retail and Insurance sector, health sector, education.
5. IT sector showed the most rapid growth amongst all the sectors.
6. Today more than 500 major international companies have IT operations in
Bangalore alone.
7. Intel’s Indian development center made chips for computer which are
compatible with Microsoft‘s Operating System Vista.
8. Microsoft has established one of its 3 key centers in Bangalore other two
being in China and its HQ in New York.

MARKETING MIX

Marketing Mix

Product Place

Promotion
Price

1. The First P =PRODUCT

Product is a key element in the market offering. Marketing mix planning being
with formulating to meet target customer’s need & wants. The customer will
judge the offering by three basic elements features & quality, services mix
&quality & price appropriateness. Kotler said -A product is anything that can be offered
to a market to satisfy the wants or needs of the consumers. Products that are marketed
include physical goods, services, events, experience, persons, place, properties,
organizations, information‘s & ideas.
A firm does not sell only a product. It sells product benefits. Product is the most important
variable in the marketing mix of the firm. If the product is sound &easily acceptable
to the market if it satisfies seller’s need, consumer’s preference & is carefully fitted to the
needs & desires of the customers, sales success is assured. Hence, product is the center of
all marketing policies &decisions. The marketing planning begins with the product
& also ends with the product.
Company plans to increase their product range in the future. A brief description of
some products is as follows: -
Products Name:

1. Laptops, Notebook Computers & Tablet PCs

i. Everyday computing
Laptops for movies, music, photos and multitasking in your
home or home office

ii. Performance & entertainment

Laptops for cutting-edge entertainment and gaming

iii. Ultra – portable

Laptop computers or tablet PCs for on-the-go personal

productivity and connectivity

iv. Mini

Perfect companion PC to keep you connected while you

are on-the-go
 1. Laptops for Business
i.EliteBook laptops

Best in class, packed with features and

functionality

ii.Compaq laptops

Advanced features for business

iii.ProBook laptops

Stylish and affordable for small business

options

2. Other laptops
i.HP Pavilion Home Desktop PCs

a) Fitted with features that appeal to your whole family

and yet flexible and reliable in meeting all their needs.
b) Sleek in design; a stylish showpiece for the modern
home however compact the space, whatever the budget

ii.HP Pavilion Elite Home Desktop PCs

a) Fitted with features that appeal to your whole family and

yet flexible and reliable in meeting all their needs.
b) Sleek in design; a stylish showpiece for the modern home
however compact the space, whatever the budget.

3. Monitors

i. Home & Home Office monitors

ii. Business Monitors
 4. Options & Accessories

Keyboards, mice, memory, storage, speakers,

headsets, webcams, cables, gaming and other accessories
for desktop computers.
i. Home & Home Office desktop accessories
ii. Business desktop accessories
iii. Extended service plans for Home & Home Office

5. Laser Printers, Inkjet Printers and Multifunction Printers

i.Color Printers
a) Inkjet printers
DeskJet, Office jet, and Business Inkjet
printers

I. Home inkjet printers

II. Business inkjet printers

b) Color laser printers

Color laser printers with HP LaserJet

performance

I. Home colour lasers

II. Business colour laser

c) Large-format printers

HP Design jet, Design jet Commercial and Scitex

printers; HP Indigo presses

I. Design jet printers

II. Other graphic arts products
 ii.Black & White Printers

1. Laser printers

HP LaserJet printers for high-speed, high-volume, high-quality

Printing

I. Home laser printers

II. Business laser printers

6. Wireless printing

Enjoy the freedom to print from anywhere with HP's

line of wireless printers. Wireless allows greater
mobility, no wires and shared printing. Many HP
printers have wireless printing built into the printer
and HP offers an add-on to your existing printer.
Live Wirelessly. Print Wirelessly.
2. THE SECOND P = PRICE

Sales are only income for any business concern. But price is the main factor which
affects the sale of the market. If the price is high, few buyers purchase and if the
price is low many buyers purchase. Therefore a sound pricing policy must be
adopted to have maximum sale revenue. Moreover, it is only through proper
pricing policy the already laid down marketing objective and corporate goals could
be achieved. Price is the exchange value of a product or service always expressed
in tem of money. In other words, price of a product or service is what the seller
feels its worth on term of money, when offered to a buyer. To the customer, the
price is an agreement between seller & buyer concerning what each is to receive. The
buyer is interested in the price of the whole package consisting of physical product plus a
bundle of expectation and satisfaction. The consumer has numerous expectations
such as after sale service, replacement of parts, technical guidance & money other
benefits. However, to the seller, price is a source of revenue and a main
determinant of profit. To the seller, price is equivalent to the total product offering.
This offering includes a brand name, a package, product benefits, after sale service
and so on. We can define price as the -money of the product or service agreed upon in a
market transaction‖.
So, Price in money = physical product + bundle of expectations

The Price Factor of PCs

India is a price-sensitive market. When the PC was launched in 1984, it cost well
over $4,450 here, and in the late 1980s, the price was around $2,220.
While the price was around $1,100 in the mid-90s, today, a MNC brand with
multimedia costs only around $761.
The Indian market has seen local assemblers stealing a march over their domestic
and multinational computer hardware rivals.
The Indian PC industry has also witnessed the rise and fall of many a domestic
brand. Prominent players who fell out include DCM-DP, PCL, Sterling and
Unicorp, though many Indian brands including HCL today account for nearly half
of the branded PC sales in the country.
The pricing adopted by HP India Pvt. Ltd. can describe under this subhead: -
Competitive pricing: - HP India Pvt. Ltd. adopted the method of pricing called
competitive pricing for their PCs. Under this policy, the price of HP PCs is fixed
according to the price of other competitor brand of the market & the price moves
accordingly.

The price list of the some IT Products of HP India Pvt. Ltd. is as follows:
Desktop Price Model

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Touch Smart IQ504 Desktop $972.99

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Pavilion Elite m9550f Desktop $999.99

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Compaq Presario SR5710f Desktop $349.99

HP (Hewlett-Packard) TouchSmart IQ506 Desktop $799.96

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Pavilion a6750f Desktop $659.99

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Pavilion s3710t Desktop - Customizable $379.99

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Touch smart IQ526 Desktop $1175.00

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Touch Smart IQ524 Desktop $979.95

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Firebird Voodoo DNA 802 Desktop $972.99

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Touch Smart IQ816 Desktop $1299.99

 1. THE THIRD P – ‘PROMOTION’

Promotion is the process of making communication involving information,

persuasion and influence. Promotion has three specific purposes. It communicates
marketing information to the customers, users & retailers. Promotion persuades
and convinces the buyer & enters into this consumer behavior. Promotional efforts
act as powerful tools of competition providing of cutting edge of its entire
marketing programmed. Promotion has been defined as “the coordinated self
initiated effort to establish channel of information & persuasion to facilitate or
faster the sale of goods or services, or the acceptance of ideas of points of view.” It
is a non-price competition.
Broadly speaking, promotion means to push forward or to advance ideas in such a
way as to gain its acceptance & approval. It is an effort by the marketer to inform
and persuade buyer to accept, resell, recommend, or use the article, services or
ideas, which is being promoted. The promotional activity always attempts to affect
knowledge, attitude, preferences & behavior of recipient, i.e. buyers. The element
of persuasion to accept ideas, products, services etc., is the heart of promotion.
You may have the best product, package & so on. It may have a fair price. But
people will not buy your products, if they have never heard of it, and they are
simply unaware of its existence.
The market must communicate to his prospective buyer & provide them adequate
information in a persuasive language. People must know that the right product is
available at the right place & at the right price. This is the job of promotion in
marketing. In essence, promotion is the spark plug in our marketing mix. It is said
that:-
“Nothing until somebody promotes something”
Promotion can create & stimulate demand, capture demand from rivals and
maintain the demand of your products even against keen competition. It is true that
nothing can be sold & nothing can make money (except mint) without means of
promotion.
The communication & promotion mix includes four ingredients viz.
1. Sales promotion.
2. Advertising.
3. Publicity.
4. Personal selling.

1. Sales promotion

Sales promotion is an important instrument in marketing to lubricate the marketing

efforts. Today, sales promotion is a necessity & not a luxury. It is not expenditure,
it is an investment, which can pay a rich dividends. It is an integral part of
marketing effort.
“In a specific sense, sales promotion includes those sales activities that supplement
both personal selling & advertising & coordinated them and help to make them
effective such as displays, shows and expositions, demonstration and other
nonrecurring selling effort not in a ordinary routine. Sales promotion aims at
stimulating the purchasing at the point of sales & dealer’s effectiveness at the retail
channel of distribution.

Sales promotion with the reference of HP India Pvt. Ltd.

Company plans to follow two kinds of promotional tool for their products. They
are: -

(a) Dealers promotion

(b) Customers promotion

(a) Dealers promotion

To make a proper channel of distribution & to increase the market share of the
company, corporate plans to promote their dealer or retailers through the various
promotional strategies. Under which they provide a price off, a straight discount
off the list price. The offer encourages retailers as well as distributors to buy a
quantity or carry a new item.
As it is company provide allowances to the distributors for the carrying out of the
company’s brand. An advertising allowance compensates retailers for advertising
the company’s products.
Company also provides free goods to the distributors as the offer for taking up
extra goods or for carrying new products. In the extra company plans to organize
the industrial associations in the form of trade fairs & conventions o stimulate the
sale result of their intermediaries.

(b) Customers promotion

Due to the proper attention towards the channel of intermediaries, company is not
able to give proper attention towards consumer’s promotion but they arrange whole
the method of local promotion for the awareness of the local customers. As it is
they also provides demonstration & gifts to the customers shortly by which
products of the company are able to create a spec in the customer’s mind.

2. Advertising
The modern age is an era of competition. To withstand competition manufactures
have to think of new & unfamiliar uses for their products or they have to find out
new buyers for their products. The patent medicine people were the first to prove
what advertisement could do.
“Advertisement is the art of influencing human action’ the awakening for the
desire to possess & possess your product.”
“Advertisement consists of all the activities in presenting a group a non-personal,
oral or visual, openly sponsored message regarding a product, services or idea.”
Advertising with the reference of HP India Pvt. Ltd.

At present time the chairman of HP India Pvt. Ltd. give attention to make proper
distribution channel for their products. It is the company’s policy that firstly they
make proper distribution channel for their products by which any customer either
he/she will be belongs to rural area or belongs to urban area got the product easily.
After making proper distribution channels, corporate plans to come through the
media, because advertisement on media requires heavy investment.
As far as advertisement is concerned HP India Pvt. Ltd. provides claim to their
respective stockiest of the different districts of the state for the local awareness /
promotion as per required by the stockiest of the districts.
Local promotion includes Banners, Holdings, and Cable TV. Adz Installing, Trade
fairs, sponsorships etc. for the awareness of their products to the local customers.
Because of the company doesn’t come through the media in present time i.e. why
company bears all the expanses for the local promotion as required by the
distributors?

It is true, that it is not sufficient in today’s high competitive marketing scenario,

but after the attainments of the proper distribution channel company definitely
come through the media which is a powerful source of demand generation in
today’s tough marketing scenario & it is definitely provides a strong consumer pull
to the new products of the HP India Pvt. Ltd.

3. Personal selling

A salesman is one who practices the profession of selling. One can learn a lot
about selling and salesmanship just by thinking about definition of personal
selling.
American marketing association defined salesmanship as ‘the process of including
and assisting a prospective buyer to buy a commodity or service or to act favorably
upon an idea that has commercial significance to the seller.’
E.F. Schumaker defined selling as ‘the process affecting the transfer, with a profit
to buyer & seller, of goods & services that gives such lasting satisfaction that the
buyer is predispose to come back to seller for more of the same.’
Personal selling refers to oral presentation in conversation or more prospective
customers for the purpose of making sales.
Personal selling involves two-way communication, “a well defined problem is half
solved.” Due to seller buyer interaction, personal selling alone can provide
immediate feedback of information, which enables salesman to understand
properly the buyer’s mind, his problems, his needs & his preferences.

Personal selling with the reference of HP India Pvt. Ltd.

As far as the HP India Pvt. Ltd. is concerned corporate plans the effective medium
of personal selling for their products. They provide full support to the salesman for
selling their products. Effective communication & facilities motivate salesman to
make a good relationship with the customers. Corporate actually knows the
importance of the phenomenon of the personal selling I.e. why they tries to
implement the ‘A-I-D-A-S’ formula of personal selling. The brief description of
this formula is as follows: -

A: - Attention – The ‘Attention’ of the customer.

I: - Interest -- Create an ‘Interest’.
D: - Desire -- Ignite the ‘Desire’ of the customer.
A: - Action -- Gaining an order.
S: - Satisfaction – Customer ‘Satisfaction’.

2. THE FOURTH ‘P’ - PLACE

Marketer has to ensure the availability of its products to the target customers. If a
product is not available to the target customers at the right place, then he/she may
shift to competitive products. So place decision relates to:
(i) Channel decision – what kind of distribution channels a company adopts
between plants & consumer.
(ii) Distribution channel policy – whatever to go for extensive or selective or
exclusive distribution.
(iii) Degree of selectivity among wholesalers & retailers.
(iv) Effort to get the cooperation of the trade.
(v) Physical distribution decision includes logistics, transportation,
warehousing, material handling, bulk packaging etc.
Meaning of channels of Distribution
Goods produced by the manufacturers must come to the knowledge of the ultimate
consumers. This is arranging by the sales promotion activities like salesmanship &
advertising. By mere knowledge, the prospective consumers are not happy. The
products must reach their hands for actual use. Channels of distribution are paths
through which products move from the point of production to the point of
consumption. Distribution channels are also called Trade channels.
Distribution Channels of HP India Ltd.
State
Eastern Central Western

Distributors Distributors Distributors

Retailers Retailers Retailers

Customers Customers Customers

COMPETITORS

Major Brands of Computers in India

HCL Info systems:

HCL Info systems Ltd is one of the pioneers in the Indian IT market, with its
origins in 1976. For over quarter of a century, we have developed and implemented
solutions for multiple market segments, across a range of technologies in India.
The country’s number one desktop brand had yet another great year selling
4.76 lakhs units. The company targeted aggressively the B and C class cities and
upped its distribution network. The significant milestones over the last year include
the launch of the low cost Ezeebee Pride that came with an attractive price tag of
Rs 12,990. It attacked all the buying segments with low cost processors like via to
industry standard P4 HT offerings. The aggression HCL showed in pricing its
product in a way kick-started the price war with brands like Acer, and vendors like
HP cutting down end-user price points. Another significant development for HCL
was its launch of the high-end home PC called Neo, complementing its Beanstalk
range. Neo was also the first desktop brand in India to come with Windows XP
Media Center OS. Meanwhile, on the Notebooks front, HCL is the exclusive
distributor of Toshiba in India whose volumes scaled to 20,000 units, compared to
last year’s 11,600 units. With Toshiba aligned to the
Higher end of the spectrum HCL was unable to tap the low and mid-end segments
of the portables. And to plug that, during the year the company made a low key
launch of its own brand of notebooks called eZeebee and Powerlite, which
summed up to 3,000 units during the fiscal. Meanwhile, the banking vertical did
buy aggressively with large mandates from SBI and other nationalized banks.
From the government side, nodal agencies like Tamil Nadu’s ELCOT also went for
large-scale installations. As a result of growing demand for its offerings, the
company is in the process of expanding its Pondicherry plant.

Acer Computer International Limited

Few IT companies offer the breadth and depth of products that Acer Group does.
Leveraging the vast collective technological resources available - Acer India (Pvt.)
Ltd., was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Acer Computer
International Ltd. on 9th September 1999. Acer's mission in India is to translate the
Group's goal of making computer technology easier to use and more affordable - to
everyone in this country. With a focused customer-centric approach, Acer in India
is offering unmatched uptime for all its systems through a vast network of Service
points, innovative and user friendly functionality while continuously lowering
barriers that limit the access to the fruits of technology.

Compaq India:

The world’s largest seller of PCs entered India in 1994. Initially, the commercial
segment (large corporations, government, educational & research institutions) was
its main target segment. But with recession in the economy in mid 1990s and the
consequent slashing of IT budgets of corporate, it turned its attention to the home
segment. However, it soon realized that its PCs, although perceived well on
reliability and quality, were considered too expensive. The assemblers and Indian
brands were cornering a major chunk of the market. It slashed prices of its sub
brand Presario from Rs.65, 000 to Rs.50, 000 to penetrate into the price conscious
Indian households.

At the same time, Compaq is aggressively going after corporate segment by

offering a range of products tailored around services to meet specific needs. Its
merger with Digital Equipment further strengthened its position in the high-end
server market.

Wipro Limited:

Wipro intends to focus more on the lucrative services business in future. Already,
services accounts for more than half of its turnover. In contrast, the contribution of
systems business dropped from 43 per cent to 25 per cent.

It had a joint venture with Acer for marketing the Wipro-Acer brand of PCs.
However, they called it off in 1999.
Wipro has a 500-strong dealer network. It also distributes IBM PCs and Sun
Microsystems.

Research Methodology

In application of market research the research has to go through several steps or

stages and these steps are following.

Step 1: Defining the Problem:

Defining the problem is the most important part of the market research process,
because wrong definition misdirects research.
The type of the research to be carried out, the questions to be raised, and the
sampling procedure to be followed and the data to be collected, all depend on the
current understanding of the problem.
HP is having tough competition in the market with other players these players are
assemblers and branded. There are many factors, which influence the buyer for
purchasing the PC.
A major step in the conduction of marketing research is the decision regarding the
nature of research design we are selecting for the purpose of our study.
The benefits of research design are that it evaluates client’s need in terms of results
and the analytical work on the gathered data that will convert it to useful findings
for the management.
The selection of a particular design depends on the causality of the variables
involved.
For the purpose of our study we intend to take up descriptive design.
They cover research designs that are intended to produce accurate descriptions of
variables relevant to the decision being faced, without demonstrating that some
relationship exists between variables.
Decision makers very often choose or are willing to accept descriptive data, which
would permit only inferences to be drawn about causation.
Here we are using cross-sectional design to produce a picture of the phenomena in
which the decision maker is interested –for example, the market shares of various
firms, consumer’s brand images and consumption, consumer perception regarding
PC
Step 2: Develop the Research Plan:
The second stage of marketing research calls for developing the most efficient plan
for gathering the needed information.
Designing a research plan calls for decisions on the data sources, Research
approaches, research instruments, sampling plan, and contact methods.
Research Approaches:
Primary data can be collected in five ways: Observation, Focus groups, Surveys,
Behavioral-data, and Experiments.
Observation research:
Fresh data can be gathered by, observing the relevant actors and settings.
Focus group research: -
A focus group is a gathering of six to ten people who are invited to spend a few
hours with a skilled moderator to discuss a product, service, organization, or other
marketing entity. The moderator needs to be objective, knowledgeable on the
issue, and skilled in-group dynamics. Participants are normally paid a small sum
for attending. The meeting is typically held in pleasant surroundings and
refreshments are served.
Survey research: -
Surveys are best suited for descriptive research. Companies undertake surveys to
learn about people's knowledge, beliefs, preferences, and satisfaction, and to
measure these magnitudes in the general population.
This approach best suited for project-research hence this method was adopted
(survey-research) for the project work.
Behavioral Data:
Customers leave traces of their purchasing behavior in store scanning data, catalog
purchase records, and customer data bases. Much can be learned by analyzing this
data.

Experimental research:
The most scientifically valid research is experimental research. The purpose of
experimental research is to capture cause- and-effect relationships by eliminating
competing explanations of the observed findings.
1. Data Sources: The researches can gather secondary data, primary data, or both.
Secondary data are data that were collected for another purpose and already exit
some-where. Primary data are gathered for specific purpose or for a specific
research project.
When the needed data do not exist or are dated, inaccurate, incomplete, or
unreliable, the researcher will have to collect primary data. Most marketing
research projects involve some primary data collection.
Same is the case for our project as well. For the purpose of our study we have
collected primary data in the form of (1) the data’s nature and (2) its function in the
ultimate interpretation and analysis.
Types of data
1. Demographic
2. Sociological
3. Psychographic
4. Behavioral

Here we are going to analyze the opinions that how people perceive something
what they believe about it and what those believes signify. The most potent form of
opinions tends to be attitudes, which are mental sets of predispositions to act in
some manner.

Here in our project we intend to analyze the opinions and attitudes of the target
population by using appropriate sample. So the data collected in our project is
basically demographic and behavioral.

Communication approaches
In deciding on which of the several of communication means to choose, a
researcher has much to consider a simple division of communication media into
two broad types: observation and questioning. Also we will consider the matters of
whether to use structure and disguise.
From the point of view of our project we have selected the questioning method of
communication with our selected respondents, and for that purpose we have
drafted a questionnaire to quantify and evaluate the customer responses.

2. Questioning
In the majority of research problems, the required information can be gained only
by asking for it. This is done mainly by interviewing, but also data maybe obtained
through self-administered questionnaires distributed by mail and other ways. As
explained earlier that we have selected the questionnaire method of data
acquisition, therefore, we choose to draft the questionnaire having closed ended
questions and that will help us quantify the results in an appropriate format.
Research instruments:
Marketing researchers have a choice of two main research instruments in collecting
primary data: Questionnaires and mechanical devices.

Questionnaires:
A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented to respondents for their
answer. Because of its flexibility, the questionnaire is by far the most common
instrument used to collect primary data. Questionnaires need to be carefully
developed, tested, and debugged before they are administered on a large scale.
In preparing a questionnaire, the professional marketing researcher carefully
chooses the questions and their form, wording, and sequence. The form of the
question asked can influence the response. Marketing researchers distinguish
between closed-end and open-end questions. Closed-end questions-prespecify all
the possible answer. Open end-questions provide answers that are easier to
interpret and tabulate. Open-end questions often reveal more because they do not
constrain respondents, answers.
Finally, the questionnaire designer should exercise care in the wordings and
sequencing of questions. The questionnaire should use simple, direct, unbiased
wording and should be protested with a sample of respondents before it is used.
The lead question should attempt to create interest.

3. Mechanical instruments:
Mechanical devices are occasionally used in marketing research. One example is
of Galvanometers used to measure the interest or emotions aroused by exposure to
a specific and or picture.

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN
From basic aspects of measurement and meaning, we proceed to their application
in designing the instruments for seeking and recording data. Data may be obtained
by either observing or asking for them, and forms are needed for field use in
observation and interviewing. The accuracy and relevancy of the data gathered
depend heavily on the questionnaire.
FUNCTIONS OF QUESTIONNAIRES
A questionnaire is simply a formalized schedule to obtain and record specified and
relevant information with tolerable accuracy and completeness. In other words, it
directs the questioning process and promotes clear and proper recording.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR- BASIC STRATEGY
It is a matter of wonder that why people behave the way they actually do in the
market place. At times we are mystified by our own acts being unable to
rationalize them. Innumerable questions constantly agitate the mind. For example,
do advertisements lure us into buying the products advertised? Why people buy
impulsively on some occasions, but in other instances act as careful shoppers?
These questions and such other questions infact are of equal importance to the
marketer. For example, if a marketer can unravel the consumer behavior –what do
they buy, how do they buy and so on – he can orient his strategy around these
answers. Such a marketer can acquire, serve, and retain the customers for life.
Knowing the customer thus is very important. A study of consumer behavior,
though not guaranteeing 100% success in the market place, raises the possibility of
success. By studying the potential customer, marketer gains insight into the
attitudes, interests, lifestyles, etc. of the target segment. It will help, for example a
marketer to understand how westernized portrayal of women will be acceptable to
the customers in say, a cosmetic advertisement. Thus, broadly speaking, consumer
behavior study aims at identifying groups of consumers with similar life styles who
are likely to behave in a similar manner when some product related news is
communicated to them. Then a marketer can adopt effective strategies to reach
them, and make an offer.
DECISION MAKING PROCESS
When a prospective customer receives a marketing cue (product, price, promotion,
and placement related) he undergoes a process of decision making. This decision
making is conditioned by a variety of factors like personal, interpersonal, and non-
personal factors. If the impact of these factors is positive, then the customer can
decide to purchase else a purchase may not take place.
The consumer decision-making model is an appropriate tool this time to present
the real conditions in which the consumer decides to purchase. The all
circumstances he goes through. This model represents that upon receiving a
marketing stimulus a customer processes through the phenomenon of perception,
learning, motivation, attitudinal disposition, etc.