Description
The report talks about the perception of various channel partners of the canon as a brand. It covers key parameters, perceptual mapping wrt to channel partners.
200 8
Perception of Canon among various channel partners
“Perception of Canon among various Channel Partners as a company, brand and product specification”
August, 2008
Contents
Contents................................................................................................................ 3 Abstract................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction........................................................................................................... 5 Objectives of the study..........................................................................................7 Research Methodology .........................................................................................8 Research Design.................................................................................................8 Research Target group....................................................................................8 Sample Size ................................................................................................8 Data Analysis...............................................................................................9 Method of calculating Satisfaction Index.......................................................10 Findings.............................................................................................................. 11 Perceptual Maps:................................................................................................. 15 Recommendations:..............................................................................................17 Conclusion:.......................................................................................................... 18
8.
Appendix.............................................................................................................20
Abstract
Canon India Pvt. Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd., is a world leader in imaging technologies. It markets a comprehensive range of sophisticated contemporary digital imaging products that include photocopiers, multi-functional peripherals, fax-machines, printers, scanners, All-in-ones, digital cameras, digital camcorders and multi media projectors. Canon is focusing on more initiatives towards channel relationship building, focused and localized advertising and promotion, participation in all major exhibitions, conducting road shows and trainings which would deliver us higher market shares and better partner relationships. For the same this research has been conducted to find the perception of various channel partners in terms of Canon as a company, as a brand and as product offerings and specification. This research was conducted in Ghaziabad and Noida region where Canon’s dealers were questioned on three different parameters Viz. Company, brand and product. They were asked to give ratings for various attributes for each parameter. With the help of SPSS, perception ratings were quantified into relative values which can be interpreted to get results. The results of research shows that in all three terms i.e. business term (company), brand and product features, Canon emerge as indisputable leader with clear high relative perception value among channel partners. Key performance Indicator which is combination of all three parameters also indicates the leadership of Canon. The research also indicates that dealers give very high importance to margins given by companies as it effects the perception about the company. In terms of brand perception, dealers relate their perception about brand with the customer traffic for that particular brand. Higher the customers for a particular brand, higher the perceived value for that brand among dealers. In terms of product features, dealers go for zoom and design as important factors for their perception about particular digital camera.
Introduction
Canon India Pvt. Ltd. is a 100% subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd., a world leader in imaging technologies. Set up in 1997, Canon India markets a comprehensive range of sophisticated contemporary digital imaging products that include photocopiers, multi-functional peripherals, fax-machines, printers, scanners, All-in-ones, digital cameras, digital camcorders and multi media projectors. The company today has offices in 7 cities across India and employs over 520 people. In 2007 Canon celebrated its 10th Anniversary of operations in India . As a part of these celebrations Canon worked on strengthening its brand in the country and ‘Indianising' the brand, which saw Canon embarking on many innovative and exciting programs to engage with customers, channel partners and employees. Canon embarked on the strategy of city focused campaigns. Towards that in the beginning of the year a program called ‘ Aamchi Mumbai' was launched in Mumbai with integrated approach of Above the line and Below the line aggressive marketing activities. Re-enforcing focus on Delhi, Canon launched specific marketing initiative called ‘Hamaari Delhi' . The company also launched campaigns designed to strengthen the Canon brand appeal using Sachin Tendulkar and rolled out new marketing campaigns customized for specific regions. These initiatives included regionalizing the campaign message and timing to cater to regional seasons like Onam in Kerala, Ganesh chaturthi in Mumbai, Durga Puja in Kolkata and Diwali in the rest of the country etc. Canon had an organizational strength of 400 employees in 2006. The number has expanded by 30% to 520 as of now. The company has plans to expand the organization size to over 700 by 2008 end.. The focus in 2008 would also be on more initiatives towards channel relationship building, focused and localized advertising and promotion, participation in all major exhibitions, conducting road shows and trainings which would deliver us higher market shares and better partner relationships. Canon presently has over 145 products offerings in India. Besides achieving No.1 market share in most product categories, we want to demonstrate that our people can reach the highest level of quality and customer satisfaction. Canon presently has over 145 products offerings in India. Besides achieving No.1 market share in most product categories, Canon wants to demonstrate that our people can reach the highest level of quality and customer satisfaction.
Competition in Digital Camera Segment: Canon has faced severe challenges in the digital cameras from the various competitors. The major challenge has been coming from the top players like Nikon Sony, Kodak, Fuji. In the past it has been observed that the supply chain has played a significant role in the success of the various organizations. Canon as a brand is perceived as high quality among the end customers. As has been mentioned in the company profile it is clearly mentioned that the quality and the service level are the parameters which drive the organization in the various segments. According to IDC, Canon India Pvt. Ltd. led the digital camera market in India with 24.5% market share, slightly ahead of Sony India Pvt. Ltd. (22.2%) and followed by Kodak India Ltd. (20.4%) in December 2007. This clearly shows that despite Canon is having a major market share there has been a tough competition posted by the various competitors. More and more consumers are going for quality and brand. Camera vendors are emphasizing on after-sales support and maintenance. Attractive promotional schemes, bundled offers and competitive pricing are also luring the customer. Manufacturers such as Sony, Canon, Kodak, Nikon India Pvt. Ltd. and Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. have significantly increased their product portfolio with India-specific pricing, introduced schemes and are concentrating on widening their retail presence across the country. Canon has already teamed up with 13 retail chains that operate 55 outlets across India for its digital cameras and plans to add more stores in 2009. It also expects to add seven more retail chains that will sell its cameras next year. About 15% of Canon’s digital camera revenue comes from such retailers, which the company hopes will double next year, even as revenue from its traditional sellers, photography shops, are likely to come down to 30% from 35% in 2008. Canon also plans to open 35 Digiclick stores by end of 2008. Sony India has a broad retail presence through 7,000 channel partners and 260 Sony outlets. Says Sachin Rai, product head of digital imaging at Sony India: “Our exclusive retail store network contributes 35% to our business and it has helped a lot towards narrowing the gap between the grey market and Sony’s organized market.” Sony also plans to add 35 stores by end of 2008. Sony introduced 17 digital cameras in 2007. All the mentioned functions clearly state that the market is highly competitive with the various companies trying to provide customers with innovative products, after sales services and by providing various schemes to the customers.
Objectives of the study
•
To obtain better understanding of trade customers leading to tailored Total Channel Offerings, specifically in: o Key drivers of dealer’s satisfaction
o
Their satisfaction with Canon's support versus those of competitors. The satisfaction has been determined by calculating the satisfaction index
o
Perceptual map on key attributes assessing canon’s perception w.r.t. competitor
Research Methodology
Research Design
We did quantitative face to face structured interviews [Refer Annexure 1] with the selected retailers. Information areas in the questionnaire included
•
Satisfaction of the dealer on business terms like credit terms, price protection, margin per camera etc with Canon versus defined competitive set.
•
Dealer’s image of brand Canon and product range offered w.r.t. competition.
Research Target group
An eligible dealer for the study should be stocking all the three brands mentioned below • • • Canon Olympus Sony
Market Coverage
Due to operational issues, the study was limited to Ghaziabad and Noida only
Sample Size
Due to small universe in the selected markets, we have tried to achieve 70% outlet coverage
Markets Ghaziabad Noida Total Sample Size 21 13 34
Data Analysis
The data analysis has been done on the consideration that overall satisfaction of the dealer with a particular manufacture would be based on perception on business terms, product specific and brand specific. We have used correlation to find out the impact on each of these on overall satisfaction. For a particular parameter, there are number of attributes that can affect the perception on that parameter. For example, performance on attributes like price perception, credit terms, price protection etc will impact the overall performance on business terms. We have used correlation to assess the impact of these individual attributes on the parameter under consideration.
Overall evaluation on business terms Price perception credit terms Price protection Volume-based incentives Order timeliness Order completeness Flexibility on min. order quantity requirement Frequency of rep visiting Account settlement timeliness Adequate margin Condition of products on arrival Uniformity of margins Marketing Initiatives & Incentives Frequency of trade promotion Frequency of Consumer Promotion Training Overall evaluation on training POSM/Brochure Overall evaluation on POSM/ Brochures
Overall evaluation of the brand Reliability Pioneer Innovativeness Technology Image Value for money Customer Traffic
Overall evaluation of the product range Quality of Mega Pixels/Lens Zoom - (both optical and digital) Weight of the dig cams Design and shape in term of sleekness Battery back up Color combination/graphics Convenience of use/user friendliness Size of Screen
Apart from assessing the importance of each attribute in overall satisfaction, we have also assessed cannon’s performance vis-a-vis defined competition. For this, we have calculated Satisfaction index for canon and competition.
Method of calculating Satisfaction Index
For assessing the performance of a particular company, the top two box score was taken i.e. percentage dealers who said “Excellent” or “V Good” to the performance of company on that particular attribute. For a given parameter, the top two box score was multiplied by the correlation factor weight of that attribute to arrive at the derived satisfaction with the parameter under consideration. This has been further explained with the help of following example
Example
Findings
Key Drivers of Satisfaction
1. In terms of company perception, margins emerge as most important factor for dealers followed by factors like minimum order requirement, frequency of representative visiting etc.
2. In terms of brand, dealers perceived customer traffic as most important driver
followed by value for money, reliability etc.
3. followed by design and convenience in use.
In terms of product perception, dealers give zoom the most important driver
Evaluation of Canon V/s Competitors
1.
In terms of the overall evaluation on business terms Canon India Limited is an indisputable leader. This means that the company holds a very good image in the eyes of the dealers and they want to be associated to Canon.
The closest competitor of Canon, as is visible, is Olympus, but the vast difference still makes Canon in comfortable position. The only factors where Olympus is better than Canon are the Price Perception, Credit terms and the timeliness of account settlement. Although these factors are weighted fairly by dealers but the most weighted factor of “Margin to dealers” is in favour of Canon.
2. The overall evaluation of the brand of Canon is again better than other brands
as is visible in the graph.
The Brand Canon is associated with Reliability and established Technology. It is also associated to innovativeness and the value for money. Sony is not far behind in the brand evaluation, but as of now Canon is well ahead. So Canon just needs to be watching Sony a bit more carefully than any other competitor.
3. An evaluation of the product range offered by Canon again indicates it’s better than other brand available in the market.
One of the most weighted factor is the Design and sleekness of the product where the Canon products do not fair very well compared to Olympus and Nikon. Also the Battery Back Up of Nikon is perceived better than Canon. So these are the sensitive areas where Canon need to be a bit more vigilant and has to make effort to improve upon them. But an overall view of the product of Canon is better than the competitors but this is the area where Canon has scope for major improvements.
4. Talking of Overall satisfaction with the manufacturer of the Channel
partners is highly inclined towards CANON India limited. This states that the partners are overall satisfied with the company and consider it better than its competitor brands.
Here “Key performance Indicator” is the combination of all the above three factors viz. the company name, Brand and the Technological image as per the weights given by the Channel Partners.
Perceptual Maps:
1. The perception of the company is very good compared to the competitors.
The overall satisfaction level of Canon is high and the company name is also perceived highly in the numeric terms. So the positioning with respect to satisfaction in company name is over all high-high. This is an indication of the professional behaviour of the company in terms of its creditworthiness.
2.
Th e
perception of the company is good in term of Brand and its overall performance. Here also Canon is placed as a highly satisfactory company with a very good Brand among the channel partners.
3. The positioning of the company in the mind of channel Partners in terms of the
satisfaction level and the Product features indicates again a high-high relationship. But here the company has to work on some features maintain the same high-high relationship.
Recommendations:
1. As per the feedback of the many retailers it was found that the frequency of
the representatives of the company is less or is absolutely absent. This is
truer in case of relatively smaller retailers. So some of the retailer’s inhibitions in their mind are not cleared out. Sending the company representatives shall provide retailers a psychological support. 2. To improve the company’s business terms, it is suggested to improve on the Price Perception, Credit terms and the timeliness of account settlement. These are the only points of concern shown by the dealers. 3. On the product feature front some of the concerns were raised about the product sleekness and the battery backup of the product. So it is suggested that the company work in this regard or/and clear the doubts of dealers of battery backup problem.
Conclusion:
Canon has emerges as indisputable leader with clear high relative perception value among channel partners in all parameters. Key performance Indicator which is
combination of all three parameters also indicates the leadership of Canon. All the dealers in Ghaziabad and Noida region perceived Canon as better company, brand and product offering than its competitors like Sony, Nikon, Olympus etc. Dealers give very high importance to margins given by companies as it effects the perception about the company. In terms of brand perception, dealers relate their perception about brand with the customer traffic for that particular brand. Higher the customers for a particular brand, higher the perceived value for that brand among dealers. In terms of product features, dealers go for zoom and design as important factors for their perception about particular digital camera.
1. Appendix
Questionnaire: This Questionnaire is being used for the Academic Research purpose. The research is being conducted by the students of Post Graduation
Diploma Management (PGDM) 2007-09 batch of the Institute of management Technology, Ghaziabad. All information given will be kept confidential. We thank you deeply for your time & support without which this research would not have been successful.
Excelle nt
Very good
5 4 3 2 1
Good Fair Poor
COMPANY Overall satisfaction with the manufacturer COMPANY SPECIFIC Overall evaluation on business terms Price perception credit terms Price protection Volume-based incentives Order timeliness Order completeness Flexibility on min. order quantity requirement Frequency of rep visiting Account settlement timeliness Adequate margin Condition of products on arrival Uniformity of margins Marketing Initiatives & Incentives Overall performance on marketing initiatives & incentives Frequency of trade promotion Frequency of Consumer Promotion Training Overall evaluation on training POSM/Brochure Overall evaluation on POSM/ Brochures COMPANY BRAND SPECIFIC Overall evaluation of the brand Reliability
Canon
Nikon
Sony
Canon
Nikon
Sony
Pioneer Innovativeness Technology Image Value for money Customer Traffic PRODUCT SPECIFIC Overall evaluation of the product range offered by the company Quality of Mega Pixels/Lens (for a given price range) Zoom - (both optical and digital) (for a given price range) Weight of the dig cams so that they are easy and convenient to use (for a given price range) Design and shape in term of sleekness Battery back up Color combination/graphics Convenience of use/user friendliness Size of Screen (for a given price range)
Key Performance Indicators
COMPANY KPI Overall evaluation on business terms Overall evaluation of the brand Overall evaluation of the product range offered by the company COMPANY SPECIFIC Overall evaluation on business terms Price perception credit terms Price protection Volume-based incentives Order timeliness Order completeness Flexibility on min. order quantity requirement Frequency of rep visiting Account settlement timeliness Adequate margin Condition of products on arrival Uniformity of margins Frequency of trade promotion Frequency of Consumer Promotion Overall evaluation on training Overall evaluation on POSM/ Brochures Overall evaluation of the brand Reliability Pioneer Innovativeness Technology Image Value for money Customer Traffic
Canon 74 65 79 76 65 40 47 60 33 93 80 73 60 80 73 93 93 27 47 27 80 79 85 77 73 71 74 87
Olympus S ony Nikon 46 48 51 46 26 41 37 63 50 66 52 70 46 67 67 33 33 67 33 67 50 83 33 67 67 0 17 0 77 37 17 33 50 33 67 24 26 38 19 17 25 58 42 25 33 42 8 58 33 17 25 0 68 63 81 69 67 58 33 72 41 41 25 23 25 66 63 38 42 50 50 88 38 25 13 0 71 50 63 50 63 63 38 38 70 83 67 75 75 75 63 63 63
Weights 0.33 0.47 0.2
0.05 0.08 0.04 0.05 0.03 0.04 0.10 0.09 0.08 0.21 0.05 0.03 0.08 0.05 0.03 0.02
0.19 0.10 0.12 0.15 0.20 0.24
Overall evaluation of the product range offered by the company 76 66 52 Quality of Mega Pixels/Lens (for a given price range) 87 50 42 Zoom (both optical and digital) (for a given price range) 87 67 58 Weight of the dig cams so that they are easy and convenient to use (for 93 a given price range)42 50 Design and shape in term of sleekness 53 67 50 Battery back up 73 33 33 Color combination/graphics 60 50 42 Convenience of use/user friendliness 93 83 58 Size of Screen (for a given price range) 87 83 50
0.13 0.27 0.01 0.26 0.00 0.11 0.17 0.05
doc_704062464.doc
The report talks about the perception of various channel partners of the canon as a brand. It covers key parameters, perceptual mapping wrt to channel partners.
200 8
Perception of Canon among various channel partners
“Perception of Canon among various Channel Partners as a company, brand and product specification”
August, 2008
Contents
Contents................................................................................................................ 3 Abstract................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction........................................................................................................... 5 Objectives of the study..........................................................................................7 Research Methodology .........................................................................................8 Research Design.................................................................................................8 Research Target group....................................................................................8 Sample Size ................................................................................................8 Data Analysis...............................................................................................9 Method of calculating Satisfaction Index.......................................................10 Findings.............................................................................................................. 11 Perceptual Maps:................................................................................................. 15 Recommendations:..............................................................................................17 Conclusion:.......................................................................................................... 18
8.
Appendix.............................................................................................................20
Abstract
Canon India Pvt. Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd., is a world leader in imaging technologies. It markets a comprehensive range of sophisticated contemporary digital imaging products that include photocopiers, multi-functional peripherals, fax-machines, printers, scanners, All-in-ones, digital cameras, digital camcorders and multi media projectors. Canon is focusing on more initiatives towards channel relationship building, focused and localized advertising and promotion, participation in all major exhibitions, conducting road shows and trainings which would deliver us higher market shares and better partner relationships. For the same this research has been conducted to find the perception of various channel partners in terms of Canon as a company, as a brand and as product offerings and specification. This research was conducted in Ghaziabad and Noida region where Canon’s dealers were questioned on three different parameters Viz. Company, brand and product. They were asked to give ratings for various attributes for each parameter. With the help of SPSS, perception ratings were quantified into relative values which can be interpreted to get results. The results of research shows that in all three terms i.e. business term (company), brand and product features, Canon emerge as indisputable leader with clear high relative perception value among channel partners. Key performance Indicator which is combination of all three parameters also indicates the leadership of Canon. The research also indicates that dealers give very high importance to margins given by companies as it effects the perception about the company. In terms of brand perception, dealers relate their perception about brand with the customer traffic for that particular brand. Higher the customers for a particular brand, higher the perceived value for that brand among dealers. In terms of product features, dealers go for zoom and design as important factors for their perception about particular digital camera.
Introduction
Canon India Pvt. Ltd. is a 100% subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd., a world leader in imaging technologies. Set up in 1997, Canon India markets a comprehensive range of sophisticated contemporary digital imaging products that include photocopiers, multi-functional peripherals, fax-machines, printers, scanners, All-in-ones, digital cameras, digital camcorders and multi media projectors. The company today has offices in 7 cities across India and employs over 520 people. In 2007 Canon celebrated its 10th Anniversary of operations in India . As a part of these celebrations Canon worked on strengthening its brand in the country and ‘Indianising' the brand, which saw Canon embarking on many innovative and exciting programs to engage with customers, channel partners and employees. Canon embarked on the strategy of city focused campaigns. Towards that in the beginning of the year a program called ‘ Aamchi Mumbai' was launched in Mumbai with integrated approach of Above the line and Below the line aggressive marketing activities. Re-enforcing focus on Delhi, Canon launched specific marketing initiative called ‘Hamaari Delhi' . The company also launched campaigns designed to strengthen the Canon brand appeal using Sachin Tendulkar and rolled out new marketing campaigns customized for specific regions. These initiatives included regionalizing the campaign message and timing to cater to regional seasons like Onam in Kerala, Ganesh chaturthi in Mumbai, Durga Puja in Kolkata and Diwali in the rest of the country etc. Canon had an organizational strength of 400 employees in 2006. The number has expanded by 30% to 520 as of now. The company has plans to expand the organization size to over 700 by 2008 end.. The focus in 2008 would also be on more initiatives towards channel relationship building, focused and localized advertising and promotion, participation in all major exhibitions, conducting road shows and trainings which would deliver us higher market shares and better partner relationships. Canon presently has over 145 products offerings in India. Besides achieving No.1 market share in most product categories, we want to demonstrate that our people can reach the highest level of quality and customer satisfaction. Canon presently has over 145 products offerings in India. Besides achieving No.1 market share in most product categories, Canon wants to demonstrate that our people can reach the highest level of quality and customer satisfaction.
Competition in Digital Camera Segment: Canon has faced severe challenges in the digital cameras from the various competitors. The major challenge has been coming from the top players like Nikon Sony, Kodak, Fuji. In the past it has been observed that the supply chain has played a significant role in the success of the various organizations. Canon as a brand is perceived as high quality among the end customers. As has been mentioned in the company profile it is clearly mentioned that the quality and the service level are the parameters which drive the organization in the various segments. According to IDC, Canon India Pvt. Ltd. led the digital camera market in India with 24.5% market share, slightly ahead of Sony India Pvt. Ltd. (22.2%) and followed by Kodak India Ltd. (20.4%) in December 2007. This clearly shows that despite Canon is having a major market share there has been a tough competition posted by the various competitors. More and more consumers are going for quality and brand. Camera vendors are emphasizing on after-sales support and maintenance. Attractive promotional schemes, bundled offers and competitive pricing are also luring the customer. Manufacturers such as Sony, Canon, Kodak, Nikon India Pvt. Ltd. and Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. have significantly increased their product portfolio with India-specific pricing, introduced schemes and are concentrating on widening their retail presence across the country. Canon has already teamed up with 13 retail chains that operate 55 outlets across India for its digital cameras and plans to add more stores in 2009. It also expects to add seven more retail chains that will sell its cameras next year. About 15% of Canon’s digital camera revenue comes from such retailers, which the company hopes will double next year, even as revenue from its traditional sellers, photography shops, are likely to come down to 30% from 35% in 2008. Canon also plans to open 35 Digiclick stores by end of 2008. Sony India has a broad retail presence through 7,000 channel partners and 260 Sony outlets. Says Sachin Rai, product head of digital imaging at Sony India: “Our exclusive retail store network contributes 35% to our business and it has helped a lot towards narrowing the gap between the grey market and Sony’s organized market.” Sony also plans to add 35 stores by end of 2008. Sony introduced 17 digital cameras in 2007. All the mentioned functions clearly state that the market is highly competitive with the various companies trying to provide customers with innovative products, after sales services and by providing various schemes to the customers.
Objectives of the study
•
To obtain better understanding of trade customers leading to tailored Total Channel Offerings, specifically in: o Key drivers of dealer’s satisfaction
o
Their satisfaction with Canon's support versus those of competitors. The satisfaction has been determined by calculating the satisfaction index
o
Perceptual map on key attributes assessing canon’s perception w.r.t. competitor
Research Methodology
Research Design
We did quantitative face to face structured interviews [Refer Annexure 1] with the selected retailers. Information areas in the questionnaire included
•
Satisfaction of the dealer on business terms like credit terms, price protection, margin per camera etc with Canon versus defined competitive set.
•
Dealer’s image of brand Canon and product range offered w.r.t. competition.
Research Target group
An eligible dealer for the study should be stocking all the three brands mentioned below • • • Canon Olympus Sony
Market Coverage
Due to operational issues, the study was limited to Ghaziabad and Noida only
Sample Size
Due to small universe in the selected markets, we have tried to achieve 70% outlet coverage
Markets Ghaziabad Noida Total Sample Size 21 13 34
Data Analysis
The data analysis has been done on the consideration that overall satisfaction of the dealer with a particular manufacture would be based on perception on business terms, product specific and brand specific. We have used correlation to find out the impact on each of these on overall satisfaction. For a particular parameter, there are number of attributes that can affect the perception on that parameter. For example, performance on attributes like price perception, credit terms, price protection etc will impact the overall performance on business terms. We have used correlation to assess the impact of these individual attributes on the parameter under consideration.
Overall evaluation on business terms Price perception credit terms Price protection Volume-based incentives Order timeliness Order completeness Flexibility on min. order quantity requirement Frequency of rep visiting Account settlement timeliness Adequate margin Condition of products on arrival Uniformity of margins Marketing Initiatives & Incentives Frequency of trade promotion Frequency of Consumer Promotion Training Overall evaluation on training POSM/Brochure Overall evaluation on POSM/ Brochures
Overall evaluation of the brand Reliability Pioneer Innovativeness Technology Image Value for money Customer Traffic
Overall evaluation of the product range Quality of Mega Pixels/Lens Zoom - (both optical and digital) Weight of the dig cams Design and shape in term of sleekness Battery back up Color combination/graphics Convenience of use/user friendliness Size of Screen
Apart from assessing the importance of each attribute in overall satisfaction, we have also assessed cannon’s performance vis-a-vis defined competition. For this, we have calculated Satisfaction index for canon and competition.
Method of calculating Satisfaction Index
For assessing the performance of a particular company, the top two box score was taken i.e. percentage dealers who said “Excellent” or “V Good” to the performance of company on that particular attribute. For a given parameter, the top two box score was multiplied by the correlation factor weight of that attribute to arrive at the derived satisfaction with the parameter under consideration. This has been further explained with the help of following example
Example
Findings
Key Drivers of Satisfaction
1. In terms of company perception, margins emerge as most important factor for dealers followed by factors like minimum order requirement, frequency of representative visiting etc.
2. In terms of brand, dealers perceived customer traffic as most important driver
followed by value for money, reliability etc.
3. followed by design and convenience in use.
In terms of product perception, dealers give zoom the most important driver
Evaluation of Canon V/s Competitors
1.
In terms of the overall evaluation on business terms Canon India Limited is an indisputable leader. This means that the company holds a very good image in the eyes of the dealers and they want to be associated to Canon.
The closest competitor of Canon, as is visible, is Olympus, but the vast difference still makes Canon in comfortable position. The only factors where Olympus is better than Canon are the Price Perception, Credit terms and the timeliness of account settlement. Although these factors are weighted fairly by dealers but the most weighted factor of “Margin to dealers” is in favour of Canon.
2. The overall evaluation of the brand of Canon is again better than other brands
as is visible in the graph.
The Brand Canon is associated with Reliability and established Technology. It is also associated to innovativeness and the value for money. Sony is not far behind in the brand evaluation, but as of now Canon is well ahead. So Canon just needs to be watching Sony a bit more carefully than any other competitor.
3. An evaluation of the product range offered by Canon again indicates it’s better than other brand available in the market.
One of the most weighted factor is the Design and sleekness of the product where the Canon products do not fair very well compared to Olympus and Nikon. Also the Battery Back Up of Nikon is perceived better than Canon. So these are the sensitive areas where Canon need to be a bit more vigilant and has to make effort to improve upon them. But an overall view of the product of Canon is better than the competitors but this is the area where Canon has scope for major improvements.
4. Talking of Overall satisfaction with the manufacturer of the Channel
partners is highly inclined towards CANON India limited. This states that the partners are overall satisfied with the company and consider it better than its competitor brands.
Here “Key performance Indicator” is the combination of all the above three factors viz. the company name, Brand and the Technological image as per the weights given by the Channel Partners.
Perceptual Maps:
1. The perception of the company is very good compared to the competitors.
The overall satisfaction level of Canon is high and the company name is also perceived highly in the numeric terms. So the positioning with respect to satisfaction in company name is over all high-high. This is an indication of the professional behaviour of the company in terms of its creditworthiness.
2.
Th e
perception of the company is good in term of Brand and its overall performance. Here also Canon is placed as a highly satisfactory company with a very good Brand among the channel partners.
3. The positioning of the company in the mind of channel Partners in terms of the
satisfaction level and the Product features indicates again a high-high relationship. But here the company has to work on some features maintain the same high-high relationship.
Recommendations:
1. As per the feedback of the many retailers it was found that the frequency of
the representatives of the company is less or is absolutely absent. This is
truer in case of relatively smaller retailers. So some of the retailer’s inhibitions in their mind are not cleared out. Sending the company representatives shall provide retailers a psychological support. 2. To improve the company’s business terms, it is suggested to improve on the Price Perception, Credit terms and the timeliness of account settlement. These are the only points of concern shown by the dealers. 3. On the product feature front some of the concerns were raised about the product sleekness and the battery backup of the product. So it is suggested that the company work in this regard or/and clear the doubts of dealers of battery backup problem.
Conclusion:
Canon has emerges as indisputable leader with clear high relative perception value among channel partners in all parameters. Key performance Indicator which is
combination of all three parameters also indicates the leadership of Canon. All the dealers in Ghaziabad and Noida region perceived Canon as better company, brand and product offering than its competitors like Sony, Nikon, Olympus etc. Dealers give very high importance to margins given by companies as it effects the perception about the company. In terms of brand perception, dealers relate their perception about brand with the customer traffic for that particular brand. Higher the customers for a particular brand, higher the perceived value for that brand among dealers. In terms of product features, dealers go for zoom and design as important factors for their perception about particular digital camera.
1. Appendix
Questionnaire: This Questionnaire is being used for the Academic Research purpose. The research is being conducted by the students of Post Graduation
Diploma Management (PGDM) 2007-09 batch of the Institute of management Technology, Ghaziabad. All information given will be kept confidential. We thank you deeply for your time & support without which this research would not have been successful.
Excelle nt
Very good
5 4 3 2 1
Good Fair Poor
COMPANY Overall satisfaction with the manufacturer COMPANY SPECIFIC Overall evaluation on business terms Price perception credit terms Price protection Volume-based incentives Order timeliness Order completeness Flexibility on min. order quantity requirement Frequency of rep visiting Account settlement timeliness Adequate margin Condition of products on arrival Uniformity of margins Marketing Initiatives & Incentives Overall performance on marketing initiatives & incentives Frequency of trade promotion Frequency of Consumer Promotion Training Overall evaluation on training POSM/Brochure Overall evaluation on POSM/ Brochures COMPANY BRAND SPECIFIC Overall evaluation of the brand Reliability
Canon
Nikon
Sony
Canon
Nikon
Sony
Pioneer Innovativeness Technology Image Value for money Customer Traffic PRODUCT SPECIFIC Overall evaluation of the product range offered by the company Quality of Mega Pixels/Lens (for a given price range) Zoom - (both optical and digital) (for a given price range) Weight of the dig cams so that they are easy and convenient to use (for a given price range) Design and shape in term of sleekness Battery back up Color combination/graphics Convenience of use/user friendliness Size of Screen (for a given price range)
Key Performance Indicators
COMPANY KPI Overall evaluation on business terms Overall evaluation of the brand Overall evaluation of the product range offered by the company COMPANY SPECIFIC Overall evaluation on business terms Price perception credit terms Price protection Volume-based incentives Order timeliness Order completeness Flexibility on min. order quantity requirement Frequency of rep visiting Account settlement timeliness Adequate margin Condition of products on arrival Uniformity of margins Frequency of trade promotion Frequency of Consumer Promotion Overall evaluation on training Overall evaluation on POSM/ Brochures Overall evaluation of the brand Reliability Pioneer Innovativeness Technology Image Value for money Customer Traffic
Canon 74 65 79 76 65 40 47 60 33 93 80 73 60 80 73 93 93 27 47 27 80 79 85 77 73 71 74 87
Olympus S ony Nikon 46 48 51 46 26 41 37 63 50 66 52 70 46 67 67 33 33 67 33 67 50 83 33 67 67 0 17 0 77 37 17 33 50 33 67 24 26 38 19 17 25 58 42 25 33 42 8 58 33 17 25 0 68 63 81 69 67 58 33 72 41 41 25 23 25 66 63 38 42 50 50 88 38 25 13 0 71 50 63 50 63 63 38 38 70 83 67 75 75 75 63 63 63
Weights 0.33 0.47 0.2
0.05 0.08 0.04 0.05 0.03 0.04 0.10 0.09 0.08 0.21 0.05 0.03 0.08 0.05 0.03 0.02
0.19 0.10 0.12 0.15 0.20 0.24
Overall evaluation of the product range offered by the company 76 66 52 Quality of Mega Pixels/Lens (for a given price range) 87 50 42 Zoom (both optical and digital) (for a given price range) 87 67 58 Weight of the dig cams so that they are easy and convenient to use (for 93 a given price range)42 50 Design and shape in term of sleekness 53 67 50 Battery back up 73 33 33 Color combination/graphics 60 50 42 Convenience of use/user friendliness 93 83 58 Size of Screen (for a given price range) 87 83 50
0.13 0.27 0.01 0.26 0.00 0.11 0.17 0.05
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