ContentSERIAL

NUMBERSTOPICS PAGE

NUMBERS1. INTRODUCTION

2. COMPANY PROFILE

3. OBJECTIVE

4. SCOPE

5. IMPORTANT

6. REVIEW OF LITRETU

7. RERESERCH MATHEDOLOGY

8. QUESTIONER

9. ANALYSIS

10. INTERPRITATION

11. FINDINGS

12 CONCLUSSION

13. SUGESSION

14. BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

The main purpose of this project is to provide an approach for analyzing market structure in terms of brand loyalty and brand awareness for the purchase of Bata products. Ideally, your brand should be the first one that comes to your mind within specific product categories and associated with key consumer benefits. Consumers should be able to identify which products and services Bata brand offers. They should also be able to identify which benefits are associated with the brand. It is also useful to segment the market, based on brand loyalty and brand awareness and to understand the needs of loyal customers and potential awareness, as well as their attitude towards key brand attributes. The goal of this project is to create awareness among the consumers that there are different brands in the product categories in which the brand operates, and also to measure the consumer's behavior of repeatedly purchasing a specific brand over a certain period of time. It is also useful to segment the market, based on brand loyalty and brand awareness and to understand the needs of loyal customers and potential awareness, as well as their attitude towards key brand attributes. A person's attitude toward a brand is relevant to the degree of their brand loyalty. Brand awareness is linked to consumers brand preferences, that salient brands are high in both intentions to buy the brand and brand loyalty. It is a well known fact that a distinctive brand identity is one of the most influential factors in determining how consumers differentiate between similar products and services. Both tools are separate in practice, but also used in combination with each other. It is the also the key to attracting new customers and retaining existing customers. The intent of this study is to provide insights of the needs of two groups of customers, repeat buyers and operations of the brand, in order to help corporations develop appropriate marketing strategies. This study was carried out in two stages: (1) segmenting the market into the two consumer groups; and (2) analyzing the differences of the two groups based on the key factors that affect consumption behaviors.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

Primary objectives -

To measure the Brand awareness and Brand loyalty of Bata India Limited, Bangalore.

Secondary objectives-

To find out the company’s position in the footwear industry in the market.

To find how much Bata brands are aware in the market among the consumers.

To find out the loyal customers of Bata.

To determine the factors which is affecting Bata’s promotional activities?

To find out drawbacks of Bata brand.

1.3 IMPORTANCE AND RELEVANCE OF THE PROJECT:

The two month project Training is very important for a student of MBA. This type of study gives some practical knowledge to MBA students and practical knowledge is more useful than theoretical knowledge for any one.

There is no certain formula for any particular problem but the aim of this study is to develop the ability of decision – making. A right decision at the right time itself helps an organization to run smoothly.

The training in any organization gives us an idea of different marketing activities and many emphases is given on “Promotional Activities Aspect” and also it is seen how business is taken tactfully when any problem comes to an executive. The way of problem solving, right decision making and knowledge of different types of marketing activities gives much importance to this study. Though only in 2 months, it was not possible to understand it so deeply but overall ideas would be developed.

The survey was conducted to Measure the Brand Awareness and Brand Loyalty of Bata India Limited, Bangalore.

This study is done to find out how much Bata brand is aware in the market and also to find loyal customers of Bata. Bata operates in many different economic and cultural environments around the world, dictating very different types of operations. Although Bata does not sell the same shoes nor does it have identical stores in each country, customers will recognize common elements to the Bata experience everywhere in the world.

The survey covers a wide range of activities and factors, which influence the many customers to express their feelings about Bata brand. The samples of 60 respondents were taken to represent Bata brand, and the result was not in the favor of Bata.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

This project is done to provide an approach for analyzing market structure in terms of brand loyalty and brand awareness for the purchase of Bata products.

Ideally, your brand should be the first one that comes to the minds within specific product categories and associated with key consumer benefits. Consumers should be able to identify which products and services Bata brand offers. They should also be able to identify which benefits are associated with the Bata brand.

The intent of this study is to provide insights of the needs of two groups of customers, repeat buyers and operations of the brand, in order to help corporations develop appropriate marketing strategies.

This study was carried out in two stages:

(1) Segmenting the market into the two consumer groups; and

(2) Analyzing the differences of the two groups based on the key factors that affect consumption behaviors.

The result of this study will help the Bata Company to rectify their mistakes and to come out with new plan and promotional activity which helps them to create a good position in footwear industry again.

1.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

Although all efforts have been made to study all types of population as compared to the topic of study, universe size and sample size, findings of the study will be considered and will be applied in Bangalore, only because perception of the customers varies in other place due to socio-economic and educational background. At last but not the least the study will try to find out real depth of the actual position of the brand.

A project is a work that an executive or the personnel does by their efforts in research. There are many advantages that we can easily find and recommend in the company but like all projects this project also have some limitations, such as:-

Personal interview: - It consists of few questions and answer session, so most of the people avoid it and that’s why we get little wrong response in the questionnaire. Field survey:- This method is also a key factor, but generally to that place where it has been done, because the result varies when we change the area. Questionnaire: - Because of the busy schedule and fast life of the respondents, most of them do not give that is needed, so that affects the result as well as analysis. Secondary sources:- Such as company data makes in favor of the company, so problem occurs. Personal visit to the other footwear stores:- This is also a good technique, but most of them don’t discloses their sale unit and turn over because of the privacy.

It is very difficult to influence and get right answer from old mentality customers. Therefore the result is applicable to Bangalore region only. These findings may not have much relevance in other regions of different from rest of the country.

All the conclusions suggestions & recommendations will be made in the feedback obtained from the survey on the basis of responses given by the respondents.

2.1 INDUSTRY INTRODUCTION:

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

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

While leather shoes and uppers are produced in medium to large-scale units, the sandals and chappals are produced in the household and cottage sector. The industry is poised for adopting the modern and state-of-the-art technology to suit the exacting international requirements and standards. India produces more of gent’s footwear while the world’s major production is in ladies footwear. In the case of chapels and sandals, use of non-leather material is prevalent in the domestic market.

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

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

One of the major factors for success in niche international fashion markets is the ability to cater them with the latest designs, and in accordance with the latest trends. India, has gained international prominence in the area of Colours & Leather Texture forecasting through its outstanding success in MODEUROP. Design and Retail information is regularly made available to footwear manufacturers to help them suitably address the season's requirement. The Indian Footwear Industry is gearing up to leverage its strengths towards maximizing benefits.

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

2.2 HISTORY OF BATA:

1894-The T.& A. Bata Shoe Company is registered in Zelin, Czechoslovakia by the siblings Thomas, Anna and Antonio Bata - the eighth generation of shoe-making Batas.

1895-Antonio leaves the Company to join the army, his sister Anna follows shortly after to get married. Thomas Bata takes over the company leadership alone.

1897-Thomas introduces the “Batavia”, the first fabric shoe and with it production mechanization.

1905-Production reaches 2,200 pairs per day, produced by 250 employees. Constant innovation of footwear to meet customers’ needs. Thomas Bata’s motto is “Our customer is our Master.”

1909-First export sales and first sales agencies in Germany, in the Balkans and in the Middle East. Bata shoes are of excellent quality and are available in more styles than had ever been offered before. Demand grows rapidly.

1917-Sales reach 2 million pairs per year produced by 5000 employees. Advanced production equipment is imported. As the Company prospers so do the communities where it operates. Bata creates stores, builds housing, schools and hospitals near factories.

1922-Following the First World War currencies are devalued and consumer purchasing power is at an all time low. Bata cuts shoe prices by 50%; stores are flooded with customers forcing the industry to follow the lead.

1925-The “Bata system” organizes operations in autonomous workshops with employee profit sharing introduced since 1923. Each one in the company is an entrepreneur. The Bata School of Work founded. It provides rigorous education and practical training to future Bata managers.

1929-Introduction of customs tariffs. Bata responds by building factories in Swiss, Germany, England, France, Yugoslavia, Poland, Holland, the USA and India By the early 1930s, Bata is the world’s leading footwear exporter.

1932-Thomas Bata is killed in a plane crash on the way to visit a factory under construction in Switzerland. Under the leadership of Thomas Bata's uncle, Jan Bata, the company intensifies diversification into the production of tires, aircrafts, bicycles,

machineries. Thomas J. Bata, the young son of Thomas Bata, convenes the 1st international congress of young Bata people.

1939-Bata operates 63 companies in various industries but footwear remains the core business with 60 million pairs sold per year in more than 30 countries.

1940-Part of the Company management under the leadership of Thomas J. Bata starts to operate from Bata, near Toronto, Canada.

1945-All Bata companies in Eastern European countries are nationalized by communist governments. The Company starts rebuilding itself from the remaining entities located outside Eastern Europe.

1960-The Company’s headquarters are officially relocated in Toronto under the leadership of Thomas J. Bata.

1989-With the fall of Communism, Thomas Bata is invited by the new president, Vaclav Havel, to return to the Czech Republic and receives a hero's welcome. A chain of shoe stores is opened with the headquarters in Zelin, and a small shoemaking factory begins operations in Dolman Nancy.

1990-Creativity, product innovation and research for higher quality levels is the core of Bata’s product development policy. The results are the international high standard, Bata premium collection.

1995-Partnership develops in Eastern Europe. Bata stores reopen in Russia, Poland, Croatia and Slovenia.

1999-To adjust to the market evolution Bata undertakes a major reorientation from manufacturing to designing, marketing and distribution.

2001-Thomas G. Bata, the founder’s grandson becomes the Group’s Chairman. A new international structure is implemented around 4 meaningful business units (MBUs) to give more focus to the business and gain synergies within each region, especially in sourcing and product development.

2002-As a part of re-inventing its core competencies, Bata shoe innovation Centres open around the world to focus on the development of shoes with exclusive comfort technology features and design.

2004-New steps into China with the opening of the Bata procurement centre in Guangzhou and a distribution partnership for the opening of Bata retail stores.

2006-Start of the 262 acre, Riverbank Township construction project to modernize the Batanagar factory complex near Kolkata. It is expected to be

completed by 2011 with 2500 modern houses for employees, a large hospital, a school, and IT Park, a hostel and residential along the riverside. Launch of the branded business division to consolidate our existing worldwide branded business activities into a leading industrial and professional footwear company.

2008-The Bata emerging markets unit was created in order to maximize the synergies of all operations in Latin America, Africa, Asia and India.

2009-The European shoe innovation centre (SICE) in Padova, Italy launched this year. As well as conducting research into new innovations, materials and design for our shoe technologies, SICE design and sources top quality products from the best worldwide suppliers for all our European stores.

2.3 COMPANY PROFILE:

The company that evolved into BATA SHOE ORGANIZATION was first registered in the town of Zelin, Czheclovakia on August 24th 1894. It was found by THOMAS BATA who was the grandfather of present president T.G.BATA.

Although the Bata name had been a part of that tradition for 8 generations, spanning three hundred years Thomas Antonius and Anna Bata wanted to improve conditions for themselves and for shoemakers of the future. The credo “Our Customer Our Master” served as the guiding principle for Bata Shoemaker and employers.

The young company overcomes many difficulties. In order to meet growing demands during the early years, new production machinery was found in other countries and innovative shoe making techniques were devised skilful and successful Bata employees. Bata’s reputation as innovative industry leader has been maintained ever since. In every 1920’s Bata established new companies in Poland, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Holland, UK and USA.

Bata is one of the world’s widest reaching companies, with operations in 68 different countries. Bata companies strive to listen to the customers in their local markets and clearly identify their footwear needs, and then to provide products that exceed their customers’ expectations in terms of quality, style and value. Bata operating companies are grouped into four business units based on similarities in markets and business issues. Each group benefits from synergies specific to their requirements, such as product development, sourcing and marketing support. Each business unit is entrepreneurial in nature, and can quickly adapt to changes in the marketplace and seize potential growth opportunities.

2.3.1 OVERVIEW-

Serves one million customers per day.

Employs more than 40000 people.

Operates 4600 retail stores.

Manages a presence in over 50 countries.

Runs 40 production facilities across 26 countries.

Serves 1lakh customers per day.

Employs more than 8900 people.

Operates 1100 retail stores.

Runs 5 production facilities across India.

Network of 1600 retail stores.

Bata Shoe organization (B.S.O.) is the largest manufacturer and marketer of footwear in the world. Its global business comprises of shoe factories, tanneries, engineering plants, quality control laboratories, product development and research 22 centers. Bata distributes its products through approximately 6,300 retail outlets, 10,000 franchises and thousands of wholesale depots and dealers. More than 50,000 people are employed in producing and selling over 300 million pairs of shoes each year, primarily for the domestic markets in which B.S.O companies operate.

2.4 REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Literature Review is the documentation of a comprehensive review of the published and unpublished work from secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the researcher.

The main aim is to find out problems that are already investigated and those that need further investigation It is an extensive survey of all available past studies relevant to the field of investigation. It gives us knowledge about what others have found out in the related field of study and how they have done so.

A successful brand is an identifiable product, service, person or place augmented in such a way that the buyer or user perceives relevant, unique added values which match their needs most closely. Furthermore, its success results from being able to sustain these added values in the face of competition. Successful brands deliver benefits to satisfy customer needs. These needs include rational needs (such as features, packages or the price of a brand) and emotional needs (such as prestige, distinctiveness, style or the social reassurance of a brand). Brand loyalty measurement has not flourished in the marketing literature. A person's attitude toward a brand is relevant to the degree of their brand loyalty. Brand awareness is linked to consumers brand preferences, that salient brands are high in both intentions to buy the brand and brand loyalty. It is a well known fact that a distinctive brand identity is one of the most influential factors in determining how consumers differentiate between similar products and services.

2.5 MARKETING STRATEGIES:

Market-scope strategy choices-

1. Single-Market Strategy

2. Multi-market Strategy

3. Total-market Strategy

Among the three choices Bata has chosen and uses ‘Total-Market strategy’s they serve all classes of people with their shoes ranging from 30/--2195/-. The specifics of the strategy is provided below-

Definition: Serving the overall market with one or some other kind of offerings.

Objective: To diversify the risk of serving only one market.

Requirements:

1. Carefully selecting all the segments and providing offerings to all.

2. Avoid confrontation with companies serving the entire market.

Expected Results:

1. Higher Sales.

2. Higher Market Share.

Market-Geography Strategy choices-

1. Local-Market Strategy

2. Regional Market Strategy

3. National Market Strategy

4. International Market Strategy

Among the market-Geography Strategies Bata follows the 'National- Market Strategy’ as they distribute their product to the whole of world using their own and Danish's distribution channel.

Definition: Operating nationally.

Objective: To seek growth.

Requirements:

1. Top management commitment.

2. Capital Resources.

3. Willingness to take risks.

Expected Results:

1. Increased growth.

2. Increased market share.

3. Keep up with competitors

Market-Entry Strategy choices:

1. First-In Strategy

2. Early-Entry Strategy

3. Laggard-Entry Strategy

Among the Market-Entry choices, Bata Bangladesh uses ‘First-In strategy’ which is characterized by the following: Definition: Entering market during the introduction stage. Two modes of entry are feasible:

Conventional marketing strategy

Initiator- Entering market with unconventional marketing strategies

Objectives: To understand the market first and reap the profit at the beginning and waiting for the competitors and strike them with good lowering price and improved quality. At the same time it offers variety of products.

Requirements:

1. Market research ability.

2. Production capability.

Expected results:

1. Putting market on a new growth path.

2. Increased profits.

3. Some growth opportunities.

Product Strategy choices:

1. Product-Positioning Strategy

2. Product Repositioning Strategy

3. Product-Overlap Strategy

4. Product-Scope Strategy

5. Product-Design Strategy

6. Product-Elimination Strategy

7. New-Product Strategy

8. Diversification Strategy

Among the product strategies Bata has used 'Product-Positioning Strategy' and 'Diversification Strategy' which is characterized by the following:

Product-Positioning Strategy:

Definition: Placing a brand in that part of the market where it will have a favorable reception compared with competing brands.

Objectives:

Position product in market so that it stands apart from competing brands.

To position the product so that it tells customers what you stand for, what you are, how you would like customers to evaluate you.

Requirements:

Use of marketing mix variables (design and communication efforts).

Successful management of a single brand requires positioning the brand in the market so that it can stand competition from the toughest rivals and maintaining its unique position by creating the aura of a distinctive product.

Successful management of multiple brands requires careful positioning in the market so that multiple brands do not compete with nor cannibalize each other. Thus it is important to be careful in segmenting the market and to position an individual product as uniquely suited to a particular segment through design and promotion.

Expected Results:

Meet as much as possible the needs of specific segments of the market.

Limit sudden change in sales.

Make customers faithful to the brands.

Distribution Strategy :

Definition: Developing unfamiliar products and markets through- Concentric diversification (products introduced are related to existing ones

in term of marketing or technology),

Horizontal diversification (new products are unrelated to existing ones but are sold to the same customers), and

Conglomerate diversification (products are entirely new).

Objectives: Diversification strategies response to the desire for-

Growth when current products/markets have reached maturity,

Stability by spreading the risks of fluctuations in earnings,

Security when the company may fear backward integration from its major customers, and

Credibility to have more weight in capital markets.

Requirements: In order to reduce the risk inherent in a diversification strategy, a business unit should-

Diversify activities only if current product/market opportunities are limited,

Have good knowledge of the area in which it diversifies,

Provide the products introduced with adequate support, and

Forecast the effects of diversification on existing lines of products.

Expected results:

Increase in sales.

Greater profitability and flexibility.

Pricing Strategy choices For new products:

(1)Skimming Pricing (2)Penetration Pricing At times Bata Shoe Company used 'Penetration Strategy' which is characterized by the following:

Definition: Setting a relatively low price during the initial stages of a products life.

Objectives: To discourage competition from entering market by quickly taking large market share and by gaining cost advantage by realizing economies of scale.

Requirements:

Products must appeal to a market large enough to support the cost advantages.

Demand must be highly elastic in order for firm to guard its cost advantage.

Expected Results:

High sales volume and large market share.

Low margin on sales.

Lower unit costs relative to competition due to economies of scale.

3.1 BRAND LOYALTY:

Brand loyalty, in marketing, consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase or otherwise continue using the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy. It is an extent of the faithfulness of consumers to a particular brand, expressed through their repeat purchases, irrespective of the marketing pressure generated by the competing brands.

A loyalty program should have a long enough timeframe to ensure its success. When a brand launches a loyalty program, it is making a statement to its customers that the relationship is valuable and that the brand appreciates it. Pulling back can be seen as the brand telling its customers, “Nah, you’re not as important as we thought.” Or even worse: “Hey we didn’t make enough money out of this so we’re ditching you.”

True brand loyalty exists when customers have a high relative attitude toward the brand which is then exhibited through repurchase behavior. This type of loyalty can be a great asset to the firm: customers are willing to pay higher prices, they may cost less to serve, and can bring new customers to the firm.

OVERALL SERVICE QUALITY

VALUE FOR MONEY

OVERALL COMPANY

RATING

IMAGE

LOYALTY

CALL CENTER

3.1.1 IMPORTANCE OF BRAND LOYALTY-

There are three main reasons why brand loyalty is important:

Higher Sales Volume – The average United States Company loses half of its customers every five years, equating to a 13% annual loss of customers. This statistic illustrates the challenges companies face when trying to grow in competitive environments. Achieving even 1% annual growth requires increasing sales to customers, both existing and new, by 14%. Reducing customer loss can dramatically improve business growth and brand loyalty, which leads to consistent and even greater sales since the same brand is purchased repeatedly.

Premium Pricing Ability – Studies show that as brand loyalty increases, consumers are less sensitive to price changes. Generally, they are willing to pay more for their preferred brand because they perceive some unique value in the brand that other alternatives do not provide. Additionally, brand loyalists buy less frequently on cents-off deals – these promotions only subsidize planned purchases.

Retain Rather than Seek – Brand loyalists are willing to search for their favorite brand and are less sensitive to competitive promotions. The result is lower costs for advertising, marketing and distribution. Specifically, it costs four to six times as much to attract a new customer as it does to retain an old one.

3.1.2 CREATING BRAND LOYALTY –

Favorable brand attitudes are the determinants of brand loyalty consumers must like the product in order to develop loyalty to it. In order to convert occasional purchasers into brand loyalists, habits must be reinforced. Consumers must be reminded of the value of their purchase and encouraged to continue purchasing the product in the future. To encourage repeat purchases, advertisement before and after the sale is critical. In addition to creating awareness and promoting initial purchases, advertising shapes and reinforces consumer attitudes so these attitudes mature into beliefs, which need to be reinforced until they develop into loyalty. For example, the most avid readers of a travel ad are those who just returned from the destination. Ads reinforce a traveler’s perception and behavior. Remember, it is easier to reinforce behaviors than to change them and the sale is just the beginning of an opportunity to turn the purchaser into a loyalist. A few more points to keep in mind…

Develop an unbeatable product - if you want to keep customers, make sure they can get what they want from your product.

Give customers an incentive to repeat purchase- chance to win a prize, gift with a certain number of proofs of purchase, in-pack discount coupon, etc.

Stand behind your product – if customers don’t trust the product, they won’t purchase it again.

Know your trophy customers and treat them best of all – remember the rule that 80% of sales will come from the top 20% of customers.

Make it easier to buy your brand than competing brands – availability and simplicity are keys in today’s high-speed world. Customers appreciate convenience more than ever.

Go to your customers - bring the product to customers when possible.

Becomes a customer service champion – seek to serve the customer and they will repeat purchase… again and again!

3.1.3 BRAND LOYALTY TOWARDS BATA -

Bata, as a trusted footwear brand try to satisfy their customers by providing best quality of products and services. There are many customers who are loyal to Bata products and services because they always prefer Bata, and repurchase footwear from them. The image of Bata in the Indian footwear industry is very high, so many customers they don’t look after the price in case of Bata footwear as they have a belief about their service quality. Bata delivers what they promise to their customers so many customers they recommend their friends and relatives about Bata products and services. This shows the loyalty of customers towards Bata brand.

Bata believe that the cost of acquiring customers is six times that of retaining them and, therefore, ensuring loyalty is commercially important. Loyal customers are also important because they provide the consistency of volume critical for mass production not to mention the consistency of revenue required to run a business. As a result Bata brands look toward loyalty programs to reward loyal customers and encourage retention.

3.1.4 BRAND LOYALTY STRATEGY OF BATA -Bata has taken three forms:

Creating customer satisfaction- Delivering superior quality products and services.

Building brand equity- The sum of the intangible assets of a brand. Factors that contribute to this are: name awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, the associations consumers have towards the brand, trademarks, packaging, and marketing channel presence.

Creating and maintaining relationships- Success with any of these strategies will result in high levels of repeat purchase, insulation from price increases and improved responsiveness to marketing communications by customers. There has been an evolution of marketing thought and activity over this last decade. Initially, the quality movement placed customer satisfaction as the ultimate goal of marketing programs. However, as satisfied customers were shown to defect to other brands or providers at relatively high rates, strategists looked to creating a greater commitment with the customer. Two ways to achieve this were to build brand equity (primarily for consumer products) and to build relationships (primarily for industrial products.) Brand equity used mass media advertising, corporate citizenship and public events sponsorship to build a brand image. Relationship marketing sought to build interdependence between partners and relied on one-to-one communications, historically delivered through the sales force. With the growth of marketing databases and the Internet, the ability to reach customers individually became a viable strategy for a wide range of firms including consumer products companies.

4.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY :

Research is an endeavour to discover answers to intellectual and practical problems through the application of scientific method. Research is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information (data) in order to increase our understanding of the phenomenon about which we are concerned or interested. It is an extensive survey of all available past studies relevant to the field of investigation. It gives us knowledge about what others have found out in the related field of study and how they have done so. A research methodology is the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed to structure or to solve problems. It is the overall operational pattern or frame work of the project that stipulates what information is to be collected from which sources, and by what procedures. If it is a good design it will ensure that the information obtained is relevant to the research problem and that it was collected by objective and economical procedures. A research design might be described as a series of advance decisions that, taken together, from a specific master plan of model for the conduct of the investigation. Although research designs may be classified by many criteria, the most useful one concerns the major purpose of the investigation.

Type of research- Exploratory research or Formulative research.

The research has been conducted within the data and information available to gain familiarity with the problem, to generate new ideas or to make a precise formulation of the problem. The current scenario is observed and an attempt has been done to relate the various variables.

The major purposes of exploratory studies are the identification of problems, the more precise formulation of problems (Including the identification of relevant variables), and the formulation of new alternative courses of action. An exploratory study is often the first in the series of projects that culminate in one concerned with the drawing of inferences that are used as the basis of management action. That is, an exploratory study is often used as an introductory phase of a larger study and results are used in developing specific techniques for the larger study. Secondary sources of information, as used in the section, are the rough equivalent of the “Literature” on the subject.

4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN :

The research design states that the conceptual structure within which the study should be conducted is descriptive in nature. The researcher used descriptive study to describe the awareness of Bata among the consumers in market and to find loyal customers of Bata and also to find out its demand, efficiency, brand image and its features.

Sampling Unit- The sampling unit selected as respondents who are the customers in the market buy footwear of Bata brand from different stores of Bangalore

Sampling Size- The sample has taken as 80 for collecting accurate information but received only 60 samples from the respondents, so 60 is the sample size taken for measuring the awareness and loyalty of Bata brand.

4.3 LIMITATIONS:

Brand awareness dimension was not found significant in the tested model.

Brand loyalty help the marketing researchers and marketing managers to understand the market.

These measures also help out to segment the market.

The measures help to know the consumption frequency.

Brand awareness measures the accessibility of the brand in memory.

These measures help the Consumers rely only a few piece of information with which they feel confident to help them decide how the brand might perform.

It is a well known fact that a distinctive brand identity is one of the most influential factors in determining how consumers differentiate between similar products and services.

4.4 DATA COLLECTION:

The data collected are primary data among the various customers to find out the level of awareness and loyalty of Bata among different footwear, and its demand based on prescription and its features in various angles.

Secondary data was collected using internet and books.

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION: As survey is best suited for descriptive research so the research conducted directly for individual respondents through questionnaire methods. The interview is structured where the questions asked in a sequence and prescribed manner. Therefore the received data is about the respondent’s awareness of Bata and loyalty towards Bata and there is lesser degree of inaccuracy in survey method.

4.5 SAMPLING DESIGN:

The below given questions about brand loyalty contains sampling:

1. Are you familiar about brand BATA how many times you purchase it?

2. Which footwear brand first comes to your mind when you think of India?

3. Which footwear brand do you use the most (tick 1)?

Khadims

Liberty

Bata

Shree Leathers

Elite

Action School time

Woodlands

Reebok

Nike

Adidas

Others

None of the above?

No specific brand?

4. Which brand do you think is the most popular footwear brand in India?

Liberty

Bata

Khadims

Shree Leathers

Elite

Woodlands

Reebok

Nike

Adidas

If none of the above please mention the Brand:--

5. Given below is a statement about the brand Bata. Express your opinion about the same: “Bata is an Indian brand”

Agree

Disagree

I am not aware

6. Do you consider Bata to be a one stop family store?

Yes

No

7. Which brand do you recall by “School Shoes”?

Khadims

Liberty

Bata

Shree Leathers

Elite

8. Which of the above mentioned brand is, or has been your most preferable brand of school shoes?

9. How many members in your family use BATA footwear?

None

Just Myself

Many

10.Rank the following footwear brands in order of preference on a scale of 1- 5 (1 low, 5 high)

BRANDS RANKBATA

KHADIM’SELITE

SREE LEATHERSLIBERTY

WOODLANDSADIDASREEBOK

NIKE

IEN

JOURNAL AND MAGAZINES-

HE ECONOMICS TIMES

COMPANY JOURNALS

THE HINDU

THE TIMES OF INDIA

WEBSITES-

www.bataindia.com

www.google.co.in

www.hindubusinessline.com

www.wikipedia.org