Indian Journal of Marketing January 2005

Volume XXXV • Number 12 • December 2005

Transformation of the 8P's to 8C's- A Customer Centric Approach
Innovation today has become a corporate buzzword. It has been proved that in any field of endeavor, innovation is the hallmark of success. Business is no exception and innovation plays a very important role in defining marketing strategies. The Traditional 4Ps of marketing have given way to 8Ps, which in turn, are being transformed by new-age marketing strategists to 8Cs. Marketers are now focusing on the customer experience and maintaining relationships in order to gain a competitive edge. Therefore, a customer-centric approach would enable organizations to build successful brands and improve profitability
T. Suchitra Rani Faculty of Marketing Siva Sivani Institute of Management Studies Secunderabad , Andhra Pradesh	Dhanya Menon Technical Writer Ocimum Biosolutions
Managing Business Process Outsourcing -Opportunities & Challenges
The paper aims to provide an understanding of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and throw light on the opportunities of BPO industry in India and also identify the challenges the Indian BPO companies are facing today. The most commonly outsourced services to the country include professional services like accounting, architecture, customer support, internet research, information processing, marketing, media management, medical transcription and translation services etc. The evolution of BPO in India and the present trend are also described in this paper. A case study of a BPO firm based in Chennai is also incorporated to have an insight into the management of affairs of a BPO company. The paper proposes the possible strategies that the Indian BPO companies can adopt to develop a sustainable growth in this business.
Dr.Ch.Ibohal Meitei Asst.Professor,Management MIMS,Manipur University Imphal,Manipur Email:ibmeitei@yahoo.com	C.D.Balaji Lecturer Panemalar Institute of Management Studies and Computer Sciences,Chennai Email:cdbalaji2004@rediffmail.com
A Study of Passenger Amenities in Indian Railways with Reference to Vijayawada Division
In the service industry where situations as to a promise is sold it is very difficult to assess situations as to where and when these promises fail. Building credibility takes time and requires strategic planning. This makes it clear that it is a difficult proposition to sell these services. Indian Railways always worked on the premise that there is no competition for their services. At times, they felt that there is no need for marketing their services since the demand is much higher than the capacity. But Indian Railways are competing with other modes of transport for both passenger traffic as well as freight. Criss-crossing the country over 63,140 kilometers route having more than 47,147 crores as capital-at-charge and the total investment in the railway system is 70,117 crores and a large workforce of about 15.10 million employees, Indian Railways is second largest railroad system in the world under unitary management. Efficient management of this gigantic infrastructure plays a vital role in the economic, individual and social progress of our country. Indian Railways carried 5093 million passengers and 492.50 million tonnes of freight traffic. All the figures given in this paragraph pertain to year 2001-02. As far as marketing of railway services is concerned, provision of passenger amenities to passengers and rail users is an important element. Providing maximum comfort and amenities to the traveling public is important because of the dwindling market share. The Indian Railways need to have a competitive advantage and customer care in a service industry in one such axiomatic tool. Passengers expect value for money and more so when Railway transportation is an intangible product being an “experience” as service. Providing best passenger amenities should be an end in itself – as a philosophy of the organization.
V.Vijay Durga Prasad Senior Lecturer PG Department of Commerce and Business Administration P.B.Siddhartha College of Arts and Sciences Vijaywada,Andhra Pradesh
The Product Life Cycle -Analysis and Applications Issues
Like a human being, a product is characterized by a life cycle, which refers to the life span of a product with several stages. All these stages are recognized and a product goes through these stages from its introduction to its abandonment. Thus, Product Life Cycle (PLC) refers to the different stages through which a product passes from introduction, through growth, maturity, to its decline and death resulting in the final withdrawal of it from the market as an eventuality. After launching the new product, management wants the product to enjoy a long and happy life. Although it does not expect the product to sell forever, management wants to earn a decent profit to cover all the effort and risk that went into launching it. The administration is aware that each product will have a life cycle, although the exact shape and length is not known in advance. Products, like consumers / tourists, go through life cycles. So product planning and marketing mix planning are important. A company’s positioning and differentiation strategy must change as the product, market, and competitors change over time.
	Dr.Ajit Kumar Shukla Reader Dept. of Commerce Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith Varanasi,Uttar Pradesh
Comparative Analysis of Rural and Urban Consumers on Milk Consumption
India ranked second in the world after the United States of America in milk production. The per capita milk availability in India was only 200 grams per day in 1996-97 against the 220 grams requirement as recommended by the ICMR and National Institute of Nutrition. With a constant increase in disposable incomes among the strong middle-income class, the scope of marketing of milk is wider. It could be noted that the demand for milk and milk products depends on consumer’s willingness and capacity to buy. Since the consumers are not homogeneous, the consumption pattern of milk likes quantum of purchase, mode of purchase, source of purchase, brand preference etc., are changing from consumer to consumer. The socio-economic profile of the consumers namely income status, occupational position, educational level, sex, age and region are the major determinants of the consumption pattern of milk. The study of consumer behavior is inevitable to position the right product in right market at right time. The milk is not the exception to this. Hence, the present study focus on the profile of consumers, their consumption pattern in milk consumption and its correlates.
Dr. V. Kubendran Professor Department of Management Studies PSNA College of Engineering & Technology Dindigul,Tamil Nadu	Dr.T.Vanniarajan Reader Department of Business Administration SVN College Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Management of Healthcare Service Sector-A Study of Primary Health Centres
Health is considered as the most important thing for a human being. It is a well known concept that health is wealth. That is why the Government of India emphasizes on health and protects the poor people from sickness .There is a provision of establishing primary health centers in villages to meet the health needs and demands of the individual and the community. The programme of establishing primary health centre in each Community Development Block, having a population of 60,000 to 80,000 was launched on October 2, 1952 as an integrated part of the Community Development Programme.At present there are 23,000 primary health centers and 1,37,000 sub-centers in the country. Primary health centers are institutions providing comprehensive (i.e. preventive, promotive and curative) health care services to the people living in a defined geographic area. It seeks to achieve its purpose by grouping under one roof of coordinates in some other manner all the health work of that area. Health planners in India have visualized the primary health centre as the minimum infrastructure for the delivery of health care services to the people in rural areas. It is the first contact point between village community and medical officer. These are established and maintained by the state Governments under the Minimum Needs Programme(MNP)/Basic Minimum Services Programme.It is manned by a medical officer supported by paramedical and other staff and provides beds to patients and acts as a referral unit for sub centres.The Tenth Five Year plan of the Government of Punjab has emphasized on mental health care, proper disposal of biomedical waste, setting up of Para medical services, opening up of new dispensaries in slum area, provision of toilets and attendants, establishment of new primary health centers up gradation of existing sub-health centre to primary health centers..
Dr. R. Singh Director Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Institute of Management and Technology Moga,Punjab	Prof.Sunaina Faculty Member Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Institute of Management and Technology Moga,Punjab