Marketing Strategies of Bajaj Auto
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Report on Marketing Strategy of Bajaj Auto Marketing Strategies of Bajaj auto EXECUTIVE SUMMARY We identified Bajaj Auto as the marketing company of our choice for the following project. Bajaj Auto group was founded in the year 1945 and has been among the front-runners in the motorcycle industry ever since. This very fact talks volumes about the company since only the best of the firms survive such a long time at the top. During the 60s, 70s and 80s there was a 10-year waiting period for its products. The company only had to produce its quota. Marketing or sales was not too much of an issue for them. Also the company’s owner was infamous for being part of the anti-liberalization lobby called Bombay Club. However the firm faced a major crisis in the 90s and the early years of the new century due to increased competition from both foreign and domestic markets. However Bajaj came out only stronger with the competition and hardly depended on foreign help on this account. And the product, which did this turnaround possible, was Pulsar. Pulsar is exemplifies the fighting spirit of Bajaj. It is a classic example of an Indian company of the pre-liberalization era, adapting itself to the changing scenario and coming out on tops. Another interesting fact is how liberalization and embracing the change can work wonders for a firm, which was one of the most skeptical of liberalization policies of the Indian government. Aditya Degree college Internal Purpose only Page 2 Marketing Strategies of Bajaj auto The following project is a detailed marketing analysis of the product Bajaj auto and its variants in the two-wheeler market. The project first of all focuses on the marketing history of Bajaj auto and its SWOT analysis. Various internal and external factors were taken into consideration while analyzing. Then we go on to analyze the consumer behavior for Pulsar regarding purchase, decision making and buying roles. The third section focuses on the competitor analysis of Bajaj auto, their various strategies, activities and status to understand Pulsar’s competitive scenario. Help has been taken for analysis from some consumer surveys from prominent sites and a small survey done by us. The project gives insights into various other topics. It talks about the shift in the trend towards motorcycles in the 90s. It also talks about the process of liberalization and how it affected Bajaj as a company. The change in the marketing strategies of Bajaj according to the times, how Pulsar succeeded in achieving a turnaround for Bajaj are also discussed. The competitor analysis of Pulsar gives an understanding of the two-wheeler market as a whole, how it is full of choices for customers and how many more companies are vying to enter it. Aditya Degree college Internal Purpose only Page 3 Marketing Strategies of Bajaj auto Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................2 SECTION – I................................................................................................5 1. HISTORY AND SWOT ANALYSIS OF BAJAJ AUTO..................................5 1.1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................5 1.2 WHY BAJAJ AUTO?...........................................................................6 1.3 SHIFTING TRENDS TOWARDS MOTORCYCLES.................................7 1.4 MARKETING HISTORY......................................................................8 1.5 SWOT MATRIX OF BAJAJ AUTO.......................................................10 SECTION – II.............................................................................................13 2. ANALYSING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN TERMS OF BUYING ROLES, DECISION MAKING PROCESS AND KIND OF PURCHASE BEHAVIOR..........13 2.1 BUYING ROLES..............................................................................14 2.1.1 150cc............................................................................................15 2.1.2 180CC...........................................................................................18 2.1.3 200cc and 220cc...........................................................................18 2.2 CONSUMER CENTRIC STEPS BY BAJAJ............................................21 SECTION – III............................................................................................24 3. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS, THEIR ACTIVITIES, STATUS AND STRATEGIES 24 3.1 HERO HONDA & HONDA MOTORS.................................................25 3.2 TVS MOTORS.................................................................................27 TVS motorcycles product segment includes:...................................................28 3.3 YAMAHA MOTORS.........................................................................29 3.4 FOREIGN COMPETITORS................................................................31 SECTION – IV............................................................................................34 Aditya Degree college Internal Purpose only Page 4 Marketing Strategies of Bajaj auto 4. Survey Analysis and Recommendations...........................................34 5. CONCLUSION....................................................................................38 6. REFERENCES....................................................................................39 REFERENCES SECTION – I 1. HISTORY AND SWOT ANALYSIS OF BAJAJ AUTO 1.1 INTRODUCTION ajaj Auto is a major automobile manufacturer based in Pune, India. It is one of the major producers of two wheelers and three wheelers and Branks 4th in the world in terms of two wheeler production. It is also planning a foray into the 4-wheeler market. The firm in its initial years was into manufacturing scooters and auto rickshaws. It also enjoyed the lion’s share of the Indian two wheeler markets for a long duration of time. In the late Eighties and early nineties the market made a major shift in the type of vehicles on offer. New competitors like Yamaha and Hero-Honda came out with motorcycles, which were more powerful, better, looking and easier to handle. As such the consumers got attracted to motorcycles than scooters. Bajaj was slow to respond to the changing dynamics of the market and it’s market share started declining quickly. Bajaj entered into a partnership with the Japanese bike manufacturer Kawasaki to produce motorcycles for the Indian market. Still, it failed to garner any major share of the market. In the year 2001, Rajiv Bajaj, the scion of the Bajaj family came up with the idea of developing a powerful, stylish, rugged motorcycle, which would be priced lower than the existing products. And thus Pulsar was born. It came out in two variants 150cc and 180cc. Aditya Degree college Internal Purpose only Page 5 Marketing Strategies of Bajaj auto 1.2 WHY BAJAJ AUTO? Bajaj Auto started in the year 1945. It started selling imported 2 & 3 wheeler vehicles in 1959. They subsequently obtained a license to produce 2 & 3 wheelers. During the 60s, 70s and 80s there was a 10-year waiting period for its products. The company only had to produce its quota. Marketing or sales was not too much of an issue for them. Also the company’s owner was infamous for being part of the anti-liberalization lobby called Bombay Club. In the 80s and the 90s many foreign players like Honda, Yamaha etc. came into play in Indian markets and played a significant role in easing out some of the Indian brands. Bajaj is probably the only Indian brand to emerge stronger out of the competition by developing products on its own. Pulsar it exemplifies the fighting spirit of Bajaj. It is a classic example of an Indian company of the pre-liberalization era, adapting itself to the changing scenario and coming out on tops. Bajaj changed its product strategy when it started concentrating on the bike market. Pulsar was the first indigenously developed motorcycle by Bajaj for the Indian bike market and was the reason for the turnaround of Bajaj fortunes. Aditya Degree college Internal Purpose only Page 6 Marketing Strategies of Bajaj auto Many Indian companies, in order to acquire the technical know how entered into joint collaborations with foreign companies e.g. Hero motors with Honda, LML with Vespa, Bajaj with Kawasaki etc. Though Bajaj depended on Kawasaki for its initial forays into the Bike market, now it has disassociated itself from Kawasaki and has emerged as a truly Global Indian brand. Another interesting fact is how liberalization can work wonders for a firm, which was one of the most skeptical of liberalization policies of the Indian government. So Pulsar as a whole has been a brand, which has brought major changes not only in the Indian Motorcycle Industry but also in the Bajaj business empire. 1.3 SHIFTING TRENDS TOWARDS MOTORCYCLES First let us analyze the change in the preference of the Indian customers in the two-wheeler industry. In the 90s with growth in the average income of the Indian middle class – the primary consumers of the two-wheeler market and the increasing number of choices in the motorcycle segment, there came a gradual increase in the sales of motorcycles. There were many other factors for this • Advanced technologies in the bikes • Larger wheel – base there fore easy to navigate rough Indian roads • Higher mileage, less maintenance cost, tougher. The following table shows the increasing share of motorcycles in the Indian market in the 90s. Scooter Motorcycle Moped Year Total In '000 Overall Growth No. % No. % No. % Aditya