Executive Summary

“Sunking Display Stores, Creating Brand Awareness and New Retail Prospects.”

Progress is a continuous process. It is relative and absolute. We cannot stop at a certain

destination and declare that target has been achieved.

The summer training program is to give the future manager a feel of the corporate happening
and work culture. These real life situations are entirely different from the stimulated exercise
enacted in an artificial environment inside the classroom and it is precisely because of this
reason that the summer training program is designed. The summer training is a bridge between
the institution and the organization. The summer training program helps to understand how
theoretical knowledge will be applied in practical field.
The above entitled summer internship project was started in Greenlight Planet India Ltd. on
7Th May 2018 under the guidance of Mr. Manoj Kumar Mohanty, Regional Sales Manager,
GLP.
This project was all about finding new retail prospects, creating more brand awareness,
increasing brand visibility and to improve the sales of Greenlight Planet. At the initial stage of
the project work, uncovered outlets were visited for brand awareness and converting them into
new retail prospects. After that the existing outlets were visited to find about the performance
of the product in the market as well as seeing the opportunity for any visual merchandizing.
Then the uncovered outlets were also told about the Sunking Home Series Systems which
primarily can perform as a substitute to inverters which helped in creating awareness of the
product line.

During the project work it has been found there is very few schemes available for retail outlets
whereas the DSM (District Sales Manager) is the only person from the company who was
looking after sales in the whole district of Ganjam limiting the chances of brand building and
slowing the process of sales. Adding to it, there was no merchandizing activities in the area. It
can be noted that there is no schemes other than discounts given when products are ordered in
bulk. Thus, concluding the summary of the report, it can be recommended to the company to
take the required steps to work on the respective issues with the outlets to overcome the difficult
situations.

1
 Company Profile
Greenlight Planet at a glance

Greenlight Planet is a for-profit social business that designs, distributes, and finances solar
home energy with an under-served population in mind: the 1.3 billion global consumers for
whom the old-fashioned electrical grid is unavailable or too expensive. Since its founding in
2009, the company has become a leading global provider of solar-energy products to over 27
million rural consumers in more than 60 countries.

From its wide range of trusted Sun King solar lamps and home energy systems, to its
innovative distribution partnerships, to its flexible EasyBuy pay-as-you-go financing model,
Greenlight Planet continuously strives to meet the evolving needs of the off-grid market.

A truly global enterprise, Greenlight Planet has 11 offices in countries throughout Africa and
India, and over 800 employees around the world. Its team of more than 2,400 sales agents
keeps the company directly in touch with rural consumers’ needs. But Greenlight works with
a vast international network of distribution partners, from large micro-finance institutions to
local micro-entrepreneurs, expanding the reach of solar energy products. With over ten years
of experience, Greenlight Planet is determined to continue setting the gold standard for
performance and design, while powering human potential.

Greenlight Planet was founded by T. Patrick Walsh, a University of Illinois student who
spent part of 2005 working with the charity Engineers Without Borders in rural
India. He realized that villagers there, users of ubiquitous kerosene lamps, were not asking
for charity. Rather, they were savvy consumers demanding a better product to light their
homes. With classmates from school, Patrick designed and sold Greenlight’s first solar-
lantern prototypes in 2006 in the state of Orissa: brighter and healthier than kerosene lamps,
but affordable enough so that people could afford them without subsidies. In 2007, co-
founders Mayank Sekhsaria and Anish Thakkar joined the fledgling company. The founders
moved to India and China in 2008, with the vision that smart design, efficient engineering
and innovative distribution strategies could make dirty kerosene lanterns a thing of the past.

Over a decade, the company has grown steadily, expanding distribution across South Asia
and Sub-Saharan Africa, and establishing financing programs to make solar energy
affordable: not only over the long term, but immediately, even for consumers with limited
savings.

As solar technology and battery technology became more efficient over the years, Greenlight
Planet began setting its sights higher, beyond simply replacing kerosene lamps: The
company’s solar home systems now reduce demand for grid electricity, powering not only
lights, but a range of home appliances including mobile phones, televisions, fans, and more.

2
Mission

Solar power for light, life and adventure

Over 2 billion people around the world live off the reliable electric grid. Our tireless last mile
distribution partners and village sales agents help get our low cost Sun King solar devices to
off-grid families in need so they can live safer, brighter and more productive lives.

Logo

Even in emerging markets, the brand name “Sun King” is understood in countries where
English is not the native language because both are really basic words that convey empires
and royalty. The lion head logo and yellow resonates with these cultures.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
Greenlight Planet is solar lantern producing company and currently having 12 products which
includes solar study lamps of different intensity, lamp cum music player, home lighting
system and a stand fan. The products are Sunking Pico Plus,
Sunking Pro All Night, Sunking Charge, Sunking Pro 2, Sunking 200, Sunking 300,
Sunking Pro 400, Sunking Boom, Sunking Home 40Z, Sunking Home 60, Sunking Home
120 & Sunking Wind. These products are exported mostly to countries in Africa and South
Asia. The research, development and manufacturing is done in Shenzhen, China. With an
estimated running time of 72 hours for the base model i.e. pico plus at the low power mode
and averaging around 5-7 hours of lighting for other products at high power mode , it has
righteously garnered awards from Ashden , World Bank , UNCDF among many others. With
3 modes available in each of the devices, 5 years life of its Lithium Ferro phosphate battery, 2
years warranty of its products and availability of service centres are the main reasons why
Sunking has been successful in the rural markets of Odisha.

3
 Greenlight Planet, Inc.
 TYPE: Private

 INDUSTRY: Affordable Solar Energy Products

 FOUNDED: 2009

 HEADQUARTER: Chicago, Illinois

 AREA SERVED: 60+ countries (mostly Africa and South Asia)

 KEY PEOPLE: T. Patrick Walsh(Founder & CEO), Mayank Sekhsaria and Anish Thakkar
(Co-founders)

 PRODUCTS: Sunking Pico Plus, Sunking Pro All Night, Sunking Charge, Sunking Pro
2, Sunking 200, Sunking 300,Sunking Pro 400, Sunking Boom, Sunking Home 40Z,
Sunking Home 60, Sunking Home 120 & Sunking Wind.

 REVENUE: $141 Million.

 WEBSITE: http://www.greenlightplanet.com

Source: https://www.owler.com/company/greenlightplanet#financials

4
 Introduction

When I joined the company, I was just briefed about what the company was all about and
how it carried its operations in different districts of Odisha. I was briefed about the products
which were sold in this market and what are the sales figures in those regions. Moreover I
had to realise what is the actual potential of the use of renewable resources not only in the
rural markets of India but also in the urban markets and why and how an American company
has made substantial inroads into the markets of Odisha especially Bolangir & Baripada.
It was an eye opener for me when I learned how the company started its operations in Odisha
and how it goes about its business when it comes to covering rural areas. My objective was to
generate new retailer prospects, awareness & sale of SHS, identifying retail outlets with
competitors’ products and keeping an eye on its sales, brand visibility, generate more
hot/warm prospects by product visibility & merchandising, increase involvement &
investment from retailers and increase in sales.
During my project work I have tried my best to achieve the above objectives by visiting
various new retail outlets in the district of Ganjam which was assigned to me and
interestingly it was also a new territory for the company. My work began with spreading
awareness of the brand and through merchandising of the products and showing the demos to
interested outlets. Along with that I had also exchanged contact numbers for future purposes
in case any of the outlets is interested in the products of the company. I had pasted posters
and distributed leaflets through the markets of Berhampur and other rural areas of the district.
However, meeting with so many outlets made me understand that selling solar products in a
completely electrified district is not an easy task and more than that creating new sales
prospects and improving sales was easier said than done. I also came to understand the people
in the district and their attitude towards using solar household products and regardless of
numerous obstacles how the company can make an impact in the district of Ganjam.

5
 OBSERVATIONS

GLP- Greenlight Plant, Inc.

The Order: When it’s a new area like the district of Ganjam, then generally the main
objective is to create Sunking Business Associates (SBAs) so that they can visit and sell
products to various areas of the districts which includes villages, blocks & small towns of the
district under DTV (Direct To Village) programme.
ASM – Area Sales Manager
AE – Area Executive
DSM – District Sales Manager
RSM – Regional sales Manager
The ASM and AEs working under him look after sales in a particular area. In my project ,
Ganjam being a new place of business , there was only one DSM assigned who looked after
the sales.

Distributor: Turbo Odisha

It looks after the distribution of the company’s product in the district. It keeps requisite stock
of every product of the company and dispatches to particular outlets in any location of the
district via any favoured means of transport.
Certain incentives and discounts are also provided to them if they achieve a particular sales
target.

Payment: After dispatch of a particular order, the payment is done through cheques or cash
within 15 days and is collected by the DSM.

6
 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

a. To generate new retailer prospects in the district of Ganjam.

b. To spread awareness & increase sales of SHS (Sunking Home Series).
c. Identifying retail outlets with competitors’ products and keeping an eye on its sales..
d. Increase involvement & investment from retailers.
e. Increase in sales.

SCOPE

1. Different parts of the district of Ganjam with Berhampur being my base city. I visited places
like Purushotampur, Chattrapur, Ganjam, Aska, Hinjlicut and Balugaon. I also visited some
villages while on my way to these locations.

2. Same were covered for promotion, branding and awareness of SHS.

3. It helped me to work in those areas of Ganjam in which there were quite a few existing outlets.

4. It was a privilege to work with Turbo Odisha, distributor at Ganjam.

5. It gave an opportunity to work under RSM and DSM.

7
 REASERCH METHODOLOGY

I had to depend mainly on primary data as first as knowledge was required about market which
was quite new.

Data Collection Method: For the purpose of the study both Primary and Secondary data are
required.

Primary data- This kind of data is collected from the existing as well as uncovered outlets
through the formal conversation with the retail outlet owners and the structured questionnaire
which was prepared by me.

Secondary data- This kind of data is collected from the internet and the official website of
Greenlight Planet.

Sampling- Convenient Sampling to survey retail outlets i.e. electrical appliances shops in the
district of Ganjam.

Sample size – 30 Retail outlets are taken as respondents for understanding the potential of the
market in the near future.

Area of Sampling- Different areas of the district of Ganjam.

8
 MARKETING STRATEGY

Marketing Mix:-

Every marketer wants to develop their market share in the FMCG sector. It is indeed you have
to strengthen your 4Ps to reach out the customers with their desired value.

The marketing mix refers to the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its
brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix - Price, Product,
Promotion and Place. However, nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly includes several
other Ps like Packaging, Positioning, People and even Politics as vital mix elements.

1. Product

Product has always been a utility in a consumer mind set. The major types of offerings are
floated by Greenlight Planet to the market is Solar Household Lanterns. The company always
emphasized on a self-sustaining and market driven solutions and the products offered by GLP
are cheap enough for a village family and reliable enough for them to want to buy it. As long
as it made a small profit, the company could scale, to an almost limitless extent.

There are 500 million people in India using kerosene lanterns and 1.6 billion people in the
world according to the survey done by Greenlight Planet. Kerosene is expensive and smoky;
it’s a health risk and a fire risk. And it produces so little light. So the products such as
Sunking Pico Plus to the Sunking Home Systems offered by the company will significantly
affect the dependence of rural people on kerosene. Life improves significantly. Kids study
more, more productive work is done at night, air quality is better, the chance of fire is
removed, and money is saved.

9
10
 2. Price:-

It’s always being a challenge with the pricing strategy following this the price of the product
are decided by the company according to the running market as well as by observing the
competitors price, if any market gap exist with a certain product company may fix a high price
for that product.

But generally the price of the products ranges from Rs. 499 to Rs. 6999. The base model i.e.

Sunking Pico Plus which comes along with 350 mW Solar Panel, 425 mAh Battery and water
resistant body is priced at Rs. 499 which is quite fair as the company also provides post
purchase services.

In an interview with Alliance Magazine, Anish Thakkar, co-founder of the company had said,
“The price doesn’t matter if people don’t trust you”. So, building a trust-based relationship is
more important for a market like solar based home appliances.

3. Promotion:-

In any market, brand awareness and product durability always helps to create the hype among
the consumers on that particular product, promotion make this job easier for the company. So,
I had to do poster work and distribute leaflets. It helped to build brand awareness and
improvement of sales as well, and bringing a positive vibes to retail outlets where a promotion
is taking place. People should be aware of the product availability in their region although they
might think it’s not necessary. Brand promotion helps in reaching out to the retail outlets and
customers those who visit it. It refers to raising customer awareness of a product or brand,
generating sales, and creating brand loyalty. It is one of the four basic elements of
the market mix. Many road side demonstrations can also add to the brand awareness of the
products.

11
12
 4. Place:-

Place has always played an important role in marketing. In the renewable resource industry,
Greenlight Planet being a new company manages its distribution channel through the
distributor.

Place in the marketing mix refers to the channel, or the route, through which goods move from
the source to the final user. Place could be the intermediaries, distributors, wholesalers and
retailers.
The right place means greater chances of sales over a longer period of time. This translates
into greater market share, more profits and better ability to track the changes in the marketplace
in thinking, styles, fashion and needs.

For GLP, Turbo Odisha plays the role of distributor in the district of Ganjam and sends the
requisite orders through local public transport system or DSM himself delivers the orders.
Being a new area of business it’s very important to find a distributor who has a greater reach
& reputation in the concerned area and Turbo Odisha deals with electronic appliances along
with GLP products in the district.

13
MARGIN:
Greenlight Planet is doing business in solar product segments with 12 products offering
different margin according to different areas.

 In Sunking Pico Plus, the company provides around 14% margin to the retail outlets.
Example- Rs.499 is the MRP and purchasing price of retailers is Rs. 427.

 In Sunking Wind which is table fan, the company provides a margin of around 30%
to the outlets.
Example- Rs. 5499 is the MRP and Rs 3800 is the purchasing price of the retailer

 In SHS segment, GLP provides around 10% margins to the retailers.

Example- Rs. 6999 is the MRP for SHS 120 and Rs. 6330 is the purchasing price of
the retailer.

So from here it is quite clear that the margin varies according to the segmentation of
the products. SHS is segment where it provides the lowest margin and Wind with the
highest margin.

Ansoff Matrix Analysis

14
The Ansoff Matrix also known as the Ansoff product and market growth matrix is a
marketing planning tool which usually aids a business in determining its product and market
growth. This is usually determined by focusing on whether the products are new or existing
and whether the market is new or existing.

The Ansoff Matrix has four alternatives of marketing strategies; Market Penetration, product
development, market development and diversification.

Market Development

It may also be known as Market Extension. In this strategy, the business sells its existing
products to new markets. This can be made possible through further market segmentation to
aid in identifying a new clientele base. This strategy assumes that the existing markets have
been fully exploited thus the need to venture into new markets. Here Bolangir and Bargarh
districts are the existing market. There are various approaches to this strategy, which
includes: new geographical markets, new distribution channels, new product packaging, and
different pricing policies. It would mean setting up other branches of the business in other
areas that the business had not ventured yet. Various businesses have adopted the franchise
method as a way of setting up other branches in new markets. Here in this case GLP has to
find as many retail outlets as possible.

15
 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH WEAKNESS

 Product longevity  Unattractive Designs for urban areas

 Lithium Ferro Phosphate Battery life  Higher prices of the products
of 5 years.  Lack of personnel in the distribution
 Availability of service centers channel.
 2 years Warranty on all the  Lack of Social Media Advertisement
products.  Less Margin for retailers.
 Piece wise replacement for Sunking  Doesn’t come in different colors
Pico Plus within the warranty which might work in urban market.
period.  Few segmentation in products.
 Dust resistant Models
 Apart from Sunking Pico Plus which
completely water resistant, other
available products are 80% resistant.
 Flexible and Robust designs.
 Supply Chain is designed in such a
way to minimize cost.

OPPORTUNITY THREATS

 Better attractive designs of the  Competition from Local and

products for urban population. Chinese players.
 Better packaging can also lead to  Bargaining power of retailers is less.
better sales.  LED products from Bajaj which
 Rising rates of electricity consumes less electricity.
consumption slab.
 Increase in advertisement
 Large population of rural India.
 More segmented products should be
released in future.( Solar inverters
and Solar Induction cooker)

16
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
 Generate new retailer prospects

17
The above table consists of the names of the retail outlets that were visited by me during my
2 months stay at Berhampur and as it shows I was able to visit 51 retail Electrical outlets to
try and generate new prospects for the company in different areas of the district. Out of which
the outlets which are marked in yellow are new prospects who had either shown interest for
the product or have actually ordered some of the products to start off with.
The table clearly shows that 10 out of 51 prospective outlets could only be converted or have
a real good chance of keeping company’s product for sales which is around 19%. This
conversion rate actually more than that of the company’s projected conversion rate of 17%.
Moreover, we can clearly see that conversion has majorly happened either at Berhampur
which is the only urban area of the district and Purushottampur.
So in this way I have successfully tried to generate new retail prospects for the company.

Investment Capacity of Retailers

6%

12%

82%

L M H

From the graph above, it can be understood about the Low (L) with below 10 lacs of
investment, Medium (M) with 10-25 lacs of investment and High (H) with above 25 lacs
investment which tells us about their capacity of investment for their business and it was just
an approximate figure from which we can understand that nearly 82% of the retailers visited
for the first time have an low investment and only 6% outlet have done high investment on
their business and all these outlets have no problem in acquiring some of the products for
sales. Although they have purchased the products but still they have huge task for them to sell
in an urban market with minimal electrical power disruptions.

18
  To spread awareness & increase sales of SHS( Sunking Home Series)

Another objective of my project was to spread awareness and sales of the SHS which is the
Sunking Home Series. This was only possible when this product from the company was
portrayed as a substitute to Electrical Inverters for giving back-up during power cuts.
From my analysis through interactions and interviews with the retail outlet owners, I found
that even though the product is so much eco-friendly in nature and cuts out the recurring costs
which generally occurs with the use of inverters, the retailers were quite hesitant in taking the
product up for sale as power cuts is very minimal in this district. The only way they actually
were convinced when they knew that it was much cheaper than an inverter and realising that
a battery life of 5 years of a low cost Lithium Ferro Phosphate battery is actually profitable.

So, a change in battery after its dead or any service issues can be quickly dealt as the nearest
service centre was at Bhubaneswar which is 170 kilometres away from the district which
means a problem can be solved within 3 days. Along with battery and service which is quite
new in solar home appliance industry, the other talking point was margin at which it was
sold. A retailer could easily get a margin of 15% with a lesser chance of bargaining from the
customer over the MRP(Maximum Retail Price) as it’s a higher price product with no
alternatives as of yet unlike other models like Sunking Pico Plus, Pro ,200, 300 and 400
models which have similar range products from competitors. Another point is it can be used
an emergency for short power cuts. With three variants i.e. Home 40z , Home 60 and Home
120 it has shown quite a promise than other products as I have went on talking with so many
retailers and they were quite impressed with the idea of the product and in an area where
power cut is minimum , this can be a better investment.

19
 SHS as a substitute to inverters

11

19

yes no maybe

From the above graph, it is quite clear that retailers are quite positive when it comes to SHS
and its how its projected in the market as a substitute to inverters.

 Identifying retail outlets with competitors’ products and keeping an eye on its
sales.

In a new market with a product representing a comparatively very new segment i.e. Solar
House Appliances, it’s very difficult to check the Chinese Products into the market anywhere
in India let alone in Odisha where villages depend more on kerosene lamps. But still
companies like Sigma and 24 Energy have made substantial inroads through much lower
prices and no warranty attachments. Majorly Chinese products give a lot of competition with
products equivalent to Sunking Pico Plus, Pro , Pro 2, 200, 300, 400 with better lighting.
When it comes to services , with absolutely no assurances from its side products can be
repaired locally . So, it also a side revenue for the reatilers who sell it as they can sell as well
as repair it which generates income for them.
Another competitor D-light, a US based company which was majorly doing businesses
through MFIs(Micro Financing Institutions) and NGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations)
has made its way into the retail business but with little impact because of poorer or rather dull
designs and with no post purchase services. It has done some campaigning at Ganjam and
Chatrapur along with that is associated with a few retail outlets but has failed make any
impact in other parts of the district.

20
This outlet at Chatrapur had products of D-Light which is another US based company making
inroads into rural markets of India in recent times through retail. The company is one of the
few players in solar household appliances which has done its sales through NGOs and MFIs
but coming into retail distribution has not worked well for it as well as the products offered
are also priced more than the many Chinese players and the outlet shown in the above picture
also had some dissatisfaction regarding its sales as he was unable to sale its product which it
acquired 4 months back.
Other Chinese players such as 24Energy and Sigma have made substantial grounds into the
Ganjam market and with nearly 40% margin to the retailers , the retailers quite happy to keep
the product as its never a loss making proposition.

21
 Competitor's Presence
Umangi, 1, 3%
D-light, 2, 7%

8, 27%
6, 20%

None, 13, 43%

24 energy None Sigma D-light Umangi

From the survey of 30 outlets, I could find that around 43% of the outlets don’t deal with any
kind of solar products, while 24 Energy and Sigma have their products in 8 & 6 outlets
respectively. While Umangi had 1 outlet covered, D-light products were available in 2
outlets. This graph shows the presence of Chinese and local players like 24 Energy, Umangi
and Sigma in the market of Ganjam.
Adding with the better reach they have to outlets and no promises attached like post purchase
services it has made inroads through a business models which includes lower price products
and higher margin to retailers.

22
  Working towards the brand visibility.

With so few outlets at Ganjam, the major brand visibility that I did was talking to more and
more people and distributing leaflets along with that pasting posters in front of existing retail
outlets as well as new prospective outlets. The outlets with the products of the company have
always kept the products in front of their billing counter so that customers can at least ask
about it. Its obvious that with low sales and nearly no brand visibility work in a new area ,
retailers will just want at least to sell the products they have. I could have found a particular
rack for all the products and could have used danglers but instead the retailers have chosen to
attract customers differently. Just like the marketing strategy used by malls for selling
perfumes, handkerchiefs by placing them nearing the billing counter making the customers
purchase those items at the last time while billing and this is called impulse purchasing and
here in this case the retailers just hope that few customers at least ask about the product and
from that if anyone decides to buy then it will good for them. So, impulse purchase kind of
strategy has been prevailing in almost all the retail outlets. The other factors for placing the
product there is the visibility which is better than at the racks with all the posters and
danglers. The most important thing is the products of the company needs some level of
explanations from the retailers. So, it’s a better way of product visible from a distance.

23
  Increase involvement & investment from existing retailers

These are the existing retailers which I have revisited and many were dissatisfied with
customers not asking about the product and denying to buy it due to its high prices compared
to other home appliances. Many outlets had agreed to start of with the Sunking Wind and
Sunking Pico plus & Pro All Night models but high prices have caused a great hindrance in
the sales of these products. Moreover there has never been enough promotions which could
increase the sales and create trust among the customers.
Even with problems in the areas causing hindrance in sales, there are a few bright spots
which showed such as Maa Electricals from Hinjlicut and Chitra Electricals from Aska have
reordered SunKing Pro All Night.
There has not been any bulk purchases but people have started using the products in these
areas. The promotional activity with posters and leaflets and product demonstration at
different outlets of different parts of the district has helped me in creating awareness and
demand of the products.
To cite an example , KripaSindhu Electricals at Goilundi, Berhampur had acquired 1
SunKing Wind , 5 Sunking Pico plus and 3 Pro All Night to sell in its area which quite

24
densely populated and near one of the main areas of Berhampur i.e. Kamapalli but was
unable to sell the products. So it had taken help from a tea stall vendor across the street.
The retailer gave him a Sunking Pico Plus to use so that customers can actually see how the
product is working and how people are responding by seeing something different while they
come to stall for tea, ciggerrates and tobacco pan masala. Certainly, people were noticing and
asking about the product.

Another example, Devi Battery from Berhampur which doesn’t deal with any electrical
appliances other than inverter batteries but deals with our product as the retailer is from a
place named Mohana , he sends the products to his village and along with Santoshi General
Store it sells the products in those areas. He acts as an opinion leader for the people of
Mohana and has shown quite a remarkable involvement in increasing the sales of solar
lanterns.

25
 Do customers ask retailers about solar products?

3%
7%

90%

yes no not sure

We can see from the graph that from the 30 surveyed stores, 90% of the outlets have faced
questions regarding solar products as they are asked from customers about if they have solar
products or not.
The more important aspect was to understand whether these outlets where people came and
asked about the availability of solar products.

Limitations of the project

 Geographical area was too large to cover within the time of the project.
 No proper infrastructure to promote the product through visual merchandising
 Comparatively a new market with negligent electricity problem.
 Unappealing product design for urban areas. Thus, limiting its sales at Berhampur.
 No area executive or any personnel to work with other than the district sales manager.

26
 FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS

 I found that before I came to Berhampur there was absolutely no visual

merchandising done at a wider scale. This hinders the whole process of reaching out
to the customers as where we are talking about a whole new segment of products in a
relatively new market.
 There was also an acute shortage of opinion leaders in the area for the company and
its products. There was no such program at rural areas which could have created an
environment of trust and that trust based relationship would have worked very well.
For example, at Bolangir where the product was first started in Odisha way back in
2008-09, the government schools and Anganwadis were the selected places from
where the school teachers were selected as opinion leaders. Now, because it was
meant for rural population only, Sunking Pico Plus was sold through them as they
were the educated people in the villages or rural areas and customers trusted them and
that trust started creating more number of sales in the region. The same strategy can
be applied in the district of Ganjam where other than Berhampur every other place is
rural or semi urban surrounded by many dependent villages. So, my recommendation
is the same strategy should be used here as well and opinion leaders must be created
to increase sale of its products in Ganjam.
 I also found that the attitude of people towards using solar products is not good.
People staying in urban areas need products which can be used in their daily lives and
the company doesn’t provide any such products for the urban population. Product
usage doesn’t match with the utility in urban areas.
 Management should invest more in man power & supply chain because what I found
that there was only one person who handled everything in the district which hinders
and slows down the process of market development. So, the company should hire
more number of area executives from the same region to increase the reach of the
company.
 The company should also look towards building its brand by bringing its USP into
spotlight through taglines or slogan which can reach the target audiences through
advertisements.
 Pushing different segment of product to different distributors to achieve a particular
sales target of a particular segment of product like Sunking Home Series should be
given to a distributor who deals with inverters so that the product can be show cased
as a substitute to inverters.

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 Conclusion

After working two months in Greenlight Planet I conclude that, during the 1st
week of our project I came to know about the company and its sales operation in
Odisha and then worked in the district of Ganjam to create brand awareness and
new retail prospects through visiting retail outlets of different regions of the
district which also helped in the rise of the sales as I was able to create new
outlets.

The sales strategy in retail outlets is always in small quantity. As the

concerned area is new for the company, products are given on the basis of
schemes or in small quantity. This won’t affect the retailers much and as it’s a
new market and market development strategies are still not in place. It’s better to
be making minimal losses in the market so as to sustain for a longer period of
time. It was an opportunity which I got for the first time to be in an organization
and work alongside some of the seniors in the organization such as the RSM and
DSM. More than that it was a great learning curve for me and I hope my findings
and recommendations can work for the company to improve its sales in the near
future and establish itself as a market leader in the segment of products it deals
through a trust based relationship with the customers.

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Annexure

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