SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

FINAL REPORT

A REPORT
ON
SALES AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES OF
EDELWEISS:
“OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES”
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HNWIs

BY
KALYANI KUMARI

(EDELWEISS BROKING LIMITED)

ENROLLMENT NO. 08BS001359
 A REPORT
ON

SALES AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES OF EDELWEISS

AND ITS
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
“SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HNWIs”

BY:

KALYANI KUMARI
(EDELWEISS)

ENROLLMENT NO. 08BS0001359

DATE OF SUBMISSION SUBMITTED TO:

18th May, 2009 PROF SUJOY KUMAR DHAR

(Faculty Guide)

MR. RITESH AGARWAL

(Company Guide)

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 AUTHORIZATION

I, Kalyani Kumari hereby declare that the project titled “Sales and Distribution strategy
of Edelweiss and its opportunities and challenges” is an original and genuine work
carried out under the guidance of Mr. Ritesh Agarwal (Area sales manager, Edelweiss)
and Prof. Sujoy Kumar Dhar (Faculty member ICFAI Kolkata) from 23rd February,
2009 to 23rd May, 2009 in partial fulfillment of MBA Program. I declare that the report
submitted by me is a bona-fide work of my own. However, any discrepancies, if any,
found in the project will be completely my responsibility.

Place: Kolkata Name- Kalyani Kumari

Date: 18th may, 2009 Enroll No. - 08BS001359

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

No task is a single man’s effort as there are various factors, situations and people
combine together to form the background for the accomplishment of any task.

This project report bears the imprint of some very important people, both from my
institution, IBS Kolkata as well as the Organization (Edelweiss Broking Ltd.), who are
directly or indirectly related in shaping up this project. I am highly grateful and
sincerely acknowledge valuable contributions imparted by these imminent people
towards the completion of this project.

I would like to thank sincerely my Company Guide, Mr. Ritesh Agarwal, Area sales
manager, Edelweiss, Kolkata, for his useful guidance and inputs. I am also thankful to
Mr. Akshay Puri, AVP, Edelweiss for guiding me through and briefing about the
industry. I am grateful to the Organizational members of Edelweiss for their help and
support throughout the project.

Most importantly, I deeply want to express my profound gratitude and thankfulness to

Prof. Sujoy Kumar Dhar for having faith in my endeavors and abilities. Knowledge
gained from him will always inspire and encourage me to scale new heights in the
future.

I thank all the respondents who have given their precious time to answer my
questionnaire during the survey for primary data collection.

Kalyani Kumari

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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SN.NO. CONTENT PAGE NO.

1. Executive Summary 6

2. Introduction to the topic 8

3. Purpose 9

4. Scope 9

5. Limitations 10

6. Methodology 11

7. Introduction to the Indian Stock Market 12

8. Introduction to Edelweiss 15

9. Main Text

Findings about the selling strategy 22

Findings about the Distribution strategy 26

Findings about the CRM strategy 32

Strategy of Edelweiss in Kolkata 36

10. Primary Data analysis

Consumer Risk Analysis 39

Competitor Analysis 41

Questionnaires’ analysis 43

11. Key findings 51

12. Conclusion 52

13. Recommendations 52

14. References 53

15. Annexure- Questionnaires 54

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Edelweiss Capital Limited is a Mumbai based company which started its operation in
the year 1995. The mission statement of the company is “Ideas create, values protect”.
It provides services like investment banking, institutional equities, private client
broking, asset management, wealth management, investment advisory services,
treasury, insurance broking, wholesale financing, and mutual funds. The major
clients are corporations, institutional investors, and high net-worth individuals.

This Project is a comprehensive study of Sales and Distribution strategy of

Edelweiss and identifying its opportunities and challenges. It talks about studying
the method of identifying customer’s investment needs and suggesting them suitable
financial products, thus the sales of various financial products of the company and
analyze the various distribution strategies exploited by the firm. The project also deals
with customer relationship management; it gives a picture about how to build a good
relationship with the clients who bring business for the company (existing, prospective
and dormant clients). This project will explore the various distribution channels used by
Edelweiss to sell its products. The project will focus on the strength areas of the
company while at the same time tries to identify the weak areas so that it can be
overcome. A comparative analysis of Edelweiss with other broking firms has also been
done. The strategy followed by Edelweiss in relation with Sales and Distribution is
unique and acts as a (USP) unique selling proposition in favor of the company. The
strength of Edelweiss is its market image and well equipped research team, which it
uses as a potential selling tool.

As an intern, I have carried out research to track acceptability for different distribution
channels. I went for the field work, talked to customers and tracked their investment
pattern to help them suggest the kind of financial product they should use according to
their risk appetite. Adding to this, I have been communicating with different types of
customers through various media, including client visits, who fall under the sample space
for this project. My job here is to advice them to take the suitable products offered by the
company, depending on certain criteria, in order to make investing easier for them. I have
also worked as a part of sales force of the company and sold De-mat account. Some of the
data has been collected from the customers regarding their views about Edelweiss. Having
said that, a comparative study has carried out to see where Edelweiss stands in the race
for offering Products and services. I have been handling the profile of Customer
Relationship Management. I have been talking to existing HNWIs clients of the company
over the phone, asking for an appointment following which there will be client visit. In the
visit the main focus would be to convince the clients to do more business with the company
and telling them about the benefits provided by the company. So tracking the
transformation is really interesting and worth appreciating. I have concentrated on
existing and dormant clients trying to know their opinion about their association with
Edelweiss. Interaction with the clients helped to know the image of the company in the

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minds of the customers and it helped me to come up with suggestions to further improve
the services of the company. I hope my findings are useful for the company.

Objective of the project-

To cover the various aspects of sales and distribution strategy

To track the CRM policy of the company and its importance

Competitor’s analysis and knowing the opportunities and challenges before the
company

Methodology-

Primary data collection- primary data was collected through questionnaire

design and conducting a survey

Secondary data collection- source of secondary data was books, journals,

company websites and database provided by the company

Limitations-

Short duration of the project

Customer response may not be 100% right

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

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The project is about selling and distribution strategies of a financial service providing
company (Edelweiss Securities Ltd.) and opportunities and challenges faced by it. The
project stresses on HNWI clients and strategy adopted by the company to handle them.
CRM is a part of the project. In today’s context building relationships with customers is a
part of the strategy of the company because customer retention is vital for an
organization. The customer relationship is aimed at creating strong long lasting, fruitful
relationships by developing long-term bonds. As a result the customer starts identifying
and associating him with the product, prefers and accepts the company’s products and
services over competitors’ offerings and recommend others to buy. Moreover it costs
less to retain customers than to compete for new customers. My job profile is
interacting with the existing HNWI clients and the clients who are in a dormant stage
and convincing them to start business with the company and maintain their association
with the company. This involves calling the existing clients and client visits. This will
help me get an insight into the various aspects of customer relationship. The project
basically stresses on studying the method of identifying customer’s investment needs
and suggesting them suitable financial products, thus the sales of various financial
products of the company and analyze the various distribution strategies exploited by
the firm.

Sales are important from every company’s point of view. Another most impor tant thing
is the Distribution of its products in an effective way so that they reach the customers.
Sales refer to volumes, sales figure is a reflection of the company’s acceptability in the
market; a good sales figure reflects high acceptability for the company through its
products in the market and vice-versa. A company builds up a distribution strategy with
an endeavor to reach out to maximum consumer pool in a minimum time frame and
incurring least costs. A good distribution ensures easy availability o f a product in the
market and helps the company penetrate further into it. This helps the company
identify potential segments and cater to its requirements. Selecting a sales and
distribution approach is a key element of a successful business model. The sales
approach, or more broadly the overall process of selling and delivering products to
customers, at once encompasses both a company’s connection to its customers and a
significant portion of its total costs. Traditionally, companies selected from a defin ed,
limited set of options (i.e. direct sales, manufacturers representatives, distributors,
dealers) and most firms in an industry made similar choices. Recently, the number of
options has expanded greatly and the breadth of choices by competitors has
proliferated in parallel, creating potential instability in competitive positions for current
leaders and areas of opportunity for others. To make matters more uncertain, some of
the traditional options no longer offer the same balance of services and costs an d now
cease to achieve the desired results. Therefore, many companies are forced to rethink
their approaches to sales and distribution. The project talks about the opportunities and
challenges that are there before the company. Competitors’ analysis has been done to

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explore the strategies adopted by the competitors and the areas for improvement. Thus
the project covers various areas and hope it is useful for the company.

PURPOSE
To identify the distribution channels in the financial firm– this project will
explore the various distribution channels of the company like brokers and sub -
brokers

To study the distribution strategy of the company- Stress will be given on the
distribution strategy employed by the firm

To understand the customer needs and accordingly sell them suitable

products – for selling it’s important to understand the customer perception. This
project will help company to know the customer base in a better way so that
suitable selling strategy can be adopted

To study how do sales and distribution channel choices fit into the overall
business model- the project will find the effectiveness of channels in the
company

How are the underlying characteristics of sales and distribution channels

changing in the new segment - the project will find out whether with
Edelweiss coming in a new segment the distribution channels are changing or
not and how their sales strategy has been affected

creating competitive advantage with sales and distribution strategy - the

aim of the project is to explore how competitive advantage can be gained by
adopting the right strategies

To identify the growth areas of the company - the project will also focus on as
to how can the company improve its sales further and what are the segments
where there is a growth potential

To study the importance of CRM- the project deals with the relationship
management with HNI clients and its various aspects

SCOPE
There is a wide scope of this project for the company as well as industry. As the study is
about the sales and distribution strategies that are the major factors that decide
company’s success, so knowing a good deal about it is of much importance. The
company can trace the loopholes and take corrective measures which will help it

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improve further. The project has covered various marketing concepts and the models
that fit into the business model. The scope is just not limited to the company; it gives an
idea of the industry.

LIMITATIONS
Some aspects might not be covered due to time constraint

The information by the customers regarding their investment may be partially

correct because they do not wish to disclose their asset information

Reliance on the secondary data means that some of the information may be
subject to verification

Incorrect data given by the respondents might not justify the purpose

Many customers don’t wish to listen to us because of their busy schedule

In a rapidly changing industry, analysis on one day or in one segment can change
very quickly

The study is limited to only Kolkata

SORCES OF DATA
The data is being collected through primary and secondary sources.

Primary Data

The data will be collected through questionnaires from people in Kolkata. The sample
size is taken as 100 for sales and distribution questionnaire and 30 each for the two
questionnaires related to CRM.

Secondary Data

Database given by the company

Websites of the company and books

Journals and magazines

METHODOLOGY

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Research methodology is a strategy that guides a research in providing answers to
research questions and for this, research survey is being done.

For the collection of primary data the questionnaire designed for the purpose was given
to the customers to know their response. The data were collected in three month, in
Kolkata. The average response rate was 75.9%, due to the short time available for the
interviews. This was followed by client visits and interaction with the distribution
agents like broker and sub-broker.

Questionnaire Design

The questions were designed in an easily understandable way that the respondents may
not have any difficulty in answering them.

Sampling Unit:

The respondents who were asked to fill out questionnaires are the sampling units.

Sampling Area:

The area of the research was area of Kolkata, India.

Interpretation

Interpretation refers to the task of drawing inference from the collected facts after an
analytical study, in fact it is a search for broader meaning of research findings it is
through interpretation that the researcher can well understand the abstract principle
that respondents beneath his findings. The simple statistical tools will used to analyze
the data collection, Bar Graphs and pie chart have been used to illustrate the findings
diagrammatically.

INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET

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The Indian broking industry is one of the oldest trading industries that have been
around even before the establishment of BSE in 1875

Inception- The roots of a stock market in India began in the 1860s during the
American Civil War that led to a sudden surge in the demand for cotton from
India resulting in setting up of a number of joint stock companies that issu ed
securities to raise finance.

Bubble burst- The early stock market saw a boom till 1865, and then in Jul
1865, what was then used to be called the share mania ended with burst of the
stock market bubble. In the aftermath of the crash, banks, on whose building
steps share brokers used to gather to seek stock tips and share news, disallowed
them to gather there, thus forcing them to find a place of their own, which later
turned into the Dalal Street. A group of about 300 brokers formed the stock
exchange in Jul 1875, which led to the formation of a trust in 1887 known as the
“Native Share and Stock Brokers Association”

Beginning of a new phase- A new phase in the Indian stock markets began in
the 1970s, with the introduction of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) that
led to divestment of foreign equity by the multinational companies, which
created a surge in retail investing.

Growth supporting factors-The early 1980s witnessed another surge in stock

markets when major companies such as Reliance accessed equity markets for
resource mobilization that evinced huge interest from retail investors. A new set
of economic and financial sector reforms that began in the early 1990s gave
further impetus to the growth of the stock markets in India.

Setting up of SEBI- the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which
was set up in 1988 as an administrative arrangement, was given statutory
powers with the enactment of the SEBI Act, 1992. The broad objectives of the
SEBI include-

to protect the interests of the investors in securities

to promote the development of securities markets and to regulate the

securities markets

Incorporation of NSE- NSE was incorporated in Nov 1992 as a tax paying

company, the first of such stock exchanges in India, since stock exchanges earlier
were trusts, being run on no-profit basis. NSE was recognized as a stock
exchange under the Securities Contracts (Regulations) Act 1956 in Apr 1993. It
commenced operations in wholesale debt segment in Jun 1994 and capital
market segment (equities) in Nov 1994. The setting up of the National Stock

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 Exchange brought to Indian capital markets several innovations and modern
practices and procedures such as nationwide trading network, electronic trading,
greater transparency in price discovery and process driven operations that had
significant bearing on further growth of the stock markets in India. To speed the
securities settlement process, The Depositories Act 1996 was passed that
allowed for dematerialization (and dematerialization) of securities in
depositories and the transfer of securities through electronic book entry. The
National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) set up by leading financial
institutions, commenced operations in Oct 1996.

Despite passing through a number of changes in the post liberalization period,

the industry has found its way towards sustainable growth. A stock Broker is a
regulated professional who buys and sells shares and other securities through
market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors. To work as a broker
a certificate of registration from SEBI is mandatory after satisfying all the terms
and conditions.

FINANCIAL MARKETS

The financial markets have been classified as

Cash market (spot market) – largest traded, the spot market or cash market is a
commodities or securities market in which goods are sold for cash and delivered
immediately
Derivatives market – after cash market, the derivatives markets are the financial
markets for derivatives. The market can be divided into two, that for exchange
traded derivatives and that for over-the-counter derivatives
Debt market - The bond market (also known as the debt, credit, or fixed income
market) is a financial market where participants buy and sell debt securities
Commodities market – after commodities market, Commodity markets are
markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. These raw commodities
are traded on regulated commodities exchanges, in which they are bought and
sold in standardized contracts.

NEED OF A BROKER

A broker is a person or firm that facilitates trades between customers. It is advisable to

conduct transactions through an intermediary. For example one needs to transact
through a trading member of a stock exchange if they intend to buy or sell any security
on stock exchanges. One needs to maintain an account with a depository if they intend
to hold securities in demat form. You need to deposit money with a banker to an issue if
you are subscribing to public issues. One gets guidance if you are transacting through an
intermediary. A broker acts as a go between and, in doing so, does not assume any risk
for the trade. The broker does, however, charge a commission. A broking firm acts as an
intermediary between NSE and Client. Stock Brokers come under the category of Market

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Players. The membership in the stock exchange can be granted as individual
membership and corporate membership.

NSE BROKER CLIENT

The market intermediaries play an important role in the development of Securities

Market by providing different types of services. There are two major stock-exchanges
NSE (composition of 50 stocks) and BSE (Composition of 30 stocks).

Exchange-wise Stock Brokers Registered with SEBI (As on March 31, 2008)

SN NO. STOCK EXCHANGE TOTAL NO. OF NO.OF CORPORATE

STOCK CORPORATE BROKERS AS A
BROKERS BROKERS % OF TOTAL
STOCK
BROKERS
1. Ahmadabad 321 157 48.91
2. Bangalore 256 124 48.44
3. BSE 946 767 81.08
4. Bhubaneswar 214 19 8.88
5. Calcutta 957 204 21.32
6. Cochin 435 80 18.39
7. Coimbatore 135 48 35.56
8. Delhi 374 213 56.95
9. Gauhati 103 3 2.91
10. ISE 935 345 36.90
11. Jaipur 488 18 3.69
12. Ludhiana 297 85 28.62
13. MPSE 174 34 19.54
14. Madras 181 71 39.23
15. NSE 1,129 1,039 92.03
16. OTCEI 719 551 76.63
17. Pune 188 55 29.26
18. UPSE 354 78 22.03
19. Vadodara 311 64 20.58

AN INTRODUCTION TO EDELWEISS

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Edelweiss capital was started by two IIM graduates Mr. Rashesh Shah and Mr. Venkat
Ramaswami. The Company is operating in India as an Integrated Investment Banking
Company. Edelweiss strives to be a thinking organization, trying to be innovative and
imaginative. The policy of the company ensures transparency and greater
opportunities for all its clients.

SNAPSHOT
Approach- Client Focus, Execution orientation, Culture, Professional Integrity,
Research Driven

Aim- building long term relationships with the clients and equipping the clients
about the market knowledge so that they can address the day by day fast growing
opportunities

USP- The single minded focus on thought leadership and relentless pursuit of the ‘new’
and ‘different’ is it in products, services or people, model of employee ownership

Culture- Entrepreneurial and result driven emphasizing confidentiality and integrity

Operations- stock broking, research services, distribution of financial products,

depository services, and proprietary trading, 47 per cent of its revenue is from
treasury and wholesale financing

Research (POD) - 90 researchers, covers over 200 stocks across 19 sectors that
accounts for about 70% of the total market capitalization

Offices- operates from 56 offices in 21 Indian cities, employs over 1600 employees

Major clients- ESL focuses on the wholesale equity segment, providing broking services
to Institutional and corporate clients and high net worth individuals

Market Capitalization- Rs 5,500 crore (Rs 55 billion),

Equity Base- over Rs 2,000 crore

Website- www.edelcap.com, www.edelblue.com

HIGHLIGHTS

ESL has a strong equity research team, which covers approximately 50 - 60

companies within 6 industry categories, with a focus on large and medium cap
stocks.

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 The company’s Equities Broking division has now expanded to include 215
stocks in 19 sectors accounting for 70 percent of market capitalization

Alternate Asset Management’s total asset value currently stands at $625 million

Wholesale Financing division soared to Rs. 141 crore in FY08 from Rs. 7 crore in
the previous year

Edelweiss is amongst the largest institutional broking firm, enjoying a healthy

5% plus market share in the institutional broking segment

Edelweiss is also in the process of widening its product portfolio by penetrating

into product specific and sector specific niches, which will broaden and
strengthen its entire institutional business

Asset base of over INR 800 cr. In lending business

It is empanelled with over 40 leading FIIs, FIs, Mutual Funds, Banks and
Insurance companies

Listing in various stock exchanges NSE: EDELWEISS, BSE: 532922, Bloomberg:

EDEL.IN
Awarded as “Best Merchant Banker” by the Outlook Money NDTV Profit Awards,
2008
Ranked among the top ten players in Annual Bloomberg and Annual Thomson -
Reuters
Present Chairman and CEO- Mr. Rashesh Shah
Well respected Brand with strong position in relevant market segments

STRENGHTS OF THE COMPANY

Has an integrated business model, which specializes in providing a wide range

of financial products and services such as investment banking, institutional
equities, wealth management, and wholesale finance.
Is well positioned to leverage the growing financial sector in India and become
a significant market player, especially in areas like investment banking,
institutional equities etc.
Has a strong research platform with research products, such as fundamental
and alternative research, catering to institutions and HNWIs. The fundamental
research covers ~190 companies which represent ~69% of the market
capitalization of all the companies listed on BSE as on August, 2007. On the other
hand alternative research utilizes quantitative techniques to identify short term
and medium term investment opportunities in the capital market

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 The company has a strong internal controls and risk management system
employed throughout the firm to access and monitor risk across various
business line. The Risk exposure is monitored and controlled through a variety of
separate but complementary financial, credit and operational reporting system

Is an established brand with strong track record of high growth and

profitability
Is strongly focused on nurturing & maintaining strong business relationships
with corporate & institutional clients
Well positioned to utilize the immense opportunities in the Indian financial
sector

RECENT APPROACH

Edelweiss is a premium broking firm whose targets were only HNWI clients. But seeing
the opportunity in retail sector it has forayed into it. The company is providing the same
research facility to its retail clients as it provided to its premium clients. It is offering an
online platform to the clients which will increase transparency and make business
hassle free for the clients. The company is making a shift from ESL (Edelweiss Securities
limited) to EBL (Edelweiss Broking Limited).

The benefits offered by the company to its clients are:-

Online Platform
News alert through Mobile messages and e-mail
Dealer support
Portfolio Doctor (Turtle)
Toll Free Number (Helpline Services)

Thus the company is customer focused and protects the wealth of its customers through
its innovative ideas. The company is repositioning itself from a niche marketer to a mass
marketer and is aiming at Brand Repositioning.

THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY EDELWEISS ARE AS

FOLLOWS:-

SERVICES

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 Capital based

Agency based

Recent initiatives/high growth areas

Investment Banking: This includes services such as M&A advisory, transaction

execution relating to structured finance, equity markets, real estate, and infrastructure.

Institutional Equities: Edelweiss’ Institutional equities business comprises institutional

equity sales, sales-trading, and research.

Private Client Brokerage: These services are targeted at high net worth and other
individuals who actively invest and trade in the equity market.

Wealth Management: Wealth management involves providing investment advisory,

planning & asset deployment services to high net-worth individuals.

Asset Management: This involves both asset management as well as investment

advisory services. Under this, the company advises three funds with an aggregate
corpus of over USD 330 mn.

Insurance Brokerage: Edelweiss has also entered the non-life insurance brokerage
business as an IRDA registered broker in 2005 and it distributes insurance products
through its subsidiary, Edelweiss Insurance Brokers Limited.

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Treasury: The internal treasury operations manage the excess capital funds by
investing the same in low risk strategies to achieve risk-adjusted returns.

Wholesale financing: Wholesale business provides the high net worth individual and
corporate clients with facilities such as loans against shares, loans to finance IPO
subscriptions, and loans against mutual fund units. This is done through a subsidiary,
ECL Finance Limited.

PRODUCTS

Advisory Based Broking (ABB) – an asset management service.

Margin Funding- The Company provides funds to people who wish to invest
large amount in stock market but are lacking in fund. Fund is provided against
securities. The company has a policy of ‘hair cut’ which means that the assets
that are kept as securities, they are valued less than their original price. Fund is
provided for investing in only those stocks that are listed in the stock broker’s
list of the company. This is to save the company from loss as company h as those
stocks in the list that are less volatile and whose market value is good.

Structured Product- As such, structured products were created to meet specific

needs that cannot be met from the standardized financial instruments available
in the markets. Structured products can be used as an alternative to a direct
investment, as part of the asset allocation process to reduce risk exposure of a
portfolio, or to utilize the current market trend

Mutual Fund- This is a product offered by the company that takes money from
the investors and invests it in the stock market on their behalf as customers are
not fully aware of the stock market. They take money from many customers and
collectively invest in the stock market.

Insurance- Another product offered by the company in which the agent gets
commission on every insurance policy done by him

Arbitrage- Arbitrage, or true arbitrage, involves buying and selling a security

and taking advantage of prices differences that may exists on different markets.
While rare, this does happen from time to time

De-Mat account- it refers to Dematerialized Account. It is necessary to sell and

buy stocks. So it is just like a bank account where actual money is replaced by
shares. One has to approach the DPs, to open his demat account. So one doesn’t
have to possess any physical certificates showing that you own these shares.
They are all held electronically in the account. As one buys and sells the

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 shares, they are adjusted in their account. Just like a bank passbook or
statement, the DP provides with periodic statements of holdings and
transactions.

Portfolio Management Services- this product comes under wealth management.

Customers are advised where they should invest their total investment savings.

Initial Public Offering (IPO) - This product invites public to participate in the
bidding process.

Commodity market- In this market metals and agricultural products are traded.
MCX for metal products and NCDEX for agricultural products.

CLIENT REVENUE MIX

institutional/corporate clients individual clients

22%

78%

GROWTH STRATEGY

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The Company’s growth areas are basically across three categories- Products, asset
classes and client segments. It basically focuses on HNWI clients, and now it has come
into the retail segment which is its source of growth. From the asset side it gets fixed
income and is also into real estate. The popular products are wholesale financing,
financial product distribution etc.

MAIN TEXT

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FINDINGS
Sales and distribution management constitutes one of the most important areas for
customer satisfaction. Sales management has been defined as the management of a
firm’s personal selling functions while distribution is an indirect function. Therefo re
integration is required between sales and distribution functions.

(1) SELLING STRATEGY OF EDELWEISS

Relationship strategy

The key to success in selling is the ability to establish working relationships with the
customers in which mutual support, trust and goals are nurtured over time. Edelweiss
stresses on building good relationship with its clients as in case of financial firms the
intangible nature of services makes Relationship strategy vital. The main purpose of a
salesperson is not just to make sales but to create customers.

Product centered selling and client centered selling

Product-centered selling Client-centered selling

1. Stress on research and development 1. Stress on research and development of

of product relationships with clients

2. Emphasis on knowledge of product 2. Emphasis on knowledge of customers

3. Influenced by past performance of 3. directed more to consideration of future

products and competition and
Growth and developments in the client
present situations
World

4. Seeks to be accepted as a reliable, 4. seeks to raise client’s expectations of

credible source of information and
Personal excellence
service

The strategy of Edelweiss is a mix of product centered and client centered

strategy.

(2) EDELWEISS’ SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

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 First a strategic sales programme is made keeping in mind the company’s objectives.
Then accordingly the sales programme is implemented. Following this there is an
evaluation of the sales force performance. The company adopts majorly Direct Selling
Strategy to sell its products. The concept of telemarketing is being adopted by the
company. Appointments are fixed over the phone which is followed by the client
meeting. The whole process can be shown with the help of a flowchart:-

Create direct Identify the Make Give suitable Ensure

selling customer appointment demo &pitch knowledge
process with customer about product

Ensure After sales Close deal

increase in prompt
cust. value service

Sales organization always makes effort to increase sales, thereby achieving the principle
of profit maximization, thus contributing to the overall growth of the enterprise.

Sales goal should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-
bound

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(3) METHODS OF APPROACH ADOPTED BY SALESPERSONS TO SELL EDELWEISS
PRODUCTS

Cashing in on Brand Name or the Company’s reputation- Representatives

approach the customers with the strength of Brand name that Edelweiss has.
Though the company is new in Kolkata, it is a well established brand in Mumbai.

Customer Benefit Approach- they convey to customers the benefits they will get
after getting associated with Edelweiss, like online platform and local dealer
support.

Interactive Approach- the approach is interactive i.e. it is a two way

communication and client queries are always welcomed

AIDAS THEORY OF SELLING

ATTENTION
Seek the attention of the prospect client

INTEREST Maintain the attention by creating interest

DESIRE Create desire in customer’s mind to buy the product

Induce the client to buy the product

ACTION

SELLING SKILLS - Talking about the skills that a salesperson should posses, they are as
follows:-

24 | P a g e
Possession of these skills is very important as conversion of a prospect customer to a
company client very much depends on the selling skills and how the matter is put forth
the client.

The project part that covers D-Mat account sales, involves calling the clients, interacting
with them and convincing them to maintain a good relationship with the company so
that the company is in a profit.

(4) THE MAJOR ATTRIBUTES OF THE SELLING STRATEGY IN THE COMPANY

Sales target- The sales team is given a fixed target which it needs to achieve
within a month.
Motivational Rewards- The team who performs the best is given some rewards.
This is to motivate others to perform well and at the same time appreciate the
hard work done by the winning team
Continuous Evaluation- the sales team has to appear in the evaluation
conducted by the company to test their market and product knowledge. This is
done to ensure that the company has the best sales force
Training Program- Team leaders are given training regarding the product and
market so that they can handle customer queries.
Thus the company follows an effective sales strategy (PUSH STRATEGY) which is
customer focused.

25 | P a g e
(4) DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

Distribution channels are organized structures performing the tasks necessary to

facilitate exchange transactions. The functions of distribution channels are to create
time, space and state utilities which constitute the added value of distribution.
Distributors (wholesalers, retailers, agents, brokers) are required because
manufacturers are unable to assume by themselves, at a reasonable cost, all the tasks
implied by a free and competitive exchange process. Distribution channels can be
characterized by the number of intermediary levels that separate the supplier from the
end-user. The selection of a particular channel design is determined by factors related
to market, buyer behavior and company characteristics. When the channel structure is
indirect, some degree of co-operation and co-ordination must be achieved among the
participants in the vertical marketing system. Regarding the number of intermediaries
is necessary; three market coverage strategies are possible: intensive, selective or
exclusive distribution. Distribution is one of the elements of marketing mix. Through
distribution channel the product passes through intermediaries before reaching the end
consumer.

Distribution channel can have number of levels-

Zero level channel

One level channel

Two level channel

Choice of distribution channel depends on

Market consideration – consumer or industrial market, number of potential

customers, size of order, buying habits of customers, geographical
concentration of markets

Product considerations - Technical nature, Perishability

Company considerations- Financial resources, Services provided by the

channels, Experienced and competent management, desire for control of
channels

Middlemen considerations – Competition, sales potential, Availability of

desired middlemen, attitude of middlemen, cost

The key differentiating factors of a successful distribution channel are as follows:

Quality of advice given by the company to its customers

Choices of products
After sales service
Settlement of issues if any

26 | P a g e
 Managing distinct cultural and social ethos
Marketing the product as an essential financial product
Building trust

Role of distribution channels

To adjust the discrepancy of assortment through the process of sorting,

accumulation, allocation, and assorting
To minimize the distribution costs through routinising and standardizing
transactions to make exchange more efficient and effective
To facilitate the searching process of both buyers and sellers by structuring
the information essential to both the parties
To provide a place for both parties to meet each other and reducing
uncertainty

Distribution channel strategy

Setting distribution objectives in terms of the customer requirements

Finalizing the set of activities that are required to be performed to achieve

the channel objectives

Organizing the activities so that the responsibility of performing the activities

is shared among the entities who are meant to perform these activities

Developing policy guidelines for the smooth functioning of the channel on a

day to day basis

The distribution extension decision is based on distribution development index (DDI) a

Category Development Index (CCI). If we see the current situation of edelweiss is
considered then it can be seen that DDI is high as the brand is readily ava ilable in the
market as compared to its competitors. While CCI is low if we consider the retail
segment, in which the company is a new comer. Per capita consumption of its products
in the market relative to per capita consumption of the total financial pro ducts is low. So
the strategy adopted by Edelweiss would be “Concentrating on demand generation
activities”.

In the retail sector the strategy of Edelweiss is to go for Brand Repositioning and
become a mass marketer. The company is distributing Pamphlets among the customers
for its promotion and building an image in the minds of the customers.

27 | P a g e
 H
Distribution
u
development
g
h

H
L

Category development
H- High L- low

Edelweiss is itself an intermediary between NSE and client and is a part of the
distribution channel. But as a company it has its own distribution strategies to sell
products to the customers.

(5) DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS OF THE COMPANY

The company has named the services provided to the customers as CLIENT ADVISORY
SERVICES (CAS). The company has a multichannel distribution system. Client
Advisory Services is mainly looking into five channels for distribution-:

A. Inbound Team

B. Sub Broker/ Remissor

C. Direct Selling Agency

D. Retail shops or Kirana Store

E. Corporate Accounts

28 | P a g e
Inbound Team: - CAS currently has an inbound team of 30 members divided into four
team leaders. Each team leader can have 8 fixed cost agents reporting to him. These
fixed cost agents are sourcing accounts directly from the market. Team leaders are
reporting to ASM which in turn are reporting to the Regional Head. Each agent has a
specific target assigned to him.

Reporting Hierarchy:

Regional
Head

Area Sales
Manager

Team leaders

Fixed cost
agents

Sub – Broker/ Remissor- Sub brokers charge commission for the business they bring
to the company by bringing clients. Sub-brokers have their own office space and they
need not work in the office of the company they are working for as sub-broker. Whereas
Remissor is a type of Sub-Broker that uses the office space of the company it is working
for. They have a fixed participation in the company. Remissor is given a certain low % as
compared to Sub-brokers as they are using the resources of the company

Direct Selling Agents (DSA)- DSA’s are working for the company but they have no
profit participation. They are given commission on the basis of account clients under
Edelweiss. The DSA’s looks for agents who can work under them. They have a team of
around 7-8 members who source the clients for them. These agents get commission
from the DSA’s and they have no connection with the company.

Retail Shops/ Kirana stores- This is a new concept that Edelweiss has come up with.
The products are given to the Retail shops or Kirana stores as they have a strong
customer base and this aids the distribution of the various products. The retail shops
are given commission on the basis of products sold by them.

29 | P a g e
Corporate Accounts- This is a way to get bulk accounts from the companies. NSE and
BSE listed companies are offered free accounts. First an appointment is fixed in the
target company which is followed by a corporate presentation. This is the major
contributor to the company’s sales.

(6) CHANNEL MANAGEMENT TASKS

Design of channel structure Ex ante phase

Distribution channel strategy Establishing the channel

 Channel objectives
 Activity finalization
 Activity organization
Motivating the channel members
 Developing Policy
Ex poste phase
guidelines

Resolving conflicts among

channel members

Managing the distribution channels is an important task. It involves two phases -

managing before the channel is actually executed. This is called the ex-ante phase.
During this phase the channel is designed and established. The next phase is ex -poste
phase, i.e. the phase after the channel has comes into work, in which the channel
members are motivated and the conflicts are resolved.

30 | P a g e
(7) INNOVATION IN DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Edelweiss’ Retail stores are an approach to shift from traditional marketing channels
and this can give the competitive edge and is the differentiating factor.

(8) DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL STRATEGY OF EDELWEISS BASED ON CUSTOMER

BEHAVIOUR

PUSH FORCE PULL FORCE

Financially sales force

unaware/unsure

Financially aware/unsure Telemarketing, media

advertising

Financially astute/sure Financial media Telephone, internet

Financial nichers Recommendations, Face to face, telephone

historical relationships

31 | P a g e
(9) A SHORT COMPARISON OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS TO THE FINANCIAL
PRODUCTS WHEN IT COMES TO SALES AND DISTRIBUTION

The financial services are different from the consumer products offered. If we make a
comparative analysis following points can be highlighted:-

Interaction with the customer- In case of consumer products the company

has no direct contact with its customers. It distributes its products to the
distributors and after that does not come in the picture. They come in contact
with the customers only in case of any complaints. In case of a financial
product the company personnel interact directly to the customers and
convince them to buy the product. Thus the responsibility of company
increase in case of financial products
Buying Pattern- Many consumer products are taken by the customer on an
impulse while taking a financial product involves a long thought process.

(10) VARIOUS ASPECTS OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

The customer relationship is aimed at creating strong long lasting, fruitful

relationships by developing long-term bonds. As a result the customer starts
identifying and associating him with the product, prefers and accepts the company’s
products and services over competitors’ offerings and recommend others to buy.
Moreover it costs less to retain customers than to compete for new customers. The
project involves interacting with the existing HNWI clients and the clients who are in
a dormant stage and convincing them to start business with the company and
maintain their association with the company. This involves calling the existing
clients and client visits. This helped in getting an insight into the various aspects of
customer relationship.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Edelweiss is financial service providing company. In case of financial company the

differentiating factor is the services provided by the firm. Financial services
basically mean all those kinds of services provided in financial or monetary terms,
where the essential commodity is money. These services include; Leasing, Hire
purchase, venture capital, Merchant banking, Insurance, housing finance, Mutual
funds, factoring, stock broking and many others. The term financial services in its
broader sense refer to “mobilizing and allocation of savings’’. It is identified as all
those activities involved in the process of converting savings into investment.

There are number of factors which make the financial services different from
physical goods. The major characteristics of financial services are – Intangibility,

32 | P a g e
 Lack of ownership, Inseparability, Perishability, Heterogeneity, Fiduciary
responsibility, Long term.

SERVICES MARKETING TRIANGLE

FIRM

Internal marketing External Marketing

EMPLOYEES CUSTOMERS

Interactive Marketing

According to Grönroos the internal marketing has to be managed by the company’s

leadership, the interactive marketing happens between the employees and the clients
and the external marketing is what takes place between the company’s management
and the clients.

3P’S OF SERVICES MARKETING

Coming to the Marketing Mix generally there are 4P’s (PRODUCT, PRICE, PLACE,
PROMOTION) but when it comes to services marketing 3p’s are added to it:-

PEOPLE

The importance of people within the marketing of services has led to great interest in
internal marketing. This recognizes the importance of attracting, motivating, training,
and retaining quality employees by developing jobs to satisfy individual needs. People
form an important part of the differentiation in a service organization which can create
added value for the customer.

PROCESS

The processes by which services are created and delivered to the customer is a major
factor within the services marketing mix as services customers will often perceive the
service delivery system as part of the service itself.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The exterior design can be utilized to communicate e.g. the history and values of the
respective institution. The use of color in combination with texture and finishes is
identified to be a simple but very effective factor of differentiation, helping to convey

33 | P a g e
 particular messages to the customer and creating a special atmosphere affecting
employees and customers likewise. Two types of graphics can be used to establish
identity, marketing graphics and branding graphics. While mar keting graphics promote
products and services, branding graphics enhance brand image and should be used
complementary with all marketing activities (Grow, 2004).

MODERN MARKETING CONCEPT

Starting point Focus Means End

Target Consumer Integrated Customer

Classical Market needs Marketing Satisfaction

Individual Customer CRM Customer

Contemporary Customer Experience Loyalty

Need of CRM

To keep existing customers in the face of intense competition and the higher
comparative cost of acquiring new customers

Intense completion in the industry results in emphasis on service quality as

means of achieving competitive advantage

close and long term relationship with customers imply continuing exchange
opportunities with existing customers at a lower marketing cost per customer

Good relationship with customers can result in a good word-of-mouth publicity.

Service quality cracks can often be prepared over where good relationships have
existed previously

To pursue a customer centric strategy rather than a product centric strategy

34 | P a g e
 MODEL FOR CRM MARKETING

Customer needs Customer development Customer retention and

assessment and acquisition through personalization & referring new customers
customization

Addition of value with Relationship marketing High customer satisfaction

products and services
Commitment Increased market share
Contact and involvement
Recognition High customer loyalty
Intimacy and one to one
relationship Respect High customer retention
index
Price offers Reward
Life time customer
Special facilities/services Reciprocation

Information sharing Transparency

Share values

CRM involves the above shown process. First the customer needs are identified and they
are acquired. This is followed by development of customers through customization and
then steps are taken to retain the customers.

(11) HNWIs VS RETAIL CLIENTS

HNWIs RETAIL

Individualized distribution Mass distribution

Individualized Message Mass advertising
Share of customer Share of market
Profitable customers All customers
Customer retention Customer attraction
Individual customer Average customer
Customized offering Standard product
Focus on few but profitable Focus on large number of
customers customers
Extra services Normal services
Proactive marketing Reactive marketing

35 | P a g e
The above comparison shows that the strategy adopted for retail clients is different
from that of HNWIs depending on their values and profit they bring to the organization.

(12) MARKETING STRATEGY OF EDELWEISS IN KOLKATA

SEGMENTING, TARGETING AND POSITIONING

The company is segmenting the customers on the basis of demography. The various
categories are-

Age- the company is targeting only those people who are of 28yrs. of age and
above. This is to ensure that they have a sound understanding of stock market

Gender- Male clients are being targeted as it is the case with most of the families
that the male members’ trade and women don’t take much interest in trading. So
they are targeting the male clients

Educational qualification- The Company is looking for educated customers who

can understand the stock market and get the advice given by the company. As
Edelweiss is a premium broking firm so while it is catering to the retail clients
but still it is maintaining its image

Income level- the company is targeting people who have an annual income of
3lakhs and above. This ensures that they are able to invest in the stock market

CLASSIFICATION OF CUSTOMERS ON BASIS OF THEIR VOLUME & LEVEL OF

INVESTMENT

36 | P a g e
According to the above diagram the HNWIs are the customers whose volume is low b ut
their level of investment is huge so they are of much importance. As the volume of
customers decrease their level of investment increases that means that there are few
clients that account for most of the profits of the company.

The research and development wing has taken a center stage in the innovation process
going forward. The company is thus positioning itself as a premium broking firm as it
basically caters to HNI clients. It believes in providing quality service to its clients. Even
as it enters the retail segment, it is maintaining its premium image as is clear from the
choice segmentation of customers. It maintains a good client base and provides quality
services to them. The company is POD (Point of differentiation) is its quality Research
and development.

FACING THE COMPETITORS

Flank attack is the strategy adopted by Edelweiss to attack its competitors. In this
strategy the company attacks on the competitor’s weak point. Here the company is
attacking the competitors on the basis of brokerage and research.

Few strategies recommended by Edelweiss

Our recommended strategy is to be overweight domestic-focused sectors: telecom,

industrials, consumer discretionary, and BFSI
Our top large cap picks are Bharti, BHEL, Crompton, Hero Honda, HDFC Bank, SB I, Sun
TV and Suzlon.

EDELWEISS IN NEWS

SPONSOR OF ICL- Edelweiss is the sponsor of ICL and this will give it wider
coverage and help it build its brand. The technique for which Edelweiss is going
is Event sponsorship and this is an effective way to cover mass media.

TIE-UP WITH UNION BANK OF INDIA- to roll out Wealth Management Services
to cater its High Net worth Individuals (HNI) in Mumbai. Under the conditions of
the tie-up, Edelweiss will be contributing a whole range of wealth management
products and alternative investment options such as structures product, Real
Estate Funds, Art.

Edelweiss is looking for long term customer base and for that reason it is trying to
understand the investment pattern of the customers and accordingly suggest them the
financial products matching their risk profile. While other companies are just selling
their products Edelweiss by conducting this survey is actually trying to understand the
investment needs of the customers.

37 | P a g e
OPPORTUNITIES BEFORE THE COMPANY

Strong economic growth, increased geographic penetration, growth of SMEs and

the increasing need for capital among Indian corporations are expected to
continue to drive India’s financial services industry.

The Company is already well established in domains such as investment banking.

Moreover, it plans to invest a large part of its IPO in prepaying of loans, enhance
margins with stock exchanges and establish new offices.

Huge untapped retail segment - the Company has a huge opportunity before it as
it has a vast untapped retail segment.

Increasing affluent class- The rise of the affluent class will aid the growth of the
company

The Indian financial sector carries immense growth opportunities, be it

investment banking, wealth management, insurance broking or a ny other
domain

The focus on diversity has already reduced the risk of client and product
concentration. With a continuous rise in number of HNIs, and the expansion of
capital markets, domains such as investment banking, PMS are likely to
experience outstanding growth

CHALLENGES BEFORE THE COMPANY

More people have sold the shares in the Indian share market than they bought in
the recent weeks. This has added to the fall of sensex to lower points.

Foreign investors have pulled out from stock markets leading to heavy losses in
stocks and mutual funds

Because of such uncertainty many people have started saving money in banks
rather than investing

Business Volatility- The business in which the company is in is very volatile and
keeps changing with the market situation. So to keep a good pace of growth is the
challenge that lies ahead

Competition- The competition is fierce among different market players and

standing in this situation is a challenge

Risk management- The business is prone to a high risk and minimizing risk is the
need of the time

People- The company should maintain the good working force that it has with it
at present and improve it to gain competitive advantage

38 | P a g e
 METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology

Consumer profiling and Comparative Analysis Market Survey

Investment need analysis

Questionnaire Telephonically
De-mat account s
Suggesting suitable
products sales

Sales & Existing Dormant

distribution customers customers

KEY FINDINGS

(i)Consumer profiling and investment need analysis

The survey involved classifying the customers into three categories on the basis of their
risk appetite following the Jacob’s Model. According to this model customers can be
classified into three classes on the basis of their investment preference.

AGGRESSIVE CUSTOMERS:

10% 25%

65%

Bonds Stocks Short term

39 | P a g e
MODERATE CUSTOMERS CONSERVATIVE CUSTOMER

Bonds Stocks Short term Bonds Stocks Short term

20% 30% 25%

50%

25%
50%

CONCLUSION

Whether a person is aggressive, moderate or conservative the determining factor is the

investment he makes in the different sectors. If he is investing more in the stock market
that means he is willing to take risks and thus is an aggressive customer. A moderate
customer invests partially in stocks and partially in bonds and short term. While a
conservative person invests very less in the stock market. Many people are unaware of
the category they fall in. Like they think that they are aggressive but do not invest that
amount in stock market, then it is important to tell them the right mix that they should
have if they want to be aggressive. If a person is considers himself o be conservative
then he should invest more in bonds as they guarantee fixed return.

RISK TAKING ABILITIES OF PEOPLE

LOSS WILLING TO INCUR ON INVESTMENT OF Rs.

100
Above Rs. 20
Rs. 10-20 4% ZERO
11% 36%
Rs. 5-10
14%

Rs. 1-5
35%

Conclusion

While classifying people under the three categories, it was seen that most of the
customers were conservative i.e. they were not willing to take any risk when it comes to
investment. Only 4% people were aggressive and ready to take risks to maximize their
return.

40 | P a g e
 DE-MAT ACCOUNT SALES

Along with classifying the customers into various categories the de-mat was also pitched to
them especially to those customers who lacked in their investment in the stock market and
did not had the right combination of investments.

COMPARITIVE ANALYSIS
Edelweiss Sharekhan Religare India Motilal ICICI Indiabulls
Infoline Oswal Direct

Brokerage Competitive competitive nominal high nominal High low

Services Premium Good average average good Very good average

Online Yes with Yes with yes yes yes Yes but Real-time
trading excellent the most no quotes
software preferred streaming

Research Excellent good average average average Very good average

Brand Not good Very average average good Excellent satisfactory

image in good
Kolkata

AMC Free for Rs.400 Rs.325 Rs.450 Rs.325 Rs.500 Rs.500

the 1st
year, 562

De-mat Free Rs.725 Rs.300 Rs.500 Rs.425 Around Rs.500

account account Rs.750
charges opening

Exposure 3-4 times 5 times 5-6times 3-4times 6-7times 3-5 times 6-7times

INTERPRETATION

From the above table following conclusions can be drawn:-

When it comes to brokerage, Edelweiss is very competitive. Though there are

many firms that are offering very low brokerage to the clients, the company has
come up with its new prepaid plans in which the brokerage is as low as 10 paisa.
There are different plans depending on the trading volume of the clients

Services offered by Edelweiss are premium and one of the best among all.

41 | P a g e
 Edelweiss has online trading platform that has live streaming quotes and
Express trade facility wherein the client can punch in the trade while looking at
the values of the stocks.

Research of Edelweiss is best among all its competitors and no one can beat
Edelweiss on that

The only point that is not in the favor of Edelweiss is low Brand equity in
Kolkata. The Brand image is not there in the minds of the people as the company
is new in Kolkata. So the company needs to work on it and establish a good brand
image as it matters a lot in this industry

From the above table it can be seen that ICICI and Sharekhan are its biggest
competitors. ICICI is the major competitor, the benefit that it enjoys is that the
customers can have their account I its bank so fund transfer is very easy. Besides
it has a very good brand image and people trust on that. This is the reason that
despite charging a high brokerage it is very popular among masses. Sharekhan is
customer friendly and its terminal is considered very fast. So Edelweiss needs to
focus on these two competitors.

COMPARITIVE MARKET SHARE OF EDELWEISS

12.71 6
17.19
15.81

6.93
27.69
13.67

Edelweiss Sharekhan ICICI Motilal Oswal

HDFC Indiabulls others

ICICI is the market leader followed by Sharekhan. Edelweiss holds 6% of the market
share and shows a bright potential of growth.

42 | P a g e
SALES AND DISTRIBUTION QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS

Q. Through which of the channels do you usually buy a financial product?

Internet Broker Direct from the company

5%
20%

75%

Conclusion

When it comes to channels of buying a financial product most of the people prefer to
buy it from a broker as it is the most trusted source and they have a good market and
product knowledge. Many people like to inquire themselves directly from the company
while 5% of the people look for internet as a medium. This graph shows that broking
business is a profitable one as it attracts the large volume of potential customers

Q. What is your preferable tool of investment?

All values in percentage term

40
36
35

30

25
25
22
20

15

10
7
5 5
5

0
Bank Deposit Real estate Derivative mutual fund Gold and Equity shares
instrument bullion

Conclusion- When it comes to investing one’s income 36% of the people prefer to be on
the safer side and avoid risk by investing in the bank deposits. The next option is mutual
funds as they are comparatively risk free. Equity shares are the next best option

43 | P a g e
according to the respondents. So it can be said that most of the people prefer risk-free
return. While a 22% of graph shows that equity shares are considered as a good option
by the investors due to their high return.

Q. How did you come to know about Edelweiss?

40

35

30

25

20
39.4

15 27.6
20.3
10
12.7
5

0
Internet Print and reference group By chance
electronic media

Conclusion

The above responses shows that most of the people came to know about Edelweiss by
chance while many through reference group. This shows that the company needs to
work a lot towards creating Brand Awareness in Kolkata. Reference group is a good
source of information about the company.

Q. Are you aware of all the products offered by Edelweiss?

All figures are in percentage term

70

60

50

40
64
30

20 36

10

0
Yes No

Conclusion- 64% of the people are not aware of the products offered by the Edelweiss.
In this category few of the respondents knew about the equity share trading but were

44 | P a g e
not aware of all the products, while a large chunk of respondents had never heard of
Edelweiss.

Q. Have you used any Edelweiss financial product?

90

80

70

60

50

40 78.44
30

20

10 21.56
0
Yes No

In response to the question 78.44% of the respondents said that they are not using any
Edelweiss product at present, so it gives a clear picture that there is a huge untapped
segment among which the product needs to be pitched

Q. Which Edelweiss product are you using now?

5% mutual fund
10%
40% De-mat

45% debentures

other(structu
red products)

Conclusion

From the response it can be seen that De-mat (equity shares) is the highest selling
product of Edelweiss followed by mutual fund. Of the 21.56% of people using Edelweiss
products nearly 50% prefer equity shares.

45 | P a g e
Q. Best company according to the respondents

35
30
30

25
21.44
20

15
12
10
10 7.56 6
4 5 4
5

Conclusion

30% of the respondents ranked ICICI Direct as the number one share trading company.
This is mainly because of its good Brand Image and linked bank account. Sharekhan is
preferred for its customer friendly approach and trading terminal. Stil l Edelweiss stands
in the competition and is preferred mainly because of its research facility. The company
needs to give attention to the Brand image building.

Q. Factors affecting the choice of a company

All figures are in percentage term

30
28

25
23
20
20
18

15

10
8
6.89
5 3.5

0
Brand Innovation Services Proximity Dealer Advanced Brokerage
Image with support R&D
residence

Conclusion

When it comes to the choice of the company the factor that affects the decision to the
largest extent is the Brand Image i.e. the reputation of the company. The best example is
ICICI. Brokerage is the second most important factor. Edelweiss has good research so it

46 | P a g e
has the capability of attracting customers. Of the above factors all are present in
Edelweiss except a good Brand Image in Kolkata, which it needs to build.

Q. Possible sources searched for financial product information

35%
32%
30%

25%
21%
20% 19%
17%
15%
11%
10%

5%

0%

Conclusion

Most of the respondents 32% trust their friend’s advice when it comes to financial
product information especially in stock market. They trust on their experience with the
company and act accordingly.

ANALYSIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EXISTING CLIENTS

Association with the company

6 months 1 year 2 years more than 2 years

8%
11%

43%

38%

47 | P a g e
 Conclusion

Most of the customers in Kolkata are newly acquired as the company is new

Satisfaction level of the customers

50
45
40
35
30
25 49
20
15
32
10
5 11 8
0
Extremely satisfied neutral dissatisfied
satisfied

Conclusion

49% of the customers are satisfied and 8% dissatisfied. The company needs to work
on these customers and minimize their dissatisfaction.

Expectations of the customers

reduction in brokerage improved service quality
more tips customer friendly norms

22%
34%

13%

31%

Conclusion

Most of the customers want the brokerage to be reduced and services to be

improved

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`ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DORMANT CLIENTS

Reason for disassociation

Liquidity crisis Alternate brokerage firm
lost faith in capital market temporary breaks

11%
7%

56%
26%

Conclusion

Because of the present turmoil in the stock market most of the people have taken
temporary breaks and are not trading, While 7% of the people have found alternate
broking houses.

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 Attractive features of the competitors
low brokerage proximity to residence trained people in desk
good system support good research

3%

32%
43%

10%
12%

Conclusion

Low brokerage is what attracts most of the customers. Besides Edelweiss needs to
improve its quality of service.

Returning back
6 months-1year 2 year 2years and more never

5%
8%

14%

73%

Conclusion

8% of the customers say that they will never return back.

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FINDINGS
Various aspects of selling strategy of Edelweiss- Selling strategy adopted by
Edelweiss is Relationship strategy, Mix of product centered and client centered
strategy . Besides analysis of the sales management process of the company has
been done. The method of approach adopted by salespersons to sell Edelweiss
products has been covered and the selling skills required have been found out.
Moreover attributes of the selling strategy of the company have been revealed.
Various aspects of the Distribution strategy of the company- under this the
findings are- Role of distribution channels, Various distribution channels of the
company, Innovative approach in distribution channel, Revealing the
distribution channel strategy of Edelweiss based on customer behavior
Various aspects of Customer Relationship management- under this the CRM
strategy of the company has been covered, Characteristics of services marketing
Difference between the ways of catering to HNWIs and Retail clients
Marketing strategy of Edelweiss in Kolkata- As the company is entering into
retail segment so the company’s new marketing strategy has been found out
Opportunities and challenges before the company- The various aspects of it
has been found out in this report
Competitor analysis- various competitors of the company have been found out
to know the position of Edelweiss and help it formulate the strategies
accordingly
Risk Taking Ability- The risk taking ability of people decrease with an
increasing age, people take more risks when they are young
Preferred channel for buying a financial product- Brokers- From the
analysis of the questionnaires it was found out that brokers are the preferred
channel for buying a financial product
Preferred tool of investment by the customers – The preferred tool of
investment was found out to be deposits as they have less risk
Awareness about the products of Edelweiss- It was found that people are not
aware of Edelweiss in Kolkata that much as about its competitor companies
Popularity of the Edelweiss products- Among the Edelweiss products equity is
the most preferred investment option
Factors affecting the choice of a company- Brand image and Brokerage play a
vital role when it comes to the choice of a company
Reliable source of financial information-People consider their friends to be a
good medium when it comes to knowing about financial products
Satisfaction level of the customers- Majority of the Edelweiss customers are
satisfied from the service provided by the company
Expectations of the customers- Customers expect the company to improve its
services

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 Competitive advantage of Edelweiss over its rivals- Edelweiss’ competitive
advantage is its research and development department and online trading
platform that is user friendly
Sales promotional strategy adopted by Edelweiss during the financial
turmoil-The company is going for aggressive advertisement campaign and
putting hoardings all over the place to create awareness
Customer base of Edelweiss- The customer base of Edelweiss is basically of
institutional clients
The findings are shown in detail in the analysis of the graphs and findings in the
main text.

CONCLUSION
From the analysis of the questionnaires and above findings it can be conc luded that
Edelweiss approach to sales and distribution strategies is right and its innovation in the
distribution channel by tie-up with retail shops will help it a lot. The CRM strategy of the
company is different for Retail customers and HNWIs. When it comes to competitors
ICICI is its biggest competitor and the company lags behind when it comes to Brand
Image.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Make the complaint process and complaint redressal process easy so that there
is a scope of improvement

Suggestion forms, toll free numbers, web-sites and e-mail addresses

Increase two way communication between the company and the client

If the customer complaints are handled properly they will again do business with
the company

There should be more number of brokers and sub- brokers so that they can tap a
large chunk of the customers
The company should work on building Brand image in Kolkata as it plays a major
role when it comes to taking decision about a company
The company needs to go for aggressive advertisement campaign
The company should leverage on its research and aggressively use it to promote
the products
Special training about company products to sales team so that they create
awareness among the people
Edelweiss should leverage its competence not only for HNWIs but also for retail
and corporate clients

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REFERENCES

www.edelcap.com
www.nseindia.com
www.edelblue.com
www.google.com
www.wikepedia.com
Valuable insight provided by the company guide and the faculty guide
Sales and distribution management by S.L.Gupta

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Customer,

As a Management Trainee currently working with Edelweiss Securities I want to thank

you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. Please help us serve you better by taking
a couple of minutes to tell us about the service that you have received so far. We
appreciate your business and want to make sure we meet your expectations.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………

1. Annual Income

a) > 3 lakh b) 3 lakh- 5lakh

c) 5 lakh- 7 lakh d) 7 lakh and above

2. What are the possible sources that you search for financial product information
before making any decision?

a) Television/Radio b) Internet/Website

c) Newspaper/Magazine d) friends

e) Word of Mouth f) others, please specify

3. Through which one of the channels do you usually buy a financial product?

a) Internet b) Broker

c) Direct from the company d) others, please specify

4. What is your preferable tool of investment?

a) Bank deposits b) Real Estate

c) Derivative instruments d) Mutual funds

e) Gold and bullion f) Equity shares

5. How did you come to know about Edelweiss?

a) Internet b) Print and electronic media

c) Reference group d) By chance

6. Are you aware of all the products offered by Edelweiss?

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a) Yes b) No

7. Have you used any Edelweiss Financial products?

a) Yes b) no

8. Which Edelweiss Products are you using now?

a) Mutual Fund b) demat

c) Debentures d) others, please specify

9. How long have you been associated with Edelweiss?

a) Less than 1 month b) 1month-3month

c) 6-12 months d) more than 1 year

10. Evaluate the performance of following firms by ranking them on a scale in

ascending order

ICICI direct.com

Share khan

Motilal oswal

HDFC securities

Edelweiss

India Infoline

Religare

India bulls

5paise.com

11. Please indicate the level of importance regarding your decision factor in
buying a financial product in the following scales: 1-not important 5-extremely
important

1 2 3 4 5
Reputation of the company
Innovative products
Service of the firm
Proximity of firm with residence/office
Dealer support and guidance

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Advanced research & development department

12. Please rate the overall performance of Edelweiss on following scales

a) Extremely satisfied b) Satisfied

c) Neutral d) less satisfied

e) Dissatisfied

13. Will you recommend Edelweiss products to your friends/family?

a) Yes b) no

14. If currently you are not using Edelweiss products and edelweiss further
enhances its products/services by adding your desirable features, will you buy it?

a) Yes b) no

15. Are you satisfied with Edelweiss’ current services in sales and distribution?

a) Yes b) no

16. What is your opinion about selling strategy of Edelweiss?

a) Excellent b) Above average

c) Average d) below average

17. In the current financial turmoil according to you what should be the sales
promotional strategy for Edelweiss?

a) Point of purchase display b) Aggressive ad campaign in

radio and television

c) Through leaflet d) telemarketing

e) Personal selling

18. According to you what is the competitive advantage of Edelweiss over its
rivals?

a) Minimum cost b) Our quality of service

c) Quality of service providing persons d) easy availability of service

e) Diversified product portfolio f) Good research input

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19. Personal Information

(i) Name: ………………………………………………………………………………..

(ii) Age: less than 25 25-35 35-45 45-55 more than 55

(iii) Gender: male female

(iv) Marital status: Married single

(v) Educational Qualifications: 10 th pass 12th pass graduate post

graduate doctorate

(v) Occupation: service business profess ion other, please specify

(vi) Contact Details:

Phone no: Email id:

Signature:

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FOR DORMANT CLIENTS

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Why you are not associated with Edelweiss?

a) Liquidity crisis b) lost faith in capital market

c) Alternate brokerage firm d) temporary breaks

2. If you are associated with other firm, what are the features that attract you?

a) Low brokerage b) Good system support

c) Proximity to residence d) Research input

e) Trained people in the desk

3. What according to you is the weakness of Edelweiss?

a) Low brand awareness b) brokerage

c) Services d) others, please specify

4. You prefer to return back with Edelweiss in

a) 6 months b) 1 year

c) 2 years and more d) never

5. Which sector’s performance is best?

a) Equity b) mutual fund

c) Insurance d) portfolio

6. Do you support the transition of Edelweiss from niche to mass market?

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a) Yes b) No

7. In which product did you faced the problem?

a) Equity and Derivatives b) Commodity

c) Portfolio d) E-broking

e) Any others, please specify……………………………………………………...........

8. Any suggestion that you would like to put forward by which Edelweiss can improve
on its services

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………….

9. Personal Information

(i)Name: ……………………………………………………………………………..

(ii) Age: less than 25 25-35 35-45 45-55 more than 55

(iii) Gender: male female

(iv) Marital status: Married single

(v) Educational Qualification 10th pass 12th pass graduate post

graduate

(v) Occupation: service business profess ion other, please specify

(vi)Contact Details:

Phone no: Email id:

Signature:

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EXISTING CLIENTS

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Since how long you have been associated with Edelweiss?

a) 6 months b) 1 year

c) 2 years d) more than 2 years

2. What are the products that you have opted from Edelweiss?

a) Equity b) Dematerialization

c) Insurance c) Portfolio management

e) Any other. (Please specify)………………………………………………….

3. As a customer, mention your level of satisfaction derived from Edelweiss.

a) Excellent b) Very good

c) Good d) below average

e) Poor

4. In current global turmoil scenario, what are your expectations from Edelweiss?

a) Reduction in brokerage b) Providing more tips

c) Improvement in service quality d) providing more lenient and flexible

Customer friendly norms

5. You would recommend Edelweiss to your

a) Family b) friends

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c) Anyone without hesitancy d) no one

6. Your recommendation to make Edelweiss better?

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

7. Personal Information

(i)Name: ……………………………………………………………………………..

(ii) Age: less than 25 25-35 35-45 45-55 more than 55

(iii) Gender: male female

(iv) The marital status: Married single

(v) Educational Qualification 10th pass 12th pass graduate post

graduate

Doctorate

(vi) Occupation: service business profess ion other, please specify

(vii) Contact Details:

Phone no: Email id:

Signature:

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