Volume XXXIX • Number  6  • June 2009

Analysis of Gap in Service Quality through SERVQUAL : A Case of Deposit Service Provided by a Bank in Bangladesh

To remain profitable and strong in the market, retaining current customers and attracting potential customers has no alternative. This can only be done if the customers are kept satisfied and if the gap between expectation and perception of services are minimal. Thus, the analysis of gap on a regular basis and following the improvement, if any, is very important. In this paper, such analysis of gap is initiated on deposit service of a multinational bank operating in Bangladesh. For this gap analysis, SERVQUAL is used as a tool with five original dimensions and twenty two statements. A questionnaire survey is administered to calculate the gap score using SERVQUAL scale and thrust areas have been identified on the basis of the gap score where management should give more attention. 

Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsements in Brand Recall and Purchase Decision

A celebrity endorser is someone who enjoys public recognition and who uses that recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement. Celebrity endorsement has become one of the most important communication tools for all the companies. Three variables have been identified as important for successful celebrity endorsements physical attractiveness of the celebrity, source credibility (trustworthiness and expertise) of the celebrity, and celebrity/brand congruency. The present paper studies the Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsements in Brand Recall and Purchase Decision among Indian Consumers and employs primary data collected through a structured questionnaire. It uses non probabilistic convenient sampling to select the respondents. All the respondents were residents of Indore city in Central India and the survey was carried out in January – March 2008. The study suggests that celebrity endorsements are effective in Brand recall but are not effective in motivating people to buy the endorsed product. Celebrity – Brand fit is also important for successful celebrity endorsement.

Praneet Tulsiyan
Student
Daly College of Business School
Indore,Madhya Pradesh

Financial evaluation and accounting procedures for brands have become subjects of intense debate. This is reflective of the importance of intangible assets in modern companies. The main purpose of valuing the brand is to determine the monetary benefit that accrues to the brand owner as a result of the brand. The valuation of brand is more concerned about its economic use. Economic valuation of brands are frequently done to serve the purposes such as setting royalty rates in licensing brands, evaluation of debt levels and risks, and estimating damages in trade marks disputes, etc. With the recent spate of mergers and takeovers there had been generated a pressing demand for review of accounting standards and regulations, so that not only acquired brands but also created brands are capitalized on the balance sheet.

Dr.M.Yadagiri
Professor & Head
Department of Commerce
Telangana University
Nizamabad,Andhra Pradesh
dr.yadagiri@yahoo.co.in

Conceptualizing Microfinance Initiatives In India Using SAP-LAP Model: A New Paradigm In Marketing Engineering

One of the major focuses of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to partially alleviate world’s poverty by 2015. Leveraging upon its demographic dividend India is strategically poised to realize the MDGs. One way to create wealth at the bottom of the pyramid is to ensure availability and access to transparent credit facilities to the poorest sections of the Indian society. More than subsidies poor need access to credit. Absence of formal employment makes them ‘non – bankable.’ This forces them to borrow from local moneylenders at exorbitant interest rates. Many innovative institutional mechanisms have been developed across the world to enhance credit to poor even in the absence of formal mortgage. Drawing insights from the domain of microfinance market in India, this article conceptualizes the SAP-LAP model of a microfinance institution in India.

Many countries in the world can be identified as brand like: Germany for Automobiles, Japan for Technologies, Britain for its history, France for its culture, wines, perfumes and fashion and Middle East for its petroleum reserves, Switzerland for its dairy products, Scotland for its whisky, Italy for its sense of good food and high fashion and so on. Now what to associate India with, is it a democratic alternative to China or a Fast growing free market economy or can it be identified with the people with best brain or the birth place of great entrepreneurs like Tata’s, Mittal’s, Murthy, Premji, Birla’s, Ambani’s or India is like an onion which contains several layers, or is like jingoism, we should keep murmuring “MERA BHARAT MAHAN”.On the other side Brand India can be looked as an entity, very broadly could be clustered as having the following characteristics: It is multi layered- by caste, by language, by income, which is actually of particular relevance to the marketers. It is constantly evolving Brand with a widely varying Diaspora of population, which makes it a challenge and often a nightmare for the brands. It is a country and a brand in transition-ever growing and undergoing transformation constantly, on various attributes. In the last 15-20 years, The Brand India has grown by leaps and bounds. The income levels of the people have gone up; spending propensity as well as the purchasing power has increased. Indians are spending like never before. Over the years, we have also witnessed Brand India becoming increasingly distorted in the absence of efforts to manage and develop its associations. The only obvious way out is branding or rather Re- Branding India.This paper will focus on various steps in the journey of positioning and repositioning India as a Brand and try to analyze the core competencies required to provide a base for building Brand India. This paper tries to explain the analogy between country and a brand; it also explains the concept of taking India as a Brand as well as positioning and repositioning brand India, Metamorphosis of India’s Image, and attempt has also been made to explain the progress India has made in the key areas like Economy and Business etc. At the same time it also pinpoints the major impediments in its journey to become a global brand.

Do Multiple Time Consumers Also Observe Imperfectly? : The Case of Automobile Consumers in India

Consumer learning about quality of alternate brands of an experienced good may occur through several mechanisms. Increased attention has been focused on the nature of brand equity and on its role on improving market performance or financial success of products whose names influence the level of consumer acceptance (Aakar 1991). General observation on the importance of brand equity to marketing and financial results has also been discussed in the literature (Farquhar, 1989). Again scattered empirical studies have answered such questions as impact of brand equity on the success of line and category extensions designed to trade on the cachet of a brand name (Aakar and Keller, 1990). The challenge of measuring brand equity lies in the fact that numerous alternative approaches exist (Chattopadhyay, Shivani and Krishnan, 2008) but all such methods appear to be inherently imperfect (Shocker, 1991). In this paper, we estimate a dynamic choice model in which consumers correlate brand quality through price signals.

The study was confined to north Karnataka with top two chilli growing districts viz., Haveri and Dharwad, which are represented a highest area under the chillies in Karnataka. Similarly, four important markets (Byadgi. Haveri, Kundagol and Hubli) were selected based on highest transactions and arrivals to the market of dry chillies in these districts. the results revealed that The per quintal cost of marketing incurred by the farmers in dry chilli in channel I was Rs.30.00 and in Channel II it was Rs 112.85/quintal.In the total marketing costs packing was the major component, which followed by sorting cost and transportation cost. These three components alone accounted for about 81.51 per cent of the total marketing cost incurred by the farmers. On an average the producer’s share in consumer’s rupee in channel I was 77.74 per cent with a price spread of Rs 865.56/Quintal.where I channel II an average producer share in consumer rupee was 78.46 per cent which was found to be high as compared to channel-I. Retailer’s share was higher in the total marketing margin as compared to other intermediaries in the chain. The magnitude of their share was much higher in the case of channel-II that is Rs 456.57/quintal when compared to the channel-I Rs 356.56/quintal.

The brand - is- an- island trap refers to the implicit assumption that brand strategy involves the creation of a strong brand like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, 3M, Tide, Coca cola, Ivory of P&G and Lux brand of HUL in India. Creation of Strong brands by developing clear, insightful identities and brand building programs that make an impact is of prime importance, of course. In India, consumer markets are growing at frenetic pace and plethora of brands and product variants available at street corners to malls in metros and remote rural places. If we consider the scenario of India then the problem of brand architecture prevails due to market complexity and brand confusion in the FMCG sector. The gone are the days when selected brands were ruling the market and marketers seldom bother for creating own marketing space. Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization and GATT/WTO regime pose stern challenges for the marketers of FMCG products in India. Apart, retail transformation, economy growth and Infrastructure growth opened new avenues which require contemplation for the growth drivers. Retail shelf-space also adds in the intricacy and bewildering situations for the marketers of FMCG products in India. All these thought-provoking issues compel the marketers of FMCG products for brand architecture as an imperative in the break-necking pace of Brand Proliferation. Vigilant Brand Architecture resolve these issues to some extent, because it becomes vehicles by which the brand team functions as a unit to create synergy, clarity and Leverage. Succinctly, Brand Architecture focuses on five main stream viz. brand Portfolio, Product Market Context roles, Portfolio roles, Portfolio Graphics and Brand Portfolio structure. The probable elucidation for these problems may be Powerful Brands, Optimal allocation of brand building resources, synergy (in creating visibility, association building, and efficiency), clarity of offerings, leveraged brand assets, platform for future growth options. The paper encompasses literature review of all these aspects and zero down the leveraged brand assets aspect and its role in brand architecture. The paper will also encompasses findings of primary research for selected FMCG categories and support the research work for some inferences and concrete actionable ideas for the marketers of FMCG products in India.

Mitesh M.Jayswal
Sr.Lecturer
S.V.Institute of Management
Kadi,Gujarat
mmjayswal@yahoo.co.in