CONSUMER RESEARCH ON MEASURING

BRAND EQUITY OF B-SCHOOLS

SUBMITTED BY
NASAR KHAN -M15025
MADHUR KHARE - M15026
NAMRATA NETKE -M15035
AKSHAY UKEY - P15058

SYDENHAM INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES,

RESEARCH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

SUMMARY

The report entitled 'Consumer research on measuring brand equity of B-schools' deals with
study of understanding the factors and the parameters in determining a B-schools brand.
Such study will help business schools to understand how they can better implement their
marketing programs and provide them with better insights about what students look for in a
B-school .
About B-Schools
A business school is the one which provides degree of MBA which is master of business
administration , which pertains to learning subject related to business . In India there are
more than 4000 B-schools which have more than 3,60,000 seats in them . B-schools differ in
their rankings and these rankings are decided on various parameters . In our primary
research we have tried to figure out which are the parameters related to a B-school are
considered the most important for an MBA aspirant or for a student who is already pursuing
his/her MBA . B-schools in India conduct various entrance exams for their admission process
. Exams like CAT , XAT , NMAT are considered to be the most prestigious ones where as
other exams include CET , CMAT , SNAP , IIFT , etc , where as for foreign MBA students are
required to give GMAT exam .
There are various types of B-schools as well . Some are private where as some are run by the
government . Depending on their type , their fees vary as well . IIMs are considered to be
the most reputed B-schools in India . Indian B-schools also vary in terms of courses they
offer . Specializations include HR , Marketing , Finance , Operations etc , in fact some of the
B-schools come up with unique courses and syllabus for example some B-schools have
started to offer an MBA degree on 'health care' . Some B-schools are only for executives
which require certain years of work experience .
We in our study have tried to understand the important factors in determining the overall
brand equity of a B-school and also how these factor are dependent on various measures
.
We have included the following factors in our research :
a) Rankings
b) Infrastructure
c) Location
d) Placements
e) Education Quality
f) Brand Name

Demography and Psychography of Target :

Demography :
a) Age and Sex : B-school are for students who are done with their graduation and look for
higher studies , so the age bracket would be in between 21 and above . Both males and
females can have higher education and get an MBA degree .
b) Religion and Nationality :
Religion and Nationality has no relevance when it comes to an MBA degree . Nationality of
the student can be anything .
c) Family background:
Family background plays a major role in the selection of B-schools , as the fees of these
B-schools is very high at times .
d) Education Qualification :
A graduate in any field with a minimum required aggregate percentage which varies from
one B-school to another .
Psychography :
a) Attitude :
MBA course are for students who wish to grow and be successful in their career .

Research Methodology
The research methodology consisted of primary and secondary research .
Objective :
To understand the important factors in determining the brand equity of a B-school
Primary Research :
The primary research consisted of a survey of 30 people in the city of Mumbai.
SAMPLE PROFILE
We have selected the age group 19-27 because most MBA aspirants or MBA doers belong to
this group . Demographic profile consists of both males and females .

Questionnaire

Findings

Inference: Majority of respondents think Placement is the most important factor while
deciding which B-School is better which is further followed by Rankings and Quality of
Education.

Inference: Good Classrooms/Auditoriums is voted as the most important factor while

evaluating the infrastructure.

Inference: Companies brand value is picked over average compensation as the most
deciding factor for placement.

Inference: In this survey it is believed that Quality of core faculties is the most important
factor closely followed by Quality of visiting faculties for quality education.

Corporate/Industry relations is voted as the most deciding factor for a B-School brand
name.

Conclusion
The purpose of this research was to determine the important parameters that affect the
brand equity of a B-School and what were the deciding factors that influence these
parameters. It is observed that most of the parameters are dominated by one or two factors
which can be seen above graphs as for example quality of education is mostly dependant on
the quality of core as well as visiting faculties.
In these days Brand Equity doesnt depend on one or two parameters in fact several
parameters together decide the value premium that an organisation generate whether its a
B-School or any other brand. Finally these value can turn into tangible or intangible value.
This study highlights the importance and relevance of customer based brand equity
measures to establish the overall perception of business schools.