A STUDY ON IMC OF IT PRODUCTS (HARDWARE)

IN DOABA REGION

Submitted to Lovely Professional University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Submitted by:

Group No.: IT08

1. Manpreet Singh Roll No.39

2. Zameer Ahmad Roll No.40

3. ManpreetKour Roll No.37

4. AdityaKalsotra Roll No.38

Supervisor:

Mr. Sanjay Jindal

A.P, Lovely Professional University

Phagwara

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

PHAGWARA

1

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that we Aditya Kalsotra, Zameer Bandh, Manpreet Singh , Manpreet Kaur

bearing Registration no. 11007788,11000046,11009040,11010568 has completed capstone

project titled, “IMC of IT products(hardware) in Doaba region” under my guidance and

supervision. To the best of my knowledge, the present work is the result of their original

investigation and study. No part of the capstone project has ever been submitted for any other

degree at any University.

The capstone project is fit for submission and the partial fulfillment of the conditions for the

award of degree of master of Business Administration(Information Technology).

Sanjay Jindal

Signature and Name of the Research Supervisor

(A.P,LPU)

Designation

School of management

Lovely Professional University

Phagwara, Punjab.

Date :

2

DECLARATION

I, Aditya Kalsotra student of MBA(IT) under Department of Lovely School Of Management of

Lovely Professional University, Punjab, hereby declare that all the information furnished in this

capstone project report is based on my own intensive research and is genuine. This report does

not, to the best of my knowledge, contain part of my work which has been submitted for the

award of my degree either of this university or any other university without proper citation.

Aditya kalsotra

Signature and Name of the student

Registration No. . 11007788

Date :

3

DECLARATION

I, Zameer Ahmad student of MBA(IT) under Department of Lovely School Of Management of

Lovely Professional University, Punjab, hereby declare that all the information furnished in this

capstone project report is based on my own intensive research and is genuine. This report does

not, to the best of my knowledge, contain part of my work which has been submitted for the

award of my degree either of this university or any other university without proper citation.

Zameer Bandh

Signature and Name of the student

Registration No. .. 11000046

Date :

4

DECLARATION

I, Manpreet Singh student of MBA(IT) under Department of Lovely School Of Management of

Lovely Professional University, Punjab, hereby declare that all the information furnished in this

capstone project report is based on my own intensive research and is genuine. This report does

not, to the best of my knowledge, contain part of my work which has been submitted for the

award of my degree either of this university or any other university without proper citation.

Manpreet Singh

Signature and Name of the student

Registration No. .11009040

Date :

5

DECLARATION

I, Manpreet Kaur student of MBA(IT) under Department of Lovely School Of Management of

Lovely Professional University, Punjab, hereby declare that all the information furnished in this

capstone project report is based on my own intensive research and is genuine. This report does

not, to the best of my knowledge, contain part of my work which has been submitted for the

award of my degree either of this university or any other university without proper citation.

Manpreet Kaur

Signature and Name of the student

Registration No. ..11010568

Date :

6

Executive Summary

In this era the promotion of the products have become necessary and that also must be effective

and cost efficient. The company who has a very good promotion strategy to reach its customer

will have a good profits and brand image . In our capstone project named IMC OF IT

PRODUCTS(HARDWARE) IN DOABA REGION we tried to find out the best effective

IMC channel in Doaba region in IT sector. For this purpose we conducted a study and our

research design was exploratory and sampling technique was stratified .we made a questionnaire

and went to the exclusive showrooms of the specific company . we got 50 respondent for this

study. After putting the information in the excel sheet we drew that local tv channels and sales

promotion contribute much in the sales of IT products but the problem with these channels is that

these are costly. SMS, Internet and newspapers are the cost effective channel and captures more

customers in Doaba region. Most of the vendors are maintaining the CRM database of the

customers so that they can contact them at any time.

7

Table of Contents

S. No. CHAPTER Page No.

1. 1. Introduction

1.1 WHAT IS IMC

1.2 IMC components

1.3 Importance of IMC

1.4 Marketing mix component

8-12

2. Review of existing literature 13-16

3. Objectives 17

4. Need and Scope of the study 18

5. Research methodology 19

6. Analysis and interpretation 20-35

7. Findings and Suggestions 36-37

8. Conclusion 38

9. References 39

10. Appendix(research paper& questionaire) 40-49

8

CHAPTER 1

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 WHAT IS IMC

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of all marketing

communication tools, avenues, functions and sources within a company into a seamless program

that maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost .This

management concept is designed to make all aspects of marketing communication such as

advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a unified

force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation. Integrated marketing communications

(IMC) is a process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value primarily through

communication efforts. Such efforts often include cross-functional processes that create and

nourish profitable relationships with customers and other stakeholders by strategically

controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven,

purposeful dialog with them. IMC includes the coordination and integration of all marketing

communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program in order

to maximize the impact on end users at a minimal cost. This integration affects all firm's

business-to-business, marketing channel, customer-focused, and internally directed

communications.

”Integrated marketing communications is the process of developing and implementing various

forms of persuasive communication programs with customers and prospects over time. The goal

of IMC is to influence or directly affect the behavior of the selected communications audience.

IMC considers all sources of brand or company contacts that a customer or prospect has with the

product or service as potential delivery channels for future messages. Further, IMC makes use of

all forms of communication which are relevant to the customers and prospects, and to which they

might be receptive. In sum the IMC process starts with the customer or prospect and then works

back to determine and define the forms and methods through which persuasive communications

programs should be developed.”

9

Although this statement is comprehensive and contains all elements of IMC’s definition it does

not serve as a memory aid due to its length. Therefore other definitions serve their purpose in

simplifying the matter. Larry Percy has provided a more simplified definition of integrated

marketing communications:

”IMC is the planning and execution of all the types of advertising and promotion selected for a

brand, service, or company, in order to meet a common set of communication objectives, or

more particularly, to support a single ‘positioning’.”

1.2 IMC Components

The Foundation - corporate image and brand management; buyer behavior; promotions

opportunity analysis.

Advertising Tools - advertising management, advertising design: theoretical frameworks and

types of appeals; advertising design: message strategies and executional frameworks;

advertising media selection. Advertising also reinforces brand and firm image.

Promotional Tools - trade promotions; consumer promotions; personal selling, database

marketing, and customer relations management; public relations and sponsorship programs.

Integration Tools - Internet Marketing; IMC for small business and entrepreneurial ventures;

evaluating and integrated marketing program

1.3 Importance of IMC

Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have caused IMC to develop into a primary

strategy for marketers:

From media advertising to multiple forms of communication.

From mass media to more specialized (niche) media, which are centered on specific

target audiences?

From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated, consumer-controlled

market.

From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing.

10

From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability, particularly in

advertising.

From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation (increased sales or

benefits to the company).

From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to goods and

services.

The marketing communications mix consists of, but is not limited to, the five major modes of

communication: advertising, sales promotion, public relations and publicity, personal selling, and

direct marketing. The following table contains the main elements of each communication mode.

Five main modes of marketing communications:-

Fig 1.3

The elements of the marketing communications mix interact with each other with great diversity

while also affecting its surrounding framework. Marketing communications is considered as one

of the four Ps of the marketing mix (others being product, pricing, and place / distribution).

Publicrelations have often been regarded as a marketing communications mix element

byMarketing professionals, a view that has not always been shared in the PR community. One

view of the relationships between marketing, marketing communications, public relations, and

11

advertising as a representative of a marketing communications mix element is illustrated in

Figure.

1.4 Marketing Mix component

The Internet has changed the way business is done in the current world. The variables of

segmentation, targeting and positioning are addressed differently. The way new products and

services are marketed have changed even though the aim of business in bringing economic and

social values remain unchanged. Indeed, the bottom line of increasing revenue and profit are still

the same. Marketing has evolved to more of connectedness, due to the new characteristics

brought in by the Internet. Marketing was once seen as a one way, with firms broadcasting their

offerings and value proposition. Now it is seen more and more as a conversation between

marketers and customersmarketing efforts incorporate the "marketing mix". Promotion is one

element of marketing mix. Promotional activities include advertising (by using different media),

sales promotion (sales and trades promotion), and personal selling activities. It also includes

Internet marketing, sponsorship marketing, direct marketing, database marketing and public

relations. Integration of all these promotional tools, along with other components of marketing

mix, is a way to gain an edge over a competitor.

The starting point of the IMC process is the marketing mix that includes different types of

marketing, advertising, and sales efforts. Without a complete IMC plan there is no integration or

harmony between client and customers. The goal of an organization is to create and maintain

communication throughout its own employees and throughout its customers.

Integrated marketing is based on a master marketing plan. This plan should coordinate efforts in

all components of the marketing mix. A marketing plan consists on the following steps:

Situation analysis

Marketing objectives

Marketing budget

Integrated marketing communications aims to ensure consistency of message and the

complementary use of media. The concept includes online and offline marketing channels.

Online marketing channels include any e-marketing campaigns or programs, from Search Engine

Optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, affiliate, email, banner to latest web related channels for

12

webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS, podcast, Internet Radio, and Internet TV. Offline marketing

channels are traditional print (newspaper, magazine), mail order, public relations, industry

relations, billboard, traditional radio, and television. A company develops its integrated

marketing communication program using all the elements of the marketing mix (product, price,

place, and promotion). Integrated marketing communications plans are vital to achieving

success. The reasons for their importance begin with the explosion of information technologies.

Channel power has shifted from manufacturers to retailers to consumers.

13

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Fuller andJenkins 1995; Hamill and Gregory 1997; Use of internet in international

marketing.

This study's findings suggest that most firms use the Internet to search for information about

customers, distributors, and partners. The Internet does not replace personal sales; most firms

reported a rather complex purchasing process and an extensive need for communication with

customers before the purchase decision. The authors found standardized products to be most

suited for Internet-based sales; however, standardization reduced firms' competitive advantage

and profit margins. Software firms' most significant use of the Internet was for post sales service

and support activities; these activities both generated revenue and improved customer relations.

Partnership agreements with well-known firms, positive product reviews, and image building

through the Internet were important to most firms in order to reduce the uncertainty that potential

customer’s often experience when unknown suppliers offer unfamiliar products. The authors also

discuss implications for managers in industrial sectors other than software. In addition to

software firms' being more "Internet literate," they have first-hand experience with how the

Internet can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their business relationships and thereby

can make them more competitive. Customers can also sign up for a support agreement,

whichentitles them to continuous access to new versions, upgrades, online Web support, and

discussion groups. The support agreement is a way to maintain a good relationship with the

client, and it is an important source of income for the firm. However, the support intensity is

relatively lowcompared with that of other more complex software systems.

2001 Techno-Ready Marketing: How and Why Your Customers Adopt

Technology

In this article, I have concluded that Techno-Ready Marketing is the process of using new and

innovative products by the customer. Customers like to use new, fresh and unexpected products

from the markets. Techno ready marketing is also used to measure the level of individual that

14

which kinds of products are used by the individuals. They are using technology products to make

their work easy in home and offices. Principals were

1) Varying levels of optimism about technology, tendency to innovate, discomfort with

technology.

2) Because the technology product adoption process is distinct.

3) Ensuring customer satisfaction is more difficult with a technology-based product because the

products are more complex.

The most exciting contribution of Techno-Ready Marketing is the Technology

Readiness Index (TRI), a series of questions used to determine in which of five

Categories a person belongs, depending on their optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and

insecurity with technology. Techno ready marketing help us to understand how and why

customers adopt technology.

NavinKhemka,(2004);Mobile Marketing Takes Off in India

In this article the author said that Cell phones have become a powerful and cost effective

advertising tool in India, and once 3G and MVNO launch there, mobile marketing will be big

business.NavinKhemka, senior vice president of media services group Zenith Optimedia, said it

is the reach of the mobile phone in India that makes it significant for marketing efforts there. In

India, there are over 330 million mobile subscribers and the number is growing each day. This

has encouraged several FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies, banks, magazines and

TV stations in the country to extend their promotions to the mobile phone platform.

Mobile marketing is not only cost-effective, but advertisers can be sure their ad has been seen by

the consumer, which is not the case with TV or print.

"No other medium has this reach. Since it's a very personal device, a basic form of advertising

like SMS can be effective if used in a more targeted and contextual way," Khemka told ZDNet

Asia in an e-mail interview.For long, marketers in India wanted to do more targeted advertising,

but focus on traditional media—such as print and television—stopped them from doing so.

Khemka said: "In India, over a hundred mobile value-added services (VAS) and technology

companies are working to bring more innovative solutions on the mobile and keep advertisers

abreast of new technologies being launched."

15

Mobile advertising in India is all set to see an increase with the arrival of MVNOs and 3G, say

observers. So far, mobile has attracted low advertising spends because of its format of

advertising—simple text SMS or basic pictures.

Khemka said: "With 3G, a paradigm shift is expected in mobile advertising."

"3G will open up new avenues for advertisers, such as rich media content and video over the

mobile phone."With 3G, advertisers may be able to subsidize the cost of downloading rich media

content by subscribers. For example, a song from a new Bollywood film can be put up for

download with an ad of a soft drink company as a pre-roll or a mid-roll. Consumers can

download this song for free while the soft-drink company pays for the download."

By Noah Buhayar (2005); IBM’s Secret for Making the Sale

The economy may be in the tank, but IBM still makes salesmanship look easy. How? The secret

lies in rigorous research, a focused strategy, and patient execution. But to get a sense of how all

those elements come together, it’s worth taking a look at how IBM established itself as a major

player in IT sales to health care providers. Boyle also encourages sales reps to join local chapters

of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, as well as other professional

organizations that can help them stay up to date on industry trends.

IBM engages potential clients online by sponsoring Web-based seminars and publishing a

regular e-newsletter about IT trends in the health care industry. IBM’s Cotter set up a forum on

LinkedIn to engage health care professionals who are tackling some of the industry’s challenges.

The forum now counts some 2,000 members, and any buzz or leads generated on the forum are

quickly passed along to the appropriate sales team. “People get more information from their

network than from a sales rep knocking on their door,” Cotter says. “We’ve [got to] stay in this

dialogue with them and evolve our strategies quickly.”

This constant contact with customers has helped IBM’s Health Care and Life Sciences group

continue to grow its sales even as economic conditions have deteriorated. “People don’t think of

IBM as a company that can move on a dime,” Pelino says. “I think we’ve proven them wrong in

health care and life sciences.” One of the hardest parts of selling in a recession is the fact that

customers’ needs change rapidly. IBM’s Health Care and Life Sciences group keeps its sales

reps ahead of the curve by continuously educating them about the health care industry and

engaging potential clients through events, newsletters, and social networking.

16

Global IT Buyers Reveal 'Green' Perceptions, Jun 19, 2008

According to the study done by the author, More than 70 percent of the global respondents said

they 'probably' or 'definitely' would increase their preference for a brand’s “green” products if

they were convinced of the positive impact on the environment and business. The bottom line is

that 'green' IT marketers are going to have to be really smart about how they go to market,"

added Paul Walker, president, GCI Group. "They need to target the right countries and the right

'green advocates' in the C-suite with credible value propositions. Among the major findings of

the study, it was noted that the importance of 'green' IT to IT buyers varies country by country.

India's respondents, for instance, emerged highest as both expecting to pay at least a five percent

premium on 'green' IT and as having a preference for it if they can be convinced of positive

impact on both the environment and their budgets.India emerged as the study's leader in 'green'

IT potential, as a higher percentage of respondents in that country expect to pay at least a five

percent premium on 'green' IT or 'definitely would' increase their preference for 'green' IT with

proven RoI – or both.

17

CHAPTER 3

OBJECTIVES

To determine the various effective IMC channels.

To determine the most cost efficient channel.

To study the effect of IMC in generating revenue and improved customer relations.

To determine the contribution provided by the company to the IT vendors.

To know the effectiveness of green IT products provided by IT vendors and its impact.

18

CHAPTER 4

NEED OF THE STUDY

As no study has been done in Doaba region on IMC of IT products and also the need of study is

to figure out the potential market for IT products in Doaba region and we want to know the

effective channels of IMC by the help of which IT vendors can target those channels to increase

their sales of IT products.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This project will help the IT vendors to know the effective channels for IMC which will be less

costly and generate more revenue. This project will facilitate the IT vendors to know how to

promote the products in Doaba region.

19

CHAPTER 5

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

It is a way to systematically solve the research problem.

Research design ----Exploratory

Sampling technique----Stratified random sampling

Sample size---50 Respondents

Sources of data collection----

Primary method- It includes the questionnaire for collecting the necessary information

regarding the vendor perception towards the various products in the IT sector around the Doaba

Region.

Secondary method- In this method, we taken the help from various websites, magazines etc.

20

CHAPTER 6

ANALYSIS AND INTERPETATION

Q.1 Do you sell the IT products (hardware)?

YES 100%

NO 0%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that all the IT vendors sell IT products. We visited at least 50 IT

vendors and all are dealing with IT products.100% says yes, 0% says no….

100%

0%

yes

no

21

Q.2 Do you use any kind of IMC channel to promote your IT products?

Yes 96%

No 4%

ITERPRETATION:-It was observed that maximum no. of vendors’ uses IMC channels to promote their

products.98% vendors uses IMC channels to promote IT products and out of 100%, 4% vendors don’t

use any channel to promote IT products. That means every vendor is in practice of IMC channels…

96%

4%

yes

no

22

Q.2 (b) If yes then which IMC channel you are using to promote your products?

Internet 30%

Print media 10%

Local TV ads 20%

Radio 15%

SMS 5%

Sales promotion 20%

others 0%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that most of vendors uses internet, local ads and sales promotion to

promote their products. Minimum no. of vendors are using radio, sms and print media to promote their

products.30% of vendors are using internet as their IMC channel,20% are using sales promotion, 20%

are using local TV ads. while 25% of vendors are using other channels like SMS, radio, print ads etc…

30%

10%

20%

20%

15%

5% 0%

Internet

Print media

Local ads

Sales promotion

Radio

SMS

Others

23

Q.3 According to you which IMC channel captures customer's attention the most ?

Local TV ads 30%

Print media 5%

SMS 15%

Internet 15%

Radio 10%

Sales promotion 25%

others 0%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that local TV ads and sales promotion captures the customers’

attention most towards the product.SMS and internet are new techniques of promotion and they play a

very good role to attract the customers.30% of vendors says that local TV ads attracts the customers

attention most and 25% says that sales promotion attracts the customers attention most.15% of

customers says SMS attracts the customers attention most.15% says internet.10% of vendors says that

radio attracts the customers attention and 5% of vendors says print media attracts the customers

attention.

30%

5% 15% 15%

10%

25%

0%

Local tv ads

print maedia

SMS

Internet

Radio

Sales promotion

Others

24

Q.4 According to you which IMC channel contributes much in sales of the company ?

Local TV ads 35%

Print media 5%

SMS 10%

Internet 10%

Radio 10%

Sales promotion 30%

others 0%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that local TV ads and sales promotion contribute much in sales of the

company.35% of vendors says that local TV ads contribute much in sales while as 30% of vendors says

that sales promotion contribute much in sales of the company. Minimum no. of vendors about 10% says

that internet contribute in sales. only 5% of vendors says that print media contribute in sales of the

company.

35%

5%

10% 10%

10%

30%

0%

Local tv ads

Print media

SMS

Internet

Radio

Sales promotion

Others

25

Q.5 Which IMC channel is most cost effective ?

Local TV ads 10%

Print media 10%

SMS 35%

Internet 35%

Radio 5%

Sales promotion 5%

others 0%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that internet and SMS are the most cost effective channels.35% of

vendors says that internet is most cost effective channel while as 35% of vendors says that SMS is most

cost effective channel. Minimum no. of vendors about 10% says that local TV ads and print media are

most cost effective channels. Only 5% of vendors say that sales promotion is most cost effective

channel. By observation we found that internet is most cost effective channel but very minimum

companies uses these channels because most people are not aware about these channels.

10% 10%

35%

35%

5% 5%

0%

Local tv ads

Print media

SMS

Internet

Radio

Sales promotion

Others

26

Q.6 Do you provide adequate information about GREEN IT products?

YES 70%

NO 30%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that 70% of vendors are providing adequate information about the

green IT products to the customers. While as 30% of customers are not providing information about

green IT products.

70%

30%

yes

no

27

Q.7 Do you offer any discount or complementary gift for every customer purchase of IT products ?

YES 90%

NO 10%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that maximum no. of vendors about 90% are providing discounts or

gifts for every customer purchase of IT products. While as 10% of customers are not providing any gifts

of discounts.

90%

10%

yes

no

28

Q.7 (b) If yes, then what kind of complementary gift or discounts are you offering ?

Pen drives 20%

Mouse 30%

Gift coupens 20%

Keyboards 30%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that maximum no. of customers are providing mouse, pen drives,

coupons and key boards as complementary gifts to the customers. About 30% vendors are providing

each keyboard and mouse’s. and 20% vendors are providing each coupons and pen drives.

30%

20% 20%

30%

Mouse

pen drive

coupens

key board

29

Q.8 Do you give service warranty of the products ?

YES 95%

NO 5%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that maximum no. of vendors are providing warranty on the IT

products. About 95% of vendors says that they are providing warranty on the IT products and only 5% of

vendors says that they are not providing any warranty on the IT products.

95%

5%

yes

no

30

Q.9 What time period do you provide for product replacement ?

15 Days 50%

1 Month 20%

2 Month 10%

None 20%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that 50% of vendors are providing a period of 15 days for product

replacement.20% are providing 1 month,10% vendors are providing 2 months,20% are providing none

period of product replacement.

50%

20%

10%

20%

15 days

1 month

2 months

none

31

Q.10 Does the company provide budget for the promotion of IT products

YES 98%

NO 2%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that 98% of companies are providing budgets for promotion of IT

products and 2% of companies are not providing any budgets for promotion of it products. That means

maximum no. of companies are providing budgets for promotion.

98%

2%

yes

no

32

Q.11 How much budget does the company provide?

0-5 lakh 85%

5-10 lakh 15%

10-15 lakh 0%

15-20 lakh 0%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that 85% of companies are providing 0-5 lakh of budget for

promotion of IT products to the vendors and 15% of the companies are providing a sound budget of 5-

10 lakh per year to the vendors for promotion of IT products. It was also observed that no company

provide a budget of 10-20 lakh for the vendors.

85%

15%

0% 0%

0-5 lakh

5-10 lakh

10-15 lakh

15-20 lakh

33

Q.12 Do you maintain customer database for CRM purpose ?

Yes 85%

No 15%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that maximum no of vendors about 85% are maintaining database

for CRM purpose and only 15% of vendors are not maintaining any database for CRM purpose.

85%

15%

yes

no

34

.13 Do you contact your customer after sale of the product ?

Yes 70%

No 30%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that 70% of IT vendors contact their customers after sale of the

products and only 30% of vendors don’t contact to their customers after sale of products. so, maximum

no. of vendors contact to the customers after sale of the products.

70%

30%

yes

no

35

Q.14 what are your future IMC plans for your for your company ?

Internet & SMS 90%

Sales promotion 10%

INTERPRETATION:-It was observed that maximum no. of vendors future plans are to promote their

products through the new IMC channels like; internet and SMS. according to them internet and SMS is

the most cost effective channel and very fast than any other IMC channel.

90%

10%

Internet & SMS

Sales promotion

36

CHAPTER 7

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

During the survey of IMC of IT products the main findings are as under:-

Every IT vendor is in practice of IMC channels to promote their products. IT vendors not

only focus on the single IMC channel but they uses multiple channels to promote their

products.

Most of IT vendors uses internet, local ads and sales promotion to promote their

products. It was found that local TV ads and sales promotion captures the customers’

attention most towards the product and internet promotions are new techniques of

promotion and they play a very good role to attract the customers.

IMC channels like local TV ads and sales promotion contribute much in sales of the

company. These two channels play a very important role in sales of the company but only

problem with these channels is that they are costly. We find that these channels are

effectively but costly.

Internet and SMS are most cost effective channels but not still contribute much in sales,

because very low no of vendors are using SMS as their promotional tool. SMS is a new

IMC channel very low no of vendors are using this channel to promote the products.

More than half of the IT vendors are providing information about green IT products to

the customers. But still 30% of vendors are not proving any information about green IT

products.

Most of the IT vendors are providing complementary gift to the customers. Most of them

are providing gifts like pendrives, mouse, coupons and keyboards. And about every

vendor is providing services warranty and replacement periods to the customers.

Most of the IT vendors are maintaining database for CRM purpose and are they contact

to their customers after the sale of the products. CRM also maintains a displine within an

organisation. This indicates that CRM is very important.

Maximum no. of vendors future plans are to promote their products through the new

IMC channels like; internet and SMS. According to them internet and SMS are the most

cost effective channel and very fast than any other IMC channels.

37

SUGGESTIONS

The IT vendors should focus on the new IMC channels like the internet and SMS. Every

individual in the country is now using mobile phone so in future SMS will not only cost

effective channel but also contribute much. in sales.

The IT vendors should also focus on the green IT products. They should give adequate

knowledge to the customers about the green IT products. Most of the vendors are still

not providing any information about green IT products to the customers. They should

start to give adequate knowledge to the customers.

The IT vendors should give maximum of warranty period to the customers and also

provide a maximum period for exchange of products.

The companies are providing a very low budget to the vendors for the IMC. The

companies should provide a adequate amount of more than 10, 00,000 of budget to the

customers for IMC channels.

The companies should focus on the future planning. They should focus on the CRM and

use new channels for promotion, like internet and SMS. These two channels are very cost

effective.

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CHAPETER 8

CONCLUSION

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of all marketing

communication tools, avenues, functions and sources within a company into a seamless program

that maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost. According to the

study internet and SMS are the most cost effective channels but they are not contributing much

in sales. Local tv ads and promotional strategies contribute much in sales of the company. If the

company provides more budget to the vendors then the sales can be increased because the vendor

can utilize the budget for getting more customer attention.

39

CHAPTER 9

REFRENCES

1) Noah Buhayar/2005/IBM's Secret for Making the Sale

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-51313855/ibms-secret-for-making-the-sale/

2) swati Prasad/2004/ Mobile Marketing Takes Off in India

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/apr2009/gb20090427_800674.htm

3) Fuller and Jenkins 1995; Hamill and Gregor1997/

http://www.jstor.org/pss/25048956

4)Biztech2 Staff/June 2008http://scicasts.com/greentech/1840-green-computing/1910-

global-it-buyers-reveal-their-green-perceptions

5) http://nraomtr.blogspot.in/2012/02/marketing-management-13th-edition.html

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A STUDY ON IMC OF IT PRODUCTS (HARDWARE)

IN DOABA REGION

RESEARCH PAPER

Submitted by:

Manpreet Singh Roll No.39

Zameer Ahmad Roll No.40

ManpreetKour Roll No.37

AdityaKalsotra Roll No.38

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

PHAGWARA

41

Abstract---

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of all marketing

communication tools, avenues, functions and sources within a company into a seamless program

that maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost .This

management concept is designed to make all aspects of marketing communication such as

advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a unified

force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation. Integrated marketing communications

(IMC) is a process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value primarily through

communication efforts. Such efforts often include cross-functional processes that create and

nourish profitable relationships with customers and other stakeholders by strategically

controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven,

purposeful dialog with them. IMC includes the coordination and integration of all marketing

communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program in order

to maximize the impact on end users at a minimal cost. This integration affects all firm's

business-to-business, marketing channel, customer-focused, and internally directed

communications.

IMC Components

The Foundation - corporate image and brand management; buyer behavior; promotions

opportunity analysis.

Advertising Tools - advertising management, advertising design: theoretical frameworks and

types of appeals; advertising design: message strategies and executional frameworks;

advertising media selection. Advertising also reinforces brand and firm image.

Promotional Tools - trade promotions; consumer promotions; personal selling, database

marketing, and customer relations management; public relations and sponsorship programs.

Integration Tools - Internet Marketing; IMC for small business and entrepreneurial ventures;

evaluating and integrated marketing program

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Five main modes of marketing communications:-

LITERATURE REVIEW

Fuller andJenkins 1995; Hamill and Gregory 1997; Use of internet in international

marketing.

This study's findings suggest that most firms use the Internet to search for information about

customers, distributors, and partners. The Internet does not replace personal sales; most firms

reported a rather complex purchasing process and an extensive need for communication with

customers before the purchase decision. The authors found standardized products to be most

suited for Internet-based sales; however, standardization reduced firms' competitive advantage

and profit margins. Software firms' most significant use of the Internet was for post sales service

and support activities; these activities both generated revenue and improved customer relations.

Partnership agreements with well-known firms, positive product reviews, and image building

through the Internet were important to most firms in order to reduce the uncertainty that potential

customer’s often experience when unknown suppliers offer unfamiliar products. The authors also

discuss implications for managers in industrial sectors other than software. In addition to

software firms' being more "Internet literate," they have first-hand experience with how the

Internet can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their business relationships and thereby

can make them more competitive. Customers can also sign up for a support agreement,

whichentitles them to continuous access to new versions, upgrades, online Web support, and

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discussion groups. The support agreement is a way to maintain a good relationship with the

client, and it is an important source of income for the firm. However, the support intensity is

relatively lowcompared with that of other more complex software systems.

2001 Techno-Ready Marketing: How and Why Your Customers Adopt

Technology

In this article, I have concluded that Techno-Ready Marketing is the process of using new and

innovative products by the customer. Customers like to use new, fresh and unexpected products

from the markets. Techno ready marketing is also used to measure the level of individual that

which kinds of products are used by the individuals. They are using technology products to make

their work easy in home and offices. Principals were

1) Varying levels of optimism about technology, tendency to innovate, discomfort with

technology.

2) Because the technology product adoption process is distinct.

3) Ensuring customer satisfaction is more difficult with a technology-based product because the

products are more complex.

The most exciting contribution of Techno-Ready Marketing is the Technology

Readiness Index (TRI), a series of questions used to determine in which of five

Categories a person belongs, depending on their optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and

insecurity with technology. Techno ready marketing help us to understand how and why

customers adopt technology.

NavinKhemka,(2004);Mobile Marketing Takes Off in India

In this article the author said that Cell phones have become a powerful and cost effective

advertising tool in India, and once 3G and MVNO launch there, mobile marketing will be big

business.NavinKhemka, senior vice president of media services group Zenith Optimedia, said it

is the reach of the mobile phone in India that makes it significant for marketing efforts there. In

India, there are over 330 million mobile subscribers and the number is growing each day. This

has encouraged several FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies, banks, magazines and

TV stations in the country to extend their promotions to the mobile phone platform.

Mobile marketing is not only cost-effective, but advertisers can be sure their ad has been seen by

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the consumer, which is not the case with TV or print.

"No other medium has this reach. Since it's a very personal device, a basic form of advertising

like SMS can be effective if used in a more targeted and contextual way," Khemka told ZDNet

Asia in an e-mail interview.For long, marketers in India wanted to do more targeted advertising,

but focus on traditional media—such as print and television—stopped them from doing so.

Khemka said: "In India, over a hundred mobile value-added services (VAS) and technology

companies are working to bring more innovative solutions on the mobile and keep advertisers

abreast of new technologies being launched."

Mobile advertising in India is all set to see an increase with the arrival of MVNOs and 3G, say

observers. So far, mobile has attracted low advertising spends because of its format of

advertising—simple text SMS or basic pictures.

Khemka said: "With 3G, a paradigm shift is expected in mobile advertising."

"3G will open up new avenues for advertisers, such as rich media content and video over the

mobile phone."With 3G, advertisers may be able to subsidize the cost of downloading rich media

content by subscribers. For example, a song from a new Bollywood film can be put up for

download with an ad of a soft drink company as a pre-roll or a mid-roll. Consumers can

download this song for free while the soft-drink company pays for the download."

OBJECTIVES

To determine the various effective IMC channels.

To determine the most cost efficient channel.

To study the effect of IMC in generating revenue and improved customer relations.

To determine the contribution provided by the company to the IT vendors.

To know the effectiveness of green IT products provided by IT vendors and its impact.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research design ----Exploratory

Sampling technique----Stratified random sampling

Sample size---50 Respondents

Sources of data collection----

Primary method- It includes the questionnaire for collecting the necessary information regarding

the customer perception towards the various products in the IT sector around the Doaba Region.

Secondary method- In this method, we taken the help from various websites, magazines etc.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

During the survey of IMC of IT products the main findings are as under:-

Every IT vendor is in practice of IMC channels to promote their products. IT vendors not

only focus on the single IMC channel but they uses multiple channels to promote their

products.

Most of IT vendors uses internet, local ads and sales promotion to promote their

products. It was found that local TV ads and sales promotion captures the customers’

attention most towards the product and internet promotions are new techniques of

promotion and they play a very good role to attract the customers.

IMC channels like local TV ads and sales promotion contribute much in sales of the

company. These two channels play a very important role in sales of the company but only

problem with these channels is that they are costly. We find that these channels are

effectively but costly.

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Internet and SMS are most cost effective channels but not still contribute much in sales,

because very low no of vendors are using SMS as their promotional tool. SMS is a new

IMC channel very low no of vendors are using this channel to promote the products.

More than half of the IT vendors are providing information about green IT products to

the customers. But still 30% of vendors are not proving any information about green IT

products.

Most of the IT vendors are providing complementary gift to the customers. Most of them

are providing gifts like pendrives, mouse, coupons and keyboards. And about every

vendor is providing services warranty and replacement periods to the customers.

Most of the IT vendors are maintaining database for CRM purpose and are they contact

to their customers after the sale of the products. CRM also maintains a displine within an

organisation. This indicates that CRM is very important.

Maximum no. of vendors future plans are to promote their products through the new

IMC channels like; internet and SMS. According to them internet and SMS are the most

cost effective channel and very fast than any other IMC channels.

CONCLUSION

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of all marketing

communication tools, avenues, functions and sources within a company into a seamless program

that maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost. According to the

study internet and SMS are the most cost effective channels but they are not contributing much

in sales. Local tv ads and promotional strategies contribute much in sales of the company. If the

company provides more budget to the vendors then the sales can be increased because the vendor

can utilize the budget for getting more customer attention.

47

APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE

Name of the Organization…………………………….…………………………

Address……………………………………………………………………………

Mobile no: ............................

Q.1 Do you sell the IT products (hardware)?

a) Yes b) No

Q.2 Do you use any kind of IMC channel to promote your IT product?

a) Yes b) No

Q.2.a. If yes, then which channel you are using to promote your product?

a) Local TV ads b) Print media c) SMS

d) Internet e) Radio f) Sales promotion

Others_________________________________________________

Q.2.b. If no, then what is the reason?

Q.3 According to you, which IMC channel captures customer’s attention the most?

a) Local TV ads b) Print media c) SMS

d) Internet e) Radio f) Sales promotion

Others_________________________________________________

Q.4 According to you which IMC channel contributes much in sales of the company?

a) Local TV ads b) Print media c) SMS

d) Internet e) Radio f) Sales promotion

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Others_________________________________________________

Q. 5 Which IMC channel is the most cost effective?

a) Local TV ads b) Print media c) SMS

d) Internet e) Radio f) Sales promotion

Others_________________________________________________

Q.6 Do you provide the adequate information about the GREEN IT to the customers?

a) Yes b) No

Q.7 Do you offer any discount or complementary gift for every customer purchase of IT

product?

a) Yes b) No

If Yes, then what kind of complementary gifts or discounts are you offering ?

Q.8 Do you give Service warranty of the products?

a) Yes b) No

Q.9. What time period do you provide for product replacement?

a) 15 days b) 1month c) 2 months d) None

Q.10 Does the company provide budget for the promotion of IT products?

a) Yes b) No

Q.11 How much budget does the company provide?

a) 0-5 Lakh b) 5-10 Lakh c) 10-15 Lakh d) 15-20 Lakh

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Q.12 Do you maintain the customer database for CRM purpose?

a) Yes b) No

Q.13 Do you contact your customers after sale of a product?

a) Yes b) No

Q14. What are your future IMC plans for your company?