Marketing

Research Paper on Overall Snapshot of Electronics Market

Research Paper on Overall Snapshot of Electronics Market

An overall Snapshot of Electronics Market

Electronic goods/appliances market in Bangladesh has an outstanding potentiality to grow. In domestic or households sector the electronic appliances has become a need rather than a want. With the acceleration of economic activities, the investment from local and abroad has enhanced greatly. As a result the number of business entities has increased to a great extent. Here TEL (Transcom Electronics Limited) comes to play with its products for business purpose. TEL’s Institution Business Department is dedicated to those business house’s needs for electronic appliances. TEL is operating in many different industries and serving different clients. These clients o f corporate arena deserve some different treatment than that of the households. They are bulk buyers and demand for an extra something that will create a Win-Win deal for the both of the parties. Now, business houses buy electronics products for two basic reasons. One is for trade promotion. That counts consumer promotion campaign and dealer promotion both. The other one is for office, factory or other infrastructure facility use. When they buy it for trade promotion specially consumer promotion their motive is different than that of the office purpose purchase. Some cases they are extremely brand loyal, and to some cases they look for the cheapest product in the market. Thus it is a large growing market of more than five thousand crores taka. The evidence o f economic performance shows that it could grow up to thousand crore by the next decade.

Introduction

Transcom Group

Originated with tea plantation in 1885 and its today one o f the leading and fastest growing diversified business houses in Bangladesh. Employing over 5000 people .not many industrial groups in Bangladesh can claim a history of continuous business pursuits stretching back over 100 years. Initially tea and later jute formed the backbone of the family business. Although these are still part of the activities, they contribute marginally to the overall group turnover.

These early industrial ventures have moved over to businesses involved in high-tech manufacturing, international trading and distribution, forming strong ties with a host of blue chip multinational companies.

In recent years TRANSCOM has emerged as an increasingly significant media house in Bangladesh. Transcom Electronics is a business unit o f TRANSCOM group, which is one of the largest business groups in Bangladesh. TRANSCOM is also Franchise of PEPSI, Pizza Hut, Lays, and L’Oreal etc. The group had also acquired Smith Kline & French USA, in 1990. The other associates of TRANSCOM are leading English newspaper THE DAILY STAR and the largest circulated daily newspaper in the country PROTHOM ALO. Besides Transcom has Distribution setup called TRANSCOM DISTRIBUTION CO. LTD, The largest independent distribution setup in Bangladesh with full infrastructural facilities country wide network o f branch offices with warehouses and delivery vans.

SERVICE OFFERINGS

Bangladesh Lamps Ltd (BLL):

BLL is the pre-eminent manufacturer of electric light bulbs in the country. The company has an exclusive licensing agreement with PHILIPS electronics N.V. Holland, under which it manufactures Phillips lighting products.BLL was incorporated in 1960 as a subsidiary of Philips Holland in March 1993, Philips sold its entire shares to Transcom.

Bangladesh Electrical Industries Ltd(BEL):

BEIL is the official licensee o f Philips electronics N.V. Holland. . The company was incorporated in 1960 as a subsidiary o f Philips Holland .in inarch 1993; Philips sold its entire shares to Transcom.

Eskayef Bangladesh ltd:

The company which was incorporated in 1980 as a subsidiary o f smith Kline &French USA was acquired by Transcom in 1990

  • Expert formulation development
  • Exhaustive and valid testing
  • Highest standard of manufacture
  • Guarantee of quality
  • Chain of trust form product development to prescription.

Since its inception in 2001, animal health & nutrition division runs with the same motto “exclusive through quality”

  • Well equipped modern quality control laboratory
  • Foreign collaboration for highly technical products
  • Veterinary therapeutics and veterinary nutrition products for livestock, poultry and fish.

Transcom Distribution Co. Ltd (TDC)

TDC has the largest independent distribution setup in Bangladesh with full infra structural facilities provided by a countrywide network of branch offices with warehouses and delivery vans.

The company distributes quality pharmaceutical products manufactured by ORGANON, SERVIER, ESKAYEF and laboratory equipment and diagnostics reagents from BIOME’RIEUX and BECKMAN COULTER

TDC also markets and distributes color cosmetics, skin and hair care products from L’ORE’AL paris.MAYBELLINE New York and GARNIER .it also markets professional products sold exclusively through hair saloons under the brand name L ’Oreal PROFESSIONEEL.

TDC exclusively markets and distributes the world‘s no 1 potato chips LAYS and other salted snacks from Frito lay.

 

Transfin Trading Ltd

Transfin is the sole distributor of SANYO Japan, marketing refrigerators, freezers, microwave ovens, washing machines, airconditioners, Televisions etc.

Transcom Foods Ltd (TFL):

TFL is the franchisee of pizza hut and KFC for Bangladesh, both being the most popular brands of YUMI international with over 30000 restaurants worldwide.

Tea Holdings Ltd

THL is an exporter of Tea, Jute goods and Petroleum products. It is also involved in warehousing, import and sales o f agricultural commodities. It has been awarded the Presidents Export Trophy for outstanding export performance. The company markets and distributes phone and IT network components from KRONE Germany. The company represents VITOL Switzerland and Singapore for petroleum products.

Transcom Beverages Limited (TBL):

The company is the exclusive Pepsi franchisee for Bangladesh.TBL owns and operates modern plants in Dhaka, Chittagong and Bogra for bottling pepsi7up. Mountain dew Slice, Miranda and soda.

Beverage distribution limited is the distribution arm through which all Pepsi products are distributed all over Bangladesh.

Media Star Ltd:

Prothom Alo the largest circulated daily newspaper in the country has established itself as an independent and respected voice in the field o f journalism in Bangladesh.

Transcraft ltd:

A high speed, modern printing and packaging facility

Associations:

MED1AWORLD ltd

The daily star is the leading and most quoted English newspaper in Bangladesh. The company also published the Bengali Shaptahik2000 a quality political and current affairs weekly and Anondodhara the premier film and entertainment fortnightly.

Reliance insurances Ltd is also another associates of Transcom.

TRANSCOM ELECTRONICS LIMITED

Official licensee o f Philips Electronics, Holland

Sole Distributor of Whirlpool U.S.A.

Authorized Distributor of Changhong, China.

The company is the successor of Philips Bangladesh Ltd. The Mother Company is TRANSCOM and the Group employs over 5600 people with a turnover in excess of 5000 million taka yearly and operating since 1885. Our associate in Asia Pacific employs more than 8600 personnel. Our Principal Philips Electronics N.V. with their Head Quarters at Eindhoven have high growth and net turnover as audited is over 70000 million Dutch Guilders.

TRANSCOM Electronics Ltd. (TEL) is also holding Company o f two Manufacturing units called Bangladesh Electrical Industries Ltd. (BEIL) and Bangladesh Lamps Ltd. (BLL).BEIL has the official license to Manufacture/Assemble PHILIPS/CHANGHONG/WHIRLPOOL Products. BLL is the pre-eminent manufacturer o f electric light bulbs in the country. The company has an exclusive licensing agreement with PHILIPS Electronics N.V Holland, under which it manufactures PHILIPS lighting products.Transcom electronics Ltd. as one of the leading Electronics company in Bangladesh.Over the past ten years, has been manufacturing and importing a comprehensive range of electrical and electronics items, starting form light bulbs to batteries to high end electronics items such as Television, Refrigerator and Air-conditions, and successfully marketing them through 100 plus strong dealers and outlets all over the country. To provide consumers with better value for money in terms of quality, price and services, the company has tied up with a host of blue-chip multinational brands like PHILIPS, WHIRLPOOL and CHANGHONG. We have also launched our home brand “TRANSTEC” in different products categories to meet changing consumer preferences.lt is a professionally managed organization constituted by qualified engineers and technicians with extensive experience Sales and Marketing team as well as highly efficient service personnel to render prompt services to the valued customers.

Philips as a world leader in high end audio and visual items like PLASMA Monitor, Pixel Plus high definition Television, LCD Monitor and Projection Television take pride supply products to various international chain hotels in Asia and around the world including Singapore, Sri-lanka, Maldives, Combodia etc.

PHILIPS:

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (the ‘Company’ or ‘Royal Philips Electronics’) is the parent company o f the Philips Group (‘Philips’ or the ‘Group’). Its shares are listed on the stock markets o f Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange. For over 110 years Philips has been improving people’s lives with pioneering innovations.

In 1891 the Company was founded to manufacture cost-effective, reliable light bulbs. Today, Philips lights world-famous landmarks like the Pyramids of Giza, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball. The Company produced test television signals in 1925and demonstrated television to the public in 1928 21 years before the Dutch government officially introduced television to the public. In 1998, Philips acquired ATL Ultrasound, marking the beginning of a three-year acquisition period that made the Company one of the largest medical technology companies in the world.

In 2003, Philips was awarded the No. 1 ranking in its market sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. This reflects the Company’s world-class leadership in social, economic and environmental responsibility. Today, Philips is committed to building upon this heritage to improve the quality of life in the 21st century. Philips engages from time to time in cooperative activities with other companies. The performance of unconsolidated companies has a major impact on the performance of the Philips Group. Strategic alliances are also important to Philips In total, at the end o f 2005;

Philips had approximately 1 5 production sites in 2 countries, sales and service outlets in approximately 150 countries, and some 159,000 employees.

For over 110 years, since Philips’s founding as a manufacturer o f light bulbs in 1891, their technology has been simplifying and enriching people’s lives. Philips’s innovations have led to significant breakthroughs in, for example, medical imaging, television, lighting, optical technology and integrated circuits. Building upon this heritage, they remain committed to applying their understanding of how people interact with technology to deliver advanced yet user-friendly products and services that meet people’s everyday needs.

The company is the official licensee o f Philips electronics N.V. Holland for lighting products, radio and TV sets in Bangladesh. The lighting division distributes Philips lighting products to over 45,000 outlets all over the country through an exclusives dealer network .a separated professional lighting team handles energy saving ,special applications and sports lighting. The consumer electronics division distributes Philips televisions, radios, music systems and domestic appliances.

W HIRLPOOL

Since 1911, Whirlpool Corporation has grown from humble beginnings to a global enterprise with manufacturing locations on every major continent, 68,000 employees worldwide, and the leading brands in major home appliances. Whirlpool has grown to the leadership position within the global appliance industry thanks to a keen understanding of our customers’ needs and a firm commitment to addressing those requirements through our superb brands, products and services.

Whirlpool Corporation arrived in the new century and millennium as the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. Today, Whirlpool’s global platform provides our operations with resources and capabilities no other manufacturer can match and with brands that consumers trust.

Based on the continuing success of the company’s global innovation process, which began in 1999, Whirlpool has introduced unique product innovations to consumers worldwide. Over the last three years, Whirlpool has built and embedded within its global enterprise the skills and capabilities required to discover, develop and rapidly bring to market true innovation. These innovations are giving the company’s global brands a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace and creating value for customers, trade partners and shareholders.

Transcom is the authorized sole distributor in Bangladesh for whirlpool USA .the products includes refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, microwave ovens and other domestic’s appliances.

TRANSTEC:

To meet changing consumer preferences and to supply quality products in different market segments. TEL launched a new brand TRANSTEC for the Bangladesh market, under which it is marketing light bulbs, flourcents tube lights, dry cells batteries and other electrical accessory items.

THE PROJECT

Problem Statement:

“Transcom Electronics Ltd” is such a company, which mainly distributes different branded products such as Philips, Whirlpool, Transtec and Changhong in the country.

They also assemble the television parts in the country. The company has been doing business in the country for quite a while now but lately they have started a new segment in the business, which is Institution Business. The company has started this new venture about three years ago. Now it is down to the matter how large the market is? Is it likely to grow? What is the current situation?

Scone of the Study:

In a developing country like Bangladesh, all the companies that are distributing the electronic products are equal players. But some are more equal than others. The term paper will be intended to provide background information on electronic industries in Bangladesh; the focus will be on the products Television, Airconditioner, Refrigerator and light. The units or samoples of the study will be taken from the basic industries TEL is currently operating.

Objective of the Project:

The broad objective is –

“Overall snapshot of the electronics market”. This should be mentioned here that the research ios based on Dhaka region only. Due to time and resource constraint analyzing the whole Bangladesh is not possible. To successfully satisfy the broad objective, some specific objectives should be carried out. These are small queries and aggregation of those will answer the whole or broad query. The specific objectives are

  • To understand how institution business runs
  • To understand the market in terms of competition and major players
  • To understand the aptitude of buyers or the motivational factors that drive them most when bying a product
  • To find out the position o f Transcom products in the electronics market of institution business
  • To find out the size of the market
  • To find out the customers perception on transcom products
  • To find out the potential market that is yet un-served by Transcom Group.

Research Design:

To obtain the answer of questions, Descriptive Research Design has been selected. Descriptive Research has an important objective, gives description of something marketing characteristics of function (Malhotra, 2001) and also the description of phenomenon or characteristic associated with an object population (the who, what, when, where and how o f a topic, Copper, 2001)

Sampling Method:

Non-probability Sampling Procedure has been used. The sampling unit was selected through Judgmental Sampling where: the population element is purposely selected based on the judgment of the researcher (Malhotra, 2001) and Convenience Sampling where: the seclusion of the sampling unit is left primarily on the interviewer (Malhotra, 2001)

The reason behind choosing the Judgmental and Convenience Sampling are many but here most importantly, there are no appropriate structure or frameworks that can aid to select the sample. Father, these procedures are both time saving and inexpensive.

To investigate the seller (Dealer of Transom Electronics Limited) the Probability Sampling has been used. The Probability Sampling procedure is one where: each element of the population has a fixed probabilistic chance of being selected for the sample (Malhotra, 2001). The sampling unit has been selected through Simple Random Sampling, a probability sampling technique in which each element in the population has a known and equal probability of selection (Malhotra, 2001).

The reason behind choosing the Simple Random Sampling is there is a complete and arranged list of dealer for Transom Electronic Limited.

Research Instruments:

There was lack of secondary data to investigate the research questions. Questionnaire method was followed to collect the primary data. Two separate sets of questionnaire (provided and developed by the organization), One for the clients who use electronic products for office purpose and one for those who use these for trade promo.

I have also used some secondary data collected from different sources such as annual report, sales report, journal and textbook to explain the concept.

The Project and analysis

Chapter: Institution Business

What is Institution Business

Unlike other types of business Institution Business has its own type and fashion of earning profit for an organization. The term Institution Business means the business deals that take place in the corporate sector. Or more precisely business to business deal. TEL has its own setup for Corporate Sales. The job of this department is to engage in the sales of electronic goods for business entities. As for an example, TEL Corporate Sales Department supplies its’ electronic products to Unilever, Grameen Phone etc corporate houses. The concept of corporate sales are not as similar as those buys we often make for house holds. There are some significant characteristics. Like-

  • Large Buy: the first concept of corporate sale is large buy or the clients buy the product/s in bulk amount. The numbers of buyers in this sector is way lower than the whole population of the country. But in monetary terms the amount of purchase is very large.
  • Buyer-supplier relationship: this sort o f business is heavily dependent on the relationship or the magnitude of bonding with the buyer. Close bonding with the buyer promises long term business as a result continuation of profit over the years. Reputation of the company also plays a vital factor in this issue.
  • Fluctuating demand or seasonal demand: there are two reasons why business houses or large organizations buy electronics products. One is for their own use. That is known as Office Equipment Purchase. And the other one is called Trade Promotion Purchase. That is some companies (i.e- land properties) offer their customers as well as their dealer some sort of promotion. As for example during Eid many business companies offer their target group a promotion (i.e. – free electronic product for amount o f purchase of the original product, scratch card, raffle draw). These electronic products are bought by the business firms from electronic appliances suppliers like TEL. but this demand might not be there in the market for all the year round.
  • After sales service: it’s a very decisive concern o f the B2B market. The buyer who is making a purchase o f large amount o f money sure demand for highquality after sales service. After sales service means the warranty period, guaranty time & regulations, technical assistance availability etc.
  • Discount: in general purchase (house holds, for limited numbers o f items) we encounter the showroom price or retail price. But those who purchase those items in large amounts deserve special discounts. So the unit price of a corporate sale is significantly lower than the RSP. Sometimes when several companies fight for the same deal to a specific buyer, discount percentage becomes motivating factor for the actual purchase.
  • Inelastic Demand: the need for electronic good is inelastic. A person who makes decision for households might not buy an electronic appliance if the price changes or might go for cheaper product (i.e. – low end TV instead of high-end). But for corporate buyers price change is not a factor. They will have to buy the electric appliances, for instance- lights, AC, for their business infrastructure. As for high end or expensive or high-tech products, corporate buyers are less concerned about price than quality. They will make the purchase if they realize the need for the product for the betterment of their business.

Transcom Electronics’ IBP:

The history o f Transcom electronics’ Institution Business Department is not long stretched. It started only three years ago but already started to contribute up to 30% in the company’s total sales revenue. It consists with 6 sales people who are responsible for yearly sales target and one manager to overlook them. Transcom has developed its own software that aids the process of sale to a great extent. It consist the Invoice window, the Stock situation, record of previous sales, total outstanding, amount paid and to be paid etc. the buy sell mechanism is like this.

  1. The buyer company asks for quotations(price list with discount for a specific product)
  2. The sales person submits a quotation checking his stock situation. He will offer the best available product at the best reduced price
  3. Acceptance of the quotation and the sales person or engineer visits the sight for suggestion over the purchase.
  4. the deal is signed with work order form
  5. Start o f work or installation of electronic goods and a basic down payment is done by the buyer.

PHILIPS

  • Colour TV: (14”, 21”, 21” Flat, 29” Flat 50Hz, 29” Flat 100 Hz, 29” Pixel Plus, 34” Pixel Plus, Projection TV, LCD TV, Plasma TV)
  • DVD Players & DVD Recorders
  • Home Theater System
  • Audio Players (RCR, CD Micro System, VCD Mini System, DVD Mini System)
  • DAP (Blenders, Sandwich Maker, Coffee Maker, Rice Cookers, Grill/Baking Ovens, Toasters, Iron, Vacuum Cleaners, Shavers, Hair Trimmer, Epilator, Infraphil Lamp)

 

Whirlpool

  • Refrigerator.
  • Freezer (Chest & Upright).
  • Washing Machine.
  • Microwave Oven.
  • Air Conditioner (Window & Split).
  • Gas Cookers & Cooker Hoods.

Changhong

  • 14” CTV.
  • 21” CTV.
  • 21” Flat TV.
  • 29” CTV.
  • 29” Flat TV.
  • 43” Projection TV.

 

Transtec

  • Air-condition:
  • Refrigerator
  • Ceiling Fan
  • Table Fan
  • Electric Bulb
  • Battery.

Critical observation:

  • The department is understaffed. If they want to catch up the bigger market or sustain in longer run they need more sales people for concentrating into the new segments of the market.
  • Not enough information available to the employees. Internet access is limited so they have to heavily depend on the other sources of information. Sometimes the process is slow.
  • Stock shortage. Often for reducing the overhead cost stocks are maintained to a minimal level. This might be dangerous because a they might loose business to other competitors. If a client is looking for 2 ton AC and does not find it in Transcom, he will leave and end up in buying other company’s product. In long run it could be harmful. Slightly higher malignance cost is better than loosing a client.

Analysis from the result & discussion:

  • Panasonic is undoubtedly the cutting larger piece from the market than any other competitors in the TV market. There is a reason o f highly appraised by those who used Panasonic and suggest them to others. So here Panasonic earns a strong referral advantage and price is reasonably low.
  • In the TV market 21 inch is most popular because o f its low price, high satisfaction and low risk factor. High end TV has not yet been very popular among the business entities. The high cost also attaches high risk with the purchase. The interviews during the questionnaire present the proof that some of the business organizations are actually waiting and watch others buy the product. They are more risk averse people who will wait to see the impact of High End TV in the market and among their customers. They will go for an actual purchase if they find it really lucrative decision.
  • The market o f AC is very fierce. The impact o f Chinese brands is very hefty in the current situation. Cost cutting is one objective o f all business organizations. For low cost factor Chinese brands are often taking business away from Transcom.
  • For offices (open spaces) split and cassette type is most popular. For closed office there is huge demand for 1 to 2.5 tons o f split ACs.
  • When comes to the matter of lights TEL has something to be happy about.

Philips is undeniably the market leader and it has a very strong brand image among the customers. But TEL should be cautious about the competitors. Brands like OSRAM and Energy Pac has become really famous and in a very short span o f time.

  • People don’t usually change products like TV, AC in business organizations. It’s because o f the high cost involvement factor in the matter. For TV the average is 5-6 years and for AC its’ 5 years. So, them who have purchased large amount o f TV/AC are not likely to buy any o f those within 3-5 years.
  • The buying behavior o f Institutions is associated with some characteristics of the product. For TV longevity, picture quality, after sales service and brand reputation is most important. For AC its cooling ability & electricity consumption, longevity, and after sales is most important.. For both o f the products longevity is important because o f the same reason. For lights safety and longevity is most important. Its understandable that bulk amount of purchase deserves some extra security for buyers. That’s why they ask for special after sales treatment, like 24 hours servicing. And that is also why for every purchase they look for more long lasting products.
  • A significant numbers of respondents have agreed the purchasing expenditure has increased. It shows that they have done some business expansion activity, if 50% o f the respondents have expanded their business, it also indicates the other un served firms has also increased their expenditure on electronic product due to business expansion to keep up in the competition.
  • For future buying behavior most purchase managers has shown loyalty to SONY for TV. PANASONIC & PHILIPS is also in their list. For AC National, Gree, General and Samsung has beaten Whirlpool by far.
  • Every one surveyed/interviewed is quite happy with the current product. It means they might stay with the old brand if the competitors do not offer any thing strong.
  • For high end TV large numbers o f managers are confused and decent number of managers will not purchase recently (within 1 year). Its because they are not well attended with the product trend, feature, advantages etc.

Analysis from the result & discussion

  • From the interview it’s understood that, consumer promotion and for dealer promotion both cell phone, TV, Fridge is most popular. AC is especially popular for dealer promotions.
  • Those who offer for trade promo is mostly for whole country. If not then its scattered. But if it is for the whole country they deal with more than 1.5 crore of the population in average. That is a huge market to be satisfied.
  • Most o f the companies spend up to 5-lakh taka in average per month. This in turn cost them more than 50 lakhs a year. Some o f the companies (like Bashundhara properties) spend more than 2 crore a year.
  • Most o f them do this business on a just in time basis. That is they don’t warehouse the trade promo products on their own but receives it through work order in a short period o f time. So it’s very crucial for Transcom to keep up with the current demand and keep their inventory ready for any short notice.
  • For cell phones moderately cheap, low-tech phone is most popular. Its because o f the cost saving behavior o f the business firms. But some o f the firms (like- some firms in the media industry and telecom industry) like to offer their customers expensive & high tech phone. They want to build some sort o f good image among their customers. It’s important to find which client look for prestige and who looks for cost efficiency. No matter what they want according to the characteristics, but most o f the managers prefer NOKIA.
  • Low end TV is most famous in this industry. It’s because o f the same cost efficiency factor. For AC its surprisingly has to be good quality product. Its maybe they want to keep their dealers happy about them. 1-1.5 tons AC is mostly demanded.
  • When it comes down to refrigerator, there is some decent demand for high tech high quality product. But most o f them want to go for average type less complex and high compressor warranted product
  • For IT, MP3 and DVD there is an equal demand for high quality-expensive and low quality-inexpensive products. This depends on the ability o f the firm and as well as the firm’s philosophy toward their customer. Those who are less capable also offer trade promo with less expensive product to keep up with the competition.
  • Most firms have spent 30-40 lakhs o f taka on trade promo sector. And average firm’s expenditure has increased up to 40%. This is the cause o f fierce competition going on all around the economy. The more competition they face the more need for electronic goods in the market exist.
  • About the strategy for choosing trade promo most o f the firms is determined to choose the most demanded or popular product.(i.e. apple iPOD). And the seasonal need is also a factor here. Like during Eid the demand for refrigerator increases.

THE ELECTRONICS MARKET & TRANSCOM ELECTRONICS LIMITED

The electronics market in Bangladesh is an ever rising industry. The appropriate market size has never been determined as its ever changing. The whole market can be separated into several parts like:

  • Semiconductor market
  • Electronic appliances market
  • Raw materials and spare parts market
  • IT market

The Market Size

These again parted into two basic parts. The industrial market (that also counts the B2B and factory facilities), and households market. The income generation of Bangladesh over the year is rising. Currently, according to, world banks’ “publication of statistical facts- Bangladesh 2005” states that the FDI and increased investment in the fast growing sector has reduced the rate o f unemployment drastically over the years.

This is an evident that the increased earning population has also an impact on the buying behavior. A middle and upper middle class has emerged and reached to a certain profitable level that it is attractive for the importers. Bangladesh Bank who is the governing bank o f Bangladesh had the records o f imports over the years. The import o f electronic appliances has increased over the years and with the increment of total income generating population.

Recommendation from the result of the questionnaire of “Office Purpose Purchase”:

Here are the recommendations for the questionnaire of “Office Purpose Purchase”

  • A through study should be done on the success story on Panasonic TV. The reasons should be analyzed to find out the strength of Panasonic and find out the weaknesses o f Philips.
  • 21 inches are the most popular size o f TV in the market. It is advisable that TEL should keep a good stock o f 21 inches all the time.
  • In the market o f non-brand/ Chinese TV, Changhong will not have any hope if they are kept a low profile. It is strongly recommended that Changhong should be promoted to the target group as an “Affordable TV with excellent performance” . There should be extensive ad campaign dedicated only for CHANHONG.
  • The recommendation for CHANGHONG is same for TEL’s AC Transtec. Transtec is a slow mover in the market and the mass population should immediately be informed about it. If it could put positive imapact on the large population it will have its ultimate on the corporate sector too. Road banner, billboards, web site advertisement could do the trick.
  • About Philips lights, the company should pay constant attention. Transcom has to realize that this particular is cash cow for them and they should try to do any thing required to retain the market share.
  • TEL’s executives should constantly run an industry all-round the year to find out more new clients and to evaluate themselves with the current ratio of operation percentage. Its necessary because after a large buy most customers become inactive for a specific span of time. With keeping good relationship with them they also should seek new customer base in new unserved industries. The industry analysis will also help them to find out the clients who are planning for or already started the process o f expansion.
  • Since its an evident that for every type o f product (be it AC, TV, Fridge, Lights) the 3 criteria are most important to the clients (longevity, after sales service and quality), the ad campaigns and promotions taken by TEL should emphasize on these factors. The employees should be given extensive training on the product presentation regarding these factors and on Client Relationship Management (CRM).
  • For high end TV there are numbers o f recommendations. One, it should be promoted as a business necessity. It should be promoted in such a way that clients will find it find it a prestige product which is also necessary for being competitive now a days. Two, the appropriate client list should be made for Plasma TV. Every firm is not capable of buying those. Those customers should be attended personally and there should be a brief, professional presentation ready for the product. Follow up calls/meet up is really important after the first meeting. Three, to some extent product demonstration in a public place can help to get the customers attention.

Here are the recommendations for the questionnaire “Trade Promotion Purchase”

  • It’s found out in the process o f survey that cell phone is one o f the most popular products for trade promo. This is high time for Transcoin to nourish its’ Philips brand mobile set.
  • Whirlpool refrigerator already has earned a known entity in the market because o f the Indian ads shown in the cable channels. Institution Business Department should take initiative to introduce other unknown products of Philips&whirlpool and develop them as a strong product for Trade promotion.

This could be done through the help o f marketing campaign. If the products are targeted toward the mass population and created a demand in the general crowd, the corporate demand for the same product will be derived from the same population demand. If the organizations realize there is a want for the particular product from whirlpool or Philips, they will prefer the product for their consumer /dealer promotion.

  • High end TV should be promoted as a “Most cherished desire by your customers” . Thus it would be able to attract it self for the trade promo.
  • TEL could develop a channel network with their existing clients. Those who have taken their product already will refer others to take TELs’ product. Thus the customers would become the temporary agent for TEL. In return, if the client is able to bring an actual business, the firm will be awarded a certain amount price discount in their next deal with TEL. If they are able to bring several good deals for Transcom, they will become premium client and will be treated specially other than the regular customer (i.e.- life long servicing, gifts etc).