TOPIC: - Conduct a review of Maruti Suzuki brand portfolio.

Study the salient features

of Maruti Suzuki branding strategies

Submitted by: -
Submitted To:-
Avinash Singh Mr.
Rajiv Gupta
Reg. No:-10907570
Sec:-R1902
Roll_no:-B49
 Company profile

In 1970, a private limited company named 'Maruti technical services private limited' (MTSPL)
launched on November 16, 1970. The stated purpose of this company was to provide technical
know-how for the design, manufacture and assembly of "a wholly indigenous motor car". A year
later, a company called Maruti limited was incorporated and Sanjay Gandhi was appointed
Managing Director. In 1977, that company was liquidated. At the behest of Indira Gandhi, the
Indian Government salvaged Maruti Limited and started looking for an active collaborator.
Maruti Udyog Ltd. was formed in 1981. A year later, a License and Joint Venture Agreement
(JVA) signed between Maruti Udyog Ltd. and SMC of Japan Suzuki Motor Corporation kept on
increasing their stake until on September 17, 2007 it was renamed to Maruti Suzuki India Ltd...

Today, Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a publicly listed automaker in India. It is a leading four-
wheeler automobile manufacturer in South Asia. Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan holds a
majority stake in the company. It was the first company in India to mass-produce and sell more
than a million cars. It is largely credited for having brought in an automobile revolution to India.
It is the market leader in India. .

The company annually exports more than 50,000 cars and has an extremely large domestic
market in India selling over 730,000 cars annually. More than half the cars sold in India are
Maruti Suzuki cars. It offers more than 13 brands and over 150 variants of cars.

The success story of Maruti started with the launch of the Maruti 800 in 1984 . Over 2.5 million
800's have been sold since .It remained India's bestselling car until 2004 , when Alto took over
it .
The fact that each successful brand is backed by successful advertising: Maruti has always
portrayed as a very successful promotional strategy planner throughout its long run.

The Maruti Driving School is an example of one such campaign. They have managed to be cost
effective all these years due to their in-house development. Maruti's stay has been marked by
constant innovation. They tied up with SBI and introduced the Auto finance scheme. They also
offer insurance services to their customers at low premium schemes. Maruti mainly targeted the
middle – class segment in the early stages through the 800's .They launched the first ever Sedan
in India – Maruti 1000 and targeted the upper-middle class segment. Constant research and
development has played an important role in making Maruti the giants they are today. In 2010,
the company came up with a unique scheme that allows motorcycle owners to trade their
vehicles and avail discounts on Maruti Alto's. It's precisely things like these which have ensured
the fact that Maruti is a success story today.
Currently headed by Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi, Maruti has always had luck with leaders. From
Jagadish Khattar to RC Bhargava, these men took Maruti to the heights it has attained today. The
future looks only brighter.
The above chart shows the market segmentation of the automobile industry in India of
2008-2009.We can see that Maruti has the largest market share of 47.3% making it the
leader in the passenger car segment
Maruti is a picture of diversity: let it be its products, services, promotional strategies. And the
best part lies in the management of it all in the most effective manner to constitute a marketing
strategy which is sure to benefit them with constant refreshment depending upon the
environment. In economic terms, Maruti has witnessed tremendous growth in every sphere as
depicted by the charts below:
BRAND PORTFOLIO OF THE COMPANY

YEAR
CLASS BRAND NAME SLOGAN
INTRODUCED
Change your life
Maruti 800 1983
Let's go
Maruti Alto 2000
Shape your world
City Car Maruti Zen Estilo 2005
Stop @ nothing
Suzuki Alto (A-star) 2008

Upcoming model
Suzuki Splash
in 2009
Maruti Wagon-R 1999 For the smarter race
Super mini
Car Maruti Suzuki Swift 2005 You're the fuel

Maruti Suzuki SX4 2007 Men are back

Compact
Car
Maruti DZiRE 2008 The heart car
Play it your way
Sports Suzuki Grand Vitara 2007
Utility
King
Vehicle Maruti Gypsy 1985

Maruti Omni 1984 Fits all

Microvan
The joy of travelling
Maruti Versa 2003
together

These are the different brands of the Maruti Suzuki that are offered to the customers. There are
different classes that are city car, super mini car, compact car, sports utility vehicle,
microvan. In all these classes different brands come with different prices and different features.
All these brands have different slogans.
BRAND HIERARCHY OF THE COMPANY
I have discussed herewith the 4 P’s of marketing mix in relation to Maruti udhyog limited.

Product Mix

Maruti provides Full range of cars- from entry level Maruti 800 & Alto to stylish hatchback A-
star, Swift, Wagon R, Estillo and sedans DZire, SX4 and Sports Utility vehicle Grand
Vitara.Along with its core products, the industry has also taken a new initiative under the brand
name Maruti Genuine Accessories to offer accessories like alloy wheels, body cover, carpets,
door visors, fog lamps, stereo systems, seat covers and other car care products. The industry has
been incorporating various services like driving schools, Maruti true value, fleet management
facility etc. to ensure a competitive advantage and sustainability.
The various models of cars available in Maruti with their features are given below:

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
 Price Product Pric Engine Gear Power Torque Segme
Power Torque
Product (in Engine Gear Segment e (bhp) (Nm) nt
(bhp) (Nm)
lakhs) in
lakh
Maruti-
Maruti- 3cyl 4cyl
2.1 4M 37 59 C Esteem- 4.3 5M 85 110 B
800-AC 796cc 1298cc
LX
Maruti-
Maruti- 3cyl 4cyl
1.9 4M 37 59 C Esteem- 4.6 5M 85 110 B
800-Std 796cc 1298cc
LXi
Maruti-
Maruti- 3cyl 4cyl
2.7 5M 47 62 C Esteem- 4.5 5M 85 110 B
Alto-LX 796cc 1298cc
VXi
Maruti-
Maruti- 3cyl V6
2.9 5M 47 62 C Grand- 23 5M 166 236 SUV
Alto-LXi 796cc 2736cc
Vitara
Maruti- 3cyl Maruti- 4cyl
2.3 5M 47 62 C 5.2 5M 81 104 Jeep
Alto-Std 796cc Gypsy 1298cc
Maruti- 4cyl - Maruti- 3cyl
3.6 5M 67 90 C 2.5 4M 35 60 Van
Astar 998 CC Omni 796cc
Maruti- 4 Cyl
4cyl Maruti-
Baleno- 5.8 5M 94 131 B 4.6 1197 CC 5M 85 113 C
1590cc Ritz
LXi K12M
Maruti- 4 cyl
4cyl Maruti-
Baleno- 6.6 5M 94 131 B 5.1 1248 CC 5M 75 190 C
1590cc Ritz-D
VXi DDiS
Maruti- 4 cyl
Maruti- 4cyl
Dzire- 5.6 1248 5M 75 190 B 4 5M 87.5 113 B
Swift-LXi 1298cc
Diesel Mjet-CR
Maruti- 4 cyl Maruti- 4cyl
4.6 5M 87 113 B 4.3 5M 87.5 113 B
Dzirel 1298 CC Swift-VXi 1298cc
Maruti- 4cyl Maruti- 4cyl
3 5M 73 101 C 5.1 5M 87.5 113 B
Eeco 1196cc Swift-ZXi 1298cc
Maruti-
4cyl Maruti- 4cyl
Versa- 4.3 5M 82 102 Van 7 5M 102 154 B
1298cc SX4 1586cc
Std
Maruti-
4cyl Maruti- 4cyl
WagonR- 4.6 5M 64 84 Van 4.3 5M 82 102 Van
1061cc Versa-DX 1298cc
AX
Maruti- Maruti-
4cyl 4cyl
WagonR- 3.3 5M 64 84 Van Versa- 4.7 5M 82 102 Van
1061cc 1298cc
LX DX2
Maruti- Maruti-
4cyl 4cyl
WagonR- 3.5 5M 64 84 Van WagonR- 3.7 5M 64 84 Van
1061cc 1061cc
LXi VXi
Maruti- 4cyl Maruti- 4cyl
4 5M 60 78 C 3.76 5M 60 78 C
Zen-LXi 993cc Zen-LX 993cc

India is a growing market in terms of automobiles and to adhere to the need of customer and
maintain their market share it is necessary to follow strategies having an upper hand to your
competitors. The main markets competitors of Maruti are the Hyundai, Chevrolet etc.which are
other dominant players in the small car industry. Here, we have shown the comparison of the
same type cars of these companies with maruti and the competitive advantage of Maruti over
them:

MARUTI SWIFT VERSUS HYUNDAI I10

FEATURES i10 SWIFT

MILEAGE 16.1 km/litre 16.8km/litre

FUEL TANK 43 litre 35litres

CAPACITY
ENGINE TYPE In line engine IRDE 1:1 4cylinder
petrol
MAX SPEED 60 km/hr 149km/hr

TORQUE 113Nm@4500rpm 99Nm@2800rpm

VOLVES PER 4 3
CYLINDER
POWER 87Ps@600rpm 67Ps@5500rpm

MARUTI RITZ VERSUS CHEVROLET BEAT

FEATURE RITZ BEAT

MILEAGE 16km/litre 18.6 km/litre

FUEL TANK CAPACITY 43litre 0litre

POWER 85 ps@600rpm 80 ps@6200rpm

TORQUE 113Nm@4700rpm 108Nm@4400rpm

DISPLACEMENT 1197cc 1199Cc

INTERPRETATION

 Maruti has a bigger name in the market.

  It has trust of people.
 Maruti Udyog Ltd is the market leader for more than a decade.
 It has a great leadership chain in the market.
 It has better after sales service.
 Low manufacturing cost of vehicle.
 Creation of value and benefit from the product at different markets.

Maruti is an automotive industry but the changing scenario and competitive environment has
forced it to shift from the product based industry to a service provider to take up a
competitive advantage and wholly ensure customer satisfaction.
Besides, their usual operation in the car selling and manufacture Maruti also provides
auxiliary services to enhance complete satisfaction from the point of view of its customers.

FINANCIAL TIE UPS

 Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd (MMFSL), part of the $3.04 billion
Mahindra group has signed an agreement with Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) to provide
finance to all of the latter’s products. Under this pact MMFSL will leverage on its strong
rural presence to provide retail finance for Maruti vehicles.
 Maruti has tied up with SBI bank which will benefit both of them.

Other marketing strategy followed when its product sales grew old or sales started
dipping was:

 OMNI: interiors and exteriors ,Omni cargo, OMNI CNG

 VERSA: slashed prices by decreeing engine power

 ESTEEM: new look to boost sales.

 BALENO:price slash from 1999(7.2lakh) to 2003(5.46)

 WAGON R:modifications in engine and sporty look

 ZEN: modifies 4 times and special editions.

Thus, Maruti has a range of cars for every person in the market added by services making
it a business success.
 Price
The Indian Automobile Sector is a perfect competition market whereby any price movement
instigated by any of the competitors or any change in government policy causes corresponding
movements by the competition and this was the most important point which Marti considers
while playing around with product prices. It has developed strategies taking into consideration
the overall macro environment in order to ensure long term sustainability in terms of cost. Main
strategies followed by the company are:
Competitive Advantage
Pricing strategy helps both its customers and Maruti. Maruti offers a different model just at a
price difference of around Rs. 10,000 for cars ranging between Rs. 3.25 lakhs to Rs. 4.50 lakhs.
It offers five different cars in this range and different versions/models of each car. Due to so
many options, most of the time customers have an option within their budget or around their
budget.
Diversifying in different sources of revenue stream
generation
 Maruti has successfully developed different revenue streams without making huge
investments
in the form of MDS, N2N, Maruti Insurance and Maruti Finance.
 Finance is one of the major decision drivers in car purchase. Maruti has tied up with 8
finance companies to form a consortium. This consortium comprises Citicorp Maruti,
Maruti Countrywide, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Sundaram Finance,
Bank of Punjab and IndusInd Bank Ltd
 Finance is one of the major decision drivers in car purchase. Maruti has tied up with 8
finance companies to form a consortium. This consortium comprises Citicorp Maruti,
Maruti Countrywide, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Sundaram Finance,
Bank of Punjab and IndusInd Bank Ltd
Playing on cost leadership
 Maruti is the price dictator in Indian automobile industry. It’s the low cost provider of car.
The lowest car on road is from Maruti stable i.e. Maruti 800. Maruti achieves this through
continuous improvements in operational efficiency and productivity.
 The company has set itself (and its vendors) the target of a 50% improvement in
productivity and a 30% reduction in costs in three years. The ability to keep lowering the
prices sets Maruti apart from other players in the league. Maruti spread the overheads
over a larger base.
 Maruti also made strides in applying IT to manufacturing. A new Vehicle Tracking
System improved efficiency on the shop floor and enhanced quality control. The e Nagare
system, adopted from Suzuki Motor Corporation, smoothened Maruti’s Just In Time
operations.
PRICING STRATEGY - CATERING TO ALL SEGMENTS
Maruti caters to all segments and has a product offering at all price points. It has a car priced at
Rs.1,87,000.00 which is the lowest offer on road. Maruti gets 70% business from repeat buyers
who earlier had owned a Maruti car. Their pricing strategy is to provide an option to every
customer looking for up gradation in his car. Their sole motive of having so many product
offering is to be in the consideration set of every passenger car customer in India. Here is how
every price point is covered.

Despite the rigorous market situation, Maruti remains a trustworthy name among the users.

Place

Place is another key marketing mix tool, it includes various activities the company undertakes to
make the product accessible and available to the target customer.Maruti makes its entire car
accessible through the direct and indirect channel of distribution i.e. dealers to have a wider
geographical coverage. The most innovative approach followed by Maruti is its True Value
Service complemented by a huge network of authorized dealers positioned in every part of the
country.

Maruti True Value Service

Maruti True Value is India No.1 organized pre-owned car brand .True Value is venture of India’s
largest automobiles manufacturer “Maruti Suzuki India Ltd”. Maruti True Value business
expands the family of Maruti customers, providing reassurance to existing Maruti customers
about resale of their cars and further emphasizes Maruti s commitment towards enhancing
customer satisfaction by continuous association during the vehicle ownership life cycle.
No one knows your Maruti car better than Maruti - based on this premise, Maruti channelizes its
expertise to ensure that transactions in pre owned cars are transparent and fair. Through that, the
company endeavors to extend the relationship and emotional connect that it enjoys with the
customer.
True Value has transparent and fair evaluation process, which is currently missing in the largely
unorganized market for pre-owned cars. Maruti True Value processes and systems ensure that the
seller gets the right price and is paid promptly.
Under True Value, the seller has the option to be paid in cash, or get a True Value car in
exchange or a brand new Marti Suzuki car in exchange. True Value category cars bought by
Maruti True Value dealers are taken to state-of-the-art workshops.

Maruti has a wide accessibility by setting up of dealers and service stations and thus has gained
wide acceptability and large number of customers. It also makes sure that there is no delay in
processing the orders and invoicing of the products and the speed of delivery is a major way of
gaining competitive advantage, which MUL has capitalized on.
At Maruti TrueValue they believe that all customers need should be met under one roof. Thus,
when they visit any of the exclusive Maruti TrueValue outlets it is discovered that not only do
they get the best value while buying, selling or exchanging but also all other car related needs.
Be it insurance, finance, service, accessories or anything else related to cars.
MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA”-WINNING THROUGH DESIGNING AND
DELIVERING
The relationship between designing and customer value is one of planning and executing. A
customer value proposition consists of the sum total of benefits which a vendor promises that a
customer will receive in return for the customer's associated payment. Winning through
Excellent Customer Service is the only sure formula for winning more and more customers than
competition. Good customer services help the companies in attracting and Keeping many loyal
and committed customers for life.
Today, Maruti Suzuki is the largest automobile manufacturer in South Asia. It is largely
credited for having brought in an automobile revolution to India. Maruti Suzuki has been the
leader of the Indian car market for over two decades. Cars More than half the cars sold in India
are Maruti Suzuki cars.

Customer delight has always been the first priority for Maruti. In regards to this priority,
the company always keeps the door of past and future open for its customers so that they can
cherish the past and rejoice the upcoming. Over the last few years, Maruti Suzuki strengthened
the existing practices and experimented with many new initiatives by way of kaizens (continuous
improvements) to delight its customers.

RURAL MARKETING STRATEGY:

Rural Market covers around 3/4th population of the country. So, every sector has a lot of scope
including the automobile industry. Automobile penetration in the rural Indian market is
negligible. Overall vehicle penetration figures in India are also not all that encouraging either
with only 19 in every 1,000 people having a personal mode of transport. Seeing a huge potential
in villages and smaller towns where incomes are increasing thanks to good monsoons and high
minimum support price for government procurement, Maruti increased its focus on the rural
markets in the last couple of years. So, in order to skim the benefit of the potential customer
existing in these areas various positioning strategies is being followed by the company:
 Apart from recruiting people for the R&D operations,Maruti is also looking to hire people
for sales & marketing with an aim to penetrate rural areas in an effective way. The
company plans to add another 600 people to its present tally of 7,200 employees of which
over half will be engaged in sales and marketing.

 To attract rural customers, Maruti Suzuki India is tying up with public sector banks that
have both a branch network in these areas and the resource base to make loans. “Due to
the economic slowdown, private sector banks are going slow on vehicle finance, hence
Maruti is moving closer towards public sector banks for providing easy credit to
customers the officials are in talks with Bank of India and Punjab National Bank among
others for this purpose.

 Reiterating that Maruti 800 would not be competing with Tata Nano, which is in the ultra
low cost segment, Siddiqui said that Maruti 800 was still a very popular car in the rural
areas. It still continues to be among the most popular brands in India and there are no
plans to compete in the ultra low cost segment.

Dealers and authorized centers:

The company has a sales network of 802 centers in 555 towns and cities, and provides service
support to customers at 2,740 workshops in over 1,335 towns and cities (as on March 31, 2010).
The company is focused on rapidly expanding the sales and service further across the country.
The company's Chief General Manager Mr. Shashank Srivastava informed that Maruti's intention
is to take these number upto 1,000 service centres in this fiscal year. Maruti, India's No.1 Car
maker is all set to widen its business. The auto maker is celebrating its peak sales constituting
more than 1lakh cars in May alone and at the same time getting ready to increase the dealerships
to ease the distribution of its value for money products.

Promotion
One of the greatest strength of capturing customers is through promotion which deals with the
aspect of creating awareness of the product for the customer and Maruti over the time has used
this tool in the most efficient manner .The various promotional policy undertaken by the industry
has helped it overcome the decreasing market share and ensure loyalty of customers.

Advertisements of Maruti have always revolved around their core strengths of good service
network and mileage. Each of their ad has a fair bit of exaggeration and end with a humorous
punchline. Some of the memorable ads from the past are the young sardarji kid playing with a
Maruti 800 looking toy that ends with a "Petrol khatam hi nahi hota hai" and the ad with Maruti
drivers in Ladhak looking for a service station. Each of them led the viewer to expect a funny
intuitive answer and leave you with a counter-intuitive one. So far none of the answers seem to
come through as clichés. To get it right time and again is really an impressive feat. This year’s
Maruti ad too starts with what seems like impossibility and ends with a punchline that reveals
customer insight. There are two versions of this ad and both of them start with an elaborate
presentation out of common-man's reach vehicles- a rocket and a yacht. The advertisement which
is supposedly in response to the recent fuel price hike. The ad is not about any particular Maruti
car, it's about all of them and how they provide superior mileage. The punch line of this ad is
"kina diet hay?" (Translates to "how much does it give?"
Every new venture ,every new scheme and every new product or service undertaken by Maruti is
communicated through their advertisement in the most creative way.Maruti also provides road
safety instruction along with a toll free contact number both for its service and road accidents.

MARKETING STRATEGY OF MUL IN LATE 1980’s

In the initial years, the MUL depended more on its M800 model, so when in late 1990’s the new
players like MATIZ, SANTRO, and INDICA came into the market with more space and better
comfort, at the same price, then Maruti lost a major share of market: To gain back its lost share
Maruti launched Zen alto and wagon R, these small segment cars gained huge response for the
consumer followed by various promotional strategies has been thereafter to retain their position
in the market.

 Maruti was the first company in India which studied the consumer demand and responded
to it well.
 Market segmentation policy was adopted that targeted different type of consumers with
different type of models.
 Maruti800 targeted medium income group, while the deluxe model targeted rich income
group.
 Maruti van targeted businessmen and doctors(ambulance)
 The Gypsy targeted the paramilitary forces and the police.

Branding Strategies
An analysis of company strategies reviles six models in the management of brand- product (or
service) relationship. Each model denotes a certain role for the brand, its status as well as its
relationship (nominal and/ or visual) with the products which the brand encompasses.

1. The product brand

2. The line Brand
3. The range Brand
4. The umbrella Brand
5. The source brand
6. The endorsing Brand

These six models allow us to structure the brand problem in all sectors: whether it is services,
industry, consumer goods or luxury product.

These branding strategies facilitate product distinction or serve as indicators of product origin in
varying degrees.

Philip Kotler, the doyen of marketing writers, whose 'Marketing Management' is standard
reading the world over, from his own Kellogg ( of cornflake fame) school of management at
Chicago's Northwestern University ( which is number one in the USA today according to the
'Business week' magazine and whose Dean is an Indian, Deepak Jain) to the Faculty of
Management Studies at any Indian University, indicates four strategies suitable for the naming of
brands.

1) Individual names, such as Nature Valley, Liril, Lifebuoy, Amrutanjan, Red Label, etc.

2) Blanket Family names, such as Campbell's various soups

3) Separate family names such as Johnson's Nutriment or Johnson's Metrecal.

4) And, finally, company trade name combined with individual product names like Kellog's
Corn Flakes etc.

Kotler also advises that a brand should suggest something about the product's benefits, like
Craftsman, Beauty-rest, Timex, etc, or it should suggest product qualities such as action or
colour, like Sunsilk, Thunderbird, etc. Or, it should be easy to pronounce such as Tide, Crest,
Lux etc. Or, it should be distinctive like Kodak, Xerox, Mustang etc. At the same time,
multinational companies must ensure that the brand name does not have a poor meaning in other
countries. A typical case is the Chevrolet Nova car. Nova may mean new in English but in
Spanish it means, 'doesn't go'4

Branbach positioned Volkswagen, the German small car designed by Dr Fernands as a protest
against America Detroit made cars big cars thereby making the better shaped car, a cult among
non-comfort American youth 5 His greatest slogan was "Think small".

The Maruti Suzuki has adopted different branding strategies. One of this is given below:-

Volkswagen and Suzuki could end up becoming an automobile powerhouse in India in the
coming years following their decision to go in for a global cross-holding of equity.
VW will buy 19.9-per cent stake in Suzuki for ¥222.5 billion or $2.5 billion by January and the
latter would invest half the amount to pick up a stake in the German carmaker. The companies
said they had reached a common understanding to establish a close long-term strategic
partnership. The goal is to establish a cooperative relationship while respecting each other's
independence. Both VW and Suzuki also plan a joint approach to the growing worldwide
demand for more environmentally friendly vehicles.

Suzuki is one of the biggest car brands in India thanks to the Maruti association for over 25 years
now. In contrast, VW is a new entrant and due to launch its first locally made car, the Polo, early
next year. VW's arm, Skoda, has been here for some time and carved a niche for itself as a
premium brand.

Till not so long ago, General Motors had a 20 per cent stake in Suzuki and was tipped to use this
as a plank to grow its India business. However, GM decided to buy out the ailing Daewoo
business in South Korea and exited Suzuki.

How will the Suzuki-VW script pan out in India? For the Japanese carmaker, the biggest plus is
access to VW's diesel engine technology. It now uses the GM-Fiat 1.3-litre diesel powertrain but
will be inclined to moving to VW in the medium term.

Asked about the implications of the deal, Mr R. C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki, said:
“The partnership would help in R&D areas and for entering new markets for both companies,
where one may not have had presence before.”

For VW, the partnership will mean a foothold in Suzuki's cost-competitive foundation carefully
built over the years. Localisation is the biggest challenge and VW may not have to worry much
on this score now thanks to Suzuki and its robust in-house base of critical parts.

Sources say VW could even consider sourcing Suzuki's petrol engines till it reaches the kind of
volumes that justify local manufacture of its own range. In fact, the possibilities of a Fiat
sourcing arrangement for diesel engines cannot be ruled out, they add.

Both companies will, however, continue with their individual branding strategies in India.
Synergies will help in keeping costs in check or sharing common platforms but the retail
efforts will be exclusive.

“Branding is a deliberate strategy, which refers to the use of a name, term, symbol, design, or a
combination of these, to identify goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers to
distinguish them from those of its competitors. A trademark is a legal term for a brand name or
mark or symbol, that has been registered under law. Advertisers are more interested in creating
brand image and brand loyalty, especially for frequently purchased consumer goods, in order to
facilitate repe At purchase. Therefore, they find two words better than one. Like Rolls Royce,
Mercedes Benz, Benson & Hedges, Black-n-White, Cherry Blossom, Pall Mall, State Express,
Federal Express. Park Lane.

Even hybrid brand names have been used, especially in India to indicate the origin of the product
to a famous foreign one.
So, we have Maruti-Suzuki, Hero -Honda, Kawasaki- Bajaj, and BPL-Sanyo. Actully in the
last case both are foreign names, the BPL standing for British Physical Laboratories, a name the
company would rather not project since the stance of the organization is focused on consumer
durables rather than scientific products and the name Sanyo is a famous Japanese one.

Maruti Suzuki has adopted the umbrella branding strategy to enhance its business and
make his name globally in international market.

Some of the advantages and disadvantages that have faced by Maruti Suzuki by using umbrella
branding. These are:-

Advantages:-

 Umbrella branding makes it easy for company to enter the markets because of its already
existing reputation.

E.g:- Like Maruti Suzuki has a good reputation in the market. So it is easy for the
company to enter the new markets.

 It allows the core brand to be nurtured by association with products with which it was
previously associated.
 Appropriate when market operate at a higher level of aggregation.
 Capitalization on one single name and economies of scale on an international level.

Disadvantages:-

 Since many products have the common name, a debacle in one product category may
influence the products of the shared identity.
 These brands are difficult to stretch vertically.

For example, Maruti Suzuki attempt to go to the upper segment with its Baleno
range did not yield good results.

 An umbrella brand represents “many things about many products”, but in the age of
specialization what is needed is “everything of something”.
 Products are not insulated from one another. A great deal of caution is needed.

Maruti Suzuki uses the umbrella branding for the following reasons. These are as mentioned
below:-

 It is a useful tool to beat competition.

 It can reduce advertising expenses considerably as a single ad can show all the products.
 When the brand portfolio has identical brands, family branding/umbrella would be an
ideal strategy
 The rate of new launches can be the faster in umbrella branding, as the products are
identical sometimes, the R&D cost can be reduced.
I have also discussed also the product life cycle of the Maruti Suzuki. It is given below
with the help of diagram.
The BCG Matrix of Maruti Suzuki is explained below with the help of

diagram.
Star:-

The company has a long run opportunity for growth and profitability. They have
high relative share and high growth rate. SWIFT, SWIFT DESIRE AND ZEN
ESTILO is the fast growing and has potential to gain substantial profit in the
market.

Question Mark:-

New products with potential for success but there cash needs are high. And cash
generation is low. In auto industry of MARUTI SX4, GRAND VITARA,
ASTAR there has been improve the organization reputation.

As they want successful not only in Indian market but as well as in global market.

Cash Cow:-

It has high relative market share but compete in low growth rate as they generate
cash in excess of their needs. MARUTI 800, ALTO NAD WAGNOR have fallen
to ladder 3 & 4due to introduction of ZEN ESTAILO AND A STAR.

Dog:-
The dog has no market share and do not have potential to bring in much cash.
BALENO, OMNI, VERSA. There business has liquidated and trim down thus the
strategies thus the strategies adopted are that are harvest, divest and drop.

Swot Analysis of Maruti Suzuki:-

Strengths:-

 Established distribution and after sales network

 Understanding of the Indian Market Brand inage
 Experience and know how in technology
 Ability to design products with differentiating features.

Weaknesses:-

 Diseconomies of scale
 No online presence
 Not diversified
 Lack of experience with foreign market
 Heavy import tariff on fully built imported models

Opportunities:-

 Acquisition
 Innovation
 Online
 Product and services expansion
 Takeover
 Tax benefit

Threats:-
 Competition
 Cheaper technology
 External changes (govt, political, taxes, etc.)
 Lower cost competitors or imports
 Price wars
 Product substitution

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