Competitor Analysis.

Industry Competition:

            The product faces   competition within the industry when other manufacturers tend to develop the same kind of products providing the consumers with a wider choice of selection . The industry competition for Lays are Balaji wafers pvt ltd , Bingo etc. Because they tend to produce the same variety of flavours and   pricing pattern which lays develop for the consumers.

                                       

 Potential Entrants:

            Parle Smart Chips , Hippo , Pringles , are the new threat for lays. They are high entry and low – exit barriers. These products were launched under reputed branding process which could reach the consumers easily.

 Substitutes:

            Any substitute product that enter into the market which may change the consumer behaviour are called as potential entrants in the market. For Lay’s chips ,  kurkure ,nachos which is a new form a potato based snack may change the consumer behaviour and become as a threat to the product.

Threats from Buyers and Suppliers:

            With the rise in the substitutes , the buyers possess strong or growing bargaining power. Earlier Lays was as costly as Rs.25/pack. But as the competition grew intense, it reduced itself to the price of Rs.20.

            Pepsico in India has introduced world class, top quality, high yielding potato varietywhich gives such a very good taste in the  chips.  If the bargaining power of the suppliers tend to be powerful or reduce the quality of the product they produce, it may tend to develop the overall quality of the product and there by affects the consumers. Lays can adopt a technique of having multiple supply sources.

Understanding the buying decision process.

THE BUYING DECISION PROCESS:

The Five- Stage Model:

Problem Recognition:

            Here the problem is how to satisfy the short term hunger for the consumers by a tasty snack and also to find out the number of potential buyers of the products and number of buyers consuming for the brand image or taste irrespective of the quantity.

Information Research:

             The sources of information fall into four groups.

·         Personal-Friends, Family, friends, neighbours etc.

·         Commercial-Advertising, websites, displays etc.

·         Public-Mass media, Consumer –rating organizations.

·         Experiential – Handling, Examining, Using the product.

§  Search Dynamics:

                        Search dynamics is used to analyse the buying criteria of the customers by having a total set of brands available for the particular product. Few brands which have been known by majority of the consumers comes under the awareness set. Some brands which comes under the initial buying criteria will come under the consideration set. As consumer experiences more information only a few comes under the choice set and the remaining strong contenders in which the consumer makes the final choice comes is referred to as the decision set.

EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES:

                  Various attributes of the products are taken into consideration and a final judgement for the purchase of the product is made by evaluating all the attributes. Lays has to concentrate more on the quantity provided and the price is charged for the same.

PURCHASE DECISION:              

                  This stage the consumer prefers to buy the most preffered brand according to his attributes and weightage considered for all the attributes, which has the best option for the buyer.

POST PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR:

                  The marketers duty doesn’t end with the selling of the product alone. Post purchase behaviour must also have to be taken into consideration. Certain things about other brands and feedback from the customers must be thoroughly monitored.

                  As Lays is a FMGC product, after sales service are not available for these products, but the company provides feedback forums and 24 hour toll free number on which the consumer can cast their views and lodge their complaints regarding, quality, quantity, price and packaging, etc. So that the company would be able to come up with the best product as preferred by the customers.

Creating Customer Value

Lay’s is a potato chips brands which is a commercial product developed to quench a short term   hunger. A large number of   consumers of this product ranges from kids to  young professionals whose age group varies from 5 – 30 . Since the total population of the consumer is huge, the brand had the duty to come up with innovative projects to reach all the consumers in the market and sustain for a long period of time.

Lay’s always focuses on customer tastes and preference in the flavours as the main objective of the company. The brand focuses on the customer value and satisfaction in buying the product. The major aspects that add to the value of lays are :-

•  Taste and Quality of the product. 
•  Variety of  Flavours. 
• Make the product available to everyone in the market due to strong distribution Channel.   
•  Available in different forms of preparation (Eg. Lay’s Baked, Lay’s Stax).
•  Attractive Packing of the product making the consumers to buy the product.  International Brand image.

Customer Perceived Value :
            Customer Perceived Value is the difference between the total benefits earned by the customer to the total cost.   

Total Customer Benefit :      

            The Total Customer benefit Includes

•  Product benefit - Availability of different kinds of flavours like American cream And Onion, Tangy Tomato, Hot and sweet Chilli etc.
•  Services Benefit - offers such as 25 % extra on 20 Rs. Pack which adds more chips to the pack.
•  Personnel Benefit- Used as a tea time snack and uses brand ambassadors like Saif Ali Khan, M.S Dhoni etc.
• Image Benefit – Lays is a very old international brand that gives the value to the customer.

Total Customer Cost :

            The Total Customer cost includes

•  Monetary Cost- Cost paid for the product like Rs.5, 10, 20 etc.
•  Time Cost- Lay’s is available anywhere around within 1km for urban areas . In case  of rural areas people need to travel a little farther.
•  Energy Cost-  Since lay’s are easily available in any mom and pop stores energy pent  in acquiring the product is minimal.
•  Psychological Cost -  Since Lay’s is a FCMG product, there is no psychological cost  involved 

Lay's - No one Can east Just One

Lays is one of the leading manufacturer of potato chips developed in the year 1932 and  marketed  as a part of the  Frito Lay Company which is the world leader in the snack category. It is called by different names in different regions of the world. (For Example : Lays is called as Walkers in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Sabritas in Mexico). The unique feature about this product is it can appeal to any different markets all over the world with adaptable design, specific names and flavours in each countries to sell their products in. Lay’s analyzes the consumers and develops their flavours accordingly likely ‘Magic Masala’ is developed for the Indian and other South Asian consumers. Lay’s became a part of India’s snacking culture since its launch in the year 1995.