"Market Capitalization"

                    

   Market capitalization (or market cap) is the total value of the issued shares of a publicly traded company; it is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding. As outstanding stock is bought and sold in public markets, capitalization could be used as a proxy for the public opinion of a company's net worth and is a determining factor in some forms of stock valuation.

The total capitalization of stock markets or economic regions may be compared to other economic indicators. The total market capitalization of all publicly traded companies in the world was US$51.2 trillion in January 2007 and rose as high as US$57.5 trillion in May 2008 before dropping below US$50 trillion in August 2008 and slightly above US$40 trillion in September 2008.

Market Capitalization Terms :-

                          Traditionally, companies were divided into large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap. The terms mega-cap and micro-cap have also since come into common use, and nano-cap is sometimes heard. Different numbers are used by different indexes; there is no official definition of, or full consensus agreement about, the exact cutoff values. The cutoffs may be defined as percentiles rather than in nominal dollars. The definitions expressed in nominal dollars need to be adjusted over the decades due to inflation, population change, and overall market valuation (for example, $1 billion was a large market cap in 1950, but it is not very large now), and they may be different for different countries. A rule of thumb may look like:

Mega-cap: Over $200 billion

Large-cap: Over $10 billion

Mid-cap: $2 billion–$10 billion

Small-cap: $250 million–$2 billion

Micro-cap: Below $250 million

Nano-cap: Below $50 million

"Cap" is short for capitalization, a measure by which a company's size is classified. Big/Large caps are companies that have a market cap between $10–200 billion dollars. Mid caps range from $2 billion to $10 billion dollars. Small caps are typically new or relatively young companies and have a market cap between $100 million to $1 billion dollars. Small Cap's track record is not as lengthy as that of the mid to Mega Caps.  Small Caps present the possibility of greater capital appreciation, but at greater risk.

Market cap reflects only the equity value of a company. It is important to note that a firm's choice of capital structure has a significant impact on how the total value of a company is allocated between equity and debt. A more comprehensive measure is enterprise value (EV), which includes debt, preferred stock, and other factors. Insurance firms use a value called the embedded value (EV).

"Marketing Planning and Strategy"

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 i) Marketing Planning :-

                  The marketing planning process involves forging a plan for a firm's marketing activities. A marketing plan can also pertain to a specific produc

t, as well as to an organization's overall marketing strategy. Generally speaking, an organization's marketing planning process is derived from its overall business strategy. Thus, when top management are devising the firm's strategic direction or mission, the intended marketing activities are incorporated into this plan. There are several levels of marketing objectives within an organization. The senior management of a firm would formulate a general business strategy for a firm. However, this general business strategy would be interpreted and implemented in different contexts throughout the firm.

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ii) Marketing Strategy :-

                         The field of marketing strategy considers the total marketing environment and its impacts on a company or product or service. The emphasis is on "an in depth understanding of the market environment, particularly the competitors and customers."

A given firm may offer numerous products or services to a marketplace, spanning numerous and sometimes wholly unrelated industries. Accordingly, a plan is required in order to effectively manage such products. Evidently, a company needs to weigh up and ascertain how to utilize its finite resources. For example, a start-up car manufacturing firm would face little success should it attempt to rival Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, or any other large global car maker. Moreover, a product may be reaching the end of its life-cycle. Thus, the issue of divest, or a ceasing of production, may be made. Each scenario requires a unique marketing strategy. Listed below are some prominent marketing strategy models.

A marketing strategy differs from a marketing tactic in that a strategy looks at the longer term view of the products, goods, or services being marketed. A tactic refers to a shorter term view. Therefore, the mailing of a postcard or sales letter would be a tactic, but a campaign of several postcards, sales letters, or telephone calls would be a strategy.

"Types Of Market Research"

There are a mainly two types of the Market Research.
i) Primary Research
  (Qualitative and quantitative research)
&
ii) Secondary Research
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i) Primary Research :-

                       Primary research involves finding out new information. It finds the answers to specific questions for a particular purpose. These enquirers may take the form of direct questioning. For example, it may include face-to-face surveys, postal or online questionnaires, telephone interviews or focus groups. This type of direct contact with people is valuable as it gives specific feedback to the questions asked.

However, it is important that the questions are clear and that the researcher is trained. This will ensure that the results are not influenced. Although primary research can be expensive and time-consuming, the up-to-date and relevant data collected can give organizations a competitive advantage. This is because their rivals will not have had access to it.

a) Qualitative and quantitative research :-

                        After this an external agency was employed to carry out an opinion panel. This took the form of an online questionnaire. The results of this delivered data about the market itself, as well as Barclays' market share among this target audience.

                         Quantitative research presents information in a numeric way, such as graphs, tables or charts that can be used to analyses the information.

                      For example, Barclays found from the questionnaire that 81% of students surveyed held a savings account and 32% an investment savings account (ISA).  The opinion panel also provided qualitative feedback on what was of interest to students and what they wanted from an account.

Qualitative research provides information on consumer perceptions, such as:

How they feel about products and services

What they like or do not like

What they would want from a new product.

The panel produced valuable insights which Barclays used to help re-evaluate its existing student account. It then used the information to develop new features and benefits to meet the established needs.

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 ii) Secondary Research :-

Secondary research focuses on existing infor

mation. It uses published data that previous research has already discovered. This covers a wide range of materials, such as:

Market research reports

Sales figures

Competitor marketing literature

Government publications, e.g. national statistics.

Secondary research may be quicker to carry out but may give less specific outcomes for the topic in question. This part of Barclays research revealed that student accounts in 2009 amounted to 0.4 million out of a total market of 5.4 million new accounts.

"Tata Consultancy Services"

                      Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) services, business solutions and consulting company headquartered in

Mumbai, Maharashtra. TCS is a subsidiary of the Tata Group and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. It is one of India's most valuable companies and is the largest India-based IT services company by 2012 revenues. The company is the largest India-based IT services company by employee count as well.1968 to 2000

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was founded in 1968. Its early contracts included providing punched card services to sister company TISCO (now Tata Steel), working on an Inter-Branch Reconciliation System for the Central Bank of India, and providing bureau services to Unit Trust of India.

In 1975, TCS conducted its first campus interviews, held at IISc, Bangalore. The recruits comprised 12 Indian Institutes of Technology graduates and three IISc graduates, who became the first TCS employees to enter a formal graduate trainee programmed.

In 1979, TCS delivered an electronic depository and trading system called SECOM for the Swiss company SIS SegaInterSettle. TCS followed this up with System X for the Canadian Depository System and automating the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. TCS associated with a Swiss partner, TKS Teknosoft, which it later acquired.

In 1981, TCS established India's first dedicated software research and development centre, the Tata Research Development and Design Centre (TRDDC) in Pune. In 1985 TCS established India's first client-dedicated offshore development centre, set up for client Tandem.

In the early 1990s the Indian IT outsourcing industry grew rapidly due to the Y2K bug and the launch of a unified European currency, Euro. TCS created the factory model for Y2K conversion and developed software tools which automated the conversion process and enabled third-party developer and client implementation.2000 to present

By 2004, TCS's e-business activities were generating over US$500 million in annual revenues.

On 25 August 2004 TCS became a publicly listed company.

In 2005 TCS became the first India-based IT services company to enter the bioinformatics market.

In 2006 TCS designed an ERP system for the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation.

In 2008 TCS undertook an internal restructuring exercise which aimed to increase the company's agility.

TCS entered the small and medium enterprises market for the first time in 2011, with cloud-based offerings. On the last trading day of 2011, TCS overtook RIL to achieve the highest market capitalization of any India-based company.

In the 2011/12 fiscal year TCS achieved annual revenues of over US$10 billion for the first time.

"Marketing Research Companies In India"

IMRB International :-

                     IMRB International (formerly “Indian Market Research Bureau”) is a multi-country market research, survey and business consultancy firm that offers a range of syndicated data and customized research services. Headquartered in Mumbai, India with operations in over 15 countries IMRB is a part of the Kantar Group, WPP’s research, insights and consultancy network.

Established in 1970, IMRB was modeled on the lines of the British Market Research Bureau. IMRB is now a leading provider of market research and insights across South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa with specialist divisions in quantitative, qualitative, media, retail, industrial, and customer satisfaction, business to business and social and rural research. IMRB’s syndicated research offerings include the Market Pulse, the National Food Survey, Web Audience Measurement (WAM), IT ops, and I-Cube reports.

With over 1200 employees, IMRB is one of the largest providers of market research in India in an industry estimated to be worth a minimum of $ 187 million. As the oldest extant market research company in India, IMRB has been responsible for establishing the first and only household panel, the first television audience measurement system and the first radio panel in the country and has played a key role in the development of market research in India. It has been rated the ‘Best Market Research Company’ by MRSI[disambiguation needed], an industry body for several years.

IMRB International's specialized areas are consumer markets, industrial marketing, business to business marketing, social marketing and rural marketing.  

RNB Research :-

                    RNB Research is a global market research company, headquartered in New Delhi, India. RNB Research operates through its own offices in 15 cities across 9 countries - China, Egypt, GCC, India, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Thailand & Vietnam.

RNB Research specializes in qualitative and quantitative custom market research. It has experience in most major sectors, particularly consumer products, media, retail, financial services, food and beverages, technology, telecommunications and internet research.

Today's Chanakya is the registered Trade Mark of RNB Research and it is famous with its Opinion poll in name of Today's Chanakya Poll.

RNB Research is a member of the American Marketing Association (AMA), European Pharmaceutical Market Research Association (EphMRA), Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group (PMRG) and The European Society for Opinion & Marketing Research (ESOMAR)

Hansa Research :-

                  Hansa Research is a full-service global market research agency conducting market research in 77 countries globally with offices in India and US. It is the only global market research agency headquartered in India.[citation needed] Under the leadership of Mr. Ashok Das, the Managing Director, Hansa Research became one of the fastest growing market research agencies in India. In 2006 it was the first Indian market research company to acquire a U.S.-based firm, GCR. With research offices across India and the U.S., Hansa Research's infrastructure is comparable to the best in the industry.

Majestic MRSS :-

               Majestic MRSS (the acronym stands for Market Research Support Services) is a multi-country market research firm. Headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in 12 major countries in Asia, Majestic MRSS is one of Asia’s largest independent full service market research firms.

Majestic MRSS was co-founded by Raj Sharma[2] in 1992, who is currently the President of Majestic MRSS and International Features Editor for QRCA VIEWS, a publication of QRCA (Qualitative Research Consultants Association). It has full-service operational offices in India, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, UAE, China, Japan and South Korea. They are members of European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) along with members of various market research associations like QRCA and MRA (Marketing Research Association).

"MARKET RESEARCH IN INDIA"

INTRODUCTION TO MARKET RESEARCH

                        Conducting market research in India is partially science, partially art. Market information

 that is needed by companies is very sketchy. Internet and other communication tools that is mature in

developed world is not systematically available. At the same time the market is growing at an

unprecedented rate which changes the market landscape. There are pockets of Indian market

where we can use the most sophisticated data collection methods that can match with any other

country, but on some other segments we have to use the techniques from the 60s. There are too

many moving parts to this system.

                 Large multi billion dollar companies with large research budget can conduct research at big

budgets, but in the same market, small and medium size business are trying to compete with

these large competitors and they need market information. Market information is the

battleground of tomorrow. Everyone needs market information to succeed. We have been

helping many small and medium sized companies with Market Research in India using

innovative techniques that involves secondary research that is combined with primary research

and business savvy to deliver results..

             In today’s competitive business scenario, every company small or big, Indian or MNC, family

owned or professionally managed would like to make better business decisions. It has now been

accepted that the best way to make better business decisions is through professional support

rather than gut feel and experience as earlier. Marketing today is a complex task in a competitive

market. In this context, Market Research is becoming increasingly popular as far as business

decision making is concerned

Market Research is a very actionable tool . The findings of Market Research are directly

linked to profits and growth of the business. Companies commission Market Research

because it can help them increase profits and grow the business.

 Market Research helps companies in three ways;-

•      By helping understand current customer tastes and preferences in order to ensure that

they continue to buy company’s products

•     Help understand the tastes and preferences of competition customers in order to try

and sell company’s products to them

•     Helping launch new products and services effectively by understanding the potential

of the market

Market Research has grown substantially during the last 20 years. The current size of the Indian

Market Research industry is estimated at Rs. 675 crores – small compared to the size of the

advertising industry which is estimated at Rs. 16,300 crores but large compared to what it was

around 20 years. The growth of Market Research during the last 20 years is a testimony to its

increasing popularity in India

At the same time, Market Research in India is at a crucial phase as far as acceptability is

concerned. Although many companies accept the importance of Market Research, decision

making related to commissioning a Market Research study can sometimes be long and time

consuming. Some of the typical questions / issues / concerns which companies have before

commissioning a Market Research study are;

Primary & Secondary Market

Primary market 

The primary market s that part of the capital markets that deals with the issue of new securities. Companies, governments or public sector institutions can obtain funding through the sale of a new stock or bond issue. This is typically done through a syndicate of securities dealers. The process of selling new issues to investors is called underwriting. In the case of a new stock issue, this sale is a public offering. Dealers earn a commission that is built into the price of the security offering, though it can be found in the prospectus. A primary market creates long term instruments through which corporate entities borrow from capital market.

Features of primary markets are:

• ·         This is the market for new long term equity capital. The primary market is the market where the securities are sold for the first time. Therefore it is also called the new issue market (NIM).
• ·         In a primary issue, the securities are issued by the company directly to investors.
• ·         The company receives the money and issues new security certificates to the investors.
• ·         Primary issues are used by companies for the purpose of setting up new business or for expanding or modernizing the existing business.
• ·         The primary market performs the crucial function of facilitating capital formation in the economy.
• ·         The new issue market does not include certain other sources of new long term external finance, such as loans from financial institutions. Borrowers in the new issue market may be raising capital for converting private capital into public capital; this is known as "going public."

Secondary market

The secondary market, also known as the aftermarket, is the financial market where previously issued securities and financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold. The term "secondary market" is also used to refer to the market for any used goods or assets, or an alternative use for an existing product or asset where the customer base is the second market (for example, corn has been traditionally used primarily for food production and feed stock, but a "second" or "third" market has developed for use in ethanol production). Stock exchange and over the counter markets.

With primary issuance of securities or financial instruments, or the primary market, investors purchase these securities directly from issuers such as corporations issuing shares in an IPO or private placement, or directly from the federal government in the case of treasuries. After the initial issuance, investors can purchase from other investors in the secondary market.

The secondary market for a variety of assets can vary from loans to stocks, from fragmented to centralized, and from liquid to very liquid. The major stock exchanges are the most visible example of liquid secondary markets - in this case, for stocks of publicly traded companies. Exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and the American Stock Exchange provide a centralized, liquid secondary market for the investors who own stocks that trade on those exchanges. Most bonds and structured products trade “over the counter,” or by phoning the bond desk of one’s broker-dealer. Loans sometimes trade online using a Loan Exchange.