E-Commerce Jury Document

BY:
Anukriti Saraogi
Muhammad Arief

1
About the Company
‘Clay and Glaze’ is a budding business set up in the quaint town of
Pondicherry by a mother-daughter duo to establish a niche for
themselves in the market of crafts and home décor as well as
promote the arts and crafts of the town they call home. The
owners Anamika and Anukriti Saraogi started the company in 2015
after being exposed to the art of doing pottery alongside the
technique of glazing using various materials at a workshop
conducted in Auroville, Tamil Nadu – a hub for unique craftsmen.
In a time where everything is machine made, we support the
worldwide ‘Maker Revolution’ that is spreading the gospel of
handmade. With design and craftsmanship at its core, ‘Clay and
Glaze’ redefines luxury through design intervention on rare crafts
to create elegant and contemporary lifestyle decor. The designers
collaborate with craftsmen from in and around Pondicherry to
design a repertoire of resplendent handcrafted pieces that are truly
inspiring and imbued with love.
Our Vision:
"To redefine luxury by uncovering rare and hand-touched finest
quality products that carry the promise of treasure. To pioneer a
revolutionary innovation in design and to spread joy to our
customers through our unique handmade products imbued with
love“
Our Mission:
"To awaken the world to the existence of high-end luxury
craftsmanship by blending utility and aesthetics seamlessly. To
foster an encouraging work culture for our people and involve in
collaborative relationships with quintessential makers and thus,
providing quality design to our customers."
Our Values:

Innovation
We believe in employing innovative and inventive problem-
solving techniques for both strategy and operations.
Honesty
Being forthright with each other and with customers is of utmost
importance to us.
People
We care for our customers, our employees, and the community.
Passion
We believe that our passion makes us tenfold faster and better
than our competition.
Unlearn and learn
Our ability to unlearn outdated lessons helps us stay relevant and
do things differently.
Transparency
We value openness, directness, and straight dealing to ensure that
what you see is what you get.
Humility
Humility and its outcomes approachability and reason are values
close to our hearts.
Team Spirit
We are a team that believes in standing together through thick and
thin, and picking each other up in times of need.
Products

We design and handpick products that are handmade from self-

made clay by the artisans. The glazed products are 100% certified
eco-friendly with all natural materials used and is completely safe
to microwave, dish wash and eat in. We usually design most of our
products ourselves but follow standard designs as well.
We customize our products as per customer requirements too and
give a personalized touch to the whole shopping experience.
We use a completely plastic free packaging system wherein we use
newspapers, paper shredding, corrugated paper, cardboard boxes,
etc. to pack our products and transport. We do special gift sets and
gift boxes as well with product descriptions, etc.
Our product variation is really high as we are able to offer various
types of glazes that are produced by different potters in Auroville
and Pondicherry.
The Product assortment is as follows:
Product breadth: décor, drinkware, lighting, serveware and
storage.
Product length: Decor – planters, sculptures, wall hangings, vases,
diffusers, etc. Drinkware – bottles, cups, mugs, drink sets, jugs,
kettles, tea sets, etc. Lighting – lamps, diffusers, diya stands,
candle stands, etc. serveware – plates, serving bowls, serving sets,
etc. Storage - baskets, boxes, jars, pen stands, storage bowls, etc.
Product Depth: all products available in customizable shapes,
sizes and colors.
Business Model

B2B:
B2B is shorthand for business to business. The products and
services of the business are marketed to other businesses. Business
to business relationships are developed and ongoing, and the sales
processes involved take longer than business-to-consumer
relationships. B2B decision making may take place at more than
one level.
To spread our reach to different cities of India, we have
collaborations with companies like Cool Club, Niche.Studio,
Tashtari, Oriana creations, Ocean Spray Resorts, etc. The products
are bought by these companies in huge quantities and at
competitive prizes for further sales to consumers and customers
amongst their market base. These companies do further sales by
adding on their profit margins and shipping costs that they have
had to incur.

B2C:
The final customer is the consumer with a B2C business. Websites
that offer consumer products are B2C. The B2C sales cycle is
shorter. The consumer is encouraged to buy the product
immediately. Purchases are made on an emotional basis as well as
on the basis of price and product. It gets a little confusing when the
product is marketed to consumers but goes through several steps
to get to the customer.
Clay and Glaze directly provides products to consumers through its
retail studio in Pondicherry as well as through its existing Facebook
and Instagram pages. People place their orders via texts or phone
calls and the products are shipped. The products are also bought
by restaurant and café owners for their respective spaces as well as
for corporate gifting.

Different marketing tactics are used in B2B and B2C, although the
methods of advertising, promotions and publicity are the same.
If the final customer is a business, it won't help increase sales by
advertising in consumer magazines or the general media, such as
television and radio. Marketing is done through avenues that the
business customer will use.
Market Analysis

Marketing Environment

Marketing Environment is the combination of external and internal

factors and forces which affect the company’s ability to establish a
relationship and serve its customers.

The marketing environment of a business consists of an internal

and an external environment.
1. Internal Environment: The internal environment of the
business includes all the forces and factors inside the
organization which affect its marketing operations. These
components can be grouped under the Five Ms’ of the
business, which are:
Men
Money
Machinery
Materials
Markets
The internal environment is under the control of the
marketer and can be changed with the changing external
environment. Nevertheless, the internal marketing
environment is as important for the business as the external
marketing environment. This environment includes the
 sales department, marketing department, the
manufacturing unit, the human resource department, etc.
The owners – Anamika and Anukriti Saraogi. The artisans
are from Rhinestone pottery, Surya pottery, Suryajyothi
pottery, Selvam pottery, Muguran potters, Vijay pottery
present in and around Pondicherry who manufacture
products for us. The machinery involved is a potter’s wheel,
heating kiln, molds, etc. The materials involved are clay (6
different variations) and glazes (lead free).

2. External Environment:
The external environment constitutes factors and forces
which are external to the business and on which the
marketer has little or no control. The external environment
is of two types:

Micro Environment
The micro component of the external environment is also
known as the task environment. It comprises of external
forces and factors that are directly related to the business.
These include suppliers, market intermediaries, customers,
partners, competitors and the public

 Suppliers include all the parties which provide

resources needed by the organization.
 Market intermediaries include parties involved in
distributing the product or service of the organization.
 Partners are all the separate entities like advertising
agencies, market research organizations, banking and
insurance companies, transportation companies,
brokers, etc. which conduct business with the
organization.
 Customers comprise of the target group of the
organization.
 Competitors are the players in the same market who
targets similar customers as that of the organization.
 Public is made up of any other group that has an actual
or potential interest or affects the company’s ability to
serve its customers.

 Suppliers: true cartons – packaging materials; ink and

paper works – printings and paper, etc.
 Partners: GATI transport services, DTDC.
 Target Customers: people (especially women) who
tastefully buy products for décor and utility and are
eco-conscious. As the prices are a little high end,
women of the age 25+ are most preferred. We target
the upper most segment of the consuming class ( SEC
A1, A2 and B1)
 Competitors: Curocarte.com, golden bridge pottery,
etc.
 Macro Environment (STEP Analysis)
The macro component of the marketing environment
is also known as the broad environment. It constitutes
the external factors and forces which affect the
industry as a whole but don’t have a direct effect on
the business. The macro environment can be divided
into 6 parts.
 Demographic Environment: The demographic
environment is made up of the people who constitute
the market. It is characterized as the factual
investigation and segregation of the population
according to their size, density, location, age, gender,
race, and occupation.
 Economic Environment: The economic environment
constitutes factors which influence customers’
purchasing power and spending patterns. These
factors include the GDP, GNP, interest rates, inflation,
income distribution, government funding and
subsidies, and other major economic variables.
 Physical Environment: The physical environment
includes the natural environment in which the business
operates. This includes the climatic conditions,
environmental change, accessibility to water and raw
materials, natural disasters, pollution etc.
 Technological Environment: The technological
environment constitutes innovation, research and
development in technology, technological
 alternatives, innovation inducements also
technological barriers to smooth operation.
Technology is one of the biggest sources of threats
and opportunities for the organization and it is very
dynamic.
 Political-Legal Environment: The political & legal
environment includes laws and government’s policies
prevailing in the country. It also includes other
pressure groups and agencies which influence or limit
the working of industry and/or the business in the
society.
 Social-Cultural Environment: The social-cultural aspect
of the macro environment is made up of the lifestyle,
values, culture, prejudice and beliefs of the people.
This differs in different regions.

 Demographic: we aim at markets of cosmopolitan and

metropolitan cities where consumer spending habits
are suitable for the sales of our products.
 Economic: terracotta products that are sold by us have
no taxation on them making our profit margins higher
but our glazed products have an 18% tax applicable
that makes the products more expensive and cannot
be considered affordable by a large sector of people.
 Physical: the clay found in the outskirts of Pondicherry
is suitable for production of the products that we
produce.
  Technological: technology is a threat to our business
as we are trying to promote handmade products with
least involvement of machinery and fast production.
We promote the rooted methods of production.
 Political-legal: Since the application of GST in our
country and the alteration in taxation systems, we
experienced momentary difficulties in adapting to the
changes.
 Social-cultural: we are trying a much more eco-friendly
and made in India approach of production and raising
the artisans from disparity and we would like to share
our beliefs with our customers as well and aim for an
alignment in values. Currently, our product
affordability is limited to a small sector of the society
and our products are considered high end only.

Every business, no matter how big or small, operates within the

marketing environment. Its present and future existence, profits,
image, and positioning depend on its internal and external
environment. The business environment is one of the most
dynamic aspects of the business. In order to operate and stay in the
market for long, one has to understand and analyze the marketing
environment and its components properly.

An understanding of the external and internal environment is

essential for planning for the future. A marketer needs to be fully
aware of the current scenario, dynamism, and future predictions of
the marketing environment if he wants his plans to succeed.
A thorough knowledge of the marketing environment helps
marketers acknowledge and predict what the customer actually
wants. In-depth analysis of the marketing environment reduces
(and even removes) the noise between the marketer and
customers and helps the marketer to understand the consumer
behavior better.
Breaking into new markets and capitalizing on new trends requires
a lot of insight about the marketing environment. The marketer
needs to research about every aspect of the environment to create
a foolproof plan.
A sound knowledge of the market environment often gives a first
mover advantage to the marketer as he makes sure that his
business is safe from the future threats and taps the future
opportunities.
Every niche has different players fighting for the same spot. A
better understanding of the marketing environment allows the
marketer to understand more about the competitions and about
what advantages do the competitors have over his business and
vice versa.
Marketing Mix

The marketing mix has been defined as the "set of marketing tools
that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target".
Thus, the marketing mix refers to four broad levels of marketing
decision, namely: product, price, promotion, and place.

Product:
A product refers to an item that satisfies the consumer's needs or
wants. Products may be tangible (goods) or intangible (services,
ideas or experiences).
We design and handpick products that are handmade from self-
made clay by the artisans. The glazed products are 100% certified
eco-friendly with all natural materials used and is completely safe
to microwave and eat in.
The Product assortment is as follows:
Product breadth: décor, drinkware, lighting, serveware and
storage.
Product length: Decor – planters, sculptures, wall hangings, vases,
diffusers, etc. Drinkware – bottles, cups, mugs, drink sets, jugs,
kettles, tea sets, etc. Lighting – lamps, diffusers, diya stands,
candle stands, etc. serveware – plates, serving bowls, serving sets,
etc. Storage - baskets, boxes, jars, pen stands, storage bowls, etc.
Product Depth: all products available in customizable shapes,
sizes and colors.
Price:
Price refers to the amount a customer pays for a product. Price
may also refer to the sacrifice consumers are prepared to make to
acquire a product. (E.g. time or effort) Price is the only variable
that has implications for revenue. Price also includes
considerations of customer perceived value.
The profit margins for each product is about 40% of the overall
costs incurred. We try to make our products as affordable as
possible for maximum number of people and when compared to
our competitors, our products are available at least 75% of their
pricing or less thus establishing good and long lasting relationships
with customers. We give our products to distributors at a 25% off
from the actual prices which they then sell after adding their profit
margins. We don’t usually offer huge discounts but it can vary from
10-15% depending on order quantity and various other factors.

Place:
Refers to providing customer access. Considers providing
convenience for consumer.
We aim at selective distribution of our products. Currently, our
products our shipped throughout the country and have bases in
cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Gandhi Nagar,
and Kolkata, Coimbatore etc. where people can go and pick our
products. We have also started to sell to individuals who are
interested in collaborating with us and act as retailers in their
respective cities for our products. We aim at cosmopolitan cities
only where the consumer market is suitable. Our inventory is
currently in Pondicherry, Chennai and Bangalore.
We Transport using travel services like GATI and DTDC and they
have been specifically given instructions to transport the products
with care and our damage rate is less than 5%.

Promotion:
Promotion refers to marketing communications. May comprise
elements such as: advertising, PR, direct marketing and sales
promotion.
We started out as a company that functioned only on word of
mouth and through a circulation of texts and pictures in corporate
groups. Currently, we have our distribution channels to promote
the brand as well as make people aware of our brand.
We have an active whatsapp circulation of production information
and channels in multiple groups and associations across the
country. We have an active Facebook and instagram page.
We have collaborations with restaurants and cafes as well who use
our products for their utility. We also participate in pop ups and
exhibitions in various cities across the country and our recent
market is Thailand.
SWOT Analysis

Strength:
 Our product assortment is vast when compared to
competitors as we use different glazes and different artisans
are employed.
 Customization options make is unique
 Since manpower employed is less, most revenue generated
can be considered profit.
Weakness:
 Products can be damaged easily as need to be transported
safely.
 Products are bulky and so transportation costs are high.
 Since we have no manpower employed, packaging of
materials needs to be done by us.
 Production time taken for product manufacturing is high.
Opportunities:
 Being one of the only brands doing business from the city
they call home, it makes it easier for us to communicate as
well as expand our production.
 Most people are inclining towards eco-friendly products
especially natural and hand made.
 The current market is all about personalisation and
customisation.
Threats:
 Since products are handmade, perfection is impossible to
achieve.
 Production time is high.
 Machinery and innovation in technology is fast paced.

Porter’s five forces

Threat of New entrants:

As of now, we are the only company dealing with handmade
auroville pottery with so many varieties at reasonable rates
but with increase in popularity of this hidden craft, companies
that deal in handcrafts might want to expand into this sector
as well and with their skilled employees and trained
personnel, they shall make it very competitive for us to
continue this business. We shall be needing a strategy to
make a mark for ourselves in the current market so that we
cannot be moved and expand our market more. Creating an
online marketing and sales channel shall help most as well as
trading overseas more.
Threat of Substitute:
Machine made pottery, chinaware, glassware, etc. are
substitutes that hamper the sales of handmade stoneware
pottery. These products are comparatively cheaper and easily
available in most stores (due to intensive distribution) and are
produced in bulk using machinery and are light weight as well.
The threat of substitutes is really high and a strategy needs to
be developed to eliminate it.

Bargaining Power of Customers:

As our products our high-end, most customers are not willing
to pay as much and would opt for cheaper substitutes instead.
People who are regular customers and are happy with the
quality and conceptualization of products are willing to pay
the prices we offer which is rather less. Distributors are
sometimes unhappy with the rates we offer for certain
products and find it difficult to add their margins and sell.
Bargaining power of customers is also high.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers:

The cost of raw materials, machinery, labour, etc. is less and
usually constant as everything is mostly handmade and self-
sourced with minor or no alterations. Each supplier has varied
prices and materials used and labour charges are different.
Bargaining power of suppliers is less.
Competitive Rivalry:
As of now, we have minimum competition. Companies
that we are competing with don’t deal solely with our
products and so we cannot entirely consider them as
competition. Companies like curocrate have been
dealing with all kinds of crafts from around the world
including auroville pottery and their product assortment
of the same is very less. Therefore, competitive rivalry is
less.
Clay and Glaze in the E- Commerce World

When we refer to our competition, curocrate is one of the most

famous e-commerce sites that sell auroville pottery across the
world. The world is inclining towards shopping online and
especially since our target customer base isn’t very vast, we need
to tap into all channels to reach out to our customers to achieve
targets. We feel that clay and glaze has the potential to have an
online platform where our customers can view all the products we
have to offer and place orders. We shall develop a proper team
then to handle all the processes involved to run a successful e-
commerce site which includes a designer, software developer,
permanent shipping partners, marketing agents, etc.
The Website:
1. Product Selection
2. Create a Business Plan
3. Setting up the Business
4. Secure the Domain Name and Website
5. Design an easy-to-use website
6. Identify Vendors
7. Choose an E-commerce Platform
8. Build Your Store
9. Stock Your Inventory
10. Drive Traffic
11. Track Your Metrics
Product Selection:
Choosing the right products to sell online can have a huge impact
on whether or not your e-commerce website is successful. Factors
that need to be considered include:
 Market Size
 Price Point
 Margins
 Local Availability
 Shipping Size/Cost

Create a Business Plan:

A business plan will be your road map that helps bring your ideas
and thoughts together. A business plan is vital so that you can
determine how to best move forward and most effectively
compete.

Setting up the Business:

To set-up your business, you will need to complete the following
tasks:
1. Select the business structure- sole proprietor, LLC,
Corporation or partnership
2. Register your business with the IRS and Secretary of State.
3. Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
4. Open a business bank account and file your business taxes.
Secure the Domain Name and designing the
website:
The domain name has to be relevant to the company but most
preferably should be the company’s name itself. For the
prototype, I have used WIX to create the template and a sample
website. To design the website, firstly, we shall try to keep the
website as user friendly as possible but at the same time, convey
what our company stands for and make the viewing of products
easy along with an efficient payment and feedback system.
Customer relationship management (CMR) is of utmost
importance and the website shall always encourage that. Our
website shall also have the customising option available as we have
always wanted to make the shopping experience personalised.

Negotiation with vendors and changes in

operations:
Since we shall be taking the brand completely online, we are
expected to have a rise in demand of the products as well and so
we shall try to decrease the production costs as much as possible
so as to compensate for the transportation costs as well as to make
our customers feel that we are providing products that are
completely value for money.
Initially, we shall also be open to reducing our profit margins for
certain products followed by a slight raise once revenue generation
is stable and regular.
We shall also hire employees to work with us on parts like
photography, web designing, marketing as well as labour to help
with packaging and transportation. The payment methods that we
are aiming at are:
 Online transfers (net banking)
 Pay on delivery
 Debit/ credit card
 Online wallets (paytm/ Google pay/etc.)

Managing the website and logistics:

We shall be needing sufficient products to run a self-hosted e-
commerce website and so we shall work on our inventory prior to
the launch as well as continue maintaining fast selling products as
well as gifting items and make sure that the customisation part
functions efficiently. The website needs to be appealing and search
engine optimised as well with relevant as well as attractive product
descriptions, honest customer feedbacks and reviews, good
product photography, etc. The website shall be linked to our social
media pages that has been successfully running for the past two
years and we shall try to raise traffic on the website by the
following methods:
 Email marketing
 Search engine optimisation
 Social media marketing
 Influencer marketing and referrals.
Maintenance:
The website shall be regularly debugged and troubleshooted.
The website shall constantly updated to the latest technology
alongside considering the feedbacks we received.
Tracking of Key performance Indicators:
 Cost Per Customer Acquisition
 Average Order Value
 Conversion Rate
 Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate
 Website Traffic
 Gross Profit per Sale
 Customer Lifetime Value