Indian Journal of Marketing February 2004

Volume XXXIV • Number 2 • February 2004

Bayesian Price : Threshold Estimation
A leading organization in the FMCG sector was interested in studying how the demand of one of their brands experienced changes as the price increased. In particular, they were interested in knowing whether there existed a price-point, called a “price threshold”, beyond which there was a major down- slide in sales volume of their brand, and if such a price- point indeed existed, they were interested in knowing to know its value. That is, the problem was to first check for the existence and then estimation of this-price, if there was one. To begin with, the very nature of this so-called price-threshold, in the sense of the kind of behavior in the change in relationship between the two variables, namely price and demand, that was to be expected, was not very clear a priority. Further more, it was also not clear whether indeed there was a price-threshold that was lurking in the given data set or not.
	Dr.Chiranjit Mukhopadhyay Assitant Professor Department of Management Studies Indian Institute of Science Bangalore,Karnataka
Developing Customer Loyalty : A Case Study of National Bank of Oman
Today, the growth of E-banking is revolutionizing the banking industry globally. The banks are gradually displacing the traditional method (face-to-face) of doing business with more of technology driven self-services to satisfy demanding customers. The traditional methods of retail banking focused more on convenience, and service quality and emphasized the same in their marketing communications to develop customer loyalty. With the emergence of E-banking phenomena, the nature and scope of retail banking service provision has undergone drastic changes. A number of banks are working to develop Internet as a service delivery medium and co-ordinate customer relationship management in the context of multiple media, including websites, call – centers, kiosks, ATMs and branches.
D.N.Rao Dr.K.Shankaraiah Faculty Members College of Commerce & Economics Sultan Qaboos University Muscat, SULTANATE OF OMAN	Ali Al Hakmani Assistant Manager National Bank of Oman Ibri Branch SULTANATE OF OMAN
Consumers and Consumerism
The Market that we experience today is not only a changed market but also a fast changing market. If Alice (yes, the same little girl in “Alice in Wonderland”).Were to be in the present day market; looking at the countless volume and variety of products and services produced, purchased and consumed, stiff competition among the producers, marketers and consumers, she would have definitely cried again, “Curiouser And Curioser”. For a student of marketing, it will be an interesting and educative proposition to look at how the consumers have placed and positioned themselves in the marketing environment that they are in.
Melarkode P Subramanium Director & Dean Department of Business Administration P.A.College of Engineering Mangalore,Karnataka
Marketing Support System for Small Scale Industries : Will It be Able to Withstand the Impact of Globalisation?( With special reference to NSIC)
An industrial undertaking, in which the investment in fixed assets in plant and machinery whether held on ownership terms, on lease or on hire purchase does not exceed Rs.10 million, is a small-scale industry in technical terms.The Small- scale industries sector plays a vital role in the growth of the country. It contributes almost 40% of the gross industrial value added in the Indian economy. It has been estimated that a million rupee of investment in fixed assets in the small scale sector produces 4.62 million worth of goods or services with an approximate value addition of ten percentage points. The Small-scale sector has grown rapidly over the years. The number of small-scale units has increased from an estimated Q.S7 million units in the year 1980-81 to over 3 million in the year 2000. When the performance of this sector is viewed against the growth in the manufacturing and the industry sector as a whole, it Instills confidence in the resilience of the small-scale sector.
Urvashi Makkar Director Tilak Raj Chadha Institute of Management & Technology,Haryana Satish Kumar Lecturer-Finance Tilak Raj Chadha Institute of Management & Management, Haryana	Minakshi Gupta Student, MBA Tilak Raj Chadha Institute of Management & Technology Haryana
An Introspection of Consumer Movement in India
The idea of consumer movement is quite in the economic theory. This ultimate segment of every economic activity has little say in the economic process. Consumer was in the true sense at the receiving end, the consumer was not supposed to play, in any manner, the marketing and economic game. This approach made the consumers position mean and pitiable. Consumers in the advanced countries, are much more conscious of their rights than in countries like India. In 1962, President John F Kennedy and in 1965, President Johnson emphasized the consumer rights and gave an impetus to consumerism in USA and other countries '.Inspite of the rapid economic development in the last two centuries, the position of consumers has not changed much. The exploitation continued and has turned more systematic. It is said that, the clever businessmen and traders cheat the Indian consumers to the tune of Rs. 2000 crores annually through various devices invented by them. Consumers are exploited by a large number of restrictive and unfair trade practices. Misleading, false or deceptive advertisements deliberately give only half-truths so as to give a different impression than is the actual fact. Taking this background into account, one can easily understand that the development of the consumer movement was in reach into the exploitative marketing practices In many cases, the exploitation was severe and resulted in a steep resistance to curb these malpractices.
Dr.S.B.Sadar Faculty Member Department of Business Administration and Management, Amravati University Amravati, Maharashtra	Dr.T.U.Fulzele Deputy Director Regional Centres Indira Gandhi National Open University New Delhi
Marketing Problems of Cottage Match Manufacturers of Elayirampannai Village
In the past, the need to market their service has not really been felt by the education sector, as educational institutes, be it schools, colleges or universities, especially in developing countries like ours, have always faced more demand than they could cope with. In some instances, there used to be only few schools in the town and people didn’t have much choice about the selection of schools. So in that situation there wasn’t any need felt for marketing of primary educational services. But now, due to the attractive potential and advent of private schools in this field, more and more schools are coming up and competitive situation is slowly changing. People have also become more conscious about education and now they have a number of alternatives available to make choice. This field has a high growth potential and due to this reason it is expected that in the near future more and more schools will be established. Because of difference in style of teaching, quality of teaching, facilities provided by schools, parents have become more particular about selecting the school for their child. Even the schools facing heavy demand have been confronted with the question of being able to choose the desired kind of target customers.
Dr.A.Subbiah Reader Research Department of Commerce Sr.S.R.N.M. College Sattur, Tamil Nadu	S.Selvaraj P.G. Assitant N.M.Hr.Sec School Elayirampannai,Tamil Nadu