ASSESSMENT OF AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION ABOUT

DIGITAL MARKETING AMONG HANDICRAFT WORKERS

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

of the two year full-time Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM).

Submitted by

.
PRASHANT TRIPATHI
Roll No: 51
Batch: 2015-17

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans

Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management (BULMIM)
New Delhi
 DECLARATION FORM

I hereby declare that the Project work entitled, ASSESSMENT OF AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION ABOUT
DIGITAL MARKETING AMONG HANDICRAFT WORKERS submitted by me for the partial fulfillment of
the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) to BULMIM, is my own original work and has not been
submitted earlier either to BULMIM or to any other Institution for the fulfillment of the requirement for any course
of study. I also declare that no chapter of this manuscript in whole or in part is lifted and incorporated in this report
from any earlier / other work done by me or others.

Place : New Delhi

Date : 09/04/2017 Signature of Student

Name of Student: PRASHANT TRIPATHI

Address: B-219, INA COLONY, NEW DELHI

INTRODUCTION OF THE PROBLEM

The performance of the manufacturer and artisans both for financing and marketing of handicrafts is far from
satisfaction. Artisans are depending on the middlemen for raw materials, finance and market for the finished
products because of their illiteracy, ignorance and poverty. The success of handicrafts depends on how well the
artisans can produce the articles and introduced in the market in keeping with the tastes and preferences of
consumers. Industrialization in any kind of arts and crafts must be recognized by the market of consumers, through
the exchange of commodities in order to make the artistic and ethnic value with a touch of innovation. This research
paper is based on marketing concepts of four Ps i.e. Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

Handicrafts are unique expressions of a particular culture or community through local craftsmanship and materials.
It is no longer possible to look at traditional artisan communities and their products in isolation from global market
trends and competition. Handicrafts are part of a much larger home accessory market, which includes handcrafted,
semi handcrafted, and machine-made goods. The home accessory market is strongly influenced by fashion trends,
consumer purchasing patterns, and economic conditions in end markets. In many cases, artisans are out of touch
with those end markets, which presents a challenge to those seeking to export their products. The response of
consumers to handicrafts is unpredictable. Handicraft production is a major form of employment in many
developing countries and often a significant part of the export economy. With increased globalization, however,
products are becoming more and more commoditized, with artisan producers facing increased competition from
producers all over the world, particularly in China and other Asian countries. The All India Handicrafts Board
assisted the state governments in setting up their Design and Technical centers in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kashmir,
Rajasthan, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa,
Manipur, Tripura, Haryana, West Bengal and Goa. In these centers, craftsmen and the artists jointly work out new
designs and items in selected crafts. These artists strive to combine the traditional with modern. The handicraft items
are carefully made by artesian so that they retain the ethnic value, while they can be put to modern day use. The
designers have to keep in mind the changing needs of the consumers, especially the foreign markets.
LITERATURE REVIEW:

India is one of the important suppliers of handicrafts to the world market. The Indian handicrafts industry is highly
labour intensive cottage based industry and decentralized, being spread all over the country in rural and urban areas.
Numerous artisans are engaged in crafts work on part-time basis. The industry provides employment to over six
million artisans (including those in carpet trade), which include a large number of women and people belonging to
the weaker sections of the society.

In addition to the high potential for employment, the sector is economically important from the point of low capital
investment, high ratio of value addition, and high potential for export and foreign exchange earnings for the country.
Prajapati and Laila1 explaining that the diversity marketing in craft industry, recommend regular market
survey to compile market information to design workable solutions to solve market problems.
Thaimani2 study focused on the lack of market awareness is the main obstacle for any village enterprises to put up
their products in urban markets. Dak3 has been listed out reasons for the failure of village crafts
such as poor designs, low quality materials and inefficient market approaches; consequently, these weaknesses are
exploited by machine made urban craft units, who apparently lockout village crafts from global markets. Florence4
review suggest strategic measures to improve markets for village crafts, often supply of scattered, insufficient and
unsystematic data on production and sales; will be the major
obstacles for them to develop quantitative marketing strategies. Resource centreRCIP5 reveals that the euro crises
can affect the profit margins and hence will difficult to remain in the market. The players in the leather industry are
small & cottage leather manufacturers and do not have the financial potential to
use hedging techniques.
STATEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVE

I. To assess the level of awareness about Digital Marketing among handicraft workers in Delhi region.

II. To assess the perception about Digital Marketing among Handicraft workers in Delhi Region.
RESEARCH M ETHODOLOGY:

Plan of study-

More than thirty handicraft workers were targeted to assess the level of awareness and perception about digital
marketing. Areas of Sadar Bazar, Uttam Nagar and South-West Delhi are taken into consideration. A team of two
has been formed to conduct the survey in these areas.

Methods of data collection-

Primary data has been collected. A Google sheet was prepared including following questions-
1. What category of business you deal in?
2. What products you offer?
3. Name of your Organization?
4. Address
5. Contact details
6. Do you have Email Address?
7. Do you have any website?
8. Are you aware of Digital Marketing?
9. Do you use Internet for business purpose?
10. Do you transact through Internet?
11. What do you think about Digital Marketing?
12. Would you like to be part of Integrated & Shared network of our organization?

Tools and techniques of analysis-

Bar chart and Pie chart

Limitations of the study-

Limited area and sample size, diversified businesses.

ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZrQPWgzzyOpYxhW0vPhHUGFXRa8T_or0z3yE
yK1KO_A/edit?ts=58e90095#gid=0
The study reveals that handicraft workers are unorganized and are not sharing resources with each other. They are
most of the well are of Internet and Digital Marketing but not using for Business Transaction purpose. They have
varied perception about usage of Digital Marketing in their course of business. Despite of this, most of such
craftsmen are interested in joining the Integrated and Shared Network of our organization. Therefore, we can
penetrate in this market and join these handicraft workers in our network.
 SWOT Analysis of the Indian handicrafts industry

Strengths

Abundant and cheap labour hence can

compete on price
Low capital investment and high ratio
of value addition
Aesthetic and functional qualities
Wrapped in mist of antiquity
Opportunities Threats
Hand made and hence has few
competitors Decline in Indias share
Rising appreciation for handicrafts by
Variety of products which are unique due to:
consumers in the developed countries Exporters willing to handle small orders
Widespread novelty seeking Increasing emphasis on product Better quality products produced
Large discretionary income at disposal of development and design upgradation by competitors from Europe,
consumer from developed countries South Africa, South Asia, etc.
Growth in search made by retail chains in Better terms of trade by
major importing countries for suitable competing countries
products and reliable suppliers. Consistent quality and increasing
Opportune for agencies to promote focus on R&D by competing
marketing activities countries
Use of e-commerce in direct marketing Better packaging
Weaknesses Stricter international standards

Inconsistent quality
Inadequate market study and marketing
strategy
Lack of adequate infrastructure and
communication facilities
Capacity to handle limited orders
Untimely delivery schedule
Unawareness of international standards
by many players in the market
Value Adding Chain in Handicrafts
Identification of market opportunities

Prototype design and development / adaption and refinement

Test marketing

Upgrading equipping facilities

Securing inputs

Entrepreneurial hiring, training, managing

Production, quality control and packaging

Costing and pricing

Physical distribution

Export market development

Analysis of the Study

Selling handicrafts are a challenging business. Especially, with the advent of cheap Chinese products, Indian
handicrafts are taken for granted. Still, there is a cluster of the audience who are still inclined towards hand made
products. Therefore, reaching the correct audience is important. Since, your physical store doesnt have the
bandwidth to reach a large number of audience, creating an ecommerce website and sell handicrafts online is a great
option.

Determine Product Source

Before you step into the business of selling Indian handicrafts, it is necessary that you need to filter the product
categories in which you will deal. If you run a physical business of making and manufacturing Indian handicrafts,
then there is no further discussion needed.

However, if you are starting from scratch, then you need to decide the product categories. Whether you want to
create an online store that sells almost every handicraft product or just want to deal with exclusive categories. You
can do a market research on it. Partner with craftsmen or Indian handicraft store that can provide your products. You
can also go to Indian handicraft fair or places like Dilli Haat. Sign a merchant agreement with them after deciding
the product price and delivery date & time.

Do a Market Research
It is a must do part of running any online business. Before you start your online business, always do a market
research about the product, which you are going to sell. This will help you plan your business strategy, in terms of
website design, product demand, available product and category, marketing strategy and much more. Checks out
what product are being sold by your competitors and at what price. Figure out the hits and miss of their store and
plan your ecommerce website keeping them in mind. Also, know your audience to which you will be selling these
products, their product demand, feasible prices, and areas where they are mostly located.

Getting Your Product Catalog Ready

The preparing product catalog is both fun and challenging. Its fun because the products are amazingly beautiful,
and challenging because there is a lot of work to be done and taken care of. Lets look t the important aspects of
product cataloging.

1) Category Mapping
If you are selling multiple category products, then you need to make sure that you decide the parent category and
sub-category accordingly. This will not only help you to track your product easily, but your audience will be able to
check out what they really want by going into the relevant category. List down all the products and decide its
category accordingly.

2) Choose Product Price

Product Pricing is extremely important for selling any product online. Include the products base price, taxes,
shipping charges or any other charges. However, you cannot forget your audience and competitors. Make sure that
your product prices are not too high that your audience does not want to buy products and you get kicked out of the
industry without any efforts.

3) Get Product Images Clicked

Get your Indian handicrafts come alive with the amazing image. Clicking Indian handicrafts is a tough task. You
will need a professional photographer to carry out this work. Get creative with your products by getting images from
every angle. Also, you can create an exciting backdrop, in case you are selling home decor or furnishing items.

4) Writing Product Descriptions

The next work in preparing your product catalog is writing product descriptions. After images, a product description
is a next thing which your customer will look to judge your products. Write enticing product descriptions which
explain your products, quality, material, uses dimensions, etc. Dont lie or exaggerate about your products just to
make them sell. Come clear to your buyers.

Preparing Your Ecommerce Website

Setting up your ecommerce website from the scratch might be a tough task for somebody who is not IT sound. You
might need to hire web designers and developers who will create your online store. However, this is a time-
consuming process. Therefore, you can go for pre-built design templates which will save a lot of time as well as
money. Make sure that you use design templates which are mobile responsive so that it can be accessed from any
gadget.

Choose Payment Method

Decide whether you want to integrate payment gateway to accept online payments or COD to accept offline
payment or both. While payment gateway will take some time to integrate, you can start accepting COD payment
from the second you develop your ecommerce website. If you are willing to sell handicrafts online to the
international audience, make sure that you do have a secured payment gateway like PayPal to accept international
payment easily.
Shipping Your Handicraft Products Safely

There is nothing worse than a shipment delivered at the wrong address or with the wrong/damaged product/s. This
surely takes a toll on your brand and your customer might not trust you again. This will affect your sales and
potential customers. Therefore, it is necessary that you ship your products properly. Choose packaging material
according to the product type. If the product is delicate and breakable, then you need to take extra packaging care.
But, make sure that you dont make your package too big as it will increase your shipping cost.

Marketing Indian Handicrafts Online

Unlike a physical store, the reach of your online store is more. However, you need to do your homework to drive the
audience to your store. For this, you need to carry out various marketing tactics so that you can increase your sales
and sell products.

1) Search Engine Optimization

Choose relevant keywords with maximum searches and minimum competition, include these keywords in your site
content and product description. Also, use these keywords to carry out SEO marketing so that your audience can
search your store on the search engine. It is free but time taking.

2) Email Marketing
Got email IDs of your potential customer? Great! Showcase your products and offers attractive discounts and wait
for buyers to flood into your store. Get your handicrafts directly to your customers inbox directly.

3) Paid Advertisements
To reach more audience easily, spend some money and start your paid advertisement using Facebook or Google.
You can choose your target area and audience and run advertisements within your budget. Dont forget to attach an
attractive image alongside to attract more audience.

4) Selling On Third Party Sites

Choose between affiliate marketing or selling on marketplaces to drive more traffic to your online store. While
affiliate websites will increase sales on your website and your brand name will be highlighted, selling on
marketplaces will increase your sales without spending too much money on marketing. However, it will not help in
brand visibility.

5) Sell Indian Handicrafts Internationally

RECOMMENDATIONS
In order to make handicrafts reach the top spot the following suggestions may be implemented.

Organizing marketing network of Handicraft: Absence of systematic marketing network has been a discouraging
factor in this region. In my opinion, the artisans must be organized by themselves under the co-operative umbrella
for marketing their products by themselves. For this more and more linkages must
be developed with outside parties.

Copy right of Handicraft: Design registration should be done. That means whatever designs any artisan has
introduced on any item should be registered. Then no one can copy it.

Price Uniformity in Handicraft: It is often complained that prices of handicraft products are very much erratic and
not uniform. There is significant difference in prices of the same article if purchase from two shops or from two
places. In this situation the customer feels very much exploited and harassed.
This might have very bad repercussion on the demand of the products. Categorization of art in each craft should be
done according to the skill exhibited and quality of raw materials used and pricing should be made accordingly by a
team of experts.

Awareness Creation: The majority of artisans are not aware about various new schemes like loan at concessional
rates, free tools, dyes and chemical, work shed-cum-housing facilities. It is the duty of the promotional organizations
to make the weavers aware about the various welfare schemes and to implement the same on a war footing.

More research and development in Handicraft: For improving the quality of the products R and D is a must. Many
more new items and new designs can be developed with the help of R and D.

Foreign Collaboration with designers and artisans: Foreign master designers may be invited to the design centers to
render guidance to the craftsmen.

Value addition in Handicraft: The various specialized organization, like DC (handicrafts), may help the local units to
produce various value added items with would not only help to penetrate the local market, but also help in exporting
of such items to foreign countries.

Publicity in Handicraft: To attract more and more buyers both within and outside the country, promotional and
marketing organizations must give due emphasis on wide publicity of various local products. For this frequent
buyers and sellers meets may be organized by promotional organizations.

Exports of Handicraft: If systematic efforts are made, some of the selective products could emerge as a major
foreign exchange earner in the near future. However, before exporting of suchitems care should be taken on product
identification, quantum of production, supply arrangements, price, delivery, quality,
payment terms etc.

Window display of Handicraft products: In whatever possible manner, all the promotional and marketing
organization, must display the local items in various airports, railway stations, bus stands, commercial centers etc.
This will help the local artisans to get more orders from foreign tourists, traders, marketing organization etc.

Positioning of handicraft Products: Handicrafts, which are produced with traditional skill, are gradually facing
competition from machine made products, which give greater uniformity and better finish. For large number of
handicraft items, there have been neither substitutes nor competition from any significant
entrant into the field. Thus, suppliers, new entrants and substitute products do not appear to be significant factors in
the strategic positioning of Handicrafts. By the process of isolation we come to the buyers and buyer groups. This
also includes the middlemen and distribution chain.
CONCLUSI ON
Handicraft is such a product that when a buyer likes it, he is prepared to pay a price, which may be far in excess of
the standard price of the product. The prime consideration is his liking of the product. Channel agents, such as
middlemen, retailer or distributor try to capitalize on such possibilities and earn significant profit almost wholly at
the cost of the craftsmen. Handicraft product may be categorized on the basis
of price, export on domestic market, ease of maintenance, ease of storage, utility value or decorative value and
modernity or traditional orientation. Besides, it is necessary for likeminded institutions to come together to provide
the strategic direction and action plans to evolve systems. Procedure and norms related to design, market,
technology, innovation and quality of life so that product designs, technology and marketing become integral part of
the craft up gradation and repositioning process. Craft is the standard mark of creativity and the essential
differentiator for a country in the sweeping wines of
globalization. Most importantly, craft has to become a fountainhead for both industrial design and communication
design, for deriving the differential advantage of Indian design in the global market place.

References

1. Prajapati and Laila, Development of Handloom Industry, Deep

& Deep, New Delhi (1981)
2. Thaimani, K. K., Handicrafts during seventh five year plan.,
paper presented in National Seminar on development and
management of Handicrafts cooperative 24-26th November,
VAMNICOM (1987)
3. Dak,T.M., Rural Industralistation: Challenges and Responses,
North Book, Delhi, pp-23-24 (1989)
4. Florence, K., Uganda Handicrafts Export Strategy, ITC Report,
WTO (2005)
5. Resource Center RCIP, Euro zone crises to hamper leather industry, http
://www.fddiindia.com/publications/newsletter/2010/006-
June/FDDINL_264_25.06.2010.pdf, (2010)
6. Sanyal, S., Banerjee, S. and Majumder, S., Indias Leather in the
World Market: Exploration of Recent Trends, Trade and
Development Review 3 (1), 22 58 (2010)
7. Kotler, P., Marketing Management, Thomson Press (India) Ltd,
New Delhi, (2003)