CHAPTER 1

COMPANY PROFILE

OVERVIEW OF INDUSTRY
MEANING OF FASTENERS AND TYPES
A Fastener is a broad term for nut, bolt & screws. It is an alternate of welding and
riveting. Fasteners can be classifying broadly into two categories:1. Depending on their tensile
2. Mild steel (MS) & high tensile fasteners.

USES
Mild steel fasteners are used in general application & produced by the SSI &
unorganized sector.
On the other trend (HT) fasteners that are relatively technology advance, are
manufactured by organized sector.
In India fasteners are used in textile, machine tools, pumps automobiles & general
engineering largest consumer 50% HT fasteners.

MAJOR MANUFACTURES
In India there are 4 major players in fasteners industries:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Sundaram fasteners
Sterling tools
Precision fasteners
LPS

A Sundaram fastener Industries (SFI) is a leader of automotive fasteners. While,

Precision fasteners limited (PFL) leads in industrial fasteners. Both are trying to enter
in each other segment industry.

IMPROVED INPUT FRONT

2

Until a few years ago producer of HT fasteners had to input as much as 60% of their
Raw Material like careful steel & cold heading quality steel due to poor quality. But
availability of good steels in India also has changed the scenario. Now days Bihar
alloys, Shree SR alloys, Steel Authority of India Ltd. Salam Steel Corporation are
producing the special steel for fasteners.
The automobile boom is the major reason for continuous growth of fasteners Industry
because the total sale of automobile ( Passenger cars, 2&3 wheelers, multi utility
vehicles, sport utility vehicles) has achieved the total figure of 10 lacks figures and
commercial vehicles sales has also earned a growth of continuous increase in total
sale.
The engineering segment has also registered 25% growth, which is also a major
consumer or fasteners.

PRODUCTION
Near about 200000 metric ton of fasteners are being produced by the various fasteners
manufactures in organized and unorganized sector.
Sundaram fastener is the largest manufacturer of HT fasteners. Which produce
approximately 48000 metric tons of high quality HT fasteners and it crossed the sales
figure of Rs. 800 crore in year 2000-2001.
Precision fasteners also has done well. Its sales went up 32% to Rs. 215 crore in
2000-2001.
LPS has also come in a long way. It crossed the 4475 tones mark of production in
2000-2001 years and total sales of 8640 lack.

EXPORT OPPORTUNITY
The concept of outsourcing fasteners is undergoing a sea change globally. Auto giants
around the world have identified countries to buy a particular component depending
upon technology and cost. Arun Sharma, president of PFL explains India has very
good scope in this globalize purchase and many auto giants are looking at India as a
sourcing lease.

Quality is an important factor in export but not the only criterion: what is more
important is timely deliveries and after sales service through there is a vast potential
to export fasteners to DEMs abroad. It has not been exploited due to difficulties in
setting up service points near each of the DEM manufacture. Hence the domestic
producer for a abroad is limited to the replacement market.
To the successful in exports, Indian companies dont require foreign technical
collaboration, as a fastener is not a very high-tech item. What is required is a foreign
tie up for marketing and after sales service. This is evident from the fact that recently
the market leader, Sundaram fastener tied up with Kamax were Rudolf Kellies,
Germany for marketing. As India prepares to join the international economic main
streams, there will be many such tie-ups.

CHAPTER 2
COMPANY PROFILE

LAKSHMI PRECISION SCREWS LTD.

46/1 MILE STONE, HISSAR ROAD
ROHTAK-124001, HARYANA
Tel.: +91-1262-248288/248289/249920/249921
Fax.: +91-1262-248297/249922
Email: corp_aff@lpsboi.com /mktg@lpsboi.com
Website: www.lpsindia.com

INTRODUCTION

Founded in March 1972, LAKSHMI PRECISION SCREWS LTD is

one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of High Tensile Fasteners
such as Bolts, Screws, Nuts and similar parts for Automobile and other
Industrial Sectors.
We have grown steadily over the past 32 years on the strength of our inhouse technological developments and innovations coupled with our
reputation as the company with strong commitment to customer
satisfaction and quality improvement.
We understand what we have to do for our customers. We assure that we
will do our best to make our products safe and reliable for our
customers assembly line.
We promise to improve our products to meet the ever-increasing
expectations of our customers and are always obliged for their
continued guidance and patronage.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Founded in March 1972, LAKSHMI PRECISION SCREWS LTD is one of the
leading manufacturers and suppliers of High Tensile Fasteners such as Bolts, Screws,
Nuts and similar parts for Automobile and other Industrial Sectors.
The project is designed to an overview of marketing management, marketing is an
important term because it may be defined as those assets which will sell in future for
the smooth and normal course of business operations. These assets may be in raw
material, work in progress, finished goods.
In this project of Descriptive research design and data are collected from secondary as
well as primary source of findings the data.
Objectives of my project are to find efficient and effective control on the inventories.
Findings of my project are: The Company has managed its marketing functions in a very efficient
manner.
The Company is investing appropriate working capital in stock.
The Company is having a long conversion period which means that
Company is using longer period to sell the Stock.
In the present time the economy worldwide is facing recession. There are only a very
few companies which are showing growths and L.P.S. LTD is one of them.

The Board of Directors of the Company

comprises of:
Mr. Lalit Kumar Jain (Chairman & Managing Director)
Mr. Dinesh Kumar Jain (Vice Chairman & Managing Director)
Mr. Vijay Kumar Jain (Whole Time Director)
Mr. Rajesh Jain (Non - Executive Director )
Smt. Sushila Devi Jain (Non - Executive Director)
Mr. Jamshedji Rustomji Desai (Non - Executive Independent Director)
Mr. Babulal S. Aggarwal (Non - Executive Independent Director)
Mr. Keshwa Nand Rattan (Non - Executive Independent Director)
Dr. Dharmendra Bhandari (Non - Executive Independent Director - ICICI- Nominee)
Mr. Dipak Jain (Non - Executive Independent Director)

AGM (FINANCE) & COMPANY SECRETARY

H.P.S. Chugh

AUDITORS
N.G. Gupta & Co.
Charted Accountants
Delhi

BANKER
CANARA BANK

Regd. Office Factory & Corporate Office

46/1, Mile Stone,
Hissar Road,
Rohtak 124001 (HARYANA)
Tel. : 01262-48790 & 48287
Fax. : 01262-4829
9

LAKSHMI PRECISION SCREWS LTD

1) Name of the Company

2) Founded on

3) Head Office & Factory

LAKSHMI PRECISION SCREWS LTD.

March 10, 1972

46/1, Mile Stone

Rohtak - 124 001
Haryana (India)

4) Chairman & Managing Director

5) Total Assets

Lalit Kumar Jain

978 Mill. INR (March 2004)

($19 Million)

7) Annual Sales

1123 Mill. INR (March 2004)

($24 Million)

10

VISION:

Be recognised as the best and preferred suppliers of National / International

Standard.

MOTTO:
Total customer satisfaction and market leadership.

TARGET:
Annual growth rate of 30% of which export should contribute up to 50%

PLAN:
Continuous up gradation of process and technology and development of new
products.

FUNCTION:
System oriented approach.

PEOPLE:
The driving force behind it.

IMAGE:
To build up a high degree of customer confidence by sustaining international
standards of excellence in product quality, performance and service. To fulfil the
expectations which shareholders, employees, customers and country have from LPS.

11

MISSION: To be a growth oriented professional company promoting high standards of

business ethics and producing best quality products thereby achieving
international standard of excellence.
To establish a strong R & D facility to fulfil the demand of the automotive
industry as comprehensively as possible.

To make each member of the company feel proud and empowered by fostering
a culture of participation and innovation.
To strive for reduction in defects and achieve six sigma and beyond so as to
make quality a way of life in LPS.

To reduce cycle time in all processes as a step toward overall improvement.

To provide prompt and excellence service to customer anywhere in the world.
To maximise shareholders wealth.

OBJECTIVES OF LPS
12

BUSINESS MISSION:To achieve and maintain a leading position as supplier of quality (precision) fasteners
and to serve the national and international market in the field of fasteners

GROWTH:To ensure a steady growth in business to as to fulfil national expectation and expand

PROFITABILITY:To provide a reasonable and adequate return on capital employed primarily through
improvements in operational efficiency, capacity utilization and producing &
generating efficiency, capacity utilization and producing & generating adequate
internal resource to finance the companys growth.

COMPANY ORGANISATION
13

Board of Directors

Chairman & Managing Director

Quality Management
Corporate Strategy

Marketing R&D

Figure 2.1

DEPARTMENTS:The company has

departments:1. Human resource
administration

Planning
C P
E L
N A
T N
R N
A I
L N
P G
P
R
O
D
U
C
T
I
O
N

Production QA

General

H
R
D

following

different

development-Personnel

2. Design
3. Research and development
4. Laboratory
14

and

E
D
P

5. Tool room and CNC (Computerized Numerically Controlled)

6. GDC (Gravity die casting)
7. Shell core
8. PDC(Pressure Die Casting)
9. Alloy shop
10. Machine shop
11. Quality Assurance(Q.A.)
12. Utility
13. Materials and Purchases
14. Finance, Accounts and Secretarial

HISTORY:-

1959

Established Nav Bharat Industries as small parts manufacturer.

1972

Established Lakshmi Precision Screws Private Ltd as Socket Head

Screw Manufacturer.

1973

Technical tie-up with the German firm M/s Richard Bergner.

1977

Acknowledged quality source of fastener.

15

1978

Technical tie-up with M/s Richard Bergner expires.

1983

Secured self certification status from FORD.

1984

Declared Public Limited Company.

1986

Secured self certification status from M/s Lakshmi Machine Works.

1988

Established as manufacturer-exporter.

1991

Received Regional Export Award from Engineering Export Promotion

Council, (EEPC) India.

1992

Received Regional Export Award from EEPC for the second

Consecutive year.
1993

Received Regional Export Award from EEPC for the third consecutive
year.

1993

Established Plant - II.

1994

Received Employment Generation Award from Director of Industries,

Haryana State.
1995

Accredited in Mechanical & Chemical Testing by A2LA, USA to meet

Fastener Quality
Act of US.
1995

Accredited in Mechanical Measurement, Mechanical & Chemical

Testing by National Accreditation Board for Calibration & Testing
Laboratories (NABL). Government of India.
16

1996

Certified to ISO-9002.

Installed Bolt Maker (AF 2525) to add production capacity

to 12200 MT.

Self Certification status from TELCO.

Technical Tie-up with Sunil Machinery Corporation, Korea.

Joint Venture with Bossard AG-Switzerland.

Licensed Manufacturers of TORX Screw from Camcar Co.

USA.

2001

QS 9000 Certification.

ISO/TS-16949 Certification.
ISO-14001 Certification.

2002

2006

Implemented ERPSAP R/3.

Golden Peacock Award.

Approved Volvo Global Suppliers.

17

MAIN PRODUCTS:Division

Products
Precision Cold Forming parts for Automobile
Engine Parts ( Con Rod, Cylinder Studs,
Bolts & Nuts
for

Counter Weights, Cylinder Head, Rocker Arm, Engine Mounting, Main Bearing etc.)
Chassis Parts (Wheel Bolts, Wheel Hub Bolts & Nuts, Axle Bolts/Pin, Flanged Bolts,
Collar Bolt, Shock Absorber Mounting Pins etc.)

Automobiles

FASTENERS

Washer Assemblies Bolts

The other critical & safety parts bolts
Construction parts (Friction Grip)
Bolts & Nuts for Agriculture Industry
Bolts & Nuts for Industrial Machinery
Cold formed parts for Automobile (Piston Pins, Switch Body, Ball Joints, Gear Blanks, Rocket Shaft, Ball Pins,
Plunger etc.)

18

Pins for Hydraulics & Pumps

Bolt for Refrigeration Compressor
Friction Grip Bolts & Nuts for Construction Industry
Socket Head Cap Screw
Low Head Socket Bolt
Shoulder Bolt
Button Head
CSK
Standard
Set Screws
Fasteners
Hex Wrench Keys
Hex Head Bolt
Dovel Pin
Nuts
Friction Grip Bolts
Track Shoe Bolts
Stainless Steel Hex Head
Stainless Steel Socket Head Cap Screws

Figure- 2.2
ACHIEVEMENTS: An ISO 9001: 2000 certified organization for quality management.
An ISO 14001: 1996 certified organization for environment management
system.
An ISO/TS 16949: 2002 certified organization for product design and
development.
Extended business to new horizon of the world.
Getting order from Maruti and Suzuki in this financial year.
The equity share of LPS is listed in Delhi and Mumbai Stock Exchange.
The turnover of company has increased by 25% with export sales charting an increase
of 30%. The net profit and earning per share has increased by amazing 95% in the
current year

GROWTH IN PRODUCTION & SALES

YEAR/SECTION

09-10

10-11

11-12

12-13

13-14

14-15

15-16

PRODUCTION, TONNES

6529

6385

5753

5607

6656

6165

6424

PER YEAR

19

SALES, MILLIONS INR

735

691

684

706

816

834

816

DOMESTIC MILLIONS INR

440

403

335

358

439

472

508

EXPORT MILLIONS INR

295

288

348

348

378

362

308

(TOTAL)

Table 1

CERTIFICATES
1. NABL
2. ISO/TS 16494
3. ISO 14001
4. Volvo Global Supplier Certificate

LAKSHMI PRECISION SCREWS LIMITED

HEAD OFFICE & FACTORY
46/1, MILE STONE, HISSAR ROAD,
ROHTAK-124 001, HARYANA (INDIA)
Tel.: +91-1262-248288/248289/249920/249921
Fax : +91-1262-248297/249922
Email : corp_aff@lpsboi.com;mktg@lpsboi.com,
20

SWOT ANALYSIS:STRENGTHS:1.

Excellent R&D Centre.

2.

Highly modern production facilities.

3.

Established good industrial relations.

4.

Track record of growth in turnover & profits.

5.

Superior quality.

6.

Innovation.

7.

Major company in fasteners producing in India.

8.

Quality management system.

9.

It applied performance management system

WEAKNESS:1.

A major part of sales goes to Group Companies. So it depends upon

them.

2.

It is producing industrial products so individual customer have no

awareness about this company.

3.

There is more competition in market, LPS is not focusing on social

media marketing properly which decline its ratings.

21

OPPORTUNITIES:1.

It can lead India as Biggest manufacturer of fasteners in 21stcentury.

2.

Potential to become a sourcing centre.

3.

Large global market.

4.

To develop marketing strategies to further add new customer in its existing

list with the invention of marketing department.

THREATS:1.

Threats from their competitor like Sundram Automobile.

2.

More aggressive marketing by competitors.

CHAPTER 3
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT MARKETING
22

Marketing
Definition of marketing
Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing,
promotion, and distribution (4 Ps) of ideas, goods and services to create
exchanges (with customers) that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.
Satisfying customer needs (creating utility) through the exchange process.
Create a Marketing Mix (4ps):

Product.

Price

Promotion.

Distribution (Place).

Marketing Mix:

Product...Border Lights, a new menu of "light foods"

Price.....Value Pricing as with their other menu items

Promotion...Various media and methods, a commercial that appeared during

the 1995 Superbowl to announce the arrival.

Distribution...Taco Bell has increased its points of access (where you can by
its products) by a factor of 4 over the last couple of years...including gas
stations etc.
23

Target Market(s):

Current fast food customers (typically male, 14 -34 year olds) and/or

Health conscious who do not currently purchase fast food??

Type of organizations that use marketing.

All!!

Corporations: ie Pepsi, Coke, GM etc.

Government: promoting the health plan, politicians during elections

Hospitals: A Philadelphia hospital, competing for maternity patients, offered a

steak and champagne dinner (sales promotion) with candlelight for new
parents. Other hospitals, in an effort to attract physicians, have installed
services such as saunas, chauffeurs, and private tennis courts.

Schools: University of Delaware MBA program

Churches: Many churches are redesigning their service offering to better meet
the needs of their target audience so as to keep members and financial support.

US Army: A marketing plan to attract recruits.

Postal Service:1993 launch of the Elvis Presley stamp was a major media
event. Fans in Nashville lined up at midnight, postmasters warned that sales
were "first come first served, no limit", and one post office postmarked
envelopes with the no longer used :Return to Sender--Address Unknown"
message

MAIN MARKETS OF LPS

A) DOMESTIC (USER INDUSTRIES)
Automotive

Aviation

Heavy & Light Machinery

Hydraulic/Pneumatic Pumps
24

Machine Tools, Jigs & Fixtures

Railways

Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

MAIN MARKETS (Contd.)

INTERNATIONAL (COUNTRIES)

Australia
Germany
Holland
Hong Kong
Japan
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
25

 Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States of America

LPS GROUP COMPRISES OF FOLLOWING COMPANIES:-

INDIAN FASTENERS LTD.

AMIT SCREWS PVT. LTD.
HANUMAT WIRE UDYOG PVT. LTD.
J.C. FASTENERS LTD.
NAV BHART INDUSTRIES
NAV BHARAT AGENCIES
SHIV INDUSTRIES
UNITED ENGINEERS
UNIVERSAL ENTERPRISES
SWADESH ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES
SUDHIR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES PVT. LTD.

26

MARKETING STRATEGY
A qualified team so meticulously plans our marketing strategy that LPS products
continue to occupy a premier position at the National/International level. The
manufacturing range includes both Standard as well as Special fasteners and
Companys customer base, consists of major OEMs in the country including MNCs
such as Maruti, L & T John Deere, Tata Motors, Hero Honda, Honda Motorcycles &
Scooters, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Volvo, Visteon, TVS Motors, Cummins
India Ltd., Godrej Ltd., Ashok Leyland, MICO, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Escorts,
Kinetic Engineering, Swaraj Mazda, Kirloskar, QH Talbros, New Holland Tractors
and many more.
The Company has a wide distribution network with offices in all the major Industrial
townships of India. Apart from OEM customers the Company we also has a good
dealer network to cater to replacement market all over the country. The strong
marketing team of 30 field sales professionals ably supports the above customers and
20 internal sales professionals in turn support them.
The Company has a very strong presence in international market through a network of
distribution channel spread across the globe with major focus in United States and
Europe. The Company is focusing development of OEM supplies to the top
automobile manufacturers in USA and Europe
With constant efforts put in by the marketing team LPS is the only fastener
manufacturer in India to have presence in all the 2 Wheeler manufactures in India.
27

The Company is in pursuit of adding new customers to its portfolio every year with
varied range of fasteners and has been growing @ over 25 % compound growth
annually for the past 3 years.
The company in the last 2 3 years has consciously started penetrating into cold
forged components market also and has tasted very encouraging results from
customers like Sona Somic Lemforder, Q H Talbros Ltd, Mico Bosch & TVS Motors.

Future Prospects
LPS is looking in for new technology transfers to enable it to venture into areas of self
tapping screws, various types of surface finish and other cold forged components
The existing products are expected to grow at the rate of 25% for the next 2-3 years,
The Company has minimum one year`s commitment from its existing customers and
does not foresee any reduction in the same.
More and more international buyers / companies are looking at India for their
domestic and international requirements of High Tensile Fasteners and Cold forged
components

Competition
The Company has established globally its product quality and commercial
competitiveness. This has been achieved with the continuing measures in employment
of improved technology to match with the competitors as well as the satisfaction of
its end users / customers. The Company has upgraded its plant and equipment to keep
pace with the above.
The Company has embarked a radical change in sourcing the most updated
technology in its sphere of activities. The Company is expected to mantle itself and
present to the industry the latest state of art in all its process. The Company has
already taken measures for acquiring the skills needed to scale the demands of the
growth in response to the business climate.

Principal Competitors
28

 Sundram Fasteners limited.

Sterling Tools Limited
Precision Fasteners Ltd.
Pooja Forging Ltd
SKS Fasteners Ltd.

Property
The Company has its registered office at 46/1 Mile Stone, Hissar Road, Rohtak,
Haryana 124 001 and also has corporate offices at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Bangalore and Agra.

Purchase of Property
The company is not proposing to purchase any property in the form of building or
other structures from the proceeds of the present rights issue.

CHAPTER 4
OBJECTIVE OF THE
STUDY
29

Main Objective: The project is designed to give an overview of marketing strategies and tools of LPS.
The main objective on which I focused is Social Media Marketing because Social
Media plays an important role in the positioning of company and value making of
brand. These days social media marketing is a trending part of marketing.

TO STUDY HOW SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IS

INNOVATIVE MARKETING:The latest developments in the field of marketing, communication and information are
leading to new innovative business and consumption models, in which users are
gaining a leading role and are increasingly important. Social Media is rapidly
emerging as the next big frontier for customer engagement and interactions. There are
millions of customer interactions taking place every day on Social Media sites such as
Face book, Twitter, YouTube, etc. as well as a vast number of customer support
forums and online communities. Social Media emerged and continues to be as a
cultural phenomenon. It is also quickly becoming a business phenomenon.
Increasingly, current and prospective customers are using Social Media to
communicate about the products and services they buy or intend to buy. Leading
enterprises have recognized the importance of tapping such communications. Social
Media are new innovative tools that collects millions of users all around the globe and
they offer several possibilities and opportunities to companies that want to develop
30

communication and marketing strategies while gaining competitive advantage on their

competitors. This paper presents the definition of Social Media marketing with its
strategies; it also attempts to identify the challenges and opportunities facing by
Social Media sector and find out the current and future trend in the area of Social
Media marketing.

CHAPTER 5
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
31

NATURE OF RESEARCH:The research methodology adopted during the project is Descriptive in nature. A
characteristic of research studies in business management is their reliance on
secondary data source in particulars and primary data in general

RESEARCH PROBLEMS:The following are the general problems of the research:

The marketing Level Analysis of the Company.

The system of holding various marketing.

Cost effectiveness in various operations of the company.

The coordination of marketing management objectives with

organizational objective.

RESEARCH DESIGN :The research design is formulated for the above problem is descriptive. The
information is obtained from the primary as well as secondary sources. Primary
sources are the working staff of the company and secondary sources are the

32

information contained in the files of Company and other subject related books and
journals. The time period available for the research of is 2 months.

DATA :
The data collected for the above problem is generally secondary in nature. But the
analysis has been done on the basis of past financial statements of the company. The
primary data has been collected after interviewing the officials of the company at
various stages. The judgment sampling has been used, as the sample size is limited in
case of different problems. The following methods are adopted for collecting
informations:
1.

Central Location Testing.

2.

Blind testing.

3.

Questionnaire.

4.

Targeting

5.

Positioning

Primary Data Collection

Central Location Testing
A Central Location Test (CLT) is a face-to-face survey method where respondents
are invited, with or without prior notice, to some convenient place (ranging from a
public meeting place to a research field facility.
This type of testing is usually used for research into new or modified products,
though it also finds successful application in testing advertising or packaging
materials. Hex collar bolt by LPS is modified form Hex fit bolt . LPS also did
central location testing for its Hex Head Banjo Bolt.

Blind Testing
LPS does blind test market research. It is done by asking customers to compare the
bolts of different brands, usually competitors brands, the identities of the products
are concealed, or otherwise customers will generally tend to prefer the brand they
33

are familiar with. LPS use blind testing to get significant insights on how a brand
can improve its quality.

Screening Questionnaires
Screening process builds the foundation for reliable and valid data collection. LPS
use screening questionnaire method to get customer attitude towards brands,
frequency of purchase, competitive analysis etc. This research is carried out by
research agencies.

Targeting
Targeting is to select segment which company can best cater to respective needs
and wants of the customer. LPS targeted not only any single segment but the
mixture of some variables of geographic, demographics, psychographic and
behavioral segmentations.

Positioning
LPS is dynamic changing company and always looks to opportunity to build a
strong attachment with customers through their products. LPS is a big company in
a market and recently they are planning to expand their warehouse networks. They
have strong brand image in customer minds.

SUPPLY CHAIN STRUCTURE OF LPS Ltd. (Figure-5.1)

34

BASIC

RECOMMENDATIONS
for cost savings in assembly technology:
- minimize parts or components to be assembled
- ease of transfer of parts to be
assembled
- ease of aligning parts for
assembly
- efficient parts preparation for
final assembly
- assembly friendly fasteners
- standard, readily available
fasteners

VITAL CRITERIA FOR

GOOD DESIGN
If a right-handed person
can do the assembly
with the left hand
35

wearing a glove....
....the robot can do it too!

Figure 5.2

GLOBALLY SPREAD

36

Figure 5.3

37

CHAPTER 6
ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL
MEDIA MARKETING

1. Introduction
Social Media marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention
through Social Media sites. Social Media marketing programs usually center on
efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with
38

their social networks. A corporate message spreads from user to user and presumably
resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as opposed to
the brand or company itself. Hence, this form of marketing is driven by word-ofmouth, meaning it results in earned media rather than paid media. Social Media has
become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Increased
communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved
customer service. Additionally, Social Media serves as a relatively inexpensive
platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns. Social networking
websites allow individuals to interact with one another and build relationships. When
products or companies join those sites, people can interact with the product or
company. That interaction feels personal to users because of their previous
experiences with social networking site interactions. Social networking sites and
blogs allow individual followers to retweet or repost comments made by the
product being promoted. By repeating the message, all of the users connections are
able to see the message, therefore reaching more people. Social Media Marketing
makes use of Social Media sites to raise visibility on the Internet and to promote
products and services. Social Media sites are useful for building social as well as
business networks, and for exchanging ideas and knowledge. Social Media marketing
provides organizations with a way to connect with their customers. However,
organizations must protect their information as well as closely watch comments and
concerns on the Social Media they use. A flash poll done on 1225 IT executives from
33 countries revealed that Social Media mishaps caused organizations a combined
$4.3 million in damages in 2010 The top three Social Media incidents an organization
faced during the previous year included employees sharing too much information in
public forums, loss or exposure of confidential information, and increased exposure to
litigation. Due to the viral nature of the internet, a mistake by a single employee has in
some cases shown to result in devastating consequences for organizations.

Definition of Social Media marketing

Social Media marketing (SMM) is a form of Internet marketing that utilizes social
networking websites as a marketing tool. The goal of SMM is to produce content that
users will share with their social network to help a company increase brand exposure
and broaden customer reach.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media market

39

Advantages
The Social Media marketing is cost effective than any other form of marketing.
Building a profile in the most followed Social Media platform is not going to cost
much. Social Media marketing helps in building the brand name of the company, and
establishes the company as an authority in the market. The companies become
ubiquitous through Social Media Marketing in term that they are found everywhere by
the customers and anyone, anywhere can access companys social profile. Thus
engaging and interacting with the customers becomes easy. By making it easy for
others to communicate with company, company can answer all queries and issues
promptly.

Disadvantages
A presence in Social Media would necessarily mean that company is going to get
flooded with rave reviews; chances are a higher visibility will get a few negative
comments or reviews. Lots of creativity and time is required to make the Social
Media marketing successful. Though at the onset it seems to be costless, the resources
are to be paid to create the profile, update it and answer to the queries posted by
clients, on regular basis. There is a lot of understanding involved in Social Media
marketing. It is possible for the employees to leak out information through the media
and if company does not check the profiles several times, it could find out that some
of the latest news have been pre-released, resulting in more negative press.
Challenges in the area of Social Media Marketing are as follows:
Lack of sufficient resources.
Measuring ROI (Return on invetment0.
Managing and growing social presence.
Integrating Social Media with lead gen and sales.
Integrating Social Media with rest of the marketing.
Monitoring Social Media
Figure 6 shows the different challenges faced by the companies in their Social Media
marketing campaign according to the percentage of their existence in the Social
Media marketing sector.

2. Objective of the study

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The main objectives of the study are:

i. To find out the tools for innovative Social Media marketing
ii. To identify the effective strategies for implementing Social Media marketing.
iii. To outline present trend and see the future possibilities in the area of Social Media
marketing

Source- Awareness. Inc. State of Social Media marketing January 2015

Figure 6: Challenges of Social Media marketing

3. Literature Review
Social Media network are applications that allow users to build personal web sites
accessible to other users for exchange of personal content and communication
(Bowden and Lewis 2009). Social Media according to Bowden and Lewis can be
characterized as: online applications, platforms and media which aim to facilitate
interactions, collaborations and the sharing of content.
According to Forrester research study (2011) by Ernst. J, David M. and
Cooperstein, Dernoga M, companies (brands) are gradually shifting their advertising
priorities to align better with today's buyers. Todays buyers are tech savvy and Social
Media maniacs. Therefore it is the proliferation of the Social Media network services
in brand management and marketing that bring us to the attention of Social Media
networks. First, the researcher will define Social Media and then outline those
networks that are driving the debate.

41

Evans .D. argue that though communication is the core dimension of Social Media
networks, not all platform categories are equally suitable for all marketing objectives
because most of the platforms are not equally well suited for information,
collaboration, and even for cultivating relationships
The purpose of social networks is primarily for communication and exchange of ideas
of common interest among peer groups or communities. However, it is through
frequent communication initiated by the marketer on the interactive social networks
(Gummesson, 2002)
Cheung et al. (2011) have initiated a study exploring customer engagement in online
social platforms. The authors of the research-in-progress paper have defined it as the
level of a customers physical, cognitive, and emotional presence in connections with
a particular online social platform. The conceptual model developed suggests that
customer engagement in an online social platform is a construct comprising vigor
(level of energy and mental resilience), absorption (level of concentration and
engrossment) and dedication (sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride and
challenge) towards the online social platform, which are driven by involvement and
social interaction.
According to Kozinets et al. (2010.) As brands continue to infiltrate relations within
social networks, the self-interested logics of the market may undermine the
sharing/caring communal ideal and threaten the traditional social contract of the
group. Interaction with these brands in terms of adding content, providing comments
and spreading messages therefore causes tension for the individual engaged and
makes them less likely to share content with their strong ties.
According to (Warc, 2012a) the context of online Social Media has become of great
interest to marketing practitioners as the new Social Media platforms quickly emerged
as valuable tools central to their effort of customer engagement.
The ground-breaking study of Katz and Lazarsfeld (2009), on personal influence,
argued that marketing messages were not delivered in the hypodermic needle style
in which marketers influenced the conversations and purchasing behaviors directly
within mass publics. But rather, these messages were received and interpreted first by
opinion leaders who then disseminated the message to the larger population, leading
to a two-step communication flow.
4. Tools of Social Media Marketing
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When it comes to Social Media marketing, every business has different needs. But
many of those needs can be met with the same marketing tools tailored to a businesss
specific situation. All it takes is a little creativity and the ability to communicate your
companys message to the right audience. Following are some of Social Media
marketing tools that can be relevant to almost any business.
Company Blog company can interact with its customers and potential clients, field
questions, handle customer service issues, and develop communications through their
business blog. Social Networks This marketing solution includes sites like Face
book and Twitter. You show up, interact with people as you would at a party or offline
social event and once you have built the relationship you can take that relationship
deeper on your business website. Micro blog A micro blog is a type of blog where
company posts are shorter than a traditional blog. With blog, company can have posts
up to several thousand words, but limited to the number of characters per post. Social
Bookmarking Social bookmarking websites are marketing solutions that allow one
to save, organize, and share links and other resources with other users. Q&A Websites
This type of marketing solution includes sites like Quora, Answers.com, and Yahoo!
Answers. Participants ask questions, answer them, and vote on each others answers.
Video Sharing YouTube is the largest and most well known video sharing website.
Companies can vote on other videos, share videos with audience and market business
less expensively than by using television ads. Professional Social Networks Its a
niche social network for busy professionals who arent interested in playing games or
participating in other frivolous activities. Its the perfect type of marketing solution
for B2B businesses, freelancers, and other professionals. Podcasting Communities
Podcasting communities are similar to video and photo sharing sites except that they
are based around audio uploads. Presentation-Sharing Websites As a marketing
solution, a community that allows uploading presentations and sharing them with
customers is a great tool for any business.
4.1 How to choose an effective tool for Social Media marketing
This is one of the biggest issues that how a company can choose tools for its Social
Media marketing project that will be prove effective and able to create huge customer
base. Some of the points needs to be considered while choosing a tool for Social
Media marketing campaign areClarity of Mission, Analysis of opportunities for future Mission, Use detailed
questionnaire to get information about that, what kind of content should be used,
43

when content should be shared, how presence, values and ethics should be shared,
Analysis of different research tools.
Choose an effective tool after analysis.

5. Strategies for effective Social Media marketing

While Social Media marketing (or Social Media optimization) is being focused by
every business in todays world, it is important to consider a range of effective Social
Media marketing strategies as described below:
Companies today give lucrative offers to their customer as free coupons, discount on
immediate cash payment and gift offer to promote their business, encouraging foot
traffic in store, and also giving an incentive to keep checking back. Keep coupons
fresh, and aim to switch them up every month to stay relevant and keep customers
interested. Business is part of a community; it is a better idea to use social networking
sites by creating web pages to interact with the customers. Its easy and beneficial to
give thanks online to all of the brands that help to make business shine. We all know
that company cant sell 24-7, especially when company is trying to establish a
meaningful relationship with its customers and fans. It should try let customer known
about the nature of business, and Social Media can play a vital role by Sharing a
photo or joke with the prospects.
Whether a car dealership, retail chain, or local dealer all are the part of an ever
changing industry, full of new products and developments. So it is a good idea to
share your information, creativity with the world. It could be anything from a new
color of denim that popular this season to a concept car that was just revealed in
Japan. No matter what type of posts are shared but make sure it is relevant to their
interest area. This engages customer because Customers are the greatest ambassadors,
so keeping their attention is crucial, and content is key! Share with them solid
information, and theyll keep coming back for more.

6. Current and Future Trends in Social Media Marketing

6.1 Current Trend in Social Media Marketing
In a survey of 700 marketers from all over the globe, Wildfire App discovered that
nearly all marketers find value from Social Media marketing and that 75% of
marketers plan to increase their media spending. The top two benefits highlighted by

44

these marketers are increased brand awareness and the ability to engage in dialogue
directly with their customers.

Source- www.heidicohen.com 24/08/2015

Figure 7 Avg. No. of accounts per co. on social networking sites

Nine out of ten businesses are present on at least one Social Media platform- The
subtext is that Social Media is becoming a mature communications system. Its
acceptable to be on these platforms and to use them to achieve business goals. As an
interesting contrast to a companys perception of Social Medias value, Marketing
Sherpa surveyed marketing agencies to understand how they calculate the value of
Social Media for their clients. The survey found that Social Media clearly helps
search results for many businesses, but the largest majority of companies benefit from
posting content on their company blog.
Since companies have gained experience from being on Social Media platforms,
theyre no longer hindered by fear of the unknown. Specifically, about half of firms
45

are on Google+ (although this could be a defensive search strategy) and about a
quarter are on Pinterest. Further, they are adapting to local needs. Wherever
necessarily, some firms are using multiple languages either through one account or via
targeted accounts.

6.2 Future trend in Social Media Marketing

Total Social Media users are forecast to grow by just 4.1 percent in North America in
2013. Compare that with growth rates of 21.1 percent in Asia-Pacific (including
China, India, and Indonesia), 12.6 percent in Latin America, and 23.3 percent in the
Middle East and Africa. To solve the mobile revenue puzzle, social networks will
push ahead next year with new social ad models. Traditional banner and interruption
ads will decline, replaced by innovative offerings like Promoted Tweets and
Sponsored Stories. What makes these so-called native ads unique is that they dont
look like ads at all, apart from small disclaimers. They appear in-stream and read
exactly like another piece of user-generated content.
It is anticipated that the rate of growth in mobile usage will exceed the growth in
usage through personal computers for the foreseeable future. Mobile Internet users are
set to overtake wired Internet users by 2015 in the U.S., but this shift is happening far
faster on social platforms. At the same time, developing viable advertising options for
mobile platforms is more critical than ever. Borrell Associates found that small- and
medium-sized businesses (SMB) will double their Social Media advertising budget in
2013. Although businesses are increasing their investment in Social Media, they are
more reluctant to put large advertising budgets toward it. Awareness found that 75%
of businesses spend $10,000 or less, with most businesses solely investing peoples
time toward the effort. Figure 3 shows the budget allocated for the Social Media
marketing campaign by different businesses over the globe in 2013.

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Source- Awareness.Inc.State of Social Media marketing January 2015

Figure 8: Budget allocated to Social Media marketing advertisement in 2015
Social Media will allow consumers to get real user experience before making
purchase decisions

OTHER MARKETING TOOLS USED BY LAKSHMI PRECISION

SCREWS LIMITED
ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

PEST Analysis (Macro Environment)

Political & Legal Environment
Tax rates and tax structure are being set by government. Electricity prices, fuel
and petrol prices are also set by a government. It has a direct impact on LPS
Profit margins. Increase in the tax rates, duties or electricity and petrol prices
47

increases the cost of production. Adjusting price of FASTENERS is not

possible for company; it is difficult to take out one additional rupee after 10
for a 10 rupee product, so it has to sacrifice the profit margins.

Economic Environment
When poverty gets higher, these sorts of industries grow. In case of high
inflation value of money goes down. It makes more costly to import
manufacturing machineries and raw materials.

Socio-Cultural Environment
In Indian culture middle class families are more than a higher class and poor .
Most of the Middle class families purchase economical cars and poor one
purchase auto rickshaw and bikes. So coverage and customers of LPS are
spread over globally.

Technological Environment
In todays highly competitive environment it has become essential to equip
with technological advancement and automation. LPS has the state of art to
get difficult compositions. To deliver unique and best products or fasteners
LPS use latest technology.

Micro Environment
Market Analysis
LPS has a mass market and capturing a large share in Layer Cake market.

Company
Company itself is the part of Micro environment. LPS is the oldest
manufacturer of fastners and automotive parts. It is well known
organization in India. There is a strong integration among all suppliers of
LPS.
48

 Suppliers
LPS believes in maintaining strong relationship with suppliers.

Intermediaries
LPS Marketing Team is young and energetic and believes in making
partnership for creating, communicating and delivering value to the final
consumers. It has good relations with its media partners, finance division
and suppliers.

Competitors
LPS has strong competition with Sundram Fastners limited is the first
mover in this category. Other competitors include Sterling tools limited and
Precision Fastners Ltd. LPS wheel bolt is also facing competition with
Sundram wheel bolts.

Customers
Consumers are the most important part of any organizations micro
environment. LPS chosen a mass market, it is essential to provide quality,
availability, variety and stronger competition position at higher safety to
the customers.

DOMESTIC CUSTOMERS OF LPS:-

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BCG (Growth-Share) Matrix

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix is a simple tool to assess a
companys position in terms of its product range. It helps a company think about
its products and services and make decisions about which it should keep, which it
should let go and which it should invest in further.

Figure 9

BCG Matrix for LPS Ltd.

In BCG matrix, LPS will be placed as Question Mark; Automobile market is
relatively at higher position but market share of LPS is low as compare to
development of market. They want to come up with strategies to get market share
much better.

50

Sundaram LPS Ltd.

Fasteners

Precision
Fasteners Ltd.

Sterling tools
limited

Figure 10

CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION

51

CONCLUSION
Social Media have gained a fundamental role in communication and marketing strategies. The new
generations of consumers have very high brand awareness, they act on international markets through
the internet and their opinion can have a great effect on people in different parts of the world. So it is
very important for companies, when managing fan pages and brands Facebook presence, to create high
quality contents and to exactly know the users behavioural dynamics on the social network, in order to
reach the higher possible user engagement. For an effective result and in order to create successful
promotional campaigns, they need to know what drives engagements are needed to keep things in line
with their fans needs. Posts of brands Facebook fan pages can have different characteristics and their
content can have different effects on different consumers. The benefits of Social Media marketing
speak for themselves: by creating high level of brand loyalty and minimizing the communication gap
between the company and its customer. It serves as the innovative tool of marketing for engaging more
and more customers towards the organization. It is also cost effective i.e. not huge funds are required
for Social Media marketing. On the other hand it has some limitation and challenges that needs to be
addressed to achieve greater growth in customer satisfaction and organizations profitability. Hence it
can concluded that Social Media marketing is not just a contact centre imperative, but also an important
enterprise-wide phenomenon that impacts several business functions. This includes sales, marketing,
customer service, product development, corporate communications and PR, and employee
communication and collaboration. Although Social Media marketing may not be appropriate for every
company or product so it should be carefully implemented in the company.
52

FINDINGS

All the staffs of L.P.S. are dedicated towards the works.

L.P.S. industry has sufficient working capital for its day to day operations.

Its ratio analysis shows that it has still sufficient ratio.

L.P.S. is one biggest fasteners producing industry and in export of fasteners.

It has captured the big share of domestic market and also have sufficient
share in foreign market.

L.P.S. provides welfare activities to its employees.

L.P.S. has a huge capacity of manufacturing and designing the fasteners.

L.P.S. makes the full capacity utilization more than 100% as the annual
growth through put of L.P.S. is more than installed capacity.

It has a separate HRD section for maintaining its man power resources.

It provides various loan facilities to its employee for different purposes.

It has proper industrial relation sections for maintaining industrial relations.

Intensive measures have been taken for pollution control and environment
protections.

Decision making is smooth in L.P.S. Industries Ltd.

It provides insurance facility to its employees.

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CHAPTER 8
LIMITATIONS OF
STUDY
54

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:1.

Social Media Marketing have various aspects, to study all the aspects of it
in detail in such a short duration is almost impossible.

2.

Figures do not speak by themselves and the conclusions obtained from

these figures are affected to a great extent by the personal ability and
knowledge of the researcher so human bias is another aspect of limitation
of the study.

3.

Lack of proper material of study is also a limitation of my study.

55

CHAPTER 9
SUGGESTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATION

56

SUGGESTIONS: The company should further lay more emphasis marketing

Control management. It should try to further focus more on social media
marketing without affecting the production.
The Company should have an effective planning.
Company should do more innovative to its R & D department.
Company should make effort to increase its share in foreign market as well as
in domestic market.
The Company should try to get orders from the new entrants in the automobile
industry in India. As in the last few years various multinational companies like
Hyundai Motors, Toyota Motors etc. have installed their units to manufacture
automobiles, the Company should approach them to get orders.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Company has very good human resources but because of lack of proper
control it increases its expenses.

Company should have to improve its medical facility for its employees.

Company should provide time to time training to its workers that decrease a
number of accidents.

57

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reports maintained by the Company: 33rd Annual Report of L.P.S. Ltd.

2001-2002

34th Annual Report of L.P.S. Ltd.

2002-2003

35th Annual Report of L.P.S. Ltd.

2003-2004

Other Books: Research Methodology by C.R. Kauthri

Web site: www.lpsindia.com
www.google.com
http://wildfireapp.blogspot.in/2012/01/measuring-business-impact-ofsocial.html
http://blog.creatinemarketing.com/blog/bid/121870/10-Types-Of-SocialMedia-Marketing-Solutions-For-Business
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/agency-perception-socialmarketing-effectiveness
http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-mediamarketing-strategies-how-to-keep-your-content-fresh-0393577
https://www.borrellassociates.com/reports?
page=shop.product_details&flypage=garden_flypage.tpl&product_id=10
08
http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-mediastrategy/challenge-social-media-today/
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/5-social-media-marketing-trendsnew-research-2/
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 htp://heidicohen.com/social-media-future-5-important-trends/

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