Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences

Bada Bangadda, Near Super Corridor Indore, 453112

Summer Internship Project Report

On

Retail Marketing Frameworks:

Customer centric approaches and promotions

At

Reliance Digital

Submitted to: Submitted by:

School of Retail Management Navneet Sharma
Under the guidance of [2020bbrm026]
Dr. Arpita Basak BBA-RM 4th Sem
 INDEX

Sr no. Content
1 Company Certificate

2 Report submission certificate

3 Declaration by the student

4 Acknowledgment

5 Executive Summary

5.1 Introduction
5.2 Organization

5.3 Work performed

5.4 Learning outcomes

5.5 Conclusions and Suggestions

EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Reliance Digital, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, is one of India’s leading
electronics retail chains. Established in 2007, it operates under the
umbrella of Reliance Industries Limited, a conglomerate founded by
Dhirubhai Ambani and currently led by Mukesh Ambani.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Reliance Digital has rapidly
expanded its presence across the country, offering a wide range of
electronic products and services.
· Mission: Reliance Digital aims to make technology accessible
and affordable for all Indian households. The company is dedicated to
offering a wide selection of electronics at competitive prices while
maintaining a high standard of customer service. Their motto is
“personalized Technology”.
· Vision: To be the most preferred and trusted electronics retailer
in India by providing customers with an exceptional shopping
experience, both in-store and online, and continually adapting to the
changing needs of consumers and advancements in technology.
· Expansive Reach: With more than 400 stores in over 100
cities, Reliance Digital ensures that it meets the needs of a diverse
customer base across urban and semi-urban areas.
· Awards and Recognitions: The company has been recognized
for its excellence in retail and customer service, receiving numerous
industry awards over the years.
· Innovative Retail Solutions: Reliance Digital has pioneered
several initiatives to enhance customer experience, including exclusive
offers, attractive financing options, and a seamless omnichannel
approach that integrates online and offline shopping.
Categories:
Reliance Digital is renowned for offering a broad spectrum of consumer
electronics and home appliances, designed to cater to diverse customer
needs and preferences. Below is a detailed overview of the key product
categories and services provided by them:

1. Home Appliances (HA):

Refrigerators: Reliance Digital stocks a variety of refrigerators,

including single-door, double-door, and side-by-side models, from
leading brands like Samsung, LG, and Whirlpool. These come with
advanced features such as energy efficiency, smart technology, and
frost-free operation.

Washing Machines: The store offers both front-load and top-load

washing machines. Customers can choose from different capacities and
features, such as quick wash cycles, inbuilt heaters, and advanced drum
technology, provided by brands like Bosch, IFB, and LG.

Air Conditioners: Reliance Digital provides a range of air conditioning

solutions, including split ACs, window ACs, and inverter ACs. The
options include energy-efficient models with features like air purifiers,
dehumidifiers, and smart controls from brands like Voltas, Daikin, and
Hitachi.

Microwaves and Ovens: The store features microwave ovens,

convection ovens, and built-in ovens equipped with various cooking
modes, including grill and auto-cook programs, from brands like
Panasonic, LG, and Samsung.

2. Productivity IT & Telecom:

Smartphones: Reliance Digital offers a comprehensive selection of

smartphones across various price ranges, from flagship models to
budget-friendly options. Customers can find the latest models from
brands like Apple, Samsung, Oppo, and OnePlus.

Laptops and Tablets: The store provides a range of laptops and tablets
suitable for different needs, which includes 3 main segments; gaming,
creators; casual. Products from brands like Apple, HP, Lenovo, Asus are
available, featuring various specifications and configurations.

Wearable Technology: Reliance Digital stocks smartwatches and fitness

trackers that help users monitor their health and stay connected. Popular
brands include Apple Watch, Fitbit, boAt, Noise, FireBolt

3.Home Entertainment (HE):

Televisions: The store offers a selection of televisions, including LED,

OLED, and QLED models, with various screen sizes and resolutions.
Customers can find smart TVs with advanced features like 4K
resolution, HDR, magic remotes and built-in streaming apps from
brands like Sony, LG, and Samsung, TCL, BPL, Reconnect.

Home Theater Systems: Reliance Digital provides home theater systems

and soundbars that enhance the audio-visual experience. Options
include 5.1 and 7.1 channel systems, Dolby Atmos support, and wireless
connectivity from brands like JBL, Sony, Zebronics and boAt.

Audio Equipment: The store features a range of audio equipment,

including headphones, Bluetooth speakers, and sound systems from the
same brands.

4. Accessories and Peripherals:

Smartphone Accessories: Reliance Digital offers a variety of accessories

for smartphones, such as cases, screen protectors, chargers, and power
banks. These accessories help users protect and enhance the
functionality of their devices.

Laptop Accessories: Customers can find laptop bags, external hard

drives, docking stations, and laptop cooling pads to complement their
computing needs.

Gaming Accessories: The store provides gaming peripherals such as

gaming keyboards, mice, headsets, and gaming chairs, designed to
enhance the gaming experience.
5. Services:

Product Installation: Reliance Digital offers installation services for

large appliances and electronics, ensuring that products are set up
correctly and efficiently.

Product Support and Warranty: The store provides comprehensive

support and warranty services, including repairs and replacements, to
ensure customer satisfaction and product longevity.

Financing Options: To make technology more accessible, Reliance

Digital offers various financing plans and EMI options, allowing
customers to purchase products without immediate full payment.

Extended Warranty Plans: For added peace of mind, customers can opt
for extended warranty plans on electronics and appliances, covering
repairs and service beyond the standard warranty period.
Reliance resQ is a dedicated after-sales service initiative by Reliance
Digital, designed to provide comprehensive support and maintenance
for electronic products and home appliances. The service aims to
enhance customer satisfaction by offering reliable and efficientsolutions
for product issues and repairs.
Their resQ plan also covers liquid damage, fault, circuit shorting and
fluctuations which are very rare from any electronics brand. This plan
also offers pan india coverage; 10AM - 10PM, 365 days of the year,
and free pick-up and drops. Their resQ also covers (but is not exclusive
to extended warranties) happy calling, where they periodically followup
their customers about the products they have purchased.
HOME BRAND - RECONNECT

Reconnect is the private label brand of Reliance Digital, specialized in

designing and marketing innovative Consumer Electronic products.

From home appliances to personal care products that meet rigorous

quality standards, large screen TVs to Smartphones and speakers,
reconnect has everything in the electronics segment. Reconnect also
collaborated with marvel to get famous IPs such as Iron Man, Captain
America and Black Panther on some of their products.
 Organization Chart

Reliance Digital
|
Regional Manager
|
Cluster Manager
|
Store Manager
|
------------------------
| |
Department Manager Head Cashier
| |
-----------------------
|
Team Leaders
|
--------------------
| |
Sales Brand
Staff Promoter
 Retail Process of Reliance Digital

NSO (New Store Opening):

The NSO team at reliance first identifies an appropriate location for a

new store. This is determined on the basis of customer demographic,
marketing capabilities in the vicinity, traffic flow and how close it is to
the competitors as well as its own stores.
The merchandising team then conducts the assortment and inventory
planning, this includes the determining the optimal product mix for the
daily inventory

Buy:

Reliance’s buying team first purchases the products from the

manufacturing companies as a whole. The companies provide them
exclusive models many a times. For example, in laptops, the
manufacturers have specific models that wont be available in any other
place than, these may have different configuration like more ram, a
different CPU model, slightly different screen refresh rate etc. For this
reason, some models available online may not be there at an electronics
store, or a model at reliance may not be available online or at any other
retail store.

These products are then divided from the distribution centers across
stores based on product demand and store performance. Their details are
logged into their online platform from which each store can download it
in excel sheets and look at products available across all the stores in that
city. This may also change pitching strategies in case a particular
product is out of stock for that day, or may require a delivery to the
store first.
The Product pricing also changes unpredictably, again based on
demand and this is decided by the higher-ups. Changes can be in the
range of 1000-2000 rupees, and this changes for not just a specific store
but all over, including their online platform.

Product placements and visual merchandising follow simple rules at

reliance. When walking in, a customer should first be introduced to the
premium products of any brand. For eg. at TI mall, a customer’s first
glance would go towards the apple section when walking in. Close to it
are Samsung and OnePlus sections with their higher end models at
front. Around them are oppo, Motorola, vivo, nokia etc. As a customer
walks into the store and keeps exploring, the price segments keep
dropping. This is seen in all product segments, but it creates the most
impact on the TV section.
Near the front, a customer would be greeted with premium, bigger size
T.V.s setup with high quality soundbars and ongoing video demos. As
they go inside the store, the sizes of the T.V.s keep getting smaller as
well as their features. This means a 55inch T.V. would look even
smaller when a 75inch or even a 65 inch one is presented to them first.
The noticeable picture quality difference can also be seen from far
away. This increases the chances of upselling, as someone looking for a
particular size for their home might find it inadequate and consider a
bigger one.

A similar scenario occurs with washing machines, where front loads are
kept nearer to the entrance and would attract a customers eye first, and
as they walk in, they would see the top load machines.

Their planogram also takes into account the concept of cross-selling.

Near the Samsung kiosk, customers can have a look at the accessories
rack which host Samsung branded products like earbuds, phone covers,
chargers etc. The laptop section sees mouse, sd cards and storage device
products placed near them while also having a separate section.
Alongside T.V.s are placed soundbars, woofers, surround sound setups
and 7 point adapters.
The store V.M. sees an update as per the new seasons and their
respective promotional opportunities. The regional and cluster managers
make these decisions with their merchandising team and also come up
with new adverts like “back-to-school” during the new semester
opening for students starting college/resuming school, which focuses on
laptops and mobile phones. The “wash-o-utsav” campaign focused on
washing machines and dryers during the rainy seasons, and saw a
change in store decorations and fixture themes. Focal points were made
with high demand washing machines, water purifiers, hair dryers and
umbrellas.

While the store staff cannot change the fixtures dictated by the
planogram or merchandising team, they can put up smaller focal points
in the store for increasing visibility of products on offers, or in combos.
Other than that and minor product placement decisions, any changes are
to first be suggested to the regional manager and their permission is
required.

Store Operations:

Store operations include the team leaders giving their staff a stock
report and a P.I.(physical inventory).

The P.I.is a sheet that contains a list of all products in a section that
need to cross-listed as part of a security check, and can also be used to
ensure proper product placement.

Stock reports also contains the details of all the products in a section,
but they additionally contain the daily updated prices and the quantity of
models available in all stores in the city. This can let them know, and
also help ease the customer experience by only demonstrating products
which can be available on-site, and informing the customers if a model
is available but can take some time to be first brought to the store, from
either any other store if it is available, or from the distribution center.
Reliance Digital uses SAP-HANA as their E.R.P software for only
CRM and logistics. The CRM team can track if their ordered stock has
left the distribution center, status about its location, manual orders for
products can also be made.
A majority of their work is done through excel sheets generated for
stock reports/performance/targets downloaded from their company
websites. Their handheld POS billing systems are also linked to their
online database and updates are made directly to the server.

Sales Pitch -

Each major product segment has a Team leader assigned to it, these are
experts in their field and are expected to have ground-zero knowledge
and the entire know-how of a product. The leaders train the staff
working with them about how to provide a customer a comfortable and
exclusive experience while pitching the desired product to them. Brand
promoters are individuals sent by product brands instead of being hired
by Reliance. These employees have all the knowledge about every
product segment of their brand and are tasked with promoting their own.
For eg, a brand promoter from LG would have to be trained with selling
T.V.s, washing machines, microwaves, refrigerators. A promoter from
H.P. would know how to sell printers, Laptops and accessories. While
Promotors also have an overall accountability to the store, they answer
to the brand and get incentives from them.
For this they follow a “Six Selling Steps” SOP:

1. Greet the customer- Welcoming the customer, stating our name and
asking them how we could help them today, or what product they were
looking for.

2. Qualify- Probing questions to know what the customer is looking for,

if they are looking for an upgrade, who the product is going to be for,
what are the main requirements etc.

3. Demonstrate- Now comes the product demo, where the customer

explains the necessary details about the product, where the nature of
explaining depend on the nature of our customer; There is no need to
over-explain technical details and numbers to a customer who is not
very tech savvy, just a basic brief outline. Employees are recommended
to demonstrate at least 3 products of different price ranges, with their
priority being the product they want to close-in.

4. Ask for Sale- Once the demonstration is complete, employees ask

questions about the mode of payment, the current offers, financing
options. This can push forth the progress of our sale instead of a
customer left wondering around and potentially leaving “this offer is
only available today”, “Can I review the finance options for you? /
What credit cards do you currently have ?”.
During this step, an employee explains the benefits of the reliance resQ
plan and the extended warranty. They are also encouraged to try and
attach other accessories for eg. Keyboard+mouse combos / printers with
laptops, a pair of earphones with a phone purchase etc.

5. Answer objections- Now, the employee answers questions like, brand

credibility, USPs, why the product they have been pitching is value for
money ? If a customer feels a product is complicated to use, an
employee should demonstrate it again to make it easier for them to
understand.

6. Complete the Sale - If the customer has bought the product or has
chosen to, the employee is to thank them for the purchase, and ask them
if they would like to see someone else while they are billing.
If the customer did not buy the product, the employee is to note the
details for why that happened, what couldve went wrong, and ask the
customer if there is anything else they could help them with.
If a customer plans to buy a product, the employee notes their details in
a register for follow-up calling.

CRM -
Reliance’s CRM team is aimed at making sure their interaction with
customers make them form loyal bonds with the company. As loyal
customers bring the most business to any store, it is vital that they
prioritize making every interaction with a customer as pleasant as they
can, and make a customer not leave the store disappointed.

Their CRM includes various concepts like:

Happy Calling- The staff and/or the CRM team takes the database of
customers from their ERP, and makes calls in certain intervals regarding
their purchase, how their experience with it has been so far, if there are
any discrepancies or issues with the product they have bought. If the
customer requires some on-call technical support, an experienced staff
member or the team leader of the appropriate department is put on-call
to resolve the issue.
Follow-ups / Inquiry Calling- The staff gets another list for followup
calling or customers who came in for product inquiry. Here, they call up
customers who were interested in a product but did not buy it just yet.
The staff reminds them about the ongoing offer on the selected product,
and can potentially find out more information as to why a customer
actually left the store/hasn’t come back and what demands the store is
unable to fulfill.

After Sales Service- The CRM team handles customers who appear with
issues regarding the product. If according to the problem description
given by the customer, it is not covered by reliance, the CRM team lets
the customers know so, abou the details of the damages covered by
reliance and which can be resolved only by the company, or if it is in
non-recoverable state. Otherwise, a T.R. (technical review) is generated
by the available resQ technician or from the brand.
 WORK DESCRIPTION AND
REPORT
As an intern, for the majority of my work duration, I was mainly tasked
with working closely with the CRM and Sales team, learning how they
conduct callings, how customers are to be handled, giving a
personalized experience, and the importance of concepts like cross-
selling and attachments, upselling and how it is conducted, how the
theoretical concepts of pitching are actually put to work by the staff.

For this, I was given the Laptop section of the store, and most of my
learnings were from the respective Team Leader. My experience with
them has been very fruitful, as having learned how to and become more
accustomed to handling different types of customers.

Aside from this, I was tasked with activities such as:

LOTUS VISIT -

A visit to the nearby lotus store was made. We were to enter the store as
customers and observe the changes between Lotus and Reliance, What
the staff behaviour is, how different is their general product placement.
More specifically, I was to compare their laptop section; how many
were set-up per table, how many laptops in total for each laptop
segment (Gaming, Creator, and Casual), and compare the prices for a
few select models.
My key observations included a much more aggressive ushering in
some sections of the lotus store, a very noticeable drop in their product
prices as compared to Reliance Digital or Tata Chroma (the main mass-
electronic stores), and a centralized billing counter instead of the
handheld POS devices at Reliance.

PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY ASK-

Another activity I was tasked with was to reach out to nearby coaching /
tuition centers for a promotional activity. In the Area where T.I. Mall is
situated, there is a influx of coaching centers for competitive exams,
board exams and additional certifications like animation, game design,
programming etc. The store was also noticing a considerable amount of
students who were about to enter college / start a new semester at high
school and had laptop requirements. This is also the time when there are
the best offers on laptops/ mobile phones and reliance had an ongoing
‘back to school’ campaign.

I was tasked with visiting these institutions nearby and ask them for a
promotional activity during the students departure time at evening,
setting up a small table/kiosk for promoting the ‘back-to-school’
campaign.

This would help the store market their campaign to students who were
already interested in said offers, while also providing additional benefits
to the institute. The departure time was selected so that no students
would be distracted during their study hours and we would not interupt
the flow of the organizations as well.
The institutions reached out to, were; PhysicsWallah; Allen; Akash
institute and MAAC. All of the said institutes except MAAC had denied
such an activity upfront, and while the marketing head at MAAC had a
followup with the Team Leader, it was once again denied.

LISTING SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS ONLINE-

During my 3rd Week, another Task I was given by my mentor was to

find out and make a list of online social media groups on FaceBook and
Instagram popular among youngsters and internet-centric people, which
promote and/or showcase brands, locations, retail stores etc. Asking
them their promotion charges for reels, stories and posts. The cities
given to me were Indore, Bhopal and Gwalior. I got responses from
“IndoriGram”, “Indore Meri Jaan”, “Waah Bhopal”, “Bhopali Zayka”.
These are the average rates of these groups.

1 Story = 300/- 5 Stories = 1000/-

1 Reel = 2000/- 5 Reel = 5000/-
1 Post = 1000/- 3 Post = 2000/-

Additional discounts were provided if we opt for bigger quantity,

package based.

This promotion would help Reliance reach out to a wider audience

without spending on hoardings, pamphlets or radio as the majority of
people in this day and age spend their days on social medias or online
forums/chat groups. Reaching out to them and hosting trendy and up-to-
date promotions would certainly help reliance be in the customers mind.
HAPPY CALLING / FOLLOWUPS-

Aside from these, the tasks given to me throughout the weeks were to
help the staff complete their followup calling quotas, asking customers
if they would like to know the ongoing offers on products, referring to
stock sheets and discount lists. These customers were on a list of
previous buyers from Reliance Digital, and Followup calling would help
them in choosing to visit a brand they likely already trust, bringing them
in with enticing offers.
Happy Calling is conducted in a similar fashion, however this time we
call up the customers to ask them about how their experience with their
purchase has been so far, if they have any queries that need to be
cleared, any issues that need to be resolved. A customer experiencing
this treatment would feel personally connected with the company and
drives customer loyalty.
Customers would at times also call the store themselves, either for
inquiry about a product or to get some service for a product they have
bought. In that case, the CRM team checks those details on their
software and tries to resolve the issue they are having.

USHERING / GUIDING CUSTOMERS -

I was tasked with ushering customers in, greeting them when they enter
a store and guiding them to the sections. This process can make a
positive impact on the customer, and make them feel like they are
getting a good experience right when the enter the store.
I was also guiding customers in the laptop section, understand their
needs and what they need a laptop for, giving them suggestions and
some extra pointers while they choose what to buy.

This increases their trustworthiness and doesn’t make them feel like we
are just trying to make a sale, but actually helping them out. For this
reason, I had a couple of young customers come back to the store for
more inquiry related to some models they were looking for.
GOOGLE REVIEWS-

Lastly, I was to ask for google reviews from the customers I was
guiding, or alongside the staff at the same section. This increases the
rating of the Digital store on google, boosting our stores web link
visibility to be shown higher up on the search result when anyone
searches for products available on-site. This data is also collected by the
Reliance marketing team, and put into a litmus test. This test shows the
overall performance of the store by taking into account all the positive,
negative and neutral responses/reviews of customers and displaying a
guage / dial.

OVERALL LEARNING
OUTCOMES
During my time with Reliance Digital, I have honed a couple of skills in
helping the staff with their daily tasks and operations. Some of these
include:

1. Sales pitching; and learning which product to show to a customer

and how a product demonstration is conducted.

2. Ushering customers; from the entrance of the store and guiding them
throughout their experience.

3. Researching skills; while searching for and reaching out to social

media groups, the ones which a promotion can gain more traction from.

4. Got familiar with their various other CRM processes like calling
customers, gathering reviews about the store and their experience

CONCLUSION &
SUGGESTIONS
Conclusion:
This wonderful opportunity at Reliance Digital has provided me with a
lot of insights into the electronics retail business, how the market
competes with other brands, the importance of customer-centric
approaches and following good customer relationship management
principles.

One of the main motto’s of Reliance is “Grahak Devo Bhava” and that
is what the people at the Digital store have taught me, their CRM
practices and trying to enforce a personalized experience at every step
of a customer’s journey through the store.

Being able to communicate better, be it with the other staff, the

managers or with customers, has also been a crucial learning in this
experience.

I have also been well acquainted with the selling techniques a store
uses, being able to understand and serve a customer better. This has
helped me understand the essentials of what encapsulates the concept of
product pitching.

Suggestion:
A few things I would've liked to be implemented in the store,
based on my observations regarding the store operations
customer handling etc include-

1. City specific social media handles: During my search for

online groups, I found out that Reliance Digital only has one
instagram account as a whole. This is very detrimental to its
online presence as different account even distributed state-wise
would allow for more customer engagement and interactions.
Offers pertaining to specific stores could be advertised.

2. Better price labeling system: One major concern for the

customers I noticed during my internship is that, the prices for
each product change on a semi-regular basis and can happen at
any time through out the day, almost every 2 or 3 days. This
leads to a lot of paper being printed and wasted every time the
price gets changed. It also leads to some confusion for the
customers as they are told during the billing process what the
actual product amount is. Perhaps a digitalized system could be
implemented near the fixtures, possibly an electronic screen, or
some system where the prices can be updated either
automatically, or done without any wastage of paper.